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In this Weekly Insight we will show you why creating a supportive culture is critical to learning. We will also show you how to know if you have a natural predisposition toward being empathetic with your team.
All it takes is one simple test.
If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –
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If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –
Join Us for this One Day Leadership Intensive!
NEW HERE? Click here to get these insights delivered to you weekly!
If you have found this Leadership Insight helpful click on the LeaderShift icon below and we can show you how to go further faster.
If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –
Join Us for this One Day Leadership Intensive!
NEW HERE? Click here to get these insights delivered to you weekly!
If you have found this Leadership Insight helpful click on the LeaderShift icon below and we can show you how to go further faster.
If you want to Transform your Leadership, Transform Your Team and Transform Your Results –
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What is the best way to set goals for your team?
So what is the solution?
In order to maximize team commitment and engagement you need to set a modest increase goal while simultaneously decreasing the timeline allowed for the goals achievement. It is also critical that you make sure the team knows that this goal is a milestone on the way to a larger ideal – an ideal future that they have agree is important and desirable for the team to achieve.
So here is this week’s leadership insight: Set modest goals with shorter timelines.
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Some years ago an executive coaching client ‘George’ (not his real name) related to me a particularly difficult challenge he was facing. George was struggling because Sam (also not his real name – but you knew that didn’t you?) was failing in his role as a senior leader. When I asked George what the results were like in Sam’s group, he replied that they were exceeding plan. When I asked how that was possible, he replied that the role was so critical that he had been doing Sam’s job for him for some time.
George was faced with a problem: How do you deal with an underperforming leader when their objective results are strong – even if you know that they are not the reason those results are strong. In other words, your feedback is Subjective rather than Objective, and could be viewed as your opinion.
Even Objective Feedback has a Subjective Component:
In some cases you can show an employee that objective performance metrics are not where they need to be. That is not to say that they will always agree on their performance being the cause of the metric being less than desirable – but at least you have a solid starting point for the conversation. Note: For more information on handling these type of conversations see How to Avoid Defensiveness When Providing Feedback and Can You Really Get Someone to Change.
Even in the case of incontrovertible objective evidence, leaders are often unable, or unwilling, to see the connection between their operational results and their own leadership skills and/or behavior.
The Solution: You Have to Make Your Subjective Feedback Objective
Since so many of our coaching conversations revolve around subjective feedback, we created a process called Making the Subjective Objective™. Let’s use an example to show how it works:
One of your supervisors is having difficulty driving operational results. You can see that he is not engaging in effective coaching behaviors. Instead, he seems to take great pride in solving operational issues himself. This is lowering overall morale and engagement level in the team. Since he can only be in one place at a time, response times have extended and problems seem to pile up. This has caused him to complain about not being able to find skilled and hard working employees. You have tried to broach the subject of improving his coaching skills but he feels that he is already a pretty good coach.
Sound familiar?
In this case there is a mismatch between his perception of his skill level and what you believe his skill level to be. In other words – your feedback is subjective in nature.
Try Making the Subjective Objective™
Ask the supervisor to rate their coaching skill from zero to ten. Note: We use zero because no one can confuse that with a good score.
If the supervisor gives himself rates anywhere from zero to eight, they are indicating that there is a possibility that they could improve. The challenge we fall into here is that we get hung up on the rating being correct – at least in our opinion. This desire for a correct score misses the point. What we want is for them to acknowledge there is a GAP between where they are and where they could be. So if they think they are a 7, and you think they are a 2; who cares? They have admitted that there is an opportunity for growth. So don’t get hung up
Once they have admitted there is a GAP and therefore there is an opportunity for growth – ask “What would a 10 look like?”
In some cases they may have some ideas of where they could improve. In other cases you may have to provide some ideas for them. In either case you have an opportunity to ask them to commit to those changes.
But what if they rate themselves a 9 or a 10?
This is the tougher scenario. Even a 9 is a 10 in disguise – they just did not want to seem arrogant. In this case, you have to have a candid conversation with them that you do not believe that their evaluation is correct. In some scenarios the person may never have worked for someone that has been willing to give them candid feedback, and while painful, your feedback could be a critical step in their career development. In other cases it may may a case of a lack of humility. And humility is one of the hardest traits to coach – and that will have to wait for another day!
Are you frustrated with some aspect of your team’s performance? Should you be?
Even if you are leading correctly, there will be times (through no one’s fault) where the team’s performance is less than desired. At this point we have a choice – accept the current performance level from the team or work on improving the individual performance of the team members. After some period of time – since we are all creatures of habit – a pattern will emerge within your team. Some individuals will take to your coaching and make significant improvements. Some individuals will improve for a time but slip back into old behavior patterns. And some individuals will make no significant effort to change at all. Sound familiar?
This is where your leadership skill will be tested. Leaders must always be more committed to the achievement of the change than their team is committed to not making the change. Unfortunately, there are always more of them – and the process of making even a small change can be daunting! And so, the leader is faced with the challenge of working tirelessly to shift the mindset, skill set and behavior of team members that either do not want to change or are struggling with the transition.
The Power of Expectation
This is where the power of expectation comes in. People will alway respond to what we truly EXPECT from them – not what we WANT from them. Unfortunately, leaders often EXPECT what they DO NOT WANT, and WANT what they DO NOT EXPECT. Let me explain.
Take a moment and consider what you really want from your team. Are they meeting that standard of performance – whether it be subjective or objective? Now, do you really expect that they will achieve those standards? Most leaders emphatically say “YES – Of course I do!”. And yet after coaching leaders for over 20 years I can tell you than most leaders DO NOT really expect these individuals to change. Now, before you tune out – I am going to offer you incontrovertible proof of what you REALLY EXPECT from your people.
A Litmus Test For What You Really Expect
Imagine that you have two team members Anna (a super high performer) and John (a historically low performer).
Now imagine that Anna, who ALWAYS hits her numbers every month, misses one month.
Are you upset about her performance – or concerned about Anna?
Of course you are CONCERNED. Why would you be upset? That is not what you EXPECT from Anna. And so, you inquire what is happening, and work with Anna to correct the situation.
How about John? Suppose John, who always misses his numbers every month, misses his numbers that same month.
Are you upset about his performance – or concerned about John?
If you are totally honest – you are UPSET about John’s performance. But why? Both Anna and John missed their numbers. However, John’s history predicted his performance this past month. The reason you are upset is that you WANTED something you did NOT EXPECT.
How about you? Do you have any employees that frustrate you with their level of performance? Are you truly EXPECTING a change or do you just WANT a change?
While being honest about your level of expectation does not change the performance level of anyone, it is the first step in making sure that you align your expectation with your goals, rather than lowering your expectation to meet their current performance level.
If you would like to learn more about how to radically shift your team’s results, join us for the LeaderShift One Day Intensive Workshop click here.
Leadership is Not Management
Any discussion on leadership needs to start with a simple definition. Let’s start first with what Leadership is not. Leadership is not management. I’m not saying that management is not important. It is incredibly important. Management however deals with static systems. As long as things are not changing then management will suffice. However, as soon as things start to change then leadership is required.
We often use leadership and management interchangeably, and that is a shame because they mean very different things. In most jobs you need both management and leadership skill. These two skillsets can reside in the same individual, but that does not mean that they always do.
So how do you know if a person has the ability to lead as well as manage?
To answer this question consider the old saw; ‘You must walk the walk not just talk the talk’. In other words, in order to lead others you must first be able to lead yourself.
But what does it mean to able to ‘lead yourself’?
Leadership is about going on a journey.
I have found that leadership is all about going on a journey. If there is not a GAP between where you are and where you want to be, then there is no journey, and management skills are all that is necessary. However, if there is a GAP – then we will need a very specific set of skills to navigate that path.
Normally when we discuss this concept in the context of leadership we are talking about the setting and accomplishment of goals.
Your goal will involve a journey if at least one of the following is true:
There are three elements necessary to successfully complete any journey.
In order to complete a journey you need:
While reams of articles have been written on setting Vision (#2) and on Planning (#3), there seems to be an assumption that it is obvious where the starting point of any journey is (#1). I have found that this is very rarely true. Even when there is universal agreement on the metrics that measure where we are, there is almost never agreement on WHY those metrics are what they are.
A 3 Step Process To Decide if a Manager is also a Leader
Which brings us to a very simple test to see if a manager is also a leader. In essence, what we need to see if if they can ‘walk the walk’ or if they just ‘talk the talk’. This simple process will work whether you are interviewing a new leader from inside or outside your organization. It will also work if the person is already employed as a manager with your firm and you are trying to determine their leadership potential.
Resist the urge to give too much direction. What are you are attempting to discern is:
While no process is perfect, this 3 step process will help you determine if a manager has the ability to also lead.
We have found that what frustrates leaders the most is not that they have problems. What frustrates leaders the most is having the same problem over and over.
We have a process that helps leaders move past their existing problems and accelerates their ability to achieve the results they always knew their team was capable of.
For more information, click here…
