Often overlooked by the leaders of companies and organizations is the fact that they might be losing staff, opportunities and customers because they aren’t leading in a way that fosters productivity and a positive work environment˳ Many times I have seen CEO’s and senior managers set solid goals, obtain the resources to meet the goals and hire the ‘right’ people only t o miss the mark and keep struggling to not go broke˳ How do your skills measure up? Below I take a look at the dynamics of successful leaders using real life examples˳ See what you think!
5 Leadership Practices Common to Successful Leaders:
I’m basing my comments on information in the book “The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition” by Kouzes and Posner (they have been leadership gurus for many years) The book is a leadership manual with a great index˳ It’s not a ‘read’ from front to back unless you’re a leadership junky like me˳ It is an excellent resource for any leader˳
These 5 practices common to successful leaders are:
1˳ Challenging the Process
2˳ Inspiring a Shared Vision
3˳ Enabling others to act
4˳ Modeling the way and
5˳ Encouraging the heart˳
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1˳ Let’s talk about Challenging the Process˳ This is one way for a leader to be strategic˳
One way to challenge the process is to Search for opportunities˳
One of my clients, Joe the CEO, owns a small A/C and plumbing company˳ When I first started working with Joe, he said, “I don’t like coming to work anymore˳ I used to have fun and now it’s just a drag˳ Maybe I should sell the company and find something else to do?” (I honestly think he hired me to guide him in phasing out of the business!)
How is this costing $? Joe’s thinking was holding the company back AND making him unhappy AND costing him money!! He was SO into the-day-to day minutiae, taking the work tickets, doing payroll, and answering the phone, he was working in the business instead of on it˳ We talked about it˳ What did he wish he could be doing at his business? He created a small vision of what he’d like to be doing˳ Then, once he understood what it was that was keeping him from being strategic, he took 3 important actions:
A˳ He stopped doing the small detailed tasks,
B˳ better trained the people who were supposed to do that work and held them accountable for it, and
C˳ started holding a regular meeting with his partners that focused on strategic rather than operational issues (which were handled in a separate meeting˳)
How is it making $? – He created a long-range vision (plan) that is innovative and creative˳ What does leadership have to do with it? Once he got his head above water and could see what was going on, he could make better decisions˳ In this case – he shifted his focus to creating new marketing ideas˳ Joe positioned his company for growth – which actually led him to keep the company stable in the current economic downturn˳
2˳ The Second Practice of Successful Leaders is also Strategic – that’s Inspiring a Shared Vision
To Envision the Future leaders often work backwards˳ They see pictures in their mind’s eye˳ The key is to share the pictures in a way that invites others to help achieve them˳ Remember, a person with no followers is not a leader˳ People will become followers only when they accept a vision as their own˳ You cannot command commitment, you can only inspire it˳
Another client, David*, had a dream, or vision, to expand his company beyond Fort Lauderdale – to Orlando and beyond˳ He was able to first gain the buy-in of his Board of Directors˳ However, without a commitment from his senior leadership team, the project would never get off the ground˳ The tactic he chose (as he does with most of his new concepts) was to present his idea at a leadership team meeting and invite comments and suggestions˳ He showed his enthusiasm for the idea and shared the projected successes it could bring to the company˳ Members of the team were encouraged to challenge his thinking with thoughtful questions, evaluating their availability to work on it, and offer additional ideas˳ They had a productive dialogue˳ Some of the team members were excited about the idea and agreed to do some market research and cost analysis˳
Make $?: A new office was eventually created in Orlando that brought in business from an entirely different market sector – gaining additional revenues for the company˳
Cost $?: What would have been the cost if David had simply stated what he wanted and told people to carry it out? Well, most likely there would have been a general lack of enthusiasm and commitment to the project which could easily have led to its failure and loss of money˳
3˳ The 3rd Leadership Practice Common to Successful Leaders is Enabling Others to Act
Enabling others to act is about creating a positive Culture where people trust their leader and the people they work with˳ It is about building a positive, learning environment˳ What does learning mean? Mostly it’s about encouraging people to try new things and accepting that mistakes may be made˳ Teddy Roosevelt said, “The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything˳” (I’m on board with that!!)
A key component of a positive culture is Trust – which is an abstract and can be elusive˳ It is also a key element to a positive workplace environment˳
Let’s take the example of Sam*˳ He had a disagreement with a co-worker˳ Sam manages a small department in the firm and an employee from another department came to his office and started yelling and accusing Sam of not cooperating˳ He even threatened him˳ (Asked him to step outside – which Sam refused to do˳) The employee went to his manager and complained˳ Then that department complained to the owners˳
Cost $?: The firm’s owners did not ask for Sam’s side of the story˳ Instead they scolded him˳ How sad! The owners meant well, but they did not listen to both sides before taking action, which was to sign him up for coaching in order to improve his level of cooperation˳ Now – I’ve enjoyed coaching Sam, he’s a pretty cool guy˳ BUT he feels disrespected and unvalued and is beginning to look for a different job˳ Is this going to cost the company money? You bet! It already has!!
Make $?: When the leader involves the employee or manager in creating the solution, they encourage collaboration, build teams and empower others˳ People feel valued and respected˳ They are more willing to put a lot of energy into their performance˳ The result? More revenues˳
4˳ The 4th Leadership Practice Common to Successful Leaders is Modeling the Way – exhibiting our personal best
Setting an example sounds pretty simple, yet many people in leadership positions aren’t so good at it˳ First, we show our personal best when we act with integrity˳ Your job gives you authority˳ Your behavior earns you respect˳ (Let me say that again˳) Your job gives you authority˳ Your behavior earns you respect˳ Employees use a simple test: does my manager or leader practice what he or she preaches? Occasionally we stray from this because we talk about lofty business beliefs and are not always congruent in our behavior˳ Leaders ultimately lose the respect of their people when their actions don’t match their words˳
How can you ensure that you are modeling the way? As Tom Peters in his books “In Search of Excellence and A Passion for Excellence said, ‘The only magic is brute consistence, persistence, and attention to detail˳” Successful leaders act in ways that are consistent with their beliefs, they are persistent in the pursuit of their visions, and they are always vigilant about the little things that make a big difference˳
Cost $?: An example involves Frederick* who would hold a staff meeting and lay out tasks for everyone to complete˳ These tasks were related to 3 areas of the company – marketing, quality client work and controlling receivables˳ He pretty much dumped the information on the table and expected people to follow-up on their own˳ Two months later (yes, 2 months) he went around the table to find out what everyone had done˳ Well, you guessed it, not a whole lot˳ Frederick actually had not completed the items that he had said he would˳ It seems no one was accountable! Here goes the money out the door again!
Make $?: What could he do going forward to bring better results?
A˳ Do exactly what he said he would do˳ Hold himself accountable˳
B˳ Meet with each leader on his staff to ensure they understand what the expectations are˳
C˳ Guide his leaders on how to work with their people to get the results they were looking for˳
D˳ Hold regular meetings to monitor success
Once he does this, everyone will start paying more attention and doing their jobs to his standard˳ I think I already hear the rustle of money!!
5˳ The 5th Leadership Practice Common to Successful Leaders is Encouraging the Heart
Encouraging the heart might sound mushy and wimpy˳ I assure you it’s not! It might be the single attribute that separates the good leaders from the great ones˳ Are you aware that in a survey of about 15,000 thousand employees that was conducted 3 times over a 40 year period˳˳ the most important aspect of their job was appreciation for work done? Number 2 was feeling ‘in’ on things, or in the know˳ 5th on the list was good wages˳ When managers were surveyed, they believed the number one priority for employees was good wages˳ They sure did miss the mark on that one!
The great majority of workers and leaders want to feel they are making a contribution – that they make some kind of difference – and be appreciated for doing it˳ I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard a CEO or manager say “Why should I say thank you to them for just doing their job? It’s what I pay them for!” Every single time I’ve heard a CEO or manager say this, they had been lamenting the under-performance of their team˳ Recognizing individual contributions – even having them share in the gains – inspires people to perform at their best˳
A second way that a leader can encourage the heart is to Celebrate Accomplishments˳ Celebrate successes in small and bigger ways whenever possible˳ Something as simple as a cake, or pizza for lunch, and/or a certificate will spread goodwill and enthusiasm throughout the organization˳ Even the much maligned ‘atta boy’ or ‘atta girl’ promotes positive reactions when given sincerely˳
Make: When we were consulting for a firm where Ben* was the CEO (still is) he instituted a last-Friday of the month free lunch for his 100 employees and recognized 2-3 individuals for outstanding work˳ You could feel the positive energy in the building just walking in the front door˳ The company was growing rapidly˳
Cost $?: Ben hired some more senior, seasoned leaders such as a CFO and COO˳ These people talked about ways to cut costs and eventually shut down most of the ‘nice’, I guess they would call them mushy, customary small celebrations˳ We would visit with him once a month and watched a gradual decline in the atmosphere until it seemed flat˳ Ben was frustrated with the performance of his in-house sales team and couldn’t figure out where it all went wrong˳ The change in culture was costing him real money in sales!
I hope you are convinced by the examples here that your thoughts and performance as a leader greatly impact the thoughts and performance of your people˳ When they are inspired, held accountable and acknowledged, their performance increases˳ I’m sure you’ve heard before that:
***Happy employees create happy customers˳ ***
***Happy customers bring more money! It is a pretty simple formula˳***
Here again are the 5 Leadership Practices Common to Successful Leaders:
1˳ Challenging the Process
a˳ Search for opportunities and experiment and take risks˳ Every month you are keeping the status quo your organization could be slipping as much as 4%˳
2˳ Inspiring a Shared Vision
a˳ Envision the future and enlist your people to make it happen˳ Inspire them!
3˳ Enabling others to act
a˳ Foster collaboration
b˳ Strengthen their skills by providing learning opportunities˳
4˳ Modeling the way
a˳ Set an example – act with integrity˳
b˳ Plan small wins for everyone
5˳ Encouraging the heart
a˳ Recognize Individual Contribution
b˳ Celebrate Accomplishments
by Ann Meacham (11 minutes to read)
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Are-Your-Leadership-Skills-Costing-or-Making-You-Money?&id=6127065
