Linked 2 Leadership

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Managing Mondays: Saying No by Saying Yes

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Jason Christensen

It is never easy to tell someone “no.” You are never sure how they might react. They may lose control, they may get angry or they may lose motivation feeling like nothing they ever do is right. Fortunately there is a way to say “no” by saying “yes.”

Have you ever tried telling a three-year old he can’t have a piece of candy? If you tell him “no” he might throw a tantrum kicking and screaming on the floor. If you tell him, “I understand you would like a piece of candy. Once your dinner is finished I will be happy to get it for you.” By responding in this way you have said “no,” by saying “yes.”

Reflective Response

Now let’s say a member of your team walks into your office and wants to expense an elaborate trip to secure a new client. Unfortunately you don’t have the budget for such an extravagance. You hate to say “no” to new business, especially in this economic climate, so you say, “I understand you are saying this trip may secure the deal with this new customer. Currently our budget is very tight. What are some other thoughts we should consider in acquiring their business?”

At this point you have engaged the employee looking at alternate solutions to the same situation allowing you to steer them away from one idea without having to say “no” and directing them to a more reasonable solution where you can say, “yes.”

This approach is called a reflective response. This type of response allows you to disarm a potential situation by clearly communicating with the requestor.

Here are some tips which can be used in a reflective response:

Listen to what is being requested.
Reflect their request by using phrases like, “It sounds as if you mean…,” “I understand you are saying…,” “In other words….”
You may need to further clarify what they are saying by asking non-threatening questions.
Check to make sure the message is accurate by getting their buy-in with a “yes.”
Be transparent with the requestor as to the reasoning this may not be the best solution.
Refrain from actually saying, “no” or other derivatives of the word.
Engage the requestor by looking for alternatives.
Redirect the requestor to a viable solution best fitting the needs of those involved.

The reflective response allows you to communicate your respect of the person you are in conversation with and concern for the situation they have brought to you.

Another slightly different approach is the “yes-no-yes” approach.

Creative Solutions

Take the scenario above with the three-year old asking for candy. Instead of saying, “no” to a piece of candy, you could say, “I think candy is a great idea, let’s finish our dinner and we will both have a piece.”

In the office scenario of an elaborate trip, you could say, “I like it! The budget is pretty tight right now, how about this…”

With the yes-no-yes approach it allows you a way to offer your understanding yet still communicate a “no” response in a direct fashion without delving into all the details and reflection.

Some people need a little extra caring attention while others are direct and to the point. Use whichever method best fits the situation and the person you are working with. Utilizing these approaches, lightens the blow of a harsh “no” and allows those involved to be responsive and sensitive to an otherwise tough situation.

How do handle tough situations where the answer is “no” and you have to be the one to break the news to them? Is this easy for you to handle, or is it painful for you? What are some other ways you have been able to handle this type of situation? I’d love to hear your response!

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Jason Christensen is National Accounts Manager for The Stanley Works.
He can be reached at jasonchristensen_blog@yahoo.com

Image Sources: blogs.gartner.com, babyzone.com

Filed under: Conflict Management, Future Leadership Issues, Organizational Health, Practical Steps to Influence | Tagged: communication, leadership, Leadership Development, No, Resolving Situations, Saying no by saying yes, Self-development, Yes | Leave a Comment »

Articles of Faith: Leading With Peace

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Tom Schulte

:: Souly Business Retreat :: Mixing Business & Faith Video ::
Video by Todd Miechiels, B2B Internet Marketing Guy

This post is part of our Sunday Series titled “Articles of Faith.”
We investigate leadership lessons from the Bible.
See the whole series here. Published only on Sundays.

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Management Question:

Do you approach each new day with a set of logical convictions in your head that help you reach your goals? Are you focused intently on achievement, winning, and gain? If so, bravo! You have a great sense of objective management skills and behaviors. You are being important.

This is needed for results.

Leadership Question:

Are you also checking that “gyroscope” in your heart to see if you are being an actual caring, empathetic, and understanding human being while you achieve your results? Are you getting your results through healthy relationships? If so, then even better! You have a great sense of subjective leadership skills and behaviors. You are now being influential.

This is needed for excellence!

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By definition, leadership is interpersonal. However at its core, leadership is personal. It is personal to you and to the people who you lead.

So, if you accept that leadership is personal, then here is a bigger question for you. It has to do with your leadership stability and your long-term effectiveness in getting things done with the help of others.

The question is this: Do you lead with PEACE?

Do you lead with these elements:

Purpose

Excellence

Accountability

Certainty

Equipping Others?

Actually, more importantly than an acronym of P.E.A.C.E. is the real meaning of leading with peace. It means leading with calm waters on the inside while it is rocky waters on the outside. It means being able to keep your cool under feast or famine conditions. Peace is the fulcrum in leading with balance.

Would you rather follow someone who had internal peace and displayed it on the outside, or follow someone who didn’t have that calming effect on their leadership?

Challenge Question:

So how are you doing on finding the peace to lead your team most effectively? Do your followers feel the comfort of your internal peace as you lead them, or do they feel the turmoil, stress, and discomfort that you may have coursing through your veins?

Take a good loooooong look in the mirror and ask yourself this question:

“What do I do to recharge and get peace in my life and in my leadership?”

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About the Author :: Tom Schulte

As a Christian leader in business, I get my peace from living my faith in Jesus Christ. Specifically, I get it from Philippians 4:4-9. It works EVERY time for me. Check it out:

^4-5Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

^6-7Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

^8-9Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Philippians 4:4-9, The Message)

A Peaceful Death

When I learn to die to self and let my trust in Jesus take over me and focus on the good things in my life, I instantly calm down and experience a tranquility and peace that I cannot even describe. It is promised to me and I have never found it to fail me. Not once. When people say “count your blessings,” this is what they are talking about. And for me, this is not just a daily thing. My goal to die to self is a moment-by-moment undertaking. And yes, it is difficult.

If you don’t have a source for peace and are not sure about the way I go about it, here is a tip to help you find peace: Seek Truth. When you find it, you will find your peace.

Expressing your faith in a business environment can be difficult because it is so personal and many people are just uncomfortable with it. If you feel that you want to learn more about incorporating your faith in your business life, simply look to the many resources available to you. Simply google the subject and you can tune into many resources.

Wanna’ see where I recently experienced a great sense of peace and freedom? I had the pleasure of spending a weekend last February at a Souly Business conference for men in the North Georgia mountains. Above is a great video that expresses how I recharged my soul with other business men.

Imagine being able to display true inner peace to the ones you lead. Find that peace and watch your personal leadership effectiveness skyrocket!

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Tom Schulte is Executive Director of Linked 2 Leadership &
CEO of Recalibrate Professional Development in Atlanta, GA USA.
He can be reached at tomschulte@recalibratenow.com

Filed under: Articles of Faith, Leadership Lessons Learned, Organizational Health, Practical Steps to Influence, Servant Leadership | Tagged: Attitude, communication, courage, leadership, Self-development, Servant Leadership | 2 Comments »

Leading “Paycheck People”

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Brent Karns

Paycheck People. We all know some. These are people who come into work and do the bare minimum so that they can keep their job and simply draw a paycheck. It is like they spend each day crawling through mud just to make it to the five o’clock whistle. How did these people get to where they are? They live a seemingly existential life of workplace mush.

Or better yet, why did they give up on the dream of achieving great things?!?!

My take on their lack of motivation is that several things contribute to this job lifestyle of malaise and weariness. I feel this comes from various circumstances which could include disappointment from management over the years, mediocre co-workers who co-opt their future, or challenging family situations that keep them from achieving exciting goals.

Looking to History for Lessons on Leadership

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People want to succeed

Most people want to be successful. But, this doesn’t just come from dreaming or wishing it to be true. Being successful takes a great deal of hard work and effort, a little luck, and some great mentoring.

When you see these people in your organization that slog their way through each day, what do you do about them?
Do you try to inspire them to be great?
Or do you simply write them off as lazy, uncaring, and a waste of everyone’s time?

If you care about people from a servant leader’s point-of-view, you will remember that often times “People don’t fail, we fail people.”

What kind of team do you have?

Every business has a team or a series of teams. Some of these teams are good; others of them not-so-good; and still others that flat-out stink. As leaders, we need to understand who we have on our teams and work to make them better at what they do. We need to know their strengths, their struggles,and their values to help lead them out of the mud. We need to help provide resources and control those environmental elements that make it conducive for success. It is up to us to make sure that our people are successful. We must allow them to achieve those goals that we ask them to carry out each and every day.

You ask “Who am I to do this?”

You might be their manager, co-worker, or friend. Remember we are dealing with real people, and at the end of the day, these are people who can do great things given the proper opportunity, support, encouragement, vision, and tools to get the job done.

Don’t just show up for work

Really great things can be done when the vision is cast and the right players are working together with a shared cause, adequate resources, and a real deadline. Once a great team of people decided we should go to the Moon! And they did it.

The naysayers said “It can’t be done. Why go? Should we go?

To those who had this dream, the goal of making it a reality, they accomplished the unthinkable by working as a team. This group of people came together with a common goal to achieve a task. They didn’t get there by just showing up each day and collecting a “paycheck.” Paycheck people just don’t seem to make it very far off the ground. But the people who put everything they had into the dream and the leadership empowered them to accomplish the goal make to the moon and back!

Lead by empowering others

Have you forgotten what it is to dream? Maybe so have your paycheck people. Do everyone a favor, don’t have paycheck people in your organization! It is your job to empower them, inspire them, and listen to them.

You might discover that paycheck person just needed someone to believe in them, invest in them, and allow them to achieve those goals you hired them to accomplish. Like them or not, they are a part of your team.

Be the kind of person who will understand that they may be stuck in the mud and need a helping hand out.

Empower them to dream once again, strengthen your team! Accomplish the unthinkable! Your company’s success depends on it.

Do you have paycheck people who are on your team (and on your payroll)? Do they suck the life out of initiatives and objectives on a daily basis? Do you see them as failed and broken and want them out? Or do you see them as stuck in the mud with the need for help? What is your plan for getting them unstuck from their paycheck mindset? Do you feel equipped to deal with this? I’d love to hear your perspective.

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Brent Karns is Chairman/CEO at Lexmarkholdings, Inc.
He can be reached at bkarns@lexmarkholdings.com

Image Sources: nik.co.uk, blogs.watoday.com.au, spaceflight1.nasa.gov, my-4×4.com

Filed under: Leadership Lessons Learned, Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Organizational Health, Practical Steps to Influence, Servant Leadership | Tagged: business, leadership, Management, People, Success, Team | 2 Comments »

Leadership Lessons Learned from the Playing Fields

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Leah Fygetakis

When I was in college, I played on a women’s recreational touch football team. We were known as the Iron Ovaries. Those were the days of women claiming our rightful place in being able to do whatever men could do. Yes, the times were changing… but have they really? Ask yourself this question:

Are women today seen as men’s equals in their credibility and effectiveness as problem-solvers and as leaders?

“You throw like a girl.”

When this is said to a man, it is a powerful accusation that can send him back to a place of childhood shame in no time flat. For a boy to be like a girl is to be weak. So I ask you, how many men do you know who can easily exercise compassion in the course of their leadership? Do examples of such behavior come to mind in equal numbers among the men and women leaders within your network?

Looking to History for Lessons on Leadership

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There is no one right answer, of course. Likely, it is variable among fields of business, organizational cultures, and individual differences. But, I am curious over how we play out or preferably, move on from life’s early lessons so we can lead with a full toolbox of options. The best toolbox is one that has a “yin” for every “yang” of behavior. There is a time and a place when all good leaders must be able to display a “steely resolve”, and one where they must be able to exercise “gracious acceptance.”

Subtle Rebuttal

As parents, we would like to think that we are raising our sons and daughters to value who they are and to not get stuck in the traditional sex roles of yester-year. I am coming to recognize that this is a taller order than I thought. It plays out in the most subtle of ways. I have three short vignettes that show the stubborn, unconscious hold that sex role stereotypes have in how we think and act.

We are all “guilty” of stereotyping roles to specific genders. Both men and women do this even though that cognitively most of us agree that these stereotypes should have no place in business. We generally agree it is best to simply make the best use of our human capital without regard to gender. But this always doesn’t play out in a gender-neutral way.

What does this mean for the workplace when so many of us wear these blinders? Are we unable to recognize the talent and the resources that are plainly right in front of us?

Vignette 1:

I am on the soccer field and it is a very hot day. The coach motions my 8-year-old son to the sidelines and I ask him if he would like some water. He takes the bottle of water, but struggles to loosen the cap. “Here, let me help you,” I say. He ignores me and walks over to his coach, hands him the bottle and accepts his help. Apparently, cap-loosening is a “man’s job.”

Vignette 2:

I was almost always present for my sons’ baseball practices. Often, the coaches solicited extra help from among the dads who were there. One day, my sons and I were early and I was hitting balls on the diamond for them. I played ball in high school. More kids arrived and joined in. The first coach arrived and I started to hand the bat over to him.

“Oh no,” he said, “you are doing just fine. Keep going.”

” Why didn’t you tell me you could help?” he added.

“I guess I didn’t want to insert myself in the middle of all that good male bonding going on” I replied.

“That’s silly,” he said, “we need the help.”

I wanted to say, “Well all you had to do was ask, just like you’ve asked every dad who has been out here” (some of whom had chatted about how they had never played organized baseball). Uhhhhh…

However, rather than adding my comment I thought this would be an excellent time to exercise my gracious acceptance and say nothing.

Vignette 3:

Early in my career, I taught psychology and women’s studies courses for undergraduates. I was extremely well versed on sex role stereotyping. During this time, I got my first pet, a weeks-old stray kitten. Having never had pets before, I accepted the vet’s pronouncement that the kitten was male. It was a bundle of energy and I took to rough-housing with it a lot. It wasn’t until the kitten went into its first heat that I realized it was female.

Soon after, in the middle of a rough-housing session, I suddenly stopped. Slowly it seeped into my consciousness that I had thought I was being too rough. But I wasn’t being any rougher than I had been before. The only thing that had changed was my knowledge that this was a female kitten. It was an “Aha, I gotcha” moment in realizing that even though I was an expert on sex role stereotyping, their power still had a hold on my unconscious. What a lesson!

Looking in the Mirror

I return to my point that even though most of us “know better,” sex role socialization and stereotypes are hard to erase in our unconscious thoughts and actions. To counter this, for myself, this has meant building in some regular self-reflection check-ins. I ask myself, “Would my impressions be any different if this person were the other sex? Would I be acting any differently?”

What are your thoughts and experiences around gender, sex roles and leadership? How do you keep yourself aware and honest? What has stuck in your mind about sex roles that might need to be reconsidered? I’d love to hear what is going on between your ears!

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Leah Fygetakis is Founder and Principal of Directed Success
She can be reached at leahfygetakis@comcast.net

Image Sources: eteamz.com, med.umich.edu

Filed under: Coaching Corner, Leadership Lessons Learned, Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Professional Development | Tagged: Attitude, gender, leadership, leah7, Lessons Learned, men, self-reflection, sex roles, stereotypes, Thoughts, women, women and leadership | 1 Comment »

Words Whisper – Actions Scream!

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Anthony Roberts

We have all heard the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” How does that apply to leadership? One of the most telling characteristics of a leader’s effectiveness is whether he or she has credibility.

Do they practice what they preach, do what they tell others to do, set the example, have the right to ask of others?

Credibility is one of the keystones of effective leadership. With credibility cooperation is earned so there is no need to demand. Without it, the bottom can drop out of one’s leadership and influence.

Looking to History for Lessons on Leadership

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Incredibly Un-credible

I once worked at a call center. There were roughly 350 employees. In one particular instance the call center manager informed the staff that the business was in trouble and needed sacrifice from everyone. He said that to weather the storm everyone would be required to come in early, stay late, and work as many hours as possible putting all personal activities (college, children, etc.) on the back burner. He told the staff, “Only through sacrifice will their jobs be secured.”

Then to make his point—he went home early. Not just that day but several others during the so-called emergency.

The response to his call-to-action fizzled with his early departure. In fact, not only did it fissile a unified resistance began to build to employees sacrificing their time, the general consensus being if the crisis wasn’t important enough for the call center manager to sacrifice, it wasn’t important enough for anyone else to sacrifice.

Just Incredible!

A leader’s actions exemplify and promote performance both negatively and positively, for instance:

General Patton slapping a soldier – he lost his job
General Thomas Johnathan Jackson (Stone Wall Jackson) rallying the confederate troops- he earned fierce loyalty
Martin Luther King Jr.—an example to emulate
George Washington—became father to a nation and set a leadership standard for others to aspire too

A leader’s actions, whether they intend them to or not, always sends a message.

The only questions are:

“Is it the message the leader wants to send?”

“Is it the right message?”

“Or it is something that I would regret?”

Many leaders, like General Patton, learn this lesson the hard way. As a leader we are a role model and what we do speaks to what we want done. We also have a set of expectations to live up to if we are to fit the role we have been given.

You could say that in order to lead others to success, that we must first lead ourselves there. In the words of Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then, is not an art, but a habit.” Our actions not only dictate what we carry out, they tell others what our values are, whether we are committed, what we think of them, and yes, are we willing to do what we ask them to do? Give yourself an effectiveness test.

Ask yourself this:

“Do I do ask I ask other to do?”

“Do I set a positive and effective example always?”

“Am I getting what I’m giving?“

If you are getting what you’re giving and it’s not what you want, maybe it’s time for a change.

Without credibility a leader will constantly struggle to get others to follow them and do what they ask. A smile makes others smile and a frown makes others frown, and actions do speak louder than words!

So, what are you doing to ensure that you are leading by example? How are you tallying up and quantifying your statements so that you can know that you are living by them? Who have you found to be an accountability partner to help keep you on track? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

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A. D. Roberts is President/CEO of A. D. Roberts Consulting, Inc. in North Augusta, SC and author of 21st Century Leadership–How to Lead Effectively and Develop People Successfully. www.adroberts.com

Image Sources: clevelandleader.com, rlv.zcache.com, christinekane.com

Filed under: Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Team Building Leadership | Tagged: business, Effective leadership, leadership, Management, memorex | Leave a Comment »

Leader-in-Waiting: Cometh the Hour, Cometh You

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Nigel Linacre

There is no ”I am a leader” badge that will be generally believed. No ”Head Honcho” title will cause people to say: “She’s a leader”. So what is a leader to do?

Be a leader!

A real leader needs no title. That’s because we recognize leaders through their acts of leadership: by your actions are you known. And what are a leader’s action? I propose that leadership be appropriate to its context.

Leader-in-Waiting

Future leader Sometimes you really don’t need to do any leading; it’s all flowing nicely. You can sit back and reflect. At that moment leadership could hardly be said to exist at all.

Leadership kicks into action when it is required. Or it doesn’t. The leader-in-waiting responds to a situation that requires leadership. She sees what is happening. Your response to a situation may cause you to ”become a leader”. That’s ”the calling”. Others may not hear it, but you do.

You sense an insufficiency, something your team, firm, community may need. Or you see an opportunity to create something slightly glorious. You see that others aren’t going for it. It feels like it has fallen into your lap. So what are you going for? Are you going to step up and be the leader?

As paraphrased from the quote from Cliff Gladwin on the 20th December 1948 in Durban, South Africa: “Cometh the hour, cometh you?“

More than that, you sense there is a way for this leadership vision to come to pass. It really isn’t mission impossible. You gather your energy, garner resources and boom! You are leading. Look around at this world and you can find thousands of things that need to be created, fixed or changed. The world is crying out for leaders like you. How do I know this? Anyone is capable of extraordinary acts of leadership in a crisis.

The trick is not to wait for a crisis.

Leadership is inherently creative: it is about creating what does not yet exist. Leadership that seeks to keep things the same is a very limited form of leadership; and it is unsustainable. This is a world of change for every single cell, species and planet. Nothing, but nothing remains the same.

From a leader’s point of view there is an almost unlimited supply of inertia in almost every situation: so that is the first thing a leader has to change. Overcoming inertia is hard. It takes a lot of energy to get a boulder moving, but once it is moving, whoosh! You are on a roll.

Ask us to follow because you are called “Top Banana” won’t work. Tell me your vision and I may follow you gladly.

How are you preparing your leadership toolbox to be filled with what is necessary when opportunity knocks? Do you have a game plan in place, or not? If not, what steps can you take to assess your readiness and start to plan for leadership success? So ”What’s your vision?”

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Nigel Linacre is Speaker, Leadership Coach, Author and Director at Extraordinary Leadership in Bath, UK.
He can be reached at nigel@linacres.com

Image Source: .futureleaderofamerica.com, public.deloitte.com, c.photoshelter.com

Filed under: Coaching Corner, Servant Leadership | Tagged: business, call, calling, leadership, Management, responding | 1 Comment »

Managing Mondays: Virtually Trustworthy

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Jason Christensen

How do you trust someone you rarely see? When leading a virtual team it is important to build a trusting environment for everyone involved. When there is trust people tend to excel, grow, and hold a strong commitment to the company.

Building trust and maintaining it is one of the unique challenges that virtual teams encounter. Without a lot of face time, it is very difficult to create the relationships that are necessary for success.

Relationship Development

Trust is an important factor in relationship development. Like any good relationship things take time to grow. When your team is remote and you do not see them face-to-face this can be especially challenging. Make the time to work with each of them personally. Be sure to contact them weekly even if it is just to touch base. A one-on-one call will let them know you are thinking of them and will be there help should anything come up.

Keep in mind; this may be something you have to ease into if you have not shown an interest in the past; otherwise they may think you are prying and become suspicious. So take it slow, work to re-develop those relationships and with any luck it will lead to stronger bonds.

Availability Through Communication

With differences in time zones, varied schedules, and the lack of physical presence it can be tough to have a so called “open door” when you lead a team of remote users. As a leader you need to be cognizant of this a do everything you can to make yourself available. After all how can your team trust and rely on you if they are never able to reach you?

Always take their calls when feasible or return their calls promptly.
If you only have a moment, let them know and schedule a definitive time to speak with them further.
Hold weekly conference calls to allow for corporate communications, success and improvement stories as well as an open forum for issues affecting the team.
Use instant messaging, not only does it allow you to be easily accessible, but it also creates a feeling of fellowship when you can see everyone’s availability at a glance.

Avoiding Speculation

It is easy to loose trust if it seems a member of your team is not holding up their end of the bargain. In a remote situation it things are not always as they seem. Say for example you have called a member of your team several times in one day and have not been able to reach them. Are they taking a nap? Are they running personal errands? Are out doing yard work? Maybe not. It could be they are on the phone or in a meeting with a client. It could be they are working toward an important deadline and not picking up their phone to avoid distraction. Refrain from being presumptuous and make sure it’s not just your perception. If you find this happening with regularity, address the situation and avoid speculation.

Consistency

Consistency is important in developing trust with a virtual team. It is important to:

Hold regular conference calls, videophone calls, or video conferences for the team to communicate with one another and feel as if they are sharing the same conference room.
Have monthly or quarterly in-person meetings if possible. To allow rapport to build through face-to-face conversations as well as team building exercises.

Part of consistency is holding yourself and the group to distinct timelines by:

Providing agendas before the meeting.
Sending information in advance.
Starting and ending on time.
Adjust meeting times to accommodate varied time zones
Providing facilitative leadership.

Reliability

Doing what you say you will do is a principle of great significance. To build trust in a virtual situation, leaders must be responsible and reliable.

Maintaining promises is important. Often when people go sight unseen it is easy to forget their needs. To grow trust you will need to fulfill any promises you make to your team, delivered in full and on time. I have found by keeping a task list using assigned due dates helps to keep you on schedule.

In promoting a team atmosphere the team members not only need to feel they can rely on you, but also the competency of their co-workers.

“We normally develop a respect for co-workers competence, by observing them. When we are virtual, we don’t have this opportunity.”

It is important to work hard at displaying the talents of each team member amongst the group. Some ways to do this are:

Creating team projects where you group team members together in order to complete projects occasionally so they develop rapport and learn the strengths of one another.
Instilling a buddy system allowing team members to call each other for business advice and general company questions. This is often best accomplished with veterans and rookie employees as well as employees from different divisions.

Promoting a team atmosphere

Can team members trust each other if they never see one another? Absolutely, but systems need to be set in place in order to allow teams to gather around a “virtual water cooler.” It is vital to promote a team atmosphere even when your team is remote Some exceptional tools you can utilize to connect which help greatly are:

Instant messaging.
Weekly conference calls.
Webinars.
Virtual conference rooms.
And believe it or not — the telephone!

While implementing these programs do not forget the personal touches:

Celebrate team accomplishments.
Give a “shout-out” when it is someone’s birthday.
Let the group know when a team member has hit a milestone in their career with the company.
Take personal experiences from members of the team and tie them into your meeting topics.

Trust is a two way street; the leader and the team members both have to work hard to grow that trust and build dependable relationships with one another. Without the trust factor you are bound for team failure.

What are some trust builders you have done with your team?

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Jason Christensen is National Accounts Manager for The Stanley Works.
He can be reached at jasonchristensen_blog@yahoo.com

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Leadership Integrity and the Broken Society

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Timothy R. Clark

One of the things I talk about in my new book, The Leadership Test, is the fact that many, if not most, societies in the world are endemically corrupt. Corruption has spread like cancer throughout the system. It influences, alters, or stops basic processes such as commerce, capital flows, the distribution of goods and services, the expansion and delivery of education, the making of public policy and the like. It stifles freedom.

Poison at Arm’s Length

In America, we witness the constant flow of scandal, graft, and intrigue. Most of the time we view it with curiosity and a little disgust. But we do so from a distance. And then every once in a while, we take a hit. We all get cheated, ripped off, lied to, or duped in the due course of time. But most of us don’t worry too much about it because the probability of getting stung by the unscrupulous is still statistically manageable. The chance of taking a personal loss remains low in our society compared to most. In other words, corruption has always been with us, but we can live with it. Unless we’ve been the victim of a significant loss, we tend to manage risk the same way we always have.

Is it time to be more than a spectator? Is it time to do more than read about ethical misconduct? What about promoting moral and ethical leadership?

Opened Eyes

As you contemplate your responsibility as a leader, let me jar you with the real facts of a broken society, a society brought to its knees by corruption. Afghanistan is that society. Here are the facts from a recent United Nations study:

“In 2009, Afghan citizens had to pay approximately US$ 2.5 billion in bribes, which is equivalent to 23 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the report. By coincidence, this is similar to the revenue accrued by the opium trade in 2009 (which UNODC estimates at US$ 2.8 billion). “Drugs and bribes are the two largest income generators in Afghanistan: together they correspond to about half the country’s (licit) GDP,” said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa as he released the report today in London.

“The report shows that graft is part of everyday life in Afghanistan. During the survey period, one Afghan out of two had to pay at least one kickback to a public official. In more than half the cases (56 per cent), the request for illicit payment was an explicit demand by the service provider. In three quarters of the cases, baksheesh (bribes) were paid in cash. The average bribe is US$ 160, in a country where GDP per capita is a mere US$ 425 per year.” (See the full article). (Also, for those interested in corruption more generally, I recommend that you become familiar with the NGO, Transparency International).

Integrity & Solutions

Here we have a society for which fully half the economic output is devoted to bribery and drugs. The entire nation has been sucked into a vortex of corruption. Now contemplate this question:

Is is possible to reform such a society?
If so, how would you go about it?
Could you do it with more laws and law enforcement?
Punishments and prisons?
Could you do it with better policy, more muscular regulations, internal controls, checks and balances?
Could you do it with accelerated economic development?
Could you do it with the broad expansion of education?

The answer is that no single measure will do. Combined they won’t do. You would still come up woefully short. At root, civil society is based on the precondition of leadership integrity. That is why one of the tests of a leader is to “take an oath” to act with honesty and integrity.

Leadership begins in the inner world. Unless we bind ourselves to a private oath to do the right thing, we have no foundation for civil society.

Certainly we believe in the rule of law, but the rule of law is only enforceable through the unenforceable support of private citizens. It is the unenforceable last line of defense–a line of defense that is easily swept aside when leaders and private citizens buckle.

Think of all the nations that have erected constitutions after the American model. They look good on paper, but a corrupt society will chew up and spit out the paper and ink of high ideals. Such documents are dead on arrival. And so the nations return to various forms of despotism and desperation as they face the intractable problems of disease, illiterary, poverty, and human rights abuse continue. How can we help? With the standard prescripton of military might and economic aid? I wish it were that easy.

It begins with leadership. Where there is an abundance of corruption, there is a poverty of leadership. Where there is real leadership, there is a fighting chance.

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Timothy R. Clark, Ph.D., is president of management consulting firm, TRCLARK. He just released a new book entitled, The Leadership Test: Will You Pass (Oxonian Press 2009), and is the author of Epic Change: How to Lead Change in the Global Age (Jossey-Bass 2008), which was named one of the top management books of 2008.

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Filed under: Leadership Assessments, Leadership Lessons Learned, Practical Steps to Influence, Servant Leadership | Tagged: Afghanistan, bribery, corruption, integrity, leadership, the leadership test | Leave a Comment »

Did Somebody Move Your Cheese?

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Joy Griffiths

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last year or so (which actually may turn out to be a good thing,) you will be very aware that the world economy has hit a bit of a rough patch. The doom and gloom reporting of the media reminds us daily that we are suffering a global recession that could take years to end.

If you are familiar with Spencer Johnson’s allegory called Who Moved My Cheese? you could be forgiven for thinking that your cheese definitely got moved!

Now, most of us will have some opinion of how this sorry situation came about. Hot contenders for blame range from the greed of the financial institutions to the inadequacies of the lending processes, from the outrageous bonuses promised to bankers to Joe Public who went way over his credit limit when he borrowed money to buy a house he just couldn’t afford.

Governments have bailed out failing lenders using taxpayer’s money and the taxpayer will be hit again when taxes are increased to rebuild treasury funds and public spending gets cut because the cash isn’t there any more.

Whilst financial institutions are challenging and/or grudgingly accepting proposals for increased regulation of compensation and bonuses, many of them (including some of those heavily bailed out by government) are complying with new rules to reduce bonuses whilst increasing base salaries to compensate staff that would lose out.

We have to retain good staff

Accountability is Key

Let’s put the word “Accountability” on the lab table and dissect it so that we can explore the complete understanding of the word.

Business Dictionary defines “Accountability” as:

Obligation of an individual, firm, or institution to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.

My old copy of The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines “Accountable” as:

Responsible; required to account for one’s conduct (accountable for one’s actions).

Which is echoed in the online version of The Compact Oxford English Dictionary.

So, in the great scheme of things, whatever happened to accountability?

Personal Accountability

When I was in my 20’s I worked in a hospital – I was responsible for the safe and exemplary treatment of my patients, whilst the hospital board was ultimately accountable for liability. However, I held myself personally accountable to the patient, their relations, to myself and to any higher being who might be interested.

When I moved into the commercial sector I began to understand more of accountability for sales revenues, for knowing about my territory and customers needs, and for being a responsible and honourable representative of my company. I understood that commissions (i.e. the cash in my pocket) would increase or decrease in line with my activities and results, so that I was also accountable for my take home pay.

Organizational Accountability

When I became a senior manager I learned more of operational accountability and performance bonuses, both individual and for team achievements. I had “soft” targets about how I did my job, but the cash still followed the overall revenue and profit budget locally, regionally and at a corporate level.

Again, I held myself personally accountable for the well being and development of my staff, but their pay and bonuses would be awarded based on mutually agreed targets. All of us were subject to a corporate ruling that poor results = low or zero bonuses and the possibility of a pay freeze until the next year. Each year we would receive the rules that would be applied to our particular situation, changed as necessary to reflect corporate drivers. After all, if the corporation didn’t survive none of us had jobs!

One year we had achieved very average local results, so although the sales commissions were not badly hit for some people, the management performance bonuses were negligible. Another year we did ok locally and the reps all received good commissions, but overall the corporation’s operating results were below projections so the manager’s performance bonuses suffered.

Yet another year we massively exceeded all our operational targets locally and received substantial rewards in line with the annual guidelines, even though other groups suffered because their results were not up to the mark. Our local performance had boosted the overall corporate outcome on that occasion, allowing bonuses to be paid.

Did we retain our good staff, even in the lean times? Yes we did, because each of us took ownership of the part we had to play in the success of our worldwide team, as well as locally.

Nobody likes to be blamed for bad results and as leaders the buck might really stop with us. By acknowledging our own levels of accountability and clearly identifying to our team the expectations for their deliverables, we are more likely to stay ahead of the game and maybe even spot new cheese (opportunity) in times of change.

What are you personally accountable for? Are you willing to stand up and be counted when something goes wrong – then take corrective actions whilst learning from the experience? And when things go right, do you also try to learn something from the experience and pass that knowledge on? Do your team members also know what they are accountable for and understand the consequences of their performance in relation to themselves and to the wider organisation? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Joy Griffiths is Director of Joyous Solutions Ltd.
She can be reached at joy@joyous-solutions.co.uk

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Leading Our Work Environment

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Mark McCatty

Learning Your Environment

My daughter recently was trained and certified for scuba diving. This experience reminded me of when I went through the process a few years before. Learning to dive requires the diver to know and understand the environmental differences and potential dangers in the new environment they are about to enter.

As a student diver I was learning to stay alive – to survive in a potentially hostile environment.

Surviving underwater requires that you properly equip yourself. The new environment requires personal change.

Along with this change must come a new awareness of the surroundings and new, required behaviors for survival. While guiding my daughter through the diving process, I came to realize how learning to survive, being aware of your environment and setting goals for the dive is just as important in business as it is when underwater.

Enterprise Goals

Business enterprises need goals, too. Sometimes the goal is as simple as: Satisfy the customer!

Earning a profit may be an indirect goal, but it is a direct result of an enterprise’s ability to attract and retain customers with the products/services it delivers; on time and within budget. Knowledge of the enterprise’s goals and understanding success measures when goals are achieved are critical to everyone within the enterprise.

Once the enterprise’s leaders have defined the goals, employees must understand the environments the enterprise operates in. Employees will benefit by knowing the environmental differences and potential dangers [points of failure] of their work environments.

Work Environments

There are two environments that we work in:

1) Technical Environment
2) Social Environment

The technical environment is the most easily recognized. It is comprised of the equipment, materials and supplies, and tools we use to produce our product or service. The social environment is probably the most familiar, and as such, we tend to overlook its ability to impact us. The social environment is the communications between people, groups, and departments. It is the conflict resolution process. It is problem identification and solving. Social environment represents the interaction or lack thereof between people.

Healthy Environment

When these two environments are healthy and thriving the enterprise and its employees achieve the established goals. When there is misalignment in the technical environment equipment is not meeting expectations, not running properly, or is not even the right equipment. When the technical environment is not aligned, the enterprise suffers. When the materials or supplies are not to specifications, the business suffers. When the tools are incorrect or not available, the goals are negatively affected. When we do not meet our goals due to technical environment failures, the enterprise has suffered from misalignment.

The same is true for the most overlooked environment: the social environment. When the social environment is not operating properly, i.e. is not aligned, there are critical breakdowns in communication and an employee’s ability to meet expectations. This breakdown creates negative conflict in the enterprise.

The Leader’s Role

As a consultant, I’ve seen many enterprises that are merely surviving. When referencing scuba diving, it is very stressful to be in a survival circumstance. My first solo dive was focused on surviving the dive. Amazingly, I went through sixty minutes worth of air in less than twenty minutes. Once I became qualified and skilled as a diver, I began to enjoy all the unique beauty this underwater environment had to offer. It is much more enjoyable to be comfortable and thriving in the environment instead of being focused on survival.

What every organization needs are people who are able to do their job, willing to do their job, and allowed to do their job. As enterprise leaders, we need to develop our employees and allow them to use the power they have to take the necessary actions to fulfill their purpose in the enterprise.

The bottom line is that when we miss our goal it is a sign that we are out of alignment somewhere in our work environments. It is in those critical moments that we need people with the integrity and courage to stand and openly ask, “What is happening? How can we prevent this from happening again?”

This is a leader’s role. When goals are missed, leaders will not ignore that reality. A leader will address the failure and ask the tough questions. The leader will use an approach to empower people and engage them in the improvement process. The leader knows that the solution is found in looking at the environments honestly, seeing where there is misalignment, and making the required correction. We appreciate leaders who demonstrate the courage to take on this challenging task.

How do you think about your workplace as an “environment” that people come into to work? Do you think of it as some place that you can help control so that your team can learn, grow, and prosper? Do you look at the workplace as a place that needs care so that it can help the people who work there? Are you providing the environmental leadership that will help you get better results from the people you lead? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please share.

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Mark McCatty is Senior Consultant at Cornelius & Associates
He can be reached at m.mccatty@corneliusassoc.com

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