• Get out of the way. Stop being dazzled by your own brilliance. Let go and trust the power of teamwork.
• Keep an open mind. Sometimes what looks like insanity may make a great deal of sense.
• Make it easy for team members to get their jobs done. Clear the way by removing any barriers to productivity. Ensure the team has the resources it needs.
• Choose your battles wisely. They’re a poor use of time. Issues that seem critical now often aren’t in the long run.
• Spend time with your team. You’ll learn how to support them much better than by being aloof and alone in your office.

I’m sure this list is incomplete.  What have I missed?

A leader’s job is to ensure that the highest level goals of the organization are realized. As long as you are committed to the success of the group, you are leading. Below are 5 ways to support your “team,” whether that is a formalized project team or an informal grouping of employees.

• Set direction; don’t give directions. Trying to tell everyone what to do is micromanaging, not leading.
• Ask yourself the question: “Is what I’m doing helping the group to succeed?” Ask the group, too. If the answer is no, stop!
• Remind the group why it exists. A team’s charter can sometimes get lost.
• Align your team. Once goals are clear, help everyone match their part of the job to the goals.
• Ask questions. Explore with real curiosity the link between members’ actions and the team’s goals.

Next week, I’ll share five more ways to support your team.  In the meantime, feel free to chime in with some ideas of your own.

It can get lonely at the top.  Who can you trust?  Who can you talk to  when you are confused, fearful, uncertain?  Probably not your direct reports.  Your spouse?  Maybe, but there are drawbacks.  As a coach, I remind my clients that they have the answers they need.  They just need to slow down, focus, and think.  And, sometimes it really helps to think out loud with someone who can listen, ask questions, and help you connect the dots.

A Yale professor, William Deresiewicz, believes that the best leaders are also the best thinkers.  In a commencement speech he gave at West Point, Deresiewicz said that “thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop an idea about it.”  Specifically, your own idea.  Thinking requires concentration and focus.  Asking yourself the tough questions and finding your own answers.  Questions like these: What is the right thing to do?  What are the implications my decision?  Who am I being?  What is important to me?  Where am I getting in my own way?

If you’re not taking the time to ask yourself these kind of questions, maybe it’s time to slow down and think.  Deresiewicz said to think better you need to talk to yourself and listen to your own voice.  And, “one of the best ways to talk to yourself is by talking to another person. One other person you can trust, one other person to whom you can unfold your soul. One person you feel safe enough with to allow you to acknowledge things–to acknowledge things to yourself–that you otherwise can’t.  Doubts you aren’t suppose to have, questions your aren’t supposed to ask.”

Do you have a thinking partner?

So, what else did the IT professionals say that they wanted if they couldn’t have a raise?  Well, 32 percent want company-funded training and certification classes and 31 percent chose flexible work hours.  Now we’re talking.

The advantages of rewarding key staff with training is two-fold.  One, you send a strong signal that you want to invest in your people.  Something that many employees will remember when they are tempted to jump ship when the economy  improves.  Two, unlike a salary increase, the cost of a training class is a one-time expense.

So, what about flexible work hours?  The fact that 31 percent of the poll respondents chose this may indicate that they don’t currently have a flexible work schedule.  I’ve discovered that a flexible work schedule means different things to different people.  To some, it may mean you can begin work at either 7:30, 8:00 or 8:30.  To someone else, it may mean that work can be performed whenever and wherever desired as long as measurable goals are met.  As a manager, if you think you are offering your people a flexible work schedule, find out if your employees agree.

The Dice.com survey offered four choices of reward in lieu of a raise.  The least popular with just 2 percent of the vote was C-level recognition.  So, a nice pat on the back from the CEO or CIO isn’t a good substitute for cash money.   However, as discussed in my previous post, Inexpensive Ways to Show Employees You Care, don’t let that deter you from showing your team how much you appreciate them.

Last week I attended a meeting for human resource professionals.  The dinner speaker talked about fun in the workplace – an unusual topic given today’s economic climate.  The speaker’s examples of workplace fun were along the lines of employee parties, picnics, and catered lunches.

As I sat there, I had to wonder, who can think about having fun at work with layoffs, benefit reductions, and pay cuts?  In the Q&A after the presentation, someone asked my question, but in a slightly different way.  The audience member was concerned about how spending money for fun would be perceived by people both inside and outside the company.  People might wonder if the money spent on a party could have saved a few jobs.   The speaker did a good job of addressing this concern by discussing how important it is to engage the people who remain in your organization.

Engaged employees are more committed to the organization and are willing to go beyond the call of duty.  Numerous studies have found a link between high employee engagement levels and positive business results.  The opposite is also true.

As a leader, it is crucial to your company’s success to do what you can to boost employee engagement levels.  Make it a habit to acknowledge and appreciate the people on your team.  It doesn’t take a lot of money to say thank you and to show that you care.

For many years, I worked in senior management on contracts with tight margins.  Translation—the money available to recognize and reward employees, beyond their normal compensation, was minuscule.  I had to get creative to show my employees that I appreciated them.

It doesn’t cost a dime to talk to your people and really listen to what they have to say.  Invest your time to get to know your employees on a personal level and help them achieve their goals through mentoring and coaching.   Time and time again, when I ask people to tell me about the best manager they ever had, they will say something about how that manager took a personal interest in them and their success.

Another very inexpensive way to show you care is to write a note.  And, I’m not talking about a quick email.  Never underestimate the value of a personal, handwritten note to express your thanks and gratitude to someone on your team.

Here are a few other inexpensive things I’ve done in the past to recognize my team and have some cheap fun:

• Put together a scavenger hunt that ended up at my home for lunch and an inexpensive prize for the winning team
• Grilled and served hamburgers and hot dogs in the office parking lot
• At Halloween, had a pumpkin carving and costume contest

What are you doing to boost employee morale and engagement in your organization?

According to a study by the Center for Creative Leadership and Cylient, businesses plan to expand their use of coaching into 2009.  More than half (53 percent) of the companies surveyed said that they expected their organizations to do more coaching in 2009 than in 2008. Only 4 percent said that they expected less coaching.  Additionally, companies will be employing coaching in more diverse ways.

“In addition to individual coaching—which continues to be focused more on high-potential leaders than just on derailing leaders—coaching-skill workshops, team and group coaching and coach-to-coach mentoring are emerging as additional coaching activities that are used by organizations.  As the current economic stressors force business to stretch the limits of leader agility and adaptability, coaching is emerging as a critical learning strategy for business leaders.”

To learn more about this study, read the white paper here.

If you are interested in developing coaching skills among the leaders in your organization, visit the Training page to read an abstract and some testimonials for my popular workshop, Unlock Your Team’s Potential Through Coaching.

]]> http://www.catalystleadershipcoaching.com/coaching-a-critical-skill-for-leaders/feed/ 0 http://www.catalystleadershipcoaching.com/random-acts-of-kindness/ http://www.catalystleadershipcoaching.com/random-acts-of-kindness/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:20:44 +0000 Kim Freedman http://catalystleadershipcoaching.com/?p=192 A colleague sent me a link to a short film on YouTube that reminds us of the impact we have on the people we encounter as we go about our daily lives.  The film, Validation, runs about 16 minutes.  After watching Validation, ask yourself these questions:

• What kind of impact do I want to have on the people I meet?
• As a leader, what type of work environment am I creating?

Enjoy and smile!

We all have blindspots. I like to say that it is hard to see the picture when you are inside the frame. Executive coaches help leaders see the impact of their behavior on the people around them. As you know, the first step to making any sort of behavioral change is to become aware of the need to do so.

Quite often, an attitude or behavior that once served you well and contributed to your success, is now stopping you from moving ahead. It’s like wearing a suit that fit perfectly a decade ago, but today it is too small and completely out of style. You just have to look in the mirror, see the suit for what it is, and change clothes.

Goldsmith identifies 20 habits that prevent successful people from achieving all that they want. Here are just a few of these habits:

• Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
• Passing judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
• Starting with “No,” But,” or “However”: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.”
• Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
• Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
• Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
• Playing favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.

An entire chapter is devoted to the 21st habit, which is Goal Obsession. “Goal obsession is one of those paradoxical traits we accept as a driver of our success. It’s the force that motivates us to finish the job in the face of any obstacle—and finish it perfectly. A valuable attribute much of the time. It’s hard to criticize people for wanting to do things 100 percent right (especially when you consider the sloppy alternative). But taken too far, it can become a blatant cause of failure.” Goldsmith says that goal obsession is not a flaw in and of itself, but it breeds unproductive and potentially destructive behaviors.

One of the reasons I like this book is because it offers practical advice on what habits to change and a systematic approach for tweaking behavior.  I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in leadership development.

What types of training or guidance have you had on how to coach others?
Respondents said they learned about coaching most commonly from “reading” (70 percent); “figured out my own way of coaching” (62 percent); and “learned from watching others” (60 percent).

What types of training or guidance would you like to have on how to coach others?
Respondents said they would most like “coaching programs or workshops” (68%); “opportunities to practice coaching” (54%) and “books and articles” (53%).

Although there are a number of good books available on the topic of coaching, it is difficult to become a good coach by just reading. I offer a one-day experiential workshop that introduces leaders to the coaching role and 5 critical coaching skills. If you are interested in learning more about this workshop or bringing it to your organization, please contact me.

Below are some other results of the CCL poll on coaching.

Have you ever had a one-to-one leadership coach?
60 percent of respondents said they have worked one-on-one with a leadership coach.

What was the most valuable outcome of the coaching?

If you were able to work with a coach, which outcomes would you want?

What is your level in your organization?
Upper middle managers (26%) had the strongest representation in the poll, followed by top management and executive management (22% each).

In what sector do you work?
Employees of businesses with 499 or fewer employees made up the largest block of respondents (26%), followed by those in businesses with 500 to 4,999 employees (21%) and businesses with 10,000 or more employees (18%).

According to www.thefreedictionary.com, touchy-feely is an adjective and is defined as:

1. Marked by or emphasizing physical closeness and emotional openness
2. Based on sentiment or intuition, especially to the exclusion of critical judgment

What’s wrong with emotional openness and using your intuition? Granted, you could end up with a harassment charge if you did the physical closeness thing with everyone at work. But, among consenting co-workers, I don’t see a problem with giving and getting a hug now and then.  Business should be more personal, in my humble opinion.  Wouldn’t be nice if people brought their whole selves to work instead of having to check part of who they are at the door?