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Leadership

May 05
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Curiosity: The Hidden Secret of Great Leadership

By Attitude, Blogpost, Leadership, mindset

“Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.” ~ Arnold Edinborough

Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs has been the subject of much interest among those who study leadership. He was known to be a perfectionist with nearly impossible standards, he never shied away from telling someone what he thought, he thrived on problem solving, and was an insatiably curious man.

Have you considered the importance of curiosity as a leadership trait? Jobs’ interests were incredibly varied and included calligraphy, an interest that lead to the development of the iconic Apple fonts). Jobs said, “If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.”

Jobs became successful because he was curious about everything. He was not a specialist, but a generalist.

As a leader, you can’t be a specialist and expect to thoroughly understand your organisation. You need to be a generalist so you can spot connections between seemingly random things, and let your creative juices flow without inhibition. Curiosity, not the status quo, produces the greatest creative business insights.

Life is a jigsaw puzzle of experiences, knowledge and ideas, and each person’s puzzle is completely unique. You may not always think there’s a relationship between certain pieces, until one day it suddenly hits you… and you discover a practical application. I’m not talking about just product innovation – this also applies to working smarter, not harder, in any industry.

On some level, everything is related to everything. The more knowledge you can acquire, the more connections you can see, and you open your mind to previously unheard-of solutions.

A leader who is stuck in doing things the tried-and-true way is only limiting his or her organisation’s success. Yes, tried-and-true works, but does it adapt? Does it keep up with a rapidly changing world? Is it still relevant?

I encourage you to be exuberantly curious, like you were as a child. Don’t worry if curiosity has been schooled out of you. Some psychologists believe that only 2% of adults can think outside their box, meaning they have given up curiosity in favour of conformity. Give curiosity a chance to come back and you will be shocked at how quickly you will spark creativity.

Here is how curiosity will completely change the way you do business:

  • Curiosity helps you seize the initiative – if only to answer, “I wonder what would happen if…?”
  • Curiosity makes you coachable. Nothing is more career- and revenue-limiting than a know-it-all attitude!
  • Curiosity helps you create jobs or niches to attend to new problems that aren’t within the scope of traditional positions.
  • Curiosity helps you anticipate needs, challenges and solutions, and stay one step ahead of your competition, and even one step ahead of your customers.

The world is your playground. Explore it, in real life and virtually, and let your amazing brain create associations that bring about those powerful life-changing “aha” moments in your personal life and in business.

Apr 05
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Accountability: The Uncomfortable Spotlight

By Blogpost, Leadership

If there is one thing that managers cringe at, it’s holding their employees accountable without looking like a dictator. There may be a “CYOA” (cover your own ass) culture in place; or, there’s backstabbing on the scramble up the corporate ladder; or finger pointing and a “not my job” attitude, and all these contribute to the difficulty of holding people accountable.

However, there is a way to hold people (including management) accountable for their own decisions, work, and results, and still keep an upbeat, positive and supportive atmosphere.

Autonomy

How much control do people actually possess in their work? Are they made to feel like nameless cogs in a machine, or as valuable team members?

Many managers micro-manage and deprive people of the chance to get things done in a way that works with their unique talents, skills and attributes. The most effective organisations make everyone feel that they have influence. When people feel heard and appreciated, they increase their investment in their work.

But if they’re told what to do and HOW to do it, they feel dis-empowered and even if they have a brilliant idea that could significantly increase productivity… they won’t share it.

So as a manager, it’s in your best interests to engage your team, share your vision, appreciate their input, and let them put their own spin on “how” a goal will be achieved.

Clearly define the results you need from each team member, and let them have a fair amount of control on how they deliver those results.

Honesty, Integrity and Transparency

When you ask your team, “How is that project coming along?” what is their reply? Do they sugar-coat problems, amplify problems, give an honest assessment of progress and challenges, or just say, “pretty good?”

As a manager, you must offer a non-threatening environment for people to tell the truth: no blame, no shame, just an empowering question such as, “how can WE move past this challenge and what do YOU think we can do about this?”

There should never be a “need to know basis” about a company’s struggles. If employees know what the organisation is up against, and they are engaged and share your vision… they will rally and likely come up with innovative ideas and solutions.

Trust and Support

While you have certain expectations of your employees, they likewise have expectations from you:

  • That they will be rewarded for their efforts
  • That they are treated with respect
  • That they are adequately trained (you would be surprised at how overlooked this is – but expecting results from people who don’t know how to achieve the results, is not only unfair but a huge waste of time and effort; up-front training is essential!)
  • That their input is valued
  • That they are given a chance to produce results in the way they do things best
  • That they are supported in their decisions (in those instances where a decision has to be made in the heat of the moment, without the guidance of a manager)
  • And that they feel like a part of a team with a shared vision

When your team trusts you, they will follow you to the ends of the Earth.

Communication

People need to know exactly what is expected of them and what they are accountable for. As a leader, you must be clear, concise, and open to feedback and questions.

You must effectively communicate the company’s vision and direction – and when there are multiple goals that may contradict each other or require unsustainable stretching of resources, you must communicate priority so that your team knows exactly what is truly on fire, and what can be done once everyone can catch their breath again.

The essence of easy accountability is making people feel like they matter, and that their efforts matter – and when there is a problem and something slips through the cracks, focusing on a way forward rather than on whose fault it was.

Feb 27
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DEVELOPING A WINNING TEAM

By Blogpost, Leadership

Effective teamwork is the key to success. A strong, motivated team will make it through hard times together, share in each other’s successes, and share the load utilising their unique strengths and talents.

Building a strong team takes leadership. You have to be able to make the hard decisions, change strategies when they’re not working, establish and uphold performance standards and maintain motivation and engagement within the team. You have to manage egos and personalities, be a solid communicator, and know how to lead by example.

It’s not as intimidating as it sounds, and yet many small business owners never really step into the leadership role: they delegate, but not effectively, simply because they don’t know the “art of people.”

Here are some tips to help you develop your leadership skills and build an effective team within your organisation:

  1. Know yourself. What’s your leadership style? Psychologist Kurt Lewin argued
    that there are three major styles of leadership:

bossAutocratic: you make decisions without consulting team members. This works if you need to make immediate decisions when there’s no time or need for team input. However, this style can also make people feel unappreciated and undervalued. This leadership style often results in high absenteeism and turnover.

Democratic: you have the final say, but you include team members in the decision-making process. This is not an effective style when quick decisions need to be made, but in general it fosters creativity, engagement, and employee satisfaction

Laissez-faire: you give your team a lot of freedom and autonomy. You provide support and guidance if needed, but generally let them run things their own way. This can backfire with team members who aren’t confident in making decisions, need external motivation, or are ineffective with their time. In the right situation, it can lead to high job satisfaction and exceptional performance.

  1. Engage with the team. Get to know them. When your team knows you care about them (on a personal level) and have their best interests at heart, they will follow you to the ends of the earth! This approach also helps you get to know each member’s unique talents and strengths so you can divide up responsibilities in the most effective manner. It also helps you know which buttons to push in your team… and when. Investing the time to truly connect with your team, and get to know how each one is wired, will help you motivate them and encourage them to excel far beyond expectations.
  1. Set clear expectations. Here, it’s important to keep the “team” in mind as you assign responsibilities and expectations. Your team’s efforts are interconnected and interdependent – salespeople must be supported by top admins, admins and salespeople need guidance from their fearless leader (you), and you need feedback from everyone as to what is working and where their productivity is being slowed down. Ideally, you assign tasks to people that match their talents, interests and passions; but when that’s not practical or possible, you can encourage them to branch out, upskill themselves and grow. Done right, this will make them feel valued, and they may even blossom in roles that aren’t “obviously” suited to them.
  1. communicateCommunicate. Feedback needs to be constant, and proactive. Don’t wait until there’s a big problem, when you
    could have communicated concern when the problem was small.
  1. Set the foundation. The building blocks for a successful team include:
  • Clear objectives – share your vision with the team to foster engagement and cooperation
  • Clear expectations
  • Effective and efficient processes
  • Individual development – encourage education, even outside of their job description
  • Communication and feedback
  • A service culture – hire people whose main emphasis is on “what can I do for the customer” versus “what can the customer do for me”? Success is all about relationships, both within the team and with the customers.

When you have a solid team, you know they have your back because you have theirs. They may be the ones out there interacting with the public more than you are, and if they’re passionate and engaged, they will do what it takes to make the company prosper.

 

Jul 08
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Self-Leadership and Your Goals

By Blogpost, Leadership

We love the message of the Olympics: “never give up, believe in yourself, follow your heart, live your dreams…”

But most of us also feel a bit (or a lot) skeptical about the realism of that message – only because our own dreams haven’t been achieved and our thoughts center on “I can’t.”

A lot goes into making a dream come true: self-belief, persistence, ACTION… and the demons of low self-confidence, fear and doubt are very quick to make their presence felt – causing us to lose that self-belief, slow our momentum and ultimately quit. The reality is, we have to LEAD ourselves until we believe wholeheartedly in our dreams. Only then will our thoughts, speech and actions match up seamlessly. Only when we BELIEVE, will we SEE.

02 GROW model

How can you self-lead? One method is to set goals, and stick to them. Action creates forward progress; forward progress leads to motivation and overcoming fears. Create a workable plan of small, manageable and persistent actions and DO NOT allow yourself to not take action. Being your own leader means being a strict disciplinarian at times. When you encounter uncomfortable actions, you must take them. Anything less will cause you to self-sabotage.

In the business world, your real focus is on the customer. It’s a “we” mentality (as opposed to the “I” mentality of athletics). You have to be sure that your dream and the needs of your audience are aligned; meaning that your offering meets their needs and solves their problems. So get to know your audience, and then take that information and use it as a point of focus.

You build self-belief and confidence when you wholeheartedly approach your dream from the perspective of helping others. In other words, take the focus off yourself and put it on your audience. This immediately takes away your self-centered emotions of fear and doubt. Think about the last time you helped a friend through a crisis. Did you once think for a second that you couldn’t help him or her? Of course not. You were 100% focused on your friend’s need, and you simply did your best to meet that need.

Not giving up is easier when you remain focused on helping others because it’s not all about YOU anymore. It’s about US. That is powerful!

You’ve just learnt two components of self-leadership: setting goals (and holding yourself accountable); and focusing on your audience. Challenge yourself: take the leadership role and make sure these two are aligned – and make your dreams happen!

Inspired by a blog on www.integrallife.com