The effectiveness of the leadership within your organization determines to a great extent the degree to which that leadership will succeed. What makes for strong leadership? We all know it when we see it; the trick is to articulate what the key ingredients are. Here are 12 key elements that I believe form the common denominator among successful leaders in any industry. From the lessons on leadership, we know leaders can be developed. These 12 key components to leadership that are demonstrated by effective leaders provide guidelines for developing an environment that fosters the principles and practices critical to organizational success.
1. Your Self-Esteem: As with effective management, the first key is to strengthen your self-esteem. The more value you see within yourself, the greater will be your ability to influence other people.
2. Attitude is the key to organizational performance: A leader needs to have a positive attitude even when things are not going his/her way.
3. Begin with yourself: Successful leadership begins with the individual. Successful leaders share a set of traits or principles, including a high degree of integrity, authenticity, courage, and curiosity. Effective leaders are congruent. They know what they stand for and they have the courage to convey it and the consistency to live it. Their followers can trust them, as they know who they are and what they stand for.
4. Goal Setting; the Path to Your Focus: By setting goals on a routine basis you decide what you want to achieve, and then move step-by-step towards achieving these goals.
5. Commitment: The key to completing goals and subsequently achieving our life’s focus is commitment. Success often starts with the mere existence of the commitment to change and improve. By committing ourselves to accomplishing the goals that we have determined, we take that first step to the achievement of excellence. Commitment is what transforms promises and hopes into reality. This also puts the leader in the position of having integrity – doing what you say you will do.
6. Communication: When you communicate your vision, your mission, and your goals, be clear and concise for all to understand what you want to accomplish. Think before you speak: As a leader, tailor your messages enough for your audience to see a clear picture of the message you are presenting.
7. Listen Well: Listening to what others have to say and their understanding of what you have said. Listen for more than what’s being said; pay attention to what’s not being said and try to spot unspoken expectations that are not clearly communicated verbally or in writing. It’s about picking up on what people are thinking, how they are acting and what they are not necessarily verbalizing. When ideas are fresh and positive, profits and productivity soars. Communicating and listening complement each other for good leaders.
8. Progression of Achievement: Excellence is best achieved in small steps that encompass a greater whole. A productive and reinforcing method of goal setting involves the breaking of any large task (or our overall focus) into manageable segments, with the easiest parts to be accomplished first. By actually achieving success after success, we begin to establish a repetitive pattern of achievement that leads to even greater accomplishment. Success, like failure, tends to be a trend. Continued successes encourage continued successes. Enough successes eventually comprise ultimate excellence.
9. Leaders must walk the talk. Leaders not only make the rules, they follow those rules. This is harder than you think. Take sales, for example. Most business leaders are good salespeople, and good salespeople often break the rules. But you earn your team’s heightened respect when you make a deliberate effort to creatively accomplish your goals without violating or corrupting policies you put into place.
10. Leaders take responsibility for poor performance. In being a leader, you take on the responsibility of accountability. Leaders also understand that most underperforming employees are the product of a poor hiring decision or poor training. Most managers retain underperforming employees too long because they set unrealistic expectations and lack objective ways to evaluate performance. Good leaders understand that retaining an employee under these circumstances works against the employee’s interest as well as the company’s.
11. Motivation: This involves influencing your people to make more long-term efforts in accomplishing goals. It is not the idea of simply giving orders or making suggestions, but the ability to make someone truly want to achieve the desired goals. It starts with motivating yourself and ends with leading the team all going in the same direction.
12. Having a Vision: Leaders know where their organization is headed, and they constantly communicate that vision to their team. If the vision is strong enough, a good leader can delegate its implementation without having to micromanage the details. With this, having the tenacity to stay the course until the established objective is achieved is part of the key of leadership excellence as well.
Taking this one step farther, navigating with this vision is also important to effective leadership and those at the helm who try to lead without a vision are seriously crippled. Organizational members need to know where the organization is going. Without direction, they flounder. To have direction, motivation, and congruence, employees must see the big picture. Employees need a vivid sense of the future that compels them to action. When they are committed to the vision and align it with their personal objectives, a synergy is created that lifts, fuels, and propels them forward.
Successful leaders are willing to take risks with visibility and vulnerability. They demonstrate and build courage through this willingness. Leaders learn to take complete responsibility for their decisions and actions, while sharing credit. Masterful leaders learn, live by, and communicate these principles. They create confidence, respect, and loyalty by operating with integrity and authenticity.
Good leadership is not just the result of hard work. It also stems from having a clear vision of where you want the organization to go. It results from having a solid knowledge of bringing out the best in the people you are leading.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Friday, October 1, 2010
Quiet Enthusiasm
The idea of Quiet Enthusiasm from Ralph Marston demonstrates that introverts do have enthusiasm, but it is on the quest side.
Sometimes enthusiasm shouts loudly and is very obvious. Yet many times enthusiasm works quietly, diligently and effectively behind the scenes to make great things happen.
Both kinds of enthusiasm are valid and powerful. Both kinds of enthusiasm can change life for the better.
Noisy, flashy enthusiasm commands great attention and makes many promises. Quiet enthusiasm follows through and fulfills those promises.
You don't have to be loud and boisterous to be enthusiastic. You can be just as enthusiastic and committed by being fully and yet quietly engaged in getting the work done.
Outer actions may be a sure sign of enthusiasm, yet they are not where enthusiasm comes from. Enthusiasm originates in the authentic passion that lives deep within you.
Explore, understand and feel that passion. And express enthusiasm in your own very special way.
- Ralph Marston
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540 or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
Sometimes enthusiasm shouts loudly and is very obvious. Yet many times enthusiasm works quietly, diligently and effectively behind the scenes to make great things happen.
Both kinds of enthusiasm are valid and powerful. Both kinds of enthusiasm can change life for the better.
Noisy, flashy enthusiasm commands great attention and makes many promises. Quiet enthusiasm follows through and fulfills those promises.
You don't have to be loud and boisterous to be enthusiastic. You can be just as enthusiastic and committed by being fully and yet quietly engaged in getting the work done.
Outer actions may be a sure sign of enthusiasm, yet they are not where enthusiasm comes from. Enthusiasm originates in the authentic passion that lives deep within you.
Explore, understand and feel that passion. And express enthusiasm in your own very special way.
- Ralph Marston
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540 or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
Friday, August 27, 2010
Soft-Spoken Corporate Leaders
Being honored for his leadership style, David Baker gave a speech in his usual way, soft-spoken, that won him the advanced leadership award of the year. Most people at the dinner thought that David spoke soft because of a leadership secret he found that worked and worked well in his 35 years being the CEO of WXT company. What most people did not realize was that David always spoke softly all of his life. David, an introvert is a tough leader and gets results by the way he leads.
The quiet revolution is moving forward and gaining steam as I write this. According to research, there are between 40-70% of CEOs and other executives who consider themselves as being introverted. With this in mind, even though they are introverted, these
We often read books and articles expounding on leadership traits or skills that a leader should possess. Do not let the cover fool you. There are many people who do not seek the spotlight, even though they are corporate leaders. They do not need the trappings of leadership- they just lead.
Leaders lead not through their loud speeches, but rather by doing what needs to be done, and by example. The gruff, non-nonsense company leader may be just as much a leader as the soft-spoken one. Optimize who you are. Some leaders who are soft-spoken, introverted, and quiet; while others are extroverted and like to be in the limelight all the time. Allow yourself to be who you are even with demonstrating your active listening skills, and look carefully into what your leadership style is. Think about the idea that you can expand your horizons by demonstrating more of who you are through your leadership style and work on how you want that to be.
Kenneth Chase, a 57 year old vice-president never wanted to be president or CEO of the organization he has worked at since graduating from Penn State University. As a self-confident leader is usually soft-spoken, Kenneth’s dynamic leadership brought forth his great insights and vision for his company that demonstrated his creativity as it began as an artist, and then switched his major to business. He did not plan on being a corporate leader, but he has made the position comfortable enough that he has been there for over 20 years.
Many people may look at themselves and say, “I am soft-spoken, quiet and opinionated”. These are some of the same people who notice that almost all charismatic people are soft-spoken.
There are some people who are naturally soft-spoken and it may be part of their emotional make-up. Sometimes it is taught in families as to not raise your voice even when you get angry. Others are introverted so they do not speak up or are slow to respond because introverts have to think first before saying or taking any action.
Some believe that soft-spoken people are creative and mask a hidden agenda. Others believe being soft-spoken is a sign of weakness. When people use their actual strengths, they can be powerful in their own way. Many people do not understand that.
Talking softly actually makes others listen to you more. Some might say that people who talk over others are self-absorbed and have a skewed self-esteem issue that they rarely listen to what others say. They are too busy listening to the sound of their own voice.
Having a brilliant mind which gives her unique ideas, even though she prefers to make policy based on what she observes, Megan Anderson is one of those creative types who likes management by walking around. She likes to talk to employees and get their opinions, suggestions, and feedback because when changes need to take place, Megan wants the buy-in from her workforce as to the changes she wants to implement as it affects them as well.
Megan is soft-spoken and remains quiet when she is in a large group, such as networking events. She prefers not to have attention put on her because she gets flustered and blushes. She prefers one-to-ones instead.
With the quiet revolution taking place within leadership, and more and more quiet leaders demonstrating that they are getting results beyond their expectations. Soft-spoken leaders are not shouting their secret leadership skills, strategies and techniques from the rooftops; they still keep a low profile and look forward to stellar years due to their leadership and how they do what they do.
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540 or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
The quiet revolution is moving forward and gaining steam as I write this. According to research, there are between 40-70% of CEOs and other executives who consider themselves as being introverted. With this in mind, even though they are introverted, these
We often read books and articles expounding on leadership traits or skills that a leader should possess. Do not let the cover fool you. There are many people who do not seek the spotlight, even though they are corporate leaders. They do not need the trappings of leadership- they just lead.
Leaders lead not through their loud speeches, but rather by doing what needs to be done, and by example. The gruff, non-nonsense company leader may be just as much a leader as the soft-spoken one. Optimize who you are. Some leaders who are soft-spoken, introverted, and quiet; while others are extroverted and like to be in the limelight all the time. Allow yourself to be who you are even with demonstrating your active listening skills, and look carefully into what your leadership style is. Think about the idea that you can expand your horizons by demonstrating more of who you are through your leadership style and work on how you want that to be.
Kenneth Chase, a 57 year old vice-president never wanted to be president or CEO of the organization he has worked at since graduating from Penn State University. As a self-confident leader is usually soft-spoken, Kenneth’s dynamic leadership brought forth his great insights and vision for his company that demonstrated his creativity as it began as an artist, and then switched his major to business. He did not plan on being a corporate leader, but he has made the position comfortable enough that he has been there for over 20 years.
Many people may look at themselves and say, “I am soft-spoken, quiet and opinionated”. These are some of the same people who notice that almost all charismatic people are soft-spoken.
There are some people who are naturally soft-spoken and it may be part of their emotional make-up. Sometimes it is taught in families as to not raise your voice even when you get angry. Others are introverted so they do not speak up or are slow to respond because introverts have to think first before saying or taking any action.
Some believe that soft-spoken people are creative and mask a hidden agenda. Others believe being soft-spoken is a sign of weakness. When people use their actual strengths, they can be powerful in their own way. Many people do not understand that.
Talking softly actually makes others listen to you more. Some might say that people who talk over others are self-absorbed and have a skewed self-esteem issue that they rarely listen to what others say. They are too busy listening to the sound of their own voice.
Having a brilliant mind which gives her unique ideas, even though she prefers to make policy based on what she observes, Megan Anderson is one of those creative types who likes management by walking around. She likes to talk to employees and get their opinions, suggestions, and feedback because when changes need to take place, Megan wants the buy-in from her workforce as to the changes she wants to implement as it affects them as well.
Megan is soft-spoken and remains quiet when she is in a large group, such as networking events. She prefers not to have attention put on her because she gets flustered and blushes. She prefers one-to-ones instead.
With the quiet revolution taking place within leadership, and more and more quiet leaders demonstrating that they are getting results beyond their expectations. Soft-spoken leaders are not shouting their secret leadership skills, strategies and techniques from the rooftops; they still keep a low profile and look forward to stellar years due to their leadership and how they do what they do.
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540 or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
Friday, August 13, 2010
MBWA (Management By Waking Around)
Why do some leaders quickly implement change and inspire their team(s) to exceed all targets- while others try everything possible and their team(s) barely meet expectations?
For many employees, one of the most popular questions they are asked every morning is “How are you?” By the way, this question is stated not by a co-worker, but by their boss. Many ineffective managers and leaders have distinguishing factors such as not asking good questions or offering little or no help, support or even encouragement or suggestions to their employees to be more productive. Many leaders do not avail themselves to the potentially useful techniques that help them manage better either because they do not know them or do not believe in them.
Management By Walking Around or MBWA for short, was pioneered by the two men who started HP-Hewlett-Packard (Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard) in the 1940’s. The “HP Way” of MBWA was based on the concept that employees are capable of being part of the problem solving process and that a team approach to creating new business ideas and innovating ways to solve problems was far superior to the “top down” approach of management coming up with all the answers and dictating them to their employees.
The idea behind MBWA, according to author Tom Peters who popularized the term, is simple: “Managers can be a lot more effective when they wander around the work site. Companies that perform the best are the ones whose managers actively go out into the trenches and listen and engage with their employees.
Managers can best engage employees by asking how their day is going, what barriers they face, what problems they see, how the organization could do better, and how management can help them do a better job. Some may remember the notion of management by walking around as an old idea that is coming back in many companies.
Some organizations who have used “management by walking around” focused on leading that resulted in productivity improvements of at least 30%. Effective managers have their fingers on the pulse of their projects, their teams, and the organizations. Some of the ways “Management By Walking Around” improves leadership includes:
· Motivates employees to achieve individual and team goals
· Focuses the team’s attention on business priorities
· Increases the ability to drive cultural change
· Builds company spirit
· Reinforces company values
Management By Walking Around builds trust and relationships, motivates the staff by management allowing employees to take an active role in the company they work for, and creates a healthy organization.
Management By Walking Around recognizes and appreciates the employees who help make you successful. Managers who practice this style, take note of the following:
1. Speak with People One-on-One as this builds trust.
2. Get to Know People more on a personal basis as this shows your interest in them. Tell them something about yourself.
3. Be Prepared to hear some things you would rather not hear. Some things may not be going so well. Accept these things as information that may be useful to you without being critical of the employee who presents the information.
4. Always Ask people for their ideas on how their work could be improved. Listen carefully to their ideas.
5. When You Notice something out of line, make a mental note and go back later to address the problem.
6. Practice MBWA with everyone as often as you can. Be humble. Let them show you how to input the data.
7. Try to Catch Employees in the act of doing something right. Notice the things that are right and express your appreciation. This builds loyalty.
These are simple and powerful tools for you to use daily. Today, many business owners and leaders walk the floor only when a crisis occurs. They think their presence will calm their employees. The trouble is, that is not effective if you have been hiding in your office before you notice a problem has hit. MBWA only works (and does work) if you do it regularly and you really want to know what is going on in your organization. So Instead of staying in your office all day, every day, visit your employees on a regular basis, and discover how to improve your leadership with your employees and your company.
“Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.”
- Dianne Feinstein
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540 or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
For many employees, one of the most popular questions they are asked every morning is “How are you?” By the way, this question is stated not by a co-worker, but by their boss. Many ineffective managers and leaders have distinguishing factors such as not asking good questions or offering little or no help, support or even encouragement or suggestions to their employees to be more productive. Many leaders do not avail themselves to the potentially useful techniques that help them manage better either because they do not know them or do not believe in them.
Management By Walking Around or MBWA for short, was pioneered by the two men who started HP-Hewlett-Packard (Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard) in the 1940’s. The “HP Way” of MBWA was based on the concept that employees are capable of being part of the problem solving process and that a team approach to creating new business ideas and innovating ways to solve problems was far superior to the “top down” approach of management coming up with all the answers and dictating them to their employees.
The idea behind MBWA, according to author Tom Peters who popularized the term, is simple: “Managers can be a lot more effective when they wander around the work site. Companies that perform the best are the ones whose managers actively go out into the trenches and listen and engage with their employees.
Managers can best engage employees by asking how their day is going, what barriers they face, what problems they see, how the organization could do better, and how management can help them do a better job. Some may remember the notion of management by walking around as an old idea that is coming back in many companies.
Some organizations who have used “management by walking around” focused on leading that resulted in productivity improvements of at least 30%. Effective managers have their fingers on the pulse of their projects, their teams, and the organizations. Some of the ways “Management By Walking Around” improves leadership includes:
· Motivates employees to achieve individual and team goals
· Focuses the team’s attention on business priorities
· Increases the ability to drive cultural change
· Builds company spirit
· Reinforces company values
Management By Walking Around builds trust and relationships, motivates the staff by management allowing employees to take an active role in the company they work for, and creates a healthy organization.
Management By Walking Around recognizes and appreciates the employees who help make you successful. Managers who practice this style, take note of the following:
1. Speak with People One-on-One as this builds trust.
2. Get to Know People more on a personal basis as this shows your interest in them. Tell them something about yourself.
3. Be Prepared to hear some things you would rather not hear. Some things may not be going so well. Accept these things as information that may be useful to you without being critical of the employee who presents the information.
4. Always Ask people for their ideas on how their work could be improved. Listen carefully to their ideas.
5. When You Notice something out of line, make a mental note and go back later to address the problem.
6. Practice MBWA with everyone as often as you can. Be humble. Let them show you how to input the data.
7. Try to Catch Employees in the act of doing something right. Notice the things that are right and express your appreciation. This builds loyalty.
These are simple and powerful tools for you to use daily. Today, many business owners and leaders walk the floor only when a crisis occurs. They think their presence will calm their employees. The trouble is, that is not effective if you have been hiding in your office before you notice a problem has hit. MBWA only works (and does work) if you do it regularly and you really want to know what is going on in your organization. So Instead of staying in your office all day, every day, visit your employees on a regular basis, and discover how to improve your leadership with your employees and your company.
“Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.”
- Dianne Feinstein
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540 or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Resilient People
How do you react to unexpected difficulties? In today’s workplace everyone feels pressured to get more done, of higher quality, with fewer people, in less time, and with less of a budget. It is more challenging when life throws you a curve especially in difficult times when it is important to be resilient as much as possible.
Healthy, resilient people have stress-resistant personalities. Resilience is the process of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences. Resilient people bounce back from setbacks quicker than others, and can thrive under extreme, on-going pressure without acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways.
Resilience comprises 2 different elements: (1) The ability to keep it together when you are subject to great demands and pressures; and (2) The ability to overcome difficulties, to learn from mistakes and to develop creatively, by turning difficult circumstances into opportunities.
Resiliency is what sets some people apart from others. The traits of resilient people are plenty for people to understand. Here are several characteristics. See if they fit for you!
· Resilient people are connected to what is most important to them in their lives (meaning, direction and purpose in what they do).
· Put things in perspective.
· They understand that emotions are great sources of energy and motivation but are often poor guides for action. They know how to motivate themselves to take action.
· They are focused with having a clear vision of what they want to achieve.
· Resilient people are positive. They are optimistic in their thinking as negative thinking is just a “bad habit”. (Challenge yourself to reframe situations in more positive terms).
· They are flexible especially when responding to change.
· Resilient people are organized as they develop structured approaches to managing change.
· Always exploring their options. If one door closes, they look for another door or window of opportunity. They even create them when needed.
· Resilient people have excellent problem-solving skills. The can brainstorm and negotiate with the best. They think critically.
· Maintain a higher level of quality and productivity in their work.
· Resilient people have the ability to re-frame their experiences to see the positive side of things. They always look for the silver lining. They ask questions like, “What can I learn from this experience?”
· Achieve more of their objectives.
· They look for adversity as a challenge rather than as a threat. They realize that no matter how the present situation turns out, they will learn and grow from it.
· Resilient people respect themselves and others. They have a spirit of cooperation and look for win-win solutions rather than try to win over people or ignore their own wants and needs.
· They know how to let go of things they have no control over. They know the only thing in their control is “Me, Myself, and I”.
· Resilient people use positive self-talk. They spend time thinking what they want versus what they do not have. They understand and use the power of positive affirmations.
· Resilient people let go of the past and learn from past experiences and plan for the future.
· They know how and when to ask for help. They do not try to do everything themselves. They do not expect others to do everything for them. They understand the benefits of tapping into the strengths of others.
· Resilient people enjoy living in the NOW. They do not put important things off for another day.
· Actively seek solutions. Active coping rather than being passive and waiting for things to happen.
Think about how resiliency impacts you and your organization!
Healthy, resilient people have stress-resistant personalities. Resilience is the process of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences. Resilient people bounce back from setbacks quicker than others, and can thrive under extreme, on-going pressure without acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways.
Resilience comprises 2 different elements: (1) The ability to keep it together when you are subject to great demands and pressures; and (2) The ability to overcome difficulties, to learn from mistakes and to develop creatively, by turning difficult circumstances into opportunities.
Resiliency is what sets some people apart from others. The traits of resilient people are plenty for people to understand. Here are several characteristics. See if they fit for you!
· Resilient people are connected to what is most important to them in their lives (meaning, direction and purpose in what they do).
· Put things in perspective.
· They understand that emotions are great sources of energy and motivation but are often poor guides for action. They know how to motivate themselves to take action.
· They are focused with having a clear vision of what they want to achieve.
· Resilient people are positive. They are optimistic in their thinking as negative thinking is just a “bad habit”. (Challenge yourself to reframe situations in more positive terms).
· They are flexible especially when responding to change.
· Resilient people are organized as they develop structured approaches to managing change.
· Always exploring their options. If one door closes, they look for another door or window of opportunity. They even create them when needed.
· Resilient people have excellent problem-solving skills. The can brainstorm and negotiate with the best. They think critically.
· Maintain a higher level of quality and productivity in their work.
· Resilient people have the ability to re-frame their experiences to see the positive side of things. They always look for the silver lining. They ask questions like, “What can I learn from this experience?”
· Achieve more of their objectives.
· They look for adversity as a challenge rather than as a threat. They realize that no matter how the present situation turns out, they will learn and grow from it.
· Resilient people respect themselves and others. They have a spirit of cooperation and look for win-win solutions rather than try to win over people or ignore their own wants and needs.
· They know how to let go of things they have no control over. They know the only thing in their control is “Me, Myself, and I”.
· Resilient people use positive self-talk. They spend time thinking what they want versus what they do not have. They understand and use the power of positive affirmations.
· Resilient people let go of the past and learn from past experiences and plan for the future.
· They know how and when to ask for help. They do not try to do everything themselves. They do not expect others to do everything for them. They understand the benefits of tapping into the strengths of others.
· Resilient people enjoy living in the NOW. They do not put important things off for another day.
· Actively seek solutions. Active coping rather than being passive and waiting for things to happen.
Think about how resiliency impacts you and your organization!
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540, or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
Friday, July 9, 2010
Leaders Understanding Their Own Awareness
One who knows others is wise.
One who knows oneself is enlightened.
Lao-Tzu
Although it is probably one of the least discussed leadership competencies, self-awareness is one of the most valuable. Many of us operate on the belief that we must appear as though we know everything all the time or else people will question our abilities, diminishing the effectiveness of leaders.
Self-awareness is the cornerstone of leadership. When you are self-aware, you are mindful of the impacts that your emotions, your behavior, your communication patterns have on those around you. Strong leaders take time to reflect on their strengths and development needs.
Self-awareness is the first step to better leadership. If you do not know what you do not know, you cannot improve on your weaknesses. If you are unaware of your strengths, you will not reach your potential. A lack of knowledge about who you are and how you operate can lead you to overemphasize your strengths, to the point where they become a weakness. Once you know yourself- your strengths, weaknesses, behavior tendencies and motivators- you can begin to lead yourself to success.
Recognition of your own strengths and limitations means that you are more likely to empower others, giving them the opportunity to develop and support broad improvement goals. On the interpersonal level, self-awareness of your strengths and weaknesses can net you the trust of others and increase your credibility – both of which will increase your leadership effectiveness.
On an organizational level, the benefits are greater. When you acknowledge what you have yet to learn, you are modeling that in your organization then it is okay to admit you do not have all the answers, make mistakes and most importantly, to ask for help. These are all characteristics of an organization that is constantly learning and presents itself as a springboard to innovation and agility – two hallmarks of high performing organizations.
So How Self-Aware Are You?
According to research on management styles, you are more likely to be unaware of your behavior and how it impacts others if you normally tend to operate at the extremes.
Developing your leadership potential begins with self-reflection. Leadership development helps leaders understand their own style. Knowing your own strengths and limitations helps you understand your own emotions and the impact of your behavior on others in diverse situations.
Leadership guru, Warren Bennis states, “Know thyself means separating who you are and who you want to be from what the world thinks you are and wants you to be.”
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540, or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
Monday, June 28, 2010
Who Are Your Star Performers
Brent was a successful senior executive working for a large manufacturing company. He was the person that you wanted to have when things did not go well. Everybody loved him for his enthusiasm, never-ending motivation and his vision of taking the organization to the next level. About one year after this bright star was brought in and produced so well he started getting frustrated due to the fact that his boss was not spending any time to groom him and was not receiving any recognition or bonuses for the work he was doing. When he accepted an offer at another firm nobody could believe it. His boss did not understand his reasons, his team was disappointed, and his peers simply didn’t get it. Brent never told anyone what he was going through. But everyone knew he was a top performer who everyone expected to run the company one day soon.
It is a difficult event for an organization when a star employee leaves, ripping a hole in the organization. Most managers are aware of the 80-20 rule that states that “80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people.” Whether this is fact or fiction, few managers would disagree that the bulk of the work is done by a few key staff.
Ask a manager where they spend the bulk of their time, and most will say that it is spent with underperformers in an attempt to raise the overall level of the team. Most people don’t spend a lot of time trying to identify their best producers.
I came across an article recently from World at Work that reported an alarming 47% of high performing employees are actively looking for another job. In many cases stars are only identified long after they have left.
Star Performers Are:
· Known within the team, but may not be known to management
· Not clock watchers starting to pack their bag at 4:58.
· Usually approached when something important needs to be done
· Stars don't think of networking as something to do with other people. For stars, it's a constant. Nothing is a complete waste of time because you can always meet someone, talk to someone, or help someone. That last piece is important – stars know that networking is as much giving as taking. And there is an inherent humility in this way of life; stars know they can't get what they want by acting alone.
· Stars exceed expectations. Just doing your job is not enough. Stars do their own job well and then perform well in areas that exceed the job description. Generally star initiative includes helping people, taking risks and seeing a project through to the end – all in arenas that go beyond their job duties
Star performers are usually not the ones flapping around and spending time each day telling others how busy they are. They may be easy to spot in areas such as sales, because it is a numbers game.
Not only are star performers a dumping ground for additional work and some say they are often a victim of their own success.
What Drives Star Performers Away?
• Lack of recognition or feedback with respect to performance
• Internal promotions that are not based on performance
• Others taking credit for their work
It does not matter what profession you are in, the following is a formula to use to identify your star performers.
1. Look at the people in your organization, and then inventory their skills.
2. Compare those skills to what’s hot in the open job market.
3. Compile a list of people that have extremely valuable skills.
High performers are usually people who need a different form of motivation in order to stay passionate about their jobs. Stars thrive on executing results. Seldom do they sit down and reflect on the things that “just happen.”
Most of us can divide the people in our organizations into three categories: Star performers, moderate performers and substandard performers. Suppose you have 100 employees. In a typical work force, that would probably mean 15 star performers, 83 moderate performers and two substandard performers. . A study of computer programmers at Bell Laboratories showed that the star performers outperformed moderate performers by a margin of 8-1.
Retain Your Star Performers
· Work with star performers to set realistic performance targets.
· Give them more of your time than underperformers. Meet with them on a weekly basis for an informal catch-up. They are the backbone of your company, so why spend all your time with staff that are not producing the results?
· They want to be in the limelight. They want to make decisions. They want to shine. Be sure to create an environment where they can do just that.
One of the best ways to get what you want is to be an extraordinary performer at work. The interesting thing about star performance at work is that it actually demands that you be the person you want to be anyway. Being a good person, seeking self-knowledge, and taking responsibility for where you're going are probably key pieces of your core belief system. So you truly do not need to stray from your idea of a good life in order to be wildly successful in your career.
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540, or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
It is a difficult event for an organization when a star employee leaves, ripping a hole in the organization. Most managers are aware of the 80-20 rule that states that “80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people.” Whether this is fact or fiction, few managers would disagree that the bulk of the work is done by a few key staff.
Ask a manager where they spend the bulk of their time, and most will say that it is spent with underperformers in an attempt to raise the overall level of the team. Most people don’t spend a lot of time trying to identify their best producers.
I came across an article recently from World at Work that reported an alarming 47% of high performing employees are actively looking for another job. In many cases stars are only identified long after they have left.
Star Performers Are:
· Known within the team, but may not be known to management
· Not clock watchers starting to pack their bag at 4:58.
· Usually approached when something important needs to be done
· Stars don't think of networking as something to do with other people. For stars, it's a constant. Nothing is a complete waste of time because you can always meet someone, talk to someone, or help someone. That last piece is important – stars know that networking is as much giving as taking. And there is an inherent humility in this way of life; stars know they can't get what they want by acting alone.
· Stars exceed expectations. Just doing your job is not enough. Stars do their own job well and then perform well in areas that exceed the job description. Generally star initiative includes helping people, taking risks and seeing a project through to the end – all in arenas that go beyond their job duties
Star performers are usually not the ones flapping around and spending time each day telling others how busy they are. They may be easy to spot in areas such as sales, because it is a numbers game.
Not only are star performers a dumping ground for additional work and some say they are often a victim of their own success.
What Drives Star Performers Away?
• Lack of recognition or feedback with respect to performance
• Internal promotions that are not based on performance
• Others taking credit for their work
It does not matter what profession you are in, the following is a formula to use to identify your star performers.
1. Look at the people in your organization, and then inventory their skills.
2. Compare those skills to what’s hot in the open job market.
3. Compile a list of people that have extremely valuable skills.
High performers are usually people who need a different form of motivation in order to stay passionate about their jobs. Stars thrive on executing results. Seldom do they sit down and reflect on the things that “just happen.”
Most of us can divide the people in our organizations into three categories: Star performers, moderate performers and substandard performers. Suppose you have 100 employees. In a typical work force, that would probably mean 15 star performers, 83 moderate performers and two substandard performers. . A study of computer programmers at Bell Laboratories showed that the star performers outperformed moderate performers by a margin of 8-1.
Retain Your Star Performers
· Work with star performers to set realistic performance targets.
· Give them more of your time than underperformers. Meet with them on a weekly basis for an informal catch-up. They are the backbone of your company, so why spend all your time with staff that are not producing the results?
· They want to be in the limelight. They want to make decisions. They want to shine. Be sure to create an environment where they can do just that.
One of the best ways to get what you want is to be an extraordinary performer at work. The interesting thing about star performance at work is that it actually demands that you be the person you want to be anyway. Being a good person, seeking self-knowledge, and taking responsibility for where you're going are probably key pieces of your core belief system. So you truly do not need to stray from your idea of a good life in order to be wildly successful in your career.
For a 30 minute complimentary session to see how we can help you for the leadership skills you may be seeking, please contact us at 602-405-2540, or email nburgis@successful-solutions.com
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