A Leadership Must

There are certain things leaders need to remain mindful of on an ongoing basis that impact the mental well being and culture within their operation. Subtle and common sense things that at times can prove to be very elusive including...

• Always saying "thank you."
  
• Always using the word "please" when asking someone else to do something.
  
• Not playing the "boss card" unless it is absolutely necessary.
  
• Giving recognition for a job well done.
  
• Treating everyone fairly even in the most difficult of situations. (This particular item is of just as much importance to the folks that are in your office and not directly related to the issue at hand because they know however you treat the current situation could be reflective of how you might handle any future situations including theirs.)
  
• Never using unprofessional language.
  
• Being honest with people even if it means telling someone something they do not want to hear but communicating it in a tactful manner.
  
• Stopping whatever you are doing to actually listen to what someone is telling you.
  
• Summarizing back to someone what they just told you to ensure you fully understand what they are saying.
  
• Introducing people by name to your superiors.
  
• Always following through on what you tell someone you are going to do.
  
• Catch folks doing something right, verses something wrong.
  
• "Coach" your people into becoming the winners you perceive them to be.
  

People emulate their leaders. Follow these guidelines and you will improve the morale, culture and effectiveness of your entire organization. A business is only as effective as the mindset of its greatest resources, its people.

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment." - John Wooden

"Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions." - Harold S. Geneen

What are you currently doing that could be added to the above list?

Small Stuff

Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between individuals with equal levels of skill in determining who is going to be more successful. In some cases it can be a team or an individual with a lesser amount of talent winning or outperforming a group or an individual with great talent. What is it? What makes the difference? John Maxwell published a book that I recently read in preparation for a meeting called "The Difference Maker," in which he refers to the "difference maker" as attitude. This makes logical sense in terms of deciding between two equally skilled individuals when making a hiring decision or in similar circumstances, but I personally believe there is one more attribute that truly separates leaders or performers from one another. In my opinion, and in addition to attitude, it is the effort that is put forth in seeing to the details that will truly differentiate between performers. It is like the old saying goes, "The small stuff always makes the difference." This can reveal itself in various forms such as who is conducting and participating in training on an ongoing basis, who is putting forth the extra effort in perfecting their skill set outside of "game-time" and in many other forms. When I was an outside sales representative in my first job at a group of local community newspapers in Southern Illinois I was asked by my manager at the time why I was able to take a territory that had been traditionally the weak spot for the organization to a top-performing territory. My answer was that I make sure I am seeing to the details and putting forth the extra effort to do what it takes to be successful. Even when it was in the high 90's and the humidity was at 100 percent (the kind of day when the steering wheel burns your hands) I was making my final four calls of the day. Managing my own performance was a big part of my personal success as a sales rep and it was the effort I put forth in executing the small stuff or the extra effort that it took to accomplish my own personal goals that truly made the difference.

In leading a team to higher levels of success it is important for the leader to demonstrate that they are willing to exude this trait in terms of their commitment to the team's success. The best way to breathe life into this quality is to invest personally in the development of your people. Invest extra time aiding in the improvement of a skill, talking about your experiences, guiding, coaching, and mentoring your folks to higher levels of success. Your efforts will be repaid with higher levels of performance, loyalty, and (in the presence of a quickly emerging passive job seeker labor economy) retention.

There is another saying that goes... "Don't' sweat the small stuff." This might be true if you can live with less than the best in terms of your results, and while I am all about prioritizing time and efforts, you simply cannot afford to ignore the small stuff if you are going to build a "world-class" organization.

What "small stuff" will make the difference in your leadership or your teams, or in your team's ability to execute at higher levels of performance?

Define Your Core

Being passionate about what you do for a living is fundamental in how effective you are as a leader. People gravitate towards people who love what they do for a living. You can instill your passion into your current leadership role no matter what you do professionally. This will not only energize your efforts, but will also make you a better leader. So how can you do this?

First make a list of the core beliefs and principals that govern your professional development. Be sure to also include what you are most passionate about from a business development perspective. Include everything just as though you are conducting a personal brainstorming session. Now take that list and create categories that would be inclusive of multiple items such as "organization" and "productivity" which can both fall under the category of "Time-Management." Now review your business strategy or your current business plans. You will increase your own personal effectiveness as a leader by increasing the levels of what you are most passionate about in how you are going to attain our goals.

A benefit of this practice is that people will emulate their leaders. If your level of passion about the things you and your team need to accomplish increases, your team's passion to accomplish the goals of the organization will also increase. This can transcend into building a work atmosphere that changes your office culture and elevates the energy level. One day you will walk into your office and the culture will be one of self-accountability. This means that the individuals that make up your team will be the ones that hold their peers accountable due to their increased level of commitment to accomplishing the goals of your office or business.

Increasing your own level of passion as to how you are planning to accomplish your goals will also create a higher level of ownership. Once again, people emulate their leaders, so this behavior will also improve the overall proficiency and mid-set of your team(s).

A clear understanding of what makes up your core is critical to your success. There are many roads you can take to accomplish your goals. Choose the road that keeps the "fire in your belly" alive and well.

What core values are at the top of your list?

Manage Your Vision

I like to look at our business in terms of cycles. I categorize our business cycles into initiatives, sales, product and industry cycles. New initiatives influence new product cycles, which are completed prior to the beginning of a new sales cycle. The introduction of a new product to a customer base through the sales process can lead to industry shifts or in this context, "cycles." It is the leader's responsibility to cast a vision for the future and build their organizational infrastructure to be prepared for the future while simultaneously executing in the current sales cycle or business environment. Proper development and execution of initiative and product cycles affords a leader to move his or her organization from one sales cycle to the next seamlessly. The leader is also responsible for timing this transition so it occurs as soon as there is a declining return on the investment of time in the current sales environment.

With regards to our businesses, The Employment Guide and http://www.employmentguide.com/ ,this is best demonstrated through the introduction of new and exciting ancillary events, initiatives or electronic media products. People in our industry love to have a new and compelling story to tell. What is it about your organization that is remarkable or will create excitement on the part of the key people in the businesses where you provide your products or services? Is it a new twist on a current product? Is it new technology? The creation of a new compelling story ushers in with it a new sales cycle and represents the graduation of a product cycle. Tied to this process comes the responsibility to once again engage in the initiative and product development cycles. Effective leaders can manage multiple initiatives, products and sales cycles concurrently. This is how effective leadership and the leader's vision continuously breathes life into a business and positions an organization to become an industry leader.

Can you identify each of the "cycle" components in how you are currently leading your organization? Initiative -> Product -> Sales -> Industry

Buy-In First

In order to effectively lead you must first be passionate about the mission. The leader's passion and desire to succeed must also be bought into by the individuals that are going to play a role in achieving success. So how does a leader go about gaining "buy-in" from their team? What about when going into a series of discussions the leader already has a good idea that the individuals on his or her team are going to be reluctant to rally to a leader's cause? My recommendation is to first speak directly to your team leaders individually and then as a group. After gathering all your team leaders' opinions, empower these individuals to act as sounding boards and to play a role in the development of the business plan or strategy to accomplish your goals or the goals of your organization. Another piece of advice is that you do not rush this course of action. Permitting others to participate in the advancement of your cause can take time, and you need to schedule your agenda through proper planning to allow for the "buy-in" process.

Once your team leaders are bought into and have ownership over the cause, the rest of the process comes about quickly. Set a time to meet with your entire team and lay out the framework for accomplishing your task or goals. If you are met with resistance, the leaders on your team will step in to support and defend your position and aid in leading your team to rally around the cause. The other great aspect of this process is that, if one of the team leaders does not quickly jump in on his or her own accord, you can call on the individuals who are on board to share their opinions with the group. Once everyone hears how the leaders within their peer group fully support your efforts, you will quickly gain "buy-in" from the remainder of your team.

This application may seem basic and more of a refresher for many, but all too often leaders try to impose implementation without following this procedure, and that ends up creating problems. Take the time needed to execute the "buy-in" process first so you can properly execute your business strategy. Ultimately this will save you, as the leader, valuable time by not having to continuously to look over your team's shoulders to ensure proper execution.

How have you gone about gaining "buy-in" from your team prior to a new challenge or task? Do you use a different process when it comes to special initiatives as compared to daily activities?

Perception is Reality

Due to the fact that everyone relates to the world differently (see yesterday's post titled "Un-Multitask"), every employee also has a unique interpretation of what goes on in his or her own world or office environment. Each individual will create their own perception, which in-turn creates their own reality. You might be wondering what this has to do with leadership or the development of others. In order to effectively lead individuals out of a rut or through a tough situation from a performance or human resources standpoint, you have to gain a clear understanding of the employee's reality with regards to the situation. Correcting behavior is a far less costly road to travel than replacing behavior, so leaders can utilize the proper management of individual perception to improve operational performance. One essential part of a leader's responsibility in this process is in the well-being and continual shaping of a healthy reality for the individuals that they lead. Conflict typically arises when there are polar viewpoints about a subject within the same realm of responsibility or across departmental lines (sales and production, administration and sales, etc.). By being engaged and fairly and consistently applying company policy, good leaders can avert performance-killing and energy-draining perception-based situations.

When I have been involved in situations that have needed investigating or are in the need of being resolved, the solution will typically come down to reshaping perception based on clearing up misunderstandings. Misunderstandings can be avoided through improved leadership and a higher level of engagement in the shaping of individual opinions into group consensus by leadership. In the sales industry and in management development, it is not uncommon to hear how important it is to gain "buy-in" prior to implementation of a new initiative. In addition to gaining "buy-in" leaders must be engaged in ensuring that everyone has a clear understanding of organizational expectations, communication skills and individual office environments and behaviors.

Do you have someone on your team that has a misconstrued perception about their goals, your office's environment or in how you are leading your operation? If so, what are you doing to reshape their perception to match your reality?

Un-Multitask

All too often leaders get caught up in everything they are doing to a degree that they do not make appropriate time for pertinent projects or more importantly people in need of direction. There are a multitude of distractions that can pull at a leader's attention and steer their attention away from the individual or the issue that needs their focus. I know because I am speaking from personal experience. Have you ever been speaking on the phone and feel the tug of your keyboard? The temptation to check that latest email while you are actually in the middle of a conversation? It can be difficult to stay focused on one item or person when you are dealing with many issues at once, and have a lot left on your "to-do" list. Let's face it, being able to multitask actually has a positive meaning in today's professional environment.

I personally believe that prioritization and focus will bring the best results. As leaders, we need to practice and exercise the ability to focus. This will allow our attention to be given to those who are in the greatest need. Have you ever been the one on the receiving end of a less than attentive exchange? It can make it difficult to get your job done or to know exactly 100% the direction in which you need to head upon conclusion of a discussion. It is my opinion that in order to be an effective leader you have to be a great listener. To be a great listener you have to give someone your full attention. Sometimes this means slowing down, un-multitasking for a few minutes to actually give someone or something all of your focus. Pay particular attention to this aspect of leadership as you interact with your peers, boss or teams over the course of a day and comment on your observations. I am also interested in reading about any improvements you come to realize in leading your folks as a result of applying this practice.

Okay, now I can give everyone standing in my doorway some of my time and attention... ;)

Be a Mentor

Do you have a professional mentor? What about in your personal life? If you ask the most effective leaders who their mentors are and have been in the past, they can usually rattle off a short list of names. Being the beneficiary of a mentor can transcend into a leader embracing the development of others and becoming a mentor to those whom they lead; it certainly did for me. I personally find great joy in working with others on their professional development. Do you? It is always rewarding to witness an individual that I am working with walk away from our interaction with a better understanding of how to deal with a professional situation or make a better, more informed decision. Not only have I been fortunate to facilitate this role for others, but I have been on the receiving end from some fantastic mentors over my scholastic and professional career. I have to also give my father credit here as he has been one of the most influential people and mentors in how I have developed personally and professionally. I believe that in order to be an effective leader you have to take an active role in the development of people through mentoring others.

My first true professional mentor was Shelton Prince, who was the publisher of a regional daily newspaper group headquartered in Brownwood, Texas. Shelton took a chance on a young, green, energetic advertising manager of three weekly community newspapers in Southern Illinois with an offer and acceptance of an associate publisher position. Working for Shelton was truly a learning experience that will never escape me. I still am reminded of his incredible attention to detail and how his appreciation for "seeing to the details" was instilled in me through him. I can almost feel him with me at times as I am typing an important memo, blog post or preparing for a big presentation. Shelton had a way of making me (and everyone else around him) feel important while creating a desire to work hard and do your best. Have you ever noticed how great leaders have a way of doing that without even appearing to make an effort?

The lessons I learned from Shelton live on with me still today and are passed on to the individuals that I am fortunate enough to mentor and develop. Although Shelton is no longer with us, he left quite a legacy. His legacy continues to live on today in the lessons taught by the individuals that were blessed with the opportunity to learn from him and be mentored by him. What kind of professional legacy do you hope to leave?