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Archive for the ‘character’ Category
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
Tim Tebow, leading the Denver Broncos to a mid-season turnaround, is one of the amazing stories from the National Football League this year. He has defied all odds and effectively ran a style of offense that most assumed could not work in the NFL. The NFL is a pass oriented league, with teams on average throwing the ball around 60% of the time. Tim Tebow is not known for his passing ability. His unorthodox throwing motion, combined with his inaccuracy, made most analysts believe that he could not be a successful quarterback. Tebow has the lowest completion percentage in the league, and the Denver Broncos run the ball more than any other team. How did this formula become a success? The Broncos have turned a 1-4 season start with Kyle Orton as starting quarterback into a 9-7 playoff bound team, with Tim Tebow at the helm. Tim Tebow is a dynamic, influential leader and that is what makes him successful. There are not any metrics that can measure ones leadership ability, but here are the qualities that make him great.
Faith in Himself
 Tim Tebow has a strong conviction in himself and is not concerned with all of the things that people are saying he can’t do. He is humble and even though the spotlight is on him, he gives credit to everyone on the team. In the press conference after the Chicago Bears game, in which the Broncos pulled out a come from behind win, Tim said, “I just want to thank Coach Fox and the coaches for giving me the opportunity and believing in me for the entire game and for the defense for keeping us in it and our receivers and our offensive line, who at the end of the game made me look a lot better than I really am.” He has integrity and the team knows that he is going to work hard at every practice and give his best effort on game day. Overall, Tim Tebow is a courageous leader. He works hard at improving the things that are within his control and is able to ignore aspects that are out of his control. He is willing to act for the good of the organization in spite of the risks, dangers, or fears of failure. He believes in himself and this thinking inspires his teammates to believe in him as well.
Unique People Skills
Tim Tebow genuinely cares for other people. He is willing to invest time in relationships and is respectful of people’s differences. He is a good communicator that shares and receives feedback in constructive ways. He was able to capture each individual team member’s talent by recognizing their value and rewarding their contributions. By utilizing his people skills, Tim Tebow developed the unique talents of the team. He provided support that encouraged continuous improvement and motivated teammates to give a 100% effort, every day, all season long.
Ability to Execute
Tim Tebow was able to unite and drive his teammates to achieve a common goal. He clearly described and clarified the team’s mission, vision, and strategy. His ability to help people understand their role on the team has helped break down the barrier of individual statistics and accomplishment focus. Tim Tebow created a culture change within the Denver Bronco locker room. He ushered a new way of thinking that revolved around the good of the team. His words and actions always supported team unity. In a post-game interview, he said, “I don’t think it’s ‘Tebow Time’; I just think it’s ‘Bronco Time,’ and the team steps up as a team. We play for one another and continue to trust one another, and I think that makes all the difference in the world.” Even though he had the team aligned and on the same page, he was able to remain accountable when something went wrong. He took responsibility for his mistakes and took the necessary actions to develop areas of the game that he was weak in.
The Denver Broncos 2011 NFL season will not be soon forgotten. By changing their leader 5 games into the season, they went from losers to winners. Tim Tebow was able to foster a change in the team. Analysts from around the country pointed out that his football skill set was not good enough to lead his team to continued victories. Yet, week after week he led the Broncos to come from behind wins. Connie Diekens, a subject matter expert on leadership communication and influence, recently put out her Top Ten Influencers of 2011 list and Tim Tebow is ranked #1. Diekens said, “His unwavering faith and never-say-never resolve have captivated the nation.” Tim Tebow’s strong leadership skills, more than compensated for his underdeveloped football skills. His ability to gain trust, encourage effort and align team goals created a high performance culture that led the Denver Broncos from a losing season, straight to the NFL Playoffs.
Tags: ability to execute, influence others, leadership skills, unique people skills
Posted in character, leadership | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
Continued from Qualities of Effective Leaders, Part 1
Being a leader who is able to drive organization success requires personal traits or characteristics that are not necessarily intuitive. Successful leadership demands a set of skills that appears to be less know or obvious, but nonetheless is critically important to both personal and organizational success. Mere knowledge of what actually drives success doesn’t by itself guarantee success, but it can point a person in the correct direction. Success comes from consistent execution of the personal trait of characteristic. Perhaps that is the “execution” that we should be discussing, not the execution of the company’s business plan.
 According to the same research study, the top six leadership traits that are most likely to drive both personal and organizational failure are
- Not building effective relationships.
- Not demonstrating self control.
- Not having functional expertise.
- Not being able to manage complex systems and processes.
- Having poor communication skills.
- Not being able to execute the plan.
Now that you have seen the two lists, note what is included and where items appear on the lists. Do a comparison of what drives success and what drives failure. What similarities do you notice? Do you see, for example, that the most important thing a leaders can do to help drive success, and hopefully prevent failure (because it appears as the number one item on both lists), is to build and sustain effective interpersonal relationships with others? Do you notice that the lists are different? The traits that drive success are not necessarily the same traits that contribute to failure. This knowledge can provide an enterprising or aspiring leader with a list of things to do to maximize future success, and others things to eliminate from personal habits.
I find research intriguing; perhaps that is the psychologist in me. Some people prefer to ignore research, perhaps because they are suspicious of the manner in which the data were collected, or conclusion drawn by the researchers. The truth is that research can provide us with information that we otherwise would know. If we consider the information objectively, see how it applies to our life and what we do, and try to incorporate the relevant parts into how we behave, we can become more effective than we otherwise be. Give how you behave, as a leader, some thought.
Tags: Drive leadership failure, Leadership concepts, Leading discussions
Posted in Leadership Development, character, leadership | No Comments »
Monday, January 9th, 2012
 It has been my experience that few people understand the qualities that make a person an effective leader. And it has been my experience that few people also understand which leadership behaviors drive organization and personal failure. Inasmuch as the traits that drive leadership success of failure seem to be misunderstood by so many, let’s consider the top six traits or characteristics that drive leadership failure. Perhaps the knowledge and understanding of success and failure traits might help with your personal success.
Before discussing the two lists of traits, permit me to illustrate my point with an experience I had a few years ago. While consulting at a company I was asked to observe the CEO of the organization make a presentation to his executive staff of about a dozen persons. After a few preliminaries, the CEO asked, “What is the most important thing we need to do as leaders of this company?” A few of the executives mentioned things like, “Drive more profit,” “Control expenses,” “Get more sales,” and “Pay attention to gross margins.” The CEO nodded his agreement to the suggestions, but then said, “All of these things are good, and we certainly need to pay attention to them, but I think these is something else more important that this company desperately needs us as leaders to do.”
When none of the executives seemed able to read the CEOs mind, he walked to a whiteboard and wrote, “The most important thing we need to do is EXECUTE!” Then he turned back to the group and added, “Without us paying strict attention to how we and our employees execute the company business plan, we can’t possible succeed, and might well fail in the marketplace.”
In this CEOs mind the most important leadership trait for him and his executives at that time was the proper execution of the company’s business plan. Would you agree? Is execution the most important leadership trait? I have heard a number of leaders say almost the dame think in a variety of industries. In fact, there are companies today that have “execution” as their number one corporate priority. Execution is a common topic at trade conventions, industry meetings, company meetings, and in the boardroom. If execution were widely believed to be so important, it would certainly show up as the number one item in a list of what drives leadership success and failure. Right? Or are there other leadership traits more important than doing the right things in the first place? Could it be that doing the right things as a leader outweighs doing things right?
In last month’s article I listed the most important leadership traits as expressed by actual leaders in organizations. These leaders were discussing the most important traits to consider when selecting a leader. In my informal survey conducted in many organizations over several years it is interesting to note that “execution” doesn’t show up in the top six traits. In fact, “execution” doesn’t appear in the top twenty-five traits. I must admit that my informal survey is potentially flawed for a variety of reasons, but it does provide an interesting perspective on what Leaders value as important leadership traits when selecting a leader.
The top six mentioned leadership traits in my informal survey are:
- Experience.
- Leadership skills.
- Being visionary.
- Decision making.
- Team player.
- Technical skills.
By comparison, according to an extensive research study over many years and including hundreds of organizations and literally thousands of leaders, the top six leadership traits that are most likely to drive both personal and organization success are
- Building effective relationships.
- Being able to manage complex systems and processes.
- Being able to communicate effectively.
- Being in control of yourself.
- Execution and results.
- Having functional expertise.
You can conduct your own research by asking ten (or more) of you associates, friends, or leaders in your organization, what they consider to be the most important trait or characteristic a leader must have to be successful. See if you come up with results similar to mine, or if any of your leaders come close the top six from the research study, I think you will be surprised with what you learn.
See the list of qualities that are most likely to drive personal & business failure in Qualities of Effective Leaders, Part 2
Tags: Drive leadership failure, Leadership concepts, leadership traits, Leading discussions
Posted in Leadership Development, character, leadership | No Comments »
Monday, October 24th, 2011
One of the services I frequently provide organizations is a process called “Executive Coaching.” The process consists of me working with, or coaching/counseling, usually a senior person in a company. Most commonly the person coached is perceived by his or her boss as needing to improve in some area of performance. Or, the person has demonstrated difficulty in being effective within the organization. I typically work with a person for six months, sometimes longer. During this time we meet at least monthly and discuss personal leadership/managerial effectiveness along with other issues that usually surface during the discussions. I find executive coaching to be a challenge and an incredible training experience, not only for the person I’m coaching, but for me as well. Many techniques and principles I teach in workshops have been learned in coaching sessions. It’s interesting how the differences in people create such a wide variety of behaviors, feelings and attitudes. But I guess that’s what makes us human beings and not animals.
I would like to describe two people whom I have coached in recent months. Obviously, I must conceal their identities, but the people and their situations are real. There are leadership principles represented in these cases that are so compelling to me that I welcome this opportunity to share them in this article.
The first person is a store manager of a regional grocery chain. He has been a store manager for over 15 years and from a first impression a person could assume that he is effective. He has a public persona of charisma and up-tempo happiness. I’m sure that many customers know who he is and might even believe he is a good manager. The truth is, however, that his boss is very close to terminating him. Let me describe why termination is a near possibility, because after we understand why, we can learn from his mistakes.
The district manager and the store employees have a very different opinion of this manager. instead of a charismatic leader, they see a person who procrastinates, doesn’t follow-through on assignments, gets lost in the trees and can’t see the forest, is a poor delegator, and either avoids confrontation at all cost, or is overly dictatorial and sometimes even abusive.
Now remember; this store manager is clearly aware that his continued employment is in serious jeopardy; he has been told by his district manager that if specific issues don’t immediately improve that he could lose his job. So if you were in this manager’s position, what would you do? How would you behave? What would you do to save your job? Those are questions I think I would ask myself, if I were in that position. Wouldn’t you?
Nonetheless, in a recent coaching session I conducted with the district manager, I watched this store manager say anything he could to please his boss. Rather than taking notes on what he needs to do differently, he spent his time trying to say whatever he could to merely get through the meeting and leave the room. It seemed to me that the prudent thing for him to do would have been to make a list of specific action items that needed to be accomplished in order to improve his job situation; instead, he nodded agreement to everything he heard and did whatever he could to shorten the meeting. Although he had a note pad and pen in front of him, he didn’t use them. When asked for a deadline to complete an assignment, his response was, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.” His nervousness was apparent and lie was obviously uncomfortable with the two of us trying to pin him down on specifics. At one point I observed him rocking back and forth in his chair—a clear indication of profound agitation. After the manager left the room the district manager turned to me and said, “He doesn’t get it. And I didn’t get any impression that anything will be different tomorrow than it was yesterday. I’m locked into a course of action that I don’t want to do.”
Why? Why did the manager behave this way? What could be motivating him to be so self-destructive? Before I give my interpretation of the answer, let me describe the second person. She has 35 employees and is the manager of an important department in a manufacturing company. With a master’s degree in engineering and almost 27 years of experience, she commands an impressive salary and position in her company.
Her problem is that she behaves like she is seven feet tall and bulletproof! She is openly defiant of her boss’s instructions and on occasion says things that approach insubordination. For example, her boss told her a few months ago that she needed to attend an important planning meeting in Mexico. When she concocted an excuse why she couldn’t attend on a specific date, her boss changed the date of the meeting to be more convenient for her schedule. So out of a dozen people to attend the meeting eleven adjusted their calendars to agree with this woman’s wishes.
Then, believe it or not, a week before the meeting in Mexico this massager announced to her boss, “The Mexico meeting is unnecessary and stupid. I’m not going!” Let me repeat the same questions I asked about my first example: Why? Why did she behave this way? What could be motivating her to be so self-destructive?
After her announcement I had an unfortunate conversation with this second manager’s boss. He said that he is fed up with her lack of cooperation and unprofessional behavior. He concluded by adding, “If you can’t get her back on track, I only have one final option, and she’s not going to like it.”
So why? Why do some people choose to behave in such indescribable ways? What could cause a person with a great job, including future career possibilities, to either fail to act (as in my first example) or openly rebel against all reason (as in my second example)? What do you think? Have you experienced someone similar to either of these managers?
Put yourself in my position for a minute, what would you do if you were coaching either of these managers? How would you approach the situation to effect change? What techniques or tactics might work better than another? Or, what about this question: is either of these managers salvageable? Are they worth saving? Is it best for all parties to merely terminate the person and start over again with a replacement? Think about these answers and in Part No I’ll describe what actually happened.
One of the services I frequently provide organizations is a process called “Executive Coaching.” The process consists of me working with, or coaching/counseling, usually a senior person in a company. Most commonly the person coached is perceived by his or her boss as needing to improve in some area of performance. Or, the person has demonstrated difficulty in being effective within the organization. I typically work with a person for six months, sometimes longer. During this time we meet at least monthly and discuss personal leadership/managerial effectiveness along with other issues that usually surface during the discussions.
I find executive coaching to be a challenge and an incredible training experience, not only for the person I’m coaching, but for me as well. Many techniques and principles I teach in workshops have been learned in coaching sessions. It’s interesting how the differences in people create such a wide variety of behaviors, feelings and attitudes. But I guess that’s what makes us human beings and not animals.
I would like to describe two people whom I have coached in recent months. Obviously, I must conceal their identities, but the people and their situations are real. There are leadership principles represented in these cases that are so compelling to me that I welcome this opportunity to share them in this article.
The first person is a store manager of a regional grocery chain. He has been a store manager for over 15 years and from a first impression a person could assume that he is effective. He has a public persona of charisma and up-tempo happiness. I’m sure that many customers know who he is and might even believe he is a good manager. The truth is, however, that his boss is very close to terminating him. Let me describe why termination is a near possibility, because after we understand why, we can learn from his mistakes.
The district manager and the store employees have a very different opinion of this manager. instead of a charismatic leader, they see a person who procrastinates, doesn’t follow-through on assignments, gets lost in the trees and can’t see the forest, is a poor delegator, and either avoids confrontation at all cost, or is overly dictatorial and sometimes even abusive.
Now remember; this store manager is clearly aware that his continued employment is in serious jeopardy; he has been told by his district manager that if specific issues don’t immediately improve that he could lose his job. So if you were in this manager’s position, what would you do? How would you behave? What would you do to save your job? Those are questions I think I would ask myself, if I were in that position. Wouldn’t you?
Nonetheless, in a recent coaching session I conducted with the district manager, I watched this store manager say anything he could to please his boss. Rather than taking notes on what he needs to do differently, he spent his time trying to say whatever he could to merely get through the meeting and leave the room. It seemed to me that the prudent thing for him to do would have been to make a list of specific action items that needed to be accomplished in order to improve his job situation; instead, he nodded agreement to everything he heard and did whatever he could to shorten the meeting. Although he had a note pad and pen in front of him, he didn’t use them. When asked for a deadline to complete an assignment, his response was, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.” His nervousness was apparent and lie was obviously uncomfortable with the two of us trying to pin him down on specifics. At one point I observed him rocking back and forth in his chair—a clear indication of profound agitation. After the manager left the room the district manager turned to me and said, “He doesn’t get it. And I didn’t get any impression that anything will be different tomorrow than it was yesterday. I’m locked into a course of action that I don’t want to do.”
Why? Why did the manager behave this way? What could be motivating him to be so self-destructive? Before I give my interpretation of the answer, let me describe the second person. She has 35 employees and is the manager of an important department in a manufacturing company. With a master’s degree in engineering and almost 27 years of experience, she commands an impressive salary and position in her company.
Her problem is that she behaves like she is seven feet tall and bulletproof! She is openly defiant of her boss’s instructions and on occasion says things that approach insubordination. For example, her boss told her a few months ago that she needed to attend an important planning meeting in Mexico. When she concocted an excuse why she couldn’t attend on a specific date, her boss changed the date of the meeting to be more convenient for her schedule. So out of a dozen people to attend the meeting eleven adjusted their calendars to agree with this woman’s wishes.
Then, believe it or not, a week before the meeting in Mexico this massager announced to her boss, “The Mexico meeting is unnecessary and stupid. I’m not going!” Let me repeat the same questions I asked about my first example: Why? Why did she behave this way? What could be motivating her to be so self-destructive?
After her announcement I had an unfortunate conversation with this second manager’s boss. He said that he is fed up with her lack of cooperation and unprofessional behavior. He concluded by adding, “If you can’t get her back on track, I only have one final option, and she’s not going to like it.”
So why? Why do some people choose to behave in such indescribable ways? What could cause a person with a great job, including future career possibilities, to either fail to act (as in my first example) or openly rebel against all reason (as in my second example)? What do you think? Have you experienced someone similar to either of these managers?
Put yourself in my position for a minute, what would you do if you were coaching either of these managers? How would you approach the situation to effect change? What techniques or tactics might work better than another? Or, what about this question: is either of these managers salvageable? Are they worth saving? Is it best for all parties to merely terminate the person and start over again with a replacement? Think about these answers and in Part No I’ll describe what actually happened.
Read Part 2 >>
Tags: Coaching, performance, Performance Coaching
Posted in character, coaching skills | No Comments »
Monday, June 13th, 2011
A friend of mine is a decent person but a terrible manager. I know this because I have been both his friend and his employee in the fifteen years I have known him, and his influence was the primary reason I left a previous job after working for the organization for nearly twelve years. I am a very human example of an idea that nearly every leader has heard at one time or another: when employees leave companies, they don’t leave companies; they leave managers.
 I like to think of myself as a “good” employee, as ambiguous a term as that may be. I am bright and dedicated. My work ethic is strong. I am honest and committed and willing to happily tow the company line. I haven’t called in sick to a job, any job, for over five years. I always meet my deadlines. I seek out new things to learn. I am loyal to a fault. I need very little in terms of supervision, because I believe that the work I produce is a direct reflection on my character, and I work very hard to make sure that reflection is an accurate one.
My demands are meager, and they are few. But what I do require, now and then, is a little pat on the head. An occasional “good job” or a “we’re glad you’re here” or a “you really went the extra mile on that one.” I’ll take feedback, good or bad, thin or robust, over a silent, perfunctory pay raise any day. Although at my previous employer, I couldn’t even rely on that. Of the twelve years I worked in my job, I received one major promotion and no increases in pay, as I happened to be unlucky enough to work for someone who believed neither in annual raises nor in merit-based ones. There was literally zero external incentive to do anything more than a passable job. And yet I kept showing up.
I worked for a business that had experienced unprecedented growth and jaw-dropping success almost since its inception. Because it was so successful early on, the management team became complacent, arrogant about the approach they felt was the right one to take in running the business. The industry environment began to change, slowly eroding the company’s share of the market year by year. It was almost imperceptible—a long, slow death. Because I had been with this company from the very beginning, watching this slow, internal rot was like watching a dear old friend die of bone cancer. And as the company’s illness spread, people who do poorly with power were given positions in which they held it, and the longstanding employees among us, those who felt the grief most strongly, bore the brunt of management’s fury.
The general manager, my friend, had inherited a sickly giant, which was not entirely his fault. But what was his fault was digging himself in; betting his life, his livelihood, and the safety and stability and overall wellbeing of his family on the success of this business. And when he began to realize that he had made a bad choice as a person, he lashed out as a manager. The atmosphere inside the building grew more and more oppressive as the months, and then years, passed. The staff rarely smiled. Every person in every division, except for the very new among us, began to tread lightly around management, knowing that the slightest misstep would result in, at best, public humiliation. The business held on, but barely, in the same way that a person who has fallen off a cliff grasps desperately at the face of the sheer rock wall.
I loved my job, and so I worked under these conditions for seven years. For the last two, just the thought of going to work made me feel kind of sick. But I was afraid to leave. I had given so much of myself to that company. I feared that the tempestuous job market wouldn’t sustain the change I wanted to make, and I was terrified that I might never find work that I truly loved ever again. Silly and pessimistic, I know, but the pull of an abusive relationship is equally as seductive as it is poisonous. I finally resigned myself to the facts of the situation: I loved my job, but I simply couldn’t continue to work under the conditions that my manager had created. I couldn’t suffer a culture that would allow these abuses to take place. I couldn’t bear the idea of sacrificing what remained of my respect for my friend in the interest of supporting his actions as a manager. So I left.
Before I went, I tried to muster up the courage to explain, in detail, why I had decided to leave. Instead of being honest about my feelings—my hurt, my disappointment, and my disgust—I made vague statements about how it was “just time to move on.” Maybe that makes me a coward. Maybe it makes me an enabler. But if my experience had taught me anything, it was that even the most benevolent of criticisms would be met with excuses, and defensiveness, and cruelty, and I decided that it just wasn’t worth my breath.
I said it was time to move on, and it was. But the push I needed was working for a really awful manager and finally getting fed up. I moved on, and none of the things I’d feared so tangibly came to pass. I suppose that this individual ultimately did me a favor, but these aren’t the stories that you want your employees—either current or former—to tell about you when you’re not around. Failing to provide others with appropriate, useful, and timely feedback is a leadership failure, but it is also a personal one. Knowing of the deficit and refusing to do anything about it is simply irresponsible. These failings can be overcome. These skills can be learned. Don’t underestimate the power that feedback, or lack thereof, has over your effectiveness as a leader, the morale of your employees, the culture of your business, and your organization’s ultimate success. If you see yourself in my words, let me give you some well-worn advice: take matters into your own capable hands and do something about it.
Tags: Poor Management, poor management styles, poor project management
Posted in change management, character, leadership, management, planning, team members, trust | No Comments »
Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Using the most recent research in neuroscience as a springboard for talking about leadership skills seems, at first, to be a strange pairing. I admit that I expected to be bogged down by the science and to glean little practical information from the text. But The Brain Advantage by Van Hecke, Callahan, Kolar, and Paller failed to meet my expectations, and I was thrilled.
This book uses the research it offers to start a conversation about leadership, never browbeating the reader into believing, without question, that what they say must apply to all leaders, all the time. The authors respect the fact that every leader operates in a different environment; that by their very nature, interpersonal styles and situations are personal, and the ways that each circumstance is dealt with will inevitably differ significantly from person to person. And neither does this book ask us to understand the research for the sake of pure knowledge. Instead, we are asked to use what we learn about how the human brain works to become better partners, communicators, and leaders, both for the sake of ourselves and for the sake of our relationships with others.
 Each section of the book focused on a different topic: innovation, relationships, culture, decision making, personal effectiveness, and the implications of this research for the future. Using a smart, accessible format, the authors of The Brain Advantage begin every chapter by grounding the research in an anecdote, illustrating for the readers how the subject under discussion fits into the real world. Once they have taught us whatever they intended us to know, they move on to a section entitled “Interesting, but so what?” where we learn how to apply this new knowledge to our lives.
The Brain Advantage also humbly acknowledges that brain science is still an emerging field. As we learn more about how the brain works, we will be able to integrate what we know now with what we will come to know, and we will be able to use that knowledge in a more holistic way. But regardless of what future research may teach us, the principles that these authors present are sound: treat others with sensitivity and be respectful of the differences between you; understand that instinct frequently makes choices for us before our conscious minds have a chance to speak up; realize that our brains are elastic and that learning new things, although difficult, keeps our minds healthy, active, and nimble; be aware that trust is difficult to establish and easy to damage; and so on.
Although The Brain Advantage purports to be a book written for those in positions of leadership, I believe it to be equally valuable for those who are not. The information provided is applicable to relationships of all kinds, regardless of whether those relationships are professional or personal; the authors seek to create genuine empathy for others through a scientific understanding of the mind. And empathy isn’t one-sided. Although it is written from the perspective of a leader, this text also has the ability to provide individuals (employees or otherwise) with deeper insight into the reasons why people make the decisions that they do; there is power in knowing, and this knowledge gives people the power to make educated choices about how, when, and where to interact with others.
Tags: book review, leadership, Leadership Book Review, Leadership Books, Strategic leadership development, The Brain Advantage
Posted in character, emotional intelligence, leadership, learning, recognition | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Olympic sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner believed that running was a mental game. She said: “Every day I tell myself I’m not going to allow anything to stop me. I try to see my goals before me. There are a lot of things which could try to slow me down–injuries, family problems, financial problems, but you have to be so mentally tough when you’re out there.”
 Whether the goal, resolutions, plans, or strategic objectives you set for yourself, having the mental toughness to adhere to it is critical in achieving your desired results. Joyner not only saw what she wanted, but was also able to reach it. CMOE has trained and worked with thousands of managers helping them set goals to improve their leadership skills. From our observations, typically most people are able to set goals and define strategic objectives. Then they quickly lose sight of what they are working towards. Adherence and persistence is often the missing piece.
Sometimes adherence is a time frame–sustaining something long term. On the other hand, it can be the amount of concentrated effort needed. Either way, there are really four basic principles to keep in mind as we enhance out “mental toughness” to stick with the strategies and plans that we have set for ourselves.
Clarity
First, you need to clearly know where you are headed. Not just a general idea or plan, but a concrete target you want to obtain. Without a clear target, you can easily become derailed or distracted. Clarity gives you a sense of purpose and push into action. Basil S. Walsh, an American author said it perfectly: “If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?”
Commitment
Once you know what your target is, you must decide if you are willing to pay the price to go the distance. You have to ask yourself, “Do I believe this goal is worth the effort?”
If so, it requires building up the courage and stamina to persist to the end. It has to be a conscious decision that you make. You must internalize it and believe in it to make it happen. Concentrate and remind yourself of the positive (and negative) consequences or outcomes from your efforts. These will become your motivating factors. It is also too easy to bite off more that you can handle, so make certain you can fully invest in the direction you are headed.
Action Steps
While you may have a clear target and a commitment to it, it will be difficult to move forward persistently unless you know the path that will lead you there. To be most effective, one of your actions should include obtaining the resources required. Rather than listing short bullet point action steps, put some “meat” on it by describing exactly what you need to do, who will help or be responsible (if your target involves others), and when you will complete that step. These intermediate steps keep the momentum going. You are more likely to stick with your plan, if you take smaller strides. Make your action steps visible so you have a constant reminder. Also remember to reward and recognize yourself as you move closer to rather than to wait until you have accomplished your target.
Passion
Successful adherence and resolve requires passion. Find way to enjoy what you are doing and aspiring to. Begin by asking, “How can I get myself to enjoy, really enjoy this?” It really comes down to your attitude about what you are doing. Earl Nightingale said, “A great attitude is not the result of success; success is the result of great attitude.” Visualize yourself being successful. You may have heard that you should “think positively.” Well, not only should your think positively but act positively. You will, of course, experience some up and downs as you move towards your desired results. When you experience a setback, give yourself a break, Look at where you were and where you are now. Reigniting passion will help your through these inevitable disappointments, fear, and frustrations. You can turn your energy into a positive direction by refocusing on your goals and how it will make a difference to you and others.
Theodore Roosevelt said, “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even through checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that know no victory nor defeat.” As with any goal or strategy, despite our best efforts we may not always find success. But we can feel better about ourselves and our contribution if we have done our very best to persistently work to achieve something great.
Tags: business perseverance, focus in business, importance of focus in business, perseverance in business
Posted in achievement, character, goals & goal setting, leadership, performance, talent | No Comments »
Monday, March 28th, 2011
There was a famous conductor who moved to a new city to lead the local orchestra in a new production. From the very first day of working with the orchestra, the conductor treated the orchestra members poorly. His appalling leadership style, or lack thereof, was affecting the mood, motivation, and overall performance of the entire orchestra.
 After several months, the orchestra was to perform their first dress rehearsal for all the patrons. When the orchestra was in place, the famous conductor walked out onto the stage to much applause from the audience. He took his place in front of the orchestra and gave the downbeat. Nothing happened. There was complete silence both from the audience and the orchestra! The conductor took a large, deep breath, tapped his baton on the stand, and gave the down beat again. Like the first time, he was greeted with awkward silence, when music was expected. Finally, the first chair violinist stood up and said, “That’s just to show you that music doesn’t come out of that baton of yours!”
Despite the type of group or organization, leadership principles are constant. But in my opinion, one leadership characteristic stands out above the others—humility. Revered leaders are ambitious, not for personal gain, but for the success of the organization. In our media-conscious society, the leaders that generally receive the most publicity are those with big egos and big opinions. However, the best leaders defer credit for the remarkable accomplishments to team members in the organization. Great leaders might be competitive and ambitious, but they are patient with others, and don’t give in to feelings of superiority. They honestly recognize and appreciate what team members have to offer today, while remaining committed to helping them develop greater contributions for tomorrow.
If you are a leader looking to maintain your confidence, while becoming more flexible, approachable, and receptive, here are a few helpful tips to help you “face the music,” so to speak:
1. Promptly give others credit for positive actions and attitudes.
2. Control emotion and anger (don’t get excitable or argumentative when there is no justification).
3. Invest time to share, teach, and develop others.
4. Harness your need for power and control.
5. Increase communication with your team by listening well, sharing information openly, and accepting feedback.
Tags: effective leadership and management, effective leadership qualities, effective leadership qualities and skills, effective leadership skills
Posted in character, flexible leadership, leadership, qualities of leadership | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
Great must have specific beliefs and core values they adhere too, for example:
1. Leadership – People want to be led, not managed. Instead, leaders must manage their actions and lead by example.
2. Vision – People want to know how their efforts matter. A leader must actively provide this vision to his/her people.
3. Pride – People want the leader to feel that they count for something. A leader should give appropriate praise often. Using a good positive measurement system will also help individuals know how they are contributing.
4. Congruence – People feel secure when they see the leader doing the right things. Once again, a leader must lead by example, walk the walk. Talking alone won’t’ help.
5. Trust – People need trust their leadership if they are to remain dedicated to the organization. Leaders must be fair, consistent with all employees.
6. Character – People ultimately find out what kind of person their leader is and will be influenced to behave in the same manner. Leaders must consistently demonstrate good work ethics.
7. Integrity – People need to respect their leaders. A leader must be accountable for his /her decisions and actions.
8. Responsibility – People feel gratified when commitments to them are kept. Leaders, who keep commitments, will have employees, who are accountable for their commitments.
9. Wisdom – People learn most from their leaders by example and coaching. Leaders need to temper their knowledge with good judgement and concern for others.
10. Communication – People perform better when they understand the issues. A leader who is open and listens to concerns and ideas will gain more support from his/her employees. This communication can be verbal, non-verbal and even a simple visual measurement system. Do you have a positive measurement system in place?
Bottom line, the role of leadership is to add value to other people and the true measure of leadership is influence, thus a great leader must have the ability to change the attitude or behavior of others.
Flexible Leadership is a very positive way in which to help change attitudes or behaviors of others. Based on CMOE’s Flexible Leadership model there are six key styles a leader should implement based upon various situations that arise with different individuals and levels of development:
1. Control – provide specific instructions and closely supervise specific situations
2. Teach – the desire is to share information or knowledge.
3. Guide – ideal for when there is some disagreement about the ultimate target or intent of the action
4. Collaborate – when there is agreement about the desired outcome and when the leader’s experience and knowledge base is relatively strong.
5. Reinforce – most beneficial when the team needs positive reinforcement for their success. Key point – frequent reinforcement of positive behaviors and achievements will result in greater, long-term success.
Flexible leadership is not something you do to people, but something you do with people. Following personal leadership beliefs, core values, and implementation of Flexible Leadership helps leaders to become great. Great leaders are great teachers.
Tags: coacking, leadership, leadership values, meaning of leadership in management
Posted in Leadership Development, character, flexible leadership, leadership, qualities of leadership | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
People are like fingerprints, no two are alike. Because each person has unique histories, talents, abilities, and behavior traits, we receive, internalize, and react to feedback just as differently. Yet receiving and responding to feedback and coaching is critical if we are to grow, improve, and become better, more well rounded individuals.
 This past week I took my family on an extended weekend trip to the lake to get our last summer fun in before school gets underway for the kids and the weather begins to turn cold. As I was leaving my neighborhood in my truck (Bed full of cargo, and boat and trailer in tow), the individual driving a vehicle in front of me decided to make a turn into a supermarket parking lot. This immediately created a problem for me. Not only was the driver not in the turning lane/shoulder of the road, he didn’t put on his turn signal until the very last moment. This chain of events could have caused an accident if I hadn’t proactively hit my breaks and creep into the other lane in an attempt slow my truck and boat in order to avoid crashing into his car.
I was irritated by the situation and offered up some feedback to the driver. In my attempt to slow tons of my steel truck and fiber glass boat, I gave a couple of honks on the horn followed by a quick flick of my heads lights (meaning get out of the way and quick or I will crash into you). What really bothered me was the reaction this guy demonstrated to my warning. He pulled to an immediate stop, and offered some crude hand gestures through his window and proceeded to drive slowly. It was clear he wanted to turn this issue into heated verbal or physical argument by his behavior. I told to my wife “that guy is a jackass.” Not from his driving abilities, but from the way he responded to my feedback. My feedback was not intended to show rage. I did not lay on my horn and start yelling. I gave a couple of honks and a flicker of my headlights telling this guy that his current behavior was going to cause an accident. That’s why cars have horns.
His reaction caused me to evaluate my perceptions of both giving and receiving feedback. I thought about how I would have reacted if I had been honked at. My conclusion is that we all need to be more open to feedback and coaching and not take personal offense to it. In order to grow, and develop we learn from others. If we are to enhance our abilities and expertise, we need to receive feedback, either supportive or corrective.
Supportive Feedback
This is all about reinforcing the positive. When you see someone doing something great and want the behavior to continue, or simply recognizing someone for their work. It is geared to continually improving performance.
Corrective Feedback
This is about changing behavior, performance, and results. It occurs when an improvement or change in needed. It is important to understand that corrective feedback is not negative or abusive in its style, it is only intended to correct the behavior at hand.
While it is important for us who both give and receive feedback to understand these two types, we can hit higher levels of performance if we are a little more open, a little less sensitive (on the receiving end), and ensure our point of view is clearly communicated. Let’s recommit ourselves to the concept of feedback.
Tags: corrective feedback, effective communication, feedback, impatient communication, misinterpreted communication, poor communication
Posted in character, coaching skills, communication, feedback | No Comments »
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