by Ken Blanchard | Leadership
No matter who you are, people can come at you daily with their egos blasting.
Some egos come from false pride—where they think more of themselves than they should and want more credit for things. Others come from self-doubt and fear—where they think less of themselves than they should and are protecting themselves.
How do you deal with these people?
Try to keep focused on leading with a servant’s heart. It can be part of your daily habits, such as how you enter your day by reminding yourself of the difference you can make in the world. It’s a matter of making a habit of practicing a helpful attitude when you are interacting with people.
The question you want to keep top of mind is, “How can I help?”
For instance, if someone comes to you and says, “I’m sick and tired that nobody seems to notice my contributions around here,” you could say to that person, “What I am hearing from you is that you don’t think your work is appreciated. I think you are doing a wonderful job on …” and then be very specific as to what that person is doing right. After that, ask, “What can I do to help you get over this feeling of not being important enough? How can I help you through this?”
Or, if someone says, “I can’t believe it, I just got another project dumped on me and I don’t have time in my day to work on it,” let that person know you understand by saying something such as, “Wow, I can hear that you’re really overwhelmed right now. Is there a way I can help you with this? Is there anyone I can talk to that might be able to partner with you?”
A phrase I like is lead with your ears.
Really listen to the person you are interacting with and see if you can respond in a caring and heartfelt way. When you ask the question “How can I help?” you’ll be amazed at how quickly it can diffuse the frustration another person is feeling. It can make an immediate difference to upset or fearful people just to know their concerns are being heard.
By leading with your servant’s heart, you will set an example others can use to get away from their egos, move forward, and make a positive difference in someone else’s day.
Originally Appeared on the Ken Blanchard Companies Blog
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About today’s guest contributor: LeadBIG welcomes back Ken Blanchard! Ken, one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, is coauthor of the iconic best seller The New One Minute Manager® and more than sixty other books with combined sales of more than twenty-one million copies in forty-two languages. His newest book, Servant Leadership in Action, is collaborative piece with other leadership influencers and shares lessons to help achieve great relationships and results.
by Allysa Cane | Leadership
“To err is human,” as the saying goes, and leaders are not immune to failure, either. What sets them apart is their ability to take stock of their weaknesses and move past them better and faster than the average employee. It is a skill that takes time and practice—something that is acquired through years of following and leadership. In other words, embracing your weaknesses will ripple through your life in far-reaching ways.
Here are three things to emulate from great leaders so you can master the art of failing and recovering:
- They know what they’re made of— and what they’re not
You don’t become a leader without knowing what can get you to the top. Great leaders develop a high sense of self-awareness and they understand themselves better than most people. They know their areas of expertise and how to apply themselves but more importantly, they own up to their shortcomings.
Forbes quoted a 2010 study which found that a realistic grasp of your own abilities and weaknesses may predicate your level of success. This is not just in terms of technical skills, but also in your personality, because a high sense of self-awareness also equates to high emotional intelligence. A higher EQ means that a leader is more open to communication and criticism even from their subordinates. Menlo Coaching emphasizes the need for leaders to acknowledge how they contribute to the success or failure of a particular task or project. This means that you should be willing to seek assistance from others who can fill the areas or fields where you’re not proficient.
- They focus on progress
The Jane Group previously discussed the belief that failure is just a momentary lapse of judgment, and not of character. Many leaders share the sentiment that weaknesses do not define who you are. What enables them to welcome adversity is this thinking that setbacks or imperfections are part and parcel of achieving success.
Spanx founder Sara Blakely shared with CNBC that failing big was something to be celebrated in their household as a child because it only means that there is a lot of room for improvement. Instead of fearing hardships, great leaders welcome them as mere hurdles to overcome and not as a sign that they completely lack ability. While most people believe that reaching a certain standard immediately is the true measure of success, leaders accept the reality that it is not gained overnight, but over time through honest hard work.
- They take action
Another trait that effective leaders have mastered through time is resilience. Harvard Business Review hailed resilience as an indispensable quality in a leader because it is what pushes them to persist even in the face of adversity. The worst thing anyone can do, leader or not, is dwell on mistakes because it may impede or even undo the progress you’ve already made. Admit your weakness not for the sake of exposition but as a start to heeding the lessons ripe for picking. Confront your failures head on and once you’ve figured out what went wrong, apply your recently discovered insights moving forward.
Leaders know how to thrive under pressure without breaking because they’ve mastered it due to years of experience. Still, accepting shortcomings is a skill that everyone needs to develop. Failure is not something to be embarrassed about or to fear; it’s a reality of life that has to be welcomed with arms wide open because it is a great opportunity for personal growth and learning.
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About today’s contributor: Allysa Cane is a career counsellor who’s been providing assistance to professionals for two decades. She’s helped hundreds of adults find their way in the professional world over the course of her career.
Image credit: Pixabay
by Brad Deutser | Leadership
Many traits are associated with strong leaders: being confident, passionate, and decisive.
But one critical leadership characteristic that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is “gratitude,” which mean letting employees know their hard work is appreciated.
The best leaders do two things:
1) They say, “Thank you” to their employees, and
2) They take the time to be grateful for themselves and for where they are today.
The power of any organization is the collective energy of the people. Strong leaders recognize their people form the soul of the company and are directly responsible for the success of the organization.
When employees feel they’re working for a leader who is engaged and is thankful for their efforts, it creates a better environment, instills loyalty, and drives performance inside and outside the company.
If leaders don’t take the time to thank and appreciate their people, they’re missing the greatest opportunity to connect with them. People respond to gratitude, which makes the work they do more meaningful to them, which in turn is more impactful to the leader.
Expressing gratitude is a simple motivator that makes people happy.
Happy employees mean greater productivity. Shawn Achor, Harvard researcher and author of The Happiness Advantage, has demonstrated through his research that when people work with a positive mindset they perform better in the face of a challenge and every business outcome improves.
3 things to know about gratitude
If you want to increase happiness, productivity, and be a better leader, there’s three things you need to know about gratitude and its impacts on an organization’s culture:
• Authenticity is essential.
People aren’t fooled by insincerity. Gratitude is something leaders need to really feel. They can’t fake it because they’ve been told it’s important. If their gratitude doesn’t come across as real or if it’s not founded in something they are truly grateful for, their inauthenticity shows through.
The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated. ~William James
- Gratitude is a perspective shifter.
When the boss routinely expresses gratitude, employees are inspired to take on challenging situations and reframe them in a way that reminds them something positive and good comes from them. Showing authentic gratitude creates positive energy and a positive workforce. Smart leaders understand the direct correlation between positivity and performance.
Gratitude always comes into play; research shows that people are happier if they are grateful for the positive things in their lives, rather than worrying about what might be missing. ~Dan Buettner
- Being willing to show gratitude rubs off on others.
Gratitude is contagious. When people in an organization see their leader doing it, they follow along, which makes an organization’s culture even more positive. We live in a world where we’re bombarded with negativity. When leaders inject gratitude by being grateful for what is good, for what is pure, for what is true, for what is real, and for what is right, they’re able to change the environment.
None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy. ~Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
Everyone likes being told they’ve done well and are appreciated. The more appreciated people feel, the more willing they are to do a great job the next time, and everyone wins…employees, leaders, and the organization.
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Today’s guest contributor is Brad Deutser, president of Deutser LLC, a consulting firm that advises leaders and organizations about achieving clarity especially in times of transition, growth or crisis.
Image credit before quote added: Pixabay
by Mayur Ramgir | Leadership
Great leaders are in great demand, whether it’s being a coach for a football team, a CEO for a corporation, or a general for the Army.
In many cases people are mistaken about what makes a good leader, thinking it’s about being able to establish resources and priorities to acquire worthwhile goals.
That’s a portion of being a leader, however, true leadership involves a lot more than that. Actual leadership deals more with inspiration than simple productivity.
A boss has the title. A leader has the people. ~Simon Sinek
For leaders to be truly inspirational, they must adapt and adopt different leadership styles at different stages in business.
If an individual in a leadership role is unable to adapt to a rapidly changing environment, the whole organization suffers. A key element to successful leadership is remembering that people want to follow someone who leads by example. Inspiring this reaction requires the leader to set the tone as well as the attitude for how to handle the challenges the team inevitably will face.
3 ways leaders set themselves apart
Three critical traits and attitudes are essential for leaders if they want to motivate their teams to perform at the highest levels:
Your success as a leader lies in your ability to believe in yourself. You must feel that you can handle whatever situation arises. Understand that effective leaders are aware of both their strengths and their limitations. While self-belief is a positive trait, it isn’t a license for narcissism or hubris.
Being positive in a negative situation is not naïve. It’s leadership. ~Ralph Marston
- Self-confidence that inspires others.
If you can convince yourself that you can do it, then the rest of the world will automatically be convinced. It makes a big difference in how people see you and react to you when you exude confidence. The saying, don’t let them see you sweat, certainly applies to leading.
Noble and great. Courageous and determined. Faithful and fearless. That is who you are and who you have always been. And understanding it can change your life, because this knowledge carries a confidence that cannot be duplicated any other way. ~Sheri L. Dew
Having the opportunity to help others is also an opportunity to help yourself in disguise. When you provide employees what they need to reach and exceed their potential, the result will be high performance levels and loyalty, which is good for you and the organization.
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. ~Winston Churchill
Leadership is never about using the brute force of authority to force your ideas down other people’s throats. This is not the forte of the real leader. In fact, it’s quite the contrary.
True leaders set themselves apart by working to better the society around them and the world at large.
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Today’s guest contributor is Mayur Ramgir, author of Evolve Like a Butterfly: A Metamorphic Approach to Leadership and speaker, innovator, and entrepreneur. Educated at Georgia Tech, MIT, Oxford, and the University of Sussex, he currently serves as president and CEO of Boston-based Zonopact Inc.
Image credit (before quote added): Pixabay
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
Feeling like everyone but you is being promoted? Wondering why your team has lost its spark? Questioning how few people at work are interested in your ideas and opinions? If so, perhaps it’s time for a leadership practice checkup to assess how good you are at managing opposites.
Professor and author Michael D. Watkins offers seven topics for leaders to take into account as they assess their leadership practices. His seven methods require that we maintain an equilibrium between analytical thinking and conceptual mindsets—a fundamental necessity for leading and managing.
7 Questions for Managing Opposites
If your career growth and influence are stalled out, reflect on your answers to these seven questions that assess your skill in managing opposites.
- Are you working as a specialist or a generalist?
Vikram Mansharamani notes that “the future may belong to the generalist.” A fast-moving, quickly changing business environment requires the ability to deal with a broad range of uncertainty. “Ideological reliance on a single perspective appears detrimental to one’s ability to successfully navigate vague or poorly-defined situations (which are more prevalent today than ever before).”
- Are you thinking like an analyst or an integrator?
Successful leaders see a wide range of possibility, which may include actions that appear to be opposite. Strategy advisers Michael Sales and Anika Savage say that these individuals know “how to honor and weave together the thoughts and feelings of others with their own into a line of principled action.”
- Are you functioning as a tactician or as a strategist?
Big picture leaders get out of the day-to-day weeds so they can follow Peter Drucker’s advice for strategic planning: formulate the strategy, implement it, monitor results, and make adjustments.
- Are you engaged as a bricklayer or as an architect?
Leaders assure that “strategy, structure, operating models, and skill bases fit together effectively and efficiently, and harness this understanding to make needed organizational changes,” notes Watkins.
- Are you focused on being a problem-solver or an agenda setter?
Effective leaders know when to step back from being hands-on, aiming instead for shaping the long-term vision. Research from James M. Kouzes and Barry Posner reveals “being for forward-thinking — envisioning exciting possibilities and enlisting others in a shared view of the future — is the attribute that most distinguishes leaders from nonleaders.”
- Do you see yourself as a warrior or a diplomat?
Responding with tact and grace is the hallmark of a humble, win-win oriented leader who has learned to transcend ego. Individuals who have mastered the art and science of functioning this way are author Jim Collins describes as Level 5 leaders: “a study in duality: modest and willful, shy and fearless.”
- Do you position yourself in a cast member or leading role?
Everyone can be a leader even if they aren’t the in-charge leader. All it takes is a mix of daring, compassion, accountability, and a dollop of guts. Being overly meek and blending into the background doesn’t drive results or build engagement.
Savvy leaders recognize that all the combinations Watkins lists may be applicable in any given set of circumstances, ignoring the “or” and correctly applying what Collins calls the “power of the AND.” These smart leaders embrace possibility with openness, practice inclusion without judgment, turn dreams into reality, and inspire others to do the same.
Image credit (before quote added): Pixabay
by Paul Ratoff | Leadership
In the closing seconds of a tight basketball game, a smart coach will huddle with his players and draw up a play designed to result in a winning shot.
However, if a single teammate is disengaged, the play can go wrong, and the team falls short of victory.
Businesses have something in common with that basketball team.
A business needs a purpose, and each employee needs to be inspired by—and contributing to—that purpose. They need to buy-in.
If everyone in an organization feels good about the work they do and is committed to the organization’s purpose, then good results are likely to happen. But if workers fail to buy-in and aren’t engaged, their productivity suffers and the company as a whole pays the price.
For years, many companies chased quarterly earnings and ignored any overarching purpose beyond keeping shareholders happy. But to survive and thrive in today’s world, businesses need to think about more than just “shareholder value.”
Company leaders need to manage from the perspective of stakeholder value. Stakeholders include everyone who impacts the company or is impacted by it, from customers to suppliers to communities to employees.
Imagine if you could get employees to look at their jobs as something with a purpose that goes beyond just earning a paycheck. That purposeful orientation could result in a more engaged workforce, better productivity, and perhaps less turnover.
In fact, studies have shown that especially millennials seek purpose in their jobs and are quick to switch employers if they don’t find it.
Numerous companies have developed statements to define their purposes. Google wants to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Roche, a biotech company, states its purpose as: “Doing now what patients need next.”
Once a company defines its purpose, how does it get employee buy-in? By doing three things.
3 things to build employee buy-in to purpose
1) It starts at the top.
It’s not enough that employees find the purpose inspiring. The leader of the company must also be authentically inspired and inspiring. He or she has to get the entire management team enthusiastically on board.
You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case. ~Ken Kesey
2) Make sure the purpose is clear and meaningful.
Company leaders must find a common purpose that’s broad enough to be meaningful and important to employees. In the absence of a clear organizational purpose, people focus on their individual goals and may perceive different purposes for the same organization.
Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish. ~Sam Walton
3) Discard what doesn’t fit.
Identify company activities that aren’t aligned with the purpose and remove or transform them.
You cannot expect your team to rise above your example. ~Orrin Woodward
Purpose isn’t an idea that only lives in a strategic plan or on a website. It lives in the daily operation of a business and in the ongoing communications with stakeholders. And it lives as the internal compass for keeping a complicated organization with many competing interests on course.
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Today’s guest contributor is Paul Ratoff, author, management consultant, and president of Strategy Development Group Inc.
Image credit before quote added: Pixabay
