Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Humility - A Leader Quality

When it comes to leadership, knowledge without application is useless.  Leadership is not what you do, it is who you are.  Put simply, leadership is influencing others for good, moving others to take action, and inspiring your team to be the best they can be.  It is not about being the boss or being a good manager.

Trust is at the heart of any honest relationship.  It is what builds teams quickly, reassures customers, and propels organizations forward.  Are you 100% certain your team would say YOU have a trusted leadership style?  Humility is the first pillar of a leader whom others will trust.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines humility as “not proud or haughty.” Being humble means you, as the leader, are favored but not full of yourself.  Put another way…Drop Your Ego.

Humility requires you to examine who you are and what you have become.  It focuses the attention away from you and places it on team members.  The opposite of being humble is being prideful.  Let’s put context around the proud leader.

A proud leader is:
• self-focused.
• close minded.
• critical.

How to Become a Humble Leader

1. Be teachable.
Researcher Ellen Van Velsor (Center for Creative Leadership) found, “If things are going to continue to change, the one thing companies need above all else is people who have the ability to learn.” Change is the constant in life.  You can become an active learner by:
• Taking time to reflect.
• Regularly seeking feedback.
• Having a wide range of interests.
• Learning from other people’s failures and successes.

2. Be flexible.
Rather than being controlling, learn how to be effective without being in control.  You cannot control people or circumstances.  This may seem counter-intuitive but the more you loosen your grip, the more you gain.  The more flexibility you can build into yourself, the more you succeed.

3. Welcome change.
Change = growth.  But, not all change is good.  You need to determine the right change which is developed by being open and teachable.  Humble leaders are not afraid of personal change.  Seek to improve yourself and your team because change is the path to progress.

Leadership guru, Warren Bennis summed up his work by saying that “leadership is character in action.” Researchers have determined that personality is fixed by the age of six, and anyone can take a simple inventory to determine his or her personality profile.  Character, on the other hand, is your moral maturity, your developed moral muscles, and commitment to doing the right thing even when you don’t feel like it.

It takes persistence and commitment to build your character and leadership skills.  My wish is that you will discover you no longer have to try to be a good leader because you will have become a good leader.

Until next time...Lead like you mean it!
Marjorie

Posted on 08/31/10 at 02:20 PM
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Do You Need Heart to Lead Effectively?

The other day I thought I was having a heart attack – difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, sweating.  (Being a bit of a Drama Queen runs in the family.) Truth be told, it was a stress-induced panic attack over the sheer volume of work I need to complete this month.  And, it got me thinking how incredibly important your heart is; not just physically but in your leadership role.

As a leader, you may believe that your experience, knowledge or skills are the most important component of your leadership.  Not necessarily so.  There are numerous examples throughout history – from King Solomon to President Obama – where you see that the heart is your authentic self; the core of your being.  It is that part of you that makes you, you.

The heart is your inner being where your dreams, your desires, and your passions live.  It is the part of you that connect with other people.  It is also the most important leadership tool you have.

Robert E. Staub in his book, “The Heart of Leadership: 12 Practices of Courageous Leaders,” identifies four chambers that make up the heart of every true leader: competency, intimacy, integrity, passion.  You pump POSSIBILITY into every person and every project.  Possibility is what keeps the organization alive.

Your team can survive without your experience, your knowledge, or your skills.  Yes, these are important but not essential.  What they cannot survive is your lack of heart.  When it stops functioning, your team begins to die.

Let’s make this practical.  Have you lost your leadership heart?  Let’s check.  Are you:
• distant and aloof.
• disconnected from people.
• not communicating.
• allowing team members to fend for themselves.
• focusing on what people are doing wrong.
• being critical and demanding.

If so, you have lost heart, possibility dries up, and your organization begins to die.

How to Open a Closed Heart

1. Become aware and discern the condition of your own heart.

Ask yourself, “Where is my focus right now?”

Are you grieving over a past loss?  Regretting how you handled a situation?  Worried about something that has not happened yet?  Regardless, if you are thinking on these things, then you are not focused on the present moment.

2. Become disciplined about keeping your heart open.

You always have a choice so feel free to lead with a closed heart, but understand that choice will crumble a team quickly.  You may have to force yourself to continuously think about what is possible.  If forcing yourself is what it takes, then visualize yourself doing so.  It’s a step in the right direction.

Becoming disciplined to opening your heart allows you to:
• be fully present and accessible.
• reconnect with the team.
• open up communication.
• become a resource.
• focus on what is missing; not on who is wrong.
• encourage team members to see the potential in themselves.

Leaders, especially, need to find the balance between leading with their head and leading with their heart.  It matters that you lead with both because it will have a tangible impact on your team.  Pumping possibility through your team – maintaining an open heart – is the most important thing you can do as a leader.  Do it well.

Until next time...Lead like you mean it!
Marjorie

Posted on 08/24/10 at 02:15 PM
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Create Magical Moments For Your Team

After touchdown in Orlando last week, the pilot gave the usual Welcome-to-the-City spiel but this time with a twist.  He ended the broadcast with, “Enjoy your stay in the happiest place on earth.  Have a magical day!” Those few words set the stage for my interactions during the next 24-hours.

If you’ve ever been to the Magic Kingdom, you will immediately associate those two sentences with a Disney Experience.  An experience where all cast members (employees) are trained to create moments of magic.  And, they are held accountable every day, in every role, on every shift.  At Disney, magical moments are deliberate actions that exceed guest expectations throughout the entire park.

Create Team Magical Moments

How can the Disney guest experience translate into your team?  The premise is pretty straight-forward:

• Anticipate needs, wants, and desires before team members ask.
• Actively look for ways to help.
• Take an interest in individuals beyond the scope of their job.
• Be a learning resource for each person on the team.

Simply – do the unexpected.  Provide something extraordinary that a team member would not anticipate during the normal course of their day.

The key to creating magical moments, however, is to ALWAYS be consistent.  You are being consistent in how you serve every person on the team, how you make decisions, how you solve problems, and how you communicate to team members.  It is with your consistent behavior that the magical moments become part of your team culture.

Practical Magical Moment Ideas

• Always exceed expectations.  For example, if you promise a deadline by 4pm, always deliver an hour earlier.
• Remember significant events.  Become known for remembering a significant milestone for each team member.  For example, their birthday or anniversary.
• Create a signature impression.  For example, hand-written notes mailed to their home, ice-cream sandwiches every day it’s over 95-degrees, or lunch on their first day with your team.

The ideas are limited only to your imagination, however, you must be willing to invest your time and provide each staff member the same experience without fail.

Walt Disney said, “There is no magic in magic; it’s all in the details.”

Remember the details and always deliver your best performance.

Until next time...Lead like you mean it!
Marjorie

Posted on 08/18/10 at 02:11 PM
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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Getting Heard on Your Team

Depending on how large your team is, it might take some time for you to find your “voice” and get heard by other team members.  It may seem even more daunting if you are new to the team.

When you were recruited – either to the company or a particular department team – you were probably told, “We want you to bring fresh ideas to the group.” In theory, it sounds good.  In reality, “bring fresh ideas” is code for CHANGE.

Not many folks like change; especially when it comes from someone unknown.  Some peers may have heard of your reputation and results but, most likely, none worked with you directly to vouch for your credibility.

What ends up happening is:
1. You are frustrated because team members don’t see your value.
2. They are frustrated because you don’t have their historical perspective.

How to Get Heard

If you are a new team member:

• seek background information on the issue before speaking.
• be willing to take on the challenge in spite of naysayers.
• question policies, procedures, service levels, etc because long-term team members may have become complacent over time.

If you are a senior team member:

• be open to listening to new ideas from outside your department or organization.
• focus on team goals rather than defending your own position or biases.
• make a sincere connection with the new person to get to know them.

In Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, John Maxwell writes: 
“Connecting is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.”

Where does change begin?  With people.  The key to making changes by getting heard is to find common ground.  And, that happens when all team members strive to make genuine connections.

You can make a difference for the people on your team.  When you connect with them, the team accomplishes great things.

Until next time...Lead like you mean it!
Marjorie

Posted on 08/03/10 at 02:07 PM
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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Team Player Tops Job Skills

Marisa Keegan, Fistful of Talent blog, wrote this statement about the age-old debate of whether it’s best to hire for attitude or skills:

“[I]f you’re like most companies out there who think you care about what your customers want, I’m challenging you to see your company through your customers’ eyes.  Are you really giving them the service that will keep them coming back for more?  If not, it’s time to re-evaluate your hiring practices and maybe it’s time to ... start hiring for attitude instead of talent.”

In the September issue of Guitar Player there is a poll on the top attributes bands (think, businesses) are looking for in band members (think, employees).  Here are the results:

TEAM PLAYER 53.55%
Good Personality 23.50%
Chops 10.66%
Ambition 6.01%
(Remaining stats are specific to the music industry.)

Repeatedly, there is growing evidence that being a team player trumps hiring for skills.

Yes, you need to ensure every team member is competent at their job but don’t stop there.  Mike Faith, CEO of Headsets.com, states “We place attitude and personality over skills nearly all the time.  We can train skills, but changing personality is a pretty tough job.”

It is much more important to find the person who will enhance the team building and culture of ownership you have in place in your department or organization.  Why?  Better-fitting team players improve internal operations but, more importantly, they help bottom line results by turning customers into corporate cheerleaders that drive repeat business and referrals.

Take a look at your customers - or lack of them - as they are an indication of what is going on with your team.

Until next time...Lead like you mean it!
Marjorie

Posted on 07/21/10 at 09:47 AM
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