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Leading Customer Service

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Andy Uskavitch

Leading Customer Service

Good customer service doesn’t begin nor end with the customer.

It begins with the leader and, well, I don’t believe it ever ends.

Defining Customer Service

You may have heard the saying that, “customer service is not a department,” right. You may have a department called Customer Service, but by doing so, you make it feel as though that’s where it’s all taken care of.

But what about you, the leader?
Aren’t you supposed to be involved?
Don’t you have some say in the matter?

Absolutely, you do!

If you want to dig even deeper, you should see that it’s everyone’s responsibility, not just yours, not just the Customer Service Department’s, but everyone who works within the organization. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep the organism healthy and functioning well.

Leadership is Influence

But leaders influence. Some positively, some negatively. Either one of those effects others’ customer service abilities. You need to treat every employee you come in contact with, with the utmost sincerity and respect.

If you don’t do it, your employees won’t do it. Unless you’re dedicated to taking the reigns to develop superior service in your employees, it’s not going to happen.

Taking a customer service class here and there or reading quotes on a poster once a month, is not going to furnish that sustained motivation that your employees need to provide that WOW service.

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L2L Reader Quote: “Invaluable advice and encouragement!”

Doing Your Whole Job

“I don’t have time to take on anything extra.” How many times have you heard that or thought it? Well first, customer service is not “something extra.”

Customers are where your revenue and profit comes from. In any organization, there’s typically somewhere else they could go, or at least just stop coming. So when you’re that dependent on something like customers, how can you call service, “something extra?”

In Lee Cockerell’s (former VP of Operations, Walt Disney World Resort) new book, The Customer Rules, he points out that:

“Great leaders speak loudly and often about what they want their organizations to focus on and what employees are expected to do.”

Hello . . . How many of you, or other leaders you know in your organization, speak loudly about customer service? But you always hear about sales, production, etc.

Keeping Ahead of the Pack

Don’t wait for customer service to get bad before you do anything about it. By then it’s too late. The damage has been done. Now you’re into damage-control mode – which takes a lot more effort.

Monkey see, monkey do, here’s an easy activity to do (didn’t mean for that to rhyme, but I’ll take it). Go to a few local retail stores or restaurants. Spend just a few minutes in each one, just observing the employees. You’ll be able to tell what the management is like within just a couple of minutes because the employees walk the leader’s talk.

No matter how good the stores’ customer service “program” is, it won’t be successful unless the leaders walk the talk.

You can’t just focus on the everyday business stuff – products, marketing, sales. In his book, Lee goes on to say that, “Managers have to recognize that sustained profits depend on their ability to generate consistent, ongoing, excellent service”. You have to keep good service in the forefront of everyone’s mind if you want it to be consistent.

A Whole New World

We don’t live in a world anymore where we can focus on one product and be the only place to get it. You may come up with a one of kind product, but you, very soon, will have competition. You must lead the customer service attitude.

“But seriously, I have very little time.” In Beverly Kay & Julie Winkle Giulioni’s newest book, Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go, they say it so perfectly – “let’s get real. You’re having conversations already . . . What if you could redirect some of that time and some of those conversations to focus on careers?”

In this case, bettering customer service is bettering a career. A few words here, and a few words there. Just be sure you’re backing up those words with what you do.

Leadership By Example

Most people aren’t going to personally try to get their teams to improve customer service. It has to come from you. If you bring the horse to the watering hole, the horse will have a drink. But if you offer a trough, the horse will always be able to get a drink.

You’re always looking for new and better ways to increase sales, improve products, or streamline production. If you can’t increase customers or keep the ones you have . . . none of that will matter.

Do you walk the talk when it comes to customer service? How much time do you spend talking to employees? How much time could you spend talking to employees? I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Image Sources: image.naldzgraphics.net

Rogers CEO says customer service needs to improve ‘significantly’ (globalnews.ca)
Amazing Customer Service Gives Competitive Edge In Any Economy and Any Marketplace (business2community.com)
How SMEs can ensure great customer service (guardian.co.uk)

Filed under: Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Organizational Health, Practical Steps to Influence | Tagged: communication, leadership, motivation, problem-solving, soft skills, Talent Management | 2 Comments »

Executive Effectiveness: 4 Insights on Becoming Inspiring

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Michael Beck

Inspiration

One of the most important competencies a leader must master is the ability to inspire people.

On Inspiration and Motivation

There is a difference between inspiration and motivation.

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in·spi·ra·tion [ ìnspə ráysh'n ] n.

1. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.

By definition, “to inspire” means “to exert a stimulating or beneficial effect upon, or to arouse with a particular emotion”

=============

mo·ti·va·tion [ mo tə váysh'n ] n.

1. Something that motivates; an inducement or incentive.

By definition, “to motivate” means “to provide with an incentive, or move to action.”.

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The important implication to this distinction is that we inspire people by who we are and what we do (or did), and people are motivated by who they are or what they want.

Therefore, for you to be able to inspire people, they need to see who you are as a person and they need to become aware of what you’re doing or what you’ve done in the past.

Inspirational Leadership

What does being an inspiring leader accomplish?

Inspirational leadership achieves a number of very important things.

Elicit Emotions

An inspiring leader elicits an emotional response from people. This ability is essential to effective leadership. People are moved more often and more strongly by emotion than they are by logic.

When we inspire people, it creates the desire to accomplish more and helps people to overcome their challenges and fears. Becoming an inspirational leader is one of the keys to creating a high performing team.

Spark Imagination

An inspiring leader can spark the imagination of an entire organization. When a leader masters the ability to deliver an inspiring message, their message can become the catalyst for a new, innovative future. Inspiration causes people to align themselves with your vision, your passion, and your cause.

Belief, Enthusiasm and Hope

An inspirational leader creates belief, enthusiasm, and hope in people. When people are inspired by someone, they admire them, respect them, and often strive to emulate them. In turn, they will strive to gain your respect and admiration as well.

Who & How

Now that I’ve sparked your interest in becoming a more inspirational leader we need to turn our attentions to the things we can do to become more inspiring. A good place to start is by thinking of people who you find inspiring and by reflecting on why they inspire you.

These people may be historic figures, present day figures, or family members.

Here is a sample list of people I think most of us would consider to be inspiring:

Feelings About People

So the question is, what is it (or was it) about them that makes them inspiring?
What causes us to feel that way about them?

If you list all the things about them that cause you to feel that way, you’ll see that it boils down to how you feel about them as a person or what they did that was admirable.

When someone has a vision, a passion, a purpose, or a philosophy and communicates it well, they draw people to them like a magnet.

They inspire them to dream bigger and achieve more. Even more inspiring is when they act on that vision, passion, or purpose.

Onward to Greater Things

Additionally, we’re often inspired by someone who was willing to stand up for someone or something. We tend to admire people like that. People who overcame adversity and succeeded in spite of it also inspire us onward to greater things.

We all have challenges. Sometimes we overcome them, and sometimes they overwhelm us.

An inspiring leader can make all the difference in someone’s life.

Alignment & Integrity

And finally, we are inspired by someone with integrity. Someone who not only does what he or she says they will do, but speaks and acts in alignment with the values they say matter to them. There are few things more powerful than a person who lives by their principles.

Let me offer some insights into what you can do right now to be more inspiring to the people around you. Most of us haven’t had to overcome extraordinary challenges and most of us haven’t made an impact on a global scale. But nevertheless, each of us can be an inspiring leader to our team, our company and our family.

Your Future Challenge

If you want to enhance your leadership effectiveness and achieve greater success, it is essential to become inspiring to others. We each tend to consider our past achievements and accomplishments as unremarkable.

Unremarkable because either they came easily to us, or because we feel that anyone (and everyone) could accomplish what we did, or because we focus on (and are possibly embarrassed by) the challenges we faced rather than focusing on the fact that we overcame. Nothing could be further from the truth.

INSIGHT #1:

Become clear about, effectively communicate, and act upon your vision, passion, purpose, or philosophy.

People are attracted to and inspired by someone who believes in something and is passionate. In truth, most people aren’t passionate about anything in their life. Having and expressing a vision can be impactful, but actually taking action on what we say matters to us is very powerful. After all, actions speak louder than words.

If you need a jump start towards gaining clarity about this for yourself, reflect on what advice you would give someone just starting out in business or in life. Never miss an opportunity to share what matters to you. Use stories to make your point and paint a picture with your words.

INSIGHT #2:

Let others know about an adversity you overcame.

When people hear a story of how someone overcame adversity and succeeded in spite of it, they become inspired to overcome their own obstacles and challenges. It doesn’t have to be a “crushing” issue. It can be an attitude, circumstance or belief that we overcame which allowed us to achieve what we did and become who we are today.

Share past challenges that you worked to overcome. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a major life-altering challenge to have an impact on someone. Once again, use stories to make your point and paint a picture.

INSIGHT #3:

Be willing to stand up for what you believe.

People admire someone who stands up for what they believe – even if they don’t agree with them! They admire someone who is true to themselves and defends others.

Don’t compromise on the principles you believe in. Stand up for someone’s rights, even if you don’t agree with them.

INSIGHT #4:

Act with integrity.

When someone does what they say they’re going to do, it creates an impression. When they go out of their way to do what they said they’d do, it creates an impression. Acting with integrity causes people to take notice of us. When we speak and act in alignment with the values we say matter us, we make an impression on people.

Make a practice of doing what you say you are going to do, become clear on what values matter to you, and work to ensure your words and actions align with who you say you are as a person.

The best way to start becoming more inspiring is to take time to reflect back on your life and take stock of how you’ve changed, who you’ve become, what you’ve achieved, and what you believe in (your passions, philosophies and/or purpose). And then begin sharing it. Share it with your team, your company, and your family. Once you do, you’ll start making a greater difference in people’s lives.

By the way, if you’d like help becoming more inspiring as a leader, please give me a call or contact me through the website.

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Filed under: Authentic Leadership, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, Leading & Developing Other Leaders | Tagged: Inspiration, leadership, leadership skills, motivation, Self-development, soft skills, values | Leave a Comment »

Leading Change: Meet Me Where I Am

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Andrea Buczynski

Where Am I?

When an organization under goes a big change, there is often times a lot of visual evidence that something is new or different. People, places, or things are no longer how they were and the way things are done have been altered.

These things can be for the better. And they can also be for the worse.

Imagining Change

Because big change efforts need a lot of attention to the obvious, the unspoken and less-obvious things can be neglected or forgotten. And what often goes under the radar is how people feel about the new changes.

The challenge for a leader implementing change is remembering what it feels like to experience change.

When a leader, or a team of leaders, disconnects from the emotional aspects of a change effort, they may be totally unaware of the personal tsunamis that their people may be experiencing.

This can often be so disturbing that the change effort is eventually deemed a failure.

Avoiding Tragedy

To avoid the emotional pitfalls and landmines that can plague any big change effort, leaders must be able to empathize with their people. They need to get past the rush to just get everyone on board and take the time to make sure that everyone on board is really on board.

In order to help create a successful initiative, leaders need to be emotionally plugged into the heads, hearts, and souls of their people and understand that they may be dealing with hidden issues like:

Fears
Uncomfortableness
Disorientation
Distraction
Alienation
Abandonment
Insecurity
Shock

A Case in Point

Big New Change

While leading the beginning stages of a change initiative recently, the church that I attend opened a new sanctuary. During construction, we talked about our community’s vision and the purpose of the new facilities. We lingered over models and took a tour of the unfinished building.

The future looked promising.

But when we held the first service there, I was strangely uncomfortable.

My “normal seat” was gone.
The new sanctuary had no middle aisle like the former one did.
I didn’t recognize any of the people who used to sit in the same section.
And when the music started, the volume overwhelmed me.

Tsunami Recovery

To get more settled, I moved to the back to see if it helped. It was cold back there. The blasts of cold air made me shiver. I was not settled. In fact, I was regretting the whole “new” thing.

All of a sudden, I thought:

“Maybe it’s time to look for a different church.”

But in an instant I retracted this thinking:

What?! What kind of reaction was that for a long-time member?

I was unsettled, confused, alarmed, cold, and looking for peace.

Speaking the Obvious

The pastor began with this, “Sometimes when a good thing happens, it can feel weird.” He explained how moving into the new building was a milestone, but like any move, the new place didn’t feel like home yet.

He reminded us of our vision and purpose, And he acknowledged feeling at home would take a while.

I relaxed when he said, “There are so many bells and whistles that we don’t how to work. It’s too cold in here. It’s too loud. We’ll figure that out. But you have all the time you need to get used to this place. It’s okay to feel weird until you don’t feel weird here anymore.”

The Meeting Place

He met us right where we were. Disoriented, confused, uncomfortable—he met us right there. He didn’t try to hide the negative stuff. My trust in him increased as he acknowledged reality.

A leader of change must think about the people affected by the change and address their concerns in the transition. they need to properly and effectively deal with what’s ending, what’s up for grabs, and what will be in the future.

How a servant leader engages in that “letting go” phase is critical to how people move through the phases.

The authenticity, integrity, and empathy of my pastor brought us into a journey together, embracing a new place, while letting go of the old.

Being Others Focused

Robert Quinn describes a necessary shift in the leader. Normally, we are more “self-focused, externally directed, internally closed, and comfort-centered.”

This means that we are:

More intent on our own success than others
More concerned about how I appear to others
Not open to new opinions
Unwilling to get out of your comfort zone

To really carry out your purpose and help people navigate change, leaders must become more “others-focused, internally directed, externally open, and purpose-centered.”

This means that we are:

More concerned about the common good
Leading out of integrity
Seeing questions and concerns as necessary pieces of information
Fully committing to the end result, regardless of personal comfort

On Vision and Hope

In a change process, the journey of the individual is related to the journey of the leader. As a leader is clear about the vision and direction, and is committed to getting there, people gain hope.

As a leader is honest about realities and what needs to change, people gain trust.

As their questions and concerns are met with empathy and authenticity, people become part of the change community. As people are engaged in creating solutions, people gain energy and motivation.

The change begins when you’re willing to meet people where they are.

What tips do you have for staying authentic and empathetic in the midst of leading change?

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——————–
Andrea Buczynski is VP for Global Leadership Development-HR at Cru
She helps develop effective leaders, growing people, and healthy teams
Email | LinkedIn | Web | Blog

Image Sources: feintandmargin.com

Filed under: Authentic Leadership, Leading Change | Tagged: Authenticity, Leading Change, servant leader, soft skills, trust | Leave a Comment »

On Leadership, Being Right or Just Making it Right

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Lucas McAlpin

Make it Right

It took me a couple of years of being a leader to get to the point of maturity where I could readily admit this humble truth about “being right”:

It just doesn’t matter who is right (my company or the customer).

On Being Right

To get to this point, I had to ask myself:

Was it really worth it to me (and my company) to be right?
Was it worth it to lose a customer over a seemingly insignificant amount of money, just so I could be right?

The answer was a resounding, “NO!”

Now, one of the coolest questions that I get to ask our unhappy customers is this:

What can we do to make this right in your mind?

Most People

Once I started asking this question I realized a few different things:

Most people don’t want as much as you are willing to give to fix the problem.
Most people really admire you, as a company, for owning the problem, and fixing it.
Most people are appreciative, and end up sticking with you for the foreseeable future.

I say MOST people, because you will inevitably get the customer that makes up the 1%, and decides to abuse you. You will encounter the customer that goes against all things human, and has unreasonable expectations in regards to a potential solution.

At this point in the relationship you, as a leader, get to decide if you are going to tolerate this customer abuse, or if you are going to fire the customer. I have done both.

However, any time you have the chance to excel in the eyes of the customer, it creates a win-win-win (customer-company-employee), and you get to reap the benefits!

You also create a raving fan.

On Making It Right

What is a “Raving Fan” you might ask? Ken Blanchard is an author of several books that speak about different business, leadership, customer service, and team concepts. In his book, Raving Fans he talks about creating a customer that is just satisfied vs. a customer that will bring that satisfaction to the next level by talking about your company to anyone that will listen.

Almost every sales trainer out there will talk about this concept. Gerry Layo & Jeffrey Gitomer talk about how satisfied customers are the scariest customers, because:

They never complain
They never call in for problems with their billings
They never call to discuss their concerns
They just leave
They go to the competition, because they perceive that you don’t care

Even if you haven’t done anything to offend them, directly. You haven’t done enough, in their mind, to give them a reason to stick around.

Opportunity to Lead Your Customers

Layo and Gitomer also discuss how dissatisfied customers provide the biggest opportunity for your company to grow. If you care for them in an exceptional way, you have the chance to gain a customer for life.

You have the chance to impress a customer so much so that they tell everyone they know about your efforts. These are the most enjoyable customers, because they look forward to hearing from you, for any reason! I’ve had some of these customers actually thank me for sending them a bill!

There are other variations of this concept, but you get the point.

So, how are you creating this type of customer for your company?

Have you gotten over yourself (and your ego) enough to ask an open-ended question like the one above?

You open yourself up to a lot of scenarios by asking a question like this. Are you ready for it?

What are you doing with the list of these customers? Are you keeping them a secret, or are you broadcasting them to your entire company, so they can see the type of company that they work for? You, in essence, are becoming a “Raving Fan” yourself.

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——————–
Lucas McAlpin is Director of Residential HVAC at Thermal Services
He enjoys contributing to leadership conversations via blog, FB, and LinkedIn
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Web | Blog

Image Sources: fwdemails.com

The Leadership Pill (letsplayinnovation.wordpress.com)
If customer service is so easy, why doesn’t everyone do it like THIS? (leaderchat.org)
This is how you create raving fans (damniwish.com)

Filed under: Coaching Corner, Leadership Lessons Learned, Sales Leadership | Tagged: Coaching, Ethics, problem-solving, soft skills | 4 Comments »

Conflict, Daggers, and Punches at Work

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Sylvia Lafair, PhD

Are you ready for the really BIG holiday season moving into high gear? Are you ready for the hectic effort to push and pull everything and everyone around you up that steep hill to profits from now till the end of the year?

More importantly, are you ready for the extra stress, tension, and, you got it….conflict, that awaits you?

Well, you had better be. This is because conflict is everywhere this time of year: in every business, all the time. And it will be this way until the new year comes around and gives us all a bit of a breather (well, …maybe.)

Handling Conflict Year Round

Question: How do you handle conflict, individually and as part of an organization?

Hey look, we know that supervisors spend 40-50% of their time resolving disputes and that most employees, around 88%, feel their supervisors don’t do a good job here.

In fact, most managers I’ve coached wish they could just send their warring direct reports to their rooms for a time out.

Fighting Up the Ladder

We also know that executives spend lots of time listening to the upsets of their senior teams. One recent study suggests that the key to leadership is NOT being a good strategist, or visionary, or even making quick decisions.

The key to leadership is having the ability to build relationships and creating team environment.

Should be easy, it’s not.

CEO’s fail as leaders when they aren’t able to handle people management, the stuff we still gingerly refer to as the soft skills. And one of the major areas of leadership is being conflict competent.

Boxer or the Bag?

Conflict isn’t easy for most of us. Oh sure, there are the few who like to be in the ring for the count. Not most of us. And there are no schools that teach the art and craft of conflict transformation; maybe just how to protect yourself or tackle another to the ground.

Letting someone push your buttons till you want to explode is like a dagger driven deep in your heart. And continued stress can get really nasty. This is when the “Gotcha Game” gets serious.

It is like being in that boxing ring: punch and jab, punch and jab, punch and jab.

Sure, we all get up and keep going. Yet, most of us put band aids on our gaping head wounds and pretend everything is just fine —- except —–it isn’t.

Conflict is like being in a smelly, sweaty, and bloody place, a war zone; at least that’s what it feels like at work, at home, everywhere. And it takes guts to really look at what is going on and make change happen.

Running for Cover

Yet, what do we do? We make sour jokes, or set up new policies and procedures of do’s and don’ts. We fight it out, or run and hide. Fight or flight; that’s the nature of most conflict reactions.

Or some just freeze and stand like a lost deer in the headlights waiting and praying it will be over soon.

This begs some questions:

Can conflict move from defensiveness to cooperation?
Can it be done quickly and easily?
Are there tools and techniques to get out of the rancid realm of constant conflict?

Don't Bring It to Work Answering these questions is a major part of my book “Don’t Bring It to Work”, understanding behavior patterns we learned in our original organization, the family, which we bring to our present organization at work.

[I have put together the 5 Steps from Mad to Glad in a white paper. You can request it now at www.ceoptions.com before the holiday season feels like that sweaty, nasty boxing ring in the middle of a battlefield.]

Image Sources: pgbarnes.files.wordpress.com

Filed under: Conflict Management, Organizational Health, Servant Leadership | Tagged: business, Conflict, executive coaching, leadership, Leadership Development, Organizational Health, soft skills | Leave a Comment »

Leadership Follies: The Art of Management by Shiny Objects

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Anil Saxena

One of the biggest issues that face many leaders today is the lack of clarity in the direction of their teams and organizations.

This is most evident directly after a big change.

It is not that team members are not well-meaning or that they don’t try to do the right thing, it is that they suffer from something called the “follow the shiny object” syndrome.

Shiny Object Syndrome

I Love Shiny Object

This is not a new syndrome, it is one that is pervasive across the globe. It begins when we are children and are shown a shiny object. This shiny thing gets our attention and takes our concentration away from whatever it was that we are occupied with previously.

It takes effort and practice to not be swayed by the shiny object.

Unfortunately for most of us, we fail at this task miserably.

Causing Panic

This is no more evident than a recent client project I was working on. After a very large and comprehensive change to the organization, the first sign that the change was “not taking” caused a panic.

The group was distracted by a meaningless item of shiny proportions that temporarily distracted their focus of attention. It was not even a real business driver; just grumbling from folks that had a hard time with the change underway. As one can imagine, this “shiny object” put my client and their “minions” into a panic and put them scurrying into action.

They began surveying, interviewing, and doing all sorts of data-gathering to determine how well the “change” was going and if the “change” was successful.

Unfortunately, it was so close to the actual implementation of the change-project that the data we collected was inconclusive. Their well-meaning action started to make me think about what it is about the “shiny object” that has us be so intrigued about it.

Defining the Distraction

In organizations, “shiny objects” are defined as projects or requests or initiatives that take a team or large group of people away from a critical task. Usually, it is an action that has little up side and sometimes can be detrimental.

3 Reasons

There are really 3 main reasons why new “shiny objects” take our focus away from change initiatives (which might be considered the “original shiny object”)

1. If people cannot tell what the shiny object is they are working toward, they will go after a new one

There is not a clear definition or picture of what success looks like once the change or project or task is complete. We don’t know or don’t have an idea of what the end will look like or feel like. Therefore, we can’t adequately describe it.

People are left with either making up their own idea of what the end will look like or being left in “the unknown”. It makes people uncomfortable and has them make up things about the change or the project or the task that makes them uncomfortable.

2. Sometimes, things are not shiny enough - The reason for the change was not made clear or is not compelling.

A fundamental of change management is convincing people that change is paramount to the success of the organization. Oftentimes, it’s the result of showing people how bad it’ll get if there is no change. If there is no compelling reason for the change or that reason is not convincing.

People will be left thinking that it is easier to keep doing what they’re doing or what they were doing before the change…even if that wasn’t working.

3. Too many other shiny objects – There is a lack of clarity within the organization’s hierarchy about the change and its impact.

One of the places that change falls down in many organizations is the all-important communication post change. There is always energy (and sometimes enthusiasm) about the change as it is approaching and even once the change has happened.

It’s a little bit like an afterglow.

But if there is not a clear path to follow and communication about what people should expect they get stuck in the “messy middle”. It’s imperative that no matter the work effort leading up to the change

There is constant and regular communication about the change and its impact with the senior leadership team.
There must be a cascading communication plan that hits every employee so that they know what they’re experiencing is normal.
Coupled with training or other tools that help gain the skills necessary to be successful.

Real Life Relationships

Organizations, managers, leaders, employees and shareholders have been conditioned to follow the “shiny object” of the quarterly stock report. They have all been conditioned to focus on the shiny object as important. Making it almost impossible to think about long-term success or planning.

Therefore, it is critical for change to be successful that the post-change has as much or more concentration than the implementation of the change itself.

Sometimes this makes me think about when I first got married. My beautiful wife was, and is, the most important thing that I have in my life. I pursued her with a single purpose in mind.

And once we were husband and wife, life’s issues began to get in the way.

As with most newlywed couples, we began to see that if we didn’t pay attention to this big change, our harmonious marriage would be difficult and we probably would face many unnecessary trials. So, with this in mind, we made a concerted effort to spend as much time working on our new relationship as we did trying to get in to it. Thankfully, that worked!

Relationships at Work

It is important that we make sure to not manage using the shiny object methodology. It wears people out and tends to make them feel like whatever they’re working on is not important because it’s probably going to change. It gives them little investment in their current project and reduces their ability to feel a sense of completion.

So, what are you going to do to stop running after the shiny object? How are you going to master the elements of focus that really beckon your attention? How are you going to be a master of your domain? I would love to hear your story!

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——————–
Anil Saxena is a Senior Consultant and Business Partner with Coffman Organization
He helps organizations create environments that generate repeatable superior results
Email | LinkedIn | Web | Blog | (888) 999-0940 x-730

Image Sources: www-personal.umich.edu

Filed under: Leadership vs. Management, Leading Change, Team Building Leadership | Tagged: emotional intelligence, executive development, leadership, Leadership Development, leadership skills, soft skills, Success | 3 Comments »

On Leadership and Learning Executive Presence

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Tom Schulte

Executive Presence

As a professional speaker and facilitator of leadership development workshops, I often get the chance to be in front of leaders to help them fine-tune their personal leadership effectiveness in my workshops called “Leadership PowerLabs.”

My goal is to make leaders more powerful in their day-to-day interactions. I get to see how a lot of leaders look both on the inside and on the outside.

Dissecting Leaders

Values Cards Signature Showcase My fast-paced short-format workshop is designed to help leaders take a deeply introspective journey into who they are as a leader, where they are on their personal leadership journey, and how to raise their performance level with those they lead. The session provides managers and leaders everything they need to understand how to get more effort and better results from the people that they lead. It is fast, fun, and very effective.

I am getting leaders to reveal themselves to themselves.

In the many thousands of times I have done this hands-on card-sorting exercise, I have seen leaders of every stripe, age, experience-level, etc come to the conclusion of what it means for “them to be them.”

Because they expose their top values, I can see people for who they are on the inside. So can everyone else in the room who can view their top value card selections.

It is pure revelation to many to see what is REALLY important when they have to get down to just two cards that reveal their top-two values.

I also can see how best to motivate each one of them as an individual. I simply look at the top values displayed on their top 6 cards and use the information they provide (their top values) as my “leadership cheat-sheet.” I know this motivation recipe works because I know this simple formula and how it works with human beings.

This is the magic formula for motivation:

Values drive decisions; Decisions drive behaviors; Behaviors drive results.

As a leader, I simply need to keep in mind the top motivators for each individual that I lead and simply take the steps to create and maintain an environment where they can self-motivate and prosper while reaching team goals and objectives.

Inside Outside

Leadership Fun Guy My 25 years in sales and marketing have allowed me to get a really good instinctual understanding of people and their motivations. My short-format workshops that are “fit for the Blackberry-Attention-Span” allow me to convert that expertise into a digestible format and package it for executive consumption. I take 25+ years of knowledge and get it into the heads of leaders in just a matter of hours. It’s actually a very serious exercise wrapped in fun clothes and packaged for speed.

For me, the focus of my training is on the inside of the professional person. But what about the outside?

When I recently surveyed my own personal growth path, I knew that I have the “inside stuff” figured out pretty well. Since I have been the class-clown type of personality my whole life, this serves me well in my offering. I am considered the “Leadership Fun Guy” because it suites the stand-up comedy act that continually plays in my head. I joke a lot and bring a lot of levity to my practice. For instance:

My style is to attract attention and write articles like “How to Lead Ugly People” and titles like “Properly Using the F-Word at Work” and have fun while doing it.

But what I came to realize in my personal inventory of leadership qualities is that I needed to be better aware and equipped on what was appearing on my outside. On what is visible to others in specific situation. “Fun guy” doesn’t work in every situation.

I realized I needed to hone and polish my outer appearance. I needed to recalibrate my executive presence.

Executive Presence

Fortunately for me, I was recently introduced by a new friend and executive development specialist named Kent Gregoire to a highly credible and professionally stunning woman in Atlanta, Georgia named Sally Williamsonwho does “Executive Presence” training. Sally practices what she preaches. She definitely has executive presence.

So what exactly is executive presence?

Paul Aldo, Managing Partner of IPS wrote a complete exposé on the question in this article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Sally Williamson and her highly polished team lead by Rhonda Gaileysay this:

We define it as “the confidence to express your ideas with conviction…and the ability and desire to engage and influence others in the process.”

Workshop Experience

I enrolled in the Executive Presence full-day workshop and was very impressed with everything about it. From the way the workshop unfolded to the caliber and quality of presentation, I was full engaged and learned a lot about how to appear and act in many typical professional encounters.

My primary focus was to put some polish on my outside and curb some of my enthusiasm, but I got much more out of the experience than that.

I was shown the tricks and techniques of executive presence while sitting, standing, approaching the podium, reading, interviewing, selling a board room of executives, live stage speakingand was told the “why” behind each one of them. I was videotaped and saw the good, bad, and ugly of it all. Some in the intimate class of ten participants where sent there by their boss for “charm school” and came out educated and informed on how to engage with a new solid shine. Others came on their own accord and found new personal confidence and poise. This workshop put on me the “leadership outerwear” that will help me go to the next level of influence.

Get Your Shine On

Now, if any of you who know me think that I am now a stuffy power-tie-type with wingtip shoes and a fancy parking space who is soon to lose the sense of humor, forget about it! Nothing could be further from the truth. What Sally Williamson’s teaching did was to confirm in me to be who I am. That as I perfect and practice what she taught me, that I will be amplifying how the Good Lord made me and will actually reach far more people when I exhibit my new executive presence.

So, watch out world, Leadership Fun Guy is coming to a performance near you! And this time, I’ll be polished!

Sally provided me the opportunity to audit her workshop at no cost with nothing promised in return. However, I can’t help but recommend her very highly: A+! Thank you Sally!

Connect with Sally and get your shine on by reaching Rhonda Gailey here.

**********

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Image Sources: cultureroi.com

Rhonda Gailey here

Let’s Start A Leadership Revolution! (linked2leadership.com)
Sally Williamson Teaches How to Engage/Influence Audiences in New Workshop: Executive Presence: Turning Initial Impressions into Lasting Impacts (prweb.com)
Importance of Consistent Leadership (linked2leadership.com)

Filed under: Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Practical Steps to Influence, Professional Development, Servant Leadership | Tagged: communication, leadership, Lessons Learned, soft skills | 4 Comments »

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