Your Team is Going to Follow You

This is a truth.  Unless you are managing  a band of mutinous pirates, your team will follow your example.

Having been in a number of positions in which I could observe managers work, I can tell you that the team will follow the manager's lead.   If a manager was a good operations person, I knew that the team would be a good operational team.  If a manager was an excellent customer service leader, I knew that the team would receive great customer service scores.   If a manager personally believed in the United Way campaign, their team would not have a problem making their goal.

It is a good idea, then,to consider your personal strengths, weaknesses and belief systems and how those impact your team.  As you look at your team's goals, it's worth reflecting whether those are natural strengths you possess, or whether you are going to need to actively reach out of your comfort zone to develop additional strengths in order to lead your team.

Using the customer service example, if you are a strong customer service leader your team will probably achieve their customer service goals.   If perchance you do not excel in customer service (and that's okay - some people do, some people don't)  you then need to pay more attention to this specific aspect of your  own performance, as well as your team's performance, so that all of you may attain your goals.

It's also worth thinking of  traits you may  have that you don't want the team to follow.  For instance, I'm prone to worrying.   I do not want, however, my team to worry - their time should be spent on far more productive pursuits.   This means that I need to keep my own personal worry habits in check - because I don't want the team to go down that road.

Here's the acid test;  if you find yourself thinking that you really wished your team were better at somnething, check in with yourself whether you are actively leading the team in that direction through your own personal example.

Great leaders edit out their own personal weaknesses that they don't want the team to follow while  adding and building personal strengths that will allow the team to achieve their goals.

What do all leaders have in common?   They have followers - and those followers will go whichever direction you lead.

Please note: this site now has a tab entitled:  Leadership Coaching and Consulting.  Please check it out!

Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders,"  available for the Kindle, I-Pad, I-Phone and PCs on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095KPA6A

Leadership and the Art of Foreshadowing

When an author hints at things to come, it is foreshadowing.   It gives the reader a clue as to what to expect.   It leads the reader in a certain direction.

Foreshadowing in leadership does the same thing, but it is even more important in teams because often team members are reticent to adapt to change.  The leader who has the skill set to give the team information about upcoming events will be rewarded with a team that is better equipped to meet upcoming challenges.

Not every situation allows the leader to advance information to the team.  We all recognize that there are confidential matters that cannot be discussed.  In the vast majority of situations, however, the leader is able to give the team a "heads up" about what is coming down the tracks, whether it's a new thought process generated by the leader herself or a direction the leader is expected to execute.

• "I just wanted to let you know that I'm seriously considering changing the marketing calendar next year and I've focused my efforts on spring.  Any input you may have regarding that subject would be appreciated."
• "I have been observing workload.  My concern is that the nature of our business has changed, but we haven't re-distributed the workload.   I'm going to spend some time analyzing this - any help you can provide would be great."
• "There is a great likelihood that we will have a new location to staff and operate within the next six months.   I cannot give you specific details, but I want you to be prepared in case this initiative comes through."

What does foreshadowing accomplish?

It enables the team to prepare themselves for change.

It enables you to solicit advice and assistance, in advance, from the team.

It allows the team to hear the information from you, a sanctioned source, first.  (Otherwise, it may come to them as hearsay from another source, thereby creating instability.)

It creates a sense of trust and camaraderie vs. "well, he keeps all of the information to himself until the last minute."

It avoids the very legitimate complaint that the team has been blindsided.

As with everything, there are a few exceptions.  The leader must have the ability to discerningly edit;  only solid, well-intentioned information should be shared.  Unreliable hearsay is just that and it's silly to burden the team with it.   Certainly, as mentioned earlier, there are issues that are confidential and cannot be shared.   I have found that the simple statement of "Please understand that this issue was so confidential I could not share it with you earlier," is both a legitimate and acceptable explanation to the team.

Foreshadowing simply allows the team to see, in advance, the issues they will face together - and it enables them to proceed more efficiently and effectively.

Leading with Emotional Intelligence

Recently the CEO of J. Crew, Mickey Drexler, reflected that when he interviews job candidates he is less interested in the individual's GPA and is more interested in the individual's emotional intelligence.*

For that viewpoint, we can only applaud.  Emotional intelligence is one of the factors that makes the difference between a leader just getting the job done vs. truly excelling at guiding the team.  While there are different ways of defining emotional intelligence, let me provide a high level summary of my thoughts.

The leader with emotional intelligence is, first and foremost, a secure and self-aware person.  She or he are confident in the knowledge of their own strengths and weaknesses; they are extremely pragmatic about what they can and cannot do.   These individuals are unafraid to let their talents shine through and conversely, they seek guidance and learning in areas in which they recognize they need improvement.  The leader with emotional intelligence is self-assured without being arrogant and has the ability to be direct without being insensitive.

This self-assured leader, then, can and should be, a selfless leader who prioritizes the needs of the business and the team above their own.  In other words, the selfless leader gets out of their own way.   They let the greater good of the company and team direct their actions vs. what is personally convenient or self-aggrandizing.

The combination of self-assuredness and selflessness allows the leader to truly feel the pulse of the workplace and the team with a great degree of accuracy.  Since the self-assured leader is not nagged by self-doubt, and the selfless leader is not driven by a personal agenda, there is now  personal bandwith to truly be in touch with the people who are driving the business.   Leaders with emotional intelligence can listen openly to that which is said to them directly, and what they hear indirectly.    They can sense whether the team is apprehensive, excited or comfortable.  They can feel areas of weakness or strength and take corresponding action.   They excel both at individual coaching and group guidance.  They know the business so well that they are perceived as intuitive, even though their beliefs and skills are driven by years of learning.

Beyond that, the leader with emotional intelligence also applies these same principals to the world outside of work, allowing them to lead their team with great certainty, even in the most uncertain of environments.

While there is a high degree of complexity to the leader with emotional intelligence, the simple truth is that this leader is the one that everyone wants to follow.

Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" available on Kindle for the Kindle e-reader as well as I-Pads, Tablets and PCs.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095KPA6A

*As reported by fashionista.com, comments were made at a seminar hosted by Womens Wear Daily.

Hiring for a GPA?

Let me say right up front that I am huge believer in the power of a good education.  I am a staunch supporter of our educators.   It is a wise ambition to get good grades;   it should be a great learning experience to receive a college education as well as advanced degrees.

Let me also say that I believe in viewpoints stated by Mickey Drexler, CEO of J Crew, in a recent Women's Wear Daily summit as reported by fashionista.com.   Mr. Wexler was expressing his views on hiring talent.

"The person is a resume, not what's on a piece of paper."    Mr. Drexler goes on to mention that GPA's don't matter to him, nor does what school the applicant attended.  What matters to Mr. Drexler is hard work and emotional intelligence.

There is a linkage here in Mr. Drexler's thoughts about what a grade point average means (or may not mean) and the pressures in some points of our society toward the attainment of the highest possible grade point. I'm linking Mr. Drexler's comments to a documentary that I believe each of us, parent or not, should watch.   "Race to Nowhere" compellingly makes the case that parts of our educational system has been forced to overindex to the pressure of earning a high grade point and getting high test scores at perhaps the expense of learning how to critically think.   You can see a trailer for the movie here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uem73imvn9Y

Mr. Drexler thankfully runs counter to the popular model that pyramids accordingly:   businesses are looking to hire only out of the best schools - to get into the best schools students need an exceptional gradepoint. . .to achieve exceptional gradepoints  students cram to get superior test scores.

The results of these pressures may mean that while, yes, students (and job applicants) may have high GPAs, to get those high marks may have resulted in neglecting the whole individual.  Have  we holistically educated?   Have we truly given the individual the ability to engage in critical thought?   Have we invested the student with the tools needed for emotional intelligence?

What can we do as businesspeople and as citizens?

Continue to support education passionately, not for the sake of churning out 4.0 students or so that our district has the bragging rights to the highest test stores, but for the sake of genuine learning.  We should understand that test scores and grades are just one measure of a student's overall ability. We should actively support districts that are not only committed to math, language arts and sciences, but are also commited to physical education and the arts.  We should be committed to creating a greater desire for learning and to the nurturing of the entirety of the student, not just the part of the student that is tested by state.

As businesspeople, we should be actively cognizant that a gradepoint or a diploma from a great school is only one indicator of an individual's ability.   Let's open our minds to hiring the right people, with the right intelligence for the right job.  Recently, in the job market, I have seen a plethora of educational restrictions placed on job openings.   I know of some of the brightest people who have been passed over because they do not have a college degree or an advanced degree.  These are smart people who could have helped these businesses build incremental profit and goodwill.   These restrictions, then, result in lost business opportunities.

Again, a college degree, a great education are all wonderful things worthy of our support, but to lmit our field of vision and opportunities to these things is not smart.   To understand, as Mr. Drexler does, that a person is not a piece of paper, or a grade point, is smart.

Next:   The Need for Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" available on Kindle
 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095KPA6A

Just Move It Already

For reasons too complicated to explain, we have had our super, extra large shop vac parked in our basement.   Moreover, said appliance, with accompanying extension cords and hose attachments, was sitting smack dab in the middle of the doorway we use to access our laundry room. Because I had the ability to, I could squeeze by it with a hamper full of laundry, with my back pressed against the door jamb as I carefully stepped in and around the necessary cords and attachments.  In my good moments it was merely an annoyance;  it my not-so-good moments it was cause for some fairly creative cursing. . .er, wordsmithing.

Finally, after several days of this. it hit me:   I should just move it already!

Here's the thing,  I believe that talented leaders have the ability for great accommodation.  Creativity, flexibility to changing business environments and the ability to see problems from different angles enable us to expand our careers and our businesses by accommodating difficult situations.   There is a time, however, when accommodation no longer suits the situation and we need to "just move it already."

• The challenging team member.  It is a great ability to use different management styles to work with various team members; and then there are team members who really need to be coached and/or moved out of their positions.   This is one of the more difficult tasks that a manager has to face, but for the good of the entire team, it has to be done.
• The difficult conversation you've been avoiding with a peer and/or boss.  There are issues that just get "stuck" and probably the only person who is going to move these issues along is you.    It often takes a remarkable amount of courage and skill, but if you strategize, you will find ways to present the case tactfully, yet with impact.
• The business opportunity/challenge that just sits there.   These can either be "elephants in the room" or massive opportunities for growth, but because people are going around them (often because they are just too daunting to address), versus utilizing the power they represent, opportunities for greater business growth go unrealized.
• Personal career growth.  Perhaps you have been unhappy in your present position for a prolonged period of time.  No one is going to fix that for you; instead, you need to be able to move yourself forward in a positive search for a more satisfying position.
• And then there are the little things: filing, expense reports, paperwork that have been ignored so long they have just become irritants and detractors.   Much as we may dislike doing these things, they need to be done not only for the sake of the business but for our own  professional sanity.

You can either continue to move around these issues, causing you (and probably those that work with you) consternation. . .or just take care of them through a constructive course of action.

The latter will provide you with a much happier and fulfilling New Year!


Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders," available on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095KPA6A