15 Aug
PeopleTek Coaching Leadership

Leadership Can Be Simple

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. —
John Quincy Adams

Everyone is a leader, in every profession, every role, no matter what title or pay level.

I was visiting a state national park this past weekend and will keep it nameless to protect the innocent.

Being a leadership developer and coach, I am curious to what people say about their leaders. I was walking out of the park and a friendly park ranger decided to open up about his management.

In his opinion, his current leader is outstanding and he wasn’t shy about telling me why. I asked what made the difference for him and he said this:

“My previous manager had no new ideas. He had been in the role for over 40 years and basically just tried to survive until retirement. He was a very good guy but had no ambition to make anything better.

When he was replaced, the new manager came in with fabulous ideas and encouraged me to make things better. I was able to clean up the area, put in new rocks and tables, fix and replace broken sinks, and paint the walls of the restrooms”.

LEADERSHIP CAN BE SIMPLE!

While the ranger’s actions seem simple, it turns out that that is exactly the point. Leadership can be simple. It is empowering yourself and others to go where they have never gone before and maybe wouldn’t go by themselves (or wouldn’t without permission).

The new leader truly inspired and led this ranger to go and do what he wanted to do which was to make things better for the patrons of the park.

While the previous manager was a nice person, had good ethics and was easy to get along with, that wasn’t what was needed to make the park the best experience for the visitors.

What I noticed was the enthusiasm this ranger had for his job, his passion for excellence, and his ideas to make things better. All he needed was the spark to excel.

He could have easily taken a different road and just bided his time for his retirement. Instead he opted to make a difference. I would advise this wonderful ranger to go a step further – speak to his leader about his improvement suggestions for what could be done. (and if you have the latitude, just make the changes on your own). While there is risk, the rewards will set you free.

BONUS – CLICK HERE to read why FEAR IS A BARRIER TO SUCCESS

04 Aug
PeopleTek Coaching Leadership

Influence

The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and to influence their actions.–
John Hancock

INFLUENCE. Some think you need direct reports in order to influence others. We believe that we are ALL leaders and that our behaviors and actions DO influence others regardless of our workplace title.

One great way to influence others is to understand their goals. What are they trying to achieve? What obstacles are they facing? How could they be helped? Do they want assistance?

If yes, determine what and how you can help them attain each goal. A friend found this formula:
LEAP = Listen, Empathize, Agree and Plan

Listen to their goals, empathize with their situation, agree on tasks and options to achieve them, and begin to plan together.

It’s our past experiences, our observations, and how we’ve interpreted situations that affect levels of influence. This includes understanding and utilizing our own attitudes and beliefs, and our perceptions of the attitudes and beliefs others.

Our “self-talk” also greatly impacts if and how we’ll influence others. A lack of confidence will inhibit us from expressing our opinions, especially when we fear rejection.

There are two different styles that are used in influencing others:

1. Openness in communication
2. Consideration for others

Our level of openness is what dictates how willing we are to share our life experiences, our thoughts, and our emotions with others. (In contrast with volunteering minimal information).

Consideration is displayed by our willingness to accept and respond to others in the way they prefer. To some this includes an intensity to preserve the rights of others as they would their own. The opposing style is to display little respect for the opinions, feelings, and reactions of others, with no interest in showing support.

Last week we talked about body language. Skillfully and positively influencing others includes paying attention to:

  • BODY POSTURE
  • FACIAL EXPRESSION
  • EYE CONTACT
  • TONE OF VOICE
  • FLUENCY OF SPEECH
  • DIRECTNESS OF SPEECH
  • VERBAL BEHAVIOR

Passion has a lot to do with the effort we’ll make to influence others. If passion is missing, it’s easy to defer to others and step back. When passion exists, we’re much more likely to influence others to a greater extent, and risk disagreement or rejection.

Do you actively influence others?

BONUS

Follow this link to read about SELF TALK