Build Best Bosses

At the Heart of Development, Awareness

Woman Holding Blank Frame

A manager I was coaching recently explained (away) the behavior of one of his supervisors: "He isn't an angry person. He means well. It's just that he's often sharp with people. And sometimes they take it the wrong way. He's really a good worker. I've told him that people can be intimidated by him, so he knows he sometimes comes across this way." But does he really know this? He may acknowledge it in his head but does he recognize it when he is being curt, or better yet, just before he is about to be curt? All of us, in one way or another, go around on auto-pilot. Certain behaviors we have been doing so long and the neural pathways for them in our brains are carved so deep that we don't … [Read more...]

Reactive vs. Creative Mind-sets…and Results

At the core of The Leadership Circle (360 degree assessment) model are the Reactive tendencies and Creative competencies. If you look at the circle itself, you will see Reactive structure of mind represented by the lower half of the circle and Creative structure by the upper half. When leaders operate from the Reactive mind-set they are, of course, able to achieve at least some level of results through their people. The problem is that, as research shows, at some point they hit a ceiling. The behavior that comes with Reactive habits of thought is unable to generate higher performance. When a manager develops a more Creative set of beliefs and assumptions (mental "operating … [Read more...]

Change Your Words, Change Their Minds

I continue to be amazed by that fundamental truth about living: how we choose to see a situation dictates the choices we–and others–make about it. Take a look at this 2-minute clip that demonstrates it better than any more words I can write. You will be glad you did. How you choose to deliver feedback on an employee's performance will have a huge impact on how he/she responds to your message…acceptance, in the spirit of learning, denial, as a victim, or angry counter attack. How you present to employees a change mandated by you or by upper management will guide whether they come around willingly, begrudgingly, or not at all. … [Read more...]

Are You the Expert, the Doctor, or the Process Guy?

Helping-Book Cover

In his short, wonderful book, Helping, Edgar Schein presents us, whether we are a professional  coach or a manager playing a coaching role, with three ways to respond to a request for coaching/mentoring help (or, for that matter, advice with a problem on the job). We can be: an expert resource who provides information or steps in and solves the problem, more like a doctor who prescribes a solution for the client to follow, or a process consultant who works to get the client to come up with a solution. The first two approaches are similar and I find they all too frequently represent the default response of managers when asked for help from their employees. Often it is for … [Read more...]

Develop Your Leadership Competence Asynchronously

Silhouttes-&-World-Map-(sx)

It being New Year's time again, Bill George recently blogged about "Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders." He talked about things you can do to develop yourself, beyond what you do in your direct job: such as finding a mentor, setting up a mastermind type group with other emerging and aspiring leaders,volunteering in the community in a leadership role, and traveling beyond your nation's borders. If you are serious about growing your leadership potential, these are all excellent ideas. A mentor is like a scalpel, someone with whom you can address specific questions and problems you face. What George calls a "leadership development group" provides you with an ongoing team of … [Read more...]

Talent Magnets

Character w:Magnet (iS)

In my leadership workshops and keynote speeches I sometimes ask the group/audience to think of the best boss and worse boss they've ever had, what each did, and what effect it had on you. People come up with all kinds of descriptors and behaviors of both bosses. But one thing emerges about the best boss ever (BBE). He or she is someone you want to work for…and keep working for. Furthermore, a BBE is almost always someone that others in the organization would like to work for too. When an internal posting for a position in this manager's department opens up, many people apply. They know that he/she will inspire them, give them opportunities to do their best work, encourage them, … [Read more...]

Praise their Process Over their Competence

iStock_000003974193Small-300x225

The name and work of Carol Dweck keeps coming up in discussions among experts in cognitive development. I wrote a review of  her important book, MindSet. In it she talks about two fundamental mindsets in people (and, therefore, of course, in employees): Fixed and Growth. Someone with a Fixed mindset believes they can't get any better, improve their skills, or turn around a failure. Growth mindset people believe the opposite. Therefore, they are much more open to feedback, to learning from their mistakes, and trying out new ways and behaviors. Here's what is particularly interesting, from the research. When parents praise their kids for their intelligence when they do well, it tends to … [Read more...]

Every Manager a Coach

Performance-Review

A recent study reinforces the value of coaching by managers throughout the organization. Here are a few key points it makes: Business results were 21% higher in enterprises where senior leaders very frequently make an effort to coach others. This increased when organizations had a culture that supports coaching and makes managers accountable for engaging in it. Despite this, only 11% of senior leaders are "true believers" in the value of coaching and having their managers coach. Furthermore, most managers need to be trained on how to coach, with special emphasis on using open-ended questions, listening actively, and reinforcing positive behavior In our management training … [Read more...]

Do We Stop Growing after Schooling?

Woman-Upset

I ran across a recent posting from the Gallup Management Journal that made a point have I never thought about before: "Raised through a childhood in which each new year brought novel opportunities, playing at ever more difficult levels of sports, growing physically, educated in a system of cleanly delineated grades -- freshman, sophomore, junior, senior -- many employees find themselves several years into their career wondering what happened to the momentum they used to enjoy. Being both conditioned and naturally wired to look forward to differences between seventh and eighth grade or high school and college, many workers are disappointed to discover there will be no dramatic difference … [Read more...]

Keep in Touch with Your Best Former Employees

Networked People(iS-6889731)

It's been a smart idea for years. When good employees leave your organization for greener pastures and the departure is amicable, why not keep in contact? You never know, some may find that that grass isn't, in fact, greener and that your firm was a pretty good place to work after all. A recent WSJ article shares what some firms, especially the larger professional consulting firms, are doing to maintain a former employee "alumni network." These can be elaborate initiatives involving message boards, news/blogs from your organization, jobs you post externally, features on former employee alumni, and even social gatherings. The main benefits of this strategy are to: recruit former … [Read more...]