Christian Whamond Leadership learnings

Setting SMART Goals and Objectives.

30/8/2010

Setting effective objective to guide your team and organization is very important for leader to get right. Badly formulated objectives will steer an organization in the wrong direction.

Below approach to achieving SMART Objectives and Goals.

Sort out the difference between objectives and aims, goals and/or targets before you start. Aims and goals etc relate to your aspirations objectives are your battle-plan. Set as many objectives as you need for success.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results orientated and Time bound.
Don’t try to use that order M-A/R-S-T is often the best way to write objectives.
Measurable is the most important consideration. You will know that you’ve achieved your objective, because here is the evidence. I will know too! Make sure you state how you will record your success.
Achievable is linked to measurable. Usually, there’s no point in starting a job you know you can’t finish, or one where you can’t tell if/when you’ve finished it.
If it’s achievable, it may not be realistic. If it isn’t realistic, it’s not achievable.
Realistic is about human resources/time/money/opportunity.
The main reason it’s achievable but not realistic is that it’s not a high priority. Often something else needs to be done first, before you’ll succeed. If so, set up two (or more) objectives in priority order.
The devil is in the specific detail. You will know your objective is specific enough if everyone who’s involved knows that it includes them specifically. Everyone involved can understand it. your objective is free from jargon.
Timely means setting deadlines. You must include one, otherwise your objective isn’t measurable. But your deadlines must be realistic, or the task isn’t achievable. T must be M, and R, and S without these your objective can’t be top-priority.
It is worth this effort! You’ll know you’ve done your job well, and so will others.

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Goal setting by Google

30/8/2010

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Google sets impossible bodacious goals… and then achieves them.
The engineering mindset of solving the impossible problems is part of the culture instilled in every group at Google.
-Don Douge, Developer advocate at Google.

The Google goal setting process happens in a 90 day cycle…

Every quarter every group at Google sets goals, called OKRs, for the next 90 days. Most big companies set annual goals like improving or growing something by x%, and then measure performance once a year. At Google a year is like a decade. Annual goals aren’t good enough. Set quarterly goals, set them at impossible levels, and then figure out how to achieve them. Measure progress every quarter and reward outstanding achievement.

The following observations and insights with the goal-setting process at Google:

OKRs are Objectives and Key Results. They expect to see stretch goals that seemed impossible to fully achieve. Most people ask, “Why set unrealistic goals?” Google’s answer is “Because you can’t achieve amazing results by setting modest targets. We want amazing results. We want to tackle the impossible”.
Failure is not an option – Taken the wrong way, that actually conditions people to set modest achievable goals that they are certain they can achieve. Because if they fail…they are fired. Taking great risks, pushing innovation, and striving to achieve the impossible will never happen at companies like that. Google’s culture is “I haven’t failed, I’ve just found lots of approaches that don’t work, and I am closer to the solution”.
Achieving 65% of the impossible is better than 100% of the ordinary – Setting impossible goals and achieving part of them sets you on a completely different path than the safe route. Sometimes you can achieve the impossible in a quarter, but even when you don’t, you are on a fast track to achieving it soon. Measuring success every quarter allows for mid course corrections and setting higher goals for the next quarter.
Rewards For Success – The rewards for achieving the impossible are significant. Google attracts the best people in the industry for many reasons, maybe most importantly because they give people the resources and support they need to achieve the impossible. Financial rewards are significant, but they are not the primary motivator. Working with the best people in the world and achieving greatness is the ultimate reward.

It seems to me this continually striving for breakthrough innovation, by setting BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) a clear objective is working for them. Too many organizations don’t take this process seriously enough to commit the necessary time and resources to defining a limited set of clear outcomes and committing the necessary resources to ensure it’s achieved.

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Four Elements of Trust.

30/8/2010

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The Ken Blanchard Companies has an interesting workshop on trust. The Workshop model discovers the ABCD's of trust. It's highlights the following four elements of trust:

Able: demonstrates competence, expertise, experience, and capability in getting the desired results accomplished
Believable: walks the talk of a core set of values, demonstrates honesty, and uses fair, equitable practices
Connected: interacts with staff, communicates and shares relevant information, provides praise, and gives recognition
Dependable: is accountable, takes responsibility for own actions, and consistently follows up

As we are all aware trust is the foundation of all effective leadership, however trust does not just happen. It’s something that a leader must consciously and constantly work on developing. When it comes to developing trust, actions matter! “…people need to see trust in action more that they need to hear about it.” It’s only as leader’s act in a trustworthy manner, by example that trust is developed.

Without trust effective leadership is impossible. Consider the following:

Consider the four elements of trust how do you and other leaders in your organization rate?
What impact does this level of trust have on your ability to lead?
What action can you take this week to improve the level of trust?

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Are you a leader or just a boss?

30/8/2010

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I often find that many people confuse leadership with positional power. We tend to believe that a person in a position of authority or someone with a title has their position or title due to their leadership qualities. However, in many cases there is no correlation between someone’s position and their leadership ability.

Just having a title does not make you a leader, leaderships is about influence. Title only buys you time to exercise true leadership, and in this time your leadership either increases or diminishes and eventually fails. There is a huge difference between being a boss and being a leader…! Consider the following…

The boss drives group members; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says ‘I’; the leader says ‘we.’
The boss assigns the task, the leader sets the pace.
The boss says, ‘Get there on time’; the leader gets there ahead of time.
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss makes work a drudgery; the leader makes it a game.
The boss says, ‘Go’; the leader says, ‘Let’s go.’“

People follow the boss because they have to if they want to keep their jobs. People follow leaders because of who they are and were they are going. Too many leaders today rely on their position to lead. How about you?

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General Colin Powell's 13 Rules on Leadership

30/8/2010

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RULE #1

It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.

Anyone who coaches young men and women is inevitably going to do a few things wrong, lose some games, make some bad decisions, and have a few unfortunate incidents. It may seem trite to say, but no matter how disappointing the loss, the morning light will usher in new opportunities and challenges.

Our team is rarely as bad as we think in the moments immediately following a loss. The next morning will usually provide a more objective outlook and the confidence to make better choices.

RULE #2

Get mad, then get over it.

When we get upset, it is because we care about something. But we should not dwell on a negative experience too long. We are likely to find one loss turning into two or more... So, get upset, reprimand if need be. But then forget about it and move on, making sure to treat the young man or woman as we did before the errant incident.

RULE #3

Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

In order to be successful in the increasingly competitive world of sport, it is important to seriously question the old, comfortable ways of doing things. If we have been doing things simply because that is the way they have always been done, we should question ourselves. The old way may not be conducive to success.

Young teams will not progress without change, and the ability to change will be stifled by clinging to overly familiar ground.

RULE #4

It can be done.

Even when we cannot control the circumstances of a situation, we have the power to control our attitude. Exhibit a positive attitude, whether you are chasing that elusive conference championship or just trying to get your center to post up strong, and you will give your team a better chance to succeed.

RULE #5

Be careful whom you choose.

This is especially true in choosing people for your program. Having a "Yes-man" for an assistant may make life a little easier, but it will also make one of you redundant. Athletes with great skill but no sense of discipline or leadership may (or may not) win games, but will likely produce few championships.

RULE #6

Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.

There is a scene in the basketball movie "Hoosiers" that dramatically illustrates this point. Coach Norman Dale sees one of his best players re-injure a bad cut on his shoulder during a playoff game.

The coach has almost no bench and is behind late in the game in a hostile gym. He starts to leave the player in the contest, but after a moment of self-questioning, calls a time-out and removes the player.

There will always be adversity to face in the form of injuries, academic ineligibility, upset fans, etc. As professionals, we cannot allow them to distract us from making the right choices.

RULE #7

You can't make someone else's decisions. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.

If you are operating within the rules and have the support of your administration, make your own decisions and stick to them. This does not mean that you cannot ask for help when needed, but it is your program to run. Nor does it mean that every decision affecting your basketball programs is within your power to control. Certainly, you are in a position to motivate, advise, influence, and even persuade, but the reality is that the responsibility for others' choices belongs to them and you cannot take it from them.

RULE #8

Check small things.

The best coaches are masters of details. For example, Tara Vanderveer made her 1996 Olympic basketball team carry both home and road uniforms with them to every game just in case there was a discrepancy between the international team uniforms.

Coaches understand that games often hinge on things that fans may not even notice, such as a poorly set screen or improper footwork. Coaches also know that a powerful motion offense attack will not work without proper spacing and cutting. These are small things that often make the difference in whether or not the big things happen.

RULE #9

Share credit.

Nothing will discourage a person more than working very hard, achieving a worthwhile goal, and then having someone else (especially the leader) take all the credit. Coaches who like to believe that "We won because I coached good," or "We lost because they (the athletes) played bad," will start losing their athletes quickly. While it may be true that head coaches get too much of the blame when things go wrong, all those connected with the program including players, assistant coaches, managers, and the administration deserve credit when things are going right.

RULE #10

Remain calm. Be kind.

Basketball is a fast-moving game that requires anticipation. This can be very difficult for a coach to accomplish when he or she is excessively emotional or reactive. Coaches who stay calm will diminish their chances of saying or doing something they will regret.

RULE #11

Have a vision. Be demanding.

Truly dedicated coaches spend a lot of time watching film, working summer camps, attending clinics, watching college practices, and studying the game in as many ways as possible. They learn what they want the game and, ultimately, their program to look like. Without this type of overall vision, coaches have nothing for which to strive.

RULE #12

Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.

Coaches simply cannot please everyone. As the saying goes "Coaches who listen to the fans end up sitting beside them." In his book, The Fighting Spirit, Lou Holtz points out that in decision-making, leaders cannot let themselves flinch. Once a decision is made, coaches have to commit to it. The time to worry, (says Holtz, is when you are placing the bet, not after the dice has been thrown.

RULE #13

Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Enthusiasm is contagious. A positive can-do attitude among all the players increases their strength and abilities. As coaches, we can never know how much we influence the people we lead. The ripple effect of either our optimism or our pessimism can be enormous.

Joe Paterno believes that if you do not truly believe your team has a chance to win, you should not step into the locker room because the players will sense it.

General Powell says he would almost always choose to follow the unrealistic aspirations of an optimist than the often grim views of a realist.

Both the seasoned veterans of the coaching profession and the beginner must have a solid, well-grounded foundation upon which to build. As basketball coaches, we have to determine what works for us and commit to it.

These 13 rules, compliments of General Colin Powell, offer a great place to start.

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The surprising truth about what motivates us...

27/8/2010

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This video by Dan Punk provides a really insightful overview as to what motivates people. As leaders this is a critical considerations. Unless we can inspire and motivate people to follow and engage with the vision – leadership fails!

As was so effectively illustrated in this video, we tend to overly rely on monetary reward as the primary means to motivate people. Which can be a very blunt instrument. This is especially true of how we reward and motivate our leaders. high levels of monetary reward does not produce leadership! the best leaders are primarily motivated by purpose and mastery, rather than money.

What are your thoughts?

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A Leader develops friendship.

26/8/2010

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“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers and cities; but to know someone who thinks and feels with me, and who, through distant, is close to me in spirit, this makes the earth for me a inhabited garden.”
-Goethe

Success in life depends on the help and support of other people. No-one makes it alone.

Henry ford once said, “My best friend is the one that brings out the best in me”

Work hard at building successful relationships because without friendship, one is doomed to loneliness.

Value your friends and tell them you appreciate them. A friend is a island of safety where you feel secure and where communication is often without sound.

Don’t take a friend for granted. Remember a successful relationship is built on mutual trust and respect.

To gain friends become interested in other people instead of trying to get them interested in you. Be a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves. Smile often, it costs nothing but creates much – Dale Carnegie

The only way to have friends is to be one. Choose your friends for what they are and not what they have or what you can get from them. Friendship is not only doing something for someone, it is caring for someone, which is what everyone needs.

Dedicated to Richard. A True friend.

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A leader is a decision maker.

26/8/2010

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“The right man is one who seizes the moment.”
-Goethe

A leader is a person of action. To be a person of action you must master the art of decision-making.

Successful people tend to make decisions quickly and change them rarely, while unsuccessful people tend to make decisions slowly and change them often.

Successful leaders don’t have to come up with all the answers all the time, but they do have to be prepared to endorse them when necessary.

Once a decision is made, move forward. Look for the next challenge.

Leaders gather the facts. The most frequent mistake made is trying to decide before all the facts are known. While good leaders make decisions quickly, they must have as many facts as possible on which to base those decisions. Don’t rely on assumptions.

Assess the risk. What’s the worst thing that could happen as a result of the decision? What’s the best thing that could happen? Is it worth the risk?

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A leader has Humility.

24/8/2010

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“If I could see further than others, it was because I stood on the shoulder of Giants”
-Isaac Newton.

Humility is such an important characteristic in the life of a leader. Most people dislike and distrust those who are “full of themselves” no matter what there successes. However, all appreciate true humility.

So much of life’s frustration, pain and unhappiness comes because we make ourselves the centre of our lives. We insist on living motivated by a self-regard that throws life out of focus.

One of the surest evidences of greatness is a humble spirit. A humble person can neither be put down or exalted – they remain the same under all circumstances.

Leadership requires that men and women recognize what they have to do and get on with the job. They don’t expect recognition for every achievement.

True leadership happens when people want to see the work done and they care little about who gets credit. There are those who humility and seek more praise for there accomplishments, which gives them a greater assurance for there worth.

Leaders because of their nature, tend to have a blind spot. You may need a close advocate and trusted friend to give you feedback on how you are coming across to people. You are in a constant state of change, so leaders need constant appraisal.

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A leader has courage.

23/8/2010

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“Courage is the resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.”
-Mark Twain.

Courage is a way of expressing inner strength, presence of mind against odds, determination to “hang in there”, to venture, persevere and withstand hardship.

Courage is doing what your afraid to do. There can be no courage when you’re not scared.

Leadership is often a battle, and the fight requires courage. Having courage means you will do what you believe is right, regardless of the consequences.

Remember, people are counting on you – Your family, your organization, and your team. Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goals.

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A leader has wisdom

21/8/2010

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“Wisdom consists not so much in knowing what to do in the ultimate as in knowing what to do next.”
-Herbert Hoover.

Knowing can be memorized, wisdom is something that enables us to use knowledge correctly.

Wisdom resists group pressures, thinks for itself and is reconciled to use its own judgment. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or if you where handed a leadership role on a silver plate; everyone has to buy wisdom on a installment plan.

The person who thinks he knows everything has a lot to learn!

Wisdom is making the best use of knowledge. Develop the ability of discernment. The effective leader has an “insight” needed given for and given situation.

Insight is penetration into character or circumstances with understanding. The leader must develop the power of insight.

One of the tests of a leader is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.

The effective leader will develop a regular reading program. The more knowledge you obtain regarding your particular area if interest, the better you can apply wisdom as it is needed.

Gaining knowledge will give you the facts you need so that you will not freeze in making decisions.

Fear, doubt and worry will immobilize you from getting the job done. Reading and studying will help you overcome many problems and propel you to proceed.

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A leader has discipline.

20/8/2010

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“Discipline is the basic set of tools we need to solve life’s problems. Without discipline we can solve nothing. With only some discipline we can solve only solve some problems. With Total Discipline we can solve all problems.”

-Scott Peck.

In this world we either discipline ourselves or we discipline others.

Continual success cannot be achieved without discipline, persistence and determination. In sport it’s required to win the game, a captain needs discipline to run his ship and the student needs it to pass there exams and its mandatory for the leader to achieve their goals and dreams.

One of the greatest failures of our generation has been to understand the importance of discipline.

Very often people will reach a certain level of success and then plateau. They loose the will and fight. They need to go back to their roots, back to where they started, back to where it was really tough. They need the fight, the steel put back in their lives and the fire back into their bellies.

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A Leader has vision.

18/8/2010

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“We grow by dreams. All big men are dreamers. Some of us let dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through bad days..to the sunshine and light which always comes”
-Woodrow Wilson.

Vision is the key to understanding leadership. A real leader have never lost the childlike ability to dream.

The tragedy today is that we crush the ability of our children to dream by demanding they grow up to soon.

“The greatest tragedy to befall a person is to have sight but lack vision.”
-Helen Keller.

There is nothing that excites and motivates people like a vision to accomplish something special. Leadership is that unique ability to influence people to move toward goals that are beneficial and meet the group’s best interest.

Strong leadership of vision, coupled with faith in its efficacy, is a formidable combination. But confusion on leadership of the vision will result in diminished accomplishments. The vision, along with leadership, must be clear and concise.

Vision is a comprehensive sense of where you are, where you are going, how you are going to get there and what you will do when you arrive.

It’s dreaming dreams about the future. I is seeing the big picture and personally painting a part of it.

Vision is feeling challenged by the world and being compelled to make a mark on it through the force of your own ideas, personality, resources and desire.

But vision must be focused and specific. If it is too broad you will flounder and become discouraged. Set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound (SMART) goals otherwise you will become discouraged and discourage others.

Vision is blazing the campfire around which people will gather. It provides light, energy, warmth and unity. But too many people stand away in the shadows and refuse to come up to the fire and be part of the vision.

Vision starts very much out of attitude. Forget the cynics and pessimists. Those who can’t see beyond the first obstacle will always be around in abundance. But people of vision are not afraid to fail.

Three Vital components of vision are:

1). Vision creates power. The enthusiasm that comes from vision results in dynamic power. This then leads to greater productivity and feelings of productivity increase your feelings of self-esteem. Enthusiasm is produced from vision and the power from enthusiasm is the energy that drives every successful idea.

2). Great vision comes from being quiet, still, learning and developing and often alone. Every leader needs to spend time in solitude, reflecting and increasing his knowledge. In a quite place will come your best ideas.

3). Never allow your vision to escape you. Just as a fire will die without fuel so too will your vision and dreams unless you keep them constantly alive. Your vision should be so much part of you that you are living it day by day.

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Good leadership always makes a difference!

14/8/2010

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Good leadership always makes a difference!

Leadership is the willingness to put oneself a risk.
Leadership is the passion to make a difference with others.
Leadership is being dissatisfied with current reality.
Leadership is taking responsibility while others are making excuses.
Leadership is seeing the possibility in a situation while others are seeing limitations.
Leadership is the readiness to stand out in the crowd.
Leadership is an open minded and an open heart.
Leadership is the ability to submerge your ego for the sake of what is best.
Leadership is evoking in others the capacity to dream.
Leadership is inspiring others with a vision of what they can contribute.
Leadership is the power of one harnessing the power of many.
Leadership is your heart speaking to the hearts of others.
Leadership is the integration of heart, head and soul.
Leadership is the capacity to care, and in caring, to liberate the ideas, energy, and capacity of others.
Leadership is above all, courageous.

Lifting people to a new level is a requirement for effective leadership, the saying “its lonely at the top” is false in my opinion. Taking people to the top with them is what good leaders do. What kind of leader would leave everyone behind on their journey. If you separate yourself from your people you loose the feel for the pulse and feel on the floor.

Few leaders are successful unless a lot of people want them to be. No one ever got to a leadership role alone. Everyone needs a helping hand now and then.

Taking people with you is more for filling and pays dividends in time. A solo mountain climber has huge risk involved. Its much safer, enjoyable and likely for greater success if they have a guide supporting them by holding the rope below. If they slip or fall there is someone their to hold the rope. They work together as a team. The leader is finding and setting the path while his guide is supporting him along his journey. To help others up you must stoop down. To be successful you must be prepared to stoop.

Leadership is relational as much as it is positional. An individual who takes a relationship approach to leadership will never be lonely. If you are in a leadership role, do not rely on your title to convince people to follow you. Build relationships. Win people over. Do that and you will never be a lonely leader.

Consider your employees as teammates, partners in success. Work with your people and not enforce that they work for you, without them you cannot succeed. Without me they cannot succeed. We are a team. We reach our goals together. We need each other.

People working together for a common vision is an incredible experience. I was once privileged to sit amongst an orchestra while they played. The conductor asked each individual to play at their individual best and not worry or listen about others around them. As good as each individual person in the team is at his or her own individual skills; it wasn’t until they played as a team that the true experience was felt.

Our focus is on what we are trying to achieve together, not on hierarchies or professional distance or the preservation of power.

Never climb the mountain alone. Make sure that the team make it to the top together. Some people you invite along for the climb may overtake you and eventually climb higher that you do. If you where there to give them a hand in there journey someday they may return the favor and pull you up with them.

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People quit people not companies.

13/8/2010

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How many people have ever quit a job because of a bad leader or a bad relationship at work? My guess is almost everyone at one stage has been through this.

People join a company for many reasons. Perhaps the vision of the organization resonates with them. Or they believe the company holds great opportunities for them. It could be the financial package been offered. Or they admire the company’s leaders.

But when someone leaves an organization, chances are they have something in common. Their desire to leave and go to “greener pastures” is often motivated by the need to get away from someone.

The reality is that the leader is often the root of this person wanting to leave. The company does not usually do anything negative to them to make them consider leaving. People do…

So what type of people do employers quit?

1.    People quit People who devalue them.

We all want to feel appreciated. Regular positive feedback makes people feel appreciated and valued. They feel as if they are contributing to the organization and they have a sense of value. Its impossible to add value to someone we devalue! Find the value n the people who work for you. Praise them for there contribution.

2.    People quit people who are untrustworthy.

Trust in a leader is essential if people are going to follow that person over time. People must experience the leader is believable, credible and trustworthy. Trust is established when words and deeds are congruent. People loose trust in their leader when they display the following:
·      Acting inconsistently in what they say and what they do.
·      Seeking personal gain above sharing gain.
·      Withholding information.
·      Lying or telling half-truths
·      Being closed-minded.

The best way for a leader to maintain trust are:
·      Maintain integrity.
·      Openly communicate their vision and values.
·      Show respect for fellow employees as equal partners.
·      Focus on shared goals more than their personal agendas
·      Do the right thing regardless of personal risk.

Building and maintaining trust as a leader is a matter of integrity and communication. If you don’t want people to quit you, you need to be consistent, open, and truthful.

3.    People quit people who are incompetent.

Everyone wants to feel that their leader can handle the job. Leaders need to inspire confidence, and they do that, not with charisma, but with competence. When leaders are incompetent they take the focus from the vision of the organization and place it on themselves. Productivity declines, moral suffers and positive momentum becomes impossible. People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. If this is not the case they quit and find someone else-somewhere else.

4.    People quit people who are insecure.

Some leaders desire for power, position and recognition comes out in an obvious display of fear, suspicion, distrust or jealousy. Exceptional leaders develop their people and work themselves out of a job. Insecure leaders don’t train or coach their people to reach their potential and be more successful than they are. If they see someone working to overtake them they see this as a threat. People want to work for leaders who fire them up, not people who put out their fire. They want mentors who will help them reach their potential and succeed.

Start to:
1.     Take responsibility for the relationships you have with others.
2.     When people leave do an exit interview and discover the reasons why they are leaving. Its always difficult to move forward in darkness.
3.     Put a high value on those who work for you. It’s wonderful when people believe in their leader, it more wonderful when a leader believes in the people.
4.     Put the 4 H on top of your leadership list. http://www.whamond.net/4/category/honesty/1.html
·      Honor
·      Honesty
·      Humor
·      Humility
5.     Recognize that your positive emotional health creates a secure environment for people.
6.     Nurture peoples passion for personal growth

One of the worst things that can happen to a organization is that it starts to loose its best people. When this happens, don’t blame it on the company, the market, the economy or the competition. Blame it on the leader

Never forget:

People quit people not companies.

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Those 20 Key Habits that Hold You Back

9/8/2010

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What habits could you stop that are holding you back from getting to the top?

1. Winning too much: the need to win at all costs and in all situations - when it matters, when it doesn't, and when it's totally beside the point.

2. Adding value: the overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.

3. Passing judgment: the need to rate others and impose our standards on them.

4. Making destructive comments: the needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.

5. Starting with "No," "But," or "However": the overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone, "I'm right. You're wrong."

6. Telling the world how smart you are: the need to show people we're smarter than they think we are.

7. Speaking when angry: using emotional volatility as a management tool.

8. Negativity, or "Let me explain why that won't work": the need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren't asked.

9. Withholding information: the refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.

10. Failing to give proper recognition: the inability to praise and reward.

11. Claiming credit that we don't deserve: the most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.

12. Making excuses: the need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.

13. Clinging to the past: the need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.

14. Playing favorites: failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.

15. Refusing to express regret: the inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit we're wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.

16. Not listening: the most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.

17. Failing to express gratitude: the most basic form of bad manners.

18. Punishing the messenger: the misguided need to attack the innocent who are usually only trying to help us.

19. Passing the buck: the need to blame everyone but ourselves.

20. An excessive need to be "me": exalting our faults as virtues simply because they"re who we are.

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7 Steps to Leadership Self-Confidence

8/8/2010

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One key factor in leadership success is self-confidence.

1. Decide if you really want to be a leader. In some cases, brilliant technical experts or Sales people should continue to be brilliant in their field - and not feel obligated to become managers.

2. Make peace with ambiguity in decision making. There are usually no clear right answers when making complex business decisions. Even CEOs are guessing.

3. Gather a reasonable amount of data, involve people, then follow your gut and do what you think is right.

4. Accept the fact that you are going to fail on occasion. All humans do.

5. Have fun! Life is short. Why should you expect your direct reports to demonstrate positive enthusiasm, if they don't see it in you?

6. Once you make a decision, commit and go for it. Don't continually second guess yourself. If you have to change course, you have to change course. If you never commit, all you will ever do is change course.

7. Demonstrate courage on the outside, even when you don't feel it on the inside. We are all afraid on occasion -- that is just part of being human. If you are going to lead people in tough times, you will need to show more courage than fear. When direct reports read worry and concern on the face of a leader, they begin to lose confidence in the leader's ability to lead.

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Tips for Efficient Succession Planning

8/8/2010

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Many of the Manager express concern about the lack of bench strength in their companies. They are very worried that they lack sufficient "ready now" candidates to replace planned & unplanned losses of key leaders. As a result, the future continuity and performance of the business is at risk. Here are some practical ideas on how you can get more impact from your organization's succession planning efforts.

Measure outcomes, not process

This change of emphasis is important for several reasons. First, executives pay attention to what gets measured and what gets rewarded. If leadership development is not enough of a priority for the company to establish goals and track progress against those goals, it will be difficult to make any succession planning process work. Second, the act of engaging with senior executives to establish these goals will build support for succession planning and ownership for leadership development. Third, these results will help guide future efforts and mid-course corrections.

The metrics a company could establish for Succession Development might include goals like the percent of executive level vacancies that are actually filled with an internal promotion vs. an external hire, or the percent of promotions that actually come from the high-potential pool. Too often, companies measure only the percent of managers that had completed succession plans in place.

Keep it simple.

Companies sometimes ad excessively complex assessment criteria to the succession planning process in an effort to improve the quality of the assessment. Some of these criteria are challenging even for behavioral scientists to assess, much less the average line manager. Since the planning process is only a precursor to focus the development, it doesn't need to be perfect. More sophisticated assessments can be built into the development process and administered by a competent coach.

Stay realistic.

While development plans and succession charts aren't promises, they are often communicated as such and can lead to frustration if they aren't realistic. Bottom line, don't jerk around high performing leaders with unrealistic development expectations. Only give the promise of succession if there is a realistic chance of its happening!

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8/8/2010

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Winners like to work with winners; losers like to work with winners; but winners don't like to work with losers. Who are the losers? Ironically, many times it's not those who are performing at a sub-par level; they often can be coached and supported in ways that help them improve their productivity.

More frequently, it's those who violate the norms of the organization and can't manage by the values shared by others. In the context of the organization and its culture, they are regarded as "Jerks" (or similar more flavored descriptions) by their colleagues ... jerks who are tolerated because of the ability to "make the numbers." But most often, the "losers" are simply those who are not inspired and excited about the business, who go about performing the necessary but not the extra.

Now is the time to let go of the losers, thereby raising the average level of talent in the organization. That doesn't mean a freeze on hiring, however. Instead, it may be a great time to take advantage of a depressed talent market by making a few strategic hires of long-sought candidates from competitors or other organizations.

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Favourite quotes and Axioms

8/8/2010

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If it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid.
The things that get measured are the things that get done
You cant manage time! You can only manage priorities and behaviors.
Stop putting personal preferences ahead of organizational effectiveness.
If your not fired with Enthusiasm, then you will be fired; with enthusiasm.
Good judgment comes from experience; Experience comes from bad judgment.
Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand.
No person can be a great leader unless he takes genuine interest in the
successes of those under them.
The best leaders not only lead but also reflect on their leadership long enough to articulate what philosophies cause them to do so. They can pinpoint the rationale for their actions and decisions with ease.
Real time coaching: if you notice something going awry on your team members, try to figure out a way to question or coach someone right there on the spot. While this approach seems time consuming in the moment, it has long term payoffs that are hard to beat.
A manager is responsible for the application and performance of knowledge. Drucker quote.
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Drucker quote
Checking the results of a decision against its expectations shows executives what their strengths are, where they need to improve, and where they lack knowledge or information. Druker Quote.
Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things. Drucker quote.
Executives owe it to the organization and to their fellow workers not to tolerate non performing individuals in important jobs.
Management by objective works - if you know the objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don't.
Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility. Drucker quote.
The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.
The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different.
The purpose of a business is to create a customer.
Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes... but no plans.
Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile.
Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.
In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.
One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
Leaders are failing to build trust with those who need their direction and guidance, and as a result, they don't follow. A high level of trust is critical to leadership success, and yet so many leaders fail to build trust, despite all the training they have been given.
Leaders are responsible for creating an environment that will bring out the best in their people.
It's difficult for passion to co-exist with discouragement.
Lack of employee engagement is like a cancer, eating away at your organizations vital organs. It saps your organizations strength, directly affecting your organizations ability to achieve the levels of customer satisfaction, productivity and profitability you know you could achieve.
When employees feel connected to the purpose and vision of the organization, they have a clear connection between what they do and the success of their organization in fulfilling its purpose.

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Tips for Efficient Succession Planning

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