Do You Have the Qualities of a Great Leader?

We know what bad leadership looks and feels like, now let’s define what great leadership is!  What am I missing?  In the comment section, please add your observations.

Great Leadership Is:

• Always learning
• Continuously believing
• A servant leader
• One that is faithful to your word
• Always looking for, and believing the best of your team, even when they’ve failed
• Eliciting the assistance of a gifted team of people who you trust.
• Delegating your weaknesses without being threatened by the gifted employees who have greater knowledge, experience, and expertise
• Celebrating your team’s wins, while monitoring their failures, without projecting that they are failures.
• When you can say, “The buck stops here!”
• Living with a high level of integrity
• Is responsible for setting a positive atmosphere while smashing negativity
• Finding subject matter experts to compensate for your gaps
• Being the same person in private as in public
• Creating a synergistic climate through your positive expectations of what CAN be done
• Able to delegate and follow-through consistently
• Asking the hard questions and uncovering what is, and what is not working Being able to honestly assess the difficult results, while taking responsibility for all outcomes, good and bad
• Being able to LISTEN to your staff to hear what’s missing, not just what you want to hear
• Valuing the process by not cutting corners to acquire what you want sooner than the process demands
• Trusting that when you delegate a project you won’t need to micromanage to acquire great results
• Admitting when you’re wrong without giving excuses or blame-shifting to take the focus off your own mistakes
• Accomplishing the same expectations you have of others
• Casting realistic visions while navigating and keeping the ship on course
• Putting a demand on yourself, as much as on others
• Realistic
• Seeing the gifting, talent, and possibility in others. Then extrapolating the outcomes for the furtherance of the vision as well as for the personal growth of the person
• Inspirational and motivational
• Able to make the least on your team feel as though they have important contributions to make.
• Taking responsibility and able to say, “I was wrong!” when appropriate
• Guides and navigates without using manipulation
• So secure you don’t need to feed on the accolades or appreciation others. You “are” confident and competent
• Always growing in your skills, knowledge, and confidence
• Giving credit where credit is due
• Being humble

What are the Necessary Elements You Need, as a Leader, to Attract, Motivate, and Keep the Most Talented Employees?

The Gallop organization discovered that the employees who rated the questions below more positively , had a company with much higher levels of productivity, greater profit, higher retention and more satisfied customer service.

To build a productive, collaborative, positive climate, the questions below will guide your actions toward retention. Find a way to keep your pulse on how your employees are “really” doing, will take some tact, and even some investigation. Those on their way out won’t as readily or honestly share how they’re doing. They won’t want to tip you off. Be creative, but not sneaky in your effort to learn the answers to these questions.

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

At Starbucks, they are ingenious in the way they gather this kind of information. They conduct “skip level” interviews. This alone elicits a natural accountability, as they do it often enough that those who work at Starbucks, and both my children have been “shifts” at Starbucks, know their actions will be disclosed to the powers that be, hence some of why you have positive, friendly employees that are known as partners, and truly treated as such.

MONDAY MORSELS for Leaders-Two Questions to Assist You In Retaining Your Most Talented Employees!

It’s a common occurrence, and I see it all the time. “How could she do that to us?” (they say), as one of their key employees packs to leave for a better offer, or a new opportunity. Neither the manager, nor the owner/leader, had any idea this employee was open to other options, or possibly discontent. Now they’ll be left short handed while everything goes into crisis mode, as the position becomes vacant.

So let me ask you, could this have been avoided? Is there a way to avert this from taking place at your company? Absolutely! Two questions-that’s all it takes to keep from being blindsided. Or, in the least, it is the beginning of a process that will undoubtedly save the company countless dollars, not to mention time and resources of other employees, who need to do their own work but will have to take on the responsibilities of this position until a new hire is up and trained. What are these questions?

• What is it that will keep you here?
• What would make you leave?

If you’ll take the time to find out the answer to these two questions, you’re well on your way to designing a culture and position that will keep talented, focused employees. That is, assuming you’ve put someone in the position that actually fits the position in the first place with their personality, knowledge, education, talent and desire. Make sure you have someone asking these questions that will drill down to the real answers. If the owner asks it, you can guess that what you’ll get is what you want to hear. This is why when I’m hired to come in to assist the owners, either as an Executive Coach or in a consulting role, that I’m able to easily find these answers out. Employees know that I have no allegiance and that I have their best interest at heart. I believe they can truly tell I care about them, and how they’re doing as well as the company. So, you say you can’t hire me? Then have someone else, someone that has nothing to gain from the knowledge, find out the answers to these two questions. And then don’t stop there! Actually take the information you receive from them, and develop a plan, a plan to retain your best, most talented employees! You’ll be glad you did.

5 Costly Perils Business Owners Can Avoid pt. 1 (Just say “No)

The symptom:

1. I’m the owner, I can do it all myself, or pay my current employees to do it. This is, by far, the most prevalent and deceptive peril I see in operation in businesses. It appears to make sense when you’re the leader/manager, that is, if you don’t uncover all the facts. If you, or your employee, have specific training to perform high level job tasks that warrant a larger pay scale than minimum wage, and you give this employee a time-intensive, mundane task to perform, it’s illogical!  You see, if any high school student could do it, and it doesn’t take specialized training, you’re wasting perfectly good resources - your specially trained workforce.  But by far the worst thing you could do would be to do it yourself! If you do, you’re throwing good money, not to mention time, down the drain. “But, I’m saving money because I’m not adding more people to the payroll”, you say. Nothing could be more misleading! If you or your qualified employee could be spending time generating more work, bring in clientele, or working on cost saving processes that would save the company money, while a temp is doing the boring, mundane task, well, you figure it out. It only makes good business sense, as well as solid time management to delegate the task. Here’s the formula: Be sure you’re doing tasks that mirror your pay scale. Take some time to calculate your hourly worth, as well as know your employees’ hourly rate. If, according to the income, you or they are worth $200, or even $35 an hour, then don’t spend hours doing a job you could pay someone else $8 per hour. Make sense?

The solution:

In light of the surplus of people out of work, it is just intelligent to hire either a virtual assistant, a temp, or a minimum wage earner to do these tasks. Why not try to stay within the confines of your “brilliant self”? This connotes doing only those things that make you shine, and bring compound exponential value to your business. See for yourself how much more effective and fulfilled you and your staff will be. It’s why you’ve gained your specific training in the first place!

A perfect example of this “Just Say No!” skill is that of Mick Jagger and his three comrades from “The Rolling Stones”. Mick does two things, and two things exceptionally well: 1. He performs; and, 2. He records. He’s done it for more than 40 years, and is still going strong! (If it’s not obvious, they haven’t burned out. . . which is a common occurrence among business owners who try to DO ALL and BE ALL.) Wouldn’t it be silly to see Mick and the band among the 200 or so people that it takes to set up their two to three-story set? Or have them calling around to obtain bookings for their performances? Better yet, would you think it a good idea for Mick to learn to fly a plane, just so they wouldn’t have to pay one of the two or more pilots on their payroll?  If it makes sense for them, it makes sense for you. Obviously on a much smaller scale, but the same principle all the same. So my motto for my clients for the new year is: “JUST SAY NO!”, and watch your money flow while your business grows!

Is it too ingrained in you to change?  Is setting leadership priorities and sticking with them difficult for you? Then it might be time to hire an Executive Coach. Check out the offer through January, and set yourself up for your best year ever!  Do it today. You won’t regret it, you have my word, and a money back guarantee!

Every Leader Is Faced with Overwhelming Challenges pt. I

Feel like giving up, chucking it, just walking away?  Are the finances drowning you?  Have you had an employee who should be renamed Benedict Arnold?  Are you sick and tired of whining, complaining employees that make you feel like you’re “babysitting” them instead of leading them?  Are they doing barely enough to keep their job while at the same time demanding more money and time off?  Or, maybe you had a competitor that stole your largest client, and you thought he was a friend.   I could go on and on giving you examples of the many challenges that leaders/managers face.  And I’m sorry to say, these occurrences are all too common, and have happened to the best of us!  This is one main reason why YOU’RE the employER, not the employEE.  It’s part of the job description, and it can be down right discouraging as a leader!  Now, it’s what you do with this information that makes or breaks you.  So, what’s a person to do?  Well, don’t quit, or become a hard headed tyrant!  I have heard a great rule of thumb:  NEVER ever quit on a bad day!  What I do that brings a little leadership perspective is to read biographies of great men and women. I look for the gems of perseverance and fortitude that these leaders have gained, while noting the awful circumstances they lived through.  Someone to commiserate with.

• Michael Jordan was eliminated from his high school basketball team.  What if he had quit then?

• Western Union actually said this: “The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.  The device is inherently of no value to us.”  What if Alexander Graham Bell listened to them?

• When Fred Smith, founder of Federal Express Corporation, wrote about his idea of an overnight delivery service in a college paper, the professor told him his idea was hardly a “C” concept and that it had to be feasible to even be considered.  Obviously this didn’t discourage Mr. Smith.

• Most people thought it could never be done, so most people didn’t even try. Then Roger Bannister did it. Break the 4 minute mile that is.  Because the expectation changed, within 10 years over 336 other men had done the same.  They just needed to know it was possible.

Many times, when working with a leader, I detect the need to first do an attitude adjustment before we can do anything else, and don’t we all need assistance in this area from time to time, if not all the time.  If they’d been beaten down, and had a rough time, it’s only natural to be negative and pessimistic.  Therefore, no work I would do with them would make a difference, until we first transform their thinking.  With the right outlook, one can handle almost anything.  Here’s one suggestion; read positive motivational books, articles, or stories that will build your can do attitude.  One great book I always recommend is “Unstoppable” by Cynthia Kersey.  It’s got great short stories of people who have overcome insurmountable obstacles to live their dream and mission in life.  (check out the sidebar for “Unstoppable” offered by Amazon) What do you do that helps your attitude?

MONDAY MORSALS for Leaders - Become an Expert

I will never forget the day my friend inspired me, and set me on course for the rest of my life, by directing my passions and launching my destiny.  I was laid up after having ACL knee surgery when she called.  It was a normal conversation on the phone when she shared a new piece of knowledge she had just attained.  I know she had no idea the profound affect her sharing would be to me.  She said, “I learned You can be an expert in any area, if you read just 7 books on the subject.”  So I did just that, and considerably more.  I’ve now read close to 30 books on the subject of DISC Behavioral Styles, and what was a hobby, a fun way to assist and coach people to understand one another, is now the foundation of a thriving Coaching and Consulting practice.  But it was an inconspicuous start, with the goal being to read 7 books.  I still have a difficult time believing that it only take 7 books to be an expert, but they say the average person doesn’t even read 1 book a year, so according to that, 7 is an immense number.  Now, what’s the take away from this?

1. It’s never too late to get started learning something new, that could transform you future, and launch a new career or lifestyle.
2. What you did 5 years ago (even though this was 30 years ago for me) the books you read, the people you chose to be around, the decisions you made, and the actions you took resulted in who you are and what you do today.  Therefore, the books you read today, the people you chose to be around, the decisions you make, and actions you take WILL CREATE who you will be, and what you will do in 5 years!
3. What you say to your friends, colleagues, and employees could set direction for them for the rest of their lives!  Choose your words carefully.

So, what’s your passion?  What fascinates you?  Is there something you’ve always wanted to do, but you haven’t received enough knowledge to feel secure enough to call yourself an expert? Then I say, begin with just one book.  Set that goal, get the book and read it today.  One step at a time, and before you know it, you’ll have read 7 books as well.

25 years ago, when Denise Mahoney  shared her new discovery with me, she had no idea that one day, because of that call, I would be coaching executives, including the top executives of a billion dollar public works engineering project, as well as launching a complete business of coaching and consulting.   Now, I have added certifications to this book reading, but it all started with a little boost in knowledge that gave me an increase in confidence.  And all because of a half hour conversation with a friend kind enough to call while I was recuperating.  Thanks Denise!!  Here’s to you girl.

The Challenges of 4 Generations in the Workplace pt. II

An example of the implications of our generational differences is in the way the Traditional Generation views and treats authority. They learned the value of subjugating their will for the good of the whole, paying the price for the freedom and peace of future generations. During two world wars, and The Great Depression, loyalty to authority, whether it be the government, or a company, was a value, and something to unquestioningly give your life for, and they did! Questioning authority didn’t exist! You did what you were told, when you were told. Whereas, Generation “X”, the most disillusioned generation to date, and for good reason I might add, watched their parents experience downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, leaving them without a pension, retirement, or even a job in some cases. The company mantra during those days was, “If it’s good for our company, regardless the impact on the employees, do it!” And they did, while their children, Generation “X”, watched in horror as a new set of values and standards was embedded in their conscience.  The day of the company/employee contract, where the company takes excellent care of the employee, and the employee gives their life to work for one company, was GONE! And with it, the days of the golden watch and parachute as well. Generation “X” learned that career development was now up to them. They would have to take care of themselves! Therefore, moving from job to job, to build their portfolio, is viewed as a necessity of survival, and who could blame them? Add to this tangled mix in a company the Boomers and the Millennial generation, with all of their varying values and perspective, and you have quite the puzzle. Yet, with all of this, I guarantee the employee puzzle can fit together well, if you will take the time to truly understand how to place, work with, and motivate each person according to their generational values, perspective, and individual needs.  In fact, they can even function extremely well together, but it does take a skilled leader/manager who is willing to learn this information. and apply it to their companies circumstances.

Fascinating isn’t it? And this barely touches the surface. If you would like more information, or learn about the generational workshop in Tucson with the Women In Transportation Organization in November, or to book a workshop, go to the Sign-Up/Contact page today and let Sue know.

“The Generational Puzzle” Challenges of Four Generations in the Workplace pt. I

Women in Transportation Seminar (Nov. 12th ‘09 at the Manning House in Tucson) Ever find yourself feeling like you’re working with a person from another culture? If they’re of a different generation, then you are. Each generational “cohort” (Traditionalists, Boomers, GenerationX’ers, and the Millennials), were shaped by the prevailing values, events, crises and attitudes during their formative years. Each “cohort” has its own symbols, dress, mannerisms, values, method of communicating, and definition of success. These differences can create tension and conflict in the work environment. It is imperative that leaders and managers understand these differences in order to work skillfully with people of various generations.  With understanding and training, the drama will be diffused, the barriers removed, enabling the company to function as a well-oiled unified team.

During this interactive training on the generations, one will begin the learning journey by:

• Identifying the generational differences

• Gaining an appreciation for each generation’s idiosyncrasies

• Identifying one’s own focus, while at the same time learning what motivates and demotivates each generation.

• Improving the hiring, retention, and management of the various generations

• Having fun by enjoying all the cultural diversity in the workplace - lol

It’s a fun, informative day of exploring our differences, laughing at our challenges, and gaining a competency that could be the very best skill to add to your skill set for the next decade. If you’re a leader, new or seasoned, your ability to cast vision, motivate, hire the right person for the right position, fire, and build a productive, cohesive team, will be enhanced incredibly with this knowledge/skill, expediting your goals exponentially! For more information, please refer to the flier, and contact Sue today!

MONDAY MORSALS for Leaders

It takes true dedication to achieve transformation!  90% of people who attend seminars see NO IMPROVEMENT in their lives. The same goes for reading self-help books, listening to tapes/CD’s or even to a sermon for that matter.  And why is that?  Because you have to implement what you’ve learned.  It must be linked to the listener’s life and experiences.   Knowledge alone does virtually nothing.  An example I heard once, was that in this day and age everyone knows it is bad for your health to smoke, but for an avid smoker, that fact doesn’t change their habit!  Humm…think about it.  On top of that, although we spend 55% of our time listening, the sad thing is that 70% of what is said gets screened out, or misunderstood.  So, is it effective for one to spend the majority of time at a workshop listening, or would it be better spent engaging the hearer in activities that will ingrain a lesson, searing it into their mind for future reference? Humor, stories and skits aid in this process.  But for a new skill, competency, or attitude to become route, you must provide some form of action plan with accountability.  This can be done in the form of coaching, or even with an accountability partners.  (For more information on coaching, see the tab on the main page of this web-site)

My father, Dr. Don Barnes, was a professor of secondary education at the University of Arizona.  This meant that if you were going for your doctorate in education, he was one of two professors you would have had.  His passion was to actually have his students “achieve learning” so that they would be better equipped to be a principals, administrators, or teachers.  I learned from him the value of engaging people in the learning process, by encouraging them to discover, banter, negotiate, and observe for themselves, ultimately applying their learning experiences to their life.  As a leader or manager, we tend to want to take the easy way, and just “tell” our employees what to, or not to do. And, in some instances this may be necessary.  In meetings though, we can bore them to death, as we drone on, leaving them clueless in the end as to the purpose of the meeting in the first place.  Next time you have an important point to make, or change to initiate to establish, be creative, facilitate the learning process.  Asking questions and leading a discussion takes work, but believe me, they’ll own the answer and outcome considerably more! Now to do this, you can’t be the “answer” man/woman, but must allow them to think they came up with the solution on their own.  And, they just may surprise you, and come up with a better one than you were thinking of.  You won’t receive the credit, but the organization/company will benefit from their greater commitment, involvement, and contribution.  Here’s to you dad, thanks!    Sue

How Have You Gained Confidence as a Leader?

I’ve invited a few esteemed colleagues to reveal their journey of leadership confidence with you, and today I have the privilege of introducing you to the story of Randy Ford, of Catalina Automotive , who has gone from holding management positions in the field of engineering, with an MBA, into living his passion for cars.  He has recreated his life into being a successful entrepreneur, utilizing this love of cars, in an amazingly short period of time.  Below is Randy’s story.

“We put a hummingbird feeder outside our living room window. It sits there silently every day and most of the time without apparent purpose. Then a ‘hummer shows up and it’s almost impossible not to smile. It’s a perfect yet fleeting match of needs and resources. And just as quickly the moment is gone. The feeder was the important first step. A green-winged hummingbird depends on it and that gave us the confidence to put out a second. Now several tiny families are being cared for and we are aware of the continuing responsibility to keep them filled.

Starting a business requires the same kind of willingness to hang out our own special type of hummingbird feeder while knowing there are no guarantees. Our passion drives us to assemble the team and the resources and the first customer shows up. Then the next…and the next. That’s when our confidence is boosted and we smile inside. Starting a retail auto repair business from scratch, after years away from the industry was my hummingbird feeder. My passion was the belief that trying to exceed customer expectations through honesty, fair prices, and quality work would set us apart. Commitment and passion are the foundation and confidence comes when customers and employees respond positively to the passion they see in you.

Our operation has grown steadily to over $1 million in sales and yet uncertainty still lurks at every one of the decisions each day requires. We are tweaking constantly to stay focused on what the customers need. A few bad decisions helped me painfully discover the importance of a small support group. They help me maintain perspective and help me keep thinking strategically about how to build the company. The strategy helps determine what tactical steps are needed to support the strategy. That way I’ll have a better idea of when to put out the next feeder.”

As you read Randy’s story, how can you see that it applies to you?  What were the stages of his confidence development?  What is it you see from his story that you are lacking in your circumstances?  I want to challenge you to implement some of these time tested strategies as you continue to embark on your own story!  Happy leading!

Next Page »