The Effective Leaders’ Blog

It’s Kind Of Like Long-Distance Hiking; Show Them the Mountain, Not the Horizon

There is a lot of strategy talk right now. In this uncertain landscape, business leaders have been forced to rethink everything. From their go-to-market approach and financial structure to their business model and long-term market viability.

To successfully navigate any business transformation, leaders need to successfully hold the tensions between keeping the classic team and business engaged, while launching new innovations and ultimately a new business within an existing one.

Navigating the New Era of Business: Decoding Your Team’s Financial Culture for Business Success

The new era of business strategy is here, and there is very little room for error.

You’ve likely heard the Peter Drucker saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. And while this has historically been true, in this new turbulent era of business, it’s no longer the people culture that is impeding your business strategy. It’s your financial culture.

Leading In Turbulent Times

Leading in a turbulent time requires a different style of leadership than a servant, charismatic, social work or roll up your sleeves type of approach. What it needs is bold, focused, caring and decisive leadership.

Keep reading to learn more about these styles of leadership.

4 Things Leaders Should Be Thinking About

It doesn’t look like things are going to be getting any easier for leaders this year. The good news is that this is the time for great leaders to shine. When the market shifts and margins are tighter it is only the best leaders that will be able to keep their business from financial collapse, maintain a healthy and committed culture and actually emerge with greater strength and momentum than before.

GPS Style Leadership; Setting a Direction Then ReRouting

Most entrepreneurial organizations I work with resist having a plan. Whereas, the government, academic and healthcare organizations I work with tend to over plan.

Both of these groups could learn from the other. Setting a plan for your organization is similar to driving while using a GPS.

1, 2, 3—Not It! The Games that are Impacting Your Team’s Performance

As a Leader-Manager, you may occasionally need help with a side project or task that is slightly out of scope. You ask for volunteers, look around, and it’s kind of like a silent game of Not It! Is taking place. With the rules reversed in the workplace, it is the first to speak who will be tagged “It,” so the object of the game is to avoid communication and eye contact.

So, what’s the endgame? How can we discourage our teams from playing games like Not it! and Hot Potato, and trying to dodge “It” and “Out”? Follow my takeaways to cut “It” ”Out.”

The Situation Room; Leveraging all Three Styles of Action to be a Better Leader-Manager

Getting things done and motivating others to do the same is the most essential skill-set of all leader-managers. In general, there are three styles of leadership action that can be used to motivate others to take action and move projects forward.

Just like the situation room, when a business crisis emerges, I want a room of leaders representing all three styles of leadership action. Together, we will complement each other’s weaknesses and move toward the best course of action.

AM, FM, Sirius Satellite Tuning into the Right Frequency for Clarity & Focus

Each of us is pre-wired to start every conversation or discussion in one of the three frequencies at which our brain operates—thinking (executive function), feeling (limbic system), and acting (bottom brain stem). Confusion and conflict arise when managers communicate to their team at a frequency opposite to what they are currently processing.

I liken this to the three transmissions of a car radio; AM, FM, and Sirius Satellite. Just like the receiver in your car, your brain is programmed to tune in to a specific frequency when you turn on the engine.

Time & Energy; Shaken Snow Globe Syndrome and Regaining Focus & Energy

Have you ever gone from one meeting to the next and felt like your head is a snow globe?

When you shift context and jump from one part of your mind to another without appropriate adjustment time, it feels like going from a dark room to a light room and waiting for your eyes to adjust—the equivalent of shaking your brain like a snow globe.

Time & Energy Management; Avoiding Altitude Sickness While Mountain Climbing

Entrepreneurial and mid-level leaders derive great satisfaction and energy from jumping between tasks, but often don’t really consider the operating level at which they lead. Over time, this constant flexing from Earth View (big picture) to Street View (operational tasks) can leave a CEO, Founder, or leader-manager completely depleted by the end of the day, week, or quarter.

Time & Energy; Google Earth and Leading at the Right Level.

Some leaders are high-level thinkers. They speak in terms of vision and strategy, and love to use big picture ideas to inspire their team. Other leaders are more technically-oriented, and prefer to roll up their sleeves and get into the weeds, leading by example to win over their team.

The best leaders I have worked with are able to zoom in when they need to and zoom out when they have to. I liken this leadership style to Google Earth.

Navigating Re-Entry; The Work from Home Productivity Bubble has Popped.

It has been months since remote work has become the reality for most workplaces. For many, this has been a victory over the daily commute and grind of never-ending meetings and late nights. Some employees have even moved further away from the office in hopes that this will be their new reality long term. Making the bet that the initial uptick of work from home productivity will remain consistent and be the selling feature for a new work reality.

Leading Through Chaos.

There are no precedents, no best practices and little predictive data to foresee the future. When leading in Chaos the best approach is to ACT, SENSE, and RESPOND. This is the moment for mindful leadership and an opportunity for you to accelerate and grow as a leader. Every day will be a new challenge and yesterday’s solutions are no longer viable.

At the end of this crisis, the leaders who will emerge and the businesses which will thrive, will be those that treat each day as a blank slate. Leaning in to the current state of their numbers, team health, and current environment and make decisions based on that knowledge. It doesn’t mean don’t plan for the worst, but it does mean to trust your instincts, listen to your values, act, and respond accordingly.

Leading with the Kolbe; Leveraging the Fact Finder Talent.

If you are a high Fact Finder leader – aka love the details – you have a natural talent for seeing the details. If you were Google earth, you would be the street level view. When solving new problems, you prefer the background before jumping into action. When coaching Fact Finders, I often joke that when new to a role they can expect it to take about 6 months to be really comfortable and that they will want to quit at least 3 times! High Fact Finders are natural specialists and feel best when they are in their rhythm and in the know.

Kolbe Team Insights.

As teams realign around the core strengths of their members, they transform. With the Kolbe insight, we have seen dysfunctional teams turn into standout producers for their company. We have found that team success is dramatically predicted by the degree to which a team understands the strengths of its individual members, and assigns them roles in alignment with these strengths.

Assessing Job Seeing Through Charisma to Determine a Good Fit (On Both Sides).

Are you looking for a rebound role or a serious commitment? I can honestly say that this question had never crossed my mind in business, until recently when a client asked this – not in the interview – but in our discussion about a potential candidate.

The Energy Booster.

December is always a busy month and the break is a great chance to re-energize and build momentum heading into 2019. The Energy Booster is a great resource this time of year as many of us are exhausted by the endless activities that are involved during the holiday season.

The Impact Multiplier.

You’ve recently been promoted to manager; have transitioned from an Individual Contributor (IC) to a team lead role, or have been tasked with informally leading a group through a must succeed project. Now what?
With less than a few days or weeks to prepare for your new responsibilities, you come to the conclusion that you are in over your head and most certainly have not been prepared for the task at hand.

Leader-Manager Styles.

Authority involves using formal methods of direction, which includes power structures, standard operating procedures, job descriptions or other directive methods of leader-management. Influence is the attempt to obtain the commitment of others by personal persuasion, such as setting aspirational goals, convincing with data, finding common ground and most importantly finding the intersect between personal and organizational needs and goals.

The Science of Management.

Most of us have never really thought about the science behind the routine practices of day-to-day management. We all know that setting a vision is good for pointing teams in the right direction, regular one-on-ones help with communication flow and performance reviews provide necessary feedback for growth and correction but why is it that management processes work? Or do they even work?

Leading Outside Authority.

Too often we are lazy in the way we attempt to influence others, and for good reason. The pace of the middle manager has increased exponentially without the same growth in support. At the same time, this pace can’t be an excuse for poor habits into how we support others and help them get the best outcome possible. Effective leaders need to develop habits that open doors for them to influence those outside of their direct command.

Leader-Manager Framework.

When asked “would you rather be a good leader or a good manager,” nine out of ten of our workshop participants say “leader.” We exist in an era of business where the act of leadership is often more celebrated than the practice of management. In reality, it is rare for the two to exist in isolation. Relying too heavily on one style over the other has serious drawbacks.

The Project Planner.

There are many project management tools available to leader-managers that provide a framework for developing concepts, thinking and the ideas that drive projects. These in-depth project planning tools flush out potential challenges and cast a vision of how the project fits within the broader picture of the organization, but fail to create a clear day-to-day execution plan.

Fist-to-Five.

Although it’s not completely clear where the Fist-to-Five originated, many attribute it to the American Youth Foundation who began using it in 2004. This team exercise is a simple time saver as it’s a quick, effective way to check-in with the group, learn what people think and reach consensus. Use the Fist-to-Five to quickly get past less important topics and onto major items.

The Winning Culture Formula.

Every organization has a company culture that influences employees’ habits and forms the unwritten rules guiding group behaviour. Business theorists see workplace culture as one of the most important contributors to organizational success. It’s a powerful force that’s often invisible but becomes extremely apparent when it’s working against us.

The Managerial Time System.

A simple method for evaluating whether you are using your time most effectively in advancing your level of thinking is looking at how you are spending your time in 4 core managerial areas. We call this method the CASM.

6 Levels of Leadership.

Lewis Jaques sifted through years of business research to define a leadership hierarchy that exists in every organization. Each level is defined by the leader’s mindset and growth is only achieved by learning to see the bigger picture.

Stay Calm and Delegate.

If you’re a leader-manager, you’ve likely received coaching, feedback or direct evaluation on your delegation skills and the need to transfer more work to others. In busy organizations, leader-managers are often left juggling multiple balls and, in order to keep the work of their team manageable, they “suck it up” and perform most new tasks themselves.

Performance Tools for Managers.

Performance conversations are part of the core activities of a leader-manager. Performance conversations provide an opportunity for leaders to sit with direct reports and provide real-time feedback on what is working, what isn’t and what needs to change. It’s essential that a leader-manager knows how to execute an effective annual performance conversation as these meetings set the stage for the entire year.

A Manager’s Guide to Meetings.

Senior managers report spending up to 75% of their week in meetings. Being able to effectively manage and communicate in meetings is an essential skillset required of any leader who wants to be successful within their organization.

The Science of Goal Setting.

To the organizational consultant, goal setting makes sense. If you get a team or organization to set a vision for the future they are more likely to grow and form into something bigger and better. The science of goal setting clearly supports this. But the reality of business needs to be considered when we implement science as a performance tool.