by Dike Drummond MD CPC on October 8, 2009
One of the ways to learn about Leadership Success is to look very closely at Leadership Failure. And before we get too far here … I would propose the widest definition of “Leadership” possible here. I am not talking about just the CEO’s on the nightly news … the same holds true for the team leader on the assembly line … or even a parent at home with their family.
Why do Leaders Fail?
- It is NOT because they are not smart enough
- It is NOT because they don’t work hard enough
- It is not because of WHAT they do or do not know
In most cases … it is because of HOW they go about their job
Studies by Goleman and books by Goldsmith and others have long shown that when you find yourself in a Leadership role you are almost always qualified to be there. There is very little difference in qualifications and education and experience from one District Manager to the next. The difference between success and failure lies in their People Skills / Emotional Intelligence.
Leaders fail because they fail to gain the trust and respect of their followers. And trust and respect are not byproducts of the Leader’s Degrees or experience. These are very personal qualities that are closely tied to how the Leader is BEING when they are with the team.
The Latest Stats:
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on September 28, 2009
As managers we are taught to put our emotions on hold and manage
people using reason, logic and data. Creating this emotional void
is an impossible task given that we are humans leading a team of
other humans.
Emotions are everywhere for everyone … all the time.
Rather than trying to push them into the background and deny their importance to your business, we suggest you think of them as exclamation points - especially the “negative” emotions.
In our experience coaching business leaders, the negative
emotions of frustration, fear, anger … are very important
markers of leverage points for growth … growth of the company
and the leaders’ personal growth.
They are also the places we all tend to avoid focusing whenever possible.
Build A Personal Example for Yourself …
Look at the things in your work place that have anger,
frustration, fear or disappointment associated with them. It may
be a person, a project or a team you are frustrated with. You may
avoid dealing with them because you just don’t know how to
proceed or you have tried before and it didn’t work. There are
probably several spots in your work week that make it on this
list.
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on September 18, 2009
An article in a recent Wall Street Journal presented new research showing “Multitasking” is MUCH LESS EFFECTIVE than doing each job separately. In actuality, multitasking ensures you do none of the simultaneous activities well. It literally makes you stupid.
When we perform a visual task - like E-mail - at the same time as
an auditory task - like listening - here’s what happens when you watch the brain with functional MRI and PET scanning technologies …
- “The resources available for processing visual input dropped by
29% if the subject was trying to listen at the same time. “
- “The brain activation for listening dropped by 53% if the person was
trying to process visual input at the same time.”
WOW, trying to multitask shuts down 1/3 to 1/2 of your brain
compared to doing things one at a time.
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on July 31, 2009
One of the best ways to boost Participation and Innovation on your Team is to make it a MISTAKE FREE ZONE.
How would YOUR contributions to a work team improve if you knew
you could not make a “Mistake”.
- No more fear of “getting it wrong” or things not working out as planned.
- No more Blaming
- No more Excuses
- No more justifying.
The key is in reframing “Mistakes” is to make the following
distinction with your team,
====================================
“ON THIS TEAM, THERE ARE NO MISTAKES
… ONLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES”.
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Then, as their leader, you must LIVE this new philosophy.
As your team begins to operate in this Mistake Free
Environment…
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on July 2, 2009
Being rewarded for doing a good job is a critical component of
successful teams. In the book, “First Break All the Rules” the
Gallup Organization found that members of the highest performing
teams are congratulated by their manager at least once a week.
How often do you reward the accomplishments of your team?
Here is a way to remember to celebrate.
IF ITS WORTH MEASURING
ITS WORTH CELEBRATING
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on June 10, 2009
We have had several clients come to us recently with concerns
about the quality of their team’s performance….. Shoddy
workmanship, lack of team cohesiveness, seeming lack of
dedication.
In all cases, the team leader thought these problems were because
the team members were screwing up or didn’t care. As they
traveled down this line of reasoning, the logical next step was
to break out the can of “Whuup Ass” and start playing the drill
sergeant.
This mindset is very common and a HUGE barrier to improvements in
team performance, because over 90% of employees want to be on a
winning team and are doing the best they can - under the
circumstances.
The truth is this,
YOUR TEAM’S PERFORMANCE IS A MIRROR
In this mirror, you can see the effectiveness of your leadership
and your systems.
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on May 4, 2009
Have you seen the children’s television show “Bob The Builder”?
Every day Bob and his friends are faced with a seemingly
insurmountable obstacle. Once the details of what they must
accomplish are clear, Bob shouts out,
“Can we do it?”
and his whole team replies,
“Yes We Can!”
at the top of their lungs.
Bob The Builder is an inspirational leader. Bob knows that the Leader’s Energy and Attitude will dramatically influence the participation of the entire team.
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on April 22, 2009
Do you have to be blunt, direct, Type A and forceful to be a good leader? Can you be both Nice and Effective in a Leadership Role or do you have to check your “pleasant” persona at the door when you go to work. Great question … and here is some Very Interesting Research on just this topic.
Recent psychological research is showing an interesting inverse relationship in the traits of “Warmth” and “Competence”.
This research involved thousands of adults in two dozen different nations … and it begs the question,
“Can a Nice Person be a good Leader?”
The answer is “Yes … But” and it all has to do with our natural defense mechanisms. In “the wild” our defenses consist of Fight or Flight. However, in the modern world … since we rarely run into lions and tigers and bears these days and other people are our biggest challenge … our radar is tuned to a more socially oriented “lookout” system.
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on April 13, 2009
When an elephant trainer first gets a new baby elephant, they put a chain around one leg and tie it to a solid stake in the groud. The baby elephant soon realizes it can’t get away and stops pulling at the stake. They have learned that “escape” is impossible and you know what they say, “An elephant never …… forgets.”
An adult elephant will not try to pull out the stake its leg
is chained to … even though it could do so effortlessly.
The elephant learned that it was “impossible” when they were a
baby and assume it is still “impossible” today.
This is an excellent example of Assumed Constraints… things we assume are impossible - so we never test them.
On your team, Assumed Constraints show up when someone says,
“That can’t be done” or “That will never work.”
Well… in business, the big winner is usually the first company
to do something others think is impossible.
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by Dike Drummond MD CPC on March 23, 2009
Let’s face it … any change in any organization will meet with a certain amount of resistance and skepticism. We are creatures of habit.
However, when the change you are contemplating falls in to the realm of Process Improvement, there are unique challenges involved. Especially if you never learned the People Skills you need for smooth CPI Implementation.
LEAN/CPI is more than just the Technical Skill Set. In fact, sometimes the more technically qualified you are, the harder you may find LEAN to implement. WHY ?
LEAN Six Sigma does have a comprehensive set of technical tools with which you can approach any business process. You can spend months learning the various applications and nuances and, unfortunately, your data and compiling of statistics - the “Facts” does little to counter the resistance and skepticism of your Teams.
Success with LEAN Six Sigma implementation depends in large part on your People Skills.
- Your ability to quickly establish your credibility and create a Context of Trust and Respect
- To run effective meetings, keep the Team focused and on track
- To ask quality questions that keep the group engaged and involved
- Your ability to teach the team the value of Process Improvement and hand the process over to them
When you focus too heavily on the Technical side of LEAN, you can unintentionally get in the way of these People Skills tasks. And your Teams remain resistant and obstructive.
Here’s one People Skill’s Tool that will get you started on the Right Foot with a new Team
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