Incedo Group

Leadership Relationships: What Does This Mean?

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:54:19 +0000

When you hear the term ‘leadership relationships’, what do you think of? Do you think of relationships with other leaders, relationships with staff, relationships with superiors or something else altogether? It’s an interesting topic and I’m not yet sure what it means to me. We could look at this term in the context of leadership in a relationship, not leadership as a role. Or the impact of leadership relationships on the success of a business, or how leaders build trust or…well, you get the point. Why am I bringing this up at all? Because it reminds me how important it is in communication to make sure that the terms we use mean the same thing to the other person that they mean to us. If I talk about leadership relationships and am thinking in terms of how a leader manages up (manages their superiors), but the other person is thinking about how a leader builds trust, our conversation will not be productive. Worse yet, we may not even realize why the conversation is going in circles. The point is, whether you are talking about leadership relationships or something else, make sure the other person’s definition and yours are the same. Otherwise, you’ll likely walk away scratching your head and wondering why they don’t get it.

Coaching Companies: Is It Better to Hire a Coaching Company than an Individual Coach?

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:47:27 +0000

A coaching company is an organization that has multiple coaches working for them. They may be employees or contractors, but they align themselves under one name and refer to themselves as coaching companies. If you are looking to hire a coach, are you better served by hiring an independent coach or a coaching company? Coaching companies offer you the opportunity to have several coaches to interview and select from. They have a central person you can contact if you are dissatisfied with the coach or the results, and hopefully within their group of coaches find someone else who is a better fit. These are just some of the reasons to consider hiring coaching companies.

On the flip side, if you hire a coaching company, you are stuck with choosing from the coaches they have available. These may or may not be the best fit for you personally or for your company. The relationship is often with the owner of the coaching company, not the specific coach. That’s not to say that you or someone in your company can’t and won’t form a relationship with the coach, it’s just different than when you have sought out a coach and hired them directly.

I’m not suggesting that hiring coaching companies is better or worse than hiring an individual coach. It depends on your needs, what you are trying to accomplish, how long you expect to work with the coach, the coaching company and/or the individual coach and a whole host of other factors. My suggestion is before your company hires individual coaches or interviews coaching companies, decide what you need, then make the decision which way to go.

Improve Your Presentation Skills

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:12:24 +0000

Presentation skills are not just for folks who are conducting workshops or facilitations. They aren’t just for consultants or coaches or speakers; they are necessary for anyone who wants to advance their career. Sooner or later you are likely to be making a presentation. It might be at a meeting you are leading, it might be to your boss about the status of a project or it might be presenting yourself in an interview situation. There are dozens of examples, but to get ahead in your career you must improve your presentation skills.

Why do I think it’s necessary to improve your presentation skills? In any situation where you want to get a specific idea or point across, influence the outcome or the person you are speaking to, create a forum for open dialogue or manage the conversation, presentation skills are critical. This means you need to know in advance what you want to communicate, what the goal of the communication is and how to bring the conversations back to the subject matter at hand should they go off-track. No easy task, especially if you are uncomfortable or nervous. Spending the time to focus on your presentation skills in advance of these conversations will reduce your discomfort and increase the chances of a successful outcome.

I promise you, if you do not take the time to improve your presentation skills, there are opportunities that you will miss. It might be the next job you want, getting approval of funds for a project, influencing the outcome of a key decision…it could be any number of situations. Presentation skills should be part of your personal career development.

How to Increase Employee Motivation

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:35:39 +0000

Who among us as leaders hasn’t wondered how to increase employee motivation? What makes one person see what’s necessary and just do it, and the next person has to be guided every step of the way or never does it at all?

Why does one employee go the extra mile without thinking twice about it, and another employee does just the minimum required to ‘get by’?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t believe we can increase employee motivation. However, before you tear out your hair or send me scathing emails, let me clarify something. Often we look at an employee’s behavior and say, ‘They aren’t motivated.’ We try a variety of techniques to increase employee motivation from ‘chats’ to reward systems and even to punishment. Nothing seems to work. Maybe the issue isn’t motivation. Maybe the issue is they need training or they don’t really understand what to do. If the issue is skill-based rather than attitude-based, then maybe it’s possible to increase employee motivation through training. But if they simply do not have the skills and never will, nothing will help increase employee motivation. And at some point we have to realize that we may have to encourage them to step out.

If the issue isn’t skill or training but, in fact, just attitude then I truly do not believe we can increase employee motivation by any method. We may be able to change their behavior for a while through a rewards or punishment program. However, as soon as the pressure is off they will revert to their natural self. If the only way to increase employee motivation is a steady drip of intervention, you, in my opinion, have the wrong person. Instead of spending your time attempting to motivate someone, use your time to find their replacement.

Change Management Issues

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:20:26 +0000

Whether you are merging with another company, have new leadership, need to change the culture or are simply adopting new technology, change is difficult for many. Ignoring this fact is destined to create stress, frustration and unintended outcomes. Acknowledging that change management issues are part of the process is the first step toward the outcome you want. Change management issues include, first and foremost, getting staff and managers to the point where they say, “Let’s give it a go.” If you can’t get this to happen, it spells failure for the initiative and maybe your business. You can hire change management consultants and spend thousands of hours on working through change management issues. But if you don’t figure out what has to happen in order to get people willing to embrace the idea of change, and if you have people who aren’t willing to give it a try, then you are wasting your time and money. Change management isn’t techniques or process or procedures; it’s about people. Once you accept this fact, you’ll shift how you manage change management issues.

What Are Good Communication Skills?

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:40:52 +0000

When someone asks me the question, “What are good communication skills?” I’m never quite sure how to respond. First, I have no idea what they mean by communication skills. Is this oral or written or both? In what context are they asking? Is this for hiring, for someone in customer service, to determine an area of growth for a leader, or something else altogether? When discussing good communication skills, there is no one-size-fits-all standard. Clearly there should be different expectations for different types and levels of positions. Do we apply a different standard to those individuals for whom English is not their native language? Are the criteria we apply the same for written as for oral communication? When someone asks me, “What are good communication skills?” I have to ask them a number of questions before I can begin to formulate a response. Yes, I know you’ve been taught don’t answer a question with a question, but in my experience, by providing a quick response without asking more questions I may either be providing inaccurate information or answering the wrong question altogether.

The Benefits of Coaching

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:36:16 +0000

The International Coach Federation discusses the benefits of coaching. I don’t disagree, but their insights are through the lens of hiring someone external to the organization as a coach. Hey, I’m a coach, so I want to dispel any idea that hiring a coach is a bad thing. However, I do want to broaden the discussion of the benefits of coaching to include coaching of employees by their managers. Organizations spend time conducting performance reviews or discussing what skills need improvement, but very little time on coaching employees. The benefits of coaching in the moment, when the opportunities present themselves, far outweigh more traditional methods of performance reviews. I’m not just referring to coaching someone when you want them to change a behavior, think differently or improve a skill. I’m also referring to the benefits of coaching when they do something spectacular. Telling an employee who just completed a presentation what you thought they did brilliantly is coaching in the moment. When an employee mishandles something, don’t wait to share this in their performance review. Tell them immediately what you want them to do differently next time, and be specific. Coaching at the point in time the action occurs helps people recognize what you want from them. So whether you are praising someone for a job well done, correcting performance issues or simply providing guidance on how to handle something more effectively, don’t wait till their performance review. Coach them in the moment. The benefits you receive will be far-reaching.

Leadership in The Workplace Means Using the ‘F’ Word

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:27:58 +0000

Got your attention, didn’t I? Now I don’t mean what you are thinking; I mean the ‘F’ word FAILURE. Leadership in the workplace has to recognize, embrace and accept failure. Sure, we all want things to go smoothly, but truth is they often don’t and thus it’s no wonder that people see failure as bad, as a dirty word. What would it look like if, rather than labeling any task or action that didn’t turn out as originally planned as a “failure,” we saw each of them as learning opportunities…? What might we create? What opportunities might arise for us? What would change if we were able to step away from self-blame and move forward into celebration? Leadership in the workplace starts with managers, leaders and business owners building a culture that allows for mistakes, and yes, even failures. These leaders understand that if there are no mistakes then people aren’t taking risks. And they recognize this creates an opportunity for learning, and that nothing new, creative, innovative or exciting happens without taking risks. So go ahead, use the ‘F’ word. When you do, you’ll be in the select group of leaders who have created a culture that encourages creativity, innovation and celebration.

Leadership in Business: How Do You Stack Up?

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:21:52 +0000

What are the secrets of true leadership? There’s no doubt that many executives lead companies without success. No one can truly believe that position and title make a successful leader. So what does it take to have true leadership in business, and how do you stack up? True leadership in business begins with the ability to influence, and influence is the first step in implementing change. The ability to influence is paramount to your success as a leader and the success of your organization, as without change the organization stands still and eventually becomes obsolete. The second essential quality is high standards, strong ethics and integrity. Without this quality your decision-making or the way you operate has no consistency. Trust erodes quickly with employees, vendors and clients as they don’t know what to expect. Without trust, long-term success is impossible. And the third quality crucial for leadership in business is confidence. Confidence isn’t about knowing it all or thinking you do; in fact, it’s just the opposite. Confidence is understanding that you will make mistakes, recognizing there are people smarter than you and asking for their help, an attitude of risk-taking, a willingness to be vulnerable and a sense that there is something bigger than just you. When you combine influence, confidence, and high standards, ethics and integrity, you have what it takes. Sure, leaders have other characteristics, but these three are critical for successful leadership in business. How do you stack up?

Business Coaching Services Differ from Executive Coaching Services

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:14:20 +0000

Business coaching services differ from executive coaching services, so before hiring a coach you need to determine what you need and understand the difference. Executive coaching focuses on skill development for leaders. Business coaching focuses on what’s needed to build the business. Yes, business coaching can and often does include executive coaching for the leader(s) of the business, but it goes beyond this. Clearly there are times when what will take a business to the next stage is improving the skills of its leader(s), but this is just one aspect of business coaching. Business coaching includes a focus on what the business overall needs, not just what the executive needs. Does the business need to improve its hiring or train its sales people more effectively? How effective are the marketing activities of the business? What is needed to shore up the infrastructure (processes, procedures, standards, etc.)? Or what is missing altogether? All aspects of the business are evaluated, and business coaching services focus on those areas that need strengthening. If you need someone to help you assess what in your business is working and what isn’t, to provide insights and to develop a plan of action, then hire someone who offers business coaching services. If what you need is specific skill development for key leaders in your organization, then hire an executive coach. A business coach can also be an executive coach, but the reverse is not so. Know what you need and know what you are getting before hiring a coach.