The Search for Effective Leadership

No is a Complete Sentence

lizgradden — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:07:49 +0000

Saying yes when we want to say no is a common mistake that happens not only in the workplace, but with friends and family, as well.

There are several motivating factors that play into this type of word exchange. One simple tool that can help clear your plate of a whole lot of unwanted Yeses, and the time it takes to follow through on those acquired obligations, is conditioning yourself to say, “Let me get back to you in five minutes.”

During those five minutes, check your motivations for wanting to say yes or even if you want to say yes, but feel you should say no.

Here are a few simple questions that will easily take less than five minutes, but will make sure you are responding in a way that is responsible and respectful to yourself and your time.

1) Do I genuinely want to do this?

2) Do I have the time or resources to do this?

3) Do I currently have any personal needs that aren’t being met or are being put on hold due to lack of time or resources?

4) Do I want to say yes because I genuinely want to help someone else meet his or her needs?

These are only a few questions that could help you make the right decision for you. When all else fails, remember that “No.” is a complete sentence.

New Year, New Leadership Skills

lizgradden — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:21:07 +0000

A new year brings new challenges but it also brings new opportunities – especially new opportunities to better yourself. Each of us, as leaders, is constantly striving to find how we can be better and more effective in our leadership.

On the Leadership Training blog today, author Scott Seroka posted regarding four great ways we can improve our leadership skills instantly. Seroka admonishes us to pick one of these skills to really aim to significantly improve in 2012. Make a true goal and see it to its achievement.

The four ways Seroka presents are as follows:

Become the best listener you can be.
Stop solving other people’s problems.
If you are a micromanager, stop!
Stop roadblocking communications.

Each of these skills has its own intricacies and delicate elements to master but if we each pick at least one for our resolution and see it through, I promise you will be a better leader sooner than you can say Happy New Year!

Leadership Training, Leadership Tips, Theory, Skills (bjconquest.com)
Training Industry.com Names Interaction Associates To Annual Watch List of Most Innovative Leadership Companies (prweb.com)
New Year, New Beginnings, Know Your Limits (godspace.wordpress.com)

Practice Makes Perfect

lizgradden — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:29:28 +0000

We’ve all heard this before – “practice makes perfect”. Usually the adage is applied to playing an instrument or a sport or something of that nature. But have you ever applied it to your people skills as a leader? Leadership skills, like athletic or musical skills also need to be honed.

In a post on the Your Voice of Encouragement blog, a video from Denny Coates was posted where he discusses why it takes time to ingrain a leadership skill. Check out the video and let me know what you think? Do you agree?

Practice Makes Perfect (lifelatteandseoul.wordpress.com)
Practice Makes Perfect – So They Say (startupnation.com)

Bringing Cheer to Your Workplace

lizgradden — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 06:48:59 +0000

It’s the holiday season and everyone is trying to spread love and cheer everywhere but what about spreading that cheer at our workplace? As leaders, it is part of our responsibility to motivate our employees and give them a pleasant and happy environment.

In a recent post on the Blake Connect blog, this topic was discussed and some ideas were presented on how to get happy employees from a happier workplace.

Give employees a practical and user-friendly desk

A comfortable chair with padding and proper back support is essential.

An ergonomically correct keyboard can really help prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A headset allows for more productivity, since workers have both hands free.

Good lighting can alleviate headaches

A larger computer monitor reduces eye strain

Allowing staff to personalize their workspace can increase productivity and job satisfaction

Happy employees are more productive so do what you can this holiday season to make them have that holiday cheer!

Employee Entitlement Attitudes and Generation Y in the Workplace (themarlincompany.com)
Identifying The Ingredients of Satisfaction on The Job (socyberty.com)
5 Tips for Maintaining a Healthier Workplace (dirjournal.com)

Taking Ownership

lizgradden — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:28:44 +0000

A certain element of leadership has really been on my mind today. The element of taking ownership not only of your mistakes but of your problems. Too many times we push our problems onto others and blame the situation on something they are doing. In some cases, it may be a problem that is a result of something that the other person did but in those situations it is important to confront those people in the right manner.

On a video blog I found today from the Leadership Training blog, Bill Stinnett discusses using the right words to approach others with your problems.

What people typically do is begin the conversation with what we call “You-Messages”. And a You-Message is something about this other person…in every one of those, there is some assumption about that other person’s intentions.

This kind of message makes people defensive. Proper language to minimize defense makes confrontation and problem solving more effective.

What Motivates You vs. What Motivates Me

lizgradden — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:58:14 +0000

We are all motivated by different means. Yes, there will frequently be some overlap but the combination of factors is fairly customized to each individual. As a leader, figuring out the perfect motivation is a skill.

In a blog post today on The Recovering Engineer, motivation types were discussed. One prevalent model for motivation is the DISC model. In this people fit into a category of dominant, inspiring, supportive and cautious.

A dominant person is motivated by getting results from challenging situations. An inspiring person gets their motivation from public recognition and working with others. However, supportive people want to help others and be a part of a team. While cautious people enjoy research and finding the correct answer.

Remember that people have varying degrees of all of these traits in their behavioral style blends and that you are likely to observe at least two of the four styles to a significant degree in most people.

Finding this combination is what takes skill and attention to your employees and their individual needs.

The Motivational Mother (learnfrommyfail.failblog.org)
Sales Motivation (lifeworkelements.wordpress.com)
How to become more self-motivated (holykaw.alltop.com)

But that doesn’t apply to us…

lizgradden — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 04:49:47 +0000

How many times have you been working on building a strategy and have looked at a solution used by someone else and said “that wouldn’t work for me or my organization”? I know I have fallen into that habit many times. You may feel that the normal rules don’t apply in your situation. It must be more complex or complicated for you.

But the truth is, you probably aren’t that different. In a recent post on the Linked2Leadership blog, the subject of being different was discussed.

Yes, each company is unique just like people are. Within each company, you find diverse personalities.

These personalities portray specific characteristics that make people act a certain way in groups; enabling them bond well together or bond poorly together when then they face adversity. But, like people, companies at their core are not that different.

The best approach is then to access how your organization is unique. Look at your strengths and weaknesses and see what has worked for similar organizations.

Is patience a leadership virtue? (karinzastrow.wordpress.com)

A “Little” Help for Women in Leadership

lizgradden — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:22:08 +0000

Ever look around for tools to help you as a woman in a leadership role? It just so happens that those tools are all around us and they aren’t always just skills to build. Sometimes they even come through technology!

In an article on the Fast Company Leadership blog, Belinda Parmar highlighted some great apps that help women to be empowered and ready to take the lead.

The IdeasProject “Apps to Empower Women” challenge from Nokia asked for submissions of app ideas that would make a real, practical difference to women’s work, education, and leisure.
Honors went to Mobile Women African Crafters by Atim Oton, Easy App for Elderly Women by JoJa Dhara, and Trigger Free by Jenny Evgenia. Mobile Women African Crafters would create and increase sustainable income for local women crafters in Kano, Nigeria, by giving crafters a way to share and sell their crafts via mobile phones. The Easy App for Elderly Women would allow easier navigation through the various social networks and communication tools to help older women stay in contact with friends and family. Trigger Free would allow survivors of sexual violence to identify media that can trigger post-traumatic stress, allowing users to add media to a database, rate it, and help other survivors enjoy trigger-free leisure.

These ideas show the force for good in innovative technology like apps. Yes, we can download apps to get the weather or play a game, but it’s amazing to see how apps are transforming how women gain access to everything from health services to banking, and employment opportunities to educational tools.

What is your favorite app to empower you?

What a Leader Should Never Say

lizgradden — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:42:35 +0000

As leaders, we expect that our employees, our team members, will listen and take value in what we have to say. By that same note, we need to make sure that what we are saying is actually of value and is helping those people be better at what they do and at who they are.

In a recent article from CBS News, author Amy Levin-Epstein wrote about the four things a manager should never say:

“That’s impossible.”
“[John Doe] is a jerk.”
“My way or the highway”
“I’m always right”

Each of these limits the listening that can be done and limits those around you in their potential. If you tell someone that something is impossible, that is accusatory and negative. Best to keep on the optimistic side that won’t make someone defensive. Calling someone a jerk is just a label – it doesn’t tell you anything. Better to explain what behavior is causing what problem. And statement 3 and 4 just make you appear that while you are asking others to listen to you, you aren’t willing to even consider listening to them or their opinion.

What are the differences between a team leader and a supervisor (wiki.answers.com)
The top ten lies leaders believe (empwaynek.wordpress.com)
Hard Things To Say As a Leader (linked2leadership.com)
Do you speak like a leader? (nitpickersnook.wordpress.com)

Company Culture overcoming Leadership

lizgradden — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:37:16 +0000

Have you ever worked in a place where the culture is so important that everyone becomes almost lemming-like? Though a company’s culture is extremely important, it is also wise to stay in touch with reality and not be overtaken by the influence of the all-powerful culture.

On the Leadership Training blog, author Bill Stinnett wrote about this problem here.

If “shared values” become extreme, they look more like obedience than true values. If team members feel too much pressure to conform, you lose their creativity, their ability to innovate, to be fully engaged.

To avoid this and practice healthy leadership, Stinnett suggests:

Clear communication about the company’s culture and what it means.

Strong listening skill development.

Commitment to win/win conflict resolution.

Teach people how to express their needs constructively.

Follow-up coaching and facilitation.

Cisco Selects The Corps Group as a Leadership Training Partner (prweb.com)
High Praise for Leadership Training Firm (prweb.com)
How To Influence Your Leadership (chrislocurto.com)

The Search for Effective Leadership

No is a Complete Sentence

New Year, New Leadership Skills

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Practice Makes Perfect

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Bringing Cheer to Your Workplace

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Taking Ownership

What Motivates You vs. What Motivates Me

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But that doesn’t apply to us…

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A “Little” Help for Women in Leadership

What a Leader Should Never Say

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Company Culture overcoming Leadership

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