Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011
Erase from your mind any traces of the myth that leaders are born, not made. Instead realize that the degree to which you lead your organization or team to success lies in your hands. Your ability to lead both yourself and others will enhance the quality of your work as well as your life. The quality of your leadership not only determines your future, it determines the future of your organization and the lives of all those who follow you.
In any discussions of leadership, it is inevitable that we find ourselves thinking in terms of formal leadership. We tend to think of leadership in terms of rank or position. However, formal leadership is the outgrowth of your ability to master the art of self-leadership; it is indeed, the ability to establish a specific direction for your own life, and to proceed in that direction with the self-confidence that comes only to one who knows where he or she is going. Becoming a leader means becoming you. It is that simple and that difficult. It begins with figuring out who you are and what gives your life value and meaning. It means focusing on doing the right things and understanding who you are, who you want to become, what skills you want to develop, and what you want to accomplish beyond where you are today. When you identify your goals and values on a personal level, they are genuine and authentic. When you identify leadership on a personal level, you develop the authenticity required to become a leader of an organization. According to Winston Churchill, “The key to leadership is sincerity. Before he can inspire with emotion, he must be swayed by it himself. Before he can move their tears, his own must flow. To convince them, he must himself believe.” Leadership of others begins with leadership of self. Until you identify leadership on a personal level, you can never truly become an effective leader of an organization.
Realizing the vision involves a shared commitment and responsibility throughout the organization. This encompasses an ability to influence others to become committed to new directions and the ability to lead people to higher levels of performance. This is perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing today’s leaders. As we continue to shift our emphasis away from the traditional role of managing and controlling, we need to improve our understanding of human behavior and how to bring out the best in people.
For many leaders, this means change. Regardless of external circumstances, rank, or previous experience you can improve your leadership skills. Leadership qualities stem from internal attitudes and learned skills, not outside situations. Effective leadership consists of more than just an intellectual understanding of leadership characteristics. The characteristics and skills must be incorporated into your style. They must be consistent with your beliefs and values, and part of your actions and decisions. Leaders inspire others, improve outcomes, bring out the best in people, make mistakes, and continuously learn and improve. Your success as a leader depends on your ability to influence behavior and align your resources in the direction that will ensure continued success.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through leadership development and executive coaching. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Change, future, Leader, Leadership, quality, resource associates, responsibility, Success, winston churchill
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Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
When you begin to think of yourself as a successful leader, you realize that there are more demands on your time than you can possibly fill. This is a common problem faced by many leaders. The solution to this challenge is developing a process of effective delegation. However, delegation is an important tool that many leaders hesitate to use, and it has been the downfall of many leaders. The biggest barrier to delegation is overcoming the attitude that you must do it all! It becomes a leader’s curse when you adhere to the adage, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
 Delegation is very different from simply assigning someone a task or project that falls into his or her established job description or requirements. When you delegate, you give someone else one of your job tasks to complete with the authority and control to complete it properly. Delegation is not abdication. You share accountability for the assignment, which is why checkpoints are established to monitor overall progress. Just as the outcomes of your entire department are your responsibility, you are also responsible for the ultimate success of the delegation process.
When delegation is done properly and for the right reasons, it helps foster a climate of trust and creates growth opportunities for your employees. Here are five principles that can help you create an effective delegation process.
- Determine what you will delegate. Effective delegation begins with defining your responsibilities. Write down all of your activities and responsibilities. Review your master list and categorize all of the items into two secondary lists: things you alone must do and things that others could do or help you complete. Anything that falls into the second list presents an opportunity for delegation.
- Choose the right person to delegate the task to. Andrew Carnegie said, “The secret to success lies not in doing your own work, but in recognizing the right person to do it.” The key to finding the right person to delegate an assignment to is matching skills and attitude to the task at hand.
- Clarify the desired results. When the results are clear, it allows the employee to use his or her own creativity and resources to accomplish the task. An added benefit of effective delegation is the individual may find a better and more effective way to accomplish the task or achieve the desired results.
- Clearly define the employee’s responsibility and authority as it relates to the delegated task. Clearly communicate the expectation, responsibilities, and timeline. Be sure to ask the employee to share his or her understanding.
- Establish a follow up meeting or touch points. The follow up meetings should be focused on two things—monitoring progress and determining the need for assistance. The number of follow up meetings will vary based on the scope of the task or project and whether the employee is new or a long term member of the department.
Once you have created a solid process for delegation, stick to it, and avoid reverse delegation. At times, a team member may try to dump the delegated task back to you, and you may feel tempted to take it back especially if he or she seems to be struggling. Helping him or her stretch outside his or her comfort zone is all part of a positive growth and development. Use the scheduled follow up meetings to manage the delegation process, provide encouragement, and monitor the results!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: attitude, challenge, delegation, Leaders, resource associates
Posted in Business Management, Leadership, Management | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
As we become more specific about our goals and begin to acquire more knowledge and skills in developing others, our chances of success will greatly increase. The more clear we are on what we want, the more power we will have to achieve it. We all have the means within us to free ourselves from the constraints of early negative conditioning. Attitude change is a result of internal understanding and acceptance.
Once you are able to begin the process of helping people develop positive and possibility attitudes, you create even more possibilities. It’s rather like knowledge and learning. Generally, the more you know and learn, the more you realize there is to learn. The more you focus on possibilities, the more possibilities seem to be possible. High expectation and positive attitudes lead to high performance. High performance leads to higher expectations. Individuals and teams go through four stages of development before they become high performers.
Stage 1: In the beginning, you may find that as people move into uncharted waters and begin to perform tasks and make decisions that are new, they will need a great deal of attention from you. Anytime there is a need for new knowledge or apprehension about the outcomes, people will require direction. Many will have to be shown how to perform a particular task. Others will need explanation, information, and instruction. Most will still look to you for decisions and priorities. Your behavior at this stage should be highly directive. You will need to provide knowledge and model behavior to help people learn, understand, and develop competence. This requires time and patience. That outcome, however, is more time for you because as they become competent, they are more willing to perform functions that once took your time.
Stage 2: As people become more competent in their roles and their attitudes are more positive, the need for highly directive supervision and instruction diminishes. Your role then becomes that of a coach. Coaches still provide direction, suggestions, and input, but begin to elicit more feedback, and decisions are frequently made jointly. As confidence and competence grow, people will begin to make suggestions and provide you with input and ideas. Your behavior needs to be supportive and focused on mutual goal setting, high recognition, and praise for accomplishments. This two-way process creates a tremendous opportunity to lead people to even higher levels of performance.
Stage 3: As people become more confident about their ability to perform their jobs successfully, you can empower them to make decisions that influence the outcomes. Delegate authority to solve problems and make improvements. Enhance personal responsibility and accountability. Create additional opportunities. Be highly supportive but less directive. People need to feel like they have control over those factors which affect their destiny. As they control more of their activities, you can spend less time managing people and processes and spend more time growing the company. Developing people has immense benefits for the future.
Stage 4: At this final stage, people want to do their jobs and they have developed the competence and confidence to know they can. They can be counted upon to make decisions, implement change, achieve their business goals, and positively impact the success of the organization. They will require very little supervision from you. Provide support, but refrain from over managing that which they know how to do. Instead, their greatest need will be your leadership. They will look to you to provide the direction, the values, and the behaviors that they can emulate to help build their divisions, departments, and people. They will seek new and better ways to do business.
Seek out potential leads in your organization. Create an environment, develop the personal skills, and nurture the innovation that can ensure your competitive advantage. Meeting the challenges that you will face tomorrow will require you to drive leadership qualities throughout your organization because it will require everyone to see beyond traditional methods and expected outcomes. The future belongs to those who create it!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227
Tags: accountability, Attitudes, delegate, high performance, Leadership, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, responsibility
Posted in Attitudes, Leadership | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Often times when companies have to squeeze the financial belt, developing employees and creating future leaders gets pushed aside. However building a sustainable company requires having a leadership growth and succession plan in place at all times.
In a recent study conducted by OI Partners, the data indicated that 54% of the companies surveyed do not have enough leadership successors in place and 14% of the companies are not sure if they have enough leadership successors in place. These findings confirm that many organizations are not prepared for the future, which means their organizations are not as sustainable as current management may believe. Closing the knowledge and talent gap needs to be a management strategy during good or interesting times in business.
The benefit of investing and growing employees for the future provides staggering long-term results for the entire organization. Some of the outcomes of employee development management should never lose sight of include:
- Maintaining or growing competiveness in the market
- Sustaining or increasing overall employee and organizational performance
- Building capabilities required to win when business circumstances change
- Sustaining the organization’s culture
- Shortening the time needed for an employee to make an important role transition
- Building strong leaders breeds sustainability
- Creating strategic alignment between the strategy, the employees, and the internal processes
- Innovation
- Creating loyal employees which in turn helps create a loyal customer base
The last point listed is particularly important. Revenue and profitability, albeit critical, are predictors of past decisions. Creating and growing a loyal customer base is a predictor of future success and sustainability. A key to creating and growing a loyal customer base is creating loyal employees. An employee’s loyalty to the organization is enhanced by working with each individual to create a personal development plan. Tim Shoonover, Chairman of OI Partners, said in a recent article “To sustain growth in your company, there must be a path to leadership. If an employee doesn’t have a leadership development plan in place and isn’t able to see her career progression she is less likely to be engaged or to expend discretionary effort.”
Right now organizations have a bit of an advantage, as employees are not as quick to pursue new career opportunities. But as economic conditions improve, disengaged employees will begin comparing and perhaps looking for new career opportunities. Therefore, creating and committing to an employee leadership and development plan is not only critical to organizational success it also plays a significant role limiting employee turnover to a minimum.
Employees who see a commitment to their growth and development are employees who give the organization 110%. That extra 10% is where innovative ideas come from that could propel your organization to new heights. What is creating an employee development process worth to your company?
Here are some questions that may be useful as you review your company’s employee development strategy.
- If you had to fill a key leadership position in your company tomorrow, is there someone ready and able to fill the position? Are you confident he/she has the right skills, knowledge, and attitude or are you guessing?
- Does your organization have a published employee development plan?
- Do you or your team of managers have a documented development plan for each employee they manage?
If any of your answers to the questions listed above cause you concern or you just do not know the answer, then perhaps it is time to make employee development a priority. The sustainability and success of your organization depend, on it!
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through leadership development and executive coaching. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Customer Loyalty, employee loyalty, future leaders, Leadership, leadership succession, OI partners, Succession, Sustainability
Posted in Customer Loyalty, Leadership, Succession | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
There continues to be a great deal of focus on organizational culture and environment. Whether you are focusing on that issue for the first time or whether you are looking at changing or improving an existing culture, it may be wise to remember that, like the long journey which begins with one step, an organizational culture is the cumulative effect of individual attitudes, values, and standards. Changing or improving the culture begins with a focus on the individual.
 How you genuinely feel about yourself, your worth, and the worth of others greatly influences everything you do and the results you achieve. How the people in your organization feel about themselves, their worth, and the worth of others will affect their achievements and the culture of the organization. Goal setting is a process that creates an environment in which people want to succeed and are recognized and rewarded for achievement. Another tool that can positively influence growth is affirmations. An affirmation is a statement that reinforces what you believe to be true. You use affirmations every day, both in thought and conversation. These are often ideas you have taken from some other source—quotations, scripture, and family sayings—which reinforce your values.
Such borrowed expressions only become effective affirmations when they correspond with your value system and internal beliefs. Once accepted and internalized, they lose their borrowed qualities and become part of you. The power of affirmations can be best recognized when we realize that the mind doesn’t know the difference between real and imagined. For example, suppose late at night, you imagine there is a prowler in your home. Are you less frightened than if you knew there was a prowler in your home? Certainly not. You are afraid because you imagine a fearful situation.
The use of affirmations to reinforce growth and improve conditions is an application of the same principle. Through the use of affirmations, you begin to imagine that you possess those qualities and skills that you want to develop more. You begin to visualize yourself acting and behaving in a manner consistent with your goals. As your new image becomes clearer, the behavior is easier. The use of affirmations is also an effective management tool. By affirming certain characteristics and behaviors and helping others to develop affirmations, you can enhance growth and development throughout the organization.
Affirmations should have the following qualities: they should be positive, stated in the first person singular, should be within the realm of capacity to believe, and should be directly related to your goals. Affirmations should also employ the power of spaced repetition. By repeating affirmations over and over, day after day, these positive thoughts begin to affect the subconscious mind and influence behavior. If, at first, affirmations seem difficult to compose and use daily, remember that you are developing a new habit. Once you see and feel the results that follow the repeated use of affirmations, you will want to use the tool with others. Affirmations help use to see others and ourselves not as we are but as we can become.
Create a culture in your organization in which failure is viewed as an opportunity to learn and critical to innovation and discovery. Recognize and reward new ideas, attempts to improve something, and even failure when it results in trying something new or an attempt to improve a process. Encourage innovation and utilize the goal setting process to get people to set stretch goals and brainstorm innovative solutions. It stimulates creativity, broadens options, and produces better decisions by looking at many alternatives and selecting the best.
Goethe said, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and help them to become what they’re capable of being.”
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/ or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: affirmations, culture, goal setting, Goethe, Leadership, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, Success
Posted in Leadership | No Comments »
Friday, August 6th, 2010
Emotions play an important role in everyday behavior.
 There is no thought, behavior, idea, or attitude that does not have a related emotional counterpart. Often times in the business arena, various forms of emotions are frowned upon. But, the reality is emotions do exist and do impact communications no matter how subtle. As often as it is said emotions do not belong in business, they will always be there. The intent of this information is to alert you to the importance emotions play in our everyday lives, and how a successful leader can create a productive and focused working climate while dealing with the reality of emotions.
As you interact with your staff or team, you begin to build up certain expectations of each other’s behaviors and reactions. In any relationship between two people who have been in continuous interaction over a period of time, certain tolerable limits of emotional communication are established. There are certain ways of saying things which must be slightly altered to fit varying situations. For example, you may not talk to your children the same way you talk to your partner; you may not talk to your superior in the same way that you talk to a team member, and so forth. In some instances, these behavioral responses are simply a matter of courtesy and respect for the other person. In some cases, they stem from a fear of undesirable results.
Constantly avoiding dealing with your feelings can build up a stockpile of pent-up emotions. It can create a festering problem which when it does find expression, exhibits itself in ways that are harmful, hurtful, and destructive to a relationship. This repression and lack of adequate expression is not limited only to negative emotions such as anger but also applies to positive emotions such as love. We must develop a way to widen the tolerable limits of emotional expression, so that the problems associated with restraint and repression are diminished. By understanding human behavior, you will be able to identify emotionally based problems which emerge in the everyday operations of the organization. Effective management demands that you deal with emotions on a rational basis.
The key to managing emotions within your team is the environment. The culture that you create and maintain provides the platform for how you and your team deal with situations when they arise. Throughout most of our lives, we have developed ways to express disappointment, anger, and discontent in somewhat less than honest terms. We have learned, through experience and conditioning, that exhibiting hostility can prove ineffective in solving our problems with others. Instead of confronting situations head on we circumnavigate the stormy waters by using what we have come to believe are more socially acceptable forms of expression. This can be very functional behavior, up to a point, since a continuously abrasive and complaining individual soon finds no one around with whom to become hostile. On the other hand various negative feelings need expression as well. Emotions, if left unexpressed, or if expressed irrationally inhibit progress in improving relationships. Honest, open communication is necessary for a results-oriented working environment. To do so, you must create trust, concern, and a mutual commitment with your people. Some additional ideas when implemented correctly will help create a productive culture.
Create a culture that encourages your staff members to come directly to you and discuss, share, or brainstorm a situation with which they may be dealing. Whether they need an avenue for emotional expression or they are on the receiving end of a distracting situation and want to brainstorm possible solutions, make yourself available.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: climate, emotions, Leadership, Management, negative behavior, Resource Associates Corporation. RAC
Posted in Behavior, Leadership, Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
 No matter how well informed you may become, no matter how much knowledge you acquire in your field, it is important to remember that very few have ever accomplished more or gone far in any endeavor without the assistance and cooperation of many people. Leadership, goal achievement, and effective communication are inseparable, and they are all inextricably tied to trust. Valueship provides the values, direction, and strategy that support and guide behaviors.
Open and honest communications are always important, but in times of major change, communication is critical. When people are unsure and insecure and feel as if they don’t know what’s going on rumors and innuendos abound, and blame generally gets placed on management. Not knowing is worse than knowing (even bad news). Take the time to communicate face-to-face if possible, one at a time. This gives you an opportunity to show your concern and respect. It also gives you and them the opportunity to address questions and feelings, as well as discover the best solutions. What and how you communicate is critical.
Communication is the exchange of ideas between two people. It involves more than telling. Effective communication is “connecting.” Effective communication results in understanding and it involves feeling. It is an active two-way process. It is not accurate to think that when we communicate with others, we transfer a precise piece of information from one mind to another. Words in and of themselves do not have explicit meanings that are unaffected by other influences. Instead, people have meaning for them. The meaning that any one person places upon words is influenced by gestures, expressions, intonations, and beliefs.
It is in the sharing of ideas and thoughts and emotions between 2 or more people that communication occurs. Exchanging facts or data is only part of the process. The feelings and emotions that develop during the course of any transaction strongly influence the behavior of those involved, and ultimately the outcome of the conversation. Human behavior is rarely a result of strictly logical and rational thought. Effective communication hinges on our ability to make emotional contact with the listener.
Once you understand the role that emotions play in communication, you can begin to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. This is called empathy, and it is a quality that can be cultivated by developing genuine interest in other people. It is far easier to do this when you are authentic, genuine, and honest.
Empathy is not to be confused with sympathy, nodding your approval, or simply agreeing with another person’s point of view so as to appear understanding. Empathy is recognizing the fact that others are entitled to their beliefs, just as you are, that they have certain needs to satisfy and goals to achieve, just as you do. Communicate with both words and actions that reveal genuine interest in people as individuals and in what they say and feel. They need to know you appreciate their efforts and their accomplishments are recognized. Knowing their needs, you can chart a career path designed to give them what they want and contribute to the overall achievement of the organizational goals. People respond positively to this type of leadership because they realize that they are actually only doing what you sensed they wanted to anyway.
For some reason, many people believe that the ability to speak articulately is an important prerequisite to successful communication. St. Francis of Assisi said that we should “Seek first to understand then to be understood,” It is impossible to find out what someone is thinking or feeling unless we listen to what they are trying to tell us. In valuing others, what others are trying to tell us, we establish value for what we are trying to communicate to them. By valuing others we add value to ourselves.
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: communication, empathy, Francis of Assisi, Leadership, RAC, resource associates corp, Resource Associates Corporation, strategy, Values
Posted in Communications, Leadership | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
 “Your listeners won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” - Anonymous
One fundamental truth about effective communications is that people will not believe what you say if they don’t believe in you. Credibility is the cornerstone of successful communication. To be an effective communicator, you must be believed. To be believed, you must be credible. To be credible, you must be authentic. To be authentic, you must be genuine. You must be you! Accordingly, authenticity is a state of constant evolution. The authentic person is someone who knows who they are, who they want to become, and what their core values are. Authentic people value themselves and give value to others. They are usually confident and open, trusting, trusted, and believable.
Authentic also means genuine and trustworthy, and trust is vital. People trust you when you are honest with them. Honesty is a critical leadership trait. People need to know you have no hidden agendas and that you honor your commitments and promises. Trustworthiness and believability are synonymous. You can’t have one without the other. To communicate persuasively and effectively you must earn trust, and to earn trust, you must be believable. So, how do you do it?
The first step in being more believable is being yourself. By knowing yourself and understanding your own fears, anxieties, goals, and aspirations, you will be able to relate more closely to others. The key to understanding others is self-understanding. People are more inclined to hear and believe someone who is honest and genuine. Belief is acceptance on faith. Some people will believe you on first impression. Others will need more time. They’ll want to get to know you and need to realize promises kept and will want to know that you walk the talk.
Most people learned early in life who should be trusted. Generally it was those people who were easy to understand and read. People who were happy, warm and caring made you feel good, and you trusted them. Others whose competence and confidence in you and gave you confidence to grow, were also people you trusted to help you achieve goals. These are the same qualities you look for today. These are the qualities others look for you to exhibit. Learn to recognize and speak the language of trust. Strength in your voice, confidence and openness in your posture, and genuine interest in your expressions are all qualities you can use to create trust. Use your personal energy, enthusiasm, and facial expressions along with your words. When you coordinate your vocal tone with your words, with your actions, and with visual messages, you are more likely to be trusted and believed. Trust is one of the most basic but most powerful tools for change.
Many will hear everything you do and say. Your words and actions should be consistent to send the message you want to send. Your personal values and beliefs will be evident through your actions and behavior more than by your words. The only way to communicate values is to act in accordance with them. You can write volumes about the right way to treat people or speak about customer focus or cost containment, but if you publicly berate a staff person, or make a customer wait while you finish a personal matter, or blatantly waste supplies, your message will be what your behavior shows, not what your words say. The more congruency there is between your words and your actions the more people will trust you. As Jack Welch said, “Trust is enormously powerful in a corporation. The only way I know to create that kind of trust is by laying out your values and then walking the talk. You’ve got to do what you say you’ll do consistently and over time.”
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Authenticity, communication, Jack Welch, Leadership, RAC, resource associates, Resource Associates Corporation, trust, Values
Posted in Communications, Leadership | No Comments »
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
 “A financial analyst once asked me if I was afraid of losing control of our organization. I told him I never had control, and I never wanted it. If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don’t need control. They know what needs to be done and they do it.” - Herb Kelleher, Co Founder of Southwest Airlines
High performance people see things not only as they are, but also as they could be. This is the first step in creating an environment and structure where people truly participate and genuinely believe they are integral to the organization’s success. When people expand their focus on the possible, they begin to seek new and better ways of doing things. They realize they have the capacity to shape their lives rather than accept things as they are. Leadership is the norm, not the exception. Everyone is encouraged to examine situations and lead in response to them. Previous habits of “doing it this way because we have always done it this way” give way to new attitudes, innovative thinking, and process improvements. The philosophy “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” gives way to “regardless of how good it is, we can make it better.”
Mentoring people to higher levels of performance requires that you establish the conditions within which performance serves both the organization’s as well as the individual’s best interests. The structure and culture of the organization must support the efforts of the individuals. Everyone needs to realize that his or her best interests and personal successes are served by the success of the entire organization. If the environment is not conducive to supporting and guiding people to new levels of achievement, new skills and behaviors will not thrive. You cannot lead people to higher levels of achievement if the structures do not support the behavior.
The way people think leads to what they do. What people do leads to results. If you want to improve results, it makes sense to improve the way people think. Significant achievement is not likely without change, and change in behavior starts with a change in thinking.
You have no doubt heard the expression, “We are creatures of habit.” There is considerable truth to that statement, for almost all that we do and most of what we think is the result of habits that have been formed during the course of a lifetime. Much of what we do in a 24-hour period demands little conscious thought because we have developed habits that help us accomplish a number of things. Just as much of our behavior is habit, so are most of our attitudes. Attitudes are habits of thought. We have thought the same way about something for so long that it is now a habit. While some habits are useful in preventing us from having to consciously figure out the mechanics each time we confront a familiar situation, many habits keep people from stretching their capabilities and trying new, inventive, and possibly better ideas or techniques. Behavior and performance are likened to attitudes. If you want to improve performance, you have to improve the habits of thought that improve performance.
How are the “we have always done it this way” attitudes and habits holding your organization back from the success you need to achieve?
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses and individuals achieve high levels of excellence and success. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Attitudes, Behaviors, habits, Herb Kelleher, Leadership, mentoring, peak performers, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, Southwest airlines
Posted in Attitudes, Behavior, Leadership | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
As a leader you must be many things to many people.
We have discussed in previous posts the need for a leader to be a visionary because involving people in realizing a compelling vision provides a beacon for the future and a standard of excellence. We have also talked about the leader’s role as a coach. A leader as a coach reinforces the results they believe people are capable of achieving as winning depends on execution.
In addition to the roles of visionary and coach there are two additional roles that round out an exceptional leader: The role of mentor and the role of director.
The Leader as a Mentor
While many aspects of the mentoring role are similar to coaching, the significant differences lie in the mentor’s advisory or teaching role. A mentor is a trusted advisor and tutor. Mentors share the benefit of their experience and knowledge. It is a critical role in developing individuals who will collectively be responsible for the success of the organization. As a mentor you should seek innovation, encourage experimentation, reward appropriate risk taking, drive out fear, and create an environment where everyone communicates freely, honestly, and positively.
Establish an environment that encourages and rewards people to develop their skills, improve their results, and learn new skills. Actively seek to help people learn from your experiences and knowledge. Develop a culture where people feel responsible for their own results and are supportive of others, as well as provide the model, knowledge, training, and freedom to achieve their goals. Today’s leaders must foster a culture where continuous learning and continuous improvement are the norm not the exception.
The Leader as a Director
In the director’s role, the leader is like a symphony orchestra conductor. Everyone knows their part, comes in on cue, and maintains the tempo that had been established. The conductor does not play the instruments, that is the role of the musicians. Each musician does not decide when to play, that is the role of the conductor. The role of the conductor is to elicit the best possible individual performance in concert with the entire orchestra to create a symphony of sound. The leader/director establishes the direction for the organization and for the people. This does not mean the leader is the authoritarian expert who knows all of the answers. Rather, it means that the leader, as director, gathers the input and ideas from everyone in the organization, establishes goals, and aligns the resources to achieve those goals. The director creates conditions under which peak performers can thrive. The director continuously evaluates whether the direction serves both the organization’s best interest and the best interest of all individuals involved.
All leadership behavior must create an environment in which people are encouraged to seek out innovative ways of doing things which will ultimately lead to more revenues or lower costs. Excellent leaders use their complimentary skills as a visionary, a coach, a mentor, and a director to accomplish just that. In the words of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he/she wants to do it.”
Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/ or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.
Tags: Costs, Director, Execution, Leader, Mentor, RAC, Resource Associates Corporation, results, Revenues, Symphony, Trusted advisor, Visionary Coach
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