29 Apr
[email protected] Leadership

Who, Me?

Accept responsibility for your actions. Be accountable for your results.
Take ownership of your mistakes.– Anonymous

Accountability. Chances are you know someone that struggles with this, and perhaps maybe even you.

To be a trusted leader, colleague, and friend, we need to be authentic and take ownership of our actions and behaviors.
E-Coach Associates is one of our Strategic Partners and their workplace performance tool QwikCoach shares the following about accountability:

  • Focus on results and “own” them. Successes are to be celebrated!
  • Own failures too. Learn from them; what could be done so they are not repeated?

DO

  • Take ownership.
  • Take responsibility.
  • Buy in completely.
  • Know/support the organization’s vision.
  • Focus on excellence.
  • Be persistent.
  • Overcome barriers.Stay the course.

DON’T

  • Let yourself off the hook.
  • Own successes but not failures.
  • Look to blame others.
  • Make excuses.
  • Over explain failure.
  • Take more credit than deserved.

And we’d like to add:
DO be realistic about the situation and impacts and take action before the issue escalates
DON’T point fingers
DON’T get caught up in the “Who, Me”? mentality.
DO give thought to what Moliere (French playwright, actor, poet, writer) says:

It is not only what we do,
but also what we do not do,
for which we are accountable

Accountability breeds response-ability.
–Stephen Covey

 

22 Apr
[email protected] Leadership

How Do You Define Leadership?

Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. Leadership stems from social influence, not authority or power. Leadership requires others, and that implies they don’t need to be “direct reports”.
— Kevin Kruse

We’ve learned that the term leadership means different things to different people. We promote the idea that “everyone is a leader” regardless of title since we all have the ability to influence others. (Admittedly, this opinion is sometimes met with controversy!).

We also say leaders are continual learners and that they “take others where they have not been before and would not go by themselves”.

Some of PeopleTek’s Certified Professional Leaders have shared their definition of what a good leader is:

Fabio Abreu:
A good leader is one capable of supporting the vision and making others believe and work together on it. It is the one who challenges their team constantly, making them grow and rise as leaders as well.

Karthikesan Adhinarayanan:
A good leader backs his/her team during the most difficult of situations, takes more than his share of blame, and takes less share of credit from successes.

Chinwe Anyika, PhD:
A good leader is someone who is inclusive, does not compromise quality in talent or outcome, humble, inspires, serves and coaches everyone to be the best of themselves.

Thomson Attasseril:
Leaders enable people to truly develop to their full potential, which they would not have done on their own, and have a positive impact on their lives.

Rosaura Du Toit:
A good leader leads by example, feedback is perceived as a gift, he is present, genuinely listens and provides constructive feedback looking for a win-win solution/goal for both individuals and teams.

Franco Gentile:
Leadership is the ability to influence a group to achieve specific goals. It’s taking people where they’ve never gone before and wouldn’t go by themselves. **BUT also possessing the self awareness to recognize when they, too, need guidance to go beyond their own constraints.**

Jen Hartman:
A good leader is someone who demonstrates passion, integrity, conviction and compassion in their everyday life. Good leaders take self-care seriously and encourage development of their people. They coach and mentor others, and listen more than they speak. They are impactful by how they empower and support the success of others. I aspire to be a good leader in words and actions.

Delora Kirby:
A good leader really listens to their team but makes the tough decisions to do what’s right for overall health of the team and company. They openly support their team members and privately coaches them on areas of opportunity. They protect the team from the day-to-day stressors and keeps the team focused and motivated so they would have a high EQ.

Note: More may be viewed by clicking here.

Are there any definitions you especially align with? Any you disagree with? What about one you would like to add? Let us know!

Leadership is both a research area, and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual, group or organization to “lead”, influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. Wikipedia

15 Apr
[email protected] Leadership

Huddle Up!

Huddles are short, sharp, focused, meetings. They generally involve the leadership team with the intent to improve communication and obtain support as needed.

Huddles aren’t just for sports teams. In a recent conference call, one of our clients mentioned that they hold daily “huddle” meetings with their leadership team to improve communication and keep one another informed.

This made us think back to a former leader we worked with years ago. She held huddle meetings with her department heads on Mondays and Thursdays to share planned changes/events and associated successes and failures, and to highlight any barriers or constraints that required assistance.

Huddles do not replace team meetings –   but rather are another vehicle to keep other leaders informed and to build relationships. These meetings are short; 15 – 20 minutes, with the intent that each leader provide “headline news” about their organization. If a colleague requires additional details about a topic, side meetings are to be scheduled only for those impacted. If a leader has nothing to share, they simply “pass”.

Getting started:

  • Set the frequency, rules and intent for the huddle and who should attend
  • Think of speaking in terms of “bullet points”
  • No one should speak longer than 1 minute (this is a variable you can change)
  • Encourage others to meet outside of the huddle if a deeper dive is needed – the facilitator should have no problem saying “please take it offline
  • If meeting in person, one recommendation is to stand, which helps keep the meeting short

Huddles are a great way to keep one another “in the know” and improve awareness of what is happening outside of one’s own team/organization.

It’s also an opportunity to support one another when needed resources or expertise can be shared to benefit other teams or organizations.

Do you hold huddle meetings? If held, could they add value for your organization?

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together,
the club won’t be worth a dime.
–Babe Ruth

08 Apr
[email protected] Decision Making

I’m Too Busy

Nobody is too busy; it’s just a matter of priorities.
— Alen Huskanović

Do you catch yourself saying (or thinking) “I’m too busy”? If yes, assess whether you’re truly BUSY versus being PRODUCTIVE. There is a difference!

Thomas Edison said:  Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.

It’s up to us to manage our time.  In general we’re pretty good at making time for what’s important to us but we don’t always excel at NOT spending time on unimportant things.

How good a job do you do making time for what’s important to you? Do you focus on supporting your vision, mission and goals? For making time for family, friends, and hobbies? Or, do you easily/consistently get side-tracked by day to day activities that are not important?

Things to consider:

  1. Productive people have a mission and ensure their actions and behaviors support it
  2. Productive people are clear on what needs to be accomplished
  3. Productive people strive to obtain results and avoid “busy work” that wastes time
  4. Productive people understand that multi-tasking often impacts obtaining desired results
  5. Productive people are truly effective at maintaining their focus

The next time you catch yourself saying or thinking “I’m too busy” stop what you’re doing and re-think what’s important and what makes you productive. Then, evaluate:

  • Which items have time constraints?
  • What will the impact be if the timeline isn’t met?
  • Which have dependencies you have no control over?
  • Which MUST be done before the work-day ends?
  • Which can be delegated to others or additional resources utilized to lessen the load?

Being aware of what’s important and our priorities will help us better manage our day, make better decisions, and increase productivity levels.

What can you do to change your mindset from being “busy” to being “productive”?

Nobody is ever too busy. If they care, they will make time.
—unknown

01 Apr
image of the word Feedback; Everything DISC 363 gives feedback for leaders
[email protected] Leadership

Is It Time For 360’ Feedback?

It takes humility to seek feedback. It takes wisdom to understand it,
analyze it and appropriately act on it.
–Stephen Covey

Most of us experienced an abundance of change in 2020 in both our personal lives and in our work environment. During this time how readily did we adapt and help others adapt? Do we have a strong sense of any changes in our leadership style and behaviors? What about how communication and relationships were impacted?

We may not be aware of any changes in ourselves, but this could be a great time to solicit formal 360 feedback from others and obtain their thoughts.

Wiley’s Everything DiSC 363® feedback tool is one of our assessments of choice. It focuses on 8 Competencies:

1. Pioneering – Finding Opportunities, Stretching The Boundaries, Promoting Bold Action

2. Energizing – Showing Enthusiasm, Building Professional Networks, Rallying People To Achieve Goals

3. Affirming – Being Approachable, Acknowledging Contributions, Creating A Positive Environment

4. Inclusive – Staying Open To Input, Showing Diplomacy, Facilitating Dialogue

5. Humble – Maintaining Composure, Showing Modesty, Being Fair Minded

6. Deliberate – Communicating With Clarity, Promoting Disciplined Analysis, Providing A Sense Of Stability

7. Resolute – Setting High Expectations, Speaking Up About Problems, Improving Methods

8. Commanding – Showing Confidence, Taking Charge, Focusing On Results

Obtaining anonymous and confidential feedback from your boss, direct reports, colleagues/peers, vendors, and strategic partners will provide you with invaluable information. And, the process includes a self-evaluation so you are provided with a comparison of your perceptions from those of others, with the results debriefed by an executive coach.

How could you benefit from hearing what others have to say?

Positive feedback makes the strong grow stronger and the weak grow weaker.
—Carl Shapiro