Building and maintaining character is encompassed in strengthening leadership skills, and is what, in part, will influence others to follow and respect you.

If you had to pick the top 2 characteristics that strong leaders must possess, what would you choose?

And, from a differing perspective, has your definition of a high performer and the required skill-set changed from a few years ago?

If you answered yes, you’re in good company!

CEB, a leading member-based advisory company, published their annual Executive Guidance update where they identified critical competencies required by high performing employees.

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CEB identified the top 3 critical skills as:

Adapting to Change
Willingness to Collaborate
Ability to Apply Sound Judgment
We’ve talked a lot about CHANGE:

In a recent survey we conducted, only 11% of the responders felt they managed change effectively.

We need to expect that change will continue to occur at a rapid pace, and with it, discomfort and uncertainty. Use clarity and communication to lessen levels of anxiety, and make it a priority to understand and clearly communicate all changes and associated impacts!

Are you part of the 11%?

COLLABORATION:

An effective leader is proficient in managing relationships and building networks.  They must also possess the ability to find common ground and build rapport which significantly improves results, satisfaction levels, and trust.

Keep in mind that the nature and speed of work that is required does not lend itself to developing relationships or for allowing time to develop the necessary skills, but they are essential for achieving success. 

SOUND JUDGMENT:

Understand what’s going on around you; take the time to process what you feel and think before readily agreeing or disagreeing with anything. Be prepared! Is “homework” required? Research ideas and share the knowledge you’ve acquired.

Skills are also required for prioritizing what must be done (by when), for solving problems, and for making timely and sound decisions.

Make the time to plan and set your priorities.  Distinguish the urgent and important tasks from those that can wait, and identify which will help you achieve your goals.

And a need that will never be eliminated: KNOWING YOURSELF and OTHERS!

High performers are self aware; they know and use their strengths and passion (magic dust).  They also understand the strengths and passion of others, and leverage this knowledge to achieve results through collaboration.   

Do you consider yourself to be a high performer? What could change in your organization to increase the number of high performers?

• Work hard.
• Emphasize your strengths to stand out from the crowd. 
• Network with others.
• Find strong mentors who can give you inside tips on how to improve your career growth and your leadership skills.
• Find what makes you unique.
• Capitalize on your talents.
• Project a clear message that helps you to stand out.
• Live a life that demonstrates your values and supports your career growth.
• Don’t get stuck in a rut.
• Continue to grow and evolve as you rise through the ranks.
• Stay humble and open to continuing to learn new lessons throughout your career.

Extracted from http://blog.employeedevelopmentsystems.com/bid/81931/Leadership-Development-Lessons-from-Margaret-Thatcher

What leadership development lesson stands out for you? Do you lead with passion, determination, and confidence?

Sadly, bullying is much more widespread than that, and yes, it also happens in the workplace. It could be a co-worker; it may even be your boss!

This week Rutgers basketball coach, Mike Rice, was fired for abusing his players. Videos of the physical and verbal abuse are all over the internet – why did no one speak up and escalate this issue?

As humans, and especially as leaders, we must take responsibility and be cognizant when behaviors such as verbal and physical abuse, harassment, discrimination, and abuse of power occur.

It’s been reported that almost half of the U.S. workforce has observed some kind of bullying on the job. That’s staggering! So what’s to be done?

• Others that are not so obvious are excluding a person from being involved, omitting someone from email rosters, not sharing updates, the lack of recognition for accomplishments, regular interruptions, dominating meetings, and taking credit for the work of others.

• Also watch out for behaviors from a victim.  They may be afraid to speak up, there may an increase in sick time, their quality of work may suddenly drop, and they may appear tense and nervous.  There may be others reasons for these behaviors, but check it out.

As a leader, we want teams and organizations to be collaborative and empowering. In order for this to occur, we must address inappropriate behaviors as soon as we observe them, or when they are brought to our attention.

Describe the complaint(s) or observed behavior(s) to the bully. Be specific, ask them for their thoughts, and establish a clear action plan for moving forward.  Check to see if your company has policies for addressing bullying. In some cases having a one on one may address and resolve the problem. Other situations may require formal documentation and escalation to HR or higher management.

Bottom line – don’t ignore it! Not addressing inappropriate behaviors reduces company morale, creates higher turnover, and impacts the ability to achieve desired results. Taking action will save you time; time = money!

As Jim Rohn says, take the challenge to be (and accept) bold, but not bully!

-We need to have balance
-We need to set boundaries
-We need to have clear priorities
-We must never compromise our ability to deliver high-quality work
-We must be able to say “no” 

Saying “no” is difficult for many of us, but this simple word must be incorporated into our vocabulary.  We need to understand why it’s difficult for us, and the ramifications for our reluctance.

There’s a need to realistically assess if other equally important tasks may be negatively impacted, and we must consider how many more work hours we’re willing to commit to. (Or how many additional hours we’re willing to be away from our family/personal life).

We also need to be prepared to counter-offer: I’d love to support that initiative; can you look at my current work load and help assess what could be reassigned elsewhere or post-poned?  

If necessary, make sure your boss understands your work load and ask them to help you assign priorities. What falls to the bottom will need to be reassigned, or the level of commitment and due date changed. 

If someone wants your time now, learn to say “Now is not a good time”, and then respond with a few times that are good.  Or say “If it must be now, I can give you 5 minutes, and then we can continue first thing tomorrow morning”.

Have a plan in place to handle distractions and interruptions, and to master your time.

1.      Know how to prioritize, be willing to re-prioritize, and commit to your decisions

2.       Set boundaries based on your priorities and say no to those outside your boundaries

3.       Be open and flexible, but realistic 

4.       Practice your responses! 

Be true to yourself and your priorities, and don’t compromise quality. Remember that over-using a strength (our desire to achieve), could result in a weakness.

30% of workers are engaged

50% are just showing up

20% are actively disengaged

We find these numbers staggering! Consider how your results and levels of productivity would grow if you could influence just 20% more of your workforce. (Or if you could move the needle for the 20% that are actively disengaged).

Clifton says it’s the role of managers of all levels to understand what’s happening with the 30% of employees that ARE engaged.

What differentiates them from the remaining 70%?

Salary is one factor, but researchers have found that happiness does not increase once a $75,000 annual salary is reached. BOTTOM LINE:  It’s not about the money!

There are 2 things that DO make a difference:

1. Having someone at work who encourages development
2. Having the opportunity to do what the individual does best every day (you’ve heard us speak about “magic dust“; your uniqueness, special skills and strengths)

Engagement levels grow when:

-Individuals lead integrated lives in which their careers and their personal lives fit seamlessly and harmoniously together 

-Ambition, talent and capacity serve individuals well, rather than enslave them 

-Passion, energy, and focus are leveraged 

-Individuals/leaders learn to fulfill their own vision, and assist others to fulfill theirs

-Individuals/leaders are persistent and don’t give up easily

As an individual, what actions are you taking to increase your level of engagement?

As a leader, do you have a goal to increase engagement levels for your team?

We’ve all heard that the word “assume” equates to making both “u” and “me” foolish (well, not exactly that word . . . )

Achieving success requires the courage to “scrub off” our assumptions and be open and receptive in areas where we may have baggage.

Admittedly it’s difficult to step out of our comfort zone, to accept and adapt to change, and to have the commitment to expand our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors.

We’ve had the opportunity to observe many leaders, styles, skills, traits and actions and have come to the conclusion: Courage is the single most important attribute any leader must have in order to be effective and successful.

Success requires living courageously. Courage is required for choosing our behaviors and strategies, and for taking ownership for making the important decisions that impact our career, our lives, our happiness, and our future.

Owning our career builds our leadership skills and enables us to become stronger leaders for any team or any organization that we lead or are a part of.  It also positions us to transform and strengthen leadership around the world, one person at a time.

It requires having the dream and desire to be a strong leader; it’s wanting to motivate and inspire individuals, teams and entire organizations. It’s a continuum; it never stops, it’s ongoing, and it takes courage.

This also includes relinquishing control.  Empower others and let them “take the wheel and drive”.  As leaders we need to understand the strengths within our teams, take a step back, and let them do what they do best.

Challenge your assumptions, face your fears, increase your level of openness, and position yourself and others for success!