28 Jul
The Importance of Developing Leadership Skills for Emerging Leaders
marketang Leadership

The Importance of Developing Leadership Skills for Emerging Leaders

I have a saying “Leadership is a process and not an event”.  Too often we think that our leadership development is over. Once we’ve completed a course or two, taken a seminar, read a book we are through. We believe that we are done and if we are promoted even better to put our learning aside.  This can be a fatal mistake for all of us. As Marshall Goldsmith so wonderfully described in his book “ What got you here, won’t get you there”. So in my opinion we are always emerging leaders.

Are there new leaders? Yes for sure. It is up to us the experienced leaders to mentor and guide them. To set a culture of learning in place.  Do you know how many times I’ve heard “we don’t need that development or coaching, it’s for others, not me”.

This is so very sad because we all need development and coaching throughout our careers. We should not stop because we took a class or walked over fire coals once.

There are many skills and abilities that make great leaders; a few of those are they must be authentic, good listeners, manage conflict, build relationships, and provide healthy feedback.

Obviously, the list could be endless, but other desired traits that direct reports want from their boss is that they can be trusted, hold confidence, motivate and inspire, have high levels of integrity, and always keep their “cool”.

Where does our leadership development start?  When we are young, we develop habits. Our leadership skills, abilities, and talents are learned from our earliest experiences.

So then when do we start our process of being an Emerging Leader? My belief is right now. Too often we are moved into a new role because we are very good at doing a job or a task. We are promoted because we were good at sales, marketing, finance, accounting, Information technology, Project Management, and the list goes on and on. Most companies have an internal process that gives some great information. Hear what I said again, some great information. That is part of the problem because as people who are so very busy, we think once we’ve read the information it’s learned, and a box is checked off that we are now practicing those skills.

We as a society must change our beliefs and habits around our development as Emerging Leaders. We all must recognize that yes there are newly promoted and first-time leaders, however, we are all emerging all the time.

There are a base set of skills abilities and talents we all need to have in order to operate effectively. These skills are usually not taught to us in school. 

12 areas of development that I believe are most important

Self-Awareness– We must look inside at how we “show up” to others. This takes vulnerability. T takes receiving feedback and using assessments like Myers-Briggs, DiSC, Enneagram, Hogan, Strength Finders, TKI, Team Dimensions, EQ (Emotional Intelligence)…

Magic Dust– What are my skills, abilities and talents that make us special

Vision, Mission, Goals, Measures and Behaviors– What is it we are trying to achieve and why. Does it align to our values and actions.

Communication– Do we communicate with all others in a healthy, honoring, respectful manner to everyone no matter who they are, what they look like. Do we honor their Magic Dust and respect them for it?

Clairty– We need a process to get us aligned so that we carry out our vision, mission and goals and execute best practices and processes in our approach.

Accountability– We need to hold ourselves and others accountable to what we agreed. First it is ourselves and then it is others. 

Conflict– There will be Conflict. Do we know and understand how we show up so we can handle conflict in a healthy, honoring and respectful manner.

Influence– We all must understand how we are coming across. Are we being too passive? Are we being too aggressive?

Relationships– We all must recognize the importance of internal and external relationships and how they impact our ability to achieve our short and long term goals. It’s the only thing that will be remembered years down the line.

Feedback– This is crucial. Can we be vulnerable enough to receive it? Can anyone come to us and we will listening without judgement to their issue? It doesn’t mean anything needs to be done that is always up to you! Inspiration- How do we inspire others to understand they are Emerging Leaders? How do we help and coach others to be successful. We are all in this together and we all need each others help.

Continueal Leadership Learning– We as Emerging Leaders need to understand and recognize that Leadership Development Never ENDS.

The areas below are from a recent article we posted on Servant Leadership. I believe that when we all approach leadership with learning and applying the 12 areas above we will all be better Servant Leaders. Why because as Emerging Leaders everything begins with us.

1. Servant Leaders display selflessness

  • Leadership is about meeting the needs of people
  • They go against the age-old protocol of putting profits ahead of people
  • They put their followers’ interests ahead of their own
  • This leads to an unprecedented competitive advantage
  • They give their time, energy, wisdom, and knowledge to others
  • They help others grow (which makes the leader better)

2. They create opportunities for people to feel a sense of purpose

  • They help others find purpose in their work
  • Purpose improves levels of happiness and boosts productivity
  • They encourage employees to connect with those they are serving
  • Having employees meet the people they are helping is the greatest motivator
  • There is a competitive edge when leaders give their people access to customers

3. They serve their employees

  • Leadership is about service and making those around you better
  • They regularly assess what they are doing to improve the life of an employee
  • When will you start as an awesome Emerging Leader and help others join your process.

If you want to improve your Leadership Skills, please send us a message and let’s talk.

23 Jul
Work and Life Balance
marketang Decision Making

Work and Life Balance

Whether we want it to happen or not, we will be faced with many types of changes.
 

How is flexibility in your workplace? Are you able to satisfy the needs of your employees while meeting your organization’s (and your) needs?

This can be a delicate balance. Formal work hours may no longer be the norm, but the expectation for promptly responding to calls or messages, regardless of the hour, has increased.

As leaders we need to set clear expectations and be reasonable about levels of responsiveness. A 2020 study reported that:

21% of respondees reported that their boss expected them to respond to calls and texts after “normal” business hours

55% received work inquiries during evening hours

30% received work inquiries over the week-end and same day responses were expected

This may be acceptable for some, but not all. If afternoons are not being worked, have they been replaced with evening hours? Has this been communicated and have scheduling needs, work coverage, and availability been mutually established?

The needs and availability may vary significantly between team members and documenting them is a good idea. If there’s a need for off hour support, who can be available to reply to inquiries and provide support? Will they be compensated for this? Consider including boundaries. Phones will be off during what window? What days can one expect same day email responses?

Forty-hour work weeks may not necessarily be shortened with work flexibility, but it is good to be reminded that productivity, per Stanford researchers “falls dramatically” after a 50+ hour work week. The tools and maybe even the desire to work from home at odd hours may be considered a plus, but we must build in balance and allow “re-fresh” time.

Energage, a company that promotes workplace excellence reports that 85 percent of employees from 1100 companies they surveyed shared “I have the flexibility I need to balance my work and personal life.”

How do you think your team or company would score if surveyed?

Sincerely,
Mike and Jan

Invest in your work-life balance.
Time with friends and family is as important as time at work.
Getting that out of balance is a path toward unhappiness.
–Stephen Gillett, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chronicle Security

21 Jul
How PeopleTek’s Leadership Journey™ will wow you?
marketang Decision Making

How PeopleTek’s Leadership Journey™ will wow you?

Feedback from Leadership Journey alumni sum up the wow factor nicely:

Journey Alumnus T.S. from Accelerated Ecom shared:  

The Journey provided the overall ability to step back, assess current roles, and provided amazing diagnostics via the tools/instruments regarding leadership styles for myself and others.

Journey Alumnus Wayne Huizenga, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Rybovich shared:

The change from the Leadership Journey has been monumental.  There is joy, enthusiasm, laughing, camaraderie, and teamwork.  It has helped us create a culture where customers want to come back.

Journey Alumnus Dr. Abe Fischler, President Emeritus, Nova Southeastern University shared:

When you take the Journey, you obtain feedback regarding your strengths and the differences in the scales which describe your behaviors. You then realize what fits and what doesn’t and why you have to approach each person differently once you recognize their differences.

These Journey Alumni provided their thoughts about the Leadership Journey™, and here are more reasons to join the elite team of Leadership Journey alumni:

In a nutshell, PeopleTek’s 12 session Leadership Journey™ program is a powerful leadership development program that allows you to assess your strengths and gaps, and enables you to better understand (and relate to) others.

You’ll validate what makes you most effective and obtain the tools to address skills gaps.

The Leadership Journey is about AWARENESS (of self and others) and is geared towards obtaining a firm understanding of optimal behaviors and styles and how others wish to be interacted with.

You’ll obtain knowledge about unique styles, traits and behaviors, and how to grow and improve relationships.

You will also learn that no style is right or wrong, good or bad. Rather, it’s knowing when each style will serve you best at any given time.

As you increase your awareness levels you’ll find that conflict will become healthy, communication will have fewer misunderstandings, and differences will spark creativity and increase levels of motivation and inspiration.

Why should you attend the Leadership Journey?

You will obtain the coaching, development, and tools you will need to be successful throughout your entire career, and the learnings also strengthen your personal life! 

Soft skills matter. Great leaders get more from their people when they understand and share their beliefs, values, actions, feelings, and desires.  It’s also essential to understand the skills and abilities each team member possesses, and ideally use their preferred (and generally strong) skills for assignments whenever possible.

As a Leadership Journey participant you will:

  • Obtain an in depth analysis of how you work with others allowing for better self and team engagement, positively influence others, and build and enhance relationships.
  • Improve your ability to communicate with different styles, traits, skills, and behaviors positioning you to drive results
  • Learn new techniques to develop trust and partnerships
  • Having meaningful and documented vision, mission, goals and measures that spark strategic thinking and set and track tasks and priorities
  • Learn why all behaviors must align with and support your vision, mission, goals and measures and the need to link them with rewards and recognition
  • Improve your ability to handle conflict using new skills and situational approaches for maximum results
  • Create and implement a personalized development plan based on all the instruments, your 360 degree feedback, and an individual executive coaching session with their coach/facilitator.
  • Understand the importance of communicating with confidence and focused listening
  • Obtain listening style results in the areas of staying focused, capturing the message, and helping the speaker
  • Understand the richness of various channels of communication and appropriate strategies for most effective communication

Some balk at the title of “leader”. Would you agree that we’re ALL leaders? The answer is yes. Everyone is a leader since we all impact and influence others in one way or another. You don’t need direct reports to be a leader.

As leaders, we need to continually reflect on our levels of influence, hone our strengths, and minimize our weaknesses.  We not only need to understand and leverage our own styles and preferences for success, we must also recognize and acknowledge the beliefs, values, actions, feelings, and desires of those around us. Knowing what others bring to the table will increase levels of success, strengthen relationships, and grow results.

Career growth starts with self-reflection, company knowledge, and understanding how to coach an organization, team, and individuals and provide solutions that enable success.

How you “show up” is very critical. If you show up as a nay-sayer, obtaining your goals will get bogged down and may even come to a screeching halt.   You certainly don’t want to be viewed by your customer, colleagues or direct reports as a roadblock or order taker, but rather looked upon as being innovative and transformational.

Remember, you are a critical resource for managing, leading, or supporting key processes. This includes providing change strategies that will facilitate achieving the company’s vision. It requires that you keep abreast of the changing times, and that you know how to influence change opportunities and be innovative.

Everyone needs to be leading in one direction with laser focus, with the ability to guide oneself and others from where they are today to where they desire to be.

What processes in your business will help you drive success? You must understand the needs of the business you support and provide feedback for growth and opportunities. You must know how to be influential and manage conflict and resistance.

Being a leader does not mean you have direct reports and can be a position without authority. It requires that you stay on top of your game, provide feedback, build and sustain relationships, and possess the ability to share growth opportunities, and encourage change. Clients (whether internal or external) want leaders of all levels, with and without direct reports, to be innovative and provide suggestions and solutions in a timely, proactive manner.

You are not only a leader or business partner, but consider yourself a critical resource that positions your company to reach its desired vision, goals and success.

Start the learning process with a self and organizational assessment. Individuals and teams can also complete the assessment and obtain valuable information. 

Rank the following, on a scale of 1 – 5, 5 being a strong yes.

  • Understand the business vision, goals, objectives and measures?
  • Make and keeping commitments?
  • Allow yourself to be vulnerable?
  • Step out of and expand your comfort zone?
  • Are accepting and lead through change?
  • Make thoughtful decisions?
  • Receive, process, and provide meaningful feedback?
  • Understand the concept that over-using a strength may result in a weakness?
  • Are authentic?
  • Ensure your behaviors align with your beliefs?
  • Maintain self-control even when experiencing resistance?
  • Want to continually grow and improve?
  • Thinking out of the box?
  • Take the time to assess what could be done differently to inspire success?
  • Truly listen; have the ability to process what’s heard and felt?
  • Have the courage to address what must be addressed, even when unpopular?

Leading requires having followers. In order to have followers, a common vision, mission, and clearly defined and shared goals must be in existence in order for there to be an aspired destination.

Open lines of communication are critical, as are acknowledging contributions and openly discussing areas for improvement. Finger pointing is unacceptable! This does not mean there won’t be conflict, differing opinions, or the need to hold one-self and others accountable. Feedback is an absolute “must” and needs to be provided in an honoring, respectful, and well-intended way.

To skillfully lead, there must be the capacity to build trust and maximize collective strengths; successes and failures are discussed, conflict is encouraged (and managed so it remains healthy), and recognition is consistent and aligns with goal attainment.

Don’t doubt your ability to lead. You always have the ability to influence others through your actions, behaviors, and personality. Sometimes, even unknowingly we lead others.

Conclusion

Why wait? Don’t let others pass you by when you have the ability to optimize your leadership skills and abilities and become a wow factor in your organization!

09 Jul
Change - Embraced or Resisted?
marketang Decision Making

Change – Embraced or Resisted?

Whether we want it to happen or not, we will be faced with many types of changes.
 
Change is inevitable.  As a leader it’s up to us to minimize rates of failure and help others understand and accept why the change is happening.

Studies show that 50 – 75% of change results in failure, either initially (it is not successfully launched), or that it does not sustain itself due to lack of buy-in across the organization.

Dr. Britt Andreatti writes about how our brains must be harnessed to help us drive and thrive through change, and has identified 5 types of change in the workplace.

5 Types Of Change – excerpts from WIRED TO RESIST

1.    Strategic: How the organization will fulfill its mission

2.    Structural: The organization’s internal set-up

3.    Process: How the organization maximizes productivity and workflow

4.    Talent: Maximizing employee skill and performance

5.    Cultural: Shifting attitudes, values, and behaviors

It’s probably no surprise that the ability to change the mind-set of our people is the most difficult. If we don’t get them onboard, and if they do not support the new vision and core values (or perhaps don’t understand or know HOW to support it), success is unlikely.

Dr. Andreatta feels there are 4 key factors that influence success rates. They are:
Disruption, Acclimation, Choice, Desire

She also shares that as leaders we need to assess the amount of disruption and the time required for acclimation and categorizes them as:
ORANGE: A lot of effort but over quickly
GREEN:    Little effort and over quickly
YELLOW: Little effort over a long period
RED:        A lot of effort over a long period

Take time to review the level of disruption for the changes you must lead through as this will help with realistic time expectations for acceptance. Equally important is assessing if the change was a choice or a mandate, and whether it was viewed as desirable.

Dr. Andreatta states that humans are “biologically wired to resist change“, and as leaders we MUST acknowledge and manage the emotions of the change curve (shock, denial, anger and fear) before we can expect acceptance and commitment.

What are your tips for having changes in your organization embraced versus resisted?

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.
– Chinese Proverb

30 Jun
marketang Decision Making

What’s Your Favorite Leadership Role?

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
–John C Maxwell
 
What do you like most about being a leader? We captured a variety of reasons our clients have shared with us and what they liked most was: (in no particular order)

  • One on One Coaching
  • Sharing knowledge, skills, and experiences
  • Driving Results
  • Identifying and executing goal attainment
  • Creating a true team with members that support one another
  • Helping determine a career path
  • Providing healthy feedback
  • Inspiring others to do more
  • Being viewed as authentic and trustworthy
  • Decision Making / Strategic Thinking

SmartPulse conducts frequent, non-scientific polls of more than 200,000 subscribers and one survey that caught our eye was one about what leaders view as their favorite role. They asked:

What’s the best part of being in a leadership role?
  1. Helping my team members develop, grow and succeed:                        52%
  2. Having control over the way things run:                                               4%
  3. Being able to set direction, take risks and make things happen:             34%
  4. Being visible and valued in the organization:                                         6%
  5. Overcoming the challenges leaders face every day:                               3%
  6. Something else:                                                                                 2%

When you looked through the list, what popped out at you? Is your favorite leadership role part of the list?  If no, please share it!

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.
–Bill Bradley

21 Jun
Boss Issues?
marketang Decision Making

Boss Issues?

In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people…
they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.
–Ken Blanchard
How’s your relationship with your boss?  Do you find that you are most often in sync with them or that your relationship is “hit or miss”? What’s your comfort level sharing stories about your personal life or discussing challenges you are facing at work?

Styles, personalities, preferences, and culture are a few key factors that impact relationships, and understanding them is essential, especially with your boss (and bosses’ boss).

Consider:
  • Do you effectively and consistently communicate with one another?
  • Are weekly or monthly one on one sessions held and are they comfortable?
  • Do you feel valued?
  • Are you satisfied with your relationship?
  • Does anything feel wrong?

Years ago we worked with a coach that taught us to “check it out”.  If a situation or conversation did not feel right, validate the intent. Note: This isn’t about having an abusive or ineffective leader, rather it’s that your relationship has opportunities to improve and strengthen.

Other things to consider:
  • Do you know what your boss expects of you?
  • Are your work priorities jointly determined?
  • Do priorities frequently change and cause confusion and frustration?
  • Does lack of feedback or recognition impact your ability to deliver?
  • Can you share differing opinions with your boss without fear of repercussions?
  • When providing your boss with feedback, would you prefer it be done anonymously or is “in person” okay?
  • Do you find you over-commit in hopes of keeping your boss happy?

Don’t ignore any conflicts you may experience with your boss.
  • What’s the cause of the conflict and what do you feel you can change?
  • Ask what they would like to see change
  • Share your feelings
  • Commit to building a stronger relationship
  • If possible, adapt your behaviors to align with their preferences

The time you invest will serve you well!

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

A good boss makes his men realize they have more ability than they think they have so that they consistently do better work than they thought they could.
Charles Erwin Wilson

21 Jun
What Makes An Exceptional Employee
marketang Decision Making

What Makes An Exceptional Employee?

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
– Aristotle
Do you have exceptional employees? If yes, what skills or behaviors do they possess (and apply) to make you feel they are exceptional?

Travis Bradberry shares that “personality” has been rated as a key factor but clarifies that what truly makes an exceptional leader is not their personality, but rather their EQ (Emotional Intelligence).

He also shares that “unlike your personality, which is set in stone, you can change and improve your EQ” and that “exceptional employees rely on simple, everyday EQ skills that anyone can incorporate into their repertoire”.

Below are excerpts of the skills Bradberry feels set exceptional employees apart from the rest:

1.They neutralize toxic people. Exceptional employees control their interactions (and emotions) with toxic people. They also consider the difficult person’s standpoint and are able to find solutions and common ground.

2.They’re marketable. This may mean “likable”, having integrity and leadership skills (even if they’re not in an official leadership position), and that they can be trusted to represent the brand well.

3.They’re accountable.  Exceptional employees own their work, their decisions, and all of their results—good or bad.

4.They recognize when things are broken and fix them. Exceptional employees don’t walk past problems; they see problems as issues to be fixed.

5.They’re never satisfied. Exceptional employees have unparalleled convictions that things can always be better; exceptional employees are driven to improve.

6.They’re in control of their egos. They’re willing to admit when they’re wrong and willing to do things someone else’s way.

7.They’re judiciously courageous. Exceptional employees are willing to speak up when others are not; they think before they speak and wisely choose the best time and place to do so.

8.They focus. They can differentiate between real problems and background noise; therefore, they stay focused on what matters.

9.They can tolerate conflict. While exceptional employees don’t seek conflict, they don’t run away from it either.

10.They’re willing to delay gratification. Instead of expecting recognition or compensation to come first, they forge ahead in their work.

These align closely with the leadership values we promote: awareness (of self and others), accountability, courage, managing conflict, staying focused, self-control, continual learners, and driving results.

What other skills do you feel exceptional employees exhibit?  

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Leaders don’t need to go searching for these skills either (though it doesn’t hurt when you find them);  their duty is to help everyone on their team harness these skills to become exceptional.
—Travis Bradberry

07 Jun
Key Roles Of Any Leader
marketang Decision Making

Key Roles Of Any Leader

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are
to where they have not been.
–Henry Kissinger
We continue to believe that regardless of position or title we are all leaders. Do you think that level or title matter, or that there is a need to have direct reports?

Retired CEO Mark Taylor provides what he views as the seven roles of a CEO, but we contend that they apply to leaders of all levels. Excerpts of his 7 roles are:

1. Architect
Determine the direction, vision, and purpose and create the best organizational structure and strategy to achieve it.

2.  Preacher
Inspire and motivate with a clear mission, purpose and vision. These are the WHY behind the business.

3. Engineer
Systems, processes, rules, and culture must be measured with the skills of an engineer. This sets the HOW.

4. Coach
This is the skill for determining WHO will be on your team and how to keep them there; for ensuring the right people are on the bus, in the right seat and heading in the right direction.

5. Investor
There is a need to know WHERE their capital will come from and understand the financial concepts such as return on investments.

6. Ambassador
Interactions with stakeholders (investors, suppliers, clients, and employees) are required to support and achieve the vision and mission of the company.

7. Student
There is a need to be a role model for learning, growth, and change. Everyone is watching what you do. Learning=growth and growth=life. The organization will grow at the pace of the leader.

How do you feel about these 7 roles? Are there any that you think do not apply to you?

Let us know!

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Getting in touch with your true self must be your first priority.
–Tom Hopkins

26 May
3 Common Practices of Great Leaders
marketang Decision Making

3 Common Practices of Great Leaders

In all my research to find the most remarkable leadership style that impacts both people and profit, I have concluded that nothing can match “servant leadership.”
–Marcel Schwantes
There are many skills and abilities that make great leaders; last week we shared some common “wants” of a leader and a few of those were that leaders must be authentic, good listeners, manage conflict, build relationships, and provide healthy feedback.

Obviously the list could be endless, but other desired traits that direct reports want from their boss is that they can be trusted, hold confidences, motivate and inspire, have high levels of integrity, and always keep their “cool”.   

Marcel Schwantes, speaker and leadership coach, shares more. He believes that it’s really about being a servant leader, where a leader’s character and integrity are clearly linked with their actions and behaviors.

We’ve previously written about servant leadership, and the underlying theme is to want to help others.

Excerpts of Coach Schwantes’ perspective of the three most prevalent leadership behaviors of a servant leader are: 

1. They display selflessness
  • leadership is about meeting the needs of people
  • they go against the age-old protocol of putting profits ahead of people
  • they put their followers’ interests ahead of their own
  • this leads to an unprecedented competitive advantage
  • they give their time, energy, wisdom, and knowledge to others
  • they help others grow (which makes the leader better)

2. They create opportunities for people to feel a sense of purpose
  • they help others find purpose in their work
  • purpose improves levels of happiness and boosts productivity
  • they encourage employees to connect with those they are serving
  • having employees meet the people they are helping is the greatest motivator
  • there is a competitive edge when leaders give their people access to customers

3. They serve their employees
  • leadership is about service and making those around you better
  • they regularly assess what they are doing to improve the life of an employee

Do you consider yourself to be a servant leader? Are your actions and behaviors clearly linked with helping others grow?

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Servant leadership puts the needs, growth, and wellbeing of followers first and is in direct contrast to styles like autocratic leadership, transactional leadership, and bureaucratic leadership. -–Robert K. Greenleaf

19 May
What Impacts The Ability To Trust?
marketang Decision Making

What Impacts The Ability To Trust?

When distrust is the default – we lack the ability to debate or collaborate.
Edelman Data & Intelligence (DxI)
As a leader (and as a person), what impacts your ability to trust someone? Do you start with an even playing field where you are open and accepting, or are you more inclined to reluctantly accept what is being shared and need to learn more?

Edelman Data & Intelligence (DxI) has been conducting annual trust surveys for over 20 years.  For the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, data was gathered from survey results obtained in November of 2021, with input from over 36,000 respondents from 28 countries.   

The findings:
  • nearly 60% of the respondents have the default tendency to distrust and require more evidence
  • Distrust is now society’s default emotion
  • 64% say it’s to a point where people are incapable of having constructive and civil debates
  • Gone is the ability to collaborate on differences
  • 60% will choose a place to work based on their beliefs and values

Having over half of your colleagues/team members lacking the ability to trust certainly impacts your work culture as trust is the essential ingredient for building strong teams, supporting common goals, and producing results.

As a leader you have the ability to impact trust levels. Some ideas include:

  • Be authentic and transparent
  • Share your expectations (and live them)
  • Mean what you say
  • Keep confidences
  • Follow through on your commitments
  • No hidden agendas are allowed
  • Don’t disregard morale issues
  • Build relationships and take the time to “know” your colleagues/direct reports
  • Listen
  • Don’t ignore unhealthy conflict
  • Provide healthy, constructive feedback (with specifics)
  • Solicit feedback
  • Utilize Emotional Intelligence

Invest in building trust. When trust levels are lacking, stress, turnover, morale, gossip, productivity, and satisfaction ratings are impacted. When trust levels are high, the ability to collaborate, achieve results, and be open and vulnerable are also high.

Could you do more to improve the ability to trust?

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
— Ernest Hemingway

19 May
Professional Networking
marketang Decision Making

Professional Networking

Building and maintaining professional networks enhances inspiration and career growth.

Are you part of a professional network? If yes, you likely have a wide circle of business and social contacts that share with you new ideas and growth opportunities, and are what we call your “board of directors”.

QwikCoach from E-Coach Associates shares that “network connections provide critical information, insights, and support that help you or those in your network to learn, grow, and achieve new levels of success and accomplishment”.

To get started QwikCoach suggests to “Take Stock” of your current situation by:
  • Listing all of the people in your current network
  • Classify the people on your list (ex. innovators, thought leaders, subject matter experts, coaches or mentors, etc)
  • Determine if there are any areas you need to add or strengthen

Next, Develop A Plan
  • What is your overall approach for building and sustaining your network?
  • Ideally you’ll be the recipient of great advice, but also be a “provider” for sharing knowledge and advice
  • What do you need to be both a recipient and provider? Utilize social media, attend or speak at conferences, attend industry events, become a mentor or acquire one, etc

Then, Execute Your Plan
  • What’s working well?
  • Have you successfully connected with those you want in your network?
  • What more can be done to achieve the results you’re working towards?
  • Keep track of progress and obstacles

Lastly, Maintain, Refine, and Build Your Network
Ask yourself:
  • Is your network helping you become and stay energized?
  • Are you learning more about yourself and the industry you work in?
  • How are you helping others achieve their goal?
  • Do you need to change your approach, goals, or develop a different mindset?

It’s also beneficial to maintain relationships with past co-workers/customers/bosses, and utilize your “board of directors” so you are positioned to obtain impactful feedback along with growth and career opportunities.

Happy networking!

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Effective networking isn’t a result of luck – it requires hard work and persistence.
–Lewis Howes
19 May
Development and Career Planning
marketang Decision Making

Development and Career Planning

The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
–Harvey S. Firestone

Do you consistently meet with each of your team members and discuss how they view their career, possible growth opportunities, and development needs?

As influential leaders we need to understand where each team member “is” and where they want “to be”.

Some may be comfortable with their current role, with few (or no) aspirations for a promotion or plans to grow their career. If this is the case, invest the time to truly understand why.

Others may be anxious about how quickly they can get promoted. These too require discussions about realistic readiness levels and development needs.

Having a development plan is a great tool for facilitating ongoing discussions and for addressing timelines, progress, and obstacles.

There are many forms and formats for development planning. If you have a QwikCoach license you can find a template in Tools Direct; another option is to use our COMPASS worksheet for ideas for skills and abilities which may need to be developed, and you can also search the web to find dozens of forms to choose from.

Share with team members that they may think they know their greatest development needs but that some may be blind to them. Suggest they review content that was provided from feedback or past performance evaluations and have them document those they choose to action.

You can also help with assigning priorities – which items will most help them achieve their career aspirations? Jointly set timeframes for addressing each development area; some may be short-term but others may require being developed over time, have dependencies, or require a financial investment.

Asking other leaders, peers, business partners (and direct reports if applicable) for their input can also be valuable. Two simple questions can get a response:  1) What am I doing well?  2) What would you like to see me improve upon?

The development plan is great for one-on-one discussions; review the plans monthly and adjust priorities and timelines as needed.

Wishes for success!

Sincerely,

Mike and Jan

Continuous personal and professional development is your key to the future.
–Brian Tracy
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