Learn the importance of communicating what sets your consulting firm apart from your competition.
When you run a consulting firm, you have to answer one very important question. What makes you special? If you can’t articulate what sets you apart from all the other consulting firms out there, you’ll be hard pressed to win business away from them. You’re going to have trouble winning the bid when other firms are in the mix. Have a clear statement about why you’re differentiated. It’s that differentiation that will enable you to compete on quality instead of being in a race to the bottom on price. Read more
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The notions of perception, visibility, and influence are the keys not only to better performance for your organization but they’ll also help you advance your career to the next level.
Today’s post is by Joel Garfinkle, one of our thoughtLEADERS instructors.
How often have you looked at a situation in the company and thought of a better way to do it? Or felt that change was needed… but didn’t know how to make it happen? Sometimes we feel frustrated that we aren’t in a position or job title that has the power to make those changes.
But there are some techniques and methods designed to turn you into a strong influence in your company regardless of your title or position. Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level introduces the value of Perception, Visibility and Influence.
When you understand how to use perception, visibility and influence – the PVI model – you can lead from where you are right now. Those around you recognize your value. They respect your opinion and you have the skills to influence decisions and changes.
Start with Yourself
Sometimes advancing in leadership means changing cultural patterns and beliefs. You may have been taught to “not push yourself forward,” or “don’t ever volunteer for something.” You’ll need to push aside these well-meaning teachings in order to gain an unexpectedly powerful way of taking leadership.
The first step in perception is to examine how you see yourself. It’s not uncommon for people who want to be leaders to feel insecure – feel like a fraud. Here’s the secret. You’re likely better than you think.
https://i0.wp.com/www.thoughtleadersllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/20220117-Paper-Boats.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=112801920Trevor Joneshttps://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/logo.pngTrevor Jones2022-01-17 08:00:102022-01-17 05:28:06How You Can Lead with Influence
Our teams are under tremendous pressure. That pressure creates stress which diminishes performance. You can build a more resilient team through some simple leadership behaviors.
Let’s imagine that you are in a unique position. Your team has the talent it needs. Your organization has a strategy that continues to work with a plan that will adapt to your competitor’s actions. You have enough cash to handle the changes in your markets. Your team is ready to work hard and the energy in your offices has never been better. There’s only one question left to answer: is your team built to last?
The problem with our global economy, political uncertainty, and reactive media is that too many of us are living at our edges. We work hard. Our kids’ schedules make us look like our schedules are calm. We play a lot. We travel constantly. We are on our phones frenetically. This means that our brains are always paying attention to something—until they can’t.
In the hot seats of Humvees looking for IEDs or the turrets of tanks, our service men and women rotate out every half hour to 90 minutes. Most of us can only concentrate for 40 minutes at a time, but we expect our teams to start early with staff meetings, handle conference calls on international schedules, and respond to emails at all hours. Our brains are not built for the constant stimulation.
So how do we stay focused and mentally healthy when our expectations of ourselves and our teams to produce keep us under constant pressure?
Give people freedom
Your ideal schedule may not match the people on your team. In a study where students were given control over their time, they reported higher happiness, more role clarity, and less overload. How much would happy teammates who knew their job and felt like they could handle it be worth to your organization?
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Conflict is an ever-present part of life. The more comfortable you are with dealing with it, the more effectively you can resolve it. Conflict resolution requires you to know the three R’s – recognize conflict, respond to conflict, and resolve the conflict.
The meeting had been going so well until Josh brought up the org chart—again. The firm had made some changes recently and he didn’t like the new structure. The room went still. Kate, the most senior leader in the room, spoke up. “Josh, let’s finish our planning and we can talk about structure later.”
“I am talking about planning,” Josh said. “How can we plan the roll-out if we don’t know how our new structure will execute it?” Josh was a pro at reframing any issue to bring up his agenda. If he weren’t such a talented designer, he would not have lasted this long.
What should Kate say next?
Conflict is like the weather. No matter how many good days you have in a row, eventually it will rain. And as rain is essential to the earth, conflict is actually crucial for every team and organization. The conflict Josh is creating may feel pointless, even manipulative. Well handled, it can be the kind of moment every leader and manager welcomes. It is better to see frustration and resolve it than have it buried. Teammates that hide their true impressions don’t engage real problem solving. Open conflict resolved consistently builds trust.
What Kate says next will either be a reaction based on the stress conflict causes, or it can be an intentional, practiced approach. The fear of conflict doesn’t come from our apprehension about differing opinions or disagreements. Most of us like the learning that comes from new ideas and being intellectually challenged. Our anxiety comes out when we don’t know how to manage and resolve the heated conversations and meetings that stop us from working well with the people on our teams.
In every conflict scenario, the first skill is to recognize it. When people experience conflict, we get triggered. As lions roar, rabbits run, deer freeze, and geese flock under stress, we’ve discovered that people revert to four reactions in conflict. We become passive-aggressive, confrontational, avoidant, or compliant.
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Learn about four of the most common obstacles to creating a high-performance culture and how to overcome them.
You’ll face many common obstacles on your path to building a high-performance culture. Legacy culture issues, associates who resist the new culture, and processes or behaviors that don’t yet exist are going to slow you down. You need to work through these counter-culture moments and issues if you’re looking to change the overall culture of the organization. The more aware you are of what these pitfalls are, the more quickly you’re going to be able to overcome them.
Legacy culture issues
One of the four most common pitfalls I see is the legacy culture. “This is the way we’ve always done things.” Read more
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One of the first steps you can take to create a high-performing culture is to assess what is and isn’t working in your current culture.
An assessment of your current culture gives you an understanding of the starting point for your journey toward building a high performance culture. This assessment includes evaluating what your current culture stands for, how people behave, and the incentives you have in place to drive behavior. Defining and explaining your culture can be difficult. It’s an intangible set of behaviors and a general feeling of what it’s like to be part of the organization. Identifying when people are or are not behaving in a manner consistent with your culture is an important element of assessing the culture you have. Let’s look at what goes into one of these cultural assessments. You need to ask yourself several questions. Read more
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Knowing the behaviors you want from your team and how they link to results is one of the keys to creating a strong culture.
Leaders who create a strong culture of outstanding performance will find that performance strengthens their culture. By strengthening the culture, the likelihood of better results and performance increases. This is known as a virtuous circle.
You need to be careful though—the dynamic works in the opposite direction as well. Bad behavior begets bad performance, which leads to more bad behavior, and ultimately a bad culture. I know one senior executive who always used to ask people, “How much money have you made me today?” That simple question flowed through all the behaviors in the organization. Everyone focused on financials, but it was at the expense of creating a great culture.
Let me share an example of how to build a virtuous circle. Read more
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Learn how to build and maintain your organization’s culture by studying these six components of high-performing cultures.
A high-performing culture is one where people drive performance because of the right behaviors. They’ve embedded these behaviors in their everyday life. People in high-performing cultures require less supervision. They’re empowered to achieve goals that are consistent with the organization’s direction. As a leader, you need to understand how to build a high-performing culture and your responsibilities for making it happen. I’ve found that there are six components to building a high-performing culture. Read more
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It’s easy to neglect your core responsibilities as a leader when it involves having uncomfortable conversations. Learn how to develop a maxim to overcome uncomfortable situations.
As a leader, one of your chief responsibilities is developing the members of your team. Great leaders build more leaders. You have to commit to their growth and create new opportunities for them to expand and learn new skills. That’s hard to do because for somebody to learn a new skill, you’re going to have to create an opportunity for them to do something they may not have done before. In doing that, you create risk because that individual might fail. And if they fail, that failure reflects on you. So a lot of times we’re afraid to take those risks on people to create growth opportunities.
That’s why you need a maxim to remind yourself that one of your chief responsibilities is doing that development work for the members of your team. My maxim to remind me that my chief responsibility is to develop people is, “It’s easier to correct course 100 yards into the journey than 100 miles.” I had a member of my team who was having some problems. One day he gave me some numbers and a report, and the numbers were off. I said, “Well, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. I’ll figure it out tomorrow.” I did this because I knew it was going to be a slightly uncomfortable conversation to have with him. A few days later, I heard about an interaction between this individual and a member of his team that hadn’t gone very well. I said, “I’m gonna need to talk to him about that. I’m not happy with what I’m hearing, but I’m not gonna do it today. Maybe I’ll do it next week.” The following week, I went past his office and he was berating a member of his team. He was speaking to them in a very condescending tone. I said, “I’m really gonna have to talk to him about this, but I’m not gonna do it today because he’s not in a good mood. The feedback won’t be well received.” I put off that more difficult conversation. I kept avoiding times when I should have given this individual some feedback.
Well, one day he came to me and said he was resigning. He had found another job and he was going to go work elsewhere. I was so excited because my problem was now gone. On the way home, I called one of my colleagues and I was relaying the good news, saying, “Hey, he quit—the guy who’s been giving me all the trouble. I don’t have to deliver the feedback now. He’s leaving the organization.” My colleague called me on it. He said, “Mike, you failed.” And I said, “What do you mean? How did I fail? He left. The problem is gone.” And my colleague said, “You failed every member of his team because your job as a leader isn’t just leading that individual. It’s leading the entire organization. Those people were getting beaten up on a regular basis. He was hurting their morale. And they were probably looking to you to solve that issue. You failed every member of that team. You have to remember that correcting course is easier 100 yards into the journey than 100 miles. You should have had the difficult conversation sooner because you could have either corrected performance or taken appropriate disciplinary action if he didn’t change the way he was operating.”
My colleague was right. I had failed the members of that team. So this maxim reminds me that when development conversations need to happen, I need to get over the fact that it’s going to be an uncomfortable conversation. I need to just have the discussion. It’s hard to do, but this maxim has changed my behavior on several occasions. There have been times when other members of my team since then have done something that I wasn’t exactly happy with. And my initial instinct was, “Well, I’ll just wait. It’ll fix itself.” And I said, “No. My maxim says I need to go have that conversation right now.” When I’ve done that, I’ve been very happy with the result because we correct behavior, get people pointed in the right direction, and do so before the problem gets bigger.
As you think about your team and about your responsibility to build leaders, to develop and challenge people, how are you going to remind yourself to take those kinds of risks? How are you going to remind yourself to have those difficult conversations when they need to happen? Has there been a time in your past where you created a growth opportunity for somebody and they succeeded well beyond your wildest dreams? Or a time where you avoided giving some tough feedback and there were bad consequences that occurred because you didn’t step up to the plate as a leader? Within those situations is where you’re going to find your maxims. Find that trigger. Find those words that were used in that conversation or the name of the project where the person succeeded. That phrase, that trigger, is what’s going to bring you back to that situation. It’s what is going to remind you of those feelings and get you to behave in a different way.
I know my maxim does that for me. When I have that difficult situation and I think of my maxim, I remember how uncomfortable that conversation was with my colleague when he told me I had failed. I remember how embarrassed I was of my failure as a leader. Those feelings drive me to change my behavior now because I never want to be that disappointed in myself again or that embarrassed. So you know what? I’m going to take action today. That’s how having a maxim based on something in the past can drive your performance in the future.
Want to learn more about developing your leadership philosophy? How about taking an entire course on it? Go directly to the course and start learning how to develop your leadership philosophy. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!
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There’s no doubt about it, organizational change can be frightening. Yet – change is constant and it is imperative that organizations continue to evolve in order to meet the complex challenges of a modern world. But people don’t always adjust well to change, so it should come as no surprise that it is difficult for most to think about change in the workplace. Before we grab ahold of this new existence, new reporting pathways, and new organizational structures, we must first understand what this change means at the human level.
Change impacts people at the most intimate level. We are all born with genetic need for consistency and constancy. Predictability and autonomy matter as well. The human workforce like to know they have some control over events unfolding before them. It provides a sense of comfort. Sadly, as senior leaders drive change in the organization, they often forget that organizations are made up not of boxes and lines, but of people with hopes, dreams, and fears.
In order to safely and effectively execute change in our organizations, our planning has to go beyond office space, IT support, plexiglass walls, and mask requirements. We need to begin by assessing the readiness of our workforce. Our workers are not positioned, emotionally or otherwise, for rapid and unpredictable change in their work environments. And just because we as leaders recognize the need for change, it does not mitigate the real fears present in those we lead. Leaders must take this into consideration when planning for the new workplace. In order to ensure success, consider the following steps:
Begin with empathetic listening. People need to feel like they are heard and understood and everyone’s experiences with change brings its own unique pain. Simple acknowledgment and understanding on the part of bosses is not enough. Leaders need to show empathy through patient and active listening. Accommodate their needs and allow for conversation that meets the specific needs of each of our team members.
Work to establish trust. Trust matters during time of change. Now, more than ever, it is important to nurture trusting relationships that exist and build those that don’t. Our workforce has been exposed to a wide array of disparate views on politics, the coronavirus, and most other topics for the last many years. They need and deserve the comfort of trust and they look to the leadership of our organizations for guidance and consistency. Be that beacon.
Recognize stress. Having people return to work will increase a stress level that is already off the charts. Over 75% of Americans report being stressed and change makes this even worse. When employees are under stress, productivity, work performance, and engagement levels decrease. It is incumbent upon our leadership to provide outlets for stress relief and options for employees to seek assistance in dealing with this extraordinary anxiety.
Don’t be afraid to show love. Real relationships allow us to get in touch with the human being that works for us, recognize their needs, concerns, and become one with them. This requires love. Not romantic love, that puppy love. Rather, the love we feel for another human being who we respect and admire. Show your team the love you have for them, and authentically acknowledge their fears.
Laugh a little. Employees want and deserve joy. This is why it is so crucial that we tap into laughter and humor in the workplace. Even in the most difficult of times, a little humor will allow us to share similar experiences, lighten the mood, and build bonds across the organization. Leaders who laugh or more approachable, seen as more confident, and are more respected.
Most employees, when nurtured properly, are excited to help create a new future and they are better equipped to do so than ever before. Think about it, our teams are by now skilled in the virtual aspects of their job and they had already mastered the in-person components prior to the pandemic. Why not give them the chance to combine both? But before we do, let’s give them a chance to be human. Let’s give them a chance to share their fears and their concerns. And then, let’s treat them to some kindness, compassion, and little patience. Create a safe and joyful space where they want to be, not where they have to be. The result is guaranteed to be a better motivated and more engaged workforce that embraces change.
Zina Sutch has been leading development and diversity programs for the Federal government for 20 years, and currently serves in the Senior Executive Service. Patrick Malone spent 23 years in the Navy and served as an officer in the Medical Service Corps. Zina is a faculty member and Patrick is director of the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University. Their new book is Leading with Love and Laughter: Letting Go and Getting Real at Work (BK Publishers, Inc., May 25, 2021). Learn more at sutchmalone.com.
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Treating your people like individuals makes them feel seen and improves their performance. Learn how to develop a maxim for treating your team members as individuals.
No one wants to be treated like a faceless cog in the machine. We all want to be known as individuals. We want to feel like our wants and needs are important, especially to our leaders. The members of your team expect the same of you. We all need maxims to remind us to stop treating our people as a functional roles, like my analyst, my project manager, or my team member. We need to think of them as Joe and Susan and Bill.
When I was in the army, I had a soldier who was a problem child. Read more
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Learn how to become a more authentic leader by using maxims to define your natural leadership style.
Authenticity is about being who you are. As you begin leading your people, you need to first understand and articulate a natural style that is most comfortable for you. If you’re showing up, putting on the mask every day, and acting in a manner that’s inconsistent with what you believe or what’s most comfortable for you, you’re actually going to set off alarms for the members of your team. They’ll see that inconsistency. They may not be sure about what’s not consistent, but it will make them uncomfortable. The better you can articulate your own natural style of leadership, the better off you’re going to be.
For me, one of my maxims around my natural leadership style is, “Kick up, kiss down.” Kicking up is about telling the higher-ups, “Hey, you guys made a mistake and I need to protect my team.” Kissing down is about praising the team when they deserve it. I learned this maxim from a great leader that I worked for at one point. Ryan was a really wonderful guy, and he was also a very calm kind of guy. You’d go in and he was very soothing. Well, one day I went to his office for a meeting. Ryan was on the phone and he was yelling. He was raging mad. I had never seen him like this. He was yelling somebody’s name and I only knew one person with this name. Ryan got so red, saying, “Oh, this is a dumb decision. I can’t believe you did this. You know what, my meeting’s here. I need to go and you need to fix this.” And he hung up. I asked him, “Who were you talking to?” He said the individual’s name, and this individual was a very senior executive at the company. He saw that I was a little bit confused that he was talking to this executive this way. Ryan said, “You know what? Kick up, kiss down. That’s my job.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “My responsibility is to kick up. When they make a mistake upstairs that negatively affects the team, as your leader, I have a responsibility to protect you and your team. And kiss down. That’s about praising people when they deserve it.” I said, “You know what? That’s really cool. I wanna be a leader just like Ryan. I wanna kick up and kiss down.”
Fast-forward a few months and Ryan made a dumb decision one day. I stormed in his office and I kinda went off a little bit on him. At the end of the conversation, he said, “You know what, you’re right. I made a bad decision. I’m gonna change it.” On my way out of his office, I looked at him and I said, “Kick up, right?” He said, “I can’t believe I taught you that.” This maxim that I’ve put into practice reminds me that my responsibility to take care of my team. It’s a style that works for me and it’s very comfortable. The members of my team now understand that’s Mike’s style. If he’s my leader, that’s what I can expect from him. It goes on to build that bond of trust between me and the members of my team.
As you think about your natural leadership style, think about how you prefer to behave. How are you most comfortable? Imagine if someone new joined your team and asked, “What can I expect of you?” How would you explain your leadership style to them? Imagine they say, “I don’t understand. Can you give me an example?” What would that example be? What’s that story that really crystallizes, “This is how I operate as a leader?” Within that story is where your maxim resides. Your maxim should be a trigger that reminds you of a story that exemplifies the leadership style that is most comfortable for you and sets the expectation with the members of your team for how you’re going to behave.
Again, as you define a leadership style that works, find something that’s emotionally resonant for you. Find something you’re really proud of or something you believe in very fiercely. This articulation needs to show up in the maxim and drive you to the type of behavior that will be consistent with the leadership style you like to live.
Want to learn more about developing your leadership philosophy? How about taking an entire course on it? Go directly to the course and start learning how to develop your leadership philosophy. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!
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!
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