ITLP Tuesday Readings

We've remarked often that listening is extremely important. I'm sure that some of you, like me, were told as a child that you were given two ears and one mouth so that you would listen twice as much as you spoke. Being told that often had the effect of focusing your attention. To be a good listener, you have to leave everything else that is going on and really focus on the speaker. Have you ever had a conversation with a great listener? If you have, more than likely you felt as if you were the only person in the room.

Today's reading "Listening as a Leadership Attribute" by Randy Emelo is from the Triple Creek Association's May 2008 newsletter. In the piece, Emelo presents a model of listening that illustrates how attention and energy affect your ability to listen in a productive manner. Too little energy, your attention wanes and you may be bored. Too much energy, and you will likely be seen as reactive. Balance the attention and the energy and you have productive listening which often leads to strong and dependable influencing abilities.

The reading ends with a self-evaluation of your listening posture. See how you stand and work to sharpen your listening skill.

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:51 AM | Permalink

Today's reading "How to Give and Receive Criticism" comes from the March Issue of BusinessWeek. In this article, Bruce Weinstein, a corporate consultant and public speaker known as The Ethics Guy, gives us some very important advice about criticism, which we would include in our understanding of feedback.

Weinstein notes that "How we give and receive criticism speaks volumes about our character, so this column is an appropriate venue for considering better and worse ways of criticizing people and how we ought to respond when someone finds fault with our own work." He gives some simple advice:

Giving criticism:

1. Begin by acknowledging something the person you are about to criticize has done well or you appreciate.

2. Focus on what the person has done, not on him or her personally.

3. Conclude by expressing your hope that the person will consider what you have said.

Receiving criticism:

1. Resist the urge to dismiss the critic.

2. Recognize that you may not be right.

3. Realize that "ad Hominem" attacks are likely more about the person making them than about you.

And, I would add to Weinstein's advice, say "Thank you."

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:49 AM | Permalink

In a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review, you'll find a piece, "In Praise of the Incomplete Leader," by Deborah Ancona, professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-authors Thomas W. Malone, Wanda J. Orlikowski, and Peter M. Senge, that attacks the myth of the complete leader, the idea that leaders must be able to do everything. This week's reading, "The 'Complete Leader" Is a Myth reports on a conversation Kathleen Melymuka, of ComputerWorld, had with Ancona. I think that you will find it very helpful.

The HRB article's comments focus around a distributed leadership model -- sensemaking, relating, visioning, and inventing -- which the four authors have developed over the last four years. [You can find more information about the model at http://mitleadership.mit.edu/r-dlm.php.] The thesis of the article and the conversation is that if you are not good at all the capabilities called for in the model you need to make sure you know your strengths and find people to work with you who will compliment your skills.

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:48 AM | Permalink

This week's reading is Selling Your Ideas to Others (PDF) and comes from the March 2008 of the Triple Creek Masterful Mentoring Newsletter.

Randy Emelo begins the piece by noting that there is no more critical skill than the ability to get people to act on your ideas. He then goes on to present a technique that that I think you will find helpful as you go about "selling" your ideas:

1. Think it through -- Consider the problem your idea solves, the solution you create, and the way it affects those around you.

2. Socialize your concept -- Test your assumptions and further refine your idea into a presentable plan.

3. Make your pitch -- Describe the problem your idea addresses and lay out the benefits.

4. Follow through -- Take action to ensure that your idea is acted on.

And at the end there is also a self-evaluation to help you assess your how you did in a recent attempt to sell your idea.

Take some time to check it out and to reflect honestly on how you did the last time you were selling.

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:47 AM | Permalink