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Posts tagged ‘organizations’

Nov 4

(Almost) Anyone Can Become A Leader

Dig into a simple question, such as “what is leadership?” and you will soon be chin deep in a sea of academic papers, books, and contradictory opinions.

Fortunately, I didn’t drown. After 20 years of reading and 30 years of working, I believe the foundation of good leadership is not complicated. However, it can prove elusive to master, and not everyone is cut out for it.

(Almost) Anyone Can Become A Leader

Fortunately, elements of leadership can be learned, and some research points to three specific qualities that are foundational for leader effectiveness. These three qualities have proven to be important in my leadership journey, as well as leaders I have worked with through the years.

Confidence. When a leader has the confidence to take action, it definitely speaks volumes to your followers, peers and supervisor. Confidence is not hubris. It doesn’t imply a leader has all the answers. Instead, leaders assess available options, take appropriate risks, make decisions, and accept responsibility for how their decisions impact their team and the organization.

Confident leaders are far more likely to have an optimistic vision of the present and future. When employees buy into a leader’s positive expectations, they become engaged in a common vision. Their enthusiasm and energy generates action and momentum that sustains gains in performance.

End of the road. Nothing to do, and no

Altruism. An effective leader uses their personal and positional power to benefit others. These leaders manage their teams up in public and private, as well as serve as a mentor. Research is clear that recognition and praise makes work more meaningful for employees, builds the leader-follower relationship, and enhances trust. All these paths lead to greater engagement, productivity and performance.

Future focus. Effective leaders understand and articulate how today’s decisions and actions will impact the future. This ties into being able to explain the “why” behind today’s decisions, and “how” these actions will lead to desired outcomes.  When employees understand the meaningfulness of “why,” and  their role in “how,” a bond develops around the feeling that everyone is working toward the same goal.

What Separates Effective And Exceptional Leaders   

Although there are many factors and personality traits in play, my experience is that 100 percent of exceptional leaders enjoy the work and the responsibilities they shoulder. They are truly excited about their work and share their excitement with everyone they meet. Their energy is contagious and leads to high performing teams and organizations.

Unfortunately, the same contagion effect holds true for leaders who feel burdened by their role, or have burned out. As you might expect, a CEO I worked for nicknamed Eeyore (the gloomy donkey of “Winnie the Pooh”) was never able to sustain a strong organizational culture or performance despite being a good strategist. His negative energy poked through at just the wrong time, and weighed people and performance down.

What other leadership traits and behaviors do you find are needed to be an effective leader?

Gregory Alford, MS. Psy., is founder of Accelerated Coaching & Consulting LLC in Naperville, IL., and specializes in business, leadership and life coaching and Marcom consulting. 

 

Sep 9

6 Ways Work Makes You Stupider

The number of ways our workspaces and workplaces conspire to make us dumber is pretty amazing. At times, I wonder if an evil genius sat down and thought, “how can I create an environment that ruins everyone’s productivity?” And after much thought, created the modern workplace.

Below are a few examples of how our brains are drained at work, and what you can do to preserve productivity.

Your E-mail

I am positive you can recall the last time you were “in the zone” as you worked on a complex project only to hear the Ding! or see a the ghostly image of an email notification on your computer screen.   The distraction is momentary, maybe one second. But when you try to pick up where you left off, your train of thought has left the station.

A 2005 survey of 1,100 workers found that interruptions such as email, a ringing phone, or the co-worker who drops by to tell you how great his weekend was, have a greater impact on your concentration than smoking marijuana.

A simple fix is to turn off all email notifications, and silence the phone to remove distractions when you need all of your attention focused on work.

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Your Chair

Parking yourself in a chair for long periods of time not only slows down your body – it slows your brain’s ability to process information. Research finds working memory functions improves when you walk at a natural pace. Researchers from the British Psychological Society speculate that walking at a comfortable pace provides a boost of energy to the brain and expands its processing capacity.

So those people who set up a work station on a treadmill may look a little strange, but they may be onto a good thing. But for most of us, our best option is to get up and take a walk, outside if possible, to help reset your brain for high concentration work.

Meetings

Research from Virginia Tech finds IQ test scores drop for those who attended a meeting compared to those who work on their own. Specifically, post-study tests of cognition reveal large numbers of those in the meeting group experienced significant drops in the ability to solve problems. The largest impact is on those who receive negative status cues from higher position co-workers. Unfortunately, that describes the communication that takes place in many or a majority of business meetings.

My advice, if you don’t need to be in a meeting, don’t go.

Other Dumb Stuff

  • The donuts or birthday cake in the break room can take your blood sugar on a wild ride the leaves your brain depleted. Leave the junk food alone.
  • Prolonged stress suppresses short-term memory and disrupts sleep, which results in a host of cognitive difficulties. Seek out ways to reduce your stress levels.
  • Free coffee can lead to overconsumption of caffeine and result in withdrawal symptoms that include poorer cognitive function, until you have your next cup. Monitor your caffeine intake and cut back, if possible.

If you would like to increase your effectiveness at work, contact me to schedule a free Power Session.

Aug 7

Why You Need A Coach On Your Career Team

First, the good news. It is now commonplace for C-Suite residents to be provided an executive coach to help them navigate the high altitude world they inhabit.

Now, the not-so-good news. If you do not have a ‘C’ in front of your title, you are probably on your own when it comes to career development. This is not good business, but it is reality for most mid- to upper-level managers.

Finally, the best news. You can make a modest investment and rediscover your strengths, passions, areas of opportunity, and action plans to develop new skills that can give your career the boost it needs.

What Is Coaching?

Leadership and other coaches combine many of the best concepts from management theory, psychology, philosophy, sports and spirituality to facilitate positive life changes. Although there is some similarity, coaching is not therapy, mentoring or consulting. It is a strengths-based approach that empowers you to use your energy and insights to propel your life to new heights.

What A Coach Can Help You With

Leadership, career transition and life coaching are three popular types of coaching, although there are many others. Many people come into leadership coaching to address issues such as how to:

Becoming a leader is synonymous with

  • Clarify your career goals
  • Manage difficult relationships
  • Manage conflict
  • Become a better leader
  • Enhance work/life balance
  • Decide whether to change careers

What to Expect

Coaching sessions are values-based, goal-oriented, and focus on today and the future. Coaches realize that everyone has the ability to increase professional effectiveness and personal happiness. To find the right path for your success, a good coach:

  • Listens without judgment
  • Asks powerful questions
  • Investigates your underlying beliefs
  • Helps you clarify your values
  • Partners to help you develop action plans
  • Provides support and encouragement

It’s your career. Adding a coach to your career team can help you discover what is holding you back and how to move forward. You can gain insight into how others see you, how you see yourself and discover how to unlock your unique strengths to become a better leader.

If you would like to schedule a free 50-minute one-to-one phone call to discuss whether you would benefit from having a coach on your career development team, please call me at 815.985.4229 or fill out the contact for below.

Gregory Alford, MS. Psy., is founder of Accelerated Coaching & Consulting, LLC, and specializes in business, leadership and life coaching and consulting.

 

Aug 4

1 Comment

5 Ways To Stay Sane in A Crazy Company

It is an incredible fail that only one-third of us are engaged in our work.

The cost of lost productivity, performance and innovation due to disengagement, detachment and distrust is staggering. Disengaged workers cost their organizations $3,400 a year for every $10,000 in annual salary. As a result, American businesses squander almost $400 billion of productivity every year.

An engaged workforce literally pays dividends. Studies find productivity is 15 to 20 percent higher than rival organizations (think Costco vs. Wal-Mart), profits are at least 10 percent greater, and these companies return 22 percent more to shareholders (a great data set is available here).

Why ‘Sustainable Engagement’ Is So Rare

 

So much of what we call management

A 2012 Towers Watson survey and report refers to “sustainable engagement,” which it breaks into three stages: engagement, enablement, and energy. The report defines engagement as belief in the company mission, an emotional connection to work roles, and a desire to take on discretionary tasks. Enablement occurs when leaders eliminate barriers and provide the resources their employees need to be successful. Workers surveyed defined good energy as “a workplace that promotes well-being,” which is a nice way to say “treat me with respect instead of an expense.”

None of this information is new or earthshaking. So, why do most organizations fail to create sustainable engagement at the macro level? Based on decades of work experience, and coaching leaders stuck in low performing companies, several patterns emerge:

  • Lack of awareness (or measurement) of employee sentiment in the C-suite
  • Denial and blame shifting (often directed downward at mid-level managers) after employees are surveyed
  • The executive leadership team does not trust employees (paternalism)
  • Leaders’ behavior reflects poorly on the organization’s mission (walking the talk)
  • Lack of transparency regarding how and why decisions are made

How To Protect Your Sanity

When you feel trapped in a demotivating work environment, do not sink into the mire with your co-workers. This never results in a better work environment. What it causes is stress, frustration, and additional disengagement. Instead of losing sleep, gaining weight and boring your friends and loved ones with tales of woe about the office, take positive action to reduce stress and stay productive.

  • Remember this is not about you, it is about company culture, do not take dysfunction personally
  • Spend as little time as possible with negative people (especially at work)
  • Take care of yourself. Exercise, eat well, meditate, have family time or whatever brings you happiness
  • When you leave work – take your brain with you. Ruminating on your dysfunctional workplace at home will only make you feel worse
  • Vote with your feet. Make plans to leave and follow through when the time is right
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