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Great Leadership details
Listing ID: 1568
Title: Great Leadership
Description: Information and advice on leadership and leadership development.
Category: Business
Owner:
listed on: July 31, 2008 08:15:23 PM
Number Hits: 4 times
Recent Posts:
| 10 Reasons to go on a Vacation - Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:24:00 +0000 |
 As it is the summer, I thought I would share 10 of the many sound business reasons to go on vacation — in addition to the fact that you deserve it and are supposed to enjoy your life and have some fun… 1. Going on a vacation shows you are competentat your job because you can manage and plan enough to free up some time in your schedule, and not leave a festering mess in your absence. Not being able to take a vacation for years shows that your work and your team are so out of control that you can’t even be gone for a week. 2. No one is impressedthat you have not had a vacation If you think your company, or your team appreciates your extra-work ethic, they don’t. 3. Your team is motivatedfrom seeing that you support and allow people to have a life — as long as you don’t send them email every day! Set the expectation you will be generally out of touch. Arrange 1-2 check-in points if you can’t stand to let go entirely, but don’t just go somewhere else and keep working. 4. Your team gets more productivewhen you go away. You give them a break from worrying about all the things you throw in their way when they are trying to get their work done. After about 2 weeks they will miss you and need you again, but in the mean time their productivity will actually go up. 5. Being unavailableis an effective technique for developing people. It forces them to step up. Just be careful not to un-do everything they did in your absence just because it was different than the way you would have done it. 6. If something comes upin your work that you can’t avoid and you need to cancel your vacation, reschedule another one while you are canceling. This will minimize resentment and disappointment, give you something to look forward to… and ensure you don’t go too long without a vacation. 7. You will be more productiveat work, if you step away from it and give your back-of-mind processes a chance to chew on things while you are otherwise in a good (or at least different!) mood. 8. You will realizethat some of the things that you thought were important before your vacation don’t actually need to get done after all. When you step away, the most strategic things re-assert themselves and all the clutter drops several notches in volume. 9. Your company preferspeople who enjoy their life because they have more positive energy to bring to their work. 10. You need a breakwhether you know it or not! Patty Azzarello became the youngest general manager at HP at the age of 33. She ran a $1B software business at the age of 35 and became a CEO for the first time at the age of 39. Patty has held leadership roles in General Management, Marketing, Software Product Development and Sales, and has been successful in running large and small businesses. Patty is the founder and CEO ofAzzarello Group, that works with companies to execute their strategy, and develop their top talent.  |
| Leadership Development: Executive Self-Assessment - Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:39:00 +0000 |
 What’s the #1 differentiator betweencompanies that excel at succession planning and leadership development and those that simply “go through the motions”? It’sthe ownership and commitment of the senior executive team. They believe in its strategic importance and treat it as a high priority. Without this, the typical reaction from every manager is likely to be “What’s the point? We go through the motions every year filling these forms out and nothing happens.” It not only becomes a demoralizing administrative time-waster, but when leadership positions need to be filled, we’re frustrated with the lack of qualified candidates. Of course, there’s also the frustration of our high potentials regarding lack of feedback, coaching, development opportunities, and any meaningful interest and involvement from their managers. The message is clear (pick one): 1. Your development is not important to me; it’s not worth the expense or time. 2. I don’t think you have the capacity to grow and change so why bother. 3. You’re a manager – suck it up- you’re on your own when it comes to development. This lack of commitment and involvement then cascades down and throughout the organization. While there may be pockets of excellence, these overall message is pretty clear – it’s not important, just a “nice-to-do”. However, with commitment from the top, even the most incompetent HR department couldn’t possibly screw it up. Without it, all of the best process, systems, forms, and programs will have little impact. If you believe in the importance of getting our next generation of leaders ready to take the helm, then are you ready to take a hard look at your own level of commitment and do what it takes to really make a difference? Take the following executive self-assessment to find your opportunities to improve (or send it to your favorite senior executive). Rating scale: 5=always, 4=usually, 3=sometimes, 2= rarely, 1=never 1. When it comes to leadership development, I “practice what I preach”. I openly discuss my development needs and actions I’m taking to improve. According to Marshall Goldsmith: “When the senior leader acts like a little god and tells everyone else to improve, this behavior can be copied at every level of management. Every level then points out how the level below it needs to change. The end result: No one gets much better.” 2. I have regular (at least quarterly) conversations with my direct reports about their development. These discussions can include developmental feedback, coaching, or development planning… anything but “the numbers”. 3. My development discussions include both improvements in the current role as well as preparation for future roles. 4. I spend a significant amount of my time coaching, mentoring, providing feedback, and teaching high potential leaders (other than my direct reports). Note: look at your Outlook calendar over the last quarter to verify your assessment. 5. I spend time on a regular basis (at least yearly) with my leadership team assessing talent. This includes reviewing the performance and potential of our direct report managers as well as the identification of emerging high potential leaders. 6. I recognize and reward, and hold my direct reports accountable for the identification and development of high potential talent in their own organizations. 7. When I have a management opening, I’m willing to consider “unlikely” candidates from outside my organization, for the purpose of providing a cross-functional development opportunity. 8. I’m willing to let go of one of my best performers in order to prepare them for a larger leadership role. 9. I regularly have talent discussions with my peers. We take “shared ownership” for the development of leaders, rather than operate in self-serving silos. 10. When I’m traveling, I make sure to schedule time and meet with high potential talent. 11. I use consistent and valid criteria when I assess the performance and potential of my managers (and they are all aware of this criteria). 12. I take action to identify and remove underperformers that are blocking the development and movement of our high potentials. 13. I’m actively involved in company leadership development programs (sponsorship, guest speaker, panel discussions, etc…. Scoring key: 45-65: Congratulations, you’re a leadership development machine!! You’re developing leadership strength for today and for the future. You rock! 30-45: You’re doing some things well, but it’s not enough. Pick 2-3 items to improve and get to work. 0-30: Wassa matta wit you? Well, at least you care enough to take the assessment. It’s never too late to change, but you need to get started today. Read Great Leadership to learn how to get started and good luck!  |
| Defensive Driving for Leaders: Watch Out for Your Blind Spots - Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:01:00 +0000 |
 If you’ve been driving for a while, no doubt this has happened to you. There’s a zone in the road – big enough for a car, even an eighteen wheeler, depending on your car – that your rear and side view mirrors don’t pick up. It’s calleda blind spot, and if you’re not careful (use your turn single, turn around, gradual lane changes), they can kill you and others. Leaders can have blind spots too. A leadership blind spot is some kind of behavior that a leader can’t see, but it exists for everyone else to see. See “Johari Window” diagram below.  While leadership blind spots may not be as fatal as a driving blind spot, if never discovered and unaddressed, they can turn intocareer killers, and wreck havoc on those around them. Everyone has blind spots. Here’s a trick question: “What are yours?” Answer: “If you knew what they were, then they’re not blind spots.” I’ll bet this is starting to sound like “The Matrix”, or “Inception” (an awesome movie, btw). Yes, this blind spot business can be tricky. Discovering your leadership blind spots is the same as bringing your driving blind spots into view – you need to look in multiple mirrors and get input from all sides. Here are some ways to uncover your blind spots: 1. Take a 360 leadership assessment. 360 assessments will give you written feedback on key leadership behaviors from your manager, peers, employees, and others. TryLPI Onlinefor an relatively inexpensive option that requires no certification or debrief, orany CCL assessment.PDI,Lominger, andDDIalso all have excellent products. 2. Take some kind of validated, reliable behavioral assessment that helps uncover potential behavioral issues. Try DISC, MBTI Complete,Hogan's HPI/HDS, orThe Workplace Big 5. For any of these, it’s better to have someone who is familiar with the assessments to help you make sense of them. 3. Engage a coach. Most coaches will use their own favorite assessments, as well as conductstakeholder interviews. 4. Ask for feedback – from your manager, employees, peers, etc… just make sure you’re ready to listen non-defensively. Giving feedback, even when asked, if difficult for many people. The way you ask and respond will influence the accuracy of the feedback. Whatever method you use, just be prepared for that “jolt” (that feeling of leaning backwards in the chair…) of awareness. Finding out we are not seen as we see ourselves can be pretty unsettling. Awareness is the first step in fixing blind spots, and often the most difficult. Then comes ownership, learning what to do differently (APBs, or alternative positive behaviors), and finally, lot’s practice to “cement” the new behaviors. Stay tuned for our next defensive driving lesson for leaders: “Don’t be checking your smart phone during your 1 on 1s”. (-:  |