Sunday 22 January 2012

Leadership Howler 5: Rigidity riles


Skyscrapers are built to be flexible at the top so they can move and sway with the wind, otherwise the elements would crack them over time. Like buildings, rigid leaders also crack because they alienate themselves, miss vital opportunities, resist new things and cause resentment among their team members. Working for rigid leaders is frustrating and demoralising.

Flexible leaders however:

- Deal effectively with change.

- Respond wisely to the different personalities of the people they lead.

- Demonstrate empathy, which is crucial in terms of delivering outstanding customer service, as well as outstanding employee experience.

- Empower and develop a range of people with different 'skill-sets'.


FLEXIBILITY DEFINED:

Being flexible does not mean being a door-mat and allowing people to walk over you.

Being flexible does not mean giving in to the many different demands which are made of you, or acting against your beliefs or gut instinct.

Being flexible does mean that you're able to stand in other people's shoes and consider the world from their point of view, before deciding whether that insight will alter the decisions and actions you take. It also means that regardless of your personality and strengths, you're able to apply a number of different leadership styles in the work-place.

Most people I know would argue they're very flexible, because they know that inflexibility is another word for dogmatic or narrow minded, but the reality is that inflexibility characterises many leaders. We can all improve our flexibility because being flexible is a skill and something which can be developed over time, so long as you are committed to continual self development, you have the right tools to help you, and the willingness to experiment with different behaviours, actions and choices which may not come naturally to you at first.

Thanks for reading!

I help organisations to become more profitable by developing their people

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946
Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk
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Tuesday 17 January 2012

Leadership Howler 4 - No vision


John was promoted to a Managing Director role, following a successful spell as a salesman (this is a true story by the way!). In fact, it was partly due to his consistent sales performance over the years, that there was a team of 20 people for him to manage.

Keen to rise to the challenge, he was determined to ensure that his high standards would be replicated by his team members and as the months passed by, he worked harder and harder to make a success of his new role. He believed his energy and dedication would be infectious to his team members, but in making himself so busy, he lost track of his vision and become bogged down in the every-day matters of running a team of 20 people.

Unsurprisingly, by the time I started working with him, team performance had stagnated, morale was low and his team lacked direction. Like many leaders, John had made the common mistake of losing sight of the bigger-picture because he'd become so busy with the everyday stuff and his responsibilities were so numerous.

Good leaders take the time to regularly ask:
  • What are we trying to achieve?
  • How are we going to stand out from our competitors?
  • What are our long and short-term goals?
  • What do we need to change in order to be better?
  • How are we going to make a difference to the world?
  • What could we do, which is completely brilliant?
Good leaders will explore these questions in spite of how busy they are. 


Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946
Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk
Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain
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Thursday 12 January 2012

Leadership Howler 3 - Adoration needs


The most helpful feedback I've had in my life has been some of the most hurtful to receive initially. The fact is that however humble we may think we are, it's natural to want to believe that we're right, brilliant and wise. Therefore, when we hear feedback which is to the contrary, we can feel under attack, something which makes us defensive and can hinder our ability to develop.

When people become leaders, the need to be adored and admired often increases with the responsibility and therefore the potential pain of receiving negative feedback increases with that need.

Wise leaders recognise that the need for adoration is natural, but it limits their leadership potential ... because if you crave adoration: 

1) You'll get told what people think you want to hear, because it's perceived that you can't take the bad news. Thus you live in a bubble rather than reality... and eventually, all bubbles burst!

2) The problems for which you're responsible are not reported to you by the people around you but they'll certainly grumble about them (behind your back).

3) You become isolated

Controlling your adoration needs involves:
  • Remaining humble
  • Being able to laugh at yourself 
  • Adopting the following mantra - the best leaders know they are doing well when the performance of each team member surpasses their own performance. With this in mind, such leaders leave no space for adoration needs, because they're so focused on the development of their team members. 
Thanks for reading

I help people to achieve more by developing their resilience, influence and productivity. 

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946
Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk
Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain
Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK
Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
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Thursday 5 January 2012

Leadership Howler 2 - Crawling your talk


Make sure you walk your talk, rather than crawl your talk because as the leader, you set the tone for the behaviour of your team.

I recently worked with a team leader (I'll call her Sarah for reasons of confidentiality) and she despaired at the lack of good time management among her team members:

"They simply don't prioritise"

"He's runs around like a headless chicken"

"She gets bogged down in things which aren't important"

Interestingly, within a few weeks of working with her, I was subjected to several last-minute cancellations and one 'no-show'. It was pretty clear that her team members were not the only ones with time management issues!

Whether your team members respect you or not, as the leader, they'll follow your lead to some degree. If you work long hours, jump reactively from task to task, neglect the important things and live chaotically, don't expect your team members to fare any better.

Tip: 

A) Write a list of the ideal behavioural traits and habits of your 'dream team'.

B) When it's complete, work through the list with a friend/parent/partner (or someone else who is prepared to be honest with you) and identify 2-3 areas on the list where you know you personally struggle.

C) Develop some small actions you could take, so you get better at the areas you identified and you walk your talk, rather than crawl it.

Call me - 0121 420 3457 / 07760 444 946
Email me - enquiries@impactlife.co.uk
Connect with me on Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpain
Like me on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ImpactLifeUK
Follow me on twitter - www.twitter.com/andrewpain1974
Check out my website - www.impactlife.co.uk