I met a leader who was getting feedback from his manager at work that he was not being seen as authentic. I will call this leader Tom. I asked Tom some questions to better understand his perspective on the feedback. What did he think was holding him back from being an authentic leader? Is he trying to be what someone else wants him to be? Is he comparing himself to others and trying to be like them? Is he different…
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My very first team leader experience consisted of managing 3 direct reports and 20 indirect reports. Since this was a new experience for me, I asked for advice from some people who had been managing teams. What did they do to prepare themselves to lead a team? I pulled together their ideas and came up with my plan. I asked myself the following questions: What qualities did I want to emulate or reject from my previous leaders? What are my…
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When I first started out as a leader, I was much more directive than I should have been. I didn’t know another way to lead a team yet. Now many teams and many years later, I have learned that there is a much better way to lead. This style of leadership sets the vision for the organization, empowers the team and helps the team learn the skills they need to be successful. Being a leader who leverages coaching skills helps…
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I recently sent out a survey to do some research on challenges that leaders have so I could build some coaching programs. Some of the responses included some questions about coaching and how it works. I thought it might be helpful to answer those questions here in this post. What is coaching? The International Coaching Federation who is the governing body of certification for coaches defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them…
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I have been lucky enough to have some new opportunities come my way. I was obviously pretty excited about each of them. My first impulse was to just say yes immediately. If these were things that I had been working towards, then saying yes would have been absolutely the right thing to do. But these opportunities came out of the blue. How do I decide whether or not to take them? I have a rule that I use…
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I have a confession to make. I absolutely love to collect quotes. I have them saved in my One Note and in my Pinterest account. There are thousands of quotes that people save and re-pin on Pinterest every single day. Quotes are used in so many ways. They may be used for motivation, inspiration, reflection and as a way to help people move forward in their lives. Have you heard a quote as you are going throughout your day that…
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As I read the article, The Leaders Imprint by Scott Mabry, it struck me how much every decision and action we take as a leader can leave in Scott’s words, an “Imprint” on others who work for us. Being critical of our team members on a regular basis has a lasting impact on them. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, people don’t leave organizations, they leave managers. Being too critical causes people to doubt themselves, shut down, become disengaged or…
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What is interesting about the title “leader” is that you don’t get that title unless you are leading a team, an organization or a company. By definition, it means that you have others who are following you. Although there are some companies out there trying the concept of not having formal leaders in place, this is still evolving and it may only work for certain types of companies. In my opinion, being a leader is really one of the greatest…
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CONGRATULATIONS to the Chicago Cubs on winning the National League Division Series! Four very exciting baseball games occurred against the San Francisco Giants which led to the win. I was thinking about all the work that the Chicago Cubs Organization put in place to get to this point. Tough decisions about who to keep on the team and negotiations to identify other players who would bring the team together to give them the chance to win. It is exciting to…
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You just started working in a new role or at a new company. You are excited about the possibilities of your new role and meeting new people. Based on your experience you can see a lot of opportunities that need to be addressed. Where do you begin? Here are three steps to take in order to set yourself up for success. Listen, Observe and Ask Questions. Meet with your staff, key stakeholders, and management to understand the current state of…
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