#Leadership

By Kimberly March 6, 2013 Leadership

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.  Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It’s inevitable, if you’re honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: you’ll avoid the tough decisions, you’ll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you’ll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset. Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally “nicely” regardless of their contributions, you’ll simply ensure that the only people you’ll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization.

- Colin Powell

image5

When leaders suck…

By Kimberly July 27, 2012 Career, Leadership

…they’ll look away from problems as if the problem will solve itself.

When leaders suck, they’ll drop issues on the laps of their direct reports to handle in their own way.  So instead of setting an example of a good business practice, they have now created inconsistent business practices throughout the organization that will ultimately be the precedent to follow.  That’s a nightmare to undo!

When leaders suck, they won’t face issues or bad news head on even if that means making tough decisions that will make them unpopular.  That behavior will trickle down the chain of command and be emulated by others in the organization.

When leaders suck, they’re not capable of looking in the mirror and perhaps considering that the problem is them.  They’ll put their own ego and the shareholders before the humans who work for them.

Don’t be a leader who sucks!

The people in the organization who follow you are watching your every move.  They want and need someone they can respect and who will offer guidance — even when times are difficult.

You wanted the job — so please do it or get out.  But don’t ruin it for the rest of the folks.

 

Managers, you gotta get in “the gray!”

By Kimberly July 6, 2012 Career, Leadership

Congratulations — you’ve been promoted!  You have a new title that includes the word “Manager.”  Or maybe you’re fancy and have a Director or VP title.  It’s gratifying that your hard work is being recognized so you can fast-track the climb of the proverbial corporate ladder.

Regardless of your title, when you step into a role with the responsibility of managing others, your job now splits into TWO jobs.  You have your own position’s deadlines and accountabilities and now you’re responsible for supporting a team.  Supporting a team means mentoring, assisting, disciplining and basically being a work-parent to folks who will be looking to you for guidance.

Everyone who works for you is different and by different, I don’t necessarily mean their jobs — I mean as humans.  That means they’ll work differently, communicate in their own style, have different stresses and have overall needs.  Just like you.

The first time you have an employee issue, provided it’s not an illegal one, please don’t run for the employee handbook.  I also don’t recommend going to your HR professional unless you’re sure they’re the anti policy-police type of individual.  It’s embarrassing to the profession but I’ve met my share of HR folks who aren’t capable of creative thinking and expect employees to behave like little corporate soldiers regardless of how their lives are going outside of the office.

Every single employee issue is unique and issues should be treated that way too.  Take the time to listen to your team member and instead of seeing the solution as either black or white ask yourself,

“How can we reach a mutually beneficial solution and how would I want to be treated if I was the one in this situation?”

It’s not always a fast process and it may not be the easiest path but the payoff will teach you empathy, creative thinking and problem solving.  Facing problems and working towards solutions related to humans are never black or white.  It’s okay to get in the gray.  In fact, get comfortable with the gray so that it comes naturally, as a part of your work style.

I’m not saying to embrace slackers.  I’m not encouraging you jump through hoops when a situation turns into abuse.  I’m saying that being able to jump into the gray areas and treat each situation as unique as it is without applying a canned solution will provide you with long-term rewards.

You’re a real problem solver.  You’ll be an excellent leader.  You’ll be remembered.  You’ll have loyalty.

Hey CEOs, this isn’t rocket science

By Kimberly June 28, 2012 Career, Leadership

Are you tired of hearing about all of the ways you can make your company a “win-win”?  Yea, I know the jargon gets old.  But the goal shouldn’t.

As much as I don’t like jargon, business leaders can achieve a win-win in their organizations.  It’s not difficult but does require effort and accountability from the rest of management.  A splash of empathy always helps too.

CEOs need to shift their focus from their customers to their employees.  I’m not crazy and I get that it’s the customers and ongoing business development that keeps the lights on.  What’s hard to see (and I’m sorry to say that I’ve seen it first hand) is when companies put a higher priority on customers and numbers than they do on their employees.

It’s not a difficult concept.  When employees are happy, customers will be happy.  When customers are happy, the bottom line will take care of itself.  On the flip side, do you think employees will go overboard for a customer when they don’t feel they’re being treated fairly?  Think they’ll burn that midnight oil for you at crunch time?

Leaders and CEOs have a lot on their plates.  When it comes to how to treat people right, maybe this seems like an overwhelming undertaking.  I understand that too.  But it doesn’t need to be complicated. 

Good leadership MUST start from the top so that it can trickle down to the rest of management.  This is not negotiable.  The responsibility of providing good leadership shouldn’t fall on HR’s shoulders because HR doesn’t run the company — the CEO does.  HR should be coaching and promoting good leadership styles but at the end of the day, it has to start at the top.  So now that we have that clear, here are a few basics:

  • Listen to new ideas.  You never know who will come up with the next “big” one.
  • Provide good feedback.  People want to know how they’re doing.  It is a big deal.  Don’t take it for granted.
  • Celebrate the little victories publicly.  It’s free and goes a long way.  Trust me.
  • Be sure that folks are learning from mistakes.  If they’re not, take action.
  • Don’t get hung up on surveys.  Leave your office and visit the trenches.  You won’t melt if you mingle with the underlings, I promise.
  • Communicate and communicate more!  People feel valued when they know what’s going on in the organization.

Get out of the board room, ditch your ego and apply that basic psychology and some common sense to your leadership style.  Be sure the entire management team is doing the same.  Rinse and repeat.

In an environment that needs change, it will be slow but you will see a positive difference.

 

Hate to break it to you but…

By Kimberly June 18, 2012 Career, Humility, job search, Leadership, networking, Results, Success

You’re not a guru.  You’re not a god or goddess. You’re not a rainmaker.  And no, you’re not a rockstar either.  Not seeing many Steven Tyler-types traveling in the HR and career circles.

Be flattered and humbled if a colleague uses one of these words to describe you to others but when you use these descriptors in your LinkedIn, Twitter or other online profiles, ask yourself this: “How is my character being perceived by others? How am I being perceived by others?”

I wrote about the perception of recruiters and hiring managers on wearing diamond rings on a job interview to make the point of leaving only your skills, qualifications and character to be evaluated.  In other words, don’t let yourself be vulnerable to someone else’s (potentially false) judgment about you.  The same applies to your resume and online professional profiles.

Confidence vs. arrogance
There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance.  Be confident and proudly share your expertise using real words that quantify the accomplishments and results from your skills and experience — words that people can relate to.  You may not be arrogant but if you call yourself a guru or rainmaker, how do you expect to be perceived?  These words scream “arrogance!” and that’s not an attractive character trait.

The successful mix
Whether you’re in a job search or just great at what you do, be real!  People want to work with folks who are on top of their game professionally but people also want to work with folks who have upstanding character and integrity.  Nothing beats authenticity and confidence with a splash of humility.

So please, I’m begging you!  Lose the narcissistic jargon and let folks get to know you for who you are and what you bring to the table.  Always remember that perception is reality.  If your online persona is perceived to be brash and egotistical, then you are brash and egotistical.

What do you think?  Feel free to share your thoughts.

Photo credit Yuri Samoilov