Leadership Trends and Realities

Coach Talk: Like Water

Bob Craig

A well-known Chinese proverb says that the wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher. Perhaps at no other time in recent history has adaptability been more important than it is now. Adaptability – the ability to change (or be changed) to fit new circumstances – is a crucial skill for leaders, and an important competency in emotional intelligence. A 2008 study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, entitled Growing Global Executive Talent, showed that the top three leadership qualities that will be important over the next five years include: the ability to motivate staff (35 percent); the ability to work well across cultures (34 percent); and the ability to facilitate change (32 percent). The least important were technical expertise (11 percent) and "bringing in the numbers" (10 percent). This willingness to learn continuously as a way of adapting to changed surroundings marks a key difference between successful and unsuccessful leaders. Pretty tough to do all that if you are not out with your team! If you are a desk dweller, it is time to get up and get out where the action is at. This is the perfect week to begin! 

Do It

Bob Craig

"If you don’t think every day is a good day, just try missing one!"

This quote from Cavett Robert made me laugh right out loud. I mean no matter what today might look like, it can be a wonderful day.

If it isn’t for you, as a leader, you need to stop right now and get it turned around. It’s not magic. Stop. Take 3 deep breaths (which will turn your whole physical system around). Tell yourself it is a great day and you are going to get a lot done. Move away from where you are and do something nice for someone: tell someone thanks for something, open a door for someone, shake someone’s hand and ask them how they are and listen to the answer.

As a leader, the day is not about you. It is about the folks you lead. So get up out of that comfy chair, out of your comfort zone of that cube or office and go get in touch with the real world all around you. You have a day to make a difference. So look around and make a difference to your folks today. You can help them be successful with the three simple questions of a power session.

Do it.

• What did you do well yesterday or this morning or... ?
• What is your focus today?
• What do you need from me?

One of the Hardest Skills in Leadership

Bob Craig

When Ken Blanchard was presenting on a Leadership Webinar, he discovered from a poll of the 3500 people from around the world who signed in to watch that 43 percent of the respondents reported that self-awareness is the hardest skill for leaders to address and master. Yet good leadership starts with self-awareness. Before you can lead others, you have to be able to lead yourself. Being consciously aware of what your core values and needs are can help you understand when a physiological response starts to rise up in you as a result of a boundary being crossed or a core need not being met. Knowing who you are, what you bring to the table, and being upfront and honest about it helps people know what to expect from you and helps build the trust that is so critical to leading others. If you want to be a good coach, then you have to be coachable yourself. So do you have a coach? Someone who’s not afraid to tell you the truth. Ken said, “If you think you are a true leader, turn around to see if anyone’s following.” If not, you’re likely suffering from some un-leaderlike characteristics that you can begin to work on. Start the short list: What do I need to stop doing and what do I need to start doing. Don’t know. Give that to your team, your coach, your manager, the people who care about you. And take one small step every day to get better. Help your team get better with your power sessions designed to get your people engaged and successful during this hectic week.

• What did you do well yesterday or this morning?
• What is your focus today?
• What do you need from me?

It's All About Relationships

Bob Craig

One of the most important notions to keep in mind when you are leading people is that leadership is not a right of position. No one is entitled to leadership; it’s an earned privilege that you obtain only through gaining the trust and respect of others. It’s all about relationships—people will join a team for the mission, but stay for the relationship or leave because of it. Think about this: giving feedback is so critical to improvement, yet you can’t just walk into a new team and start spouting out feedback. You have to build the relationship first and earn the right to give it. If the relationship is never established, that great piece of feedback may never be heard, or well received, and an opportunity is lost. Building that kind of trust is one of the first steps in building any relationship, and it’s so easy to break. Where trust has been broken, take measures to repair it right away. The only way to recover is to acknowledge your mistake and apologize. This is a great week for that to happen. Make sure you thank your team for the hard work and take time with them each day to make sure everything is your trust house is in order.