Month: June 2016

I’m a big fan of old movies, and I especially like the dramas that focus on men and women who beat the odds. We say those characters have moxie.

Moxie sums up the guts and gumption a leader needs to succeed when times are tough and the circumstances are daunting.

Leaders with moxie are do-ers, enablers and achievers. Individuals with moxie are those who seek to make a positive difference in their own lives as well as lives of others around them.

Leaders with moxie are those with the courage to be counted, the get-up-and-go to take action, and the desire to get recognition for their teams as well as themselves.

First posted on Smart Brief 10/17/2014

There is one advantage that quiet people have over those of us who like to hear the sounds of our own voices. They are good observers.

This is a point that actor Liev Schreiber made about the title character he plays on Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.” During an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Schreiber said that Donovan’s character, who in Dave Davies’ words “doesn’t say much,” instead spends time taking things in. That is, he listens to what people tell him.

A quiet leader is one who values his own strengths but also has the ability to see the world as others do for one simple reason. Such leaders listen. Knowing how another thinks is essential to persuasion.

Speaking less and listening more is a good exercise for any leaders. It’s an advantage that introverts may have but it is a learned behavior that extroverts can make it work for them.

First posted on Smart Brief 11.14.2014

If you want to lead others, you need to get comfortable with the concept of power. In my experience, emerging leaders sometimes stumble over the use of power for one of two reasons. Either they are too comfortable with it and wield it ruthlessly, or they are so fearful of it they avoid it completely.

Leaders must strike a balance. “The sole purpose of power,” as the great 17th century Jesuit philosopher Baltasar Gracián wrote, “is to do good.” That is as an effective approach because it gets to the nature of what leaders must do: achieve positive results for the organization.

This prescription may be altruistic, but it is not a prescription for avoiding the tough issues. Leaders must often make decisions that will cause pain to individuals, but those decisions should always be undertaken with the intention of helping the organization succeed.

Using power appropriately is the secret to leading effectively. Here are some suggestions (adapted from my book) on how leaders can apply power to enhance their ability to get things done — and done right.

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First posted on HBR.org 6/29/2010

“Creating an undesired stalemate is the height of stupidity.”

That anonymous quote sums up the feelings of many of us who find ourselves stuck in a stalemate where neither side wants to give an inch.

Mutual benefit requires mutual consent. As we call know, a true vision for the future must be shared and that requires everyone pulling together in the same direction.

These practices are fundamental to the biggest “c” word in management — communication: open, honest and mutual.

First posted on Smart Brief 12/05/2014

There isn’t much good that has come out of the Great Recession to date except the humbling of some big egos on Wall Street. However, there might be one small benefit that I’ve noticed after doing some coaching with executives pondering next steps in their careers.

Being out of work has forced highly capable men and women professionals to consider what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Some, due to financial pressures, need to get back to work immediately — and so are ready, willing and able to take a job, any job that comes their way. But a good many others, particularly those with more than two decades in the workforce, have an opportunity that has not occurred to them since college: The chance to ask themselves, again, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

To answer this question, you need to do some homework… on yourself. The five questions below will prompt responses that challenge your assumptions about the way you live your life now — and the way you want to lead it from now on.

Where do your talents lie? Talent is a mixture of ability and proclivity. You have a capacity to do certain things, whether it’s think creatively or keeping a disciplined schedule. At the same time, you have preferences such as working independently, collaborating in teams, or leading projects. Some talents are evident in youth, others emerge over time in the workplace. Recognizing both your abilities and proclivities is essential to your personal growth.

Before you meet with your coach, ask yourself what specifically you want to get out of it. The need for coaching could be remedial, that is, you are doing something that bothers others — being too abrasive — or you are not doing enough — too much indecision. For example, the executive may admit that he is focusing too much on details and not enough on big picture challenges. Or the executive may recognize that her failure to make timely decisions is wasting time. Such admissions serve as points of recognition that can leader to greater self-knowledge. What issues are getting in the way of your ability to achieve your potential, or the potential of the organization?

Even if you don’t want to work with a coach — but you have to, because your boss or the board has asked you to — you must enter the engagement willingly. Try to find some way of framing the challenge of improvement so that it feels more palatable. That might mean focusing on the outcome you want, like winning a promotion or avoiding being let go. Acknowledging that you need to improve in one area or another isn’t easy, but it is necessary to letting coaching be successful.

Don’t let your coach ask all the questions. Ask them some questions. And ask yourself, “Why do I want this person to be coaching me?” Often a coach comes recommended by others. The coach’s track record and reputation may be outstanding, but that doesn’t mean he or she is right for you. The coach must be able to demonstrate an awareness of the issues you’re facing and a willingness to help you confront them. Yes, executive coaching is a journey of self-discovery — but the coach is your guide. Make sure you get someone you can connect with.

Give yourself some early wins. What are you willing to change — right now? Coaching occurs over a period of time, but long-term growth must have a starting point. Why not today? For example, if the executive needs to loosen up his heavy-handed management style, a coach can ask what he is willing to give up. First steps may include speaking less and listening more, or learning to ask open-ended questions that are designed to elicit information, not intimidate. He can take those small steps right away and start making progress towards his big goal. That’s incredibly motivating.

Truth be told, our self-assumptions protect our self-image. If we knew how often we irritated others, or failed to deliver on expectations, we might lose faith in our ability to do our jobs. We are human after all.

But a coach’s responsibility is to encourage self-examination. Unexamined behaviors can cut us off from the very people we need to engage and inspire. You’ll get a lot more out of your coaching experience if you start the process by examining and challenging your own assumptions.

First posted on 7/19/2010

Major change initiatives may bubble up from the ranks, but their success depends upon the advocacy of those at the top. Winning those folks to your side is essential, but it’s not enough. You have to make your influence felt one on one, person to person.

Get involved where you can have the most positive impact.

As a change agent, your challenge is to integrate your way of thinking into the organization in ways that do not threaten individuals but rather complement the goals and strategies of the organization.

First posted on Smart Brief on 12/19/2014

Feeling frustrated at work, especially late in the day? Most of us feel this way from time to time. The challenge is what to do about it.

Do what competitive divers do: get up on the diving board and execute a dive in which you excel. Then call it quits for the day.

That advice was given to my daughter, a drop-in diver in a collegiate program. She was a competitive diver in her teens; now that she’s taken up the sport again, she’s struggling to regain her peak form. Diving is a discipline that requires a combination of athleticism, timing, and more than a touch of grace, not to mention strong nerves with equal parts will power.

One day she had hit a wall and was about to leave when her coach pulled her aside and said, “You can leave now if you like, but instead of leaving in state of frustration, why don’t you finish practice with a dive you know you do well?” My daughter followed her advice and ended up finishing practice feeling much better about herself and her abilities.

And that’s exactly what us non-divers need to do at the end of our frustrating day. Things do go wrong, whether as the result of our own mistakes or from those of others, or from a system or process that failed. And whatever the cause, tension builds. To prevent that stress from ruining our evening, or the next day, it’s good to find ways to dissipate it. Doing so at work — before you head home — is a good first step. Here are some suggestions.

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First posted on HBR.org 8/09/2010