The Enlightened Manager

Coaching Reflections: A Coach as a Mirror

What does a coach do for his or her client?  One thing a coach can do is to hold up a mirror.  A special kind of mirror, not the false ones we create for ourselves.

"There were times when he thought of himself as a mirror of polished copper Colptha held up in which to admire his own cleverness."

- Morgan Llewelyn, Author

People who fear criticism surround themselves with "yes men" who will always agree and smile.  People who have low self-esteem will surround themselves with those who treat them the way they believe they deserve to be treated.

In short, the people we surround ourselves with says something about who we are, and our beliefs about ourselves. We look for ways of reinforcing the beliefs we already hold.

So what is the value of a coach?

A coach is someone who stands apart from that self-created circle to reflect back the essential truth of things. Not to judge, but instead to offer an untarnished view, and to invite self-criticism and self-analysis.

"This is what I notice.  Do you notice it too?"  "This is what you did.  How did it go?"  "Here are your choices.  Which will you choose?"

In a way, coaching is ridiculously simple!  It's not about giving excellent advice or figuring out the spiffy answer our client missed.  It's about holding up that mirror, and offering compassion and support as they deal with what they see.

That's my 2 cents anyway.  What's yours? :)

The Humility Imperative

Hey Enlightened Managers,

I heard about this great project from the folks at BzzAgent. They're gathering stories about the importance of Humility in leadership, and adding some artwork as well. If you think that Humility is important for leaders, check it out. Perhaps you can submit your own story?

http://www.humilityimperative.com/

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Cheri

Accountability Without Anger, Notes on Emotional Intelligence

Hey Enlightened Managers,

I've been thinking this week about how emotions can be a very powerful tool.  How much emotion will you share?  How much will you hide?  While it's a very bad thing to be in self-denial about your own emotional state, it can be a good thing to be strategic about how intensely your feelings are demonstrated in the workplace.

Example One:

You get very frustrated with one of your employees.  When you talk with them, you make no attempt to mitigate or hide those emotions.  They get hit full blast.  Your employee loses respect for you, because they felt attacked.

Example Two:

You get very frustrated with one of your employees.  When you talk with them, you are careful to let none of that emotion show.  You are completely neutral.  Your employee hears your message but doesn't realize how serious their blunder was.

Example Three:

You get very frustrated with one of your employees.  When you talk with them, you are careful to let just a smidgen of your exasperation show.  You are supportive in your talk with them, but you also don't hide the fact that you are feeling frustrated by their actions.  The employee respects your words, and also recognizes the severity of the problem.

This is complicated by the fact that we each interpret emotion differently.   Your employees may need you to turn the dial up or down on your emotions, depending upon their sensitivity level. The moment you are NOT in control of that emotional dial is the moment you are not in a good position to influence others, I think. 

Enlightened managers, you are the conductors of the symphony.  You might choose to wave your wand sharply or softly, but the most important thing is to do so with intention!

Let's go out this week and create some good music, eh? :)

 

Do others see you as Accountable?

I work with all sorts of leaders, and sometimes I’m brought in because a particular leader is seen as not being accountable.  There can be many reasons for this.  Perhaps the manager is always showing up late to meetings, or they are so slammed that they habitually don’t return phone calls.

When you’re seen as not being accountable, it can cause all sorts of issues.  Not only can it hurt your career, but it also lowers the trust that others have in you.  When you’re a leader, if you’re not trusted, you are sunk!

Three quick things that you can do to check in on this.

1. Ask people you trust if you are seen as accountable.  If you don’t think they’ll answer you honestly, you can use a tool like survey monkey to send out a brief survey.  “When Cheri says that she will do something, I trust that she will follow through.”  “Cheri is accountable to me.”  “When Cheri makes a mistake, she accepts responsibility.”  Do they agree or disagree with those statements? (put in your own name of course!)
   
   
2. If your accountability needs work, communicate to those important people you work with that you’ve noticed this area for improvement and that you are setting a goal to work on it.  Invite them to give you feedback.
3. Work on the chinks in your armor.  If you are late to meetings, figure out why and fix it.  If you are missing emails, work on our productivity system.  Take action.

As humbling as it may sound, working on #1 and #2 are important.  We need to invite others to begin to see us differently, to get rid of any preconceived notions.  Asking for feedback and sharing your improvement goals are a few ways to shake up those perceptions.

It's amazing how much a simple admission can change perceptions.  If you quietly improve, people may not notice.  If you tell them you plan to improve, you've invited them to change perceptions and see you in a new way.  Neato!

If you've had good luck in changing perceptions about you at work, particularly with regard to accountability, I'd love to hear what worked well for you. :)

Let's talk about Accountability! (Win a Free Webinar Pass)

Hey Enlightened Managers!

What does it mean to be personally accountable?  How does Accountability differ from Blameworthiness?  How do our accountabilities change when we take on a leadership role?  How can we hold others accountable without being overly harsh or judgmental?

These are some of the questions we’ll be discussing on the blog over the next month!  Several of my clients have asked for training on the subject of accountability so it's been foremost on my mind lately.

All organizations talk about the importance of accountability, but words are not the same as actions.  Some people treat accountability like a core value, and others treat it like a weapon to be used to cast blame.  I bet you can guess which approach has the most value! :)

Stay tuned for some resources on being more accountable (including a book giveaway) as well as a webinar on “Holding Others Accountable” scheduled for August 26^th. 

I’ll kick things off by asking you to share what you think. What is your personal definition of Accountability?   And how do you keep yourself accountable?  The first five commenters on this post will get an invitation to attend this month’s webinar for free.

Wednesday’s post will cover the true definition of accountability, and how it can be misused when there is a culture of fear.

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Cheri's Next Webinar:  Holding Others Accountable  (Leadership Fundamentals Series)

August 26th, 2011, 12pm Pacific Time    Cost: $15.00     Register Here

Making Time for your own Development

Steven Covey calls it "Sharpening the Saw" and others simply call it "me time."  How do you find time for personal development?

I know that there are still concerns about a faltering economy,  but this year for me has been one long endurance race.  The kind where work has been bleeding into my evenings and weekends, and where I suddenly realized that I'd gone for 17 days without a day off.

In some ways, this isn't a bad thing, when you are self-employed, you learn to take the work when you can get it, and you try to use those down periods as a time to get refreshed and renewed.  But what happens when the down periods don't come?

I know that when my personal life gets hectic, one strategy that works is "scheduled dates" with my hubby.  So one thing that I'm trying is "scheduled development" dates with myself.  Whether it's a class, or just a couple hours set aside to read a new business book, I'm trying to set that time aside.

And of course my long-standing business group, the Caffeinated Consultants, remains essential.  Once a month we get together and talk about our business goals and share our challenges.

I also bring business books along with me on vacation.  It sounds odd, but when I'm in full on relaxation mode, that is when my brain is the most interested in reading new business ideas.  Of course it's good to sneak in the occasional trashy romance novel too! :)

How do you set aside time for your own development, even when things are hectic?

On Hiring Well: Management Begins before Orientation

Hey Enlightened Managers,

When do you start managing your employees?  After they are oriented to the company?  On their start date?  I'm going to suggest that if you answered "yes" to those questions, you may already be too late.

I'm inspired by some of my clients (including Orion Industries) who do a bang-up job of hiring great people. Here are some tips I've picked up along the way.

Management Begins Before Your New Hire Starts Work!

How?  The first step in management is setting expectations.  Let's take a look at the way you can begin to set expectations before the person is hired.

1) An accurate job advertisement:  Is your job advertisement just a puffy sales piece?  Does it list a bunch of duties without really describing the job?  By creating accurate and vivid job descriptions you'll be setting expectations before they send that resume in.

2) A career site that reveals your corporate culture.  Does your company careers website advertise your company as "caring and compassionate" when it's really not?  Your careers site should be a realistic depiction of your company.  If your company is a place where everyone works late and works hard, that should be reflected there.  It doesn't need to be negative, but it does need to be truthful.

3) A cultural-fit interview.  Interview for cultural fit before you interview for skills.  One of my clients, a non-profit, uses this strategy well.  They hire people who will thrive in the culture by screening for cultural fit FIRST.  If someone doesn't match the company, they don't progress, no matter how good of a job fit they are.

4) A honest "two-way" job interview.  Tell your candidates "point blank" what is expected.  "We expect our team to be here on time, to work hard, and to put our customers first."  or "We offer flexible schedules, but that does mean some work from home in the evenings.  Is that something you can do?"    You should be revealing your company as much as you are uncovering the nature of the candidate.  Be sure it's a two-way interview.

5) An Orientation that Sets Expectations.  Your orientation process should set company-wide expectations, and you will reinforce those in your job-specific training.  Talk about timeliness, standards for service, accountability, and so on.

These are just some examples of how you can set expectations early on in the process.  Does your company do a good job on these things?  If not, it may be worth talking to your HR team to see how they can support you in this, as well as looking at your own on-boarding practices.

Do you have any other tips?  I'd love to hear from you.

On an unrelated note, I'm headed off to Las Vegas for my hubby's birthday in a few days.  Any tips for a Vegas Newbie?  I'm all ears. :)

Sometimes, Magic Happens! (A Story about Leadership in Action)

Hey Enlightened Managers,

I know we are smack in the middle of a series of blog posts on setting expectations, but I had to interrupt the flow today to tell you a story.

As a facilitator, there is something elusive I am always reaching for.  I'll call it "Magic" although that is a corny word.   Sometimes when a group comes together, magic happens.  You can't force it, but you can give it room to occur.

I'm currently leading a year-long leadership development program for a health care company.  The company is great, the team is hard working, and I've been pleased with the results so far.  In our last meeting, I invited the executive team to come and talk about where the company is headed.  There was a bit of a "knowledge gap" between execs and managers, and I wanted to see if we could knit it back together.

Cue the Magic!

The CEO of this organization (I won't "out him" by name without his permission.) was talking about company values, when he paused and said something like this. (I'm paraphrasing)

"We're asking a lot more of our managers.  You're being asked to do more, and you may think about what we are asking you to do and decide that you don't want to take on that role.  If that is true for you, talk to us.  We *will* find a place for you in this company.  That's what we mean when we talk about our values."

This was just one bit of a long and meaningful conversation, and the thing I remember the most vividly was the feeling of a "knot of tension" coming loosened in the room.  As a small circle of executives spoke openly and honestly about some tough issues, it gave a whole organization permission to move forward in a positive way.

Authenticity.  Respect.  Compassion.  Magic!  I don't know if I'm explaining it right, but it was a great day.

Best of luck to you as you go in search of this elusive but powerful force!

Why Your Employees Don't Understand You

In this continuation on the setting expectations discussion, I wanted to highlight something that I hear a lot when working with executives.

"I have been very clear about this. I don't see why it's so difficult for people to understand!"

We all have blind spots, and it's pretty tough to root them out.  CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and other "C-Levels" often share this one.  They have forgotten a few key things:

1) Words mean different things to different people.

In your 30 years working as a VP of Marketing, you may have developed a very rich definition of what it means to "put the customer first" or to provide "customer service excellence."  But when your employees hear those words, they don't necessarily have that rich definition. 

Action Step: You may need to break that word (customer service, accountability, respect) into some specific behaviors to make it tangible.

2) Others lack your perspective and experience.

You have a unique perspective as a result of your experiences.  You see the workplace through a unique lens.  Sometimes when you say "I've been very clear about this." what you really should be saying is "This is very clear to me."  There is a difference between understanding something and being able to explain it to others.  You may not be as good at that second part as you think you are!

Action Step: You need to communicate the expected results while also setting the context.  Strengthen your ability to "build a case" for change, including using vibrant stories and examples to bring your expectations to life.

3) Saying it isn't the same as making it happen.  Complexity awaits.

From your view in the C-suite, you likely don't see the complexity that lives in every job and in every process.  You express the result you want, and you expect others to make it happen.  In reality, there may be a dozen or more forces working against that result.  Internal processes, territorialism, siloed communication, differing expectations, managers who are not on the same page - all of these things can be barriers to the result. 

Action Step: Avoid the assumption that things are simpler than they are.  Be prepared to support your team as they navigate complexity and unintended consequences.

In the next post, we'll look at how expectation setting fits into performance management.

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Cheri offers a workshop series for leaders on the topics of Setting Expectations, Holding Others Accountable, Coaching & Mentoring, Engaging Employees, Time Management for Leaders, and Building a Customer Service Culture. 

There will be a preview webinar of the "Setting Expectations" workshop on Friday May 6th, at 12pm Pacific Time.  REGISTER HERE

Setting Expectations With Employees

Hi Enlightened Managers,

In this initial post on "Expectation Setting" we're going to cover some basics.  Setting expectations with staff can be challenging, but it's also really important.  Let's take a look at some examples of the different types of expectations that can be set and also what you can expect to get out of the process.

Let's begin by looking at a few examples of the different kinds of expectations we might set:

Chances are that you will have to set expectations in these three categories.  Behavioral expectations tend to be organization-wide, while the other two types can be either universal or job specific.

"I expect you to maintain an accurate database of customer orders." <--- Results Expectation

"I expect you to smile and greet each customer as they arrive." <---- Behavioral Expectation

"Be sure to fill out a slip for each return, then file it in the A-Z file." <----- Process Expectation

So why is Expectation Setting so Important?

1) We work for businesses that exist to produce certain outcomes. We need to define those results, and how they are to be achieved, otherwise we're just flailing around like an octopus that's had too many beers.

2) Defining organization wide expectations is a way of ensuring consistency and quality.  It's also a way of shaping company culture.  "This is how we do it here."

3) Setting expectations is the first step in managing people.  Once we've set an expectation - we can measure if it has been achieved.  If so - awesome!  We recognize and reward. If not, we need to find out why and address the issue.  If we never set the expectation to begin with - we are assuming our employees are psychic. 

Tip: If your employees are psychic, don't waste time setting expectations.  Have them purchase lotto tickets on your behalf.

Next week we'll look at some of the reasons why leaders may assume they are clear when setting expectations, even when they are not!

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Cheri's next webinar is Friday May 6th, at 12pm Pacific Time.

"Management Fundamentals: Setting Expectations with Employees"
REGISTER HERE