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How to Spot and Handle Red Flags with Your Leadership
Leaders sometimes mistake form for function without truly understanding and appreciating the impacts on their teams. Failure to do so can lead to major issues. You need to think through what you want your team to deliver versus focusing on how they’re delivering it. Today’s post is by Robbie Hardy, author of Upsetting the Table (CLICK HERE to get your copy). RED FLAG. This was the text I received from a woman I had been mentoring for a year or so. She had recently been promoted to a senior management position in the software division of a large technology company. We had developed our own language for when she had a serious professional problem. Texting RED FLAG was a call to action. We met that evening and she shared the reason for her text. Eighteen months ago, her division had adopted the Agile methodology, which is basically a set of principles for software development where requirements and solutions progress with collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Agile introduces a new way of thinking, speaking, and acting with its own vocabulary. Her division had fully committed to it and they had experienced extraordinary results. Unfortunately, not everyone evaluated the results the same way. The chairman of the company had come to the last board meeting, very frustrated with her division explicitly. He told the CEO that there was a serious problem due to the lack of a solid roadmap for each customer. He proceeded to share a bound set of client and technology specifications, written in excruciating detail, from another company where he is a board member. His colleagues were impressed and so the board, determined to have their own set of bound, detailed product roadmaps, voted unanimously to make it happen. The RED FLAG text came after the senior management team […]
How do leaders in your organization view the world?
Our reader poll today asks: How do leaders in your organization view the world? They’re exceedingly, and sometimes dysfunctionally, optimistic 17.05% They’re reasonably optimistic 39.21% They balance optimism and pessimism 32.95% They’re somewhat pessimistic 7.95% They’re exceedingly pessimistic 2.84% Balanced optimism. While most of you reported your leaders skew optimistic, there’s a large group (17%) that believes the optimism is excessive. Being too optimistic can lead you to ignore risks, minimize obstacles, and not be as diligent as you need to be. Excessive optimism can also lead to lofty and soon to be missed expectations which can then cause a downward performance spiral. While optimism is important, if you find you’re too optimistic, find a skeptic in your organization who can help you find a more balanced view. Actively consider risks and challenges and accept some level of probability that they might occur. Balanced optimism can keep people engaged and motivated but not set them up for discouragement if things don’t play out as expected. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!
How to Find Your Internal Motivation in Difficult Times
As a leader, you won’t always have someone to pick you up and dust you off when you fall. Develop a leadership maxim that motivates you to push through hard times. As leaders, we’re always going to go through difficult times. When we were more junior we had other people to pick us up when we fell down. As a kid it was a parent or a coach who would dust us off and say “Get back out there.” We’ve had bosses who have been helpful when we faced crises. But now, the higher you are in terms of leadership roles in your organization and the more people you’re leading, the fewer people there are to pick you up and dust you off. You need to be in a position where you can lead yourself out of those difficult situations. Your team is watching you to see how you behave when you face adversity. Having a leadership maxim to help you motivate yourself and lead yourself through that difficult situation to get to the other side can be a very powerful tool to have. I’d like to ask: when you fall down, how do you pick yourself back up? For me my leadership maxim is “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” That quote is from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. I read that book when I was in eighth grade. You’re not exactly the most cerebral kind of guy as a 15 or 16-year old boy but I remember reading those words “Man is not made for defeat.” To me, defeat is about giving up. It’s about surrendering. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” That maxim has served me very, very well through some very difficult […]
The Secret Key to Maximizing Your Productivity
A great executive assistant is only half the equation. Learning how to work with him or her effectively is the real key to maximizing your productivity. Today’s post is by Jan Jones, author of The CEO’s Secret Weapon (CLICK HERE to get your copy). For my new book, The CEO’s Secret Weapon: How Great Leaders and Their Assistants Maximize Productivity and Effectiveness, I interviewed the world’s #1 leadership thinker, Marshall Goldsmith and management guru Ken Blanchard, who expressed a deep appreciation for the value executive assistants bring to the lives of time-constrained executives. Business leaders Richard Branson, Donald Trump and others echoed their sentiment. Yet, despite the ringing endorsements of assistant’s capabilities by these and other business luminaries, many executives don’t capitalize on this resource that can help smooth out their day and relieve them of untold minutiae. By not capitalizing on the advantage assistants bring to the table, executives are cheating themselves out of an abundance of talent. While a minority of executives do this because they just can’t let go, many executives are oblivious to the expertise of their assistants because they’ve never learned how to utilize an assistant, or experienced top quality support before. But you can have this support if you consciously recruit and develop an assistant who can take on a leadership role and serve as your “right arm.” To find your exceptional assistant, start with a candid analysis of yourself. What is your work style – big picture, or myopic? Do you prefer someone whose work habits mirror yours? Are you a micromanager? If so, you will be irritated with a self-starter who takes the ball and runs with it. If you don’t want to be bogged down with details, a self-starter will suit you just fine.
How decisive are the leaders in your organization?
Our reader poll today asks: How decisive are the leaders in your organization? Extremely: They make decisions quickly as soon as they have enough information 11.90% Very: They make rapid decisions but can occasionally get bogged down 37.30% Somewhat: It takes a lot of effort to move them to make a decision 30.27% Not very: They’re hesitant to make decisions and only do so when forced 13.51% Not at all: They’re paralyzed by the notion of making a decision 7.02% A 50/50 toss-up. It’s interesting that 50% of you report your organizations are decisive and the other 50% are indecisive. So what’s the difference? Risk tolerance? A need for information? A desire for consensus? When making decisions, weigh both decision risk and execution risk. Decision risk is whether or not you’re making the right choice. That’s driven by how much information you have and how much ambiguity you face. While it’s tempting to continue gathering more and more information to reduce decision risk, remember it takes time to do that which introduces new sources of risk. Execution risk is once you’ve made a hopefully good decision, does it get implemented or not. If you haven’t built the proper support in the organization for the choice you’re making, you might run into resistance which can prevent decision execution. And in those cases, you may as well have not made a decision at all. Balance time, information, decision risk, and execution risk. Know when you have enough information and support to move forward and make the call. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP […]
Achieving Balance at Work
When most people think of balance at work, they think of work/life balance. Learn about a new type of balance—work/work balance. Leading a balanced life is a critical aspect of performing well as a leader. And there are two types of balance. We always think about work-life balance in terms of how much time we spend away from the office. But there’s another kind of balance that I encourage you to think about. I call it work/work balance. We need a balance of work that we love to do to balance out the work that we don’t enjoy doing. Because if those get out of balance, we’re gonna be miserable at work. And you probably spend more hours at the office than you do away from it with your friends and your family. To achieve this work/work balance, you need to set boundaries. Because without boundaries, people are going to violate them all the time. You’re going to be upset, they’re going to be upset, and nobody’s going to know why. So we need to draw those lines. One of my maxims to remind me to set those boundaries is, “I’m going home, you’re doing my job.” This maxim reminds me of a situation where I had a boss who was a bit of a micromanager. My boss came in one day, very well intended, and got in front of my desk. He said, “Hey Mike, I want you to start thinking about this and this and this and working on that.” I tried to stop him to say, “I have this,” but he kept going. He said, “And think about this and to do that and think about this project.” He kept going on and on. I kept trying to interrupt, but I was unsuccessful in doing so. The reason […]
Understanding The Leader’s Journey
Leadership is in all of us. All we need to do is unlock our potential. Today’s post is by Mark Rapier, author of The Leader With A Thousand Faces (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Leadership is a fascinating topic for many. One aspect of leadership often overlooked is that it is a process. How we lead changes as we progress in our careers and join new organizations. We are all on a leadership journey. Understanding how to navigate the voyage is essential. Preparing for the Journey To take a good trip, you need an itinerary. There are three key things to understand to make your journey meaningful and rewarding. The first is to recognize the difference between leadership and management. Managers direct activities to achieve measurable results. Leaders motivate people not just to achieve results but to inspire them to want to achieve those results and more. There are many types of leaders, and learning how to recognize them is essential. Perhaps the most important are informal leaders: they are not team captains but locker room leaders. You can learn so much from them after you find them. Lastly, you have to recognize and ignore myths. One of the greatest is that “leaders are born not made.” Anyone can be an effective leader if they are willing to do the work. Learning Through Observation The journey begins with learning. Formal learning provides a solid foundation for leadership growth. The most important education some from closely watching leaders in different situations. Paying close attention to what works and what does not is what gives you perspective. Two essential factors are Competence and Communications. To be an effective leader, you must be good at what you do. To be a financial leader, you have to understand accounting and finance. You […]
How involved are you with mentoring relationships?
Our reader poll today asks: How involved are you with mentoring relationships? Extremely: I have mentors and serve as a mentor to others 20.69% Very: I have a mentor and/or serve as a mentor to one or two people 21.56% Somewhat: I have a mentor but don’t mentor others 6.04% Somewhat (2): I don’t have a mentor but I do mentor others 37.06% Not at all: I’m not involved in any mentoring relationships 14.65% Learning from experience. Mentoring relationships can be beneficial to all parties involved. For the mentor, it’s an opportunity to build connections, share experiences, and help others develop. For those being mentored, it’s help working through challenging issues by an experienced hand. If you’re in the large groups of respondents who don’t have mentors, consider seeking one out. You don’t have to face challenges alone and it’s okay to ask for help. Those relationships with your mentors can also turn into new opportunities because they’ll be able to point you to others you should know. If you’re not involved in mentoring relationships in any way, consider starting small and getting advice on a real issue you’re facing. Those small steps could blossom into a bigger relationship that rewards both of you. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!