Great Leadership

How to be a Damn Good Developmental Manager

2012-05-22T16:51:00.000-04:00

Have you ever worked for a manager that consistently helped you learn new skills and develop? A manager that took an interest in your career, challenged you to be your best, and believed in your potential to grow?

That’s the kind of manager that most employees want to work for. And if you’re manager, that’s the kind of reputation you should aspire to have.

Why? From a purely selfish perspective, when you develop your employees, they get smarter, more productive, improve their performance, and ultimately, make you look like a genius. It helps with recruiting and retaining the best employees, allows you to delegate so you can focus on what you’re being paid to do, or even take a vacation now and then.

Most importantly, it’s rewarding. It’s what leadership is all about – making a difference in the lives of others.

Most managers have good intentions – they want to be known as a developmental manager – but there’s often a huge gap between the “should do” and the “do”. In many cases, managers just don’t know how.

Here’s how:

1. Start with yourself.
Before you can credibly and effectively development others, you should develop yourself first. Otherwise, you’ll come across as an arrogant hypocrite who looks at development as being needed for everyone else, but not yourself. Shaping behavior starts with role modeling – and it also helps you learn how to get damn good at development.

2. Establish a foundation of trust and mutual respect.
OK, so when are we going to get to the pragmatic “hows”? We will, but the rest of the tips won’t work as well if your employees don’t trust that you have their backs or you’re not using development as a hammer. See how to inspire trust and 20 signs you can't be trusted as a leader.

3. Treat every day as a development day.
Development isn’t a once or twice a year event, or something you send your employees to HR or a training class for. Every time an employee comes to you with a problem, decision, or question, it’s an opportunity to develop. How do you do that? You …..

4. Ask questions.
Lots and lots of really good questions. Open-ended questions that force the employee to think and figure it out for themselves. Questions can also be used after an assignment or event, as a way to reflect back on lessons learned and cement the new knowledge or skills.

5. Let go.
I was reminded of this recently by Scott Eblin, executive coach and author of the bestseller "The Next Level". Most managers are doing stuff that they are good at and/or like to do, but really shouldn’t be doing. When told they should delegate, they’re willing to dump the mundane stuff they don’t like doing, but unwilling to let go of the good stuff. Letting go of these responsibilities and using them as a way to develop your employees is a win-win.
Just don’t expect your employee to do things the same way you did them. Remember, chances are, when you learned to do it, no one was holding your hand every step of the way with detailed instructions. Sure, they may fall and skin their knees know and then, but that’s how we learn.

6. Strrrrretch assignments.
Other than a job change, stretch assignments are hands down the best way to learn and development. As a manager, you’re in a position to look for opportunities to offer to your employees that are aligned with their development needs and career aspirations. It’s not about picking the most qualified person for the assignment – it’s about picking the right developmental assignment for the person.

7. Make connections.
Wow, it’s all about networking these days, isn't it? Managers are often in a position to make introductions, open doors, and connect employees to role models, subject matter experts, and mentors. What if you’re not already well connected? Then see #1, start with yourself.

8. Feedback.
We all have behavioral blind spots. If you don’t think you do, then you've got a big self-awareness blind spot. (-:
A manager is often the person who can tactfully help an employee see a weakness that’s getting in the way of their effectiveness or advancement.

9. Help navigate organizational politics and culture.
Help your employees learn that “politics” isn’t a dirty word; it’s the way things get done in organizations. Shadowing and role playing are two ways to teach the ins and outs of being political savvy.

10. Show me the money, Jerry!
Last, but not least, support your employee’s developmental goals with training, conferences, coaches, and other tangible resources. A good training program, while not a substitute for all of the above, can include many of the items above and turbocharge your efforts.

How about you? What do you think of when you think of a damn good development manager? Please leave a comment starting with “Someone who…….”.

3 Ways to Improve Your Positive Intelligence (PQ)

2012-05-17T07:30:00.000-04:00

This week's guest post is from Shirzad Chamine:

Daniel Goleman made a compelling and accurate case nearly two decades ago that Emotional Intelligence (EQ) was more important to leadership effectiveness and performance than IQ. But most attempts at increasing EQ have resulted only in temporary improvements. The reason is that a more foundational and core intelligence has been ignored, which is a pre-cursor to high EQ. In my lectures at Stanford University, I define this as Positive Intelligence (PQ). Without a solid PQ foundation, many of our attempts at improvements fizzle due to self-sabotage.

Your mind is your best friend, but it is also your worst enemy, involved in self-sabotage. To illustrate, when your mind tells you that you should prepare for tomorrow’s important meeting, it is acting as your friend, causing positive action. When it wakes you up at 3:00 a.m. anxious about the meeting and warning you for the hundredth time about the many consequences of failing, it is acting as your enemy; it is simply exhausting your mental resources without any redeeming value. No friend would do that.

Your PQ is the percentage of time your mind is serving you as opposed to sabotaging you. For example, a PQ of 75 means that your mind is serving you 75 percent of the time and sabotaging you about 25 percent of the time. Compelling evidence from a synthesis of research in psychology, neuroscience, and organizational science shows that with higher PQ teams and professionals ranging from leaders to salespeople perform 30-35 percent better on average. What’s more, they report being far happier and less stressed.

3 Strategies to increase PQ

I have coached hundreds of CEOs and their senior executive teams on the tools of Positive Intelligence. I take them to the frontlines of the unceasing battle raging in their minds. On one side of this battlefield are the well-disguised Saboteurs, who wreck any attempt at increasing either happiness or performance. On the other side is the Sage, who has access to one’s wisdom, insights, and often untapped mental powers. The Saboteurs and Sage are fueled by different regions of the brain. We are literally of two minds and two brains. This suggests three strategies to increasing your PQ:

Strategy 1. Weaken your Saboteurs:
The Saboteurs are the internal enemies. They are a set of automatic and habitual mind patterns, each with its own voice, beliefs, and assumptions that work against your best interest. They come in ten varieties, with names like the Judge, Controller, Victim, Stickler, Pleaser, and Avoider.

Saboteurs are a universal phenomenon. The question is not whether you have them, but which ones you have, and how strong they are. Of the executives participating in my Stanford lectures, nearly 95% conclude that they do have Saboteurs that cause “significant harm” to them reaching their full potential for success or happiness.

The great news is that you can significantly reduce the power of these mental foes. The key to weakening your Saboteurs is to identify which one you have and expose its key hidden beliefs, patterns, thoughts, and emotions. This, in effect, allows you to create a “mug shot” of your internal enemy. It allows you to identify the Saboteur the moment it shows up in your head. At that point, what you do is to just label that thought as Saboteur thought and let it go rather than pursue it seriously. To be sure, it will keep coming back, which means you will keep labeling it, and letting it go. This simple act of observing, labeling, and letting go has profound impact.

For example, notice the difference between saying “I believe I can’t succeed” and “My Judge says I can’t succeed.” The moment you label a Saboteur thought as such, it loses much of it credibility and power over you.

(Discover your top Saboteur with free online assessment at http://www.positiveintelligence.com/)

Strategy 2. Strengthen Your Sage:
Your Sage’s great wisdom and strength is rooted in its perspective: any problem you are facing is either already a gift and opportunity or could be actively turned into one. Your Saboteurs mock that perspective and cause you instead to feel anxious, frustrated, disappointed, stressed, or guilty over “bad” outcomes. Both the Sage and the Saboteur perspectives are self-fulfilling prophecies.

If you follow the Sage perspective, you get greater access to its five vastly untapped mental powers which can meet absolutely any work or life challenge without being worked up about it. There are simple and fun “power games” you can play in the back of your mind to facilitate this process.

Strategy 3. Strengthen PQ Brain muscles:
The PQ Brain gives rise to the Sage perspective its powers. Its focus is on thriving rather than surviving, which is the Saboteurs’ focus. It consists of three components: the middle prefrontal cortex, portions of the right brain, and what I call the empathy circuitry. The PQ Brain “muscles” are activated and strengthened when you command your mind to stop its busy mind chatter and direct its attention to any of your five physical sensations. An example might be to feel the weight of your body on your seat, or feet on the floor, or sensations of your breathing.

This might appear simplistic, but it is backed by a massive amount of research. Every time you attempt such a shift of attention for about 10 seconds, you have performed a “PQ rep,” strengthening the muscles of your PQ Brain. The goal is to do 100 PQ reps per day to build up and maintain strong PQ Brain muscles. This can be done while sitting in a meeting, driving, walking the dog, or taking a shower. It doesn’t need to take any extra time from your busy day. These muscles build up really fast.

Without a strong foundation of Positive Intelligence, attempts at improving performance or personal fulfillment are analogous to planting elaborate new gardens while leaving voracious snails free to roam. The wise investment is to raise Positive Intelligence first. The results are often reported to be gamechanging for the team, and lifechanging for the individual.

Try this out. Discover your top Saboteurs and PQ score with the free online assessments at http://www.positiveintelligence.com/

Bio:

Shirzad Chamine is author of New York Times bestseller Positive Intelligence. He is Chairman of CTI, the largest coach-training organization in the world. A preeminent C-suite advisor, Shirzad has coached hundreds of CEOs and their executive teams. His background includes PhD studies in neuroscience in addition to a BA in psychology, an MS in electrical engineering, and an MBA from Stanford, where he lectures.

The 6 Passages of Leadership and Management

2012-05-14T12:30:00.000-04:00

Unless you are an heir to a throne, people usually don’t begin their careers leading a large organization. There’s a progression of passages, or at least there should be.

Charan, Drotter, and Noel wrote about six leadership passages in their classic book The Leadership Pipeline. However, they use the terms “leadership” and “management” interchangeably. There’s a big difference, right?

What if we took a simplified version of the Pipeline model, and mash it with a distinction between leadership and management?

We’ll call it The Great Leadership & Management Passages Model (OK, so we need a catchier name):

Here are the six passages:

Passage #1: Managing Yourself
Managing yourself means learning how to show up to work on time and dressed appropriately, get along with your co-workers, manage your time and priorities, keep your boss happy, and follow basic workplace adequate, i.e., no microwaving fish in the break room. It also means learning how to solve problems, make decisions, use good judgment, and control your emotions.

Passage #2: Leading Yourself
Leading yourself involves figuring out what really inspires you and doing whatever it is you do with a sense of purpose and passion. It includes having a clear set of values and principles that guide your day-to-day behavior and decisions, a compelling vision, and goals. It requires the ability to handle ambiguity, paradox, and change.

Passage #3: Managing Others and Teams
Managing others and teams involves learning out to hire, train, establish performance measures, reward, and punish. It’s about figuring out what and how the work needs to be done, and lining up the right resources needed to get the work done.

Passage #4: Leading Others and Teams
In other to lead others and teams, you have to learn about and tap into each individuals values, goals, hopes, dreams, and fears. It involves getting to know each team member and learning how to inspire commitment, energize, and harness the individual and collective passion of the team. At the risk of stating the obvious – to lead others and teams requires transforming yourself into a leader.

Passage #5: Managing Organizations
Managing organizations involves optimizing a number of different functions in order to create a product or service and archive measurable organizational outcomes. It requires having a solid grasp of all aspects of the organization, including strategy, sales, marketing, human resources, manufacturing, research, legal, etc….
Goals need to be set at a high level and then cascaded throughout the organization with a performance management system in place to achieve those goals. Managing organizations also means being responsive to multiple stakeholders, including employees, customers, investors, government, and the community.

Passage #6: Leading Organizations
Leading organizations requires learning how to establish a compelling vision and inspire large groups of people to act from afar. An organizational leader can no longer rely on the ability tap into each individual’s passion – they need to figure out how to manage culture and engage the entire organization in order to mobilize shared commitment.
Leading organizations requires learning how to identify and develop other leaders, because no one leader can create and sustain extraordinary performance on their own.

I believe the passages are developmentally progressive and build upon each other. An individual can technically jump right into passages #5 and #6, Managing and Leading Organizations, they won’t be successful in the long run if they haven’t learned how to lead and manage themselves, other individuals, and teams I’ve seen this happen over and over – the brilliant, young entrepreneur or the star performer who is put in charge of an organization with undeveloped emotional intelligence and no actual experience managing others. Unfortunately, sometimes they never do learn – or even try to – and it ends up being their downfall.

I realize the model is way overly simplified – we couldn’t possibly describe everything it takes to lead and manage in less than 1000 words. But then again, when it comes to models, simple is good. If you can’t explain it to a 12-year old (or a CEO), then it’s too complicated.

So what do you think of the model? Make sense? What would you change? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Avoiding the Mistakes All Leaders Make

2012-05-11T12:36:00.000-04:00

This guest post by David Grossman wasn't meant as a response to Beth Armknecht Miller's recent The Top 5 Mistakes Leaders Make - the timing was just coincidental.
Someone tweeted in response to Beth's post: "I made all of these - does that make me a great leader?" I'd say it could help, as long as you learn by your mistakes. In that case, why not double down and make 10 mistakes? (-:

Avoiding the Mistakes All Leaders Make

In my experience, every large organization has at least one thing in common…

There isn’t a single senior management team that doesn’t spend days, weeks working tirelessly on their organization’s strategic plan. At the end of the process, everyone leaves excited about the plan and the path forward.

Yet too often the scenario that plays out is just an illusion, not true alignment. Getting the strategic plan in writing is only the beginning. The real challenge is in getting to the outcome of that strategic plan by activating the strategy inside your organization.

When it comes to bringing strategy to life, we’ve all made costly (and often the same) mistakes—mistakes that make the difference between good and great. Between confusion, skepticism and complacency… and engagement, efficiency and effectiveness.

Like any good investment, committing to organization-wide alignment around messaging and vision should pay for itself more than ten-fold—this year, and in the future.

Here are just a few of the mistakes that everyone makes, but everyone can avoid.

Mistake #1 – You don’t have a strategy that’s codified (it’s in your head or in a few leaders’ heads)
You might have the most compelling vision for your organization, but if you can’t get it out of your head and get others to see it and believe in it, it might as well not even exist.

It’s up to you to engage others so they have the same clear picture you do of your strategy and where the business is going. Lift the perspective out of your head and get it into others’ so they can own it and help you achieve it.

Mistake #2 – Elements of your strategy mean different things to different people
When it comes to strategy there are two rules. Rule #1: Have a strategy. Rule #2: Make sure everyone is literally on the same page in understanding the components of the strategy and how to implement it.

Take a cue from the trusted dictionary and literally define what each of the concepts means in your strategy. Share the definitions with your leaders and employees.

Mistake #3 – No data exists on the state of communication and what needs to be improved from employees’ perspective
Leaders are hungry for data to make business decisions on everything from new products and services to whether or not to enter a new market. Yet when it comes to organizational health and employee engagement, many fail to measure what’s working and what’s not.

Whether measuring your own business unit/function or the overall health of communications inside the organization, leaders (with the help of their communications experts) can make precise decisions about what communications to start, stop or continue to get employees engaged in the strategy and drive performance.

Mistake #4 – You don’t hold your leaders accountable to communicate your strategy
Leaders set the tone for how information flows inside an organization and how employees work and interact together, yet many aren’t judged on their performance in this critical discipline.

Accountability must be built in at multiple levels so leaders know what is expected of them, understand what “success” looks like, and can perform effectively to meet the stated expectations. When set up best, accountability for communication is part of the overall performance management system and is specifically tied to compensation.

Mistake #5 – You don’t arm leaders with the training and tools they need to communicate the strategy and make it relevant for their teams
Training ensures a leader builds the competence needed to customize and communicate critical information, and there’s no more critical piece of information than your business strategy. Since leadership communication is a learned skill, this is a critical element. When leaders know better, they do better.

Tools provide leaders with what they need to get their message across to various audiences. These often are compiled in a standard kit that leaders can pull from and customize for communicating in different settings and circumstances, whether it is bullet points for a casual lunch with employees or a presentation on the company’s key goals for a sales event or all-staff meeting.

Finally, leaders need to be assessed. How are they doing at meeting the expectations you’ve set for them?

I call it the Core Four: accountability, tools, training, and measurement. Miss one, and you’ve reduced your chances of moving leaders to action.

Communication is at the heart of your success
These are just a few of the critical mistakes everyone makes. The good news is they’re all avoidable through strong communication.

At its core, great leadership is all about giving direction, offering context, and ensuring that every person in the company—from the representative on the front lines of customer service to members of the senior leadership team—understands in ways that are relevant to him or her what the company strategy is, what it will take to accomplish its goals, and what the rewards are when you get there.

All that can only happen through communication.

Though communication does not always get the attention it deserves in C-suite planning, great leaders know it’s at the heart of their success—it’s the leavening that makes the strategic bread rise, the wheels that make the strategic car drive, the brush with which you paint your masterpiece.

It’s remarkable what you can accomplish when people know where you’re going and how to get there.

David Grossman, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, is one of America’s foremost authorities on communication and leadership, and a sought-after speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 leaders. A two-time author, David is CEO of The Grossman Group (http://www.yourthoughtpartner.com/), an award-winning Chicago-based strategic leadership development and internal communication consultancy; clients include: Accor, AOL, GlaxoSmithKline, HTC, and McDonald’s.

New Study IDs Best Companies for Leadership, Innovation

2012-05-08T16:19:00.000-04:00

Hay Group just released its seventh annual Best Companies for Leadership Study.

Is this just another one of those touchy-feely, nice to do awards? Not at all. The Best Companies for Leadership consistently outperform their peers. Over a 10 year period, the Top 20 companies produced a 5.39 percent shareholder return, compared to a 2.92 percent shareholder return generated by the S&P 500.

Each year, I publish the list of companies and a summary of the findings (see below). This year, I also interviewed Susan Snyder, senior principal in Hay Group's Leadership & Talent Practice and co-leader of the Best Companies for Leadership Study, to discuss the findings.
Note: I've paraphrased Susan's responses.

Dan: What's new in this year's findings? I don't remember seeing innovation highlighted in previous results - were those new questions?

Susan: Yes, there was a new set of questions added this year around the theme of innovation, based on what we're hearing and seeing about it's importance. We were pleased with the findings - there are very actionable take-a-ways for both organizations and individual leaders (see below).

Dan: Over the years, what seems to be the foundation for great leadership development? In other words, what doesn't change?

Susan: Over the last few years, I've seen three consistent themes:

1. The Top 20 connect leadership development with the business strategy. It's not a "nice-do-have", it's a business imperative, with tangible results.

2. The use of "stretching" to develop leaders - assignments, roles, projects, etc.. that take someone out of their comfort zone.

3. The importance of collaboration. Not just words on a values poster - it's seen treated as a critical leadership competency required to drive results.

Dan: I was surprised to see that 100% of the top 20 thought "There are a sufficient number of qualified internal candidates who are ready to assume open leadership positions". Really?! I've never seen responses like that - even the best companies never seem 100% comfortable with their bench situation. Any idea what's going on with that?

Susan: Well, you have to take these answers with a grain of salt, but the response to this question was the same as last year. So we are seeing an increase in the confidence level of Top 20 companies in their bench strength.
Dan's commentary: To all the naysayers that like to point out the lack of results for all of our leadership development efforts..... nah nah nah nah nah nah! Seriously, it's not rocket science - it just takes commitment, focus, and the disciplined use of tried and true best practices.

Dan: I always wondered if CEO commitment was a must when it comes to strong leadership development programs. Yet, the same companies keep coming out on top, even as the CEOs have turned over. How do they do it?

Susan: Even with a new CEO, great talent management leaders seem to be able to maintain the momentum and commitment. They may also be able to point to studies like ours to build the business case.
Dan's commentary: It's hard to create commitment to leadership development - but once it's there, it would take a succession of 2-3 really bad CEOs and talent management leaders to screw it up.

Dan: Is there any correlation between the $$ spend on leadership development and the results?

Susan: We don't ask that question, but I would guess there are certain things that the best invest more heavily in, like technology to manage their talent. Or, there's the company that allows it's managers to take time off to manage a non-profit for a stretch assignment. Now that's an investment!

Dan: It looks like "nice" leaders do finish first. True?

Susan: Sort of. I would push back on the term "nice" - however, yes, the Top 20 place a high value on the ability to collaborate, build relationships, and create a culture that fosters development and innovation.

The Global top 20:

Key Findings:

1. Leadership Development: Companies are better positioned for talent now and in the future:

- 100% of the Top 20 companies actively manages a pool of successors for mission-critical roles (vs. 60% of all other companies).

- 100% say they have a sufficient number of qualified internal candidates who are ready to assume open leadership positions (vs. 44% for all other companies).

- 95% of the Top 20 companies (vs. just 48% of all other companies) reported that senior leaders personally spend time actively developing others.

2. Innovation: Leaders set the context for smart innovation:

- 94% of the Top 20 companies run unprofitable projects to try new things, vs. 49 percent of all others.

- 90% say their employees spend much time discussing customers’ future needs, vs. 47 percent of all others.

- 90% said employees are encouraged to learn in areas outside of their expertise, vs. 48 percent of all others.

- All of the Top 20 companies (vs. 68% of all other companies) say they provide structured opportunities for younger employees to promote innovative ideas.

- 94% of the Top 20 companies (vs. just 49% of all other companies) say they run unprofitable projects to try new things.

- 90% of the Top 20 companies (vs. 63% of all other companies) reported that if individuals have an excellent idea, they can bypass the chain of command without the threat of negative consequences.

3. Leaders encourage collaboration and reward it accordingly (Dan: yes, the soft stuff really does matter, you can take it to the bank!):

- 100% of the Top 20 companies take clear action when a leader is not collaborating, vs. 59 percent of all others.

95% of the Top 20 evaluates and rewards leaders based on their ability to build excellent relationships with their peers, vs. 46 percent of all others.

What's your reactions to this year's study?

About Hay Group’s Best Companies for Leadership Study
Hay Group has researched the Best Companies for Leadership since 2005. This year’s survey includes responses from nearly 7,000 individuals at more than 2,300 organizations worldwide. The survey was based on the organization’s response to an online questionnaire and peer nominations. Respondents that completed the survey were from 103 countries, with 11 percent from North America, 35 percent from Europe, two percent from the Middle East, 21 percent from Asia/Pacific/Africa and 31 percent from Latin America. To see the Top 20 list from 2005 through 2011, please visit the Best Companies for Leadership microsite at http://bitly.com/Imm26t.

About Hay Group
Hay Group is a global consulting firm that works with leaders to transform strategy into reality. We develop talent, organize people to be more effective, and motivate them to perform at their best. With 85 offices in 48 countries, we work with over 7,000 clients across the world. Our clients are from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, across every major industry and represent diverse business challenges. Our focus is on making change happen and helping people and organizations realize their potential.

The May, 2012 Leadership Development Carnival

2012-05-06T19:16:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the May edition of the Leadership Development Carnival!

For those of you that may not be familiar with the Carnival, here's a refresher:

1. A blog "Carnival" is typically a collection of recent blog posts organized around a common theme, in this case, leadership development. Although there are lot's of places a reader can go to get aggregated free content these days, my readers still seem to appreciate the monthly Carnival collection. Bloggers like them because it's an opportunity to reach new readers.

2. I've been hosting the Carnival for a few years, and for the last couple years, have shared the hosting responsibilities with other bloggers.

3. I have a mailing list of over 60 leadership bloggers that I know and respect that I go to each month and ask for their best recent post. I usually get about 30-40 posts, that are sometimes organized around a theme.

4. I'm always looking for new contributors - if you are interested, send me an email with a link to your blog and I'll consider adding you to the list. I'm at danmccarth at gmail dot com.

So here's the May edition - no theme - just all good stuff!

Art Petty presents The Cruel, Bitter And Crushing Taste of Dump Truck Feedback, from his Management Excellence Blog. Several metaphors were massacred in the writing of this post!

Sharlyn Lauby from HR Bartender, presents What Creates a High Performing Organization. Does social media play a role in developing high performance? This post explores the concept. I had a chance to meet Sharlyn recently at a conference, and she is the real deal!

Lolly Daskal is very passionate about the power of heart-based leadership, the value of personal integrity, helping people achieve their potential, and the importance of making a difference in the world. She's also been a consistent Twitter supporter of Great Leadership. Here's The Truth About Leadership, from her Lead from Within blog.

Wally Bock from Three Star Leadership presents Magical Bosses. Great bosses get results that often seem magical. But there's method to the magic.

Last month's Carnival host, Tanmay Vora, from QAspire Blog, presents Lifelong Learning: Lesson from a Cab Driver. "I once heard Tom Peters saying that if you are a business traveler, you learn the most not from the corporate executives but from the cab drivers. You really get a perspective about life. I experienced it first-hand!"

Jesse Lyn Stoner from Jesse Lyn Stoner Blog presents Five Pitfalls to Avoid When Identifying Team Values. If you want to identify the right team values and ensure they are lived, avoid these 5 common pitfalls.

Jennifer V. Miller from The People Equation presents The KISS Model of Leadership Development.
Worn out by all the complex leadership development systems in your company? Jennifer Miller gives leaders a respite with a “keep it simple” approach to daily leadership development.

Mike Henry and Chery Gegelman from The Lead Change Group, presents Are You Making Choices That Matter? "I grew up in rural North Dakota and would occasionally see movies about events that are a part of our history but were not a part of my reality: Movies about the civil rights movement or the Holocaust. Watching those movies would instantly trigger my adrenalin, raise my heart-rate and make every cell in my 5’2 body feel as courageous as David taking on Goliath. In those moments, I felt invincible and ready to kick some bully-butt…”

Mary Jo Asmus from http://www.aspire-cs.com/, presents What’s Best for Them? Managers everywhere are frustrated that their best employees aren’t moving ahead with the wonderful development suggestions they’ve been given. This post explains a simple way to change this.

Tanveer Naseer from Tanveer Naseer, presents How Are You Helping Your Employees To Be Your Organization’s Heroes?

David Burkus from LeaderLab presents Why Most Managers Are Ineffective?

How can we help leaders deal with complexity and respond to it with ethical behavior? Linda Fisher Thornton, from Leading in Context offers Leading Ethically Through Complexity.

John Hunter from Curious Cat Management Improvement Blog presents The Customer is the Purpose of Our Work. The quote from Gandhi embodies the spirit of servant leadership. Look at the purpose of the system and see how you can help. See others as the reason for your role existing not as a bother to be suffered through.

Miki Saxon from MAPping Company Success presents Ducks in a Row: When Stupid Invades the Culture. What is going on; are people really getting stupider? No matter the arena, business, political, religious or role models in general, the operative question these days is ‘What were he/she/they thinking’.

Lynn Dessert from Elephants at Work presents Why does executive coaching take so long? The urgency to get it done quickly often produces poor coaching results. When your personal readiness and the coaching process are aligned, your goals can be reached.

Guy Farmer from Unconventional Training presents The Overlooked Leadership Tool. Leaders sometimes forget that their employees have a wealth of ideas to deal with challenges in the workplace. Discover a valuable tool to tap into that brain power.

Nick McCormick from Joe and Wanda on Management presents Benefits of Working On-line. Debra Benton, author of The Virtual Executive, shares benefits and offers managers advice for using on-line communications.

Tim Milburn from TimMilburn.com presents How To Be A De-Motivational Leader. I wrote this post as a tongue-in-cheek look at what NOT to do as a leader. Unfortunately, I've noticed how many leaders do these exact things. Reading about de-motivational leadership is funny. Working for a de-motivational leader...not so funny.

Joel Garfinkle from Career Advancement Blog presents 5 Surefire Tips for Job Advancement .
Professionals who want more from their careers have to seize the initiative. Many of these individuals follow a series of intentional steps to career success to secure promotions.

Bernd Geropp from More Leadership, less management presents How are correct decisions made?
Many entrepreneurs and senior managers tend to work around the clock, but take too little time for the real leadership tasks.

Anna Farmery from The Engaging Brand presents My Auntie's 10 Steps to Social Media Measurement.

Lisa Kohn of Chatsworth Consulting Group, presents What is your greatest strength? on The Thoughtful Leaders Blog where she talks about the importance of leaders acknowledging and building upon their strengths, and choosing to use them thoughtfully.

Mary Ila Ward from Horizon Point Consulting, presents Is Your Way the only Highway? In this post, the author discusses problems with the my way or the highway mentality and introduces ways for leaders to avoid stifling creativity and innovation in those they lead.

Chris Edmonds from Driving Results Through Culture presents Out-of-the-Box Thinking About Corporate Culture. " I discuss the unique "no-hour workweek" utilized at investment startup Betterment. They've found a terrific approach that honors the hectic, 24/7 pace of a startup and combines the realities of work/life balance – team members share the load, demonstrate trust & respect of each other, and don't miss a trick. Very interesting culture"

Carol Morrison from i4cp’s Productivity Blog presents Executive Leadership: Trending Toward Trouble.

Jim Taggart from Changing Winds presents Thriving in a Boundaryless Organization: How People Can Make a Difference.

Finally, we'll end with a last second submission from my friends at Talented Apps: Mark Bennett from TalentedApps - presents The New Crucible of Leadership. The old ways that leaders got to be in their position are being slowly eroded. Is that such a bad thing?
That's it for this month's edition!

The next edition of the Leadership Development Carnival will be on June 3rd, 2012, hosted by Laura Schroeder from Working Girl.

The Top 5 Mistakes Leaders Make

2012-05-03T12:22:00.000-04:00

Guest post by Great Leadership regular contributor Beth Armknecht Miller:

The Top 5 Leadership Mistakes: which one would your team members say you make?

Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of leaders many who have displayed specific leadership shortfalls, that when improved, have had a positive impact on the effectiveness and profitability of the organization. Both new and experienced manager/leaders can make these top five mistakes; which one is your Achilles heel? And what is your plan to improve?

1. Focusing on the Urgent and not the Important

How much time are you spending on activities that lead to your goals versus those that are urgent and unexpected? You would be surprised how many leaders fall into this trap. And it is a trap. In fact, I have worked with some leaders who get their “energy” from working in crisis mode.

The key is to set aside time on the calendar that is only for the important activities, and have the activities clearly prioritized so that when an urgent item is screaming at you, you can logically decide what important task can be set aside.

We all have crises, yet more often than not we move right into crisis mode before thinking through what can be moved off our plate of “importants”. Create a process that works for you in which you can smoothly move from the urgent and then back to the important. Don’t get stuck in the urgent.

2. Lack of Consistent Communication

As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as over communication in the work place. If I had a nickel for every time a leader said to me “I told the company our (project, goal, etc), yet two weeks later they have totally forgotten the conversation”, I’d be a very wealthy person.

In this age of information overload, employees have a lot to file away and process. Communications should be implemented frequently and consistently using a variety of methods since people have different learning styles. With the huge menu of communication technologies available to companies, messages should be delivered in person, electronically in written, audio, and video, as well as the old fashioned way, printed hard copy. For more on this topic from Harvard Business Review http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6629.html

3. Ineffective Feedback

This is a result of providing delayed and unclear feedback. It often starts by ignoring the “small stuff” with the hope that the behavior won’t happen again. More often than not, the behavior is repeated, and becomes tolerated. And it can lead to conflict avoidance by a manager.

The best time to provide feedback is immediately after the behavior is observed. Be clear about what you observed, how it impacted you, and ask for ideas from your employee about how they could approach it in the future. And then get their commitment to make the change. This process focuses more on the future as the past can’t be changed, only the future. For more thoughts on this visit http://www.executivevelocityblog.com/feedback-is-not-a-help/

And for innovative ideas on moving away from the traditional performance review feedback, read an article from Daniel Pink: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8113600/Think-Tank-Fix-the-workplace-not-the-workers.html.

4. Failing to Define Clear Goals

Employees need to understand how they will be measured and evaluated. Defining clear goals provides a roadmap for the employee. And more importantly, when an employee is part of her goal setting process, she has more ownership in successfully attaining her goals. Without goals, employees will not meet your performance expectations because they don’t know what they are.

For additional information on creating clear goals visit http://www.executive-velocity.com/free-tools/

5. Misunderstanding Motivation

After reading, Daniel Pink’s recent book Drive, I am convinced that leaders really need to rethink how they operate and create an environment that provides the foundation for employees to be intrinsically motivated. Too often managers think that changing the extrinsic motivators will lead to a change in behavior, and they can. The problem is that the change is not long term and sustainable.

Once you have met an employee’s baseline extrinsic motivators, salary and benefits, you should focus on creating a foundation that encourages, autonomy, mastery, and purpose. As Pink describes in his book, all humans are driven by these three attributes.

Autonomy is all about control of tasks, time, technique, and team. Mastery is providing an opportunity to get very good at something and to continue the process and understanding that you will never be perfect. It is the pursuit of perfection that motivates. And finally purpose, working for some greater good and not just profit. Profit provides a means for a company’s purpose. It is this final attribute that is found more often in smaller, entrepreneurial companies who are lead by younger leaders.

So which of these leadership mistakes would your team members say you exhibit? And what is your plan of action to develop a way of avoiding these mistakes in the future?

Beth Armknecht Miller, of Atlanta, Georgia, is Founder and President of Executive Velocity, a leadership development advisory firm accelerating the leadership success of CEOs and business leaders. She is also a Vistage Chair and Executive Coach. She is certified in Myers Briggs and Hogan leadership assessment tools and is a Certified Managerial Coach by Kennesaw State University. Visit http://www.executive-velocity.com/ or http://executivevelocityblog.com/ or follow her on twitter at SrExecAdvisor.

Transparency in Succession Planning: To Tell or Not To Tell?

2012-04-30T17:30:00.000-04:00

"To tell or not to tell"?, now THAT is the question when it comes to succession planning and high potential programs.

I recently attended a talent management networking meeting hosting by PDI Ninth House. It was well attended, with over 100 participants, all responsible for some aspect of talent management. The two presenters had a packed agenda with over 50 slides to get through.

While it was all good and interesting, the part that sparked the most questions and discussions was the section on "transparency".

At one point, participants were asked to raise their hands if their high potential programs were:

1. Not transparent;

2. Somewhat transparent; or

3. Fully transparent

There were not many hands in the air for "fully transparent". PDI (and Bersin) strongly suggests that there should be. You can answer the question for your organization in the poll at the end of this post.

According to research conducted by the Center for Creative Research (CCL), 77% of high-potential leaders surveyed reported that being formally identified was highly important to them.

Furthermore, knowing one’s status as a high potential has a significant impact on retention. Of those formally identified, only 14% were currently seeking other employment compared to 33% who were not formally informed by their organizations.

The data matches my own experience in running high potential programs and as being tapped on the shoulder as a high potential.

So - is that data compelling enough for those of you that are "in the know" to pull back the curtains on your high potential program?

Before you go out and publish those lists on your company website, there's another part of "full transparency" that you're going to have to deal with: what about having to tell that former high potential that they are no longer on the super-secret list? Arrrgh, now that's the real reason why most organizations don't go all the way with transparency. Managers - and HR - hate having to have those tough discussions.

You might even argue that for every hipo you retain by telling, you lose another former hipo (but still a damn good performer) by telling them they're no longer on the list.

To address this, PDI recommends being clear upfront as to what it means to be a high potential. It's not a life-time membership; it's only a point-in-time designation.

Communicate the criteria for selection to everyone, what it means and what it doesn’t. Status is re-evaluated every year, and you can drop off the list due to changes in organizational plans and talent needs, changes in the high potential criteria, and competition for entry into the pool.

Sure, they're still going to be disappointed, but having these conversations about expectations upfront will help soften the blow.

I mostly agree with PDI's recommendations. In fact, I've written on this topic before and given my own 2 cents on hipo notification guidelines with "High Potential Notification Guidelines: Not Too Heavy, Not Too Light".

With all due respect, the only part I may disagree with PDI is regarding the concept of telling a high potential that they are in "a program" (or on a list), or not in a program or on a list. To me, that sounds a little on the "too heavy" side.

Why not just have candid discussions about how the person's performance and potential is perceived, and what the options are for development given their status? This should be a regular (at least yearly) two-way discussion. With regular and candid feedback, there should be no surprises and each individual gets development that's appropriate for their unique development needs.

Of course, that’s in a perfect world where managers have regular discussions with employees about their performance and development….. Before we turn blue holding our breath waiting for that to happen, perhaps organizations do need to implement a more formal notification process?

What do you think? Should high potentials be told that they are high potentials? If so, should they be told if they are no longer high potential?

Take the poll below, and/or leave a comment:

Online Surveys & Market Research

Inspire People to Change

2012-04-26T17:58:00.000-04:00

Here's an encore guest post by Paul Thornton:

Leaders not only challenge us but also inspire us to take action. Some leaders post quotes in their office as reminders to inspire themselves and others. Here are a few examples.

“Make It a WOW Experience!” —Sign in the office of Kate T. Labor, Vice President-Customer Support, Systems, and Software.

“I will change one life today!” —In the article, “Understanding the Importance of Rituals,” author Justin W. Carter said that this sign was in the front office of a small company. As employees entered the office, they tapped the sign with their hand. This ritual instantly reminded them of the importance of their mission.

“Bring Energy!” —Sign on the desk of Maxine Clark, Founder and Chief Executive Bear, Build-A-Bear Workshop.

“Prove Your Groove.” —Sign on the office wall of Peter H. Reynolds CEO/Owner, FableVision Enterprises.

“The Buck Starts Here!” —Sign on the desk of Donald Trump.

Leaders inspire us by what they say, how they say it, and what they do. You must believe in yourself, your employees, and your message.

What Leaders Say
Leaders speak the truth about what is—current reality and about what’s possible—their vision. They keep it real but also identify opportunities for a better future. Leaders use words that are positive, affirming, uplifting, and encouraging. They inspire us by making us feel good about ourselves.

We all want to feel respected, valued, useful, and part of something important and successful. Package your message in a way that connects to these universal feelings. In addition, you can inspire people by tapping into their core values. Emotions and values are the spark that get us excited and energized.

The words leaders say that inspire us include:

 Telling Stories. Stories that describe setbacks, great struggle, hard work, perseverance, and eventual success inspire us to press on and achieve demanding goals.

What’s your inspiring story?

 Affirming Statements. Leaders inspire us by telling us we have the ability and talent to be successful. Doug Conant former President and CEO of Campbell’s Soups said that in graduate school his grades started to slide. He was working two jobs and taking a full course load. His favorite professor pulled him into his office and said, “You can do better.” Those four words touched him, affirmed him, and inspired him.

Who have you affirmed in the last two days?

 Planting Seeds. Leaders inspire us by getting us to see ourselves performing a bigger role. They plant seeds with comments such as, “I can see you leading our international marketing campaign.”

 Encouraging People. One of my mentors always encouraged me to pursue bigger goals. Whether I was applying for a new job, considering graduate school, or starting my own business, her consistent response was: “Now’s your time. Believe in yourself and your goals. I’m confident you can do it.”

Who are you encouraging to pursue loftier goals?

 Empowering People. Ralph Stayer, former CEO of Johnsonville Foods, inspired his employees and built their confidence by empowering them. He gave people power and authority to get things done. When leaders empower us, they’re saying, “I have confidence in you.”

How Leaders Say It
Leaders deliver their message with passion and conviction. Check out some of the YouTube videos of Tom Peters, Pat Summit, Colin Powell, and Tony Blair. Observe how animated and passionate they are. If you don’t have enthusiasm for your ideas, who will? A passionate speaker gets the audience to sit up, open up, and fully consider the key points. You must have great conviction for what you’re advocating. Leaders have no doubts, no hesitation, and no questions about the correctness of their ideas and recommendations. If you’re not fully committed to what you’re doing, why should anyone else?

Do you deliver your message with passion and conviction?

What Leaders Do
They set the example. When change is taking place all eyes are on the leader. Setting an example is a powerful way of inspiring people. People can’t ignore what you do. Leaders are often the first to take action. Their actions are strong and decisive. You increase your influence exponentially by adding highly visible examples to your words. Author and Artist, Susan Conroy said that the best example of leadership she got was from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Susan states, “I made my first trip to work with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity in 1986. Mother Teresa inspired us by her example.” Every day she was a consistent role model of humble service.

What example are you setting for your people?

Problems Related to Inspiring People

1. Some leaders lack optimism. Others are too optimistic and are thought to be out of touch with reality.

2. Some leaders aren’t inspiring because they are flat in their delivery. They lack energy and conviction when presenting their message.

3. Some leaders don’t create a sense of urgency. There is no burning platform so people are reluctant to jump into the water.

4. Some leaders talk a good game, but don’t back it up with action.

What Can You Do
First, inspire yourself. Discover what gets you excited. Second, think about your life stories. What challenges and obstacles have you faced and overcome? Craft your own personal stories that you can use to inspire others. Third, build your vocabulary. Ed Zimmer, Founder and President, Zimmer Foundation says that a large vocabulary helps you select the best words to sell your ideas and inspire people to change.

The Author:
Paul B. Thornton, MBA, M.Ed., is an author, trainer, and professor of business administration at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He has provided leadership training for over 10,000 supervisors and managers. This article is an excerpt from his new e-book,
WHAT I TEACH ABOUT…LEADERSHIP.
His e-mail address is PThornton@stcc.edu

The Future of Leadership Development

2012-04-24T10:46:00.000-04:00

A colleague from another business school recommended the book, The Future of Leadership Development, Corporate Needs and the Role of Business Schools, edited by IESE Business School Dean Jordi Canals. She said it helped set the direction for her executive development program and really got her thinking about our profession.

All of the content is written by business school professors and deans and much of it deals with MBA programs, so my practitioner readers may find it….well, academic. That’s corporate code word for deadly boring and irrelevant.

However, it was interesting enough for me to wade through it and jot down a few nuggets that I thought were worth sharing.

BTW, I’m also halfway through Physics of the Future, by Michio Kaku, so I’ve been thinking a lot about the future these days. This one actually creeps me out. It makes “The Matrix” and “The Terminator” look rosily optimistic.

Anyway, here are 10 current and potential trends for leadership development that shouldn’t creep anyone out too much, from the book and with my own embellishment:

1. The use of coaching in leadership development programs.
There are pros and cons to both group and individual leadership development. Groups facilitate networking and shared learning, and are efficient, but may miss the mark for some. Individual coaching is “all about you”, but is expensive. Why not combine them both, like a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup? I’m seeing more university based executive development programs incorporate both individual and small group coaching into their design (CCL’s been doing it forever). Coaching is even starting to work its way into some MBA programs, which is good news for the coaching industry.
The challenge for business schools will be that most of their faculty don’t have coaching expertise and credentials, so when it’s outsourced, it’s often not fully integrated into the program.

2. Senior leadership development.
Lots of people are planning to work beyond the traditional retirement age, and many of them are looking to make a career change (moving into a not-for-profit, etc…). There are plenty of “Youth” leadership development programs - why not a transition program for seniors? Maybe you could get 20% off the registration cost with your AARP membership.

3. Building Block leadership development programs.
This would be kind of an umbrella concept which would include senior programs. The idea is that leadership development needs are very different depending on your age and where you are in your career. Instead of getting an MBA in your 20s and then that’s it, why not break it up into phases and make it a lifelong educational experience? While this one’s a bit self-serving for the business schools, the concept of life cycle leadership development is intriguing.

4. Social responsibility.
Some say the organization of the future will be more socially responsibility – that profits will not even be the primary mission of an organization. This new business model will require a different model of leadership development – one that pays more attention to ethics, the environment, how decisions impact the community and society, and human rights.

5. Global leadership development.
While not really a trend – globalization has been going on for decades – the world continues to get smaller. Global leadership development isn’t just for the big multinationals anymore, and we’ll continue to look for innovative ways to develop a global mindset.

6.Virtual reality.
Second Life, simulations, avatars, virtual reality, gaming, and artificial intelligence all have the potential to change the way we develop leaders. These technologies have the potential to develop higher level competencies, like critical thinking and emotional intelligence, in a safe, accelerated, and realistic environment. Need to prepare for an upcoming performance review? There’s an app for that!

7. Liberal Arts and the “soft stuff”.
Business schools have been slow to catch on to the importance of the “soft stuff”, while instead continuing to teach their MBAs analytical and quantitative skills. Some are even starting to question the value of a traditional MBA. In response, will business degrees and leadership development programs begin to integrate more “liberal arts” into their programs? In browsing some of the program descriptions for executive development programs, it appears the humanities, arts, and social sciences are beginning to infiltrate some of the more innovative programs.

8. “The Apprentice” model for leadership development.
No, not the Donald Trump reality show. The idea is to develop leaders like we develop other skills trades – though hands-on doing vs. classroom learning, experiential learning, shadowing, mentoring, and certification. Why not? We do it with doctors, lawyers, electricians, and engineers – why not for the profession of management?

9. Those that teach have been there and done it.
In the professions mentioned above (doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc…), the teachers usually, if not always, have extensive work experience. Why shouldn’t we demand the same from our leadership professors, instructors, and coaches? This could be a great way to tap into the knowledge and experience of “senior” executives that are looking to transition into teaching, instead of relying so heavily on professional instructors.

10. Woman’s leadership development.
Instead of force fitting woman into a male model of problem solving, decision making, and leadership, progressive organizations are starting to recognize that there is tremendous value in cultivating both male and female ways of leading. One is not better than the other, but having an equal balance of both will give you a competitive advantage.

What do you think? What’s the future hold for leadership development?

Leadership: It’s the Softer Side That Counts

2012-04-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a guest post by Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn/Ferry International:

Never underestimate the softer side.

By the time you become a senior leader, you have already mastered the technical skills. What may be missing, however, are the nuances and the seemingly simple truths that get lost in the noise around how to run an organization. These are the softer skills, which may look simple, but are deceptively so.
There is nothing simple about empowering people so that the decisions they make and the actions they take are aligned with the overall values and strategy of the organization. It is not easy to remember the importance of rewarding your team continuously with praise and acknowledgement of milestones achieved, especially while you’re steering an organization to an endpoint over the horizon.
As I have found in my own career, and in discussions with global leaders, from well-respected CEOs and board members, to heads of state, leading is less about analytics and decisions, and much more about aligning, motivating, and empowering others to make those decisions. These truths are part of essential elements of leadership, which I call “the absolutes.” Although strategic and practical, they are inspiring and motivational, as the entire organization becomes aligned behind a greater purpose and a grander mission that is bigger than any one individual.

To be a leader is to make others believe; in challenging times to convey that “everything will be okay,” and that together the team will find a way forward. As a leader, you must have confidence in your own ability, but most important in your team. Leadership is humbling, knowing that it is never about you, as the leader. Leadership is all about what others achieve.

No matter how many times a basketball player practices a shot, what counts most is his performance with the team. So too it is with leadership. Leaders seek feedback on what can be improved, make the change, and measure the outcome. Leaders review some performance indicators on a daily basis and others weekly. The best measure of all, I have found, is talking to and observing customers and employees. Through the tone, cadence, and content of the feedback I receive, I can glean what no computer screen or spreadsheet can reveal. I can gauge the subtleties of whether the organization is engaged and aligned to the purpose, vision, and strategy, as well as where the opportunities and challenges can be found.

Several years ago, when we were in the early stages of transforming our mono-line brand, focused on executive recruiting, to multiple lines of business by moving carefully outside of our core offering. I visited one of our large operations. As one of my colleagues gave me a tour, introducing me to all of the employees, I noticed that she skipped three individuals who were sitting in interior offices. When I asked who they were she replied, “Oh, you don’t need to meet them. They are with our new business,” as if they were not part of our company at all.

I bit my tongue and kept my reaction to myself. I made it a point, however, to welcome these newcomers to the company. That night as I flew home I was so upset by how these employees had been dismissed that I crafted a “One Company” strategy, which today is the basis for how we operate. Had I not taken the time to visit the office and walk around to meet everyone, I never would have seen what was happening, including the need to create unity and alignment.

That is the softer side of leadership, which if unheeded will become a leader’s blind spot. Being a leader, being a CEO, is not just a position; it is a privilege and a responsibility. The lessons learned from the leadership journey are numerous. I am continually reminded that I’m not simply a messenger of our strategy. My job is to be the message—not only in words, but in demeanor, mannerisms, decisions, and actions.

It is the nuances of leadership that make the difference—the soft side, which just may be the hardest part of all.

Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn/Ferry International, the world’s largest executive recruiting firm and a leader in talent management. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller "No Fear of Failure" (Jossey-Bass, 2011), and the bestselling "The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership" (McGraw-Hill, 2012).

How to Lead Yourself When the Boss is Not Around

2012-04-16T12:27:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work for an organization and not have a boss breathing down your neck?

Sure, everyone – even entrepreneurs and CEOs answer to someone. However, there are jobs that are so far down the deep end of the empowerment continuum that it feels like you’re on your own with little or no supervision. In many organizations and occupations, “management by walking around” and micromanagement have fell by the wayside, either by design or out of necessity. Organizations are flatter, spans of control have increased, and hundreds of thousands of employees now work from home.

I’m in one of those positions. I run Executive Development Programs at a large university. The search committee and the Dean told me they were looking for a self-starter that could work with a high degree of autonomy. They weren’t kidding.

While it might sound like a great deal, working independently offers its own set of challenges. After all, the role of “manager” must have been invented for a reason, right? As much as we like to complain about our managers, some of them – the ones who can actually lead – can be inspiring, motivational, and help us do more than we could have on our own. In the absence of that kind of leadership, it’s up to us to lead ourselves. Here are a few things I’ve learned about self-leadership that might work for you:

1. Have a clear set of values or principles.
That’s leadership 101, right? Well, it’s just as important to have a clear set of values when leading yourself as it is when leading others. It’s about making the right choice when no one’s watching.

2. Have an “ownership” mindset.
You run that little piece of the world like it’s your own business. It’s your balance sheet and income statement, and there’s no one to point fingers at if you make a mistake. Accountability is a must.

3. Develop a vision, set of 2-3 year goals, and actions plans.
Having goals is a habit I developed years ago and take it with me wherever I go. It’s a lot more energizing too when you get to create them because you want to, not because someone’s making you do it.

4. Develop measures.
Without a boss, you have to monitor your own performance. Objective, measurable performance indicators help prevent us from getting delusional about how good or bad we think we’re doing.

5. Develop an informal “Advisory Board”.
Identify a small group of stakeholders that can give you hard, honest feedback, will listen to your ideas, and offer great advice.

6. Cultivate strong relationships with your peers and other key stakeholders.
In the absence of direct supervision, peers can offer the support you need to get things done, collaborate on problems and opportunities, and offer encouragement. The strength of your peer relationships is also a strong indicator of your leadership potential; in the absence of direct observation, your manager will heavily weigh the observations of your peers and others.

7. Make sure there are “check and balances” in place.
When it comes to signing contracts, spending money, selecting vendors, hiring decisions, and anything where you could be exposed to allegations of favoritism, always review these decisions with someone else – even if you’re not required to. In the absence of a “the buck stops here” manager, you need to find someone else to play that role. It could be a hard-nosed peer, the CFO, HR, the company attorney, whatever – someone who’s willing to call you out if needed.

8. Keep your boss informed.
Your boss may not require or want regular meetings or updates – but do ‘em anyways. If you can’t get the regular meetings, then at least provide regular updates on key decisions, achievements, metrics, and a head’s up on any problems that might end up finding their way to your manager’s desk.

9. Stick to a schedule.
Disciplined time management is essential when you’re not punching the clock and no one’s watching. You values should be your guide here.

10. Celebrate your achievements.
Give yourself a pat on the back now and then. Brag to your spouse or friends. Keeping yourself motivated though positive recognition is just as important as kicking yourself in the rear when things go bad. Go ahead, take a bow.

How about you – anything to add?

How Leaders Can Build a Change-Friendly Culture

2012-04-12T14:30:00.000-04:00

Guest post by Lisa Jackson and Gerry Schmidt:

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.
– Charles Darwin

Organizations today are caught in a leadership perfect storm. The forces of internet transparency, rapid technology and young generations demanding empowerment are challenging organizations of all sizes across every industry to sail differently. Yes change is a constant … but it has bigger waves and smaller waves. Currently, we are about 25 years into a 50-year cycle of massive transformation. At the end of this cycle, every part of our society will be unrecognizable. *History tells us this is the 8th mass transformational era since the dawn of writing. This particular stage is unprecedented in its global scale and speed. No industry or economic power is immune.

In such an era, existing power structures crumble like the levees in New Orleans. What flows forth are new, transparent, and ways of thinking and leading in a global society. Leaders who can harness people together in shared power, collaboration, and transparency will help their organizations avoid extinction.

What is required of leaders to make this transition?

Think Sherpa. Leaders today need to focus less on traditional methods of strategy and more on preparing people for a very different kind of technical climb: Achieving and sustaining competitive advantage amidst short life cycles. The climb requires more than good equipment. It’s mental as much as physical. A storm or unpredictable conditions can strike at any moment. Leaders must exhibit fearlessness to show people how to expect, notice and respond to anything.

There are 5 characteristics leaders must strengthen to build a culture that embraces change:

1) Clarity. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is a clear, visible goal. Such clarity is typically absent for people, and yet is the single most important criteria for building a change-friendly culture. When every person in the company can recite “What is our goal?” (an inspiring version of “How we define success”) it creates unity and alignment. Defining success in financial terms doesn’t inspire anyone beyond the top few people in the company. Use language like “Be the best _______________.” Clarity stops the feeding frenzy on change programs. It provides clear guidance to start saying “no” to most initiatives and “Yes” to what will create competitive advantage and move you towards the vision.

[Our success] comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much – Steve Jobs

2) Role Models. “Be the change you want to see.” Nelson Mandela’s wisdom is essential in a change-friendly culture. There’s no substitute for being a role model for what you are asking people to do, because people believe what you do more than what you say. Leaders who tout values of “empowerment” or “collaboration” and default to barking orders in high-stress situations undermine people’s desire to change. People don’t resist change - they resist being changed. In a change-friendly culture, leaders demonstrate how programs and initiatives are part of the same path to the vision. As well, they initiate “inviting conversations” about change versus a feeling of “mandatory draft.” Asking good questions and providing outlets to discuss change are important tools in this era of leadership.

3) Right-Sizing Empowerment. Workplace engagement is the heartbeat of your business. But true engagement is not a program … it’s simply what human beings DO. You can’t get it by copying infamous Gen Y party tricks and concierge benefits. Think about this for a moment: What engages you fully? When you become lost in what you’re doing, passionate about it, in the “flow” – what’s true? If you’re like most of us, you chose it, you see an opportunity to learn or grow, it connects you to something bigger and more meaningful, you have some autonomy. Are those qualities mirrored in how teams are set up and decisions are made in your company? These are the basic conditions for engagement. Anything else is window dressing.

4) Bias to Act for the Customer. There is a lot of rhetoric on innovation and its companion, risk-taking. The type of risk that works in a change-friendly culture is “decisive experimentation.” Stop talking and start learning by taking small steps toward the right things (see #1). Change-friendly cultures have socialized ways of working that encourage and reward smart experimentation that is tethered directly to their customer (internal or external). Try it … course-correct … adjust … expand. In a change-friendly culture every part of the company is in this cycle (Accounting, HR, Customer Support, Product Development). Every team knows who it serves and has a bias to act on the customer’s behalf.

5) Procreate DNA. Your company culture – grounded in clear values – is a stabilizing force during change, like climbing ropes. What can people hold onto and count on, that never changes and keeps them anchored to the familiar and comforting? A crucial factor in helping people embrace change is knowing what is stable. Cultures that are change-friendly are systematic in passing on the DNA of their culture. “Know thyself” and talk about it. To build a positive workplace culture, you must name it, celebrate it, and pass it onto new generations through leaders.

Lisa Jackson and Gerry Schmidt are corporate culture experts and authors of the book “Transforming Corporate Culture: 9 Natural Truths for Being Fit to Compete.” They offer a proven method to teach leaders how to evolve their corporate cultures to perform better, innovate faster, and show they truly care about people in an unprecedented era of rapid change and transformation.
Visit them on the web at http://www.corporateculturepros.com/ or follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/corporatecultur

*Navigating the Badlands: Thriving in a Decade of Radical Transformation, Mary O’Hara Deveraux, © 2004.

Is it Ever OK to Demote a Manager Back to Their Former Position?

2012-04-09T16:29:00.000-04:00

Is it ever OK to demote a manager back to their former position? Your first, intuitive answer might be "hell, no!"

Some companies or managers won’t even allow it, under any circumstances.

But why not? It happens all the time in baseball. Major league players are “sent back to the minors” for further development, and sent back up to the majors if and when they are ready.

I’ve seen cases when moving a manager one level down in the organization has turned out to be a win-win for the manager and the organization. It's usually happened when a technical expert was promoted either before they were ready or for the wrong reason, i.e., best sales rep promoted to sales manager, best engineer promoted to engineering manager, etc…
Why in the world would you want to lose the person who used to be the best performer in the group? Why should they pay for the organization’s dumb promotion mistake?

Besides, spending even a short time in a higher level role can be a developmental experience that can be leveraged for improved performance at the level below. That manager can now “see the big picture” and has an appreciation for why and how higher level decisions get made.

However – it probably won’t work, unless the following conditions are in place:

1. The new position is legitimate and justified – no “made-up” job to allow the person to save face or avoid having to fire someone. Being pushed aside into one of these roles isn’t compassionate at all – it can be humiliating and isn’t fair to the rest of employees doing real work.

2. No one is being bumped to make room for the manager. The exception to this would be as a result of a formal restructuring, when an organization wants to keep the best talent through a ranking and placement process. Still, even in this circumstance, it’s a crappy situation to walk into.

3. The manager is well qualified for the new position, or can get back up to speed quickly.

4. The manager is willing to make the move and is committed to succeed. The manager’s not going to do it kicking and screaming and holding a grudge. Yes, maybe they are willing to do it, and they can do it, but yes, they even have to like it. This is critical – success is all about attitude, and a new team member with a chip on the shoulder can poison a team. For some managers, it's even a relief to go back to the old job they loved.

5. The manager didn’t burn too many bridges to get the support needed to be successful.

6. The manager is willing to take a cut in pay. The cut doesn’t have to come all at once – it can be gradually reduced or frozen in order to give the person a chance to adjust to the new salary.

7. Its better if the manager has the opportunity to do his/her new old job in a different group (new office, territory, division), but this isn’t always possible in smaller organizations or if relocation isn’t possible.

8. The manager should be given the opportunity to develop the skills needed to be considered for promotion again and be given the resources and support. The message isn’t “never again”, it’s “not now”.

I know there are lots of examples out there where this kind of move didn’t work – but if it didn’t, I’ll bet one or more of the conditions above were missing.

I’m thinking I might be an outlier on this question…. How about you, what’s your take on it?

10 Ways to Improve Your Credibility

2012-04-06T10:18:00.000-04:00

To build on the "trust" theme from my last post, here's a guest post from performance coach Darryl Rosen:

Leaders and managers spend a lot of time and effort figuring out how to develop their people’s talent, shape their performance, and motivate them to improve.

But when was the last time you focused on yourself? Specifically, how’s your credibility? Does it need some attention? Here are 10 ways to boost your credibility with associates, customers, and everyone else within your sphere of influence.

1. Demonstrate ownership and a sense of urgency. Your associates and customers want a quick turnaround when they have a problem or concern. Show them they matter.

2. Be clear on when you will respond. When a problem or concern arises, quickly communicate details on how you will fix the issue, and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

3. Return calls and emails promptly. Don’t let emails sit in your inbox unanswered, and don’t hide behind your voicemail—especially if you’ve made a mistake. Be reachable.

4. Meet face-to-face when possible. Email is handy, but it isn’t the right mode of communication for resolving conflicts, having discussions, or expressing feelings.

5. Be open, candid, and transparent. Don’t withhold information that you should be sharing. Don’t force others to ask for the truth; volunteer it. Being open instills trust.

6. Earn trust—don’t ask for it. The worst thing a manager can say is “Trust me!” Build credibility with your actions and you’ll never have to ask for it.

7. Follow through with agreements. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Never make others beg for information that you said you would provide.

8. Admit your mistakes. Be accountable for your actions. Nothing destroys credibility more than blaming everyone else and refusing to point your finger at yourself.

9. Restate commitments. If a customer or associate agrees to anything, restate back to them what they’ve just agreed to. That way there will be surprises—from you or from them.

10. Set a good example. If you blame others, worry, get hysterical, do things in a mediocre way, have disorganized methods, or fail to see others’ potential, so will your associates.

* * * * *
Darryl Rosen has many years of experience running an internationally renowned company and is now a leading performance coach for managers and sales professionals. His newest book is Table for Three? Bringing Your Smart Phone to Lunch and 50 Dumb Mistakes Smart Managers Don’t Make! Learn more at http://www.tableforthreethebook.com/.

20 Signs That You Can’t be Trusted as a Leader

2012-04-04T16:51:00.001-04:00

“Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.”
- Leadership Guru Warren Bennis

“In leadership, there are no words more important than trust. In any organization, trust must be developed among every member of the team if success is going to be achieved.”
- Duke Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski

“If I can’t trust you, then I can’t work with you – end of story.”
- Leadership Blogger Dan McCarthy

“The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won’t get much sleep.”
- Woody Allen

Are you a trustworthy leader? Take the assessment below. Sure, everybody may do a few of these now and then. However, if there’s a consistent pattern of multiple behaviors, then I’d say there’s a serious issue of trustworthiness.

1. You don’t do what you said you were going to do.

2. You overpromise and under deliver.

3. You’re unpredictable and inconsistent.

4. You always seem to have a hidden agenda.

5. You’ll agree just to avoid conflict.

6. You never share anything personal about yourself.

7. You never seem to finish anything you start.

8. You have a reputation that says you can’t be trusted.

9. You’re never willing to take a stand.

10. You won’t listen.

11. You don’t seem interested in what’s important to others.

12. You gossip about other people and disclose confidential information.

13. You make decisions but don’t explain how and why you made the decision.

14. You often change your plans or mind and don’t tell others about it or explain why.

15. You come across as uncompassionate and insensitive.

16. You won’t admit your mistakes or acknowledge your weaknesses.

17. You misrepresent other’s views.

18. You’ll say anything to achieve your objectives and results.

19. You sugarcoat the truth.

20. You see others as a threat when they are successful or come up with good ideas.

Anything to add to the list?

April 2012 Carnival of Leadership Development: Earth Day Edition

2012-04-01T20:39:00.001-04:00

The April 2012 Carnival of Leadership Development: Earth Day Edition is being hosted by my blogging friend Tanmay Vora at his QAspire blog.

Check it our right here. I believe this may be our first edition hosted from India?

Many thanks to Tanmay for hosting this month's edition!

The next Leadership Development Carnival returns back to Great Leadership May 6th. If you blog about leadership and would like to submit a recent post, just send me an email at danmccarth at gmail dot com with the following information:

Your name
Name of post author (if different)
Name of post with link
Name of blog with link
Any introductory comments

In order to participate, you must be willing to help promote the finished Carnival through your social media channels so that all can benefit from exposure to new readers.

What Does March Madness Tell us About Leadership Promotions?

2012-03-30T16:47:00.001-04:00

Guest post by DDI's Bradford Thomas:

Being from Kentucky—where we have no professional sports teams—March Madness rises to a whole different level. It’s our Super Bowl, our World Series and our Stanley Cup. Don’t believe me? Check out this blog on ESPN.

The annual NCAA Basketball Bracket pool turns everyone into water cooler prognosticators. Annual bragging rights in the office pool centers on your ability to amass a lot of points by picking the early round upsets. For those novices reading this blog, it means picking lower skilled teams (10-16 seeds) over much more talented teams (1-4 seeds).

Now we all know that the odds heavily favor those highly-talented teams, but there are typically a few major upsets each year—including this year where two #2 seeds (Duke and Missouri) fell to #15 seeds for only the sixth time in 20 years.

But does this phenomenon occur in the business world? You bet your college mascot it does. Every day companies are making decisions about which individuals to promote on a system similar to the NCAA seeding process: the odds are heavily weighted to those individuals deemed to be the most talented with talent typically being defined as possessing the best technical skills. If performance on the job is the equivalent to moving to the next round in the NCAA tournament, you expect to see the top individual contributors to win. However, as with March Madness, some lower seeds actually do better.

In last year’s Finding the First Rung study, we asked frontline leaders how they got their job. We took a look at how frontline leader assessment participants answered this question. It probably isn’t surprising that a significant chunk of managers said that they were promoted because of their “technical expertise.” What may be surprising—like Duke losing to Lehigh—is that those managers promoted because of their technical expertise were more likely to have development needs than all other promotion reasons in 6 of the 9 Manager Ready competencies (see table). Some competencies—like Guiding Interactions—were not even close.

If you were armed with this information prior filling out your promotion brackets—would you continue to automatically promote the technical experts?

Bradford Thomas, is a product manager with Development Dimensions International (DDI). Brad has more than 18 years of business development, consultative sales, and marketing experience. He is the co-author of six research studies on leadership readiness and sales talent management. Brad has been published in the SmartBrief on Leadership, Workforce magazine’s “Dear Workforce” and DDI’s blog Talent Management Intelligence. Contact him at brad.thomas@ddiworld.com.

How to Handle Disengagement During Meetings

2012-03-30T14:19:00.000-04:00

Guest post by Great Leadership regular contributor Beth Armknecht Miller:

Have you ever been in a meeting where one person decided to display a negative attitude? You know, the person who starts reading his PDA, or the other one who suddenly falls quiet, or what about the one who starts to slide down his chair and on to the floor. Well if you are the one in charge of the meeting what is your role in this dysfunction? I recently heard a speaker, who was talking about the culture of accountability say, "You get what you put up with". Bad behavior and rudeness happen because people continually get away with it.

So lets break down bad behavior into three primary categories:

1. Checked out or disengaged

2. Negative

3. Rude

Because of the proliferation of PDAs, I want to specifically discuss the scenario of disengagement. Reading PDAs and "multi-tasking" have become common place in business meetings. So you are leading a meeting and notice that one or more participants are texting or reading email on their smartphones. What options do you have at this point in time? First, you need to assess if this is a theme or an instance i.e. does the person disengaging have a reputation for checking out and not actively participating or is this something unusual for the team member. If this person has a reputation for disengaging then it should be addressed within the meeting. As the leader of the team you have the following options:

1. You can ignore the behavior, limiting the team to less than high performance and continue the dysfunction by not managing the bad behavior. If this is your choice, you may want reevaluate why you are managing a team.

2. You have the option of communicating to the person that you recognize that they are not currently part of the meeting. Ask them "Is there something urgent that you need to take care of at this time?" It may be that an emergency has come up which she needs to address. And if this is the case and she is key to the meeting, then reschedule the meeting. If she isn't key to the meeting, then dismiss her to her emergency. However, in my experience this usually isn't the case.

3. You can wait until after the meeting and then pull the person aside to discuss what was driving the behavior. If there wasn't an emergency, find out how they think their behavior impacts the meeting, other team members, as well as their effectiveness in the job.

4. You can wait for an opportunity to ask her a pointed question specific to the conversation, such as "What do you think of Rick's idea? This will either bring the person back into the conversation and/or will create a moment of embarrassment. Depending on their response, you may need to have a follow on conversation with them one on one.

5. Or you can address the whole team and open the discussion to everyone. What are their thoughts about team members checking out? What would their suggestions be to become a more high performing team and have everyone engaged? This option may uncover process or content issues of the meeting that you haven't considered may be part of the disengaging behaviors.

So as a leader it is your choice, allow the dysfunction to continue and you may wake up without a job in the future. Or, address the issue and set the tone for more productive meetings that will lead to team success.

Beth Armknecht Miller, of Atlanta, Georgia, is Founder and President of Executive Velocity, a leadership development advisory firm accelerating the leadership success of CEOs and business leaders. She is also a Vistage Chair and Executive Coach. She is certified in Myers Briggs and Hogan leadership assessment tools and is a Certified Managerial Coach by Kennesaw State University. Visit http://www.executive-velocity.com/ or http://executivevelocityblog.com/ or follow her on twitter at SrExecAdvisor.

5 Myths about Giving Praise

2012-03-28T17:27:00.000-04:00

When I first started out in the corporate training business, I was responsible for training new managers and supervisors. We had a mandatory three week program that covered all the usual HR and operational topics, including performance management. In performance management, we would spend most of the time teaching managers how to deal with performance issues, and about two hours teaching them how to deal with good performance.

It wasn’t that we didn’t think positive reinforcement – or praise was important – it’s just that it seemed like such a no-brainer, and other than offering the usual “be specific, timely, and sincere”, we ran out of things to teach very quickly. It was actually one of their favorite training days, because we always ended up letting them out early.

And we wondered why employee satisfaction was so low and turnover so high. Looking back, it seems pretty “dumb and dumber” doesn’t it?

Fast forward to today, and I’m afraid things haven’t changed too much. Research shows that ‘appreciation for a job well done’ consistently ranks highly as a motivator in employee surveys. Yet research also shows that most people don’t feel they get enough praise.

Why is praise such an undervalued and underused management skill? Maybe it’s because we still believe the following myths regarding giving praise:

1. “You can overdo it.”
Well, maybe in theory, I suppose that’s possible. In fact, some would say we’ve raised a generation of kids that have received too much praise. If that’s true, it sure hasn’t carried over to the workplace. I can prove it: try conducting this experiment with any group of employees. Ask them “how many of you receive too much praise from your manager”? I’ve been doing this poll for over 20 years, and I’ve never seen a single hand go up. As a manager, yes, it’s a risk that your employees might get sick of all that praise you’re giving them, but I think it’s a risk worth taking.

2. “It’s easy!”
Sure, it’s easy to say “good job”. The hard part is describing the specific behaviors or characteristics that went into getting the good results. It’s the same in our personal relationships. How many of us mechanically tell our spouses or kids that we love them, but never take the time to tell them why we love them?

In my experience, managers (and people in general) just aren’t very good at coming up with ways to describe competencies (knowledge, skills, behaviors, attitudes) in a way that’s meaningful. I’d recommend purchasing a dictionary of competencies – like Lominger’s FYI – to use as a resource guide until it begins to feel more natural.

3. “It’s all about technique.”
Yes, learning how to give praise is important – but it’s so much more than a skill building exercise. More importantly, the willingness and ability to give praise is a value, or a mindset.

People that are overly judgmental, suspicious by nature, insecure, and aloof will often treat praise like a scarce resource, only to be rationed out in small quantities in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

People that are good at giving praise tend to see people, and the world, with a different set of eyes. They look for the positive, and can see good in people and situations that the rest of us can’t see.

The good news is, minds can be changed and attitudes can be learned. But it’s much harder than practicing skill technique!

4. “Not everyone needs or wants praise.” Or, “They know it – so they don’t need to hear it from me”.
The need to feel valued and appreciated is a basic human need. It transcends culture, race, gender, and age. Sure, some people say they don’t need or want praise – and they may even believe it. They may be uncomfortable receiving praise, and respond in an awkward way that makes you feel uncomfortable. However – I guarantee you – these same people are the ones taking that report card, performance appraisal, or email home and showing it to their family or keeping it as a memento.

Unless you are told outright to stop it – keep doing it. After all, it’s about making the receiver feel good, not you.

5. “It takes too much time”.
“No time to do it” = low in priority. Period, no excuses. With the right mindset (looking for the positive, sincerity), and right skills (specific and timely), giving praise will motivate your employees, improve your relationships, and at the end of the day, make you a better person. Not a bad ROI for 30 seconds of your time.

Ready to turn over a new leaf but not sure where to start? Here’s what you can do today to get started:

Pick one person. It could be a spouse, your child, friend, co-worker, or employee – and think of one thing they’ve recently done that you really appreciated. Or, it could be one characteristic that you really admire about them. Write down the specific behaviors or traits that made you feel that way, and why. If you’re struggling, ask someone for help.

Then, tell the person. Use email, phone, in person, Skype, whatever…., it doesn’t matter. Just beware – experiencing people’s reactions to sincere, specific praise can cause prolonged euphoria and be highly addictive. Don’t overdo it! Start with a once a week dosage, then gradually increase frequency until your body chemistry stabilizes.

Good luck!

Leadership Lessons from the World’s Most Admired Companies

2012-03-26T15:15:00.001-04:00

Guest post from Hay Group's Mel Stark:

Hay Group is often asked about what we’ve learned from the World’s Most Admired Companies. When it comes to fostering and developing leadership, my answer tends to be that it’s just a part of what WMACs do; it's engrained in their DNA. That's not to say that these companies are not conscious of leadership. In fact, I mean quite the opposite. WMACs are always conscious of and investing in the development and leadership of their people. Leadership is the "glue" that connects the WMACs' business strategy, operations and program changes, and ultimately, their commitment to human capital.

We've been researching the WMACs for 15 years and throughout that time, they have consistently made the development of their future leaders a top priority. In fact, executives at the WMACs say they devote as much as 30% of their time to “developing the next class of leaders.” As such, it’s no surprise that the WMACs score higher than their peers on “quality of management,” report greater satisfaction with the quality and breadth of leadership at both the executive and senior management levels, and are twice as satisfied with their high potential talent pool.

The question, however, is why?

First, the WMACs place a greater emphasis on their leadership development programs and processes for identifying future leaders, when compared to their peers. They invest in planned career assignments and individual or one-on-one coaching, rather than formal, in-house training programs. And most importantly, their collective development efforts are critically aligned with the organizations strategic goals. So, its development “fit for purpose”, it’s dynamic, thoughtful and planned, as opposed to “one size fits all”.

Second, the WMACs believe "social and emotional" skill development is twice as important as "technical" skill development. So, they use "competency models" (identified behavioral traits and underlying characteristics of an individual which cause or predict effective and/or superior performance in a job or situation) more frequently than their peers to help them identify and develop leadership talent. As a result, when compared to their peers, WMACs report that greater proportions of their executives demonstrate emotional intelligence, especially in the areas of self-awareness, self management and social awareness. These characteristics are particularly critical when considering that the WMACs cited an “inability to work in teams” and “insensitivity to others” as the most likely factors, behind “lack of vision/strategic thinking”, that contribute to high potentials derailing.

To further emphasize the distinction between leadership at WMACs when compared to peer companies, Hay Group studied a group of 23 high-potential candidates in a well know WMAC. Of the 12 that succeeded and moved up in the organization, all demonstrated self control and empathy 7 times and 3 times, respectively, more frequently than those who were passed over - reinforcing the importance WMACs place on "social and emotional" skills.

While the WMACs' well-defined approach to leadership and development provides a "best practice" for other organizations to follow, it's important to note that, at the end of the day, the key to successful leadership often lies with the individual. Leaders must develop self awareness, and be mindful of how they engage others and the outcomes they produce.

What practices does your organization implement to develop the next generation leaders?

Mel Stark is a Vice President and Regional Reward Practice leader at Hay Group.

How to Discuss a Problem with Your Manager

2012-03-22T14:46:00.000-04:00

When you’ve been a manager for a long time, or are used to working with lots of managers, you sometimes forget how hard it is for an employee to approach their boss to discuss something that’s bothering them.

For many employees, the thought of “confronting” a boss can be so intimidating, that they will come up with all sorts of other ways to cope with the situation, including:

- Avoidance

- Being a victim

- Passive aggressiveness

- Discussing the problem with their co-workers, friends, and family

- Dropping subtle hints hoping the boss with get the message

- And sometimes, even looking for another job or quitting!

Yes, it’s true, some employees would rather leave an otherwise good job instead of initiating a discussion with their manager to discuss whatever’s bothering them.

Here’s a recent conversation I had with a young employee:

Employee: “I think my boss isn’t happy with me. She’s going to fire me”.

Me: “Really? What’s she upset about?”

Employee: “I don’t know, but I can tell she’s upset”.

Me: “Have you talked to her about it?”

Employee: “OMG, I can’t do that. Do you think I should quit before she fires me?”

Me: “Quit? Seriously? You don’t even know what’s going on! Why don’t you just sit down and talk with her?”

Employee: “Ha, easy for you to say! You do this HR touchy feely stuff all the time. Where would I even start?”

And that’s when I realized I didn’t have a good grasp as to where this young employee was coming from. I’ve written plenty of posts on How to Discuss an Employee Performance Problem but have never really provided guidance on how to have a similar conversation sitting on the other side of the table.

Why talk to your boss?

Why is talking to your boss better than the other alternatives mentioned previously? Because there really can’t be a bad outcome – you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Let’s use the scenario above – you sense something is bothering your boss – maybe she’s been abrupt with you, critical, avoiding you, or whatever. If you don’t do anything, the situation usually doesn’t improve and you might end up doing something stupid, like quitting or losing your temper.

However, if you talk to your boss, chances are, one of four things will happen:

1. Your boss may have had no idea that whatever he/she was doing or not doing was having an impact on you. In other words, they might have been clueless, and by you bringing it to their attention (in a respectful, constructive way), they can easily correct it. As a manager, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on the receiving end of these kinds of discussions. Unless you’re a total jerk, you welcome the opportunity to clarify your intentions and fix your behavior.

2. Your boss may be dealing with some other issue that has nothing to do with you, and again, was unaware of his/her behavior. Bosses are human and can have bad days and personal problems, just like anyone else.

3. In either scenarios #1 & #2, your boss may be perfectly happy with your performance, and you’ll feel much better knowing that (and withdraw those job applications on Monster).

4. Your boss may actually be upset with you – and for some reason, has been avoiding telling you. Unfortunately, many bosses also don’t like confrontation and aren’t very good at it. In this case, you’ll at least have an opportunity to find out what the problem is. Once you know that, you can work on making it better. If it’s something you can’t make better or don’t want to, then at least you’ll know where you stand and can pursue other options for the right reasons.

How to approach your boss

1. Make a 30 minute appointment to talk to your boss. As a manager, I prefer this approach over the drop in “do you have a minute”, although it really depends on your boss’s style. In either case, it’s always better to try to catch your boss during a less hectic time of day and when she/her is having a good week.

2. Decide what you want to say and how you want to say it. Talk your concern over with a mentor and decide how to present the issue in a constructive, assertive, specific, and factual way. I’d even suggest role playing the discussion with your mentor or a trusted friend. Do not discuss it with your co-workers, your manager’s manager, or HR unless it’s a serious violation, i.e., harassment.

3. Describe the behavior (not your assumptions about possible intentions) and the impact of the behavior on you. Try to be as specific as possible. Example: “Barb, yesterday, when I said hello to you, you walked right by me without saying anything. In the past, you’ve always said hello when we see each other, but I notice lately you haven’t been. It’s making me feel like you’re mad at me for something. Is there something I’ve done to upset you?”

4. Listen, don’t be defensive, and ask clarifying questions. Again, best case scenario is there isn’t really a problem and your boss wasn’t aware of the impact of his/her behavior. If there really is a problem, and the problem is you, then great, you’re on the road to solving it! Study up on 18 Tips for Receiving Feedback.

5. Work with you manager to solve the problem. Offer your own suggestions, and ask your manager for ideas. Ask your manager to describe what it would look like when you are meeting expectations. Read 10 Ways to be a Great Follower.

6. Thank your manager for his/her time and willingness to discuss the issue with you. If appropriate, set up a 15 minute follow-up meeting to check in and make sure things are back on track.

I hope that helps to give more employees the confidence to talk with their managers – or maybe even their parents, teachers, or anyone in a position of authority. Good luck!

Who is Not Afraid of Radical Change?

2012-03-20T17:06:00.000-04:00

Guest post by Mark Mueller-Eberstein, co-author of “No Fear: Business Leadership in the Age of Digital Cowboys”. Good timing, having just experienced a bit of what Mark describes in a recent trip to China.

Organizations and society are transforming at radical speed. How can leaders keep up? Are t hey afraid? For sure we are. But can work ourselves and our organization into an environment of a “No Fear business”.

We all have learned that “Knowledge is power”. That stays true even in these new times. But in the decades past, the person of influence was the one who controlled information and expertise and was holding on to knowledge. This person could turn knowledge into power. A successful strategy for the 1980, but not true anymore today! The information advantage of today is outdated tomorrow and teams value their leaders by their contribution to the knowledge creation of the team.

Our world is changing in breath-taking speed. In the last 5 years there has been more knowledge created than in the 5,000 years before combined. The change in the effectiveness and the speed on how people communicate and collaborate accelerates the creating of knowledge exponentially for those who are used to leveraging and leading the transformation.

People, have grown up with the knowledge and entertainment society and who cannot remember a time without the internet or mobile phones. We call those with the highest experiences of connectivity, access to information and need for authenticity the “Digital Cowboys. They are now not only entering the workplace, but often leading organizations and teams. In the “western world”, we have a demographic where these young “Digital Cowboys” are still a relatively small minority in our organizations and especially in the management ranks. For us here, there are enough “old school” managers available to fill the open positions in the second and third tiers of management . Very different situation in demographically “young” countries like Russia or China. With 60 to over 70 percent of the population being under 30 years old, the digital cowboys are in all ranks of today’s organizations.

That holds true for both organizations native to these countries, but also western companies building subsidiaries and partnerships there have no choice than bringing the “Digital Cowboys” into leadership positions and therefor transforming not only the front-line of their organizations, but also the management and leadership teams themselves\. We have just seen the first small wave of the globalization, the mobile revolution and consumer driven economy. The “digital cowboys” are networked by nature and they dare to question the value created by those who are supposed to lead them – even in public and for all to see on the internet. Scared, yet?

Typical questions: If expectations and rules are so different, how do I as a leader of today have a change to make money with these arrogant, restless youngsters as employees or customers? How do I lead them within modern and future proof organizations?

Uncertainty often results in fear. And leader need to decide quickly whether you learn and act without fear or put your head in the sand. More and more successful leaders have confronted these fears and turned them into insights and strengths for their and their organizations’ future.

Challenges are out there. Just being ”Fearless” is more a sign of stupidity than courage. With deep understanding and an attitude to embrace the change, people can overcome the paralysis or hectic over-action driven by uncontrolled ”fear”, achieving “No Fear” leadership. These leaders are free of fear in their objective decision making and ready to cease the opportunities, achieving success.

A key asset of the US are some of the best research and education institutions, but also a culture that fosters critical questioning, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. There is only on Silicon Valley or Harvard, but the importance has been recognized by others as well. While Facebook, Amazon, EBay, Twitter and LinkedIn were invented in the US, similar platforms exist today in Russia and China with much higher adoption by the local population than the American originals there.

Opportunities are plenty and both an individual’s and an organization’s growth will be highly rewarded by the market. While western markets have mostly matured, the majority of the golden growth opportunities are generated by either new service innovations (sometimes combined with physical products) or by an exceptional performance in the so called “emerging” markets. We have just seen the start of how mobile technologies are changing “work” and the broader societies and riding this wave will make or break organizations. As leaders, the way we engage, motivate and become ourselves “Digital Cowboys” will be the deciding factor for our and our organizations’ success.

Transforming ourselves and our organizations will be the critical management and leadership task for the years to come.

The key for an individual and an organization’s success is a holistic approach to deep-dive into the leadership challenges and solutions of present and future leaders. It builds a picture for today’s corporate world to successfully master the challenges of tomorrow with a truly global and people oriented way.

About the author:
Mark Mueller-Eberstein is the co-author of “No Fear: Business Leadership in the Age of Digital Cowboys” with Pekka Viljakainen. They are engaging with the readers of the No Fear Book at www.nofear-community.com. Mueller-Eberstein is also a Professor is teaching “Change Management” at Rutgers University, is the CEO of the strategy consulting company Adgetec Corporation and bestselling author of “AGILITY: Competing and Winning in a Tech-Savvy Marketplace.”

How to Encourage Your Employees to Think and Act Like Owners

2012-03-15T07:30:00.000-04:00

Guest post by Brad Hams:

Entitlement has become more and more pervasive in our culture over the past several generations, due in part to the (misguided) self-esteem movement, but also to government’s ever expanding promise to give people things that most of them could, in fact, obtain themselves through work and perseverance. This has created dependence, which crushes potential. The further people go down the road of dependence, the more addicted they become. The tragedy is that they are miserable in this life, because it is purposeless, and they feed their addiction by wanting more and more stuff, which they in fact have no gratitude for since they have not earned it. They are also living in fear, because they have lost confidence in their ability to survive on their own. This has additionally manifested itself in a spiral of debt, as the producers are unable to sustain the addiction of the ever growing population of non-producers (Ayn Rand would call them moochers). Financially this is unsustainable, however we must, I believe, focus first and foremost on the moral implications of creating a culture of purposeless (I would say inhuman) citizens. Human beings were meant for far, far more than this.

As a business owner or business leader, you are in a unique position to create a culture in your organization that will help your employees break the addiction of entitlement and dependence, and become active participants in the business’s financial performance. Here are three steps that I recommend in order to accomplish this:

1. Teach your employees the fundamentals of business and finance, how their company makes money, and how they add (or take away) value. This will enable them to have a better understanding of how organizations actually function from a financial perspective, and dispel the common myths regarding average profit margins (most employees believe their company is making 30% to 50% profit). Typically, this will create an environment where employees are more cognizant of waste, and will help to reduce it.

2. If you want to engage your employees in financial performance, they will need to see some numbers. You may be uncomfortable sharing financial statements, and in fact, these may not be the most effective method to do it anyway. Why?

- They are too complicated for most employees to understand. In fact, there is a fairly high percentage of people on leadership teams who are not particularly financially savvy.

- They are old news. Financial statements are typically available about midway through the following month. Even if they were available the day after the month, they are still old news, and nothing can be done to change them.

- They do not focus on the leading, often activity based, measures that in fact create them.

Given these issues, you may want to spend some time identifying those leading KPIs that in fact drive financial performance, and focus employees on those. And, to be proactive, have them begin forecasting results rather than looking only at historical data.

3. If you are diligent about these first two activities, the financial performance in your organization should increase significantly. Now you can look at creating a broad-based incentive plan tied to organizational performance, because it will be self-funded.

This methodology actually requires employees to participate in the business and financial elements of the business, rather than simply the tasks they may perform in it. It allows them to be a part of driving the financial performance of the business, and furthermore, to participate in that improved financial performance by virtue of the incentive plan (and/or equity improvements if you chose to share equity). Most importantly, it creates a purposeful workforce that is now in charge of its own destiny, and no longer entrenched in entitlement, dependence, and purposelessness.

BRAD HAMS BIO

Brad Hams is on a mission to eradicate entitlement. His company, Ownership Thinking, has helped over 1,500 companies to do this, and to create cultures of earning; of employees who think and act like owners.
Prior to founding Ownership Thinking in 1995, Brad was president of Mrs. Fields Mexico, and held leadership positions in a fortune 100 company. He is a lifelong student of business and finance, and holds a master’s degree in Organization Development and Human Resources. Brad is an internationally recognized consultant and speaker, and the author of Ownership Thinking: How to End Entitlement and Create a Culture of Accountability, Purpose, and Profit (McGraw Hill, 2011).
You can reach Brad at brad@ownershipthinking.com.

Leadership Development and China

2012-03-12T13:10:00.001-04:00

I’ll be traveling to Shanghai, China to begin discussions with a large state-owned company that’s interested in our executive development programs.

I’ve been to China and Asia before, but it’s been a while. Also, I’ve never actually been involved in a business negotiation process with the Chinese.

Here’s what I know:

1. You MUST understand the roots of Chinese culture in order to understand the elements of Chinese negotiations. Things like Guanxi (personal connections), Shehui Dengji (social status), Jiejian (thrift), and Maianzi (“Face”) will all come into play at one time or another. A lack of understanding leads to frustration and a lack of business.

2. While there are differences in context and culture, generally speaking, the principles of leadership and management are universal.

3. Drink only bottled beverages.

Fortunately, I have lots of smart readers from all over the world with tons of experience to share. How about passing along some of that wisdom for me and my readers?

1. What advice do you have for doing business with China?

2. What advice do you have when it comes to executive/management/leadership development and China?

3. Any travel tips?

In addition to publishing your comment and being a valuable resource to me and other readers, I’ll offer a prize (a book or gift from China), using random.org. To be eligible for the drawing, you must leave me a way to contact you (Twitter or email).

Entries must be received by next Monday, March 19th, 2012.