Coaching to Success

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Management

12 areas to focus on to adopt Great Leadership!

I was reading News the other day and it amazed me as to how many ‘Leaders’ in the world of Politics, Sport and Business varied so much in their approach. This in turn set me thinking about this article so, to start your own understanding and development, first appreciate your own ‘thinking’ of what a good leader by jotting down a list of up to 10 words or mini-statements as to what stands out as the definition of a good leader.

You can be a cracking manager without necessarily having leadership qualities, however, it’s imperative that you have excellent management traits to become an outstanding leader.

The processes are the stepping stones to get to the objective. Without these, a leader is someone who leads aimlessly so here’s a dozen ways that Coaching to Success focus on in areas for improvement:

  1. Vision – Being clear and remain focused on final objective.
  2. Motivation – Stirring things up and develop this.
  3. Rapport – Relate. Get engaged.
  4. Role Models – Who inspires you?
  5. SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & time-bound.
  6. Proactive – Set the agenda, don’t wait for others to set it!
  7. Reward – Introduce a ‘healthy’ culture of rewards.
  8. Procrastination – It may be more interesting but if not relevant, don’t let it distract you!
  9. Respect – Show this when others bring forward either concerns or ideas.
  10. Empower – Don’t always take control. Relinquish some responsibilities.
  11. Positivity – Even when under pressure, seek to give positive as opposed to suppressive negative feedback.
  12. Delegate – Understand others can do it too!

Convinced you excel in each area? Go on, I dare you to put out a 360 feedback to all those around. An anonymous tick box asking them to score each out of 10 (that’s a possible 120 maximum). Compare your own score to theirs. If you score less than 90, may I suggest you consider ways to improve your approach when it comes to Leadership!

Rather than being robotic in our methods, here are 5 ways to define a good leader:

  1. Responsibility – Takes while nourishing the team’s interest in results through participation.
  2. Succinct – Relay information without attaching emotion.
  3. Values driven – Acknowledge other’s values while striving towards the ultimate objective
  4. Proactive – Including understanding negative issues raised. Seek reasons and not simply dismiss out of hand
  5. Encourage – Portray yourself as someone who seeks new ideas and involvement. You’ll be surprised as to how others can see things that you may well have missed!

Don’t expect miracles overnight. Remain patient throughout as it takes some time for new methods to be implemented and accepted, besides, there will be old habits needing to be realigned. It’s not a simple journey otherwise the road would have already been taken!

There’s also other barriers such as beliefs pertaining to being too busy to delegate or to be a leader! Remember, leadership helps you become the baton holder and you lead your orchestra to harmonious music, hmm, maybe not the best analogy but you can see where I’m coming from.

Coaching to success have helped numerous individuals and organisations improve performance by ‘Leading’ their teams and the first step is to simply give us a call on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to discuss how brilliant Leadership results in exceptional returns. If you’re looking to Grow quicker than your rivals, we’re affiliated to the Growth Accelerator scheme, so some businesses can obtain government funding too!

8 Starting points to effective delegation

No matter how hard you work, there’s still the same number of hours in a day with a limited number of tasks achievable. With this limitation, your success is further impeded as there are only so many people that can help you!

Well here’s a bit of shocking news, you can continue to shine while reducing your work load allowing you to concentrate on what YOU do BEST! Yep, there are others around you that can take some of your work load off. So throw away the mantle of egotistical self-importance and learn to trust in others.

OK, maybe that was a bit harsh but all too often we believe that others can’t do a particular job as well as we can. Sorry to tell you this but they can, and in some cases, even better! (Hands up from me as I too was once guilty of this!)

Why do we struggle to delegate?

  • It takes up-front effort to organise and monitor (initially!)
  • You know what to do inside out so it will be quicker
  • You believe no-one else can do it

Look at your role. What are you doing that others could actually do to free you. Yes, there may be an expense but if you are able to earn more while someone else handles elements that take up your time unnecessarily, then it’s a false economy to do it yourself and even more so if you’re attempting to grow your business.

So what can we do about it? Well, to begin, look at the following…

  1. Delegate responsibility with authority but remember, ultimately, it is YOUR
  2. Begin with the end in mind (Stephen R. Covey). The end is what is important, not necessarily the route taken. Allow the other person some slack to do it their way thus building trust!
  3. Know the required outcome and be clear in this when passing a task on. Don’t assume they know, inform.
  4. Refrain from belittling due to what hasn’t happened. Yes, this needs addressing but ride the successes. Consider accomplishment rewards or benefits, publically praise their work or express future opportunities.
  5. Support! Be there to answer questions, monitor (but not micro-manage) and ask for progress updates.
  6. Define authority and accountability. What is their level of approach? Do they need to ask what needs to be done next? Set the parameters.
  7. Show due diligence. Agree progress updates. Discuss expected deadlines or timelines. Take time to read submitted reports or have discussions. Where necessary, make relevant adjustments.
  8. Yes, you could probably do it quicker and more efficiently. With a little time up front, you will soon hand over relevant tasks allowing you the time to concentrate on what you do best.

The head of an orchestra can’t necessarily play every instrument but they know how to get the whole group to create a beautiful symphony due to their skill in management. This is no different for you.

How do you define a good leader? 15 areas to assess and 5 to adopt…

Is it true that leaders are born, not created? Be careful not to misinterpret the vociferous amongst us as being good leaders. Natural personality often means these people end up at the front, leadership is actually a set of techniques and skills anyone can learn to adopt.

A good leader will require excellent management skills, whereas a good manager, may not actually require leadership skills!

Having looked across many different areas from the legal fraternity, general offices, retail to call centres, I am amazed at how many are feeling downtrodden and lacking enthusiasm to do better, why is this? The reality is often a need in improvement of leadership skills!
Leadership is about the people, management the process. Another observation I’ve seen is management need to do things right whereas leadership requires you to do the right things.

So to help, here’s a list of 15 leaders’ typical behaviour pattern. Give
yourself a mark, or assess someone who is in your organisation that is classed as a leader, out of ten and scribble it against each.

  • Patience to allow time for individuals to change
  • Attitude to earn rather than demand respect
  • Confident
  • Mistakes are dealt with justly allowing lessons to be learned
  • Exceptional role models
  • Deal with causes of issues rather than firefighting symptoms
  • Willing to upset the equilibrium for positive change
  • They say what they mean, and mean what they say
  • Decisive
  • Seek and endorse ‘new ideas’ culture
  • Do not create ‘favourites’ or ‘cliques’
  • Refuse to blindly follow the norm
  • Understand importance of adequate rest and relaxation
  • Focused on positive outcomes rather than negative personality traits
  • Face reality and if it’s not great, they don’t pretend that it is.

The maximum possible score is 150. Any areas below a score of 7, questions should be asked pertaining to what’s needed to do to raise the level. Below 5 and urgent attention is required!

Great leadership isn’t something learnt over night. It is a malleable form, growing and developing. More natural rather than simply logical. It’s a change of belief and a re-adjustment of values. Although I consider myself to be an exceptional leader, hmm! I still refer back to the basics to see where I can improve!

Talking of which, here are 5 areas I use towards becoming that better leader. Even the most successful leaders among us can use this as a reminder.

  1. Focus on the team members regarding the framework of the organisation’s mission, developing a clear vision.
  2. Be realistic with goals and tasks as well as expectations
  3. Set an excellent personal example for others to follow
  4. Authorise staff to make the vision a reality and support them
  5. Focus on team behaviour with positive expectations

These are but a few small areas to build upon. There are other tools and exercises Coaching to Success can help you or members of your team to develop with the end goal of being so much more productive resulting not only in more profitability but a happier workplace where growth simply escalates.

Contact Neil to arrange your free consultation either by email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or calling 07761 187238 and let’s work together to create the ideology of excellence in leadership and the rewards that this will bring.

Critical Success Factors … Have you looked into creating yours?

John F. Rockart popularised Critical Success Factors (CSFs) during the 1970s and they’ve been used broadly in businesses since then.

Having a clear and focused mission/vision statement is imperative. Something the whole company are involved with. To compliment this, objectives and goals need to be in situ and this is where our core skillsets lie.
I was never really a believer in ‘Mission Statements’ as I felt they were simply the words of my Bosses. Unfortunately, at the time, that’s all they were as I had no input or education as to what it stood for. Having worked with many organisations to achieve their own with the Team’s input, I can now see the true benefit.

This ‘Statement’ will, in turn, help all to bond towards CSFs as you have created a common focal point. As Rockart determined, CSFs aren’t a one hit wonder but need constantly and careful attention for success to become apparent.

Now going back to the goals and mission statements, these are where the focus should be as to WHAT needs to be achieved. CSFs refer to the HOW and to identify what really matters to obtain success and the measurements you put into place to observe this.

Often we can’t see the wood for the trees so let’s use a Timber Merchant as an ironic example and take a fictitious statement “To uphold a customer satisfaction level of 93% while expanding an increased product range appealing to new clients all resulting in a 38% of regional market share”.

You then look to what the (a) objectives are in view of this statement and then the HOW, the (b) Critical Success Factors. So to continue:

(a) Uphold Satisfaction levels of 93% …

(b) Keep customers informed of latest products. Insure staff are fully trained and updated via manufacture visits on latest tools.

(a) Expand product range…

(b) Welcome new reps/organisations to see what they have to offer. Look at market trends. Ask staff for their input.

(a) Achieve 38% market share…

(b) Marketing and advertising to attract more clients. Look to become more competitive.

From initially creating your objectives and CSFs, keep this as a basis to work from but then hone in the essential ones, the ‘C’ part!

Whatever you do, don’t create a long list of CSFs as they will simply get lost within their own numbers. 5 or fewer ‘Essential’ ones are ideal to focus on.

In summary

  1. Formulate a company Mission/Vision statement
  2. Create an objective list to achieve the goal and then the HOW (the CSFs themselves)
  3. Hone down – make sure your CSFs are manageable, achievable and realistic
  4. Constantly visit, re-visit and re-re-visit to evaluate and monitor how things are progressing (or
    not) then re-enforce the CSFs
  5. Communicate how it’s going. Include staff, suppliers etc

Give it a go and should you wish to look at creating a fantastic Mission Statement or the means to put this into place long term, we’re here to help and as we’re affiliated to the Growth Accelerator scheme, we understand about success. Simply call to arrange your free consultation and see how you can help make those changes! Neil looks forward to hearing from you either by calling 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk

Delegate! Who to? No-one else can do it as well … Can they?

Many years ago, I foolishly believed that only I knew everything and could do the task effectively whereas others who reported to me weren’t up to it or to the same standard. Surprising, the company grew once I started to delegate, trust those around me and act like the director that I’d been employed to be. Does this possibly ring true to you or do you recognise the traits?

Often we feel like we should be seen to be working with massive workloads, however, efficiency is all about insuring the operation runs smoothly. If you don’t delegate tasks that others can do, it builds distrust, feeling of reduced worth and despondency.

Here are 5 simple steps to help you along this path of delegation:

  1. WEAKNESS – It is not a sign of weakness to delegate. Know your people and show trust. Maybe there’s feeling of shame, guilt or wanting your own badge of honour showing what a martyr you are. Be truthful with yourself as to the reason why you don’t delegate, it IS NOT a weakness to delegate but shows signs of trust and responsibility… ok, stick by your thoughts there’s no one responsible enough to hand it to! Been there, seen it, even got the badge and then proved totally wrong.
  2. DUMP THE EGO! – No, you’re not the only person in the whole world that can do that job. Ok, it may not be done to the standard YOU BELIEVE to be correct but we’re all different and with guidance and training, someone else can do specific roles and possibly even have the ability to do it faster or even better than you – there’s a thought!
  3. BE OBJECTIVE NOT PROCEDURAL – Two forms of management, Micro and hands off, both equally incorrect! Delegate the task with the desired outcome you’re looking to achieve. Demonstrate how to do this and be approachable. Indicate that they can do it as they wish but the outcome with the objective being what is at stake. Set SMART goals. Allow sufficient time for them to be innovative in what they are doing or learn their own way.
  4. PATIENCE – … “my backside, I’m gonna kill someone!” They’re not likely to get it right first time without making errors? This is the learning curve. Don’t assume it will be carried out perfectly first time round as if they already have a track record of success, this isn’t their fault it’s yours for assuming too much without giving the FULL guidance and support needed in the first instance.
  5. RECOGNITION – When everything goes well, bestow credit where it’s due. Superiors will see how well you manage your team/staff, your delegate will see their worth in not only your eyes but the firm/company’s too. Notoriety is a reward in its own right. Say Thank You and truly show your gratitude, this feeling of appreciation will certainly do you well when the next task comes along.

Coaching to Success wok with Directors and Managers to help understand how to let tasks go enabling concentration on what they should be doing. If this is an area you feel you or members of your team would benefit from, take that first step by speaking with Neil (07761 187238) or throw him an email at info@coachingtosuccess.co.uk… We’re affiliated to the Growth Accelerator scheme and are here to help.