14 Dec
[email protected] Leadership

Leadership Is A Gift

Leadership is a gift. It’s given by those who follow. You have to be worthy of it.
–General Mark Welsh, Commander of U.S. Air Forces (retired)

Leadership.  We all know it’s not easy, but do you consider it a gift? As leaders, we influence others, hopefully in a positive way.  When you think back over the leaders you’ve worked for in the past, did any stand out? If yes, why?

We’ve worked for leaders that were for lack of a better word “memorable” – some because they inspired and motivated us and others, and then a few because they did exactly the opposite.

General Welsh felt that a key role of a boss was to lead others to success.  Here are some tips he shared for successful leadership:

Be credible.
Be authentic. Mean what you say, commit to it, and ensure your behaviors are aligned.

Pay attention.
What’s working well and what isn’t? What’s the pulse of your work environment? Does a healthy culture exist?

Be prepared to make decisions.
We may not have all the answers, but we can ask the right questions and conduct due diligence so we make informed and impactful decisions.

Know and support your people.
What’s going on in their life personally, how can you help them grow professionally? Leverage their strengths, learn their aspirations, and provide development opportunities.

Is your boss a worthy leader? Do you consider yourself to be a worthy leader? Any stories you’d like to share?

THIS WEEK’S QWIKTIP!

Read about
VALUING YOUR STAFF

07 Dec
[email protected] Success

Mindset Re-Swizzle

Rule your mind or it will rule you.–Horace

How’s your personal and professional mindset? As 2017 is coming to a close, are you still energized and motivated? Would a “re-swizzled” mindset help? SUCCESS magazine (January 2018) provides content on the following:

STAY STRONG
Mentally and physically; incorporate exercise in both.

SELF-CARE
Every day build in time for self-reflection or meditation.

CHANGE LANGUAGE
Replace your negative thoughts and words with “I can/I will” verbiage.

GET INTENTIONAL
What’s your purpose and intent? Do your behaviors support them?

FUEL CREATIVITY
Pause and reflect on new perspectives and alternative views.

DEAL WITH IT
We all have to manage the unexpected; don’t let them derail you.

LEARN MORE
Commit to continual self-development; add reading to your goals.

BE COURAGEOUS
Being a leader requires courage!

OWN UP TO IT
Be accountable; hold others accountable; document improvement possibilities.

AIM HIGH
Set stretch goals and establish steps to help stay on track on reflect progress.

How can you re-swizzle your mindset to benefit your life and career?

THIS WEEK’S QWIKTIP!

Read about
BEING ADAPTIVE AND AGILE

30 Nov
[email protected] Communication, Leadership

Saying “NO” Is An Art

The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.
–Tony Blair

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. 

We all want to succeed, our pace never slows down, we know we can juggle and accomplish amazing things, and because of this, we’re sometimes guilty of over committing.

That’s when we need to remember that saying NO is an option (and an art!).

Things to think about:

  • If we say “yes”, what tasks will be negatively impacted?
  • Are we compromising our ability to deliver quality work?
  • How many additional hours are we willing to add to our schedule?
  • Does the task clearly support our goals and priorities?

We also have the option to counter-offer: I’d love to support that initiative; I may need help assessing what could be reassigned elsewhere or postponed.

Other tips:

  • Have a plan in place to handle distractions and interruptions
  • Know how to prioritize, be willing to re-prioritize, and commit to your decisions
  • Set boundaries based on your priorities and say no to those outside your boundaries
  • Be open and flexible, but realistic
  • Practice the ways in which you can respond

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. (And it’s likely to create self-imposed stress!).

THIS WEEK’S QWIKTIP!

Read about
FEAR IS A BARRIER TO SUCCESS

16 Nov
[email protected] Communication

Listen To Understand

The biggest communication problem is that we don’t listen to understand, we listen to reply.

This week we’re going to talk about listening again. Why? Because we frequently receive feedback that communication, and especially listening skills, are areas that require work.

While participating in a conversation, conference call, feedback session, or having any dialogue at all, are you truly listening?

An informal poll was conducted asking “Do You Listen To Reply”?  Meaning, does preparing your response take priority over hearing the whole “story”. Are you concentrating so much on your reply that you stopped listening?

-50% of the respondents admitted that sometimes they focused on their reply
-Another 33% admitted it was rare, but they too concentrated more on their reply than on what was being said.

Dr. Ralph Nichols has conducted numerous listening studies and has found that we spend 40 percent of our day listening to others, but retain just 25 percent of what we hear. We’re missing out on a lot!

Leadership consultant Andy Eklund provides the following tips:

1. Get rid of outside distractions.
2. Open your mind. Don’t judge. Only listen.
3. Listen for the big picture, not the details
4. Note, but don’t judge, non-verbal communications.
5. Do not jump to conclusions or interrupt.
6. Paraphrase the big picture, then add in details.
7. Challenge yourself first. It’s very possible you may disagree. If so, ask yourself Under what circumstance might this be true?

Listening may not include having a dialogue. Sometimes the person speaking has the sole intent to share or vent. Feel honored to be a sounding board and realize that no reply may be your best action!

Do you listen to understand?

THIS WEEK’S QWIKTIP!

Read more about LISTENING TAKES WORK

09 Nov
[email protected] Leadership

10 Mistakes

Smart, successful people are by no means immune to making mistakes; they simply have the tools in place to learn from their errors.– Travis Bradberry

Dr. Travis Bradberry believes there are 10 mistakes smart people never make twice, and he feels “emotionally intelligent people embrace mistakes for what they are—great opportunities to learn”. 

So, what’s the first step?  Admitting that you made a mistake and committing to learning from it so it’s not repeated.

Here’s what he views as the top 10 mistakes:

Believing in someone or something that’s too good to be true. Some people are so charismatic and so confident that it can be tempting to follow anything they say. Don’t be naïve!

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. If you want a different result, you must change your approach.

Failing to delay gratification. Gratification doesn’t come quickly and hard work comes long before the reward.

Operating without a budget. Budgets, both professionally and personally, establish discipline, and discipline is the foundation of quality work.

Losing sight of the big picture. Assess your daily priorities against your goals; are they aligned?

Not doing your homework. There’s no substitute for hard work and due diligence.

Trying to be someone you’re not. Happiness and success demand authenticity.

Trying to please everyone. It’s not possible to please everybody, and trying to please everyone pleases no one.

Playing the victim. To play the victim, you have to give up your power, and you can’t put a price on that.

Trying to change someone. The only way that people change is through the desire and wherewithal to change themselves.

Author Paulo Coelho simply states “When you repeat a mistake, it is not a mistake anymore: it is a decision.”

Words to live by!

QWIKTIP –  Read about PROBLEM SOLVING

Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.– Bruce Lee

02 Nov
[email protected] Leadership

Lead With Humor – It’s An Art!

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

Humor, like any behavior, requires skills and timing.  When properly used it can motivate and influence others, as well as reduce stress and tension among individuals and teams.

Humor has also been linked with our emotional intelligence competencies. Daniel Goleman,(EQ author/expert), shares “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”.

When NOT properly used:

  • Humor may be disruptive and ill received
  • Humor may be misinterpreted and cause ill feelings

It’s important to know your audience.  You’ll want to avoid humor that is sexist, ethnic, politically or religiously based (or any type of humor used at another’s expense). It’s also best not to use humor when delivering important messages or when addressing issues or problems.

Bryan Lattimore, author The Art of Humor, states that humor can be used:

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

For some using humor is a natural talent, for others it’s awkward. Observe others in your organization that are deemed funny.

What can you learn from them?  Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and give humor a try!

QWIKTIP –  Find out if you’re EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.–Victor Borge

26 Oct
[email protected] Leadership

Master Motivator

Leadership is lonely. No matter how big your team, sometimes it’s just you–which means you sometimes need to look inside yourself for motivation and inspiration.-Jeff Haden

Having the ability to share your passion, aspire for more, instill the desire to achieve organizational and personal goals, to act conscientiously and ethically, and enjoy what you’re doing are all components of being a “master motivator”.

Mark Hansen and Joe Batten, authors of The Master Motivator – Secrets Of Inspiring Leadership’, provide tips for self-motivation as well as tips for motivating staff and colleagues.

It starts with us as individuals and as leaders. How can we motivate others if we are not authentic and believe in what we’re trying to accomplish?

Motives That Lead and Values That Feed

  • Motivators enjoy life
  • Motivators reach out – they do not retreat inward
  • Motivators cultivate a “lust for learning”
  • Motivators expect the best – always
  • Motivators are goal oriented
  • Motivators help others feel significant
  • Motivators lead by example
  • Motivators provide purpose and direction
  • Motivators are go-givers, not go-getters
  • Motivators respect themselves and others
  • Motivators ask, listen and hear
  • Motivators pursue total fitness
  • Motivators radiate warmth and caring

Rate yourself from 1 – 5 for each component. (5 being best). What are your strengths? Which can you further develop?  You can even take it to the next level and ask your staff or colleagues to rate you.

QWIKTIP – read about ACTIONS and BELIEFS

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.  John C. Maxwell

12 Oct
[email protected] Leadership

Leading From Afar

Leadership has challenges, and it becomes even more challenging when leading from afar.

Leadership has taken on new challenges with the need to lead not only those that are in the same location, but to also be effective across time zones, understand cultural differences, and keep telecommuters engaged and productive. 

Per GlobalWorkplaceAnalystics/2017:

  • Regular telecommuting grew 115% in the past decade
  • 70% of employers offer flexible workplace options
  • 50% of the US workforce holds a job with at least partial telework

What does this mean to you as a leader?     

As a leader, regardless of where your staff is located, make certain that common goals are clearly understood, encourage your team to value one another’s strengths, and provide one another other with healthy, timely feedback.

Leading remotely also means you need to be an even more skilled communicator.

  • Don’t communicate just the bare minimum.
  • Share what is expected of each individual and each location.
  • Ensure all interactions end with closure.
  • Check in regularly with each employee.
  • Revisit the team goals and objectives; use “here’s where we are” statements, ask questions, and invite everyone to share their opinion and thoughts about the progress that is being made.
  • Ask your direct reports what they’d like to hear about and ask for their feedback as to whether you are keeping them adequately informed.
  • Support and “sell” your team! Keep your boss and other leaders informed of your teams’ accomplishments and successes!
  • Look for opportunities for the team to meet face-to-face

It takes effort for remote team members to feel as much a part of your team as those that work onsite but the tips above will help.  Do you have other tips that you can share?

QWIKTIPS –  read about GETTING EVERYONE ON BOARD 

We like to give people the freedom to work where they want, safe in the knowledge that they have the drive and expertise to perform excellently, whether they at their desk or in their kitchen. Yours truly has never worked out of an office, and never will — Richard Branson

05 Oct
[email protected] Leadership

Moral Leadership

How We Do Anything Means Everything –Dov Seidman

As leaders, we need to understand the culture of our business, be aware of the pulse of our team, co-workers, and business partners, consistently communicate goals and strategies, and make decisions based on our knowledge of the above.

Dov Seidman, founder/CEO of LRN, an ethics and compliance management firm, believes companies will thrive when ethical business cultures exist. (He’s also an author, attorney, and columnist).

It’s been reported that over two-thirds of U.S. citizens believe that none, very few, or only some corporations operate in a fair and honest manner. Pretty disheartening isn’t it?

So what does it take to create and support moral leadership?  Seidman suggests to first start by cultivating trust, values, and passion.  (TRUST, once again surfaces as a key critical component). He also provides 4 guiding principles:

Moral Leaders Are Driven By Purpose

They focus on progress, not just on results and the bottom line. Journeys force us to learn, adapt, experiment, and embrace and learn from mistakes. 

Moral Leaders Inspire and Elevate Others

They ask people to be loyal not to them, but rather to the overall purpose and mission of the organization.

Moral Leaders Are Animated by Both Courage and Patience

It takes courage to speak out for a principle or larger truth, especially when that leader is in an uncomfortable or vulnerable territory. Think of patience as a way of extending trust to others by allowing them the time to be more thorough, rigorous and creative. 

Moral Leaders Keep Building Muscle

Authentic leaders don’t stop learning and growing just because they’ve accumulated formal authority. They continue to build moral muscle by wrestling with questions of right and wrong, fairness and justice, what serves others and what doesn’t. 

Additionally, Seidman states that moral leaders “pause and continually ask if what they’re doing—or what their company or organization is doing—is compatible with their purpose and mission”.

How would you answer that question?

QWIKTIPS –  read more about ACTIONS AND BELIEFS

Seidman says: When you demonstrate moral authority, people follow you not because they have to, but because they want to.

21 Sep
[email protected] Team

FIVE BEHAVIORS for Team Success

True team members put aside their individual needs for the good of the team.

Many of you are familiar with Patrick Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team. In it, he defines teamwork as:

The state achieved by a group of people working together who trust one another, engage in healthy conflict, commit to decisions, hold one another accountable, and focus on collective results.   

What you may not be familiar with is that there is now an assessment that provides teams with critical information about how they can become stronger in the following areas:

  1. Trusting Team Members
  2. Engaging In Healthy Conflict
  3. Committing To Decisions
  4. Being Accountable and Holding Others Accountable
  5. Focusing On Collective Results

TRUST – A team needs to be comfortable with being vulnerable with each other about their weaknesses, mistakes, fears and behaviors.

CONFLICT – A team needs to share their passions and disagree, challenge and question one another in a healthy manner.

COMMITMENT –   A team buys into important decisions (even if they initially disagree) once all ideas and opinions have been considered.

ACCOUNTABILITY –  A team does not rely on their leader to be the primary source of accountability but rather deals with their peers direct.

RESULTS –   Teams that trust one another, engage in conflict, commit to decisions and hold one another accountable are more likely to put aside their individual needs and focus on what is best for the team as a whole.

How cohesive and collaborative is your team?  Are they willing to place the good of the team before their own individual needs?

We’ll help you learn how!

QWIKTIPS –  read more about SUCCESSFUL TEAM BEHAVIORS

The most important challenge of building a team where people hold one another accountable is overcoming the understandable hesitance of human beings to give one another critical feedback.—Patrick Lencioni

15 Sep
[email protected] Decision Making

Hire Hard

HIRE HARD OR MANAGE HARD

Hire Hard.  What does this mean? Simply put, you need to invest the time, energy, and perhaps money to ensure you hire the right person for the right job.

If you don’t, the result is that you will be “managing hard” (investing even more time and energy on a daily basis). Bottom line, “hire hard so you can manage easy”.

Hiring hard provides:

  • Increased employee performance and productivity;
  • Increased employee engagement, and
  • Increased employee retention.
    — Keith Tatley

Hiring that “right person” is a challenge faced by all leaders. It’s important to be clear on job functions, responsibilities and behaviors to help grow results. It’s also equally important to spend sufficient time looking for qualified candidates that would be a good fit for your organization.

Global Resource Partners states you first must have a clear understanding of:

  • The skills and experience required for the position
  • The culture
  • Objectives
  • Conditions

You must then assess the applicant’s:

  • Talent
  • Behaviors
  • Motivation
  • CircumstancesAre there linkages? Are the applicant’s behaviors aligned with your work culture and do they support your objectives?

Your hiring options may include both external and internal candidates; both have benefits, both have disadvantages. High potential employees will already be familiar with the culture, and it saves hiring costs, but you may need someone “fresh”.

As leaders, we need to understand the skills, talent, and passion the applicant will bring to our organization. It’s also important to know it’s easier it develop skills than it is to change behaviors.  Are you hiring hard?

QWIKTIPS: click for tips on INTERVIEW PREPARATION

Great vision without great people is irrelevant.—Jim Collins

07 Sep
[email protected] Uncategorized

Are You Aligned?

Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.—Brian Tracy.

As leaders, we sometimes think we have a strong awareness of how our team thinks, that we have shared priorities, that we build the necessary relationships needed to succeed, and that we have the work culture we desire.

In working with a number of organizations, we found that teams weren’t as aligned with their leader as the leader had hoped, and some team members shared that they were never asked about their perceptions, opinions, and feelings.

Are you aligned with your team?  Have you validated that?

Below are 4 questions we recommend you ask your team:

  • WHAT IS THE NUMBER 1 PRIORITY OF OUR TEAM?
  • WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE CHANGE?
  • PICK ONE WORD THAT DESCRIBES OUR TEAM CULTURE.
  • PICK ONE WORD THAT DESCRIBES THE CULTURE OF OUR ENTIRE COMPANY.

    Note: We can also administer a more formal assessment that provides comprehensive results and action items.

You may want it to keep it confidential or you may want it to be a team event and have fun with it.  Either way, we suggest you capture and share the answers (without pointing out who said what). Look for commonalities, but don’t disregard “one off” comments.

Now it’s debrief time:

  • Were there any surprises?
  • How varied were the responses?
  • Was there a great disparity between the words that described the culture of your team versus the culture of the company?
  • And most importantly, what were the results for your teams #1 priority?
  • Let your team know that what they think and feel are important to you, and that leveraging individual and collective strengths is essential for achieving desired outcomes.

And you’ve heard this before, but Patrick Lencioni shares that teams are most successful when they focus on collective results, hold one another accountable, commit and persist, engage in healthy conflict, and trust one another.

Are you and your team in alignment?

QWIKTIPS  read more about TEAM MUST HAVES

One thing we’ve talked a lot about, even in the first leadership meeting, was, what’s the purpose of our leadership team?  The framework we came up with is the notion that our purpose is to bring clarity, alignment and intensity.– Satya Nadella

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