25 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Leadership

The Art of Humor

Did you know that the most effective and successful leaders use humor to increase productivity, build relationships, and improve results?

Humor, when properly used, will positively influence those around you, promote a sense of comfort and confidence, and reduce tension in individuals and teams.

A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.
–Dwight D. Eisenhower

Numerous studies have been conducted and have found:

  • Humor is a powerful form of persuasion
  • Humor promotes teamwork and camaraderie
  • Humor stimulates creativity
  • Humor improves lines of communication

Humor is linked with our emotional intelligence competencies.

Daniel Goleman,(EQ author/expert) says:

Research on humor at work reveals that a well-timed joke or playful laughter can stimulate creativity, open lines of communication, enhance a sense of connection and trust, and, of course make work more fun.

Bryan Lattimore states that humor can be used as:

  • A way to break the ice in stiff or uncomfortable business situations
  • An effective bonding technique – a wonderful way to build common ground with other employees
  • A way to break down resistance
  • A much needed way to improve the content, enjoyment, and ultimately the productivity of meetings
  • A way to assign work when people can’t take any more
  • A wonderful way to ease and control tension

Like any leadership behavior, the use of humor requires skill. For some, using humor is a natural talent, for others it’s awkward. Tip: Avoid humor that is sexist, ethnic, political or religious since this is usually at someone’s expense, and is likely to be disruptive and ill received.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and give humor a try! Consider all the benefits provided by humor and ask yourself “am I effectively leveraging it?

Here’s a Wealth of Information

Each week we partner with QwikCoach and provide the ability for you to reinforce or expand your knowledge of a prior topic.

Last week’s tip focused on Passion and Energy.

Go to QwikTips to read more! There are two different versions–one for visitors and one for licensed QwikCoach users.

Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!

Did You Know?

Graduates of PeopleTek’s Leadership Journey Earn:

  • IT Professionals: 19 priSM CPD credits
  • Human Resource SPHR/PHR/GPHR: 19 HR (General) credit hours
  • Project Managers: PMI – up to 37 hours / 3 PSM level points
  • Executive Coaches: 18 ICF CCE’s (Core Competencies) & 5 ICF CCE’s (Resource Development)

Additionally, the Journey is approved for PMI re-certification credits.

11 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Leadership

Transformation – A Process, Not an Event

Transformation is a process, not an event. Why? Because it happens over time, and it is ongoing. We always have the need to improve quality, enhance customer/client relationships, do more with less, cut costs, and continually develop skill sets.

Think back three years – How have you changed? How has your place of employment changed? How has the marketplace (and your competitors) changed?

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.
–Henry Kissinger

Great leaders motivate individuals and teams to envision the future and blaze a path to achieve it. They establish goals, understand and appreciate differences, and exhibit the behaviors required for success.

They also recognize the need to move towards transformational leadership. A good start is to answer the following questions.

Begin Your Transformation

Getting started:

  • What business are you in?
  • Who are your customers?
  • What services do you or could you provide?
  • What do you want to be known for?
  • What strategic alliances would facilitate growth?
  • Where do you want to take yourself or your team in the next 3-5 years?

You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.
–Les Brown

Next, rate which of these concerns are highest for your organization:

  1. We are equally concerned about long term planning and day to day problems and annoyances.
  2. We invest in new technology, processes, training, and tools rather than save the budget for the future.
  3. We have clearly defined and documented vision, mission, goals and roles.
  4. We hold ourselves and others accountable to high-performance standards.
  5. We facilitate teamwork and develop a trusting atmosphere in our organization.
  6. We are not afraid of conflict and deal with difficult conversations with customers, staff, and peers rather than avoiding the situation.
  7. We foster the culture to be a learning organization that admits mistakes freely.
  8. We train and reward our staff based on meeting the vision, mission, and goals of our organization, and for driving business innovation and profitable outcome.

Which caused additional time for reflection? Were there any that jumped out as a “need to address”?

Strong and healthy teams have trust as its foundation. When trust is lacking, transformation becomes more difficult.

Are you and your business well-positioned to lead the transformation process?

QwikTips and QwikCoach

Each week we partner with QwikCoach and provide the ability for you to reinforce or expand your knowledge of a prior topic.

Go to QwikTips to read more! There are two different versions–one for visitors and one for licensed QwikCoach users.

Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!

04 Sep
PeopleTek Coaching Communication, Leadership

5 Common Leadership Mistakes

We all want to be strong leaders and be error free, but we all make mistakes.

Here are Five Common Mistakes Leaders Make

  1. Absence of a clearly defined vision
    • Bill was a group leader and thought his team was aware of departmental goals, objectives, strategies and the overall vision. The truth was, they were not.
    • Suggestion: Take time to clarify and document the team’s vision, get others involved in understanding and refining it, and link all key processes to it. (This includes your hiring strategy)
  2. Minimal communication
    • Many leaders only hold meetings and share information on an “as needed” basis. The lack of interaction and regularly conducted meetings can cause the team to lose focus and prevents the opportunity for team members to build synergy and trust.
    • Suggestion: Keep in touch; make yourself available, schedule both team and skip level meetings on a regular basis, and refine the agenda as needed. Don’t do all the talking; engage the team and let them share their thoughts, accomplishments, and obstacles. Don’t forget about reinforcing your vision and the status of goal attainment.
  3. Failing to hold others accountable
    • It’s not uncommon for leaders to NOT reach out and provide meaningful feedback about what went well, and what did not. This inhibits growth, suppresses results, and can cause frustration and confusion.
    • Suggestion: Determine the quality and quantity of work and behaviors you desire in order to achieve your vision. Hold everyone accountable for supporting the vision and provide timely, specific, and meaningful feedback when deviations occur. (And don’t wait until your annual or semi-annual assessment to address gaps!).
  4. Failing to recognize good performance
    • Many leaders feel everything is part of their staff’s job. This can leave team members questioning what it takes to go “above and beyond”; they want to be recognized for their effort and accomplishments!
    • Suggestion: Take the time to look for things that are special and point them out. During your team meetings have the team recognize peer contributions; you’ll be surprised what you may hear. This can be inspiring and a simple “thank-you” can go a long way.
  5. Over managing
    • Most individuals are ready, willing, and able to do their job, and they want to excel. They are not afraid of taking a risk and don’t need to be over-managed. Over-managing causes the loss of feeling empowered and is a huge de-motivator.
    • Suggestion: Validate that the required skill sets exist, share your expectations, and let your staff “run with it”.

We all make mistakes! The key is to recognize them, own them, learn from them, and move on!

Here’s a Wealth of Information

Each week we partner with QwikCoach and provide the ability for you to reinforce or expand your knowledge of a prior topic.

Last week’s tip focused on 5 Behaviors Of A Team.

Go to QwikTips to read more! There are two different versions–one for visitors and one for licensed QwikCoach users.

Help turn your leadership knowledge into leadership action!