Effective Leadership: Rejecting the Status Quo
Process. Routine. Habit. Status quo. When a true leader hears the words, “We’ve always done it this way,” his or her fingers start to itch. The questions come fast and furious:
“Why have we always done it this way?”
“What’s working in our process - and what’s not?”
“How can we do it better?”
Great leaders consistently seek out new and innovative ways to accomplish work. They push the envelope in their undying quest for continual improvement, living by the adage, “If it’s not broke, break it!”
Is this an extreme position? Yes, it is. In a world where people habitually resist change, true leaders seek change out and welcome it. They affirm that no matter how poorly a system is working now, it can be turned around to become a streamlined, profit-making machine. And, they recognize that no matter how well a system is functioning, it can always be made better, leaner, and faster.
Effective Leadership: Power Shift
Power is a commodity. There is a limited amount of it to go around. Therefore, I must clutch my power to my chest and never let a shred of it out of my grasp.
Power is organic. Like life itself, it is limitless. Therefore, when I share power with others I lose nothing, and they gain everything.
These two very different viewpoints are not simply philosophy. They are often at the core of whether a business ultimately succeeds or fails. The fact is, leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. True leaders recognize that success in business is never the result of one man or woman’s efforts or exclusive direction: that is the dictator principle. Instead, success is dependent upon the leader surrounding himself or herself with strong and capable followers.
Consider this example.* An innovative entrepreneur founded and served as president of an engineering firm. He was brilliant in his field, and well-respected and well-liked by all his employees. The firm grew to be a recognized industry leader. Nevertheless, the firm was actually on rocky ground. Morale was deplorably low. Frustration levels were high, and continued to mount. Critical decisions slipped through the cracks, resulting in lost opportunities and decreased revenue.
Four Barriers to Effective Communication
Why does communication so often go wrong? Here are the top four reasons for breakdowns in communication:
1. Poor Listening Skills. Poor listening skills top the list when it comes to barriers to communication. Poor listening skills can result from:
* Lack of involvement with the other person or the topic at hand: you just don’t care enough to listen.
* Distractions in the environment such as excessive noise or activity.
* Disagreement with the speaker, resulting in mentally “shutting off” the other person.
* Passive listening rather than active involvement with the speaker.
2. Assumptions. There are many assumptions we make while communicating with others. For instance, you might think that you know what the other person is going to say, so you simply “leave” the conversation.
Effective Leadership: Style Really Does Matter
As an executive coach, I have found that style really does matter. Leadership style, that is.
Many people go through life with an attitude that says, “This is the way I am - take it or leave it.” As a leader, you don’t have that option. When confronted with diverse situations in the work environment, you will often need to respond with very different leadership styles. Some will be comfortable and natural to you, and some will make you stretch.
Take the situation one of my clients found himself in:
My client was CEO of a mid-size corporation. His natural flair was to work with his staff in a very collaborative fashion. In fact, he believed that it was important not only to collaborate with his staff, but to have consensus from them on all major decisions. In most cases, this worked well. But the day came when the company needed to implement a new operational structure. A massive change was essential. The CEO attempted to collaborate and get a consensus from all the members on his leadership team … but three months later, they were still arguing about what to do and how to do it. Friction and hostility had crept into the previously united team. The CEO was at his wit’s end. He called me in.
A Practical Guide to Employee Motivation
Motivating your employees is key to the success of your company. Here are seven ways you can effectively increase your employees’ motivation - starting today!
1. Ask each of your employees for what and how they’d like to recognized. Do they want to be recognized for the quality of their work or the quantity? For the way in which they do their work (cheerfully, efficiently, innovatively)? Do they want to be recognized individually or as part of a group? Publicly or privately? Look for opportunities to boost motivation by providing the recognition that each individual is seeking. For many people, a simple “thank you” in the form of a note on their desk or a voice-mail message will go much farther than a monetary reward.
2. Evaluate the roles/jobs in your organization. Do they involve a variety of challenging opportunities or have they been distilled into boring, repetitive tasks? Take advantage of opportunities to expand or enrich jobs/roles to increase variety, autonomy or decision-making authority.