The Leadership Corner

Self-Confidence Effective Trait

2013-04-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

One of the traits that makes a leader effective is self-confidence. Have you really observed a leader that is confident in the job they are doing? There is a calm, reassuring mantra given off to followers that makes them feel confident and self-assured that the jobs being done is adequate and that troubling situations can be overcome. Self-confidence is difficult to achieve. Many times this trait can morph into other ones like conceit, overconfidence, or bumptiousness. It is truly special to be around this type of leader, the trait is contagious. Here’s some examples of what makes this leader special.

Communication-The words chosen from a self-confident leader is chosen carefully but with ease. Statements are inclusive and they let followers know that while a vision has been created the leader wants the team to choose the path to carry out the vision. There is a positive intent with the communication offered.

Non-verbal communication is usually open with a reassuring smile. When the self-confident leader needs to be direct the non-verbal communication displayed matches the message of urgency but not panic.

Belief in self-Part of the reason a self-confident leader can communicate and lead effectively is because there is a confident belief in their own capabilities. I heard once that a person that achieves self-confidence can ignore critics because of their inherent belief of their own effectiveness.

Importance of Others-The self-confident leader makes others around them feel important. Team members will express that they are able to control their responsibilities, jobs, and daily routines which makes them feel like they can claim the work they’ve done. People that don’t know this leader or don’t report to this leader may say things like, “they make me feel like the most important person,” or “it feels like from our discussion that I’ve known them all my life.”

Self-confidence has to be managed. This trait can morph into things that erode effectiveness, validity, and credibility. Charisma can become spoiled. Here are some leadership flaws that can evolve from too much self-confidence;

Micro managing- Unmanaged self-confidence can develop into a leader that lets people do their work, making their own decisions to one that needs to be involved in every decision made, needs to be communicated with about everything occurring in the organization. This leader can develop a belief that success can be only achieved if they do the work themselves.

Superiority complex- This psychological leadership flaw can develop if confidence erodes and a feeling of being inferior is substituted. As situations in the organization change, attrition occurs and a leader’s network is replaced a sense of vulnerability or inferiority can occur. Confidence is superseded by arrogance to cover up the new feeling of inferiority.

These are just a few examples of how self-confidence can erode. The ability to influence people can become one of leveraging. Guidance can become disguised in manipulation’s clothing. Keep self-confidence in check because it can connect leadership effectiveness to organizational success.

Process Creation Is A Big Project

2013-04-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

We all have had the feeling, as leaders, that something just wasn't quite right in our departments. Whether work flow isn't flowing as it usually does, or people in the department aren't in sync with each other, or the day and all its participants are tripping over one another. The leader knows that new processes are necessary to regain that departmental edge. If done properly these new procedures may even increase employee morale. Process creation is a necessary part of doing business but it goes much deeper than sitting down with Visio and creating a process flowchart and then communicating it to our teams. Lets take a look.

Process Chart Needed
It is true that we need to put our initial ideas on paper. We as leaders need to create a process flowchart that illustrates each step in our process. We need to make sure all variation that can create process chaos is accounted for. This is a time consuming exercise that can be rewarding and inclusive if due diligence is spent on its creation. There is nothing like creating a process, receiving group participation from a department, and then getting buy in and approval by the executives in an organization. A sense of accomplishment is felt once a date to start the process is agreed upon. Finished! Let the work flow properly and the department function like a well oiled machine, right? Not quite.

Changes Made
Its uncanny a new process is created and during this transformation outside departments communicate that no changes are expected. Except when a change of some sort arises. Equipment breaks down, attrition to a key player occurs, or a new vision comes down from the CEO which can alter any plan. This is where process creation can become time consuming. I can't tell you the amount of times I've heard a leader mention that they love a new process but that it may change because of organizational alterations. Leaders should be conservative in putting new processes into play. Research needs to be completed, meetings need to take place with any employee capable of derailing the best plans, and contingency processes needs to be developed to adjust to unexpected variation. Taking this precaution can add to a leaders credibility.

Conflict Arises
Creating processes can cause conflict at times. We need to face the reality that creating new processes may cause conflict over the resources needed. It may cause competition. A really good process may get noticed and that leader to receive recognition or a promotion. This is great news except for the leaders competing for praise and increased responsibilities. Many times leaders put a process in place, it works until conflict is born, and it is ignored. The conflict needs to be addressed so the process can flourish. Having the attitude that everything will work itself out is counterproductive.

Thoughts about Processes
Once a process is created try some of these things to keep them relevant

Get participation from outside departments that will be affected by the new process. This will help avoid conflict and make others feel like they own the process rather than having it force fed to them.
Have a process contingency plan. Flexible processes have a longer life span than some rigid processes. Being open minded to unexpected change will make the process stronger and creative.
Put an expiration date on the process. Like dairy products processes have an expected life span. Define that date. Set up meetings to review departmental processes to see if they are relevant or if new ones need to be created.

Creating processes can be a creative, energetic time that gives multiple people a chance to be noticed. Leaders should spend the necessary time on this project to avoid unexpected pitfalls which can sour the whole experience.

Organizations, Leaders Should Pay to Retain

2013-03-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

     Justin Verlander signed a 5 year extension worth $80 million to continue to play for the Detroit Tigers. The first thing that ran through my mind was wow that's a lot of money to pay one individual. That total is staggering to pay a person to stay with the organization to deliver the usual, high quality work that has been always delivered.

     This led me to a second thought which was the Detroit Tigers paid a current employee more money so they could continue to be successful rather than sign another player to replace him or to scout new talent they could groom for the future. This organization retained an employee by paying more now to save costs in the future. What an interesting concept.

     Thought number three for me was then why aren't more organizations following this model? I'm not saying that millions of dollars should be paid out to current employees. The dollar amount should be generous but realistic to the position and business revenues being brought in. The point is that leaders and organizations should look at paying current employees more money than what is usually doled out at year end evaluations or through performance bonuses. Spoiling current talent on your roster would be a pleasant surprise that would help decrease attrition, and increasing retention for those higher quality individuals. Am I wrong for feeling this way?

     As I thought about this more I realized that organizations expect more from their employees. More work needs to be completed using fewer resources to accomplish this. This may come in the form of receiving more work with an increase to responsibilities because of attrition, mergers, or more work coming into the company. These expectations of more work may come in the form of being on the clock outside of the usual, traditional work space. Being on call or working additional time outside of the usual 8am-5pm, Monday through Friday workday. More work expectations exist yet more dollars doesn't seem to flow the employee's way.

     I think organizations and leaders, at times, falls into gladly paying more for prospective, new individuals outside of the organization than paying to retain their own talent. Leaders, when interviewing, for open positions looks for candidates that offer everything they ever needed and pay more to bring aboard this "new toy", pardon my expression. People that tell leaders they can offer more of the skills they are searching for will be paid handsomely while current employees are at times taken for granted and paid modestly. This is my "new toy" theory. Leaders fall in love with the new toy out in the stores, pay an exorbitant amount of money for this toy, and cast away current toys to the corner of their rooms.

     I challenge leaders and organizations to break this model and line of thinking. Do what the Detroit Tigers have done. Identify irreplaceable, talented, current employees and pay them a little more money than business traditions dictates to simply retain them. The extra money being offered can be saved in recruiting, hiring, and training costs. Realize that a known commodity can be more valuable to revenues than a prospect can. Known talent can relieve leaders minds compared to wondering if that new prospect will pan out based on an interviewing process. Is it so wrong to want, expect more money if you're a tenured employee to deliver great work? I don't think so.

Communication Complications

2013-03-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

I’m going to make a comment involving leadership that has been made continuously since the beginning of organized business. One of the most crucial elements in becoming a successful leader is by communicating effectively. Whew I said it! That has been bothering me for some time. I really needed to write that, and now I’ve solved all leaders’ misery around the globe. Time to try and solve for world peace. I’m just kidding about that last statement. Communication is easier to discuss. The statement I made about effective communication has been rehashed so many times. Classes have been developed and taught, books have been written, and studies have all determined that communication is an important cog in the leadership wheel. If so much time has been spent trying to master communication then why is it so hard to conquer? Here are some of my thoughts;

Message-One of the things leaders struggle with is in delivering an effective message. This mental tussle between the brain and mouth doesn’t occur with the type of message needed to be sent. I think the dilemma exists with how we want to state the communication. Is the message serious or light? Is it formal or informal? Should the leader be serious looking or smile? Serious messages have been communicated with humoristic overtones and loose, informal messages have been communicated with a serious expression and tone. Both faux pas have caused confusion, awkward moments, and have cause leaders to look aloof. The final result is an ineffective message and confused subordinates.

Scripted-In today’s politically correct society the business world has developed scripting to handle all situations customers may throw at us. Leaders have scripts, dos and don’ts, and are coached to avoid saying the wrong thing. There are just too many scripts to be able to communicate properly as leaders. The message is lost in translation because it is too prepared. Employees want honest, unrehearsed dialogue with their leaders. This shows management cares enough to communicate from the heart. Being personable lets the leader be creative, warmth, and an openness that helps people better relate to leadership. If it is discovered that the message may sound inappropriate create another way to say it but make it the leaders own words not created by others.

Succinct Message-No matter what position a person holds in the organization a short but sweet mantra for communicating must be practiced. A crisp delivery helps eliminate distractions, which there is plenty of in the workplace. Remember many people are vying for each other’s time to complete personal and departmental agendas. This is reality and being able to deliver shorter messages lets people know the content is important.

Mix up communication mediums-Deliver messages at different times of the day. Effectively use verbal and nonverbal communication. Try and send e-mails, instant message people, and text if possible. Change agendas, meeting times and places. Praise and criticize equally. All of these things add variety to employee’s days. It makes leaders less predictable and these different options will keep attention spans high.

Communication is a skill that can always be improved on as a leader. It is difficult to deliver an effective message to a diverse staff. Keep developing this talent and trying to discover effective means of communication. Good luck.

Leadership According to Mick!

2013-03-17T19:37:00.001-07:00

I saw the attached link,clip when I watched the movie Rocky many years ago. Through the years this scene has always stuck out in my mind that it is relevant when speaking about leadership no matter the industry.

This will probably get leaders to chuckle sarcastically, doubting this message. How can a fictional character, Mickey Goldmill, send a message to business leaders? Listen to the whole clip before judging it and realize that there are some key topics of leadership he shares with Rocky that can be used in organizations today.

After Mickey small talks with Rocky he proceeds with his first lesson. Organizations absolutely need effective managers (leaders). The importance of good leadership is essential for a business to thrive. They set goals for employees and try to keep them focused on what's important for the business, and how they can achieve success. Leaders create a vision and then need the ability to be able to share this with a diverse group of people with unique talents, different values, and a variety of priorities and then buy into it.

About halfway through this clip Mickey suggests to Rocky about not drinking a beer before his fight. He then delivers a message to him explaining that he never had management to help protect him. His opponents were able to punch holes in his face and career because he lacked leadership. Mickey Goldmill then tries to persuade Rocky to allow him to lead him to be able to share his knowledge helping him avoid failure and allowing him to climb the rankings. Leadership does the same things in business. It guides us through effective communication and passing along key knowledge acquired. This shared knowledge will help guide people through the work day, maybe their personal lives, build networks, and help us career path properly to bigger and better jobs.

Rocky, like many of us, turns Mickey down saying management, leadership isn't needed. It would be a hindrance instead of being helpful. He was willing to go into his fight without guidance. Employees need to be responsible in finding the value effective leadership brings. They need to see that success is the goal for all not failure. The knowledge, experiences, and pain shared is the value provided.

So as Rocky proceeds with his tirade about management, leadership. Yelling at Mickey as he leaves, asking him if he wants to be present as he gets pummeled know that business leaders face the same dilemma. They want to guide, we just have to want to put our hands out collectively, like Rocky at the end, to shake our leaders hands and accept the mentoring provided

Detroit Leaders Need To Take Action!

2013-03-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

I need to offer my two cents involving Detroit’s situation regarding the Emergency Finance Manager. Let me start by letting you know that my own opinion about the EFM working in Detroit is still being shaped. I’m not entirely sure that the leaders involved in this situation are being completely honest. There have been articles written about Detroit’s financial dire straits letting people know that in order for Detroit to be saved an EFM needs to be appointed. You then here about Mayor Dave Bing disagreeing with Governor Rick Snyder’s feelings about the necessity of an EFM to rescue Detroit financially. The city council, meanwhile, is prepared to challenge the legality of the Governor’s decision. Mayoral candidates feel an EFM isn’t necessary and that Detroit can pull out its financial Armageddon on its own. All of these differences of opinions tells me that all parties involved, from the beginning, aren’t acting like good leaders.

In my opinion all parties involved are acting in their own best interests. It seems that these leaders have forgotten who their inaction affects and that is the citizens of Detroit and of Michigan. Political leaders, too often, act to preserve votes, try to accomplish part of their own agenda created as they try to enter the political arena, or are just greedy believing that a fire sale of Detroit assets will be held and they will lose something or that this is a hostile takeover of the city. Everybody knows the best route Detroit should take but too often don’t get the opinions of the people that matter, Detroiters and Michiganders!

So as I remember the articles telling readers the reason that Detroit shouldn’t hire an EFM or the theories of how to pull Detroit out of economic ruin. I urge leaders of Detroit and Michigan to do one thing which is DO SOMETHING FOR GOODNESS SAKE! That’s right please settle on a resolution, organize the resources that will allow a vision to be followed, and lets start to actually take action to make Detroit and Michigan better places. Too often over my four decades of life has nothing been done. Bickering, lawsuits, and sheer greed have gotten in the way of progress. Leaders have turned a blind eye to all of the conflict existing which often times results in bigger conflicts.

So please constructively settle the existing conflict, let’s get over self-serving statements like Charles Pugh had last week by telling people that he doesn’t want to work in City Council for free, let’s get all of the available resources together and lets start to rebuild Detroit. Leaders need to get in sync with each other and actually act as partners instead of their own personal hedge funds looking out for themselves instead of its citizens. So whether Detroit partners with the state to offer services, or it becomes an innovative city by getting more Campbell-Ewalds to join Detroit, or it just downsizes by demolishing empty houses and buildings and developing farmland please do one of these and create a new mantra for Detroit. Over the course of a year I’d like to be able to write about how the leaders of Michigan became more organized and transformational in 2013 which helped all cities become a little better.

Customer Service and Leadership

2013-03-03T13:09:00.001-08:00

My working life has been about servicing the customer to retain their business indefinitely. I have been able to teach a customer service class, and have done enough good and bad regarding service to understand that providing it in an outstanding manner is showing leadership.

I think customer service and leadership aren't linked together enough because the people providing it may not hold a management position. This doesn't matter because no matter what providing great service is offering leadership and it is becoming a lost art.

Think about some of the skills needed to provide great customer service. Listening skills have to be done effectively to be able to converse with customers. Communication should be controlled leading your customer to the product or service desired in a timely manner but this has to be done in a personable, unrehearsed manner. This is very difficult to achieve in a fluent way especially because of the diversity a customer base makes up.

A customer service provider must treat their customer base ethically. The ability to gain control of values, priorities, and responsibilities is showing leadership qualities. Power becomes intoxicating and offering customer service is powerful. Customers have to trust enough so they can be guided towards what is being offered and influenced by people they don't know. Many times the exchange of money is involved and the quest to earn more can influence the type of customer service we provide.

Many times customer service is making sure your base is listened to, talked with, making sure they receive what is asked for, and to make sure all services and products are available at all times. Providing this is showing awesome leadership.

Good Leaders Need Good Followers

2013-02-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

I had the wonderful experience of teaching a Customer Service class, to students trying to learn phlebotomy, and the topic of leaders and followers came up. I had explained to the class that to be able to be a good, credible leader they need good followers to carry out their vision. One student objected saying that she thought the word follower was derogatory to people by considering them less than leaders. So here’s what I explained;

· Leaders can hold any position in an organization-A leader is someone that expresses a vision so that it can be completed and made a reality. Leaders do not have to be people in management. They can hold any position in a company. These are people with ideas, mantras, or expectations and act on these.

· Good followers are necessary-As leaders create an idea, create a mantra, or communicate expectations it has to be done with charisma, a firm voice or plan, backing by management, and good followers to complete their vision. All a good follower means is there need to be people willing to listen to leaders and willingly execute the task, mission, and expectation at hand.

· People willing to follow-The reason the term follower is not derogatory is because there are those working in organizations willing to be a good follower. Professionals are more than willing to arrive to work daily and complete any task given to them, follow processes, or fulfill expectations at a very high quality. These people have no interest in being a leader because they like completing tasks for the betterment of the department, branch, or organization.

· Followers can become leaders-Anyone interested in leading can do so. Please realize that if this path is chosen you have to be comfortable that it will be expected consistently. This is where committing to leadership roles needs to occur. The organization isn’t wrong for expecting workers to lead consistently if done once. As long as the person is comfortable with these expectations than they should be the best leader possible.

Review top notch companies and you’ll find leaders existing in many parts of the organization holding a variety of positions. This helps the organization become stable, extends its life expectancy, and helps it grow and evolve, and become a good community partner.

Culture and Change

2013-02-18T15:56:00.000-08:00

Every week my group presents its weekly intraday reports to the leadership team. This includes supervisors, managers, and directors, so there is quite a variety of people that can establish culture and change it when necessary. The reason I present that combination is because leaders can fall into a culture rut. Each week the leaders get critical about the work presented to them, take an hour to decide a plan of action, and decide on putting several confusing action items together to solve departmental issues. This of course should be completed usually within a half hour. Usually what comes out of this is a rushed group trying to complete multiple items, with the problems not completely solved and the fingers of blame pointing in several directions.

This scenario, to me, is an example of culture and one that is in need of change. Culture can be defined as processes taken to complete daily tasks, how they are communicated, how consensus is reached, conflict management, and items learned to be able to complete tasks more efficiently. Instead the department has many opinionated, agenda driven speakers vying for their agenda to be heard. I think as a group we all need to decide that its time for a culture change.

Some ways to do this is limit the number of participants perhaps on a rotational basis so different leaders can be heard and can communicate with their respective teams. Another thought in changing the culture is to present a solution to any problem presented as a team. This removes blame and inserts constructive steps. Another thing is to have weekly forums involving the entire group. This can be a great place to communicate expectations and goals. Finally I think it is imperative to communicate lessons learned and talk about better ways to organize tasks, run meetings, and communicate with one another. It will be beneficial for production, group confidence, and cohesiveness.

2013-02-16T15:33:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article that mentions the fact that the workforce needs to be able to adapt to changing conditions. They need to be able to be proactive with their professional growth and instead of being comfortable employees need to willingly step out of their comfort zone and try new things. I agree with this line of thinking, heck I developed a blog and seminar called the Career Makeover, actively promoting the thought that the workforce is in charge of their own career development. That people need to actively receive training to develop new skills in an ever changing climate. I even suggested workers need to try to interview for other positions just to get a feel for what other organizations consider to be relevant skill sets, and to hear the type of processes and procedures used today. Readers should read my blog at http://cmwworkshop.blogspot.com/ especially as I develop more content.

As I sit back and digest the article and my own beliefs I also feel it is the responsibility of leaders to encourage their direct reports to receive training to develop new skill sets, ask them to read more (its ok if the reading is industry or non industry related), introduce them to the world of social media, and even be confident by inspiring co-workers to interview for other positions. Don't be afraid of change to your team, challenging people in a positive way, or for them to succeed. Leaders need to step up and provide a path for employees to follow. Development plans are crucial because this is where information can be gathered to see what each individual person is thinking as far as how they want their careers to progress.

I think this part of leadership and team development has become a lost art because today's business society is so results driven. All customers have to be serviced, survey results need to exceed expectations, dollars have to come in. Those are all necessary but they don't have to come at the expense of a team's development.

Sometimes people become stagnant or stale because they are afraid to try new things, or we just get comfortable because we are creatures of habit. At times we just lose sight of our own goals for our careers and we as leaders need to step away from daily demands for our organization and step up and let our team members know its acceptable to blossom professionally and create the best path for them to achieve new successes. SFNBJQ25JKNC

A New Beginning

2012-07-02T19:43:00.002-07:00

About 3 years ago I created this blog while in graduate school. I wanted to use this as a medium to share some of the leadership concepts I've learned, give my opinion of good leadership experiences, and to let my readers share their knowledge regarding leadership. That was a wonderful idea but then I never followed through with my plan. My blog sat idle for three long years. Then the Blog-Train came along....

See this website made me blow the dust off of my blog and has given me the inspiration to try again. Over the last three years I've graduated from school and have become a part time instructor for Stautzenberger Institute teaching customer service. I have more wonderful experiences and have learned much over the last few years. Work, and school have taught me plenty and I would like to begin again and share with my readers ideas surrounding leadership. Please come along with me on this journey to see how this site evolves over time.

Listening Skills Are Crucial

2009-04-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

I sat at my desk watching a video on my computer. As the video played I cracked open a book to read while the video played. I would then switch my attention between the video and book over the next 10 minutes. At that moment I had to laugh to myself because I was guilty of poor listening. I wasn't giving the video the attention it needed to enjoy it completely. Listening is a skill that so many leaders are told they need to improve and yet have difficulty mastering. I wasn't listening to a video now think about not listening to a person, we've all been there before,

An employee approaches their leader to discuss a current issue hoping for an immediate resolution. The discussion starts off strong but then the leader's phone rings and they look to see who's calling. The leader apologizes for the distraction and asks the employee to continue. Another minute into the conversation you notice the leader looking at their computer hoping to see what that darn e-mail says. When the leader sees the employee getting frustrated they turn towards the employee trying to listen, but starts yawning, looking away, or day dreaming as they stare at the employee with a hypnotized look. The employee then walks away in frustration knowing that leader heard maybe a minute of their conversation.

I know I'm guilty of not listening to an employee that reported to me like in the example above. That employee lost confidence in me as a leader, feeling irritated, frustrated, and not important. That's why listening completely is crucial for leadership. Listening helps build confidence, makes people feel good, motivates, increases job satisfaction, and increases self-worth.

Some tips that has helped me be a better listener are,

Keep Eye Contact
Ask questions about topics pertaining to the conversation
Keep an open posture. Make the person feel you are approachable
Avoid looking at a ringing phone or the computer while in conversation
Offer possible resolutions when asked
Offer follow up to see the progress made from these suggested resolutions

Listening takes discipline and is a learned skill, especially with all the possible distractions in an office. It requires that the leader focuses all of their attention to the conversation. Committing to this kind of focus and listening increases a leader's effectiveness and can make them feel good about the job they're doing.

President Obama-A Transformational Leader

2009-04-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

I picked up the newspaper today and found an article that is becoming a consistent story, President Obama reaches out to a country, this time Cuba, to communicate, listen, and ease some of the tension currently existing between the two nations. This is one example of how the President is using transformational leadership in his first term. This isn't a posting to judge his policies, programs, or the President himself. It is to early to do that anyway and meant for a political blog. This is to show that President Obama is trying to lead by transforming the nation's image.

Some of the characteristics associated with being transformational includes, charisma, being inspirational and motivational, and providing intellectual stimulation (Northouse, 2007, p. 182). In my opinion President Obama is showing these characteristics by offering an olive branch to Cuba, Iran, Mexico, Russia, and Turkey. The transformation is going from labeling countries and branding them as automatic enemies to communication to see if there are some commonalities that exist to ease some tension and hatred.

Out of the characteristics listed above my favorite one is providing intellectual stimulation. That's the stage the olive branch being offered by President Obama is at. Peter Northouse from the book Leadership Theory And Practice explains that this means to reach out and challenge a belief system, be creative, and innovative(Northouse, 2007, p. 183). In my opinion from the articles I see this has been a central theme in President Obama's message.

The ultimate step though is being successful in the transformation. Here at home, one example of success, can mean transforming our nation from being a strong manufacturing country to a green, environmental based nation. We can measure the stimulus money payouts to see how it is used and its effectiveness. Measuring success abroad is tough. My thought is success will mean sustained positive, intellectual communication with each nation mentioned. Having tensions go back 40 to 50 years means it is unrealistic to think these countries will be strong allies in the next 4 years. Transformation takes time, and I'm willing to give President Obama all the time he needs to see how far he can get.

Path-Goal Theory A Favorite

2009-04-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite leadership theories that I've learned about is the path-goal theory. I came across this leadership model in the text Leadership Theory And Practice by Peter G. Northouse. I prefer this model because this is designed for leaders to define goals, clarify a path, remove obstacles, and provide support (Northouse, 2007, p.128). Looking at this model I see a few things that I believe management should stand for.

The first is to define goals. Too many times do team members lose focus of why they are completing tasks. People want to know what the departmental and organizational goals are at all times. This first step takes discipline by leaders to maintain consistency because whether it is admitted or not leaders at times can lose focus as well, or they can become too results oriented forgetting the importance of the path of a task in getting to the end.

The last three components of this model, clarifying a path, removing obstacles, and providing support all define a leader that thrives in the area of development. The act of blaming others for errors is thrown out and replaced with themes of motivation and coaching. Developing talent, motivating people to strive for their best, and allowing for others to complete tasks defines the path-goal theory and one of the reasons to become involved with leadership.

Executives-Spend Time With Your Department

2009-04-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing from one of my executive leaders over the past week quite a bit. Seems that the call center I analyze for hasn't been reaching the goal of an 80% service level and answering calls in 20 seconds. The actual performance has been around a 70-73 % service level with calls being answered at a 40 second average. So of course I've been getting questioned. We're all familiar with them, "What's going wrong?", "Why aren't we achieving the goal?", "How we going to fix it?". Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind the questions. Executives have every right to know why performance is lacking, and how problems will be fixed. The frustration I have is that is the only time I hear from this leader.

My thought is spend time with the department from time to time. I understand executives need to focus on setting strategic direction for the organization so I'm not expecting side by side mentoring. Visits should be made when things go good. Ask why goals are being met to compare different situations with each other. Praise for a good job every now and again is nice, perhaps speak at department team meetings so staff becomes more comfortable and cohesive.

Every leadership book or article talks about communication by all levels of leadership. Make that communication consistent and fair. Communicate with departments during good and bad times to get maximum effort from them at all times and so they'll take ownership of challenging situations.

Ethics Found In Work Teams

2009-04-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

Staying with the topic of ethics it is hard not to notice the lack of ethical behavior or poor judgement shown in organizations regarding ethics. It seems to me the common thread with this behavior is power. Leaders get used to the power in making decisions, controlling groups, making contributions to the organization or micromanaging situations. Leaders go from being part of the team and organization to being the sole leader or managing their team. The thinking goes toward controlling the group, or possession. Sometimes having power people forget that they can serve a team as well.

This got me to thinking that maybe the way to improving ethical behavior is through the development of work teams. I hear departments call themselves teams all the time but I mean true teams. My thought process is that a true team, or self running team, still needs a leader but that role becomes supportive instead of managing or controlling. The leader can serve as a check and balance for the team to make sure it maintains an organizational direction. Leaders can serve the this type of team by developing, mentoring, and even counseling. Taking away some of the leaders power may help improve the current ethical climate.

Ethics in Leadership

2009-03-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

Today I start a new semester of class, ethics, to be specific. I've taken this course maybe 5 years ago but I think I'll be anything but bored. First I hear wonderful things about the instructor so I'm curious how he'll present the material. The other thing is it seems business and leaders have struggled with the topic of ethics. We have endless examples over the past decade where organizations and leaders have displayed poor judgement in ethical behavior, and I'm probably being kind in my description.

Whether you speak of WorldCom, Enron, KMart, the Bernie Madoff scandal, or the current AIG mess the topic of ethics comes crashing into our worlds. How many times have we heard of people losing their life's savings in the past decade? Too many times. Hopefully leaders and organizations start practicing with higher ethical standards.

My wife recently heard this saying that ethics can be defined as how people behave while others aren't watching. I don't know the original source of that saying but I like it! It is so true and I bet my semester is filled with examples of how leaders should act and how they haven't acted while other people weren't looking.

Adapt to Technology

2009-03-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

Today I signed up at Twitter which is a big step for me. I thought there would be no way I would ever tweet at any time. I had a conversation with a co-worker this past week that changed my mind. I went to get advice about this blog and our conversation led into Twitter. My co-worker told me that he knew of somebody that started an account there, but that he would never do that. He went on to say he didn't want people to know what he was doing, he wasn't that interesting, and that he didn't want co-workers to think they could create a friendship. I asked why the person he knew did it and he said his employees and students wanted to get to know him as a person. So I signed up at Twitter.

I think that all employees just want to get to know their leaders. They want to know there is a real person beneath the manager. I think truly transformational leaders will give people around them a glimpse into their personal world. The Internet gives us some wonderful tools to do this.

Twitter, creating blogs, and LinkedIn are all examples of web sites that allows us to show who we are as professionals and in our personal lives. This kind of technology helps build social and professional networks and perhaps can help build rapport and cohesion at work. Too many times have I heard leaders talk down about My Space or reading blogs. Leaders need to accept that these kinds of communication channels aren't going away and that many of the people they work with use these sites daily. Try something new and use new technology and web sites on the Internet to evolve as a leader.

Can Laissez-Faire Approach Work?

2009-03-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

The laissez-faire approach to leadership is a style where the leader is hands off with employees and lets things roll off of their backs. I often wonder if this style works for leaders? I have seen this approach in a work setting and I know other leaders resent this approach. I think it is seen as weak or non-committal. After giving it some thought I do believe this approach can work.

I believe the laissez-faire leader needs to be partnered with a leader that is more stern. I feel if the two leaders can find cohesion that together they can achieve a balance in leadership styles. I think employees will come to appreciate both styles because they aren't overwhelmed by one kind of leader constantly. The stern, authoritative leader and laissez-faire leader almost have a "good cop, bad cop" situation which can be good for employees.

The danger is employees can learn to resent this style, take advantage of this kind of leader, and can set up a toxic environment. This can lead to a decrease in employee satisfaction and an increase in attrition. So as leaders does the laissez-faire style work?

Motivate Team Members Differently

2009-03-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

My first supervision job taught me a valuable lesson as a leader and that is to motivate each person on your team differently. I remember that one of the people reporting to me reached a production milestone in the department. I alerted my manager and the response was "fantastic go reward the behavior!" So I told her I would make an announcement in our team meeting, set up a luncheon, and present an award to the employee. I was met with a luke warm response. My manager proceeded to ask me if I ever asked that person how they would like to be recognized. When I told her I didn't she mentioned that if I continue with these plans only to find out all of this recognition embarrassed the employee my actions would have a negative impact on the individual.

So I spoke with the employee, gave that person a congratulatory card, and asked how she would like to be recognized the response I got was that the card and time I gave to her was sufficient. That individual liked a quiet, private acknowledgement of her accomplishments. Another employee may have enjoyed lunch, awards, and recognition of accomplishments at a team or company event.

As leaders we need to recognize that each person on a team has different personalities and likes to be recognized and rewarded for a job well done in differently. Leaders need to find that information out and creatively carry out the things each employee communicates.

Development Key as a Leader

2009-03-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

There is one disturbing trend that I see as a leader and that is not enough time is spent in developing people. In my opinion an employee enters the organization and is trained, once that process is complete development is minimal or non existent. Development is pushed aside for production. It seems to me that the only way for development to occur is if an employee is started on a formal disciplinary process, and beginning a development program at this point is way too late.

Leaders need to develop their talented employees daily. Informally a brief discussion about their day or previous work day can provide much needed insight as to how the employee will perform during the current work day. Some other ideas to develop employees can include,

scheduling the employee in a continuing education class
side by side coaching
developing a career path program
establish specific goals around that career path program
schedule formal departmental training for the employee

Many times development is neglected for production. If employees aren't continuously developed won't production stagnate? Continuous development programs will help take production to another level. What do you think?

Don't Fear Failure

2009-03-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

I started this blog as part of a class assignment this past winter. At the end of the semester we were asked if we would continue our blogs. The majority of the class, including myself, kind of stammered out an answer like "maybe, possibly if I continued the blog" you can finish the sentence with an assortment of answers. While my classmates didn't come out and say it I think all of our hesitancy came out of a fear of failing.

As leaders we have to be willing to try something new even if that means possibly failing. As leaders we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zones and try new things. Whether this means trying develop a new management style, trying to create incentives, improve production, or to find a new way to get through a Monday go ahead and try it.

I think we'll find that some of our best work may come from an experience where as a leader we have failed. So I will continue this blog, hopefully with more frequent posts, because this is a way that I can try something new as a leader which may benefit me.

Attrition-Fear It? Loathe It? Love It?

2009-02-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

My job deals with shift bids this time of year. Shift bids are just what they sound like bidding on shifts based on performance from the prior year. As you can imagine there are a number of tenured employees that have low morale after completing these. Since low morale becomes an issue increased attrition can occur. Losing good people can be tough for a department or organization to overcome depending on the percentage of attrition that actually occurs.

With this in mind I recently had a leader inform me that attrition from this shift bid is ok because this actually becomes an opportunity for the department to bring in new talent. I wonder though how attrition is viewed? Do you view it like the leader above almost as a necessary evil to bring in new talent? Do you loathe or fear it because low staff may mean low production? I'm curious about what leaders think on this issue.

Discover School Again!

2009-01-24T11:31:00.000-08:00

I discovered the importance of school last year as I returned to get my masters degree. I procrastinated going back for years. I didn't need it, I didn't have time, I can't put in the work required. You name it and I had an excuse to not go back. I want to admit I was wrong!

What I discovered is that continuing education helped me evolve as a leader. The best thing about school is that you get to hear other people's opinions. You get to hear their experiences and learn about other management styles.

Developing a student or professional network is another benefit of school. I have learned quickly that the more people connected to you the better off you will be. I don't necessarily mean to develop new job connections, but again having additional resources available can only be an enriching experience.

If you can't go back to school then find other means to learn. Whether it is continuing education through your employer, or training sessions linked to what you do for a living, or just reading a book, find the best way to continue to learn. You won't regret it.

Eliminate the Training?

2009-01-22T18:23:00.000-08:00

I work for a department involved with tracking service level, average handle time, and staffing levels. The call center I'm involved with had a two week trend of low service levels. Anytime this occurs a leadership meeting takes place reviewing why the service level outcome has been below expectations. As the discussion progresses the topic about cutting office activity arises. Meetings, mentoring and coaching, projects, and training are all reduced in an effort to keep people at their desks answering the phones which will increase the service level.

One of the events that was talked about being eliminated or reduced was training. It always amazes me that this is one of the first events mentioned. My response was to keep training and reduce or eliminate other events. I suggested leaving training because sacrificing the potential to increase knowledge should never take place. Training is one of those non negotiable events that should never be reduced. What do you think? Can training be sacrificed if other office metrics aren't being met? If your answer is no why is it that training is often the first event to be reduced sometimes without hesitation? I'm curious at what you think.