by Jen Kuhn on May 11, 2010
Leadership is (fill in the blank). You can’t. Neither can I. 
Despite articles, books, blogs and opinions written about leadership, what is often left unsaid is that leadership is over-defined. Yes, there are characteristics that one might apply to a strong (or weak) leader. There are behaviors one can observe, mentors one can model, quotes one can use and examples one can site. I tend to agree with most of what I read about quality leadership and what that embodies.
Therefore, I would like to add a perspective on leadership by simplifying the definition to four dominant traits/characteristics/behaviors (fill in the blank!). Consider a compass. There are four primary directions: North, South, East and West. And just like leadership, even something as precise as a compass has varying ways of defining and discovering North: there is True North, magnetic North and grid North. No wonder I need GPS AND Mapquest to get me where I’m going!
So imagine that there are four primary elements of leadership, with varying degrees of direction. Just like I might be traveling North-East to get to my destination, one can also move their leadership needle along the compass.
The Leadership Compass:
Moral Direction
In order to be an effective leader, one must have a moral compass. Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. Ah, the challenge. Sometimes the right thing to do may have a negative impact on the bottom line. The right thing may involve confronting an employee who is not meeting the standards and expectations of your organization. The right thing may be to change a policy so it benefits both the consumer and the company. The right thing may be the difficult thing to do. Varying degrees of this compass point include: honesty, integrity, ethics, conscientiousness, virtuous, honorable, humane, compassionate and noble, to name a few. How does your moral compass impact your leadership decisions?
Inspirational Direction
Another trait I would place on my leadership compass is the ability to inspire others. Quality leaders, no matter their position within an organization typically make others want to do and be more. They serve as an example of possibilities and dreams and courage. Inspiring others at this level is a gift and a challenge. Varying degrees of this compass point include: leading by example, encouraging, intriguing, motivating, refreshing, dynamic, persuasive and uplifting, to name a few. What leader has made an inspirational impression on you?
Emotional Intelligence Direction
In Daniel Goleman’s article he discusses emotional intelligence as a quality of an effective leader. This is often ignored when it comes to the promotional processes of many organizations. Typically, one gets promoted into a leadership position because they are either highly effective at their current position, or they’ve been with the company for 78 years. Neither of these reasons have to do with leadership; rather, they apply to job knowledge and longevity. As Mr. Goleman points out, some varying degrees of emotional intelligence include: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. What are your guiding principles when choosing a leader within your organization?
Effective Communication Direction
There are multiple ideas, visions and expectations that a leader must communicate within their organization. The ability to do so effectively can mean the difference between: success or failure, motivation or discouragement, buy-in or complaints, collaboration or sabotage, understanding or confusion. In order to effectively communicate, a leader must have a handle on all other elements of their leadership compass. Some additional degrees one would find: open body language, approachability, willingness to accept and receive feedback, ability to see and verbalize the “big picture”, positive recognition, holding people accountable, recognizing effort, keeping people in the loop, authenticity and many more. What opportunities do you have to communicate more effectively?
So there you have it…my leadership compass. Each direction allows for further definition and corresponding behaviors. What would you add to this compass? What direction are you taking your organization????
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by Jen Kuhn on May 4, 2010
The “team approach” to work has become a tired slogan, a managerial fad, a forced concept. Many leaders and employees forget that they are working for something bigger than their own personal needs. They lose their passion and drive; they wear blinders that prevent them from seeing the big picture. Lost is the energy that initially helped drive their productivity. Basically, a dog after a long walk…it starts out as a great idea, but it ends up exhausting all involved.
What are the elements of productive teams? How do you create an atmosphere that fosters a team approach? My initial thought was to create an analogy between athletic teams and organizations. However, being a die hard Detroit Lions fan, I think I’ll choose another approach.
I recently attended a true team event at St. Francis DeSales High School. The school sponsored a Relay for Life event which gives communities a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length.
During this event, I witnessed the elements of a team that every organization should strive to implement. These DeSales high school students (and some awesome adult volunteers and cancer survivors) lived and breathed the ideal of a high functioning team. With the additional presence of representatives (Sheizka Komala and Ann Dee Hamilton) from Aflac, from students, parents and grandparents from Whetstone High School, plus additional vendors, the St. Francis DeSales community modeled an effective team.
The elements of an effective team that I witnessed:
1. Common Purpose: The students were educated and aware of the purpose of their participation. They either had a personal experience with cancer, or wanted to support others. The purpose was effectively communicated by the event coordinator, Kellie O’Riordan who lost her mother (Barbara) to cancer. Kellie ensured that the students understood the solemnity and hope the relay represented. Every student I spoke with was able to verbalize the purpose of the event. If I visited your organization, would every employee be able to verbalize your purpose?
2. Motivation: What an amazing sight to witness: teenagers motivated to create a better future for others! And to take this a step further, they did not confuse motivation with results. They already had their sponsors and raised their money…yet they were highly motivated to follow through on their personal commitment in order to achieve results. That’s true motivation. You can tell me how enthusiastic you are about something, but are you doing the behaviors that demonstrate your enthusiasm?
3. Individual Responsibility in a Group Setting: Every student stepped up to the plate. Prior to the event, individuals of each team raised money, designed t-shirts and coordinated group efforts. During the event, they made sure they had someone representing their team (walking/jogging) for 24 hours. After the event, individuals helped with post event details that required a great deal of attention. How well do the individuals on your team contribute to the success of the group?
4. Flexibility: Due to weather, the relay was held indoors (demonstration that a team needs leadership to support decisions that will help them be most effective). This required students to walk the halls of the school rather than the track they had prepared for; they had to set up their “tents” in the gym rather than the outdoor field. I didn’t hear a single complaint. What I did hear were students asking about how to get water to others, whether or not there were fans available and how to use cross-ventilation effectively! What would happen to your teams’ effectiveness if they encountered an obstacle that changed all of their initial expectations?
5. Identity: Each team developed a name and created a t-shirt. It was easy to spot members of individual teams. They also had a greater identity: their common purpose noted in the first point. This created camaraderie at two levels: the smaller team composed of individuals who had bonded together while preparing for the event; and the larger team: all the participants, whether they be a team, volunteer or survivor. What is your organization doing to create identity?
Teams are important to any organizations’ overall success. Please let us know what you think makes an effective team!
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by Kelly Ketelboeter on April 6, 2010
I am sure we have all experienced an ineffective manager (also known as the bad boss) at one point in our professional lives. The bad boss does exist and is still alive and well in many of today’s work environments. Bad bosses drive good employees to your competition, keep under-performing employees in place and slowly but surely alienate customers and team members. Based on my experiences, below are the top four ways that ineffective managers alienate employees.
1. They apply the “do as I say, not as I do” mentality.
Ineffective managers do not lead by example. Their behaviors do not support the mission, vision or standards for the organization or the department. Bad bosses talk at their employees rather than with them. They demand and command excellence without modeling the behaviors it takes for employees to be successful.
Effective managers know that the single most effective way to impact behavior is to be the role model and lead by example in all that they do. Employees don’t always listen to what you say, instead they watch how you behave. The effective manager understands that their behavior directly impacts the behavior of their employees.
2. They only talk to employees when there is a problem.
The ineffective manager prefers to stay in his/her office, behind closed doors. That way they don’t have to interact or deal with their employees. The only time you hear from the bad boss is when you screwed something up. Only then are they quick to communicate with you. When an employee gets pulled into the office everyone on the team knows that he/she is in trouble.
An effective manager knows that consistent and performance based feedback is an on-going and necessary process. They understand that employees learn from the things they do well instead of the mistakes they make. The effective manager has frequent conversations with employees that balance positive as well as developmental feedback.
3. It is clear who the “favorite” employee is.
The ineffective manager clearly has favorites on his/her team. They often get rewarded with easier projects, long lunches, preferential treatment and can be found in the bosses office on the rare occasion that their door is actually open. The bad boss does not hold these folks accountable and often excuses performance issues.
The effective manager does not have any favorites on the team. They value each and every team member for the strengths and opportunities they bring to the team. They share the work load and are consistent in their feedback and behaviors across the board. You exceed the expectation, you get recognition. You don’t meet the expectation, they will coach you. The effective manager sees the potential in all employees and works with everyone to harness that potential.
4. They consistently violate the core values of the organization.
Most organizations have standards and core values that apply to how they do business, interact with others and serve as the guiding principles for all that they do. Bad bosses blatantly ignore the poster on the wall in their area outlining the core values. Clearly those apply to everyone else and not them. Their behaviors are in direct opposition to what the company stands for. As a result employees are confused and become disengaged.
The effective manager believes in, lives and demonstrates the core values of the organization in all their interactions. Again the effective manager knows that they must behave and model the expectations if they expect their employees to do the same.
I realize that these 4 examples only scratch the surface of how ineffective managers alienate employees. We could probably write a book on 1 million ways to alienate employees! What experiences have you had with a bad boss? What would you add to the list?
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by Jen Kuhn on March 28, 2010
“I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.” ~Terry Pratchett
I’m sitting in a hotel room. It looks exactly like the one I was in last week. That idea comforts and disturbs me. I could be anywhere. Yet according to this ad, this is what business travel looks like: 
Yep, that’s me, prancing across the lobby. If that’s supposed to be my check-in experience, I’m doing something wrong. Yet when I checked-in this morning, there was a difference: the person working at the front desk (Jimmy). His attitude pulled me out of what I call my “travel apathy” (if you say it really fast, it’s one word). You just said it 3 times, didn’t you?
He noted I’d been a guest here before and welcomed me back. I responded politely (that’s travel apathy). He asks, “What do you do that allows you to travel so much?” I gave him the 30 second, canned version (what’s it called? Yep…travel apathy). He gave me a great big smile, “That must be so much fun! AND you get to travel.” Someone drank the kool-aid.
Suddenly I felt like I owed him more than polite responses, because he was connecting, being real, being human. And…he knocked the travel apathy right outta me! I was actually reminded that I love what I do, and that’s why I do it. I expanded on my response and allowed myself to connect. May not seem like much to you, but I’d left for the airport at 5 AM, and I prefer to only see 5 in the PM.
Jimmy reminded me that I’m here for a reason. He reminded me. And I guess Mr. Marriott is not just blogging (Home), he’s inspiring. One of his employees is making a difference.
So who will you inspire? One person can make a difference. You won’t always know the who, what, when, where, how and why…but you will inspire. Go for it.
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by Jen Kuhn on March 16, 2010
Working with businesses throughout the U.S. and Canada, I often get asked how effective teams are created. There is no easy answer. Creating a team is complex and requires effort, dedication, strategy and willingness. Creating a team is serious business. And it’s important to your bottom line. When employees are unhappy, disengaged or just going through the motions: your business takes a hit and your consumers pay the price. Not a goal of any business I know.
In her blog, “Laughter is the best medicine – and productivity booster”, Cathy Leibow discusses the research supporting having fun at work. There is a direct correlation between enjoying your work environment and creative, productive employees. If those are behaviors you want from employees, I encourage you to consider creating opportunities that inspire those behaviors. Check out some of the suggestions here: http://bit.ly/czXulx
Some additional ideas:
- Allow employees to have a few pictures of family/friends at their work station
- Have a potluck lunch once a month (I’ll bring the paper plates…you don’t want me to cook anything!)
- Share personal success stories through your internal communication system (ex. “Jen finished her first half marathon this weekend…could someone pick her up off the floor?!”)
- Post employee pictures (most employees do not even know what employees from other departments/areas look like, yet they talk on the phone to give/receive information almost daily)
- Sponsor a “Meet and Greet” night with one rule: No one is allowed to talk about work (you may have to get creative and have some activities prepared…feel free to contact me if you need some ideas)
Research has proven your employees productivity will increase when they feel more connected to your company.
- What are you going to do to create a stronger team?
- What opportunities do you have, with your current resources, to foster a team environment?
If you have additional ideas or suggestions, please share them! I’d love to hear what people are doing that’s making a difference.
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by Jen Kuhn on March 15, 2010
Today is Monday. As I checked my Facebook account, Twitter account and emails this morning, I noticed a trend. Many people were complaining about the end of the weekend and beginning of a new work week. For a moment, I was tempted to commiserate with my friends, tweeps and others. To complain about Mondays and work seems to have become ingrained in our culture. Even if you’re happy to be at work, you may have formed the habit of complaining about the beginning of your work week.
I challenge you to break this habit. What would your company culture feel like if no one ever complained about being at work? What impact would that have on morale, productivity, teamwork and motivation?
I’m a firm believer in personal responsibility in a group setting. We are all responsible for the overall culture of our work environment, no matter our position.
Take the Motivate Your Monday challenge:
- What can I start doing to create a more productive, team-oriented and positive work environment?
- What can I stop doing that is adding to the drama, tension and negative work environment?
By asking yourself those two questions, and putting your answers into actions, you will be a “value-adding” employee. If you are in a position of leadership, consider asking your team those questions (including yourself, of course!), then hold people accountable to make their contribution.
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by Jen Kuhn on March 10, 2010
“I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” ~Stephen Wright
Almost every person in a leadership capacity that I’ve had the honor to work with has, at one time, hired or inherited a new employee. At first there is usually a honeymoon phase. You’re excited to have an energetic new player on your team; the employee is constantly smiling because they are trying to make a great impression and demonstrate their eagerness. Yet after a few weeks, you may start to have some questions. The questions may sound something like this:
- Did I make the correct hiring decision
- Is this really the type of employee I want on my team
- How can I coach this employee so they reach their potential
- Why can’t this employee be more like the one I had before
- When will they “get it”
- They whine so much…what’s wrong with them
- Didn’t I already tell them how to do this
- Why do they keep saying, “Well, at my last job, we did it this way….”
- Why do they require my constant attention
- Did they hit their 90-days yet
These are just the tip of the iceberg. Positions of leadership are challenging. When leaders do not take the time to coach, they turn into strong managers but weak coaches. They are able to get many tasks done, but lack the substance and confidence to help develop their employees. They have to micro-manage. They also may get frustrated with newer employees which can lead to misunderstandings and under-performance. This leads to employees who are uncertain of their value, and may become disengaged or difficult to manage later in their employment.
I am a new puppy owner. Look at all those questions above and you get a clear picture of my life today. I haven’t had a puppy in 12 years! Last night I took the leap and became the owner of Bella…aka The Spawn of Satan. Bella is a Newfoundland puppy. I’ve never owned a Newfoundland puppy. I’m sure Bella is like every other puppy in the world…but I forgot about what puppies are really like once you get past their cuteness. Say it with me…”High Maintenance”.
So far…all of the above questions have applied to my decision to get this puppy. And since the Newfoundland breed is a “working breed”, that’s almost a literal statement! I’ve had Bella in my possession fewer than 24 hours. I’m already looking at the “return policy”…and then she does something cute.
Having a new employee is similar to having a puppy. But at least your employees can locate the appropriate restroom on their own. I’m questioning every brain cell that went into the idea that this puppy was the right one for me. Once you make the decision to hire an employee, they deserve and require all of your leadership skills in order to reach their highest potential. Challenging? YES. Aggravating? YES. Time consuming? YES. Worth the effort? YES! (if they’re potty trained).
Coaching your new employee will reap rewards, but not necessarily right away. They will have their moments of brilliance; yet ultimately will need your guidance and attention to develop to their fullest potential.
Some quick tips on adapting to, and coaching a new employee:
1. Praise, praise and more praise: Recognize their efforts and don’t hold out for perfection before letting them hear a good word from you. The first time they take initiative, even if it doesn’t quite work out, praise what they did well and coach them towards improvement. This may sound like:
YOU: “Sally, I’m impressed that you took the initiative to help that customer.”
SALLY: “But I felt really nervous and wasn’t sure I fully answered their questions.”
YOU: “My expectation right now is that you find opportunities to learn. You just demonstrated that you can easily build rapport with customers. Very impressive. What questions did they ask that you thought were challenging?”
2. Pay attention and be patient: What are they doing well? Where do they need support? What will you do to provide them with the support they need? Have patience with mistakes made early in their tenure. Focus on the positive and redirect the negative. If you expect mistakes, you won’t be shocked when they make one. How you respond to their mistake will determine whether or not they learn from it.
3. Provide tools for success: My new motto: you can never have enough chew toys. People have different learning styles. The primary three learning styles are: visual, auditory and kinesthetic (“hands on”). Make sure to incorporate all styles into your coaching approach. For example: show them how it’s done (visual); tell them how it’s done (auditory); allow them time to practice/demonstrate their understanding of how it’s done (kinesthetic). Lather, rinse and repeat steps 1 and 2.
4. Be consistent: They are in a brand new environment. The more consistent you are with the expectations, the easier it will be for them to adapt and grow. You must be consistent with them if you expect them to perform consistently well. Don’t expect more from them than you do of yourself.
5. Find their value: If you constantly compare them to other employees, it will be difficult to discover the unique value they bring to your team. Once you discover and acknowledge their value, you will probably stop second guessing your decision to hire them in the first place.
Once you incorporate these 5 behaviors, things will start to fall into place. There will be set-backs (like the one I cleaned up on my kitchen floor) and rewards (the sleeping puppy at my feet). New employees want to be successful. As a leader you have the opportunity to guide them toward success. Before you know it, both you and the employee will become comfortable with each other and work more effectively together. Enjoy the opportunity to coach your new employee. Ultimately, how well they perform in the future is a reflection of the time you spent guiding them when they were a puppy…I mean, new employee.
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by Jen Kuhn on February 22, 2010
Coaching to Create a Culture
Recently I was asked by a supervisor why coaching plays such a crucial role in the development of their service culture. The supervisor wanted to understand what particular coaching behaviors are the most effective in enhancing this culture. Although there are many coaching behaviors that will influence your cultural development, I am going to address two of them in this blog: upholding standards and positive reinforcement.
Several years ago I was facilitating a motivational and teambuilding seminar for employees of a juvenile court detention center. This particular team had a great deal of internal conflict and resistance. The primary reason for the seminar was to get them motivated and working together in a more productive manner.
During one of the activities, I asked the participants why they chose to work at the detention center. (I was hoping that we would find some common ground as a foundation for building a more cohesive team). One participant responded by saying, “If I can make a difference in just one child’s life, I will have done my job. I work at the detention center in the hopes of helping one child.” I asked if they all felt the same way since they were all nodding their heads. Everyone vigorously nodded in agreement. My response was from the heart: “You see hundreds of kids a year, and you’ve done your job if you’ve helped just one?” Their new common ground: hating me. Hey, we had to start somewhere.
If people are paid and trained and coached to do a job, we should expect that they will do it well. I highly doubt that the supervisors at the detention center were hiring people and saying to them, “During your tenure here, it is our hope that you can help one child. Welcome to the team.” That sounds ridiculous, right? But isn’t that what we sometimes communicate to employees? We set our standards low and become accustomed to underperformance in certain areas. What coach hasn’t had the thought, “Well, as long as they’re not making any big mistakes, or causing too much conflict, I’ll be happy with my team”? (But remember, what you are willing to accept becomes your standard). Or, the ever popular, “I really don’t have time to meet with my employees or catch them doing something right…I’m just relieved they showed up for work today”. These thoughts lead to coaching behaviors that serve to de-motivate employees and ensure underperformance! They are destructive to the development of your culture. Negative and neutral reinforcement guarantee underperformance, as does setting the standard, then not holding employees accountable if they are unwilling to meet that standard. When we finally confront underperformance, it’s met with shock, defensiveness and resistance. The employee learns to respond by saying things like, “At least I’m not as bad as her”, or “Remember, back in 1989 when I helped that one guy? I can’t believe you think I don’t help enough people”!
As coaches, we need to have high standards and expectations. The person we should expect the most from is ourselves. If you are given the honor and task of supervising employees, have standards and expectations of yourself. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that you do not have time to coach employees. We are all given 24 hours in a day. No matter how many employees you supervise, projects you are working on, emails you have to answer, you get 24 hours. What you do with those hours makes all the difference. “Time management” is just a phrase. In the book, 100 Ways to Motivate Others,(100 Ways to Motivate Others: H…) the authors state that “…you can’t really manage time. You can’t add any more time to your day. But you can manage the priorities and the things you choose to do.” Wow. How about that for a reality check?
You may wonder where to start coaching your employees, and how to fit that into your day. (And remember, you can’t manage people, but you can coach them)! You must start with something simple. Make it a priority to catch your employees doing something right everyday. Give them immediate, positive feedback. Be specific about what they did well. Pay more attention to the behaviors that you want to see and you will see more of those behaviors. Have you ever noticed that when you buy a new car, you start seeing “your car” all over the place? Funny, suddenly everyone has a car like yours. Do you really believe that the car you bought gained in popularity overnight? Or is it more realistic that you started noticing the car once it became important to you? Once you decide that it is important to catch your employees doing “it” right, you will see them doing things right with more frequency. Remember, coaching is a way of thinking and behaving, not an event.
Giving consistent positive reinforcement to your employees will help lay the foundation for all other coaching thoughts and behaviors. Additionally, holding employees accountable for meeting standards is an effective coaching practice that treats people as capable adults. I’ll say it again: what you are willing to accept becomes your standard!
Coaching plays a vital role in developing and enhancing your company culture. You have been given an opportunity as a coach to influence and ensure this development at your company, school, hospital, court system, restaurant, not for profit, government agency or where ever you work. You can do it! Changing your coaching style may be difficult at first, but eventually effective coaching will simply become what you do. Now go out there and catch the next employee you see doing something right! Seriously, get out of your chair, walk away from your computer…Are you still there? It’s over, move along, there’s nothing to see here…
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res breathtaking; his explanation of each shot was profound and poignant. I’ve known Jake since he was a toddler. His insight, compassion and talent have always inspired me (whether it was on the football field, helping a friend, wrestling in a district tournament or having a conversation). I’m confidant that no matter the path he chooses he will one day be a quiet leader, standing up for what’s right and making a difference.
