The IMPACT Blog
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March 26, 2008
Persuasion or Politics?
How do you see it? Persuasion or politics? Managing through organizational minefields can cause great angst, frustration and "wasted" energy. "Organizational Politics" is one of the most common topics discussed with my coaching clients.
I have a bias. I see "organizational politics" as persuasion and I encourage all of my clients to see it the same way. Why?
How you view organizational politics will make you more powerful.
March 17, 2008
Leadership is Lonely
I met with a client today. The meeting struck me more than most meetings. I had planned to give him advice. I did not do what I had planned to do.
I listened. I asked questions.
He has a difficult "row to hoe". This leader needs to take some action. Everyone knows he needs to take action. Now is not the time to take that action. It is not the time for many good reasons.
Why is this so difficult? It is difficult because if you are truly a great leader (he is), you often can't tell anyone, "I know what you want me to do. I'll do it later." People ask, "Why isn't he doing this obvious thing?" Friends and colleagues offer feedback, "Just do this thing and everyone will be happy, confident, whatever...." People can see what needs to be done and because they can see it, they want it done now.
March 06, 2008
Women Are Different.
Seems obvious. If organizations can work from this assumption, they can help life at work will be more effective for all women.
I met with one of my clients today and we had a discussion about women and how they are different. We talked about her work and her life and we talked about a friend of hers who she thinks is having real difficulties at work. I will share three stories. First there is the story of this woman. Second, I'll tell her friend's story. The last story is another client of mine.
My client has never agonized over work/life balance. She loves her kids. She loves her work. She travels quite a bit and works long hours. On the weekends she doesn't work and she enjoys her husband and family. She has continued to move up but not agressively. She recently made a decision to go for the "big job".
The second woman (her friend) just had a baby. This woman does not apear to be motivated by work right now. She is becoming impatient with her staff. She is not on top of her work. In the past, she has been outstanding with staff and her work has always been exceptional.
The third story is about a woman in her 50s. Not married. No kids. She questioning if she really still enjoys what she does. She has held many "big jobs". She is quite successful but is considering a complete career change.
What ties all of this together? Two things.
February 21, 2008
“A Genius With a Thousand Helpers”
"Are you a genius with a thousand helpers?" I have to give credit to Jim Collins for the title of this blog. It is such a good description, I have found myself using it a lot with people lately. I come across many leaders like this in my coaching experience.
One of my first bosses was like this. I wondered why he didn't deal with substandard performance from his team. He had some great people. He had some people who were just not contributing. He didn't seem to be doing anything about it. Frustrated one day, I asked him about it. He answered, "I don't see a big risk. I can fix anything they might not get right." Interesting answer.
I'm guessing that you are already thinking about the risks of being "a genius with a thousand helpers": sustainability of your business, really being able to manage through the complexity and size of today's organizations, lack of successors for your role. I'm not going to focus on the risks here.
I want to address two questions, How does this happen? How do you know if you have fallen into this trap?""
February 13, 2008
Making strategy more than a glossy document.
Here's the bottom line on strategic planning. It is very time consuming and often has little impact on most people in the organization. How do you change that? An effective strategy means that most people in your organization understand the strategy and know their role in making that strategy happen.
To test the effectiveness of your own strategy, ask ten people (from various levels and places in your organization) the following questions: 1. In your opinion, what is the single most important thing we are trying accomplish in this organization? 2. Again in your opinion, what are the two or three most important things we need to do to accomplish this thing (above)? 3. What is your role in this? What is the most important thing you can do to help this organization meet it's objectives?
If you ask ten people, I can almost guarantee that the answers you get will vary widely. If they do, that is a problem. The most effective way to run a business is to run it in a way so that everyone knows what they should be doing to make that business successful. Easy to understand. Hard to do. Here are my thoughts on how to do it.
February 10, 2008
How do you know if someone is going to respond to coaching?
"How do you know if someone is going to respond to coaching?" I have been asked this question by several clients this week. Three people asked if it was "too late" for someone who has been exhibiting "toxic" behaviors for 20 plus years. I applaud this question. It takes courage to ask it. Almost everyone thinks it. The answer is a most definite, "It is never too late, depending on the person, their coach, and the timing."
People want to know if they invest in coaching (either through an external coach or by taking the time to really coach someone themselves), how long will it take? How will they know if it will be successful? Fair questions. Coaching, if done right, is time consuming. Whether you do it yourself or ask an external coach to help you, this time can be costly.
Here are my thoughts on this question. There are two components -- how long? How do you know it will be successful? Both are dependent upon three things.
February 04, 2008
Dealing With Difficult Bosses by Fixing Yourself
Take the High Road. Don't Give Up Power. Bosses are in the eye of the beholder. Very few bosses are universally bad for every person who ever worked for them. Keep power by suspending judgement and focusing on your own success. If you truely have a toxic boss, protect yourself by being "backed-up". Be Better. Take the high road and be good yourself, continuing to develop your professional and interpersonal skills. Become a good boss yourself, learning what not to do from your current boss.
January 29, 2008
“You don’t get to work with perfect people.”
This a quote from one of my clients. "You don't get to work with perfect people." Too many leaders who are having problems with their teams, immediately decide to remove someone or restructure. My experience as a coach tells me that you can try working with the team first. If you can get the whole team working more effectively, you can either solve the problem without letting someone go or you will highlight where the real issue is and make the right decision. You can help the whole team work more effectively through coaching the team.
Coaching teams is not the same as having a team building session. Coaching teams is far more effective than conducting team building sessions. Team building sessions create a "feel good" atmosphere during the session and maybe, if you are lucky, for a short time after the session. Coaching teams takes a few sessions, some time, some one-on-one coaching work and some measurement.
Team coaching also takes a committed and courageous team leader. The leader is the force who drives the team to make changes. The leader shows leadership by changing first. The leader must also be prepared to look at themselves honestly and make their own changes. Often there is feedback for the leader to consider. Effective teams are not solely about the leader, each person will have to commit to doing some things differently.
January 16, 2008
Leveraging Strengths Gives “Life” to People and Organizations
People think coaching is about fixing problems. It is sometimes. Coaching is most powerful, however, when it is used to leverage strengths.
The more I coach leaders, the more convinced I am of the power of leveraging strengths. Everyone has a unique approach to what they do. Everyone can get better by exploring their strengths in detail, understanding them and leveraging those strengths. It seems obvious, I know. Few people do it in enough detail to truly leverage their strengths. Even fewer teams, business units or organizations do it well.
January 11, 2008
The Third Thing.
A really smart person once told me, "When someone comes into your office, it is always the third thing."
It is not the first thing. It is not the second thing. It is the third thing.
Here's the scenario. Someone is lurking outside your door. They want to speak to you. You put down whatever you are doing and invite them in. You wait. They ask you about your weekend. They ask a question about a project. You know they know the answer to the question. You answer it. They say the "third thing". If you are listening, it is the thing that matters. It is the reason they wanted to see you.
