Leadership Archives - Page 16 of 17

4 Skills An Effective Business Leader Must Possess

October 21, 2014October 21, 2014 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

Though there are many skills an effective leader possesses, we will discuss four that our particularly useful in the workplace.

The Power of No

The ability to say “no” is crucial in both managing a team and managing expectations of clients or other leaders. It is a powerful tool against inferior work as well as unrealistic timelines. By saying “No” it opens up the ability to say “Yes” to the things that you want and are beneficial to the organization.

Delegation

The sensibility to delegate is important for a leader in order to keep from being overwhelmed by smaller tasks which would them unable to focus on the bigger picture. While a manager must be aware of daily processes, there is no rule that says they must do these tasks. Delegating also helps train the next set of employees to become leaders. It allows a leader to optimize their productivity and concentrate on the small set of actions that will have enormous results.

Adaptability

A business leader must be adaptable in order to deal with ever-changing team dynamics and business requests to get work delivered efficiently and effectively. Today’s workplace is a non-stop, demanding place to function in and to thrive in such a space, leaders must be able to change with whatever the team, the weather, the clients or the internet throws at them.

Communication

Lastly, strong communication skills—both speaking/writing and listening—are a skill that leaders of all levels must not only posses, but also constantly improve upon, to guarantee that their teams, clients and partners feel respected, “looped in” and heard. Clear communication is the basis for trust in the workplace and an open dialogue between all parties fosters a sense of community.

By adhering and growing their skills in these foundational principles, you can cultivate your business leadership acumen and be a guiding light for your organization.

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Six Surprising Facts How Small Changes Lead to Big Results

October 2, 2014September 30, 2014 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

You may be surprised at just how effective small changes can be in leading to big results.

Here are six reasons why you don’t have to start big to achieve big things.

Big steps can seem overwhelming: Beginning your journey with small steps makes it is easier to get started. Since getting started on a big task usually seems to be the most difficult part, starting small will help you in the long run.
Small goals are more attainable: While small goals may seem insignificant, they are also easier to achieve. Once you’ve started achieving small goals, you will be more motivated to continue.
It’s gratifying to achieve many small accomplishments: A sense of accomplishment helps you feel better about yourself. This makes it easier to move on to the next step toward achieving all of your goals.
Small things add up over time: If you accomplish one small goal 3-4 times a week, over the course of a month you will have reached an average of 14 mini goals. This is quite an accomplishment considering it all started with something that seemed insignificant at the time.
It’s easier to procrastinate when it comes to difficult tasks: It’s much easier to put off doing tasks that seem too big and complicated. When something seems overwhelming, most of the time it just seems easier to not even try.
It’s harder to make excuses for not doing small tasks: Starting with small steps makes it harder to justify putting them off. Knowing that you only have to put a few minutes towards reaching your goal gives you very little excuses for not doing it.

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What You Should Know About Executive Coaching

September 30, 2014September 30, 2014 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

Therapy takes you from where you are now and helps you go back and figure out how you got there. With executive coaching, it’s really about where you are right now and where you ultimately want to be. It’s about taking you from the place where you find yourself, help you to articulate and get clear about where you want to go, and then give you the tools to get there.

1. Executive Coaching Does NOT Fix Broken Executives: While some executives need extra work to improve their performance, a lot of executives are growing in their leadership capabilities with the help of a coach. Why is it so effective? Christine Turner’s research in the Ivey Business Journal indicates that executives improve through guided and focused one on one attention with a coach. Turner says:

The executives said the most significant benefit was the individualized attention they received from their coaches. Add to this the fact that executive coaching takes place over an extended period of time and it becomes a great way to acquire and ingrain new skills.

2. Executive Coaching is NOT Therapy: The thought of lying on a couch and talking to someone who is not looking at us and answering questions like, “And how does that make you feel?” is terrifying to most executives. Coaching is not about dealing with issues in a person’s past necessarily. Coaches are focused on present performance and getting the most out of a leader. Executive coaching may feel a bit like therapy when their coach exposes blind spots in leadership areas. The pain is momentary because it serves as a learning experience. The executive is coached to develop new skills to handle specific performance issues. Sometimes, everyone but the executive can see what is happening to the morale of a team (or whatever issue is looming to hold back progress) — it takes “outside eyes” to help the executive adjust and begin to increase effectiveness again. More than anything, executive coaching is an opportunity to learn. Thomas J. Ucko describes the process:

Executive coaching is a structured process that starts with feedback about the executive’s leadership behaviors, and involves the executive in determining goals for more useful behaviors and in designing a plan for achieving these goals

3. Coaching Gets Results: Although Executive coaching is not a magic bullet, nor a quick fix, many executives are experiencing the positive results of it. The Sherpacoaching 2014 report claims:

Coaches in the business for 2 years or less report results as 51% good, 49% excellent. Veteran coaches, those in business 15 years or more, see 23% of coaching as producing good results, and 76% of coaching arriving at excellent outcomes.

Executive Coaching is growing in popularity because it is helping executives increase their effectiveness as leaders. Not only are the executives benefiting, but so are their companies and direct reports. It makes sense to invest in Executive Coaching to multiple the effectiveness of an organization.

6 Tips for Being an Effective Facilitator

August 28, 2014August 28, 2014 Shannon Cassidy Leave a comment

Being a leader is not just about making good decisions behind closed doors. It means understanding and listening to the perspectives of coworkers and stakeholders. A well facilitated discussion ensures everyone’s voices are heard, builds connections among group members, and generates excitement for the topic being discussed. Here are a few tips to take the challenge out of effective facilitating as you hone your own leadership style.

Be clear about the goal of the session. If it’s a brainstorm session and people expect consensus, they will be dissatisfied. If the goal is consensus, and people continue to present new ideas, they too will be frustrated. Explicitly sharing the goal helps keep the conversation moving in the right direction.

Use people’s names. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s important to remember. Especially in groups where not everyone knows each other, consciously using people’s names when you ask them to speak builds a sense of openness and trust in the group.

Restate and connect ideas. This shows that you listen to and value everyone’s input. Restating allows for more people to hear and understand the original thought. Connecting ideas builds a conversation rather than a lecture.

Don’t be afraid of silence. Those who need a little more time to process a question will appreciate it. Everyone will see and understand that their participation is valued and needed. Restate or ask another question after a while, but give people enough time to respond thoughtfully.

Allow for conflicting opinions; don’t take sides. It’s okay that not everyone agrees. As a facilitator, help the participants understand the nature of their conflict. Dig a little deeper to find out why they feel the way they do.

Show your enthusiasm and excitement. When a group member asks a good question or makes a good point, don’t be afraid to show you think so. If you are excited about a topic, others will be, too.

4 Ways to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence

August 14, 2014August 14, 2014 Shannon Cassidy 2 Comments

A recent blog post from the Harvard Business Review questioned whether people can really improve their Emotional Intelligence. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic wrote our emotional intelligence is relatively stable, but not rigid. He notes change requires “a great deal of dedication and patience.”

What are we talking about here? Emotional intelligence describes a person’s ability to understand her own emotions and the emotions of others. Insights from emotional IQ are useful for improving all professional and personal relationships. Quite simply, you make better decisions when regularly considering this information.

Here are four tips to help you improve your emotional intelligence with the recognition that change takes time:

1. Become a better listener. A big mistake people often make in the business world is thinking about what they want to say next instead of listening to other participants in a conversation. If you tune in to others, you will catch important clues about their emotions and choose more appropriate responses.

2. Acknowledge your weaknesses. According to the Four Branch Model of Emotional Intelligence (Mayer and Salovey, 1997), emotional intelligence involves the abilities to accurately perceive your emotions and those of others, use emotions to guide thinking, understand emotional meanings, and manage your own emotions. You may be weaker in one or more of these four areas.

3. Set a goal. You are going to increase your emotional intelligence by setting a personal goal and taking incremental steps to reaching it. If you know you need to focus on understanding emotional meanings, you can work with a professional to recognize the signs people give you. Stopping to think about emotional meanings can help you avoid many difficult situations.

4. Improve by up to 25% by following a well-designed coaching program. Chamorro-Premuzic noted working with an executive and business coach can help you make improvements in your emotional intelligence. Ensure you are working with a coach who is giving you the right feedback.

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