Confessions of an Accidental Leader

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

Sue Porter — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:44:27 +0000

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.

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

Can Leadership Expertise be Trained, Acquired? pt 2

Sue Porter — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:13:11 +0000

In pt. 2, guest bloggers from my LinkedIn community share their expert opinions on this subject in this post:

“Leadership is a combination of learning and who we are at our core. It is the required learning basic knowledge and skills while developing and fine-tuning abilities. At a deeper level, that is the real question. We could get into a nature nurture discussion.

However, here is the major issue today. Leaders in today’s workforce, especially senior leadership are boomers. They are used to leading the way they have been led to for nearly 3 generations. And, many are somewhat autocratic in their style.

This requires them to change or fine tune their approach and shift their thinking. This is the opportunity we have with today’s workforce. And, asking leaders to change what has worked for generations suddenly rocks the boat…for everyone.

So, leaders that survive in today’s environment are being required to adapt and change with the shifting workforce. Not to mention a similar awareness is just as important with external customer needs shifting as well.

They need to develop instinct—that gut feeling to do what is right and anticipate the needs of their people. Flexing leadership styles is more essential today than ever before. It requires resilience and valor to go against what what one has known for so long and what others in an organization have been used too for so long.”

Phillip Tanzilo-MBA, CPLP, MHRM

“Many times professionals are too sure about their position; think they know everything. By that they losing their knowledge and memory. Even best leadership expertise need to be trained; up date news, info in their profession to know what is good or bad; what is working or not. Expertise always should be ready for any question to answer.”

Krystyna Mazur

Please add your thoughts!

Can Leadership Expertise be Trained and Acquired? pt 1

Sue Porter — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:45:07 +0000

In my effort to learn and participate in the social networking site, “LinkedIn”, the number 1 business social networking site, I asked a question to one of the 13 groups I’m part of, and received 15 responses from the “Executive Reform Movement” group. I’ve answered this question as well as asked two from the group to be my guest bloggers today, and with their permission, I’ve posted their responses on pt. 2. After reading them, let me know what you think.

I asked this because it is my passion to provide training, support, and coaching to those leaders that “fall” into the role of leadership, and find themselves ill equipped to handle the demands of the position. Something my husband and I faced over 30 years ago, while leading a growing segment of a non-profit organization. Given the position, we then received no training, it was trial and error, hit and miss, and a lot of prayer. We failed, we excelled, we grew, and it was the beginning of my recognizing how many of us find ourselves in the same “titled” position. Ta da, you’re now a “LEADER”! But there’s no magic wand that infused us with the knowledge and skills we needed. Hence, my reason for having this blog, dedicated to you who want to grow your competencies and be the leader others want to follow.

Now, it never fails to amaze me when I watch leadership transformation take place, that THE TWO most important competencies for growth are: 1. A willing heart to try things and break out of their comfort zones, and 2. a teachable spirit. Through trial and error, with the support of coaching to re-engineer, train, apply assessments for self-discovery, while cheering the executive along, I’ve seen all kinds of change occur. I’ve observed leaders who were incompetent, ego centric, insecure, lacking motivation and vision, and those who were clueless as to what was needed, make complete transformations! And I can say, wholeheartedly, and emphatically YES - leadership expertise can be trained and acquired by anyone willing and teachable! The book that first revealed the necessary stages, and opened a whole new world to us was, Dr. John C. Maxwell’s book, “Developing the Leader Within You” still relevant today. Between this book and “Be a People Person”, by Dr. Maxwell, we began our assent into the realm of servant leadership, taking our eyes off of getting people to do what we wanted, and onto assisting, equipping, coaching, and motivating people to become all they could become as a new leader, seasoned leader, or manager. It is now an honor to work with the many gifted, highly qualified people who have touched many lives. It is with this motivation that I hope those I coach will find the same great reward. It’s worth the effort to acquire the right heart motivation, and in the end, the employees will continue to make their bosses rich in many ways!

Sue Porter “The Accidental Leader” CPLP, CMEC

MONDAY MORSELS for Leaders-What Made 3% of the Yale Graduating Class of 1953 Worth More Than the Remaining 97% Put Together?

Sue Porter — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:14:05 +0000

With one perfectly honed skill, the skill of goal setting, the 3% become extremely wealthy. Below is the case study from 1953 that magnifies the imperativeness of effectively incorporating three steps in the goal setting process to be successful:

In 1953, Yale University did a study on goal setting. They went to their graduating class and asked them three questions:

“Have you set clear, specific goals?”;
“Have you written them down?” And;
“Have you created an action plan to accomplish them?”

They learned that only 3% had done all three steps. Then, they went back to this same class 20 years later and interviewed the surviving members. They learned that the 3% who had set clear and specific goals, had written them down, and then created an action plan to accomplish them, were worth more than the remaining 97% put together who hadn’t. Need I say more?

Today’s Leadership Action Plan: Set three goals today around developing your leadership. Create one long range goal, one short range goal, and one goal that you can meet within 6 months. Remember that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, or 21 days to undo one. Follow the steps listed above, adding one last element to ensure your commitment to leadership development. Tell someone what will motivate you either positively or negatively, and then stick to it. For instance, I had one client that wouldn’t buy a new pair of shoes until she went one full week utilizing a new skill, thus reaching her goal-positive motivation. Another client had to pay me $200 extra, if, for one week, he didn’t fulfill his goal-negative motivation. Whatever motivates you, hold yourself to it by placing yourself in accountability. Make a demand on yourself by making it a big enough deal that you’ll genuinely put yourself up against the wall to be accountable, thereby accomplishing your goal. And, if you take me up on this, please let me know. I’d love to follow your progress!

Now, if you already know that you’re someone that has tried to do this before, and it hasn’t worked, or that you know you just won’t do it, but you truly want to, you just need assistance. Why not try coaching? What if it works? What if it’s finally your key to setting your goals, as well as finding the motivation it will take to follow through and reach them? Is it time to place yourself into accountability? Then don’t wait. Contact me today, and you could receive one free session worth $175. Helping people fulfill their goals and achieve success is not only one of my specialties, but one of the favorite aspects of the work I do. Either way, here’s to your success!

The Indomitable Spirit of the Leader

Sue Porter — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:30:55 +0000

Where do you acquire your inspiration? Do you take your challenges and frustrations and amalgamate them into laser like focus, and a clear, unstoppable vision? For me, keeping my eye on role models with the kind of extreme challenge I live with regularly, is one way. I have a heroic esteem that after contemplating on their stories, cascades into a belief that says to me regularly, if they can do it, with their issues and problems, there is nothing that I will allow to stop me! So, when I’m coaching a business owner who’s struggling with the normal issues that every business owner I know does, I say often, “This is why you’re the business owner, not your employees.” It’s not a normal person that could handle an employee that embezzles money, with a customer wrongfully suing them, a computer that crashes and one of their big clients stolen by their competitor. Oh, and did I mention, this all happened within a month’s time? This may be extreme, but you have to be an extreme person yourself to weather instances of the above scenario on a regular basis. You see, the definition of business owner/leader is “One who has continuous challenges in the workplace that evoke a symphony of emotions”. How you deal with it all is what makes the difference, and you have to learn and acquire a defying like strength that will keep you going, in spite of all the leadership challenges and circumstances. Those that make it, stick it out, and are successful, learn to have an indomitable spirit, and an unstoppable attitude. Finding heroes to emulate is only one way to stay the course. What is it that you do that keeps you in the game?

Tip of the week: Read autobiographies of great men and women, or short stories such as in the book “Unstoppable” by Cynthia Kersey. And by all means read, or listen to “Failing Forward” by Dr. John C. Maxwell. Understanding that failure is not forever, and doesn’t translate into you’re a failure, is a huge lesson we all need to learn.

Leaders Can Be Masters of Casting Vision-Especially When They Do It Through A Story

Sue Porter — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:03:08 +0000

Leadership means casting vision. It is creating a vivid picture of a possible future that is exciting to be a part of. It is eliciting belief in your staff that creates a confidence in you, the leader, that you know where they are going, and can, with their help, take them there. Whether you’re solving a problem, or creating a new reality, it’s making the world a better place because of the piece you and your company plays in it. So how do you get this across? A lot of leaders/managers use power point, but could you get your points across better by weaving them into a compelling story? Personally, I believe people remember stories more than they remember graphs and charts. In this video you’ll see a gifted story teller, Robert McKee give an example of the benefit of using stories. And you don’t have to be casting vision to do this. It could be used for expressing everyday objectives in a fresh new way.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You be the judge, and try it some time when you’re wanting to emphasize a key point that you need your staff to remember. And just like any skill, it takes time to develop it until it is truly effective. Don’t give up after one try, there is a learning curve!

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

Sue Porter — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:18:26 +0000

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.

MONDAY MORSELS for Leaders-Can Leadership Expertise Be Acquired?

Sue Porter — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:00:49 +0000

Here’s the question: Do you believe that leadership expertise can be learned, acquired? Can people gain the influence necessary, with teaching, training or coaching, to grow an organization, if they don’t have the natural personality to do so? What’s your opinion?

I asked this because it is my passion to provide training, support, and coaching to those leaders who “fall” into the role of “leadership”, and find themselves ill equipped to handle the demands of the position. This was something my husband and I faced over 30 years ago, while leading a prosperous area in a non-profit organization. It never fails to amaze me when I watch leadership transformation take place right in front of my eyes. I’ve found THE two most important competencies for growth are: 1. A willing heart to try things, while people try to break out of their comfort zones; and, 2. A teachable spirit. Through trial and error, as well as with the support of a coach to re-engineer, train, and apply assessments for self-discovery, (while supporting and cheering the executive along,) I’ve seen change occur over and over again; even in those who had staff that pulled me aside to let me know there was absolutely nothing I would be able to accomplish with so and so. For me, this is music to my ears. Let me at them, to work with them. I’ve observed leaders who were incompetent, egocentric, insecure, lacking motivation and vision, harsh and hard hearted, as well as those who were clueless as to the needs around them, make complete transformations! I can genuinely say, wholeheartedly, and with an emphatic resounding “YES” . . leadership expertise CAN be trained and acquired by anyone who is willing and teachable! In fact, the book that revealed the necessary stages, opening a whole new world to us was, Dr. John C. Maxwell’s book, “Developing the Leader Within You“. Between this book and “Be a People Person“, by Dr. Maxwell, we began our assent into a new realm of servant leadership, learning to take our eyes off of getting people to do what “WE” wanted, and onto assisting, equipping, coaching, and motivating people to become all they could become, in the position they were in, thus fulfilling the company mission as they grew. It is now an honor to work with the many gifted, highly qualified people who have touched so many others and been willing to learn the lessons needed, and skill sets necessary, to become a servant leader. It is with this motivation that I hope those I coach will find the same great reward. It’s worth the effort to acquire and deal with a right heart motivation. And in the end, the employees will continue to make their bosses rich in every way possible!

LEADERS, QUIT SABOTAGING YOURSELF AND GET RID YOUR BLIND SPOTS NOW!

Sue Porter — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:33:02 +0000

Telling us what you think

I was breaking out with acne like a teenager. For over a year and a half I caked on foundation on my face, trying to hide the ghastly blemishes. Finally, I thought I’d try a moisturizing cream that was on sale, and within a week I noticed I wasn’t breaking out, NOT ONE BIT. After a year and a half of misery, what had made the difference? I discovered that make-up with oil in it caused my face to erupt and look like the Grand Canyon landed on my face. With one small, simple change, I felt physically, and emotionally better. I’m convinced this dilemma would have been solved considerably sooner had I consulted a professional in cosmetology, and had a needs assessment done on my skin. These same fatal flaws happen to professionals in every field, especially those in the role of a leader. As a leader you can easily succumb to believing you’re more important than you actually are, or that you’re more successful than is true. Like my simple little issue, so easily detected by a cosmetologist, the right business consultant, or executive coach can bring a trained eye to detect the small changes needed that will make a world of difference in your personal and professional success. They will provide the needed microscopic, outsider view-in to assess what’s working, while detecting what’s not. The value to this process is that they are someone who isn’t jaded by office politics, without bias toward one person or another, and therefore can see clearly, without any blind spots, what leaders are easily blind to. Couple this needs assessment with a program of coaching to hold you accountable for the needed adjustments or changes, and I believe you can more than double your effectiveness in the future. My question to you is, if you are a business owner, why wait until things are out of control? Like a yearly physical is needed to catch health problems before they exacerbate, every business needs to probe for their weaknesses and blind spots so they aren’t blindsided in the future. Let me ask you, do you feel like something is holding you back; that you or your company aren’t reaching their full potential; that you’ve hit a wall and don’t know what to do or where to go next? If you’re silently any of this fits, and you genuinely see how a process like this could assist you in avoiding impending issues and problems, why wait? Build your leadership confidence to move forward in your business in 2010. Contact me today and receive your free introductory leadership/company consultation to assess if you’re a good fit for us, and if we’re a good fit for you. If you’re not, we’ll refer you to someone who will meet your needs. Our strong affiliation with consultants and coaches throughout the country is why we can assure you the best, most appropriate person and service to meet your needs. Just contact us at: dynamicdev@comcast.net today, and we look forward to your continued success.

Which Social Medial Tool Should You as a Leader Use, if Any?

Sue Porter — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:58:28 +0000

Is social media a viable networking/marketing outlet? To find out the answer to that question, as well as how not to waste your valuable time on social media that isn’t effective, check out this recent report by “The State of Social Media Marketing “ . They just put out a phenomenal report disclosing strategies and predictions for 2010. Is Facebook, or Twitter a better investment of your marketing time? You might be surprised. The writers of this report surveyed 5,140 marketing and business professionals who are using social media to gain their statistics. You will learn how often people are posting on the three most popular sites, Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn , all of which I use regularly (click on these, their my sites.) As well, you’ll learn which is more popular, Twitter or Facebook. If you’re into synergizing and making wise use of your most precious commodity, time, then take a good look at this report. For me, one of the most important facts was the usage of corporate accounts. To be known in your field as an influential mover and shaker, you must participate. My question to you is, are you using “free” media, and if not, why not? It may be that you’ve not seen the value; however, knowledge can break through your preconceived ideas, if you let it, and bring a new found wisdom which can open up to you a whole new world.

If, through proper investigation, you learn you’re missing the boat, but you’re not sure where to begin, with so many options already available on the market, a report like this can give you some clear cut, statistical direction. Now, I hear from people all the time who dislike, almost hate, the idea of Facebook. I should know, I was one of them, but I am now a happy convert. Not only have I reconnected with a lot of truly wonderful people, I have made business connections that will last a lifetime. We won’t even talk about keeping an eye on what your children are doing, or the wonderful pictures of grandchildren you can regularly obtain. Just know that if you’re not exploring this issue, you may be missing out on one of the most revolutionary marketing endeavors to come along in your lifetime. So, check it out. Here’s some of the valuable information that I hope will persuade you, although if you’re reading this, it’s highly likely you’re already taking advantage of it. Happy social networking! Share this with someone who doesn’t read blogs, or uses social media. For more on the report, check out the social media examiner article: http://bit.ly/5jCnMV