Smarts from LeadershipSmarts

Year End Rituals - Make 2012 your best year yet

One practice that can help make the next year your best yet is to set aside an hour or two to reflect
on the previous year and set goals for the coming year. To do this we have two handy forms:

Year End Review and New Year Intention Setting Forms

We'd love to hear what you think of these tools.  Please leave feedback.  It makes our day!

While we are on this topic, perhaps coaching can help guarantee your resolutions will be manifested at last. Interested? Just email us at info@leadershipsmarts.com to set a session up.

The Front Line is THE Bottom Line

If you have been running a business for a while you already know that is a major understatement. You might have even spent a ton of time and money trying to get great management skills in place.

But have you gotten the results you expected? Great leadership? Better retention? Higher performance from the front line?

If you have hoped for more results than you got, please watch this 13 minute video tour to find out why most training doesn't work and why we're launching a totally new approach to management development that will.

We would love to hear your comments on our ideas. We're accepting enrollment now, but spots are limited so if you like what you see on the video tour please go to www.LeadershipSmarts.com to reserve your spot.

We look forward to connecting,
Jen and Patty

http://gallery.me.com/patriciabeach#100177

Blindsided by Feedback

Getting feedback is key to growth, that said, it can be hard to know what to do if some of that feedback comes out of the blue.  This situation is thoughtfully addressed on Jean Latting's blog: Leading Consciously.

The scenario was written by Carole Marmell. Our own Jennifer Joyce, cofounder of LeadershipSmarts responds. This is the first of a two-part segment.  We've given you a teaser here but to get the rest click here to read the original post on Jean's blog: Leading Consciously.

Molly is a 30-year-old bank employee. The bank has a very structured environment, with formal performance appraisals after every project as well as every year. The appraisals go both ways, for supervisors as well as line staff. All appraisals are done by committees consisting of supervisors and line staff. In addition, the supervisors have procedures for providing coaching and feedback to all line staff to help them advance step by step.

In practice, Molly feels she does not receive appropriate coaching and feedback from her immediate supervisor and project manager. She feels that they assume she knows more than she really does, simply because she is so good at figuring things out for herself.

Molly is fairly confident of her approaching yearly appraisal. When her supervisor decides to provide an advance heads-up, Molly believes she will receive supportive feedback for her hard work. Instead it is barely mentioned. She feels her supervisor is telling her she is not conforming to expectations that she didn’t know existed.

“The perception around here,” says the supervisor, “is that you are a bit arrogant and feel you are smarter than everyone else. Your appraisals of others are more negative than we expect, and we worry this is an indication that you are not able to work well with others.”

Molly is not upset with her supervisor; she is actually relieved to hear this feedback before going in front of the whole committee. For that matter, she feels that this supervisor, who is new, is much better at communicating than the previous one. However, she now worries whether her work is considered substandard, rather than high-quality as she assumed. She has totally lost confidence in her own judgment.

What can Molly do now?

1. How can Molly explain she was unaware of the appraisal criteria without appearing defensive or critical?
2. How does Molly—or any employee with high standards—not come across as superior when assuming others share her standards?
3. How can Molly learn to hear constructive feedback and see its potential for growth?
4. What organizational support should be provided to Molly and her supervisor by bank administration to improve the effectiveness of their feedback system?

Don't you want to know the answers from Jen?  If so, click here to get to Jean Latting's Blog Leading Consciously.

Tip: Using a great 360 tool like the Leadership Circle Profile that we use in our Year in the LIfe: A Virtual Learning Lab for Managers and our executive coaching can help you discover your blind spots and create practical strategies to figure out what to do about them.   

Tips to Break Through Radio Silence

Have you ever presented an idea to a group for feedback - but instead of a lively debate just got back a lackluster or even blank reaction?

This is a common dynamic, those that are attending your meeting are often arriving to your meeting distracted by their own projects. In these days of virtual meetings, participants might be multitasking or even offline without your knowing it.  You may be tempted to blame your audience - I've heard my client's complain that meeting participants were "asleep at the wheel", "bumps on the log" or "just not the sharpest tools in the shed". 

Don't give in or give up on your audience!  instead, remember as the leader of the project it is your job to get the deliberation going that inspires committed and aligned action no matter how many challenges you face in terms of your audience's lack of interest, will or ability.

Here are a 3 practical tips to help you break through the radio silence:

1. Set the context for deliberation.

Before you ask for feedback on your ideas, ask for active participation and leadership

It could sound something like this:

I'm going to present a DRAFT proposal to get us going.  I'm not looking for a rubber stamp, i'm looking for feedback.This is our chance to work together to deliberate the best course of action.  I need everybody's 2 cents, if you agree with my proposal great, let's hear why. If you have concerns, let's hear them. That's what we are here for.

2. Don't ask if there are any concerns. instead assume there are concerns and ask what they are. 

Examples:

Everybody take a minute and write down the 1 thing you like most about my proposal and your #1 biggest concern.

Let's hear what is resonating first.  I know you've got something we need to hear - Mary, what are you liking?

Now let's hear some concerns?  Joe, what's on your page?

What's the one thing we could change or add that would most strengthen this proposal? Would 2 or 3 please share their ideas?

3. Ask for a visible show of commitment.

Don't let your participants remain anonymous, instead find a way for each person to visibly show their commitment or lack of commitment.

Example:

I'd like to take a flash poll to see how lined up we are now that we've debated and amended the proposal. If you are happy with the proposed plan please give a thumbs up signal to indicate that you stand behind the proposal as it is. If you still have some concerns you think need to be addressed before we move forward, just indicate that by giving a thumbs sideways signal. Please don't hesitate to show either a thumbs up or thumbs sideways, this is just a way for me to get a quick sense of the way the group is leaning.

If there is time left in the meeting continue to probe:

Let's hear from a few of you that have a thumbs sideways first.  Josh, what's got you on the fence?

How about hearing from a few with thumbs up - Carla what's got you convinced?

If meeting time has run out, close with this:

I'll take note of your thumbs sideways and follow up with you after the meeting about it.  I can't promise to resolve your concerns but I'll do what I can.

We hope these tips help. By the way, if this post is hitting home for you or totally missing the mark - don't be a bump on a log, let us know by commenting.

Best,

Jen and Patty

P.S. If you find these tips helpful you might be interested in our new program for managers: A Year in the Life: A Virtual Learning Lab for Managers being launched in January. 

How to Get the Most Out of Your Coaching

Jen was invited to be a guest blogger at a wonderful blogsite called Leading Consciously. Jen's post explains how to get the most out of your coaching.  While you are reading Jen's post be sure to check out the site to discover wonderful resources and advice.  Here's a link to the post:

How to get the most out of coaching

Inspired by the Spill

It’s been over eighty days since BP’s rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Tar balls are now reaching the coast of 5 states. It's a huge relief to know that finally the spill has been contained. There has been precious little light down this dark tunnel. Still, we do see a silver lining for leadership in this disaster. We hope that it will serve as a call to business leaders to become conscientious stewards not only of their company but also those impacted by their actions.

This explosion, much like the Challenger and its fateful o-rings, will be analyzed by social scientists trying to make sense of the human dynamics that led up to it. When it comes to leadership that's a conversation we feel compelled to contribute to. Both of us started our leadership consulting careers working for Amoco, later acquired by BP. We felt proud as Amoco/BP became the leading energy company company in terms of sustainable development. BP-America’s President, Lamar McKay managed production when we worked there. We remember Lamar as a good guy to work for so it is painful to see his beleaguered face on TV as he offers meager responses to angry citizens, media and politicians. At the same time, we can hardly believe the level of the catastrophe caused by BP's accident. It is painful to think about the loss of human life, the economic impact to those whose livelihood depends on the Gulf, and the colossal environmental damage to our Gulf Stream waters. Patty was raised on the Alabama Coast, now in jeopardy as black goo laps up on the pristine white sand of Gulf Shores. How could BP, the energy company known for strong environmental stewardship, have taken such a wrong turn? Most information in the media simplifies this wrong turn as simply unadulterated greed. If that is true, how could those nice guys we know arrive at such cold, calculating decisions? Were they always so disconnected from the things that will matter on their death beds - things like family, honor, community, integrity, respect for mother earth – and the proud legacy of an upstanding career? After a combined 35 years supporting leaders in Corporate America, we see that it isn't just greed that drives managers to lose their way. Rather, it is a slow loss of integrity that is dismantled one pressure driven decision at a time - pressure to "make the numbers" that comes from bosses, boards, and stock market analysts. In our "cash is king", "time is money" culture, there is a singular focus on the numbers. Short term tangible measures beat less concrete concerns for people and planet right out of the equation. In their hearts, leaders may be all for values, safety and sustainability, but they lose sight of that as their heels are bitten by competition that will lap them if they don't make quick and often risky decisions. It is the rare leader that has the courage, skills and tools to address deeper concerns and drive business success under time pressures. Is it possible that this disaster could change that? We stand for using this catastrophe as our teacher. It can be the teacher that reminds us that a singular drive to make the numbers ultimately doesn't work. The equation for success requires stellar leadership to handle high risk decisions. These days the Internet makes the negative consequences of unsound decisions more visible than ever before. Have you seen that 24X7 webcam video of the oil pouring out of the well? The quick chase after the single bottom line is no longer a viable business model. You need only look at BP's recent stock dive to prove that. We can change the paradigm of leadership by teaching the skills needed to drive to the triple bottom line, balancing people, planet AND profits. If this conversation interests you, please join us in the important work of reconnecting business leaders to the reality that they lead people, not numbers.

Elizabeth Edwards learns a lesson about psychological size

Elizabeth Edwards was on the Today Show with Matt Lauer last week. She was discussing her failed marriage and things that led up to it. She learned a valuable leadership lesson when she read about herself in the book Game Changer. Her mistake is a common one for leaders and people in prominent positions - not understanding the importance and power of psychological size.

Mrs. Edwards said "I thought of the people who worked in the campaign not as people who worked for John or worked for me, but as people with whom I worked. I thought of us as equals... If I argued about a policy, I thought I was arguing as an equal. Clearly they didn't have that perception -- they thought I was the boss's wife. I didn't take that into consideration." When the boss is a senator and a presidential candidate being the boss's wife is indeed a position of power.

Psychological size refers to the perception that others can have of people in positions of power, authority, or expertise. As business professionals move up the ladder from individual contributor to manger to director to VP, they often still think of themselves as just good old Jane or Joe. They don’t realize that others perceive them as having larger psychological size because of the power that formal organizational authority confers on them. Everything they say, everything they do is now larger than life and has great power to influence others for good or bad.

We refer to this as the Bruce Springsteen effect. We tell our leader clients to imagine they are like Bruce Springsteen at concert – “he is up on the 25 foot screen, broadcast at 10 times his actual size – every bead of sweat on his brow and every coin in his jeans eminently visible.”

That is what every leader must envision when she opens her mouth or makes any moves. As Mrs. Edwards realized too late, whether or not she is aware of the power of her psychological size, others will expect true leadership behavior and judge her harshly if not demonstrated. As a leader, she must remember that she is always on the big screen.