Category Archives: Uncategorized

Survey Says: Our Standards of Excellence and Lack of Time are Key Barriers to Delegation

Posted on
Reply

This week we asked what were the barriers to delegation. Clearly, the issue is not that we don’t know how to delegate (only 6% felt this to be true). The first issue is that there is the fear that our personal standards of excellence will not be met (53% believed this to be problematic) when delegating. And the second issue is that there is the perception (42% of respondents felt this way) that delegation just takes too much time.

You may wonder what do these results reveal about us. Does it show that we really are control-freaks? Are we so driven that we don’t want to take the time to teach what we know to others? Do we really believe that no one can do the job as well as we can?

Perhaps. It’s more than likely there is an element of perfectionism lurking behind these responses. However, we suggest that there is another more likely culprit. If you are not delegating well, there is a good chance that you are not surrounding yourself with other Rising Stars.

True Rising Stars by nature love the interdependence of working with others who have complementary and superior skills. Creating the best result with others who share the same passion is, without a doubt, a time of pure transcendence for a Rising Star.

If you are not delegating well, stop and consider who is available to delegate to. If they do not share the same value for excellence that you do and do not have same sense of urgency for superior outcomes, it makes sense that you struggle with delegation.

The solution: Consider why you have a hard time holding people accountable and why you may choose to allow yourself to consistently be in situations where you are not surrounded by complementary top talent.

7 Steps to Providing Healthy Accountability in Others

Posted on
Reply

Becoming proficient at holding others accountable takes thought and practice. Here are seven steps you can take to strengthen your ability and comfort in helping others, and yourself, to become more accountable.

  1. Review your expectations. Be clear, specific and concise.
  2. Praise well. Give regular verbal and written feedback to express appreciation.
  3. Reward others. For direct reports (and children) – give them tangible rewards that relate to their meeting or exceeding your expectations.
  4. Raise the issue when it is not working. If something isn’t working, raise the issue quickly. State the situation (facts and observations), describe the impact on you and others and express your preferred behavior (what you would like instead).
  5. Execute consequences. Do not interfere with what the logical and natural consequences are for other’s behavior choices. Let them happen…even if they hurt.
  6. Be sensitive to underling issues. If what you are experiencing is a “one-off” consider if there are mitigating issues such as personal stress, health issues, emotional upheaval, etc.
  7. Review your own comfort level with accountability. It is essential that you assess your own willingness to deal with difficult issues and confrontation. Your own fears of not being liked, need for approval, fear of anger/conflict or over identification with other people’s problems may inhibit your ability to provide the conditions for others to live out their freedom to make their chooses and live with the consequences.

The Courage to Hold Others Accountable

Posted on
Reply

simon

Simon Cowell – American Idol Hero and Gravely Missed Judge OR Villain whose absence is welcomed?

Simon Cowell had some fantastic one-liners during his tenure at American Idol.

“If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning.” “Shave off your beard and wear a dress. You would be a great female impersonator.” “The object of this competition is not to be mean to the losers, but to find a winner. The process makes you mean because you get frustrated”. “It was almost like you were giving birth up there at the end.”

Was he evil or helpful?

The real question is if you put his wit and sarcasm to the side, was he right in his assessment of the talent in front of him? If Simon was right in his appraisals, then he was far more caring and had far more courage than we give him credit for.

It takes courage to care about what is in the best interest of others. It takes courage to tell others the truth and hold them accountable for their actions. Those who do not have the talent for their desired career need to be made aware of their shortcomings so that they will be freed to find what they are truly good at. Those who do not meet your expectations need to be told in which ways they are deficient so that they have the opportunity to change their behavior and enhance the relationship.

To gain the courage to have boundaries and hold others accountable when they violate them, you have to redirect your focus onto them and what they NEED versus what they may say they want. You need to let go of your own fears of not being liked, dislike for conflict, fears of rejection so that you can take the initiative to move towards others…to offer a mirror that facilitates the opportunity to make meaningful and positive changes.

We are not saying you need to become as brutal as Simon Cowell in your ability to give feedback, but you do need to strengthen your accountability muscle and develop your own unique truth-telling style.

The Gift of Accountability

Posted on
Reply

In order to appreciate accountability, you have to appreciate free will. As human beings, we have the free will to decide and make choices. We can choose to eat good foods and exercise, and enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Or we can choose to eat foods with little nutritional value and not exercise, and deal with the consequences of poor health.

These are immutable laws of the universe. Sure there are plastic surgeons who can perform liposuction but the reality is that we reap what we sow.

Freedom of choice is available to us in terms of how we perform on the job. Therefore, holding people accountable for results is about providing the conditions for others to freely choose whether to meet or exceed expectations and experience the resulting consequences (positive or negative) of their choices. It is not about communicating blame, frustration and/or disappointment.

One who holds others accountable is treating these individuals as self-directed, empowered responsible adults…and that is a gift. We demonstrate respect for others and allow them to experience the power of accountability when we do not interfere with another’s right to choose their behaviors and experience the full weight of the ensuing consequences.

Survey Says: We don’t know how to hold others accountable…and we don’t want to

Posted on
Reply

This week we asked you the following question:

What is the greatest barrier that inhibits leaders from holding others accountable?

  • lack of understanding on how to establish & communicate performance objectives
  • lack of time
  • lack of ability to coach individuals to solve their performance challenges
  • lack of appropriate rewards and/or consequences
  • discomfort with providing difficult feedback or confrontation

The top two responses were lack of understanding on how to establish and communicate performance objectives, and discomfort with providing difficult feedback or confrontation.

We wonder, if perhaps, our challenge is not so much about a lack of knowledge about how to practice accountability, but more so that we really don’t want to deal with it. It is not easy telling someone that they do not have what it takes. It is not easy to let someone know if they disappointed us. It is not easy to be perceived as the “bad guy” when you have to deliver some tough love.

There is no solution or education you can get to improve your ability to communicate performance expectations if there isn’t a bigger vision for why holding others accountable is in their best interest.

This week, we will explore together why accountability is a gift not a burden, how to gain the required courage to give this gift to others and specific tips on how to do it well.

Can’t Fail Tips to Improve Your “Can-Do” Attitude

Posted on
Reply

Being a “half-empty” or “half-full” kind of person doesn’t automatically determine whether or not you can develop a “can-do” attitude. Positivity can be considered a talent but it is also a choice.

You can choose to be responsive and look for what is possible when you do the following:

  1. Give up your “can-don’t” baggage. Many people say no before they say yes because of fear of failure or taking a risk. Consider what is the worst thing that will happen if you try – it probably is not as bad as you think.
  2. Embrace gratitude – Say thank you for the good job that others do around you and be appreciative of those who do go above and beyond.
  3. Find ways to transform problems into opportunities. Hard times and challenges can be impediments or catalysts to growth, depending on your perspective.
  4. Stay away from downers and energy suckers. If you want to become more positive, don’t hang around negative people who pull you down.
  5. Stop complaining. No one likes a complainer. The idioms, “if there is a will, there is a way” and “if you dream it, you can do it” would not exist if there wasn’t a nugget of truth to them.

Survey Says: A “Can-Do Attitude” has a lot of benefits

Posted on
Reply

This week we asked you the following question:

Outside of improved performance and career success, what is the primary benefit of having a “can-do” attitude?

* stress reduction

* improved leadership effectiveness

* improved decision-making and overcoming obstacles

* improved innovation

* improved teamwork

The two highest scores were improved leadership effectiveness and improved decision-making and overcoming obstacles. The other three options were fairly evenly split.

We were not surprised by the high scores reflecting a linkage between a “can-do attitude” and “overcoming obstacles.” The connection seems obvious because a “can-do attitude” seems almost synonymous with “overcoming obstacles.”

We were a little surprised by how high leadership effectiveness scored. It was indeed the highest. But on reflection, we realized that it makes perfect sense. Someone with a can-do attitude sees possibilities when others see challenges. A can-do approach envisions the potential and is not constrained by limitations. If leadership in essence is having a compelling vision for a better future and insistence to be at the helm of leading others towards that vision, a can-do attitude is not an option. It is an essential leadership trait.

Great leaders start with a great vision…and a willingness to do what it takes to achieve that vision. Those with a “can-do attitude” generally…do.

HR is getting a bad rap

Posted on
Reply

We keep hearing people consistently bash HR as ineffectual and an impediment to the effectiveness of an organization. We don’t believe it, yet this perception of HR is not completely unfounded. The posture and position HR takes in an organization does impact how it is perceived inside and outside the organization. Is your team seen as a gatekeeper or a conduit of talent maximization?

If you want your HR team to be perceived as the purveyor of top talent who drive business results the following are practices that must be adopted today:

  1. HR’s goals and measures of success have to focus on how well it positions and leverages talent towards competitive advantage vs. ensuring cultures of high satisfaction and commitment.
  2. HR must take the lead is destroying the “Everyone is a leader” myth and find new ways to describe the differentiators of top talent at every level in an organization.
  3. HR teams must be filled with top talent. As long as HR is seen as where the poor performers go or where those “who just like people” work, it will not lead the way in helping its organization become world-class. The best performers must play a role in HR.
  4. HR must interact with their clients as a “business at risk.” They need to consider the ways in which they improve their client’s condition and interact with their clients as an internal consultant vs. merely a pair of hands that blindly implement solutions developed by their clients.
  5. HR must act outside of the box of its field if it is going to reinvest itself for today’s marketplace. The standards and practices of the field can be helpful or limiting to creativity in considering what is possible vs. what can’t be done and being the naysayers against innovation. The “can-do attitude” of a top performing organization cannot have “can don’t” HR people creating artificial barriers to success.

When top talent plays in integral role in the human capital function and is tasked with the objective to create a high-performance organization, HR can play a significant role in ensuring an organization becomes world-class and achieves excellent results.

Why the “everyone is a leader” myth is destroying corporations

Posted on
Reply
  1. Everyone is not a leader – some are individual contributors.
  2. The water is murkier for those who actually do have direct reports to know what they are to do to be effective.
  3. Those who just want to be great in their own roles have no idea how and no incentives.
  4. The line that distinguishes traditional management from executive leadership is blurred and getting blurrier all the time which makes navigating the climb to the top more challenging.
  5. People practices get skewed towards mitigating the impact of poor performers rather than creating the conditions for top talent to thrive.

How infected is your organization with this myth? The good news is that it is not too late to begin to bring better reality and understanding of top talent and leadership into your organization. The bad news is that if you don’t, you might inevitably create an organization that is geared towards managing the performance of those who don’t have what it takes – - – rather than capitalizing on those who will make your organization world-class and leading-edge.

Five Steps to Sustainable Success from Bon Jovi

Posted on
Reply

Betsy was fortunate enough to see Bon Jovi in concert the other night. What she discovered was more than a rock band but a revenue-generating powerhouse who have experienced success beyond even their wildest dreams for over 26 years. From a world of “hair today…gone tomorrow,” they have sold over 130 million albums and had the top grossing tour of 2010.

Even if you may never be in a position to “see a million faces…and rock them all,” you can grow your success by doing the following:

  1. Have a vision for your success. Bon Jovi knew at 16 he would be a rock star someday. What big dreams or aspirations do you see for yourself and your organization? Can you articulate that vision to others?
  2. Decide and commit to that vision. The band’s first hit made it to the airwaves because Jon personally peddled it around to radios stations. Do you prioritize the investment of your time, resources and talents towards your vision? Are you willing to do what it takes to make that vision a reality?
  3. Be original. Richie Sambora (lead guitarist) once said, “One of our secrets to our success is that we’ve never tried to be anybody else or something we’re not.” Take a look at what you offer your customers and clients and whether or not you provide a unique value add. Amazing success does not come to imitators but originators.
  4. Work hard. Jon Bon Jovi was asked recently on “American Idol” about the band’s longevity and the luck involved. His response was, “The harder we work, the luckier we get.” What’s your track record of how hard you are willing to work – do you keep at it when it is hard or do you look for the silver bullet?
  5. Don’t go it alone. When “Runaway” became a success, Jon had a choice – solo career with studio bands or form a unit. He knew in that moment that for him to get to the heights he wanted to scale, he needed others on that journey. Look around you – who are you working with? Who is supporting you? Who are you supporting? If you are not in a community, it will not take long for your fire to get snuffed out.

Watch and listen to the band sing, “We Weren’t Born to Follow” below and consider that it is possible to be world-class and a game-changer in your industry when you stop following and start leading. The world needs you.