What’s Your New Year Focus? 3 Solid Ways to Focus on Leadership

A New Year is right around the corner full of great anticipation, excitement and the fulfillment of new hopes and dreams.  I hope yours is full of promise, happiness and many blessings. 

I am really looking forward to the New Year and becoming a more focused leader and professional leadership coach.  I love what I do and serving others in making significant changes in their lives.  I have spent considerable time looking back on 2014 and learning from my experiences, conversations and situations that is going to propel me into making better choices and decisions going forward.  These are valuable lessons; learning what I did right and what I can do differently the next time. Can’t wait to put these into practice. How about you?

What is your leadership vision for yourself, your team and/or your organization?  What enables you to expand your awareness, like a prism, to reach better | more productive and positive decisions?  How are you implementing your vision through this expanded awareness?  These are important questions, certainly only touching the surface of what could be an terrific coaching conversation with an executive, leader or someone who wants to move past merely “coping” or dealing into truly becoming an energized and passionate leader now AND well into their future.

Here are three solid ways that helped me focus on leadership.  They are certainly more, but these stood out. I hope they resonate with some of you.

Leadership Vision ~ Perhaps this may seem obvious, but a clear vision is what creates the context, motivation, buy in, and clarity around the goal(s) to be achieved. If, as a leader you have a “big picture,” but lack a true leadership vision that drills down to the executable details, it only creates uncertainty and ambiguity as to exactly what the end destination fully looks like.  In turn, that can hold you back from knowing exactly what to focus on to drive the desired result.  For example, if you want to build your leadership ability, what’s the vision? What does that look like – in terms of communicating, coaching the team, making decisions, building engagement, etc.?

Leadership Awareness ~ We all view our world through filters.  These filters are our past experiences, conversations, values, assumptions, beliefs, thoughts, emotions and actions.  Why would those who want to lead by any different? They are not and clearly view their world through filters.

Those filters will either limit what we see (such as tunnel vision) or expand what we see (like a prism); and thus impact how we perceive situations and what we think about ourselves, others, and our circumstances. Leaders need to become highly aware of their filters and how those filters affect actions: the number of options you’ll be able to identify, the decisions that you’ll make, and even the behaviors that you’ll form. Understand this for yourself first, and you’ll much more readily be able to identify these patterns in others – providing you with the ability to lead and move others past their blocks and to a higher level of performance much more quickly.

Leadership Implementation – Taking leadership action based on a clear, meaningful vision for yourself, team or organization is what integrates ideas into reality. It’s in taking action, according to your plan, that you develop into the leader you want to be that will, in turn, drive your team and organization to its goals. Your implementation plan should be designed with two aspects – small steps and breakthrough moments.

Small steps are for building initial momentum and progress, trying new approaches, and making adjustments. These small wins prepare you for the breakthrough moments – meaning those with high impact, high value opportunities that you can step into consciously and proactively to propel yourself and your organization forward. On your plan, identify those high potential opportunities and seek to create those moments, instead of waiting for those circumstances to create you.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  Now, what are your thoughts, emotions and actions going to be? I’d love to hear about them on your leadership journey to your New Year.  Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.

In Latin, Aperio means to reveal, uncover, to make clear. Coaching is a powerful process that enables the client to reveal and illuminate their authentic style via a sharp focus on who they are at their core. 

12 Rules for Being Myself (How about you?)

The New Year is upon us and we will all resolve to do something different in our lives.  As we reflect on our year, have we fulfilled our resolutions or are they just empty words and wishes?  Admittedly, I’m guilty as charged and freely admit my shortcomings.  However, this New Year I plan on being different.  How?  I will constantly and consistently work on my behaviors and have accountability partners to help me live authentically, passionately, and positively spirited for my family, loved ones and those I serve.  How will you be different?

As a leader, as a human being, it is very important to understand you and to be yourself. Trying to be something different than your authentic self is a huge waste of everybody’s time and, more importantly, the person you are.  Embrace the person you know yourself to be – the best version of you – on your terms.  And above all, be true to YOU – if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it. If you are not true to you, you will not be true to others and where is the joy in that?

Starting today I will (and hope that you do too)...

1. Get my priorities straight. – Five years from now it won't really matter what automobile I drive today, how much money is in the bank, or how many friends I have on social media sites. What will matter is how I treated others, how I loved, what I learned and how I applied this knowledge in my relationships.
2. Be who I was born to be. – I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have lived only the length of it. I also want to live the width of it. When it comes to living as a passionate and inspired person, the only challenge greater than learning to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, is learning to walk a lifetime comfortably in my own.  I will follow my heart, and take my brain with me. When I am truly comfortable in my own skin, not everyone will like me, and that is truly OK.  
3. Take full responsibility for my goals. – If I really want good things in my life to happen, I have to make them happen myself.  I can't sit around and hope that somebody else will help me; I have to make my own future and not think that my destiny is tied to the actions and choices of others.
4. Know my worth. – When someone treats me like I am just one of many options, I will help them narrow their choice by removing myself from the equation. Sometimes I have to not care, no matter how much I do. Because sometimes I can mean almost nothing to someone who means so much to me. It's not pride – it's self-respect. I don't expect to see positive changes in my life if I surround myself with negative people. I will not give part-time people a full-time position in my life.  It is very important to know my value and what I have to offer, so I will never settle for anything less than what I deserve.
5. Stand up for MYSELF. – I am here to be ME, not to be what someone else wants me to be. I will stand up for myself, look them in the eye, and say, “Don't judge me until you know me, don't underestimate me until you challenge me, and don't talk about me until you've talked to me.”
6. Choose the right perspective. – Perspective is everything. When faced with difficult job situations, team members, traffic jams, or waiting an hour past my appointment time, I have two choices: I can get frustrated and enraged, or I  can view it as life's way of giving me a guilt-free breather from rushing, and spend that time dreaming, conversing, or thinking of serving others. The first choice will raise my blood pressure and be damaging to others. The second choice will raise my consciousness and awareness in making positive choices. 
   
7. Don't let my old problems punish my dreams. – I am learning to let go of things I can't control. The next time I am tempted to rant about a situation that I think ended unfairly, I am going to remind myself of this: I'll never kill off my anger by beating the story to death. So I will close my mouth, unclench my fists, and redirect my thoughts, emotions and actions. When left untended, the anger will wither, and I'll be left to live in peace as I grow toward a better future.
8. Choose the things that truly matter and ACT upon those. – Some things just don't matter much – like the kind of car I drive. How big of a deal is that in the grand scheme of my life? Nada. But lifting a person's heart? Now, that matters. The whole problem is we KNOW what matters, but we don't CHOOSE it. We get distracted and don't put first things first. The hardest and smartest way to live is choosing what truly matters, and pursuing it passionately.  Now, let’s go back to those unresolved resolutions and think about what truly matters so we can change our behavior to act upon them.
9. Accept my strengths and weaknesses. – I am confident being ME. We often waste too much time comparing ourselves to others, and wishing to be something we're not. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is only when we accept everything we are, and aren't, that we are able to become who we are capable of being.
10. Learn from others, and move on when I must. – I can't expect to change people. Either I accept who they are, or I start living my life without them. Some people come into my life as blessings; others come into my life as lessons or both.
11. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. – Life as we know it can change in a heartbeat. Unlikely friendships can blossom, important careers can be tossed aside and a long lost hope can be rekindled. It might feel a little uncomfortable at times, but I know that life begins at the end of my comfort zone. So when I begin feel uncomfortable, I know that the change-taking place in my life is not an ending, but a new beginning.

12. Never give up on MYSELF. – This is my life to shape or someone else will. Strength shows not only in my ability to hold on, but also in my ability to start over. It is never too late to become what I might have been. I will keep learning and growing. I realize that I may not be there yet, but am closer than I was yesterday.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on your journey to your New Year.  Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.

In Latin, Aperio means to reveal, uncover, to make clear. Coaching is a powerful process that enables the client to reveal and illuminate their authentic style via a sharp focus on who they are at their core. 

9 Authentic Leadership Lessons From Bill George

 Bill George is worth listening to if you have an interest in building a trust culture, and growing your market cap. He should know. During his tenure as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of medical device firm Medtronic, (NYSE MDT) market cap increased from $1 billion to $60 billion. PBS named Bill George as one of the top 25 CEO’s over the past 25 years.

Mr. George is a bestselling author of two books, ‘Authentic Leadership‘ and ‘True North‘, is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, and writes about authentic leadership at his blog. He developed a leadership template that all leaders can follow, which is simply to be yourself, be authentic, and find your True North, that one thing you have been gifted to do to make a change in the world.

In this interview conducted by Wharton management professor Michael Useem, Mr. George outlines timeless and proven practices which helped him to succeed in leadership during his own career.  These tips and truths about being authentic in leadership can serve you well as you develop lasting relationships and build value in your organization.

I’ve sifted this interview down to 9 key points which provides a holistic template for outstanding authentic leadership.

1. Clean out the unethical behavior
This needs to be done swiftly, and so that others will notice. Everyone needs to understand that unethical behavior cannot be tolerated. Period. This of course needs to be modeled by you as a leader, and in turn you need to hold those in your company accountable to this basic standard of leadership.

2. Remove the Perks
If you are going to make a difference, you need to be serious and do some things that will not only be different in some places, but also help to define who you are. Begin doing some of these things immediately and you will get some attention and positive responses. Stop the company parking spots reserved for executives. Give the best view office over to the lunch or breakroom. Set up your desk in the factory, or close to it. This is not about you, it is about the organization, and treating all stakeholders with respect.

3. Preach the Mission and Vision. Live the Core Values
Travel to all operations and preach the mission and vision. Be collaborative when establishing your core values, but once you have them, don’t ever deviate from them. Stay focused on the mission, and drive hard for the vision. Give awards, celebrate victories.

4. Be Authentic
Authenticity is a reflection of how truthful and real we are in our relationships with others, and in understanding ourselves. Being authentic means you will be honest, vulnerable, real, and maybe a little intimate when sharing who you are as a person, or how you would like others to be when in relationship with you. At a deep level, most people want to be in authentic relationships.

Without authenticity, relationships will be slow to develop, if at all. And without authentic relationships, trust does not grow. Without trust, leaders will not have influence, and without influence, they will not build value throughout their organizations. 

If you don’t feel you are being the authentic you, and don’t have a North Star yet. How can you develop that authenticity? Don’t lose sight on what you are called to do. Be yourself, and don’t try to imitate others. Say what is on your mind, with truth and grace operating at the same time. Respect the human element.

You need to come in as who you are. Be the real person you were made to be. Follow your true north. Don’t ‘emulate other great leaders. Jack Welch was unique, as is Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and every other leader out there. Get away from the great man (or great woman) theory of leadership. Just be yourself.   

For more on Authentic Leadership see a previous blog http://bit.ly/1wIX1xg.

5. Identify and Leverage your Crucibles
Crucibles are those events or seasons in one’s life that are challenging. We all have them, or soon will. First you need to accept yourself. Know yourself, have self awareness. Have compassion for your difficult times, but learn from them. Have Crucibles. Have difficult times. This is the marrow of life. It’s what is necessary before you can gain a high level of wisdom and leadership ability. Once you accept who you are, it is very freeing. You can’t be a leader until you deal with all of your issues, confront them, and deal with them. Helping other people walk through that process in a mentoring relationship is exciting.

6. Find your True North
What are you here to do? How can each of us make a difference in the world? You will get pulled off this, but your compass will guide you back. Review your own life story, spend time in meditation. What is the greatest crucible in your life, what are your beliefs?

Once those are firmly set in your mind, you can contemplate the purpose of your leadership. Ask yourself…What are the things I am most motivated by? Your intrinsic motivations. Not money, fame, power. You can identify and be aware of your weaknesses in this process, but please don’t spend a lifetime working on your weaknesses. Focus on what are your strengths.

7. Use your boards
Draw out those who are quiet. Those are board members that don’t say much but know a lot. Engage them. How does a CEO relate to the board? How does the Non-executive Chairman get the most out of their members. What is the strategic guidance? You just need to have the dialogue and get it right. Use the quiet ones on the board, get everyone engaged. You can’t do this with the whole management team in the room.

8. Learn to follow your passion
What would you tell young people? What are your passions, what excites you? How do you want to make a difference in the world? What will you or have you done to make a difference? You need to be true to what you believe. Follow your own passions. Did you use your greatest gifts that your creator gave you to solve problems, and make a difference in the world?

9. Have a mentor who can teach you, and have a student who can learn from you
Mr. George believes in seeking mentors who can help you think through the difficult choices you make as a leader. One of his own mentors was Warren Bennis, who shaped his thinking and behavior as a leader. He also believes your wisdom should be shared with others. He now teaches at Harvard Business School, sharing wisdom gained from his years as a successful leader.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on your journey to building authentic relationships as you lead your organization.  Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.

In Latin, Aperio means to reveal, uncover, to make clear. Coaching is a powerful process that enables the client to reveal and illuminate their authentic style via a sharp focus on who they are at their core.

The 6 Top Challenges Leaders Face (Part 3 of 3)

In our two previous posts, we mentioned six of the top leadership challenges leaders are facing and focused on three of those challenges in developing relationship skills to inspire, motivate and support their employees. Today, we’ll focus on the last two challenges ~ developing skills to enact change and managing internal stakeholders and politics.

Guiding change is a top challenge for leaders in any situation.  This skill becomes more complex and important when the environment is volatile, uncertain and complex. Leaders need to be adept at managing, mobilizing and leading and dealing with change. Incorporating change management and enhancing resourcefulness should be at the forefront of leadership development training. Here are further suggestions to develop your change leadership skills.

1. Try It, You Might Like It
It is natural that people do not like change. Leaders should try to transform their own thinking, and be more open to new and fresh ideas. If leaders are able to do that, they can be an example to others to embrace change as well. People will witness that shift in attitude and will be more likely to embrace it.

2. Embrace emotional reactions to change
When convincing people that change is needed and desirable, it’s not enough to use rational arguments. Leaders also need to be sensitive to employees’ emotions and show empathy. Engage people emotionally by being visionary, passionate and authentic. People generally make decisions emotionally and will justify their decisions intellectually.

3. Be clear
Nobody can tell others what the future will be, but you definitely can tell others about the present and what you’re doing to reach the desired outcome. Let people know what is going on. If you reduce as much ambiguity as possible, your people will be less anxious, nervous or worried enabling them to become proactive change agents. They will feel like masters of their own destiny. You have ownership and that is powerful motivator in dealing with change.

The final challenge is managing internal stakeholders and politics. This goes to show that organizations are inherently political. To more effectively manage internal stakeholders and politics, leaders need to develop and enhance their political skill and savvy, defined as “the ability to effectively understand others at work and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives.” Here are some suggestions:

1. Mingle strategically and build strong networks and relationships with people ~ especially with your boss and bosses boss. Your network should strategically expand on how you can help your boss reach his or her goals as well align to your career goals.  You can map out your network by writing your name in the middle of a sheet of paper. Put the names of those with whom you have a strong relationship close to you, and those with whom you have a weak or distant relationship farther from you. Then ask if some of your close connections can help you meet with your distant connections.

2. Manage Up ~ keep your boss informed. Be proactive in telling your boss what is going on, the struggles you and your team are having and what is going well. Ask what you would like to know about yourself if you were in your boss’s shoes – and purposefully manage this perception of yourself. You can do this by enhancing some of the characteristics and talents your boss might consider the most important ones for the company, while making sure you keep your authenticity and integrity.

3. Read the situation ~ Observe and gather information from others and the environment. Do this by actively listening to others, paying close attention to the verbal and nonverbal behaviors of others to understand what is really being said.

4. Leave people with a good impression ~ being politically savvy is not being manipulative. Having integrity and being authentic are of utmost importance. Get feedback on how your message and behavior really come across to others. Avoid gossiping, playing favorites, keep confidences and deliver on the promises you make.

There is no doubt hat the work of modern-day leaders is complicated, stressful and demanding. By being open to working on your skill sets, not being afraid to be vulnerable and being true and authentic to yourself and your team, you will have their trust and your leadership deliverables will be more impactful and effective for you, your team and your organization.

We would love to hear from you with comments or questions. Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.

In Latin, Aperio means to reveal, uncover, to make clear. Coaching is a powerful process that enables the client to reveal and illuminate their authentic style via a sharp focus on who they are at their core.

The 6 Top Challenges Leaders Face (Part 2 of 3)

In my previous post, I mentioned six of the top leadership challenges leaders are facing and focused on one of those challenges: developing managerial effectiveness. Today, I'll focus on three more of the challenges: inspiring others, developing employees and leading a team. These three are all related to the relationship-orientated part of leadership.

Relationship orientated leadership is more important in today’s context of work. As recent studies reflect, organizations worldwide are suffering with high rates of employee dissatisfaction and disengagement. Very serious problems that must be recognized, tackled and resolved at the highest levels of leadership.  Additionally, at the same time, these same organizations are encouraging leaders to pursue and participate in relationships that develop their direct reports and team members. Clearly, leaders need to build and maintain relationships by inspiring others, developing others, and leading their team members individually and collectively. 

While developing relationships with others is a huge challenge, here are some other things to consider:

1. Take an active role in coaching, mentoring and developing others.

Provide challenging opportunities for others, promote your employees, trumpet their successes and empower others to increase their area of competence. Support your people by providing guidance and feedback.

2. Meet the needs of your employees.

It’s not just about making sure that your employees have the right software or office supplies, You also have to meet their psychological and social needs. Many people need to be validated by others and desire to be part of something. A leader must meet the differing needs of the many individuals with whom they work on a daily basis.

3. Manage team effectiveness.

Make sure your team has a clear purpose, strong support and effectively shares information among the group and with important stakeholders outside of the group.

In our next blog, we’ll focus on the remaining two challenges and look at opportunities for leaders to consider in these areas.

How would you begin to break through your thoughts, emotions and actions to becoming a better leader? We would love to hear from you with comments or questions. Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.

In Latin, Aperio means to reveal, uncover, to make clear. Coaching is a powerful process that enables the client to reveal and illuminate their authentic style via a sharp focus on who they are at their core.

The Top 6 Challenges Leaders Face (Part 1 of 3)

 

The life of a today's leader clearly is not easy. Inside their organizations, they need to lead and motivate a diversified group of people, work across organizational boundaries, improve efficiency and achieve growth. Externally, they face a complex and globalized environment; they have to manage and keep up with their customers, they competition and meet the expectations of other stakeholders. And within this environment, they are many cultural considerations leaders must face to be effective. They must work across cultural boundaries and alongside others who, at times, are very different from them and have different ways and ideas of getting work completed.

These are difficult challenges, and many leaders feel ill-prepared and overwhelmed to tackle them effectively. Developing leaders who can face these challenges is hard. Of course, some training needs and content can be derived from organizational strategy and planned initiatives. Yet many leaders have other needs and challenges that strategy or initiatives do not cover.

So, what are those challenges impacting both new and experienced leaders and how can an organization ensure that training is designed to meet the development needs of a specific leader? According to a recent study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, the nearly 800 participant leaders from all over the world consistently face the same 6 challenges:

1. Developing Managerial Effectiveness

The challenge of developing the relevant skills-such as time management, prioritization, strategic thinking, decision making, emotional intelligence and to be more effective at work.

2. Inspiring Others

The challenges of inspiring or motivating others to ensure they are engaged and satisfied with their jobs and their contributions; how to motivate a workforce to work smarter.

3. Developing Their Employees

The challenges of developing others, including topics around mentoring and coaching.

4. Leading A Team

The challenges of team building, team development, and team management; how to instill pride in a team or support the team, how to lead a team and what to do when taking over a new team.

5. Guiding Change

The challenge of managing, mobilizing, understanding, and leading change. How to mitigate change consequences, overcome resistance to change, and deal with employees’ reactions to change.

6. Managing Internal Stakeholders and Politics

The challenge of managing relationships, politics, and image. Gaining managerial support and managing up; getting buy-in from other departments, groups or individuals.

In addition to targeted, planned, formal development initiatives and training so that leaders can deal with and overcome these challenges, other means that rely on learning in a more social and informal way are also appropriate. The most frequently mentioned challenge is developing managerial effectiveness. This reflects the challenge of leaders to have a range of very specific skill such as time management, prioritization, and decision making.

So, what can leaders do?

1. Goal setting is critical

Be proactive in setting goals and with setting the timelines and deadlines required to meet those goals.

2. Delegate More

Delegation can make you more productive. The act of delegation cam also empower the people to whom you have given work.

3. Work on tasks that maximize your unique value-add

Among all the organizational priorities, there will always be important tasks that only you can do. These are the tasks on which you should focus. As a result, you will maximize your specific value to the company.

4. Gain some role clarity

Understand what your work does and does not entail. With that, you may have to practice and be comfortable saying “no.”

In our next blog, we’ll look at developing relationship skills that cover three of the challenges above: inspiring others, developing employees and leading a team.

What do you think of these challenges impacting today's leaders? How would you begin to break through your thoughts, emotions and actions to becoming a better leader? We would love to hear from you with comments or questions. Send me a note via email at brad@aperiocoaching.net or on Twitter @bparcells.

In Latin, Aperio means to reveal, uncover, to make clear. Coaching is a powerful process that enables the client to reveal and illuminate their authentic style via a sharp focus on who they are at their core.