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Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work." ~ Peter Drucker
What do you wish, want, or hope will happen? Do you have a good plan for action?
Have you committed time to making it happen? Make a list, prioritize it, make a plan and get started!
Today's reading, "Authentic Leadership Can Be Bad Leadership" comes from Deborah Gruenfeld, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at the Stanford School of Business, and Lauren Zander, founder of the Handel Group, an executive coaching company located in New York City.
The piece notes that most of us would agree that being authentic is of great value. But, what makes me, and you, is not just the good stuff - values, aspirations, and dreams; the qualities others love most. There's also a lot that comes naturally that can get nasty. "When you get overly critical, non-communicative, crass, judgmental, or rigid, you are probably at your most real - but you are not at your best."
Gruenfeld and Zander note that when coaching executives to become their best selves, they often meet resistance. "People don't want to change the beaviors that feel the most natural, even when everyone agrees that change would be good." They say this is just how I work. But, it is also hiding behind an excuse and avoiding the truth about who we are, how we actually behave, and why.
So, how would you encourage someone you coach to 'fess up, find the truth, and change the bad behavior? The authors suggest five steps:
Find out how you seem to others. Ask a trusted colleague, listen (silently), and write it down in the speaker's own words.
Talk back. In private, write down what was going through your head when you were listening. Using your real voice, read it out loud. Acknowledge that this is you.
Find an alternative. What will you do instead when you next have the urge to do the thing that makes you difficult?
Clean it up. Re-connect with those you have been difficult with and apologize. Commit to a clean up plan.
Raise the stakes. If you do the difficult thing again, what will it cost you? Lunch with the "victim"? The consequence must have a cost and be constructive.
Your authentic self should be the basis of your leadership style. But, make sure that you don't display that which limits your effectiveness.
Give this approach a try and let me know how it works. Have a great week!
. . . . jim
"Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones that strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart." ~ Henry Clay
Have you let someone know that you appreciate their good work, or actively and fully listen when someone speaks to you? What does it mean to you when someone treats you with courtesy?
What are the benefits to others, or your team, when someone feels grateful and appreciated? Make a list of small courtesies you can give during each day.
The reading today, "Take ownership of your meeting experience", appeared in the Facilitate.com blog and comes from the keyboard of Danuta McCall, a senior member of the Facilitate.com team.
The reading's key point is that we, each as individual participants in a meeting, play a role in whether that meeting is successful or not. We do this through four choices:
You choose whether or not to attend the meeting. Yes, sometimes attendance is mandatory. But, in other instances, we can ask whether our presence is needed? Why are we needed, etc. And, we don't have to look at meeting attendance as an all-or-nothing event. Perhaps it would be possible to attend only that portion of the meeting where you can add value.
You choose whether or not to be prepared for the meeting. Well prepared meetings will get the agenda and any materials that need to be reviewed to participants well in advance of the meeting. If it doesn't happen, it is entirely appropriate to ask for them. Then, you still have the choice whether to invest in the meeting being a good one through your preparation. You choose. If you choose not to prepare then you are willing to waste your time and that of your fellow participants.
You choose whether to be engaged or actively multi-tasking. Here you have to be responsible for your own behavior. Turn off your hand-held, pay attention, take notes, be active in the discussion, help keep the conversation on topic.
You choose whether or not to provide honest feedback on the meeting. This can be done via a plus/delta exercise at the end of the meeting, or by private communication with the meeting's owner, the facilitator, individuals who made presentations, etc. But, the meeting won't get better unless there is an active process for making it better.
We all have more meetings than we can afford to have. It's our individual responsibility to make them better - more focused, with more results, shorter, etc.
Will you do your part in this campaign?
Have a great week. . . . jim
Today's reading comes from Anthony Tjan's Harvard Business Review Blog. Tian is CEO of the venture capital firm Cue Ball and is a recognized business builder. The piece "Six Habits of a Talent Magnet," which he wrote with Tsun-yan Hsiehm chair of the LinHart Group is at the Harvard Business Review blogs.
In the piece, the authors argue that talent is a make-or-break issue for an organization's success. If that's the case and if you are serious about being able to attract the very best they argue that there are six habits you should practice:
Get to know the most talented individuals early on, before you know you need them. Can you name two or three individuals that, if given the opportunity, you would want to attract to your team? Can you do this for each critical position you have? If not, you need to do your research to identify these individuals and begin to build relationships with them now.
Create and manage the right expectations. The most talented people are attracted to leaders whom they can trust and role models they want to emulate. Ask yourself, "Why would any real talent want to work for me?" You need to be able to answer this question to be successful in attracting talent.
Look at their hearts - and not just their smarts. In addition to results and qualifications, you need to look for purpose and passion; what's the candidate's motivation, values, and purpose.
Cultivate them over time. The people you really want are almost always occupied. Cultivate the best you can, keep them informed of your interests and purpose, let them get to know you as a person. Keep the relationship alive. Then when you have an opportunity for them they will likely find it very attractive.
On-board them very carefully. If your organization thinks it doesn't have an on-boarding program, it most certainly does - it's call sink or swim. New talent want to succeed. Be prepared to bring them on-board like you are committed to that success as well.
Mentor them for their success. Be interested in more than what they can do for you; have a real interest in them as people and in their success. It will pay off.
I argue that an open position is a hunting license, an opportunity to go out and get the most attractive candidate that you can find. This reading steps it up and argues that you begin now so that you are ready just-in-case. Good advice.
Have a great week. . . . jim
"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." ~ Epictetus
Can you hear yourself complaining? About what? What in your life are you taking for granted?
How can you express or find joy in the things that you are grateful for? Every morning write three things that you are grateful for. It's a great way to start your day!
A few weeks ago, one of the Harvard Business Review Blogs contained a short post by Linda Hill and Kent Lineback with the eye-catching title "The Words Many Managers Are Afraid to Say". Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Kent Lineback spent many years as a manager and an executive in business and government. They are the coauthors of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader (HBR Press, 2011).
The post begins with a question: "When was the last time you said words like these to people who work for you?"
'I don't know.'
'I was wrong.'
'Would you help me?'
'Could you explain this to me? I don't understand.'
Most likely, not recently. No one of us likes to admit error or ignorance especially to our staff or those who look up to us as authority figures or who respect us.
Hill and Lineback say that an inability to recognize and admit openly when you lack knowledge or have made a mistake makes us less effective in two ways:
It keeps us from learning. As you advance in your career, you soon reach a point where you cannot be an expert in the work of all those you lead. You must learn how to lead those who know more than you do and who know they know more. It's only by admitting you don't know that you can learn.
Acknowledging error or ignorance is an issue of trust. The foundation of your ability to influence others is their trust in you, a belief that you will do the right thing. Pretending that you know more than you do, failing to recognize and draw upon the expertise of others is a good way to keep people from trusting you and respecting your judgment.
In closing their posting, Hill and Lineback do note that there is a fine line in this area. You gain respect when you acknowledge your shortcomings and your willingness to learn. However, too much of a good thing is often not good. Too much expression of weakness, error, and uncertainity will diminish people's trust in you.
So, find your balance and build people's trust in you!
Have a great week. . . . jim
"There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." ~ Denis Waitley
How are you choosing to deal with change? What would others say you do? How do your choices help you and/or others?
Where might you have some control or influence over the situation? How can you let go and accept change you can not control or influence?