23 Feb
[email protected] Leadership, Success

Confidence is a Must

Confidence is the stuff that turns thoughts into actions. —Richard Petty, OSU Professor

When it comes to confidence, gender matters. Regardless of qualifications and accomplishments, studies show that men are almost always more confident than women, even when women are more talented.

Why?  Again, many studies have been conducted, but the common theme is that women are more likely to be perfectionists, and if things don’t go 100% as planned, they view it as a failure. Think about that. We think everyone plans for 100% success, but is that reality?

Success can require persistence, a behavior we frequently talk about. We define it as “The quality of continuing steadily despite problems or difficulties”. That’s reality! We need to learn from our set-backs, we need to assess what went well and what did not, we need to determine what could be done differently, and we need to pay attention to what we’re feeling and hearing.

Confidence is a “must have” for leaders! Without it we won’t be as willing to share our ideas or propose alternative solutions.And, confidence has been found to inspire and motivate others more so than intelligence and competence.

Regardless of gender, we all have “gremlins” (author Rick Carson defines them as “self- defeating behaviors and beliefs).

So what can we do? First of all, become aware. What gnaws at you? What creates a pit in your stomach? What prevents you from taking action? Peter Barron Stark shares that confidence improves when you:

Are happy: Feel positive about your ability to lead people and deal with daily challenges.

Have better relationships: Enter into positive, productive relationships.

Are motivated and ambitious: Set goals and commit to accomplishing them.

Laugh more: Find humor even in challenging situations, and put things into perspective.

Are open to risks: Forge into the unknown and learn from your mistakes.

Recognize success: Look for opportunities to genuinely recognize the success of others, and accept and be receptive to compliments.

Accept feedback: Welcome feedback from others and put their ideas into action.

Think for yourself: Live your core values . . . ensure your words and actions are aligned and consistent.

How’s your confidence level?  Do you turn your thoughts into actions?
QWIKTIPS – DOES GENDER MATTER – click to read more!

16 Feb
[email protected] Leadership

Collaboration in the Workplace

Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. Mattie Stepanek

Last week we talked about how we’re all on overload and need to ensure that our interactions and meetings are meaningful and that we create the “right” environment.

Today we’ll take it a bit deeper and focus on COLLABORATION. Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann created a Conflict Mode Instrument which includes 5 components; today we’ll only address COLLABORATION.

They define COLLABORATION as:

  • Assertive and Cooperative – Win/Win
  • Working together to find a solution that fully satisfies the concerns of both
  • Digging into an issue to identify underlying concerns and finding an alternative that meets both sets of concerns
  • The downside of collaboration is that it may be time consuming, so reserve it’s use for major issues, be willing to truly listen, and obtain alignment on what you’re trying to achieve.

Natalia Jones and Jean Scheid provide another perspective on collaboration. Excerpts include:

Advantages of Collaboration in the Workplace:

  • The Collaborative Process Combines Different Perspectives
  • Workplace Collaboration Encourages Creativity
  • Collaboration Takes Advantage of Synergies
  • Workplace Collaboration Brings Balance to Decision Making
  • Collaboration May Improve Delivery Times (as a result of working together)

Disadvantages of Collaboration in the Workplace:

  • The Incidence of Group Think (when stronger personalities take control)
  • Possible Ambiguity in Roles and Responsibility (lack of defined “who” does “what”)
  • The Cost of Collaboration May Be High (large numbers of participants can equate to greater time and cost)
  • Collaboration Often Leads to Longer Decision Times (how many decision-makers are involved)
  • Conflict Within the Group (ineffective communication can cause clashes and muddle objectives)
  • For more visit: http://www.brighthub.com/office/collaboration/articles/73856.aspx.
    We still view COLLABORATION as a win-win skill-set. What do you think?

QWIKTIPS –

BEHAVIORS OF SUCCESSFUL TEAMS – click to read more!

09 Feb
[email protected] Communication, Leadership

Interactions and Environment

Do you struggle with the interactions you have with your boss, peers, or direct reports? Do you find that some just flow and are extremely productive where as others seem stagnant and have minimal benefit/results?

Everyone is on overload so we need to ensure our interactions and meetings are meaningful. We’re all pretty good about having an agenda and talking points, but as leaders we also need to set the right environment.

E-Coach, one of our strategic partners, believes that it’s up to us as leaders to create the right environment in order to achieve desired results. They have identified the 3 most important elements as:

  • Trust– the general belief that members can rely on each other. Two kinds of trust are important: task-related trust and interpersonal trust.
  • Cohesiveness– the attachment members feel toward each other, the group, and the task. In other words, the bonds that hold the group together.
  • Supportiveness– the tendency for members to encourage each other, care about each other, and treat each other with respect.

A few other suggestions include:

  • Strive to understand other people’s point of view
  • React openly, honestly, and freely
  • Communicate clearly, concisely, and directly
  • Treat every participant as an equally valued contributor

For those with a QwikCoach license, click to read more

How would you rate your interactions and environment?

QWIKTIPS AT WORK  –  click to read more!

02 Feb
[email protected] Leadership

Worst Behaviors

Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.–Marian Anderson

Gallop reports that 70% of motivation levels are attributed directly to leadership.

Last week we shared the results of a global study for the reasons people quit their jobs and the 5 step PRIDE process to help with retention.

This week we’re sharing yet another perspective. The University of California found that motivated employees were 31% more productive than those less engaged, and were 87% less likely to quit their job. And, Gallop reports that 70% of motivation levels are attributed directly to leadership.

We frequently share effective leadership skills and behaviors, and now want to share “Worst Behaviors” as listed by Dr. Travis Bradberry.

  1. Making a lot of stupid rules
  2. Letting accomplishments go unrecognized
  3. Hiring and promoting the wrong people
  4. Treating everyone equally
  5. Tolerating poor performance
  6. Going back on their commitments
  7. Being apathetic
  8. All companies have rules and processes, and as leaders we may not have the ability/authority to change them.  What we CAN do is explain the rationale and listen to and acknowledge how people are feeling.

We regularly share the need for consistently recognizing and rewarding accomplishments – enough said!

Our mottos are “Hire Hard or Manage Hard” and “It’s essential to hire the right person for the right job”. If you don’t, everyone suffers.

Number 4 sounds fair, but is it? Should a star performer be treated the same as someone who merely “shows up”?

When leaders don’t address poor performance, the morale and attitude of the entire team is impacted.

Authenticity and trust can not be compromised – EVER.

People wanted to be treated as people, not as productivity statistics. Invest the time to get to know your team, their likes/dislikes, what they do off hours, etc. Relationships improve motivation and grow results!

What are you doing to improve motivation levels?

QWIKTIP BONUS READING – VALUING YOUR STAFF