While at a charity dinner last week, I heard several executives discussing how one of the greatest opportunities they face today is managing getting things done. As work piles up, expectations grow despite the decline in available resources. It’s a tough situation with no clear solution. One executive illustrated the dilemma well, telling how when he went to his boss to get help, his boss simply replied, “Get it done.”
Hmmm…. Is this kind of response helpful? Not really. Although we accept the reality of budget cuts, we don’t adjust our expectations accordingly. Instead, demands continue to soar and expectations to meet and exceed organizational goals continue to exist. Bottom line, what do you do in such a situation?
The book “Execution: The Art of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan helps to provide some insight. Although not a new book, the text is still highly relevant and something that should be required reading for every leader who wants to get things done.
The authors explain how to “get it done” by describing execution as a “systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability. It includes making assumptions about the business environment, assessing the organization’s capabilities, linking strategy to operations and the people who are going to implement the strategy, synchronizing those people and their various disciplines, and linking rewards to outcomes.”
I define execution as “getting things done, systematically and with swift action with people.” The key words here are swift and with people. Getting things done is not simply about speed; it’s first and foremost about leveraging your people and including them in the process thoughtfully. After all, they are the ones who will need to execute your plan. Ultimately, execution is about a new way of thinking and acting, which can be accomplished by the following:
1. Connect what is most meaningful to organizational priorities – not everything is important. You must figure out what is and what isn’t. Avoid the tendency to make every new thing the emergency of the day and leave the really important things to the last minute. Plan it, prioritize it and then act on it.
2. Toss out the lingo – jargon gets in the way of getting things done. Every organization has its own unique style of language, and not everyone speaks this unique slang. For example, I had a client who didn’t understand what the words “big picture” meant because everyone around him used the phrase differently. You’ll save time by making sure you define everything clearly and universally from the start.
3. Right people in the right jobs rely on your right words and right actions – it’s not enough to have the right people doing the right jobs. It is your responsibility to align what you say with what you do. It’s challenging to believe someone who does not align their words with their actions.
4. Responsibility first, blame last – take responsibility for everything -- period. Doing so will make you a better leader and, more importantly, a better human being.
5. Advocate, pursue and mobilize change – change can be a dreaded term because people don’t like when the boat is rocked. Go ahead and shake it! The more dynamic the workspace, the more the organization can grow. Stagnancy only hinders the growth and output of people and the organization.
6. Impeccable coordination – as Fred Kofman notes in his book “Conscious Business”, coordinating well and with those inside and outside the company will define you as a leader. The better you coordinate, the stronger your rise to the top in your career will be and the more sound your organization’s output will be.
7. Act quickly with those who don’t perform – not everyone is competent enough to be in their current positions. Although it’s good to offer people opportunities and coaching, if someone is not performing, you must move them out and do so quickly. If you don’t move fast, you only hurt you, your employee and the organization. And if you are afraid to hurt your employee, remember a job someone can thrive in is better than one to just survive in.
8. Link strategy, people and operations – as Charan and Bossidy state eloquently in their book, you cannot have a thriving organization without these three things being critically tied together. Each one functions with the others. Focus on all three with equal measure.
A final thought -- you probably put a lot of time and energy into developing your strategy and operations, and that doesn’t mean that you are putting the same effort into developing your people. Your people are your greatest asset. Unless you leverage, nurture and care for them deeply, with responsibility and accountability, you may lose your strongest competitive leverage point.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Don’t Be Passed Over and Pissed Off: Learn to Lead
Recently diversity was celebrated as part of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's events and conferences for 2010, including the annual meetings for such cable diversity groups as Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT), the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and the Walter Kaitz Foundation . What’s most interesting about all of these gathering was the one theme that stood out - “leadership.”
The question of concern, which is applicable to all industries today, was: how will you develop and hone your leadership to guide your people through this ever-changing business landscape? Spanning such diverse topics as mentoring, developing leadership and the bottom line, being strategic, producing multi-ethnic content and programming, developing multi-ethnic high potentials and more, diversity really boils down to one thing – people. In the words of Eric Hawkins of Discovery Networks International, “Who makes organizations run? People. Who ensures a culture is innovative? People. Who continues to keep us competitive? People.”
Well said by Eric. After all, even if you are talking about programming, marketing, digital, or any field of business, it’s all about leadership. Leaders are the ones that spearhead organizations, make decisions that affect what goes on cable/television and the Internet, and create an environment for employees to be creative, to innovate and to feel valued and motivated to do their best.
During the WICT conference, I was on a panel entitled, “Leadership and the Bottom Line”, and all of my fellow panelists – Nomi Bergman, President of Bright House Networks; Margaret Lazo, Executive Vice President in Human Resources at NBC Universal Television; Jill Smart, Chief Human Resource Officer at Accenture – all encouraged the participants to grow, nurture and cultivate leadership skills in order to become the most relevant and essential element of their organization.
Easy to say, and not so easy to do. However investing in yourself and your leadership ensures that you avoid what Jacqueline Welch of Turner Broadcasting, Inc. called, “POPO – ‘passed over and pissed off.’”
To avoid being POPO, here is a top ten list of some of the most useful and relevant tips for advancing your leadership:
1. Go international - Take a short-term or long-term international assignment to understand the international marketplace. After all, if your organization makes money globally and your employee pool is global, wouldn’t it help if you had global experience and understood this landscape well?
2. Seek and enlist a champion – Ask someone inside the organization to be your “champion.” This person can advocate on your behalf, give you advice and promote you consistently. Whoever you ask needs to be trained to understand what opportunities you are seeking (aka, what is your “sweet spot”) and what to say about you. A champion may be someone who emerges from working jointly on projects or who takes notice of the good work you are doing or simply someone you ask for help. In any case, get one!
3. Business strategy – Understand the business you are in and the company you have joined. Be sure to listen and participate on earnings calls, join affinity groups and become a well-rounded student of your organization and business.
4. Applied formal and informal learning - Being a life long learner is critical to advancement. This enables you to have an open mind and learn different disciplines and points of view. Naturally, learning makes you smarter, and applied learning will effectively make you stand out.
5. Professional presence – At Diversity Week, Dr. Tonya Cornelius from ESPN emphasized the need for leaders to know and leverage their brand. Know what people “see” in you when you walk in a room and how others think of you. Hone, develop and manage your brand.
6. Scrappy wins - Become a “scrappy” leader. Be resourceful and do what you need to do to get the job done, e.g. devise innovative ideas, enlist departments, which never worked together before, hire people with non-traditional experience.
7. Stand out – Win people over with your ideas, performance, goals and mission. Allow people to see all parts of who you are.
8. Measure your success – Learning how to use and devise metrics will set you apart from the rest. Consider how it sounds to say, “the campaign was a success” versus “78% of our clients voted this campaign as being the key driver of their business, increasing revenue by over 50%.” Which one impresses more?
9. Pay it forward – Mentor, look for places to champion others, give constantly with a clear consciousness wanting and asking for nothing in return.
10. Know who you are – Great leaders are self-aware, drive with authenticity, know when to ask for help and are always true to themselves.
Pick one of the top ten and go for it full force. Take your leadership and your career into your own hands, because if you don’t, no one else will.
The question of concern, which is applicable to all industries today, was: how will you develop and hone your leadership to guide your people through this ever-changing business landscape? Spanning such diverse topics as mentoring, developing leadership and the bottom line, being strategic, producing multi-ethnic content and programming, developing multi-ethnic high potentials and more, diversity really boils down to one thing – people. In the words of Eric Hawkins of Discovery Networks International, “Who makes organizations run? People. Who ensures a culture is innovative? People. Who continues to keep us competitive? People.”
Well said by Eric. After all, even if you are talking about programming, marketing, digital, or any field of business, it’s all about leadership. Leaders are the ones that spearhead organizations, make decisions that affect what goes on cable/television and the Internet, and create an environment for employees to be creative, to innovate and to feel valued and motivated to do their best.
During the WICT conference, I was on a panel entitled, “Leadership and the Bottom Line”, and all of my fellow panelists – Nomi Bergman, President of Bright House Networks; Margaret Lazo, Executive Vice President in Human Resources at NBC Universal Television; Jill Smart, Chief Human Resource Officer at Accenture – all encouraged the participants to grow, nurture and cultivate leadership skills in order to become the most relevant and essential element of their organization.
Easy to say, and not so easy to do. However investing in yourself and your leadership ensures that you avoid what Jacqueline Welch of Turner Broadcasting, Inc. called, “POPO – ‘passed over and pissed off.’”
To avoid being POPO, here is a top ten list of some of the most useful and relevant tips for advancing your leadership:
1. Go international - Take a short-term or long-term international assignment to understand the international marketplace. After all, if your organization makes money globally and your employee pool is global, wouldn’t it help if you had global experience and understood this landscape well?
2. Seek and enlist a champion – Ask someone inside the organization to be your “champion.” This person can advocate on your behalf, give you advice and promote you consistently. Whoever you ask needs to be trained to understand what opportunities you are seeking (aka, what is your “sweet spot”) and what to say about you. A champion may be someone who emerges from working jointly on projects or who takes notice of the good work you are doing or simply someone you ask for help. In any case, get one!
3. Business strategy – Understand the business you are in and the company you have joined. Be sure to listen and participate on earnings calls, join affinity groups and become a well-rounded student of your organization and business.
4. Applied formal and informal learning - Being a life long learner is critical to advancement. This enables you to have an open mind and learn different disciplines and points of view. Naturally, learning makes you smarter, and applied learning will effectively make you stand out.
5. Professional presence – At Diversity Week, Dr. Tonya Cornelius from ESPN emphasized the need for leaders to know and leverage their brand. Know what people “see” in you when you walk in a room and how others think of you. Hone, develop and manage your brand.
6. Scrappy wins - Become a “scrappy” leader. Be resourceful and do what you need to do to get the job done, e.g. devise innovative ideas, enlist departments, which never worked together before, hire people with non-traditional experience.
7. Stand out – Win people over with your ideas, performance, goals and mission. Allow people to see all parts of who you are.
8. Measure your success – Learning how to use and devise metrics will set you apart from the rest. Consider how it sounds to say, “the campaign was a success” versus “78% of our clients voted this campaign as being the key driver of their business, increasing revenue by over 50%.” Which one impresses more?
9. Pay it forward – Mentor, look for places to champion others, give constantly with a clear consciousness wanting and asking for nothing in return.
10. Know who you are – Great leaders are self-aware, drive with authenticity, know when to ask for help and are always true to themselves.
Pick one of the top ten and go for it full force. Take your leadership and your career into your own hands, because if you don’t, no one else will.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Secrets to Managing UP
Managing up is critical to thriving inside of organizations. Although not spoken about regularly, if you don’t manage up well you simply will not rise through the ranks. Managing up is an art, a science and a skill.
It’s important for all managers and leaders to be managed. One of the hidden agreements an organization provides you is this…you’ll be managed and led AND you have the responsibility to also lead and manage those who report to you as well as those above you. Just as your boss invests in you, so too must you invest in your boss’ success.
Investing in your boss means, as the book “Managing UP!" by Michael Singer Dobson, Deborah Singer Dobson states, “being listened to and having your ideas respected. Getting your decisions in a timely fashion. Having the kind of influence that helps get your job and your mission accomplish…. it also means helping compensate for your boss’s weak points. Everyone has them.”
Tis true…we all do have faults and sometimes expecting your boss to be all things to everyone is as big of a mistake as expecting the same of our spouse.
Consider some of the most common mistakes that effects managing up and how you can remedy them:
1) When my boss doesn’t agree with me, I know this causes a rift between us.
Truth: You don’t have to like or agree with your boss in every situation. You are both on a team and are paid for the execution of the goals of the organization. You may have similar and opposing views in how to accomplish these goals, and that does not mean your career is in jeopardy. This just means you are two different people.
Word from the coach: When you have a differing opinion, you may not have all the information your boss does to make decisions. That’s fine. It’s time to read between the lines, ask deeper questions and come to an understanding of what is needed.
2) I know my boss and consider him/her a friend. Therefore, I know what kind of support my boss needs.
Truth: Most people don’t know how to manage up and can only make assumptions about their bosses’ needs. Eradicate speculation and start communicating.
Word from the coach: Ask your boss how he/she wants you to communicate with him/her. What materials does he/she need to see from you? Schedule meaningful one-on-ones with clear agendas and expectations. Ensure your meetings handle core issues clearly and honestly. Meeting just to meet is never beneficial for anyone. Make sure you create agreements that outline how you will communicate in times of bliss and crisis (know that the crisis times are the ones that will test your relationship).
3) Not keeping your boss in the loop.
Truth: We think we are good at keeping our bosses updated but our bosses probably need to know way more information than we think they do. “Sheltering” them only keeps them in the dark – now it’s time to turn on the lights.
Word from the coach: A former boss of mine, Ellen Cooper (a communications expert), once told me, “‘Closing the loop’ is one of the most important assets of any great communicator.” Ask yourself, is there a piece of information I have that my boss needs? Anticipate your boss’s needs by always offering updates, even if you believe the information is trivial. Nothing is trivial and should something ever become unimportant, you can count on your boss to tell you (you can make this an agreement between you both).
4) Being reluctant to ask for feedback
Truth: Hardly anyone likes to hear brutally honest - hit you over the head - feedback. Although we often say we want to grow, it’s tough to hear the real truth. Unless we ask for it and are willing to listen to honest feedback, we won’t know where we have room to grow and develop ourselves. Keep in mind, it’s not always easy for our bosses to give us feedback and they have to take feedback from their own bosses, too.
Word from the coach: Ask and ye shall receive. Lose the fear. Growth requires some degree of discomfort. Showing a willingness to become uncomfortable, hear the truth and act swiftly on it will be what differentiates the good from the great.
5) Bringing problems and no solutions
Truth: Problems or “issues” brought to your boss without solutions simply look like complaints. It’s never good to be perceived as a complainer.
Word from the coach: Whenever there’s a problem, try to consider at least three alternative solutions. If you get stuck, ask for help from your peers. If you still find yourself completely void of ideas, be transparent. State upfront to your boss that there’s an issue that requires his/her attention and that you have done your best to consider all possible solutions but haven’t found the best answer. Lay out the issue and brainstorm together.
6) Not managing your boss’s perceptions
Truth: All bosses have inherent perceptions about how work should be done. Some of these perceptions may be from their own past work experience and even performance reviews. Examples include things such as: getting your work done quickly shows you can work well under stress; coming in early and staying late shows commitment; coming in on the weekend to finish a project demonstrates diligence.
Word from the coach: Most of these perceptions are not spoken but rather implied. Managing these perceptions is critical to your success, so get them out in the open, talk about them and negotiate them. Supervisors would rather you get a project done well rather than finish it in two minutes. Sharing with your boss the process and progress of your work product helps to eradicate unspoken of perceptions.
7) Avoiding conflict
Truth: Experiencing conflict is not a sin. Conflict brings growth, fosters development and airs misperceptions. Yet, I found in a group session that I facilitated with advertising executives, most saw conflict as negative and something that should be avoided as much as possible. There’s a difference between confrontation and conflict. Confrontation involves hostility, whereas conflict merely arises from a difference of opinions.
Word from the coach: Before you say something that may be in opposition to what your boss thinks, set your intention. If your intention is to provide maximum value to the organization at all times, then the words you speak will echo this sentiment. If your intention is to “set your boss straight”, then be prepared for a harsh exchange of words. It’s up to you to determine the starting point…
Managing up is one of the greatest skills a manager or leader can possess. Dedicate yourself to excelling at this skill and your reputation and value to the company will be recognized -- guaranteed. Until next month!
It’s important for all managers and leaders to be managed. One of the hidden agreements an organization provides you is this…you’ll be managed and led AND you have the responsibility to also lead and manage those who report to you as well as those above you. Just as your boss invests in you, so too must you invest in your boss’ success.
Investing in your boss means, as the book “Managing UP!" by Michael Singer Dobson, Deborah Singer Dobson states, “being listened to and having your ideas respected. Getting your decisions in a timely fashion. Having the kind of influence that helps get your job and your mission accomplish…. it also means helping compensate for your boss’s weak points. Everyone has them.”
Tis true…we all do have faults and sometimes expecting your boss to be all things to everyone is as big of a mistake as expecting the same of our spouse.
Consider some of the most common mistakes that effects managing up and how you can remedy them:
1) When my boss doesn’t agree with me, I know this causes a rift between us.
Truth: You don’t have to like or agree with your boss in every situation. You are both on a team and are paid for the execution of the goals of the organization. You may have similar and opposing views in how to accomplish these goals, and that does not mean your career is in jeopardy. This just means you are two different people.
Word from the coach: When you have a differing opinion, you may not have all the information your boss does to make decisions. That’s fine. It’s time to read between the lines, ask deeper questions and come to an understanding of what is needed.
2) I know my boss and consider him/her a friend. Therefore, I know what kind of support my boss needs.
Truth: Most people don’t know how to manage up and can only make assumptions about their bosses’ needs. Eradicate speculation and start communicating.
Word from the coach: Ask your boss how he/she wants you to communicate with him/her. What materials does he/she need to see from you? Schedule meaningful one-on-ones with clear agendas and expectations. Ensure your meetings handle core issues clearly and honestly. Meeting just to meet is never beneficial for anyone. Make sure you create agreements that outline how you will communicate in times of bliss and crisis (know that the crisis times are the ones that will test your relationship).
3) Not keeping your boss in the loop.
Truth: We think we are good at keeping our bosses updated but our bosses probably need to know way more information than we think they do. “Sheltering” them only keeps them in the dark – now it’s time to turn on the lights.
Word from the coach: A former boss of mine, Ellen Cooper (a communications expert), once told me, “‘Closing the loop’ is one of the most important assets of any great communicator.” Ask yourself, is there a piece of information I have that my boss needs? Anticipate your boss’s needs by always offering updates, even if you believe the information is trivial. Nothing is trivial and should something ever become unimportant, you can count on your boss to tell you (you can make this an agreement between you both).
4) Being reluctant to ask for feedback
Truth: Hardly anyone likes to hear brutally honest - hit you over the head - feedback. Although we often say we want to grow, it’s tough to hear the real truth. Unless we ask for it and are willing to listen to honest feedback, we won’t know where we have room to grow and develop ourselves. Keep in mind, it’s not always easy for our bosses to give us feedback and they have to take feedback from their own bosses, too.
Word from the coach: Ask and ye shall receive. Lose the fear. Growth requires some degree of discomfort. Showing a willingness to become uncomfortable, hear the truth and act swiftly on it will be what differentiates the good from the great.
5) Bringing problems and no solutions
Truth: Problems or “issues” brought to your boss without solutions simply look like complaints. It’s never good to be perceived as a complainer.
Word from the coach: Whenever there’s a problem, try to consider at least three alternative solutions. If you get stuck, ask for help from your peers. If you still find yourself completely void of ideas, be transparent. State upfront to your boss that there’s an issue that requires his/her attention and that you have done your best to consider all possible solutions but haven’t found the best answer. Lay out the issue and brainstorm together.
6) Not managing your boss’s perceptions
Truth: All bosses have inherent perceptions about how work should be done. Some of these perceptions may be from their own past work experience and even performance reviews. Examples include things such as: getting your work done quickly shows you can work well under stress; coming in early and staying late shows commitment; coming in on the weekend to finish a project demonstrates diligence.
Word from the coach: Most of these perceptions are not spoken but rather implied. Managing these perceptions is critical to your success, so get them out in the open, talk about them and negotiate them. Supervisors would rather you get a project done well rather than finish it in two minutes. Sharing with your boss the process and progress of your work product helps to eradicate unspoken of perceptions.
7) Avoiding conflict
Truth: Experiencing conflict is not a sin. Conflict brings growth, fosters development and airs misperceptions. Yet, I found in a group session that I facilitated with advertising executives, most saw conflict as negative and something that should be avoided as much as possible. There’s a difference between confrontation and conflict. Confrontation involves hostility, whereas conflict merely arises from a difference of opinions.
Word from the coach: Before you say something that may be in opposition to what your boss thinks, set your intention. If your intention is to provide maximum value to the organization at all times, then the words you speak will echo this sentiment. If your intention is to “set your boss straight”, then be prepared for a harsh exchange of words. It’s up to you to determine the starting point…
Managing up is one of the greatest skills a manager or leader can possess. Dedicate yourself to excelling at this skill and your reputation and value to the company will be recognized -- guaranteed. Until next month!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Keeping Your Clothes On Ain't Easy
It's easy to lose your cool as a leader with so much going on, so much to juggle, so many people to be responsible for, so much information to keep present...it can be challenging to keep your composure, to know what to do next and to operate with the team in mind. Don't you just want to give yourself permission sometimes to go screaming out of the building?
Do we talk that much about losing your cool and the daily grind leading can be? Not so much because no one wants to hear it and it's not the most uplifting conversation. Betty Davis in "All About Eve" said the famous line, "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night," and such is true about leading. Every day leaders are running faster than the speed of light and we wonder why motivation is one of the most critical elements for reinvigorating teams when we may need some reinvigoration ourselves.
Here's what you do when you just want to lose your cool, run out of the building or shout from the rooftops:
-It's never too late - if you read trade magazines, they are full of stories of people who have made come backs from the lowest of places. America is full of icons that continue to come back when they are beaten down the most. Have a vision and follow it and know if all seems to be going awry, turn to your mentors, to those who believe in you, they will help you to see what you are blocked from in this moment.
-Be in a place of exploration - investigate what's really happening. Sometimes our vision is clouded by our own need to fix things without the help of others.
-Don't quit on your dream - it's taken a long time to realize what you want to achieve in this life. You are experiencing a bump in the road and treat it as such, not as the end of what you desire profoundly.
-Take a stand for you - getting upset is not pretty. Oftentimes you can beat yourself up, compromise valued dialogue and make those around you wrong. Take a stand for helping yourself to know the truth of the situation you are in. Beating yourself up only does one thing...prolong the guilt.
-Do an inventory - just as you would with a warehouse full of product, take an inventory of the current situation, your strengths, the strengths of those on your team and evaluate if what you are experiencing is really the end of the world or a call to shift how you do what you do.
We may not be able to change the situation we are in, however we can shift our perception and management of ourselves and those around us. Stepping up to be a leader means you've signed up for continuous self-examination and careful mindfulness of those around you. Let's celebrate all you have done rather than go screaming from the building. There's always some measure of good in what's going on, we are required as leaders to help lift the fog to find the truth, move out of anger/frustration/resentment and take decisive action with compassion.
Do we talk that much about losing your cool and the daily grind leading can be? Not so much because no one wants to hear it and it's not the most uplifting conversation. Betty Davis in "All About Eve" said the famous line, "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night," and such is true about leading. Every day leaders are running faster than the speed of light and we wonder why motivation is one of the most critical elements for reinvigorating teams when we may need some reinvigoration ourselves.
Here's what you do when you just want to lose your cool, run out of the building or shout from the rooftops:
-It's never too late - if you read trade magazines, they are full of stories of people who have made come backs from the lowest of places. America is full of icons that continue to come back when they are beaten down the most. Have a vision and follow it and know if all seems to be going awry, turn to your mentors, to those who believe in you, they will help you to see what you are blocked from in this moment.
-Be in a place of exploration - investigate what's really happening. Sometimes our vision is clouded by our own need to fix things without the help of others.
-Don't quit on your dream - it's taken a long time to realize what you want to achieve in this life. You are experiencing a bump in the road and treat it as such, not as the end of what you desire profoundly.
-Take a stand for you - getting upset is not pretty. Oftentimes you can beat yourself up, compromise valued dialogue and make those around you wrong. Take a stand for helping yourself to know the truth of the situation you are in. Beating yourself up only does one thing...prolong the guilt.
-Do an inventory - just as you would with a warehouse full of product, take an inventory of the current situation, your strengths, the strengths of those on your team and evaluate if what you are experiencing is really the end of the world or a call to shift how you do what you do.
We may not be able to change the situation we are in, however we can shift our perception and management of ourselves and those around us. Stepping up to be a leader means you've signed up for continuous self-examination and careful mindfulness of those around you. Let's celebrate all you have done rather than go screaming from the building. There's always some measure of good in what's going on, we are required as leaders to help lift the fog to find the truth, move out of anger/frustration/resentment and take decisive action with compassion.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Make It Or Break It Leadership
One of the most common issues leaders are tackling with today is motivation - how do you maintain it or increase it. As a boss, it’s not easy to know when to push someone vs. when the employee is supposed to take the lead.
Robert Sutton, author of the New York Times bestseller The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't sites in his latest blog a research study conducted at Columbia University by Daniel Ames and Frank Flynn which “suggests striking the right balance between being too assertive and not assertive enough is immensely important to being (and being perceived as) a great boss.”
Ames and Flynn thought initially in their research that bosses who are too assertive are just too domineering and bossy and this ruins relationships with others. Yet leaders who are not assertive enough don’t achieve much of anything with their teams that they can beam with pride.
In their research they asked 213 MBA students to evaluate their more recent bosses. There was high overlap between those bosses their rated as moderately assertive and those most effective overall. The MBA’s rated those moderately assertive bosses as most likely to succeed in the future and those they would be happy to work with again.
Those bosses found not to be effective are ones that were either too assertive or not assertive enough and was cited as a cornerstone of those weak leaders more than deficits.
Ames and Flynn further state that being a successful boss requires modulating between pushing people strongly at key times and taking a step back at other times. “Being flexible and socially sensitive — knowing when it's the right time for either approach — enables bosses to be seen as motivating and engaged, but not as bullying or micro-managing,” Sutton says.
There’s a reason why being a boss is a critical role. A boss is a mentor, coach, manager and potentially leader. However not all bosses are true leaders. It takes a strong degree of emotional intelligence to carefully, strategically and compassionately motivate your team. Being a bull in a ring or hanging out in the background may move your team somewhere however over the long haul the results you desire will be non-existent.
How do you build yourself to be a better boss?
Perfect your skills in managing, coaching and leading with a keen eye to examining your own strengths. Get feedback from those who will be honest and those you respect. And get a mentor, this is one of the greatest tools you can have to shoring up your leadership. Be a lifetime learner and never live in the past. Look forward, be focused, be a realist and have profound compassion for those around you. Be “people centric” and devoted to your team’s growth. Get feedback on how you are doing and consistently improve. And after you begin to make habits out of your new found best practices, do them again and again and again. There’s a reason why on the back of those shampoo bottles they say “rinse and repeat.”
Robert Sutton, author of the New York Times bestseller The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't sites in his latest blog a research study conducted at Columbia University by Daniel Ames and Frank Flynn which “suggests striking the right balance between being too assertive and not assertive enough is immensely important to being (and being perceived as) a great boss.”
Ames and Flynn thought initially in their research that bosses who are too assertive are just too domineering and bossy and this ruins relationships with others. Yet leaders who are not assertive enough don’t achieve much of anything with their teams that they can beam with pride.
In their research they asked 213 MBA students to evaluate their more recent bosses. There was high overlap between those bosses their rated as moderately assertive and those most effective overall. The MBA’s rated those moderately assertive bosses as most likely to succeed in the future and those they would be happy to work with again.
Those bosses found not to be effective are ones that were either too assertive or not assertive enough and was cited as a cornerstone of those weak leaders more than deficits.
Ames and Flynn further state that being a successful boss requires modulating between pushing people strongly at key times and taking a step back at other times. “Being flexible and socially sensitive — knowing when it's the right time for either approach — enables bosses to be seen as motivating and engaged, but not as bullying or micro-managing,” Sutton says.
There’s a reason why being a boss is a critical role. A boss is a mentor, coach, manager and potentially leader. However not all bosses are true leaders. It takes a strong degree of emotional intelligence to carefully, strategically and compassionately motivate your team. Being a bull in a ring or hanging out in the background may move your team somewhere however over the long haul the results you desire will be non-existent.
How do you build yourself to be a better boss?
Perfect your skills in managing, coaching and leading with a keen eye to examining your own strengths. Get feedback from those who will be honest and those you respect. And get a mentor, this is one of the greatest tools you can have to shoring up your leadership. Be a lifetime learner and never live in the past. Look forward, be focused, be a realist and have profound compassion for those around you. Be “people centric” and devoted to your team’s growth. Get feedback on how you are doing and consistently improve. And after you begin to make habits out of your new found best practices, do them again and again and again. There’s a reason why on the back of those shampoo bottles they say “rinse and repeat.”
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Leadership and the Bottom Line
Does coaching, managing and leading contribute to the bottom line? Yes! I'm in the midst of writing a leadership book on this subject with the commitment to prove that when coaching, managing and leading is done well, this leads to increased productivity and profitability.
Of course as coincidence would have it, in the midst of writing, a wonderful resource came knocking at my door. Tim Lohrentz of the National Network of Sector Partners summarized decades of academic research, which confirms that employee development can improve employer bottom-line profitability by increasing revenues and lowering expenses in the following six ways:
1. Increased cooperation and ability to take advantage of innovation, which can be measured by:
a. Better team performance
b. Improved capacity to cope with change in the workplace
2. Increased rate of employee retention
3. Lower rate of employee absenteeism
4. Increased quality of work or service, which can be measured by:
a. Decline in waste
b. Decline in product rejection or mistakes on the job
c. Increase in customer satisfaction or retention
d. Better health and safety
5. Increased productivity, which can be measured by:
a. Less time spent accomplishing projects
b. Increased output of products or services
c. Time savings for managers and supervisors
d. Improved capacity to use new technology
6. Increased sales
I was not completely surprised to read sales at the bottom of the list. As one trusted colleague explained...Disney does not reprimand a Castmember when the person missteps and is about to go out and be with customers. Why? Because employee satisfaction means customer satisfaction. When an employee is happy, they will treat your customers better. When the relationship is harmonious between an employee and their supervisor, this too impacts how a customer is treated.
Perhaps today instead of looking so hard to improve customer satisfaction, maybe we have to look in our own backyards first. Happy employees will change revenue, innovation and productivity. So let's keep the eye on the ball - it's the employees first. When done right the money will follow.
Of course as coincidence would have it, in the midst of writing, a wonderful resource came knocking at my door. Tim Lohrentz of the National Network of Sector Partners summarized decades of academic research, which confirms that employee development can improve employer bottom-line profitability by increasing revenues and lowering expenses in the following six ways:
1. Increased cooperation and ability to take advantage of innovation, which can be measured by:
a. Better team performance
b. Improved capacity to cope with change in the workplace
2. Increased rate of employee retention
3. Lower rate of employee absenteeism
4. Increased quality of work or service, which can be measured by:
a. Decline in waste
b. Decline in product rejection or mistakes on the job
c. Increase in customer satisfaction or retention
d. Better health and safety
5. Increased productivity, which can be measured by:
a. Less time spent accomplishing projects
b. Increased output of products or services
c. Time savings for managers and supervisors
d. Improved capacity to use new technology
6. Increased sales
I was not completely surprised to read sales at the bottom of the list. As one trusted colleague explained...Disney does not reprimand a Castmember when the person missteps and is about to go out and be with customers. Why? Because employee satisfaction means customer satisfaction. When an employee is happy, they will treat your customers better. When the relationship is harmonious between an employee and their supervisor, this too impacts how a customer is treated.
Perhaps today instead of looking so hard to improve customer satisfaction, maybe we have to look in our own backyards first. Happy employees will change revenue, innovation and productivity. So let's keep the eye on the ball - it's the employees first. When done right the money will follow.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Art of Delegating
One of the chief responsibilities and core skill of any leader is delegation. Simple, yes? Oh no. Many executives today don’t know where to begin. However if you can learn to use delegation correctly, it can reduce stress, empower your direct reports and develop your high potentials. Conversely, the lack of delegation skills can lead to the downfall of any leader, regardless of how powerful.
One of my clients was commenting in a recent executive coaching session that his Vice President, Bob, who has no idea how to delegate, is derailing in his position because of this key weakness. Bob is great in every other area other than delegation. As a result, Bob has not grown his direct reports. His current level of delegating usually involves phrases such as, “Sarah, put out this fire. I’ve got to run to this emergency meeting. Thanks!” Or the flipside, “It’s easier if I just do it myself. In the time it takes to explain everything, it would already have been done.”
As your responsibilities, department and organization grows, you must rely on others to produce and take initiative. You absolutely cannot do it all alone. No way, and why would you want to? We’d all like to believe we’re Superman (or Superwoman); unfortunately, that is not the case. In pretending to be Superman, we leave very skilled teammates in the dust. If you delegate properly, you free yourself to do higher level work (where your energy should be spent); you shift accountability where it should be, on all members of the team (including yourself); and you build a more resilient group who can respond quicker and faster. If you don’t help put others in the driver seat, they too will pick up poor delegation skills and the cycle will continue endlessly.
Consultant Karen Lawson states on the topic, “You’re not simply assigning work to employees that falls within their job duties and responsibilities. To delegate, you must give someone the responsibility and authority to do something that's normally part of your job.“ The key is handing someone a task, for which you are also responsible, that stretches his or her abilities.
Here’s how to do it:
1) Brainstorm
On a blank sheet of paper, draw one line down the page. On the left hand side title it “to do” and the right hand side title it “to delegate.” Make a list of all the tasks you have to get done this week. These must be assignments and tasks for which you have responsibility and ownership. Jot every single one of them no matter how mundane.
2)Review your task list and consider:
o What is administrative?
o What questions can someone else on my staff answer?
o What task can I give to someone else that would assist in their growth and development?
o What are typical tasks my team is asked to do when I’m out of the office?
o What tasks can I give to someone would require minimal explanation?
3)Put names of your staff members next to each task. When assigning, be mindful of individuals strengths, weaknesses and skills you want to specifically looking to build.
4)Prepare to communicate:
o Reason for delegating to this specific person
o Explain task to be delegated
o Ensure the person has the time and desire to take this on
o Expectations for the task and follow-up procedures
o Timeline/deadline for work to be completed
5)Follow-up:
o Schedule time to discuss their approach
o Be sure to be available for any and all questions
o You might consider assigning a different manager to oversee this task – it’s another way to expand an employee’s leadership abilities.
6)Coach and mentor – if the person is struggling in completing the task, use this opportunity as an ideal time to coach and mentor strengths and weaknesses
7)Reward and praise – as employees complete tasks, reward and praise them for a job well done.
Stretch yourself this month to delegate as much as possible. View delegation as a core skill to grow and develop your employees. And don’t forget yourself too!
One of my clients was commenting in a recent executive coaching session that his Vice President, Bob, who has no idea how to delegate, is derailing in his position because of this key weakness. Bob is great in every other area other than delegation. As a result, Bob has not grown his direct reports. His current level of delegating usually involves phrases such as, “Sarah, put out this fire. I’ve got to run to this emergency meeting. Thanks!” Or the flipside, “It’s easier if I just do it myself. In the time it takes to explain everything, it would already have been done.”
As your responsibilities, department and organization grows, you must rely on others to produce and take initiative. You absolutely cannot do it all alone. No way, and why would you want to? We’d all like to believe we’re Superman (or Superwoman); unfortunately, that is not the case. In pretending to be Superman, we leave very skilled teammates in the dust. If you delegate properly, you free yourself to do higher level work (where your energy should be spent); you shift accountability where it should be, on all members of the team (including yourself); and you build a more resilient group who can respond quicker and faster. If you don’t help put others in the driver seat, they too will pick up poor delegation skills and the cycle will continue endlessly.
Consultant Karen Lawson states on the topic, “You’re not simply assigning work to employees that falls within their job duties and responsibilities. To delegate, you must give someone the responsibility and authority to do something that's normally part of your job.“ The key is handing someone a task, for which you are also responsible, that stretches his or her abilities.
Here’s how to do it:
1) Brainstorm
On a blank sheet of paper, draw one line down the page. On the left hand side title it “to do” and the right hand side title it “to delegate.” Make a list of all the tasks you have to get done this week. These must be assignments and tasks for which you have responsibility and ownership. Jot every single one of them no matter how mundane.
2)Review your task list and consider:
o What is administrative?
o What questions can someone else on my staff answer?
o What task can I give to someone else that would assist in their growth and development?
o What are typical tasks my team is asked to do when I’m out of the office?
o What tasks can I give to someone would require minimal explanation?
3)Put names of your staff members next to each task. When assigning, be mindful of individuals strengths, weaknesses and skills you want to specifically looking to build.
4)Prepare to communicate:
o Reason for delegating to this specific person
o Explain task to be delegated
o Ensure the person has the time and desire to take this on
o Expectations for the task and follow-up procedures
o Timeline/deadline for work to be completed
5)Follow-up:
o Schedule time to discuss their approach
o Be sure to be available for any and all questions
o You might consider assigning a different manager to oversee this task – it’s another way to expand an employee’s leadership abilities.
6)Coach and mentor – if the person is struggling in completing the task, use this opportunity as an ideal time to coach and mentor strengths and weaknesses
7)Reward and praise – as employees complete tasks, reward and praise them for a job well done.
Stretch yourself this month to delegate as much as possible. View delegation as a core skill to grow and develop your employees. And don’t forget yourself too!
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