Effective mentors make great leaders

January 19, 2014

Q My goal for 2014 is to be promoted to director level. Other than the specifics my boss has told me, what else should I ensure I do?

A: Performing every aspect of your job in a professional and exemplary manner is a must. Going above and beyond expectations, operating as if you are already at the director level will help decision makers envision you in the new role. Focus on tasks that are appropriate for your level. Delegate the others.

When handing work off, enrol individuals so they feel inspired and empowered – not resentful – to help you. People want to grow and learn. Show them how these are opportunities to support and develop them. Coach or mentor them along the way. Step up for high-visibility projects that showcase your strengths and versatility. Increasing your areas of expertise raises your value to the organization. Share your accomplishments where appropriate in ways that are humble and matter-of-fact, not self promotional or aggressive.

Broaden your network to align with the right people outside of your department or functional area. Cultivate strong relationships with peers, your manager and others in positions of power. Collaborating with others to help them succeed shows you are confident, trustworthy and respectful. Communicate clearly, conveying the appropriate amount of information for a director.

Too often, leaders give too little context – confusing the listener – and too much detail, which undermines their message. Find the right balance of both for every audience.

Above all, be yourself. When what you do is a right fit, work is easier and more fun.  Passionate committed leaders are infectious.

Dealing with clashing values

August 21, 2011

Q: Two of my employees clash over their competing values, creating tension in the department. I appreciate both of their viewpoints. How do I get them to do the same so they will work together productively?

A: Values conflicts can be more challenging to work through since they are emotionally charged. People tend to feel judged, threatened or personally attacked because their values reflect deeply held beliefs. This takes a more delicate mediation.

Start by facilitating an honest dialogue where both parties can explain their value freely and fully without being interrogated or criticized. The first step is to break through possible misconceptions or stereotyping by ensuring both parties feel heard.

Build trust and safety by keeping the conversational tone neutral. Ask each party: What does this value mean to you? What’s important to you about this value? Have the other party repeat what they heard and articulate how this complementary viewpoint strengthens the department.

The outcome of this meeting is to open up understanding and mutual respect for each other’s viewpoint. The intention is not for both parties to come to an agreement or to change either party’s values. You will need to remind them of this often throughout the process.

Establish common ground by finding a larger universal value that they can both support. For example: the company’s mission. If the conversation circles back to their differences in belief, keep reinforcing their commitment to the larger shared value.

Operationalize the new mutually held belief by formalizing an agreement on how they will work toward it in their own way. Include concrete action steps that they will be held accountable to attain. Finally, affirm their commitment and mutual respect.

 Originally published in The Province, August 21, 2011.

It pays to hire female execs

October 25, 2010

Q: None of my top women managers are applying for executive positions. How can I change that?

A: Good idea, since studies reveal companies with more women in the C Suite and on the board financially outperform others by 35 to 65 per cent.

Results are best generated with an initiative actively championed by the CEO that implements a structured hiring policy, targeted development and a workplace that recognizes women’s need to balance work and life.

The easiest way for managers to fill roles is through their networks. Research shows 70 per cent of executives favour promoting men. Make gender parity a top management goal by rewarding it. By identifying particular capabilities to be promoted, current leaders will not merely replicate themselves. Require two qualified women be shortlisted for all leadership roles.

Fill the pipeline with eligible candidates, grooming high-potential women for promotion. Most women downplay their strengths and need to be persuaded to apply. A Hewlett Packard study found women apply for promotions only when they fill 100 per cent of the requirements. Men apply if they possess 60 per cent.

Offer women technical and leadership training. Give them high-profile assignments that partner them with a mentor. Appoint an internal champion to put capable women’s names forward. Coach women on navigating the organization, executive presence and negotiations.

A culture that supports women’s advancement rewards collaboration, promotes work-life balance, less travel, flexible work options and job sharing. It sponsors events during business hours so working mothers can attend.

Finally, measure your success. Track women’s progress, survey them to find out what best supported them and adjust the initiative accordingly.

Originally published in The Province, October 24, 2010.

How do I keep staff?

September 19, 2010

Q: I’m having nightmares about coming to work only to find I have no staff left. My company laid off 1/3 of our workforce, and has a wage and hiring freeze so everyone is doing double duty. My staff is overworked, overwhelmed and threatening to leave. How can I hang onto them?

A: A Right Management survey found 54 per cent of U.S. organizations lost key leaders in the first half of 2010. Replacing these people is more costly than investing in them.

Keep your brightest in house by valuing them. Give them complete credit for their ideas, solutions and results. If there are no bonuses or raises, find other creative ways to recognize them. They need to believe their work makes an important contribution to the company. Prove it does and celebrate their efforts.

Reinforce job security and foster loyalty by creating a growth plan that can lead to future promotions. Give staff the tools they need to succeed by investing in their professional development.

Enhance their performance with leadership coaching or training. You may not be able alleviate their stress, but you can reduce it by creating a positive environment.

Be their advocate. Remove unnecessary obstacles and streamline tasks so they can more easily achieve their targets. Acknowledge personal sacrifices.

Give them more control. Autonomy to get their jobs done their way will empower, motivate and satisfy them. Focus on their outcomes not on how they accomplish them. Intuit’s founder Scott Cook discovered “people will work nights — weekends — because it’s their idea.”

Share decision making with your employees. When people are consulted about things that affect them they are more apt to stay.

Originally printed in The Province, September 19, 2010.

Managers lead by example

June 21, 2010

Q: I’ve just been promoted into my first management position. Without technical to-dos to check off the list each day, I don’t feel I’m accomplishing anything. How do I ensure I am adding value to my company?

A: It’s a common mistake for new managers to gravitate to tasks instead of people. You got the job because you accomplished things in an outstanding way. Now your role is to support others to produce results and reach their potential. Your success depends on your team’s performance.

Great leaders model and mentor others to achieve their goals effectively. Find out what matters to your people then advocate for the resources and tools they need to flourish. This may mean helping them leverage their strengths, reach their career aspirations or work smarter not harder.

While you have the experience, you’re not the expert. Valued managers coach their people to perform at ‘their best’ by listening more, talking less. Set clear expectations, empower them to do their job, then stand back and let them do it as long as their output meets the expectations. Give direct feedback on areas for improvement privately in a way that motivates them to rise to the challenge rather than discourages them.

Your role is to make sound and often tough decisions with which others may not agree. Create an environment of trust and respect, demonstrate desirable behaviours and foster collaboration by being an example.

A leader’s responsibility is to be the keeper of the vision. Hold the big picture and articulate it in a way that inspires the team. You provide individuals a sense of purpose so they are engaged and aligned with the organization. Valuable leaders have the ability to make their people feel valued.

Originally printed in The Province, June 20, 2010.

Desiderata- a tribute to my dad

May 24, 2010

Desiderata is a prose poem written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945) a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana.  It has been reported that Desiderata was inspired by an urge that Ehrmann wrote about in his diary:

“I should like, if I could, to leave a humble gift — a bit of chaste prose that had caught up some noble moods.”

Around 1959, the Rev. Frederick Kates, the rector of St. Paul’s Church in Baltimore, Maryland, used the poem in a collection of devotional materials he compiled for his congregation. (Some years earlier he had come across a copy of Desiderata.)

Desiderata is Latin for “Things to be Desired”

This poem is meaningful to me because when I was about 11 years old my dad gave me a copy of it written in beautiful scrolled old style calligraphy on parchment paper.  He told me of its power and importance for my life. It hung in my room throughout my turbulent teen years.

Dad always impressed upon me that it doesn’t matter what happens to you in life, it’s what you do with it.  This poem speaks to me about his values and desires for his children.  What he taught me is to honor the truth of who I am, to access my resilience, to give my personal best while stretching towards my potential, to acknowledge and value my gifts.  Always reminding me that I am a child of the universe.  He meant I have the right and responsibility here on earth.

Whenever I wrestled with issues, or forgot who I was or what I was up to in life, reading this would  inspire me return to what I knew was true about myself.  To remember my purpose is to strive towards what I am called to do in my lifetime and who I was created to be in the world.

I hadn’t thought about this poem much recently until last week when my dad reminded me of it.   It brought back a flood of memories about how it kept me grounded in myself especially when things swirled around me.

We were sitting side by side on his hospital bed when he said in a very low tone his treatment wasn’t working. I heard resignation in his voice.  It was my turn to remind him of who he is and his responsibility to make conscious choices in the face of circumstances rather than let his long illness determine his fate.

Today is Victoria Day in Canada and his birthday.  In honor of him on his special day I am reprinting Desiderata here for him and for you. Dad sought to inspire, support and encourage others to improve their lot in life by shifting their mindset.  It would thrill him to know that he is still able to made a positive difference by sharing this poem.  So do let me know what you think of this posting so I can share with dad his impact.

I pray that this meaningful prose has the power again to connect him to his deep strength and courage as he seeks renewed meaning, purpose and peace in his own life for the will to recover from a second challenging relapse in a month.

Dad, you have been the philosopher, the rebel trail blazer and thought leader that shaped our family’s outlook and how we serve in the world.  You took a stand that anything is possible for us.  And that the most important determinant for achieving the impossible is to simply believe in its possibility.  Since we didn’t know any different we believed you.  As a result, each of us in the family has manifested what others told us couldn’t be done.  This is your legacy.  Your work is not done.  It’s your turn to model this to us once again. Happy Birthday, we want many more with you.  I love you.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Copyright 1952

Be co-operative on feedback

August 31, 2009

Q: As a new manager, I have to give an employee some feedback on a job she thinks she’s doing well. How can I be direct without getting her back up?

A: Hard feedback is effective when delivered with a soft start-up. First, get a clear picture of how your employee thinks she’s doing and why. Suspend your opinion and explore her perspective with genuine curiosity. While you don’t need to agree, letting her know you understand and accept her will make her more open to your viewpoint later.

Point out qualities you value in her — irrespective of her performance — such as her initiative, determination and reliability. Be direct and specific about what is working and why: “You are diligent and meet your deadlines. You keep projects moving forward and on track.”

Provide clear, concise and matter-of-fact feedback about what’s not working. Point to the tasks — not her personally — avoiding all-or-nothing language.  For example, “your reports lack the necessary details to support your point of view.”

Any hint of impatience or blame will raise defensiveness. Calmly explain the cost to her: “When your reports are superficial, the reader can discount your logic.”  Demonstrate your commitment to her success by pointing to specific changes that would produce successful results: “Including relevant case studies and key metrics would make your argument more compelling.”

Let her know you believe in her ability. “You have a solid grasp of the issues. All you have to do is provide more back-up for the reader.”

Ask her what steps she’s willing to commit to and set a time together to revisit the issue. Limiting the amount of corrective feedback and presenting it as a gift will leave your employee hopeful and motivated rather than daunted and demoralized.

Originally printed in The Province August 30, 2009.

Put the spark back into staff

July 19, 2009

Q: With sagging sales, our company is re-evaluating our five-year plan. My managers are concerned their jobs may be at risk, yet their motivation is waning. How do I reassure and re-engage them?

A: Even with job security down, disengagement is up. People are torn between knowing they must perform to keep their jobs, and the emotional drain of economic uncertainty. It takes fortitude to remain optimistic. You can re-spark your staff with a few simple steps:

1. Reinforce their value and worth. Recognize more than just accomplishments. Make every effort to point out how their actions positively impact the organization. Acknowledge their innate strengths and characteristics liberally.

2. Set up your staff to be successful. Be clear and specific about the expected outcomes, then give latitude and flexibility to complete the job their way. When feeling lack of control in one area, people need to feel in charge elsewhere. The freedom to be innovative and creative will empower and inspire them.

3. Invite input and collaboration. Under pressure it’s easy to revert to a directive style of managing, but it comes at a high cost. Take the time to include staff in decision-making, giving them choices wherever possible. When included, people become invested.

4. Build trust. Open, honest and frank communication is paramount. In uncertainty, silence sends people to imagining the worst. You can avert reactive behaviour with regular updates — and it is just as important to say there’s nothing new.

5. Support their development. Find out where they want to grow and make it happen. Web-based or tele-training, coaching, internal mentoring, mastermind groups or even a new project are cost-effective ways to build new skills.

It’s important in any economy to show your most valuable resources matter as much as the bottom line.

Originally printed in The Province July 19, 2009.

The Mom Song to William Tell Overture

May 10, 2009

In Celebration of one of the most paradoxical roles in the world.  Motherhood-  really parenthood- is the most rewarding yet often unrecognized, tireless and tiring, as profoundly joyful and it is painful, grows you and ages you.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

The 24 hour daily refrain can be condensed to about 3 minutes.   Yay. More time for fun together.  Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!

Validation

April 9, 2009

This very clever 16 min film is SO worth the time it takes to watch!

It is a great reminder of the power our words have on others.  Remember your mom used to say, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”?  Well, mom was right.  We have the ability to literally make or break a person.

The correction, criticism, and negative feedback we are bombarded with throughout our lives can be destructive.  People lose their joy and passion when they lose sight of their own greatness.  As humans we have a deep a need to be seen, heard and valued.

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