Leaders, Are You Working Yourself Out of A Job?

Before I get to the meat of this blog, let's level set and make sure we understand your role in developing others.

I believe, as a leader, you should always be working yourself out of a job.

Probably lost a few readers with that comment but oh well, if you are sticking it out and still reading, let me explain.  Leadership, at it's very foundation, requires the ability to lead, guide, and direct.  You are no longer responsible for "getting things done" alone.  You are responsible for getting things accomplished through a team.    One of the biggest challenges leaders have is the transition from doing everything to teaching and empowering others to accomplish greatness.   The only way this can happen is through development.  

Wouldn't it be nice to take a vacation without your blackberry or laptop?  Wouldn't it be amazing to have the confidence that your team can handle virtually any situation while you are out of town on business for a few days?  

Leadership is not about control, it's about letting go and empowering others to learn, grow, and develop.  And most of the time that learning and growing includes a few mistakes.  


As I've mentioned in other blog posts, if you are so good that you do actually work yourself out of a job - never fear because your skill set will be in high demand within the organization and industry.  There aren't enough leaders that actually lead others to greatness yet it's what every organization aspires for in their leaders.  


Let's jump into some quick tips on how to accomplish this feat.


Develop Yourself First
It always starts with you.  It's kind of like how the flight attendant says "In case of loss of cabin pressure, put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others."  Remember, you are the leader and are responsible for setting the example.  Reading blogs like this is one way to develop yourself.  Here is are a few more suggestions.

• Ask your supervisor for direct and honest feedback (and be prepared and open to accepting it).
• Ask your team members for direct and honest feedback.  
• How can I help you to become the best you can be?
• What could I do to help our team accomplish this goal?
• What should I do more of/less of?
• Read (or listen to) books on leadership, development, delegation, motivating, change management.
• Attend training sessions your organization provides or seek out relevant public seminars.  
• Ask your peers for specific feedback.  Specific is a key word here.

Developing Others
Now that you are working on your own development, let's talk about some quick tips to help your team.  

• Be visible and provide immediate feedback regarding behaviors and actions.  This includes both positive and corrective feedback.  The best way to develop and learn is not by taking a class.  It's by doing and getting real time feedback regarding performance and behaviors.  
• Delegate - give them an opportunity to make mistakes and when those mistakes happen, turn them into learning experiences instead of mass fear.  "What could we have done differently?"  "How do you think you did with that project?"  
• Ask team members about their passion and find a way to incorporate it into their daily work.  I have a great story on this.  Years ago I worked for a leader that asked me this question.  I told her one day I wanted to be an independent consultant.  From then on, she found a way to integrate that into my work.  When I had a problem situation she would ask "If you were a consultant, what would your recommendation be regarding this issue?"  It was genius and my passion for my work increased ten fold.
• Care.  Care about their future, their development, and their goals and make sure they see that you care.  
• Expect them to care.  There is nothing wrong with telling them that you are willing to help them get where they want to be but you expect them to care enough to do the work to get there.
• Narrow the focus.  It's much more difficult for someone to work on 10 things this year than one or two.  Figure out the two big development opportunities that will have the greatest impact and keep the focus on those two skills/competencies.  

This of course is not all-inclusive.  It's a blog post, not a book on development.  Come back to find more on this topic in future weeks and if you have a specific issue you are dealing with please, leave your question below and let's get you some feedback.

Mari

Tebow as a Leader

I have to admit right up front that I'm not a football fanatic.  I don't even really watch football.  But a friend of mine (thanks Cindy!) was recently telling me about Tim Tebow so being the researcher I am, I went out and researched everything I could find on Tim Tebow.  I pretty much viewed every video and read every article possible.  Isn't the internet a great thing?  Now, I understand my perspective is somewhat limited as I haven't personally met Tim Tebow but I have to tell you, this guy is a fascinating case on leadership which is what this blog is about.  And he actually makes me want to watch football.  So, let's analyze Tim Tebow as a leader.

From everything I can find on Tim Tebow, he consistently demonstrates the following leadership qualities.

• Courage
• Passion
• Perseverance
• Character
• Humility
• Teamwork
• Desire to win
• Continuous Improvement
• Authenticity

I'm not saying he's perfect.  He's 24 years old so he obviously still has a great deal to learn.  That being said however, if more leaders had even a little bit more of the courage Tim Tebow so readily displays, they would be much better leaders.  

This blog would be extremely long if I talked about each of the items listed above so for the sake of brevity, I'm going to pick Courage, Perseverance, and Teamwork.

Courage

First and foremost, anyone that is willing to get on a football field with a group of the strongest and most powerful men in the world has to have a great deal of courage.  Tim Tebow's courage goes beyond the norm.  As the quarterback he is tasked with making decisions and executing on those decisions in real time, in front of millions of viewers.  

I'm not sure how many corporate executives have the stomach to make such tough decisions.  

Regardless of your religious affiliation or beliefs you can't deny that Tim Tebow's public display of personal faith requires great courage.  Can you imagine the amount of criticism he received from his peers on a public high school team, then college, and now the NFL.  He continues to be criticized for "tebowing" yet he never waivers in his demonstration of his beliefs.  

Compare that to the corporate leader afraid to speak up during a meeting because others may not agree with his/her position.

Perseverance

Regardless of the struggle, Tim Tebow seems to have been overcoming obstacles from the moment he was born.  Doctors advised his mother to abort him due to medical complications.  She was in a coma for a period of time while pregnant.  In high school he broke his leg (fibula) during a game and continued to play the entire second half.  Nobody knew his leg was broken until after the game. Oh, and rushed for a 29 yard touchdown with that broken leg.  

And we complain about working long hours and being stalled on our initiatives or unable to convince others to buy in to our vision.

Teamwork

 "They make me look better than I am."  - Tim Tebow

He is quick to give the team credit for all victories and fully comprehends that without the team, he is nothing.  The quarterback automatically receives the glory for wins yet in interview upon interview, Tim first credits Jesus and then the team.  That is not only a demonstration of teamwork, it is a demonstration of character, courage, and humility but I'll save all that for a future post.

Let's learn a lesson from Tim Tebow and apply it to a corporate setting or even our personal lives. 

Maybe this week we can all implement a little courage in our day and make the tough decisions we've been putting off or stand up for a strong belief.

Let's demonstrate perseverance in the face of obstacles - whether they be customer obstacles, product obstacles, peer obstacles,family obstacles, or personal learning obstacles.  We need to quit being so quick to give up and more willing to stick it out and work a little harder.

And let's make sure to give credit to the team for all they do to make us look good. 

I know reading about Tim Tebow made me want to be a better person.  If a 24 year old can demonstrate these qualities, surely I can too.  If nothing else, that statement alone demonstrates his power as a leader.  

Mari

Need More Time at Work? Develop Your People!

As a leader, your primary responsibility is to execute on the goals of the organization while inspiring your team members to excellence.


Some leaders seem to get confused and think they are personally responsible for executing on the goals so they work extremely long hours while their team members put in minimal effort and have minimal motivation.  Your goal should be to develop your team members to the point that they don't need you.


"What??!! You ask!  Don't need me?  Then I won't have a job! "


This way of thinking is amazing to me.  There are many, many leaders who seem to believe if they impart too much knowledge on an employee that makes them (i.e. the leader) less valuable.  Let me provide an alternative perspective.


If you are THAT good as a leader, so good that your people are developing, growing, thriving, passionate, energized, and capable, don't you think your organization is going to want to find another role for you?  I can tell you it is a rare leader that is that good.  If you accomplish this goal, there will be no shortage of opportunities for you.


The question then becomes how do I develop my people?  And following is a very brief list of how to get started.

1.  Involve them in the process.  Ask your employees what tasks they would like to be doing.  Ask them where they would like to be professionally in five years. And then set your sights on finding a way to help them get there.
2.  Utilize alternative work assignments.  Projects and different tasks are an excellent way to develop others.
3.  Let go.  This is a big one.  In order to develop others you have to give some of your work up.  Delegate more.  Quit trying to do it all.  Let them make a few mistakes (within reason of course) and focus on learning from them.  

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything.
 I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.

John Wooden

4.  Encourage your employees to take on more than they know they can.  You are the leader and part of your job is to bring out the best in your people.  This often requires bringing out the parts in them they don't even know exist.  Have confidence and challenge them to excel.  


By taking a few steps in the direction of development your life could become so much easier.  It does require you to let go, trust, and spend more time developing others than doing the work yourself.  


Mari

Helping An Employee Exit

Although I personally believe managers either jump to this conclusion too quickly or they wait too long, there are times we have to help an employee exit an organization.  Before you make this decision however; you should read my blog post regarding the three reasons people don't do what you want.  Although some of that information will be repeated here it would be beneficial to read the entire blog post.  And although I thought the image would get your attention, this should NEVER happen via post it note, text message, or any other non-confrontational way.

So, let's say you have a problem employee and you've decided it's time to let them go.  If you were to call me as your HR resource, I would ask a few questions first.  To save you the phone call, I"ll just ask now.  

1.  What's the employee doing (or not) that warrants termination?

2.  How long has this problem been happening?

3.  How do you know it's a problem?  What facts (not rumors) do you have?

4.  What does your policy book (if you have one) say about this particular behavior and what disciplinary action will be taken (i.e. are you following your own policies)?

And the final question is the clincher, it's the big kahuna, the one that stumps most managers.

5.  Have you clearly articulated to the employee that this is a problem, what your expectations are relative to this behavior, and given them an opportunity to change?

The first four questions are fairly self-explanatory so I'll just briefly touch on an explanation.  If you don't have facts of some sort that means someone could be losing their job based on rumor and perceptions.  That's not really fair is it?  And there is a clear distinction between an issue that has been repetitvely occuring for the past six months and a one time offense.  Of course there are situations when a one time offense is enough to warrant termination (i.e. sex in the office, bringing a gun to work, theft) but there are clearly many times when you should have a very frank discussion with the individual and give them an opportunity to excel.  

Sometimes people have quit but they've forgotten to tell you.  

These are the people with little to no motivation, seemingly unhappy, and those that have had the benefit of frank conversations but choose to ignore it.  

More often than not however; people are blindsighted because leaders, quite frankly, don't have the courage to have the difficult conversation.  

Getting back to number 5.  I underlined a few words here and want to focus on those phrases.

Clearly Articulated - This means direct, honest, straight forward feedback.  "You are doing X, cut it out.  Example:

"Yelling at our customers is unacceptable (i.e. this is a problem).  It needs to stop now (i.e. my expectations).  I'm putting you on notice that if I witness or receive one more customer complaint, you will be terminated (i.e. consequences)."

"Work starts at 8 am.  You've been late 5 times in the past month.  It must stop now (i.e. this is a problem). Be here at 8 am.  If you have a situation preventing you from being here on time, call me before 8 a.m (i.e. my expectations). If you are late again, you will be suspended without pay for 3 days (i.e. consequences)."

Clearly articulated does NOT mean bury the comment in the middle of a bunch of fluff to make them feel good about getting talked to.  They should leave the conversation with absolutely no question regarding what needs to change.  Just to be sure you might end the conversation with "I want to make sure I"ve been clear.  What is your understanding about the problem, my expectations, and the consequences?"  

Clearly articulated does NOT mean have a staff meeting and tell everyone the new policy and hope the problem employee heard it.  It means a one-on-one conversation with the employee having the problem.  

Clearly articulated does NOT mean you handed them a policy book when they started employment three years ago and it clearly states they need to be on time.  Again, it means a one-on-one conversation with the employee having the problem, stating your expectations, and the consequences.


The reality is there are times people want to leave they just aren't ready to tell you.  If you have clearly articulated your expectations, listed the consequences, and given them an opportunity to change their behavior yet they still ignore you, it's time to help them out the door - professionally, courteously, and kindly.  And NOT with a post it note or text message!

Are You Connecting With Your Team?

It seems leaders are often so busy attending meetings and doing work that they forget the core purpose of their position - to lead.

They forget their primary purpose is to lead, guide, and direct.

They forget their people are hungry for their feedback and attention.

They forget to pay attention to the confused look on Sally's face or the look of concern Bob has had for the past week.

They forget to notice that people don't seem as happy.

They forget about the people until they realize the numbers aren't what they used to be.

In essence, they are so busy managing the activities that they forget to connect with their people.

We are "human beings" and a work place is a place to work however; these people give up a huge chunk of their lives (time) to contribute.  Don't they deserve the basic decency of connection from their leader?

I understand the frenetic pace many of you keep.  I also understand that first and foremost, your primary responsibility is to lead others.  In order to do that, you must make time to connect with your people.  Have them walk with you and talk on your way to a meeting if necessary.  They deserve that time from you.  They deserve your attention.  And the bonus is you will feel good and learn more about what is going on within your team.

Are You Getting Others Excited About the Change?

“Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times” - Machiavelli

Machiavelli died in 1527 yet these words of wisdom still hold to be so true. Our times require constant change. We know the change must happen.  The question becomes are you, the leader, able to communicate the change in a compelling way?

 

Get Me Excited Please!

There is nothing more exciting than listening to a leader that has passion and a clearly articulated vision for the future (Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech comes to mind). 

Merely the fact that I wrote the former sentence indicates it doesn’t happen enough.

Leaders at all levels of an organization can and should be able to communicate a vision worthy of people wanting to follow.  If you can’t get excited about your vision, how can I (i.e. the employee)?

Too often, leaders, faced with implementing a change gather the group in a staff meeting and tiredly, almost dejectedly say something to the effect of  “I know you don’t like changing things but we need to do this.  It’s gonna be great.”  Oh boy, that makes me want to run right out there and get on board. 

If leaders realized that all change, even the small process changes, if communicated with passion and a vision, could be implemented faster, easier, and with less resistance, maybe they would put forth a little more effort in crafting an appropriate communication message.  It’s like a magic pill really. 

As John P. Kotter asserted some 10 years ago, “The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades” – John P. Kotter

What is a Vision Anyway?

Sometimes I wonder if leaders get “hung up” because they think they are just sharing information and aren’t really communicating a vision.  Regardless of whether you are sharing the overarching corporate vision or just the vision of a particular project, there should be a vision or an end result. 

In his book on Leading Change, John Kotter describes a vision as an “imaginable picture of the future”. 

Let’s break down that statement. 

Imaginable - To invoke an adequate amount of passion the vision has to be realistic yet a stretch considering the current state.   

Picture - Paint me a picture.  Help me to see where we could be.  What will it look like if we accomplish this?  What will it feel like? Who will be a part of this vision? Why should I get excited about it?

Future - Businesses generally implement change because there is a perception the change will add some sort of value.  This isn’t always the case.  Sometimes change happens due to circumstances or an economic change.     Regardless of the change, as the leader, you have to wrap your head around why this change is good and how it’s going to help the team and/or the organization in the long run.  They look to you for leadership.  

Leadership, at its very core is leading others to a new destination.

Now that we know what a vision is, let’s discuss how to communicate that vision.

Communicating the Vision

So many of the problems in the work place stem back to a lack of communication.  Here are a few things I know about people regarding communication:

In the absence of information, people make up their own.

People interpret the information provided differently based on their frame of reference, experiences, and interpretation of the words communicated.

Just keeping in mind those two points, it’s amazing we are able to communicate at all.  The good news is, effective and compelling communication is possible and we see it every day.  

I’m not going to cover the basics of public speaking but I am going to discuss the steps to communicating a compelling vision.

1. Make the case for change (why do we need to change)
2.  Paint a picture of how it could be (i.e. future state).
3. Tell me what this means for me (How will this change affect me personally). 
4. Tell me what I need to do right now.
5.  Keep me informed along the way (critical step). 

It’s really that easy.  It doesn’t matter whether you are letting the group know you’ve hired a new leader, you’re implementing a new performance management system, or your company is being acquired.  Regardless of the change, if you ensure every communication message includes these five points your team members will have the information necessary to help implement the change.  Let’s try an example regarding implementing a new computer software program in the accounting area.

1. Case for Change - As you all know, the year end process is cumbersome, time consuming, and very stressful for all of you.  You end up working extra hours for two months and I know this takes away from your family time.
2.  Paint a Picture - Wouldn't it be great if we had a system in place that didn't require all the additional work?  What if we had a system that was set up to run these reports routinely?  With technology the way it is today, we can implement a system that does the extra work for us.  Can you imagine how nice it would be to have the information you need at your fingertips and be able to work normal hours again?
3. What does this mean to me? – The system we are going to implement will do those things for us.  We do have to do some work at the front end in order to get it working the way we need to.  For a couple of weeks I’m going to ask for extra work from some of you.  And others are going to be asked to perform tasks that aren't a normal part of your job.  We all have to work together to get it up and running.  Within 30 days you should all be back to working normal hours again.  There may be a few changes regarding how you do your job because the system will now perform some of the tasks we do manually.  Let me be clear, everyone still has a job and will continue to have a job although some of your duties may change. 
4. What do I need to do now? – Right now I just need your positive attitude about this change and commitment to get it done.  Can I count on your help?
5.  Keep Me Informed – We will meet weekly to check on the progress of this implementation and notify you of any additional changes along the way.  That’s my commitment to you. 

See, not so tough huh?  Just take the time to craft a message and use notes if necessary.  It can’t possibly hurt can it?

Mari