Do you Lead?

When we first ask ourselves this question, many people may blurt out a quick “yes“. Of course, in many ways and areas of our lives to lead, we take charge of situations. However, being a true leader is an amazing ability to have and to use effectively.

But, as many of us know firsthand, there are times that we have had to deal with so-called “leaders“, who have proven to be nothing of the such and not being able to lead. Working under someone who thinks they lead, but prove otherwise, is one of the most detrimental positions you might find yourself in.

Therefore, true leaders that actually lead are very hard to come by. Being a true leader means that you have the perfect combination of all of the necessary leadership ingredients. These would include knowledge, compassion, drive and ambition, and the personality to pull it all together… Lead.  Truth is, some people may just have a charismatic and inviting personality that will guide them into positions of leadership and to Lead.

Some of us may wake up one day and realize that we want to do more or be more than we are right now.  And now have the life experience and years under our belt to handle a leadership position that we were not ready for in the past to take on.

Maybe there was a critical turning point in our lives that have made us come back as a stronger leader, wanting more and knowing that we could do more.

To lead others effectively, you need to be the kind of person that inspires and leads others – and who others will see as a visionary leader. They must be confident enough to make tough leadership decisions, and to take control and take charge of doing what needs to be done when necessary.

One of the most important traits of a leader to have is to live their lives honestly, respectfully and ethically. If you are leading people, you must always lead by example. This cannot be done if you do not hold true to core values and behave in manners that would be inappropriate – whether in your business or your personal life.

If you truly lead others, make sure you guide them and teach them to grow in their positions.  A true leader does not just “manage” people or “supervise” people. Rather, he is a mentor for others to look up to – and to learn from.

True leaders are not selfish. Part of their job is to empower others to do their jobs to the best of their abilities to lead and to hold others accountable.  Being a leader is a large pair of shoes to fill. But for this rare and elite group, holding the title of leader is to be considered a true honor. Unfortunately, in society today, too many people who are in leadership positions have shown us what happens when you let the power at hand make your ego too large. When someone in this position thinks that they are “entitled” or better than those around them, they are no longer upholding the title of being a great leader.

It can take a lifetime to establish a great rapport and reputation, and a matter of seconds to lose everyone’s confidence and respect. Being a leader is not for everyone. However, if you are one of the few who feel able to answer to this calling, go after it with all you’ve got.

The key to creating great employees

It’s hard to forget your first job learning office protocol, building a rapport with the team, impressing your boss and meeting the ever-intimidating CEO. You may have felt eager to be noticed or eager to just blend in — either way, there were likely moments of discomfort that you do not want to revisit anytime soon.

Similarly, you may recall the moment you first engaged with your mentor. The way that person took you under his or her wing, made you feel confident and inspired you to become the  leader you are today.

As leaders, we all want to be like our mentors but are cognizant of the intimidation factor that often comes with being a CEO.  It’s no secret that the best teams are made up of happy people who feel respected, appreciated and challenged in the workplace. I have experienced first hand how connecting with people makes them feel at ease in the workplace and much happier and therefore more productive.

Paul Damico, president of Atlanta-based Moe’s Southwest Grill recently told SmartBusiness his strategy for developing his workforce is creating relationships.  Below are some of the ways
this CEO builds relationships with his employees and stays plugged into his organization.

The best meetings are one on one

One way I connect with a team is by having one-on-one meetings with associates at all levels of the organization. As a rule, no one says no to a one-on-one. As the name implies, it is a face-to-face meeting with just me.  It provides a dedicated time to discuss ideas, feedback, goals, personal development or anything the associate wishes to discuss.  When someone within the organization, whether it’s me, a member of the executive team or an associate, requests a one-on-one, all parties know that no one is ‘in trouble,’ as is often assumed when you’re called into the boss’s office.

Not only are these meetings helpful for the team but also for me to keep my finger on the pulse, offer recognition, provide coaching and/or hear great suggestions.

Live the open-door policy

On my office door I have a sign that reads ‘This wood panel may look closed, but it’s open — no, really, come in.’ I want to be sure everyone knows, quite literally, that I have an open-door policy. I want the team to feel free to pop their heads in and ask a question or pull me into an impromptu meeting at any time.

I have found that the team can run faster and leaner with this policy in place. We can make decisions and go through the proper approval channels in a speedy manner when we eliminate the need to have a meeting to discuss setting up a meeting for another meeting. We’ve all been there.

Get personal

Another way I connect with my team members is by making the effort to get to know every one of them personally. I make it a goal to ask them about their personal lives, interests, families and goals. In fact, when we do our annual goal-planning sessions, we ask that associates include personal goals on their list. We find that if you’re fulfilled outside of work, you’ll be happier
on the job. A happy associate is, more often than not, a more productive one.

Mi casa es su casa

I think one of the most effective ways to instantly break down the barriers between myself and the members of my team is to open up my home. When we have company parties, I like to host them at my house with my family. When possible, we have the team invite their spouses, and we keep the vibe very laid back.

One of the guiding values at Moe’s Southwest Grill is to be yourself. We go out of our way to ensure everyone feels comfortable to do just that.

Next time you see the newest member of your team quietly lingering outside your office door, tell them to come in, just like your mentor may have done to you many years ago, and get to know them. And if all else fails, you can always just hang a sign on the door.

 

Does your executive team act like a team?

Over the years I have worked with dozens of executive teams in several industries. One interesting thing I discovered is often those “teams” aren’t teams at all.

They are a group of individual senior leaders who meet on a regular basis to battle each other for limited resources: funds, people, time, praise, etc. They leave their meeting and evaluate how they did in the game: did I “win” today? Did I secure the resources I wanted and beat out my senior leader colleagues today? Each individual senior leader tracks his/her score and the game begins anew the next meeting or more accurately, the next day.

But I have seen the success when the executive team is truly committed to each other and the organizations success.  I have been lucky enough to be part of teams that were willing to put all their differences aside (even if temporarily) for a common goal.  I am a big believer in respect and values that are demonstrated by action at every level. When organizations don’t create value systems and then live and breathe them daily, values create themselves and not the good ones.  If the executive team or senior leadership does not act with “one voice, one heart,
and one mind,” the culture effort is doomed from the start.

To unlock the potential of your organization’s executive team, consider these four best practices:

1. Clear Purpose:
   The executive team must define its reason for being – beyond their relationship as direct reports of the president/CEO. The purpose statement clarifies why the team exists, who their primary customers are, and what they’re trying to accomplish as a team (provider of choice, employer of choice, etc.).
2. Team Goals:
   What strategic goals is the executive team trying to accomplish? Clarifying executive team goals helps define what a good job looks like at the end of their fiscal year. Performance goals might include employee work passion targets, customer service excellence, financial success, etc.
3. Values & Norms:
   Values defined in behavioral terms describe HOW team members should behave as they pursue their team goals. All effective teams create agreements around what a good citizen of the team looks/acts/sounds like. Values are typically too vague and lofty to guide day-to-day actions, so behavioral definitions solve that issue. Team norms emerge from the valued behaviors – norms are practical guidelines that ensure values are lived in team member interactions.
4. Values & Norms:
   With the team’s purpose, goals, and values formalized, the most important practice comes into play: holding team members accountable for these agreements. Accountability is not the sole responsibility of the executive team’s leader (typically the president/CEO) – it is every team member’s responsibility. Accountability conversations are not drawn out conflicts – they are conversations that inquire about a valued behavior or norm, asking for insights about demonstrated behavior that seems to be outside those agreements. They are sincere efforts to understand behavior and guide members to embracing their agreements

When these four agreements are in place, decision-making is easy. Executive team members easily understand their role in furthering the team’s purpose by cooperating, communicating, and focusing on the greater good.  Change your executive “group” to an aligned executive team and you’ll reap the benefits: less drama, less conflict,  more aligned action, better  productivity, and more fun!

Is your organizational culture what you think it is?

In my role I have the opportunity to work with leaders at all levels of all kinds of organizations. About half of my work involves leadership skill building and team process effectiveness; culture for the most part makes up the other half.

It is impossible for me to go into an organization without subconsciously (maybe consciously) assessing the culture of their work environment. I observe and listen for how people are expected to behave, to perform, to treat each other and their customers.

I often hear about practices and philosophies from the leadership that clearly is not in practice within the organization.  And I can say that you need to use a lot of diplomacy to tell the CEO, “I know what you’re saying happens, but it doesn’t happen that way”.  It’s hard to hear that you have tried to build something a specific way and that way is not happening.

Whether an organization has intentionally created their culture or that culture evolved by default, it does have a culture that is tangible and observable. If your culture was created by default, it is likely that unintentional values or norms exist. If you consistently see conflicts,
blame, poor performance, and frustration, your culture is eroding employee morale with every passing minute! Let’s look at two very powerful systems which may reinforce undesirable valued behaviors in your organization.

Rewards and Incentives

Whether you have formalized values and valued behaviors or not, rewards and incentive systems can cause distinct behaviors, some good, some not good. For example, if you desire a team culture but your organization offers only individual compensation, you will likely see “I win, you lose” behaviors by team members.

A few years back a client described the following inappropriate, incentive-driven behaviors by a salesperson. The company paid a very low base; over 70% of sales staff compensation was in the form of commissions. One salesperson negotiated with a few of his big clients to sell
them product at the end of each quarter. The sales person enjoyed commissions on these sales. Then, one month into the new quarter, he would process returns of that product and refund the client’s money. He was generating commissions on “ghost” sales. This went on every quarter. Everyone – the salesperson, the client, the finance team of his company – knew what he was doing and tolerated this behavior. Eventually the company changed the rules about commissions on product returns, but the damage had been done.

 Recognition and Messaging

Every time you publicly celebrate someone for a behavior or action, you are reinforcing that behavior or action. If you recognize a player for goal accomplishment but everyone knows that they’ve taken inappropriate short cuts (for example) to reach that goal, you are reinforcing undesirable actions.

Even praising the RIGHT behavior can have unintended (and undesirable) consequences. One client celebrated a staff member who learned the wrong materials had been shipped to a client. That person packed the right material and drove to the airport just in time for overnight shipment by UPS. Recovery was expensive but the materials arrived on time. The client celebrated this terrific proactive solution and such recoveries became more frequent. The client realized they needed to celebrate solving the “why do we ship the wrong materials?” problem more than celebrating the recovery!

You don’t have to be a CEO to create values clarity in your own workteam. If you experience unintentional values in your workplace, start setting values expectations now.

Myth’s About Executives

They make a lot of money. They’ve got power and perks. They jet halfway around the world for a meeting and are back for dinner the next day. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Good work if you can get it, right? Well, I’m not going to lie to you; it’s got it’s benefits.

So why do some give it up? Well for good reasons.

The truth is that executive life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Much of the disparity between perception and reality comes from the fact that only a tiny percentage of executives work for big companies, while the vast majority work for much smaller firms. And that makes one huge difference in lifestyle.

All the compensation surveys you hear about and much of what the media covers is focused on the Fortune or S&P 500. To put this in perspective, there are roughly 9,000 publicly traded companies in the U.S., and perhaps ten times that number of privately held corporations. That means you’re only hearing about less than one percent of the total, and if we’re talking all senior execs versus CEOs, then it’s less than one tenth of that.

Not that we should feel sorry for these people; they’re responsible for the choices they make. I’m just trying to get people to look past the media coverage and the sound bites and understand what life is really like for most executives in the real world. It’s not a winning lottery ticket. It’s hard work, stress, and lot’s of dedication.

Myth #1: Executive pay is out of control

Sure, reading an annual salary survey of S&P 500 CEOs will either give you a heart attack or make you nauseous. But the truth is that most executives work for small and midsized firms where the compensation is much more reasonable and typically not huge multiples above the next level down.

For example, some senior executives, don’t make a lot more money than some managers and individual contributors in their organizations, even at public companies. The big-ticket is usually stock options, but they’re worth zero if the company fails to go public or the stock declines in value. I can attest to both.

Myth #2: Jetting around the world is a great life

Besides working long hours, many executives are away from home at least 25 percent of the time. And while some do get to go first class, that’s the exception, not the rule. Then there’s all the time away from the family, jet lag, sleep deprivation, and the added stress of a hectic, complex life.

So many of those million milers out there live out of a suitcase a majority of the time. And many miss out on the family they are working so hard for.

Myth #3: They don’t really work; they just sit in meetings all day

Sure, top executives spend a great deal of time managing their people and in meetings, but as senior marketing, finance, HR, sales, or any officer of the company, they’re also individual contributors. That’s what accounts for the long hours. I averaged about 60 hours a week, not counting all the travel time away from home. And no, you don’t get overtime.

Bottom line: Especially these days, most executives are on 24-7, sacrifice significant family time, and experience enormous stress. Their dedication is a big part of what’s great about America and free enterprise. Just wanted to provide a different perspective.

Leaders need competent teams

 If you think of a leader as “the boss”, or “the commander“, standing alone at the head of an organization and running things, the training and development of others in the organization probably doesn’t occur to you as an important function of the leader. But that’s probably an outdated conception of leadership.

If you consider a leader as one who has to rely on the skills and abilities of his or her subordinates, and is responsible for maintaining organizational coherence and effectiveness over time, then it’s easier to see that the development of the team members or people below becomes much more important. Leaders don’t do all the work, or even much of the work in any organization, so their success relies heavily on the skills and abilities of others. An excellent leader in charge of incompetent followers simply can’t succeed.

Given that there are still many people who confuse leadership with commanding, it’s not surprising that many leaders don not pay adequate attention to building the skills and abilities of the people they are leading. In fact, in a study by The Blanchard Companies survey, 59% of respondents cited failure to train and develop staff as a major and common leadership mistake.

The prescriptions are clear. Leaders need to allocate some time to developing their immediate subordinates, and also to create opportunities for learning for others through mentoring, coaching, training, seminar attendance and highlighting best practices in the organization and outside of it. Obviously leaders are not trainers and don’t have a surplus of time, but they can both encourage and arrange for opportunities to learn.

The need to create leaders

I was reading a survey that McKinsey and Company’s conducted in 2009 about the breakdown in leadership that affected so many companies in this recession.  I still think we have that problem today and we have to fix it before we can really grow to have lots of great organizations again.  The writer John Baldoni, wrote that the breakdown in leadership was primarily due to managers and executives who simply don’t understand what it means to lead.  I agree.

Many of you ask, well if they don’t know how to lead, how did they rise to their current positions? As unbelievable as it sounds, the survey results are clear and I’m not sure we should be all that surprised.

Who out there hasn’t worked under — either directly or further down the ladder — a manager or executive who wasn’t really leading? Think of the boss who seems to just “boss” you around or the micromanager. They aren’t really leading.

In his book, Lead by Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results John addresses the challenges all leaders face when seeking to bring people together around a common cause. It argues that leaders must create conditions for people to succeed.  He definitely has some ideas on how to get managers and executives where they need to be in terms of leadership. What do you think? Is your company taking steps to grow better leaders? I’d like to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Call a meeting for the right reasons

I was recently asked to evaluate an employee staff meeting that was held regularly.  It is a very busy call center operation and employees do not often get a chance to meet, when the phones start ringing.  In doing my initial review I was told by a senior leader that the meeting was implemented as a way to communicate any critical issues, key customer updates and any other items that management thought employees may have to address that day.  In other words, to prepare them and this made sense to me.

In the first meeting, the manager asked if anyone had anything to share.  Some employees shared their commute stories, others children stories and yet others seemed inpatient.  The second meeting was similar, but this time they went around the room and tell the group what they were working on that day.  Again, some employees had a specific project, but most said they were taking calls.  It didn’t seem to me that this meeting was really a good use of time.  I asked the manager what the goal of the morning meeting was.  She said the morning meeting was something they did before she came to the company and she just kept it going.  My point, everyone is so busy these days, take the time to evaluate the goal and effectiveness of your meetings.  Ask yourself: “What value will this meeting bring to each person in the room?” Base the go/no-go and participant list on the answer to that question.
When you call a meeting, make it a significant event and above all know the goal and be prepared. Even if it is a daily update.  The higher you climb in your organization, the more expectations others have for your ability to conduct yourself in meetings, whether you’re a participant or the leader. Take meetings seriously (or don’t have one).  Nothing special to discuss? Skip the meeting. If you don’t need other people’s input, or if you’ve already made up your mind about an issue, getting others involved will only complicate your plan and be seen as disingenuous.
Do have a meeting if you need to share information with a lot of people quickly. Likewise, if you want input on an issue, need discussion that leads to an agreement, or just want to energize the team. Your meetings should offer a value to everyone involved.

Committment to leadership development, starts at the top!

In my experience one of the biggest differentiators of companies that excel in succession planning and senior leadership development is the commitment and ownership of the CEO or top executive.

However, it isn’t easy.  There are no quick or magic solutions. All companies struggle with this challenge, but some handle it better than others.  Why, well mostly because they pay attention to it.  I’ve worked with a number of senior executives – and have experienced the differences between those that really “get it” and those that don’t. A lot of them only pay it lip service, and have no results to show for it.

So…. what should you do if you “get it”?

Focus on results and don’t let the process be the tail wagging the dog.
I’ve seen way too many organizations get caught up in the process and lose sight of the results. They have a wonderful annual planning meeting with great ideas and tools to implement, but once the meeting is over, nothing really happens until the next year. VPs and senior managers soon catch on that it’s nothing but an exercise, and focus on “looking good instead of being good”.  This doesn’t mean that annual planning and business reviews are not important.  Events, like annual check-ups, force things to happen that otherwise get pushed aside because they are not urgent.  Treat succession planning and leadership development like just client satisfaction or revenue and insist that your HR team provide you with world-class processes and tools.

Make sure your HR VP knows how to do this.
Your HR partner not only needs to know all of the best practices and processes or how to get them, but they must have the ability to influence and be trusted by the executive team, as well as be your own trusted advisor on talent. It’s a tough balance – they may be coaching a struggling VP one day, and recommending to you the same VP be replaced the next day. They have to be able to play match-maker and broker job changes, and manage all of the ego and politics involved.

Practice what you preach.
In this article by Marshall Goldsmith http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/cim/articles_display.php?aid=99

He focuses on one of the best ways top executives can get their leaders to improve is to work on improving themselves. Leading by example can mean a lot more than leading by public-relations hype. Your actions are powerful, more now than ever before – if you do it, they are more likely to do it with their reports and the behavior cascades down through the organization. If you don’t then the opposite occurs.

Don’t over complicate it

Think back on your own career – where and how did you learn your most valuable lessons? It was probably

1. New jobs
2. Challenging assignments
3. From other people (good and bad bosses, a coach, mentors, etc…)
4. Courses, books, articles, etc.

Too many companies spend too much time on #4 – and although effective, it doesn’t work without constant reinforcement. Well designed programs can be effective, when they incorporate #2, #3, and #4.  The principle of leadership development applies to all levels of management. All good leaders want their people to grow and develop on the job. If we work hard to improve ourselves, we might encourage the people around us to do the same thing.

Tell us how you influence the leadership development in your organization?

Rewards of Delegation

I have been forced to learn over the years that I cannot do everything myself.  This is especially true when you are building a team, department or organization.  I have always prided myself in learning everything there is to know about my current initiative, job, life event etc.  Even when I was pregnant with my first child, I was bound and determined to read and understand everything there was to know about delivering a baby so I could guide the doctor if he ran into trouble.  Some would say I like to be in control.  I would rather believe that if I learn enough about things I can at least ask the right questions.  But seriously, when you have developed a process or anything else for that matter and give it to someone else only to get it back later in a shambles, it makes you a little jaded.  Typically this is when people begin to juggle everything themselves.  However, this not only sets unrealistic expectations of others but especially of yourself.  There is a much bigger risk with holding on to all the bits and pieces rather than acknowledging you need some help.  It’s been proven over and over that the more effective managers are better at delegating than those who try to “be in control.” The keys  are setting priorities, providing help and support, and designing the right work flows—not your personal effort.

So, if we know it is an important key for our success, why don’t we delegate? Here are some of the excuses I routinely hear:

• No Time – I have no time to teach a team member the tasks.
• No Energy – It takes a lot of energy to follow-up and keep team members on task for success.
• I Can Do It Better – I know what needs to be done and can do it better and faster so I’ll just do it.

Why Should I? – Why should I train someone to do my job?        

Why? If you are in a leadership position, your job is to take the time and the energy to train others to do more so that the you, your team, and your organization are more successful.
         
So let’s remind ourselves of the benefits of quality delegation.
         

1. You multiply yourself – The more you delegate, the more you create team members that can accomplish much more in much less time. You are known as someone who gets things done with self-directed teams.
2. You create a motivated group – The more you delegate, the more your team members are motivated because they see you as someone who trusts them and their abilities to get things accomplished. Because your team is motivated, they take more initiative to create solutions, be more creative, and are willing to take on more responsibilities.
3. You master stress and time management skills – You are forced to prioritize your tasks and realize that there are tasks that you do not need to do, yet would be perfect tasks to develop your team members. By learning how to prioritize your tasks for delegation, you will be less stressed during the workday and go home at the end of the day satisfied that you accomplished more. 
4. You are known as a person who develops people – The more you delegate, the more you will be known within the organization as a person who develops people. Remember, even when you think no one is watching, someone is always watching the way you achieve success by developing your people. Whether it’s management, other teams, departments or divisions, someone is watching. The word will spread about how well you develop people. The results, management will see you as a developer of people; and other employees, both inside and outside of your organization, will fight to work for you because they know you have a motivated, creative working environment. 
5. You create opportunities for yourself and others – By delegating tasks to others, you can then take on more advanced tasks that will prepare you for future opportunities when they become available. This is the main reason why the excuse “if I delegate my tasks to my employees, then they can take my job” doesn’t fly in my book. Another reason why you delegate tasks is so that you can develop yourself for future promotions, monetary, and career opportunities. For example, if you want to become vice president for your organization and you know that skills C, D, and Z are required by all vice presidents, then delegate any management tasks that you have already mastered to your team members so that you can then ask for more “vice presidential” tasks. When that position is available within or outside of the organization, who do you think will have the inside track? You will! Because you can say you already have the skills of a vice president, while developing the people behind you to fill the void when you are promoted. Also, as a leader, you never want your team members to be with you in the same position forever. Thus, delegating tasks continuously prepares them for opportunities that may come their way.

Tell us, how do you delegate tasks successfully?