27 Sep
[email protected] Leadership

Transformational Leaders

All good businesses are personal. The best businesses are very personal.
–Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Lately we’ve had a theme around relationships. That’s because without relationship building, we as leaders would not obtain desired results, we wouldn’t have effective and productive teams, and the morale, commitment, and dedication of the team members would be diminished.

Dr. Greg Halpern says: Transformational leadership is about implementing new ideas, continual change to maintain relevance, staying flexible and adaptable, and continually improving relationships with those around them.

He also feels that transformational leaders build relationships by applying or possessing the following behaviors and traits:

  • Charisma
  • Inspirational motivation
  • Intellectual stimulation
  • Individual consideration
  • High morals
  • Trustworthiness
  • Creates an actionable vision
  • Treats everyone as individuals
  • Coaches, mentors, and provides growth opportunities
  • Creates a culture of self-fulfillment and self-worth
  • Provides constant and candid communication

Dr. Terry Jackson adds to this list in his 7 Principles For Developing Quality Relationships where he defines what in his opinion constitutes quality relationships:

  1. Acceptance
  2. Respect
  3. Understanding
  4. Transparency
  5. Non-judgment
  6. Empowerment
  7. Trust

This is quite a list and one that even a seasoned leader will need to review in depth to assess up-skill needs.

We suggest you rate each one on a scale of 1 – 5 to help narrow down areas for development.  You can even ask your peers and direct reports to rate you and compare how aligned you are.

The results may prove interesting!

Manipulative Leaders-Create Distrust and selfishness
Transactional Leaders-Create Mediocrity and complacency
Motivational Leaders-Create Positivity and Action
Influential Leaders-Create Growth and Empowerment
Servant-Leaders-Create Authenticity and Explosive Growth
Transformational Leaders-Create Change and Leave Legacies
― Farshad Asl

 

20 Sep
[email protected] Change, Decision Making

Bad Boss?

Most people have trouble with about 50% of their bosses.
–Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger, FYI – For Your Improvement

Last week we talked about “managing up”; today we’re going to take it a step deeper.

What if you don’t have a strong relationship with your boss? You’re not alone. Per Lombardo and Eichinger, about half of us have boss difficulties.

Some of us may have:

  • communication issues
  • lack of comfort; tense up whenever the “boss” is around
  • respect issues; lack of appreciation for the skills the boss possesses
  • a lack of skills to sufficiently manage the relationship
  • defensiveness and lack of cooperation issues
  • the inability to receive feedback and suggestions for improvement

Guess what – the buck stops with us as we will likely be the one to suffer. We’ll get poor performance reviews, not get raises (or negligible ones), be passed over for the “good assignments”, and probably not be considered for promotions or career advancement opportunities.

We’re not suggesting to become brown nosers; rather identify the top 3 issues you feel impact the relationship and focus on improving them.  What can YOU do to better the situation?

Start with keeping your negative thoughts to yourself.  Don’t get caught up in the coffee room chats that all too often engage in bashing and sharing war stories.

Schedule regular meetings with your boss; don’t avoid the relationship, rather try to build a more favorable one.

If the leader truly has integrity issues and violates the policies, principles, and values of your company, investigate whether your company has an ombudsperson (The typical duties of an ombudsman are to objectively investigate complaints and do their best to obtain resolution). If one does not exist, another approach is to meet with HR or your boss’s boss.

Be realistic about your expectations. Is it only you that has an issue with the boss? Are you being antagonistic and not being a team player? Are you helping support goal achievement and in general being an asset to your organization?

Keep in mind that things may not go in your favor, and changing jobs may be an option (or a requirement!).

Having a bad boss isn’t your fault. Staying with one is.
— Nora Denzel

13 Sep
[email protected] Interpersonal Skills, Leadership

Managing “UP”

Managing “UP” requires that you manage to the expectations of your boss:
Know their priorities. Speak their language. Anticipate their needs. Be truthful and don’t BS them.
Contract properly at the end of a meeting.–Achim Nowak

How do you feel about the leadership skills you possess?  Would you rate yourself “average”, “above average”,  or maybe even “below average”?

When you rated yourself, which skills did you consider?  Did you limit it to those that impact the  interactions and relationships with your direct reports and perhaps your peers?  What we often forget to include is the critical relationship required with our boss.

In a prior tip, we shared the need to:

  1. Learn your boss’ communication style. – What level of detail do they prefer?
  2. Be proactive – share strengths and ideas and create an executable plan.
  3. Meet regularly – discuss progress against goals and areas for improvement.
  4. Ask for your boss’ opinion – Ask for their perspective on things.
  5. Go to your boss with solutions – ask for help when needed, but do your “homework”.
  6. Develop a power that makes you attractive – stay apprised of changes in your industry, understand your competitors, have a strong customer/business partner relationship. Be indispensable.
  7. Address problems – talk about your differences; remain fact based; keep your emotions in check.
  8. Play devil’s advocate – share your different perspective; say “Let me play devil’s advocate” and add new perspectives.

Nowak also suggests “appreciating UP“. Let your boss know that you appreciate him/her. Be authentic; provide genuine feedback. “Bosses rarely receive a word of praise or appreciation. From anyone. Yes, it’s lonely at the top, in more ways than one“.

In order to “Manage UP“, it’s up to us to build a strong relationship with our boss. We need to ensure our expectations are aligned, that we have a clear understanding of our organization’s vision, mission, and goals, that all of our behaviors support them, that we are committed to making a difference, and that we communicate the role we play!

Are there are any leadership relationship skills you’d like to enhance?

Managing up is about earning the trust and respect of your boss by working together with that person to create the best possible working relationship.
—Lisa Quast

06 Sep
[email protected] Leadership

Engagement and Workplace Relationships

Sustaining high degrees of employee engagement and developing future organizational leaders is at the forefront of human capital challenges.—SHRM 2017

Would you be surprised to learn that relationships with coworkers was the #1 factor for determining employee engagement levels?

What about that the single highest scoring component for a “want” in the workplace was for the “Respectful treatment of all employees at all levels”? (65%)

The other high scoring components were Compensation and Trust (both scored 61%), Job Security (58%), followed with the Opportunity to Use Skills and Abilities (56%).

SHRM’s survey also discovered that only 38% of U.S. employees were very satisfied with their jobs.  This is daunting as side effects are many.  When satisfaction levels are low, expect high attrition, reduced productivity, lower work quality, sagging morale, and minimal collaboration, inspiration, and accountability.

Other interesting findings included:

  • Only 38% of employees “very satisfied” with the level of respect at work
  • 26% were “very satisfied” with their compensation
  • 33% were “very satisfied” with the trust between employees and senior management
  • 36% were “very satisfied” with their Job Security
  • 44% were “very satisfied” their Opportunity to Use Skills and Abilities

Another study showed that employee turnover is higher than it’s been in ten years, and the cost is equated at $160 billion a year (for U.S. companies alone).  This study also reported that  high performers deliver up to 400% more work than a worker that it is considered “average”.

As leaders, we have the ability to influence, and even increase most of these numbers. It’s up to us to set the standards, to utilize leadership behaviors that we hope others will emulate, and take action against the behaviors that are inappropriate or impact satisfaction levels.

We need to encourage interactions, collaboration, and inclusiveness; we need to set the stage for sharing and building on the inspiration and ideas of others, and to work together to make them even better.  We also need to acknowledge contributions and create a culture that everyone feels they are a part of.  We need to value differences (skill-sets, styles and behaviors), and we need to leverage the talents and “magic dust” (strengths) of others.

Bottom line – don’t waste talent, and take the time to build and sustain strong relationships so engagement levels soar!

Employees want to feel good about their organization and what it offers the world. They want to be able to say, ‘I like what this company stands for.’ If employees do not believe in their company or do not believe the company can successfully uphold its brand or reputation, they are likely to look for a different job – Gallup News