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By Jim Canterucci on September 10, 2009 | No Comments
My nephew is in a new league for Fall baseball. He’s 8 years old. My observations (trying to be an unbiased uncle): He’s a pretty good player. Not a stand-out star but he hits and fields well. A solid contributor to the team who occasionally will have a great game. He talks to everybody including opposing coaches and anyone near him on the field so sometimes his attention isn’t on the game. He gets good grades at school and is pretty sharp in the smarts department. This summer he received two game balls from his coaches for good games.At a game last week he started out in right field. He looked over to make sure I was watching. A boring inning. As he was running in to the dugout I let him know he did a great job of staying in the game. He gave me a funny look.
He came to the plate and quickly struck-out. When he came over to me I immediately told him how good a job he did of staying focused in the field. He said, “I have trouble being ready in the field.” Hmm. I asked about his at bat. He said, “I strike out all the time.” Whoa! This is the same kid I recently saw get two and three hits each game.
Later, playing third base, twice with base runners bearing down on him he caught long throws from the outfield. The runners beat the throws but he made the catches. The crowd of parents yelled support and praise. He didn’t really respond. Then the voice from the coach in the dugout – “You should have made the tag,” followed by the little, fading voice, “I tried but the throw was too late.”
I asked my nephew after the game if he thought he was a good player and he hemmed and hawed. I asked him why. He said, “my coaches only tell me what I do wrong.” We had a discussion about confidence and criticism. We’ll work together and I think he’ll be fine. Sad though that a productive and confident player was so quickly reduced to a non-contributor just taking up space.
A couple of observations:
- The reaction of the leader is always noticed.
- The reaction of the leader means more than every other form of feedback.
- The level of confidence of the performer is directly influenced by the leader.
- The influence of the leader can make or break the performance of the team members.
- There is a bigger picture than the immediate transaction at stake.
Evaluate your fleeting interactions with your team members. What impacts are you having. Score your feedback for a week. Use a simple scoring system. Is each feedback opportunity positive or negative? Look at your score at the end of the week. Are there any fences you need to mend? Is some balancing necessary?
Photo credit: Wildernice
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By Jim Canterucci on September 8, 2009 | No Comments
The following is a short book preview contributed by the Ohio State University Leadership Center.
I Think I Can
From: Arussy, L., (2008). Excellence every day: make the daily choice – inspire your employees and amaze your customers. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc.
You think you can deliver excellence? Well, that is a good start. But the crucial question is not whether you can. With your unique skills and experience, you are more than capable of delivering excellence in your interest areas. The crucial question is whether you want to. To teach superior performance, you need to want to do it. The commitment to excellence has to come from your heart, not your head. Thinking is a logical process based on facts and assessments, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to action. Wanting is the subjective and is the result of your personal choice. Many people might share the same capabilities to deliver excellence. But only those who choose to use them will deliver excellence.
Wanting is the willingness to do it because it is worthy of doing. It is a very personal choice; it is a personal commitment to promote a personally important cause (Arussy, 2008, p.212-213).
Excellence Every Day is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page.
Click here to learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is strengthening tomorrow’s leaders today.
The OSU Leadership Center is home to a wealth of resources to help you and the people you work with improve your leadership and interpersonal skills. Please check the materials in our Lending Library (available to you for a small annual fee), Leadership Publications (absolutely free), and links to other leadership-related information.
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By Jim Canterucci on September 3, 2009 | No Comments
Context is king. Context is necessary for the human brain to filter the volume of new information that comes our way each minute.
When you encounter new information one filter question we ask ourselves is, “Do I already know this?”
If I already know this then my mind can turn to more important things. In my teaching portions of Executive Leadership Circle the titles of the segments are sometimes mundane. It’s easy to say, “I already know this.” The problem of course is the resulting switch going off if you decide you already know about planning or objectives, etc. and you can miss the unique and valuable lesson.
Our Executive Leadership Circle clients ask themselves 5 questions when they encounter a topic. In fact the questions are always in front of them. A tent card reminds each participant of these questions which serve as a pre-flight checklist whenever an educational opportunity presents itself. Give some thought to adding these questions to your approach.1. What does this mean? It sounds simplistic, but take a moment and explore what this information means. How does it fit into my big picture? What is the author of the information getting at? Is this complex or simple? Are there potential underlying meanings?
2. How will this help me? Based on what I’m learning, how will this help me accomplish my goals? Perhaps this information can provide a new twist to an active problem you’re solving? Maybe this information may be helpful to articulate a lesson you are trying to teach your team? The answer may be that there isn’t an immediate application so it should be filed away for later use.
3. Where will I use it? This question allows for some creativity. You may be learning about a highly technical business subject. Can you apply the knowledge in some other area of your life? Can you use this information in the next customer visit you have? How about the annual sales meeting?
4. How will I use it? Some information is useful to have in the back of your mind. Other information is immediately and directly actionable. Thinking in terms of how you will use the information is critical to taking initiative and moving forward so the new information will increase in value.
5. What do I need in order to use it effectively? This is the growth question. What tools will you need to use the information effectively. Do you currently have these tools? You just may need to learn something or change something in order to take advantage of the new information. This adds to your development plan. For example, a couple of weeks ago we discussed the importance of stories as a leadership communication tool. What might you need to tell more stories? Perhaps a comfort level with speaking outside of a “just the facts” mode in front of your team. Maybe you need to collect stories and spend some time reviewing past milestones to extract the story and the lesson?
These questions increase the probability that new information is useful to you and reduces the chance that you will miss a significant nugget by dismissing new information too quickly.
Try this pre-flight checklist before every educational session you attend or every book or article you read. Apply context to everything you encounter and the value of your learning opportunities increase exponentially.
Photo credit: Search Engine People Blog
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By Jim Canterucci on September 1, 2009 | No Comments
The following is a short book preview contributed by the Ohio State University Leadership Center.
Harnessing the Skills of a Multigenerational WorkforceFrom: Marston, C. (2007). Motivating the “what’s in it for me?” workforce: manage across the generational divide and increase profits. Hoboken NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
So what will it take to harness the skills of a multigenerational workforce? What are today’s requirements for leading young people who see Baby Boomers as outdated and out of touch? It will take:
- A new understanding of what employees want from their jobs, their bosses, and their workplace experience.
- A new understanding of loyalty – how the word has changed, why it changed, and why pay benefits, and opportunities for promotion are not nearly as important in creating job loyalty as they used to be.
- A new definition of ‘self’ – that young employees today define themselves by who they are outside the job, not by what they do for a living, which is a departure from senior generations.
- A new behavior from leaders in the workplace who must realize that younger generations enter the workplace seeing self-fulfillment from the get-go and aren’t interested in paying their dues for an unknown period of time.
- A new comprehension that youth today remain in their youth much longer than ever before, being able to live at home longer, stay in school longer, get married later, and have children later, which dramatically affects their commitment to the workplace (Marston, 2007, p.10).
Motivating the “What’s In It For Me?” Workforce is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page.
Click here to learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is strengthening tomorrow’s leaders today.
The OSU Leadership Center is home to a wealth of resources to help you and the people you work with improve your leadership and interpersonal skills. Please check the materials in our Lending Library (available to you for a small annual fee), Leadership Publications (absolutely free), and links to other leadership-related information.
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By Jim Canterucci on August 27, 2009 | 9 Comments
Admit it. No matter your exalted title, leadership is a scary thing. There are forces everywhere that attempt to mold you. As you enter the organization you’re looking for the norms and mores. How is it done around here?
But don’t lose yourself in the process.
My friend Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks, in his book It’s Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks
says, “Each of us has an obligation to ourselves and our organizations to think independently.” *
The point that Howard makes is that there are many avenues available to get your ideas across. It isn’t just the formal meeting setting that you must be invited to by some boss. Use all of the informal opportunities you encounter to discuss your idea. Seek opinions. Recruit fellow champions. Be comfortable with your idea being a side project for a bit until it begins to get traction. Then, relate your idea to your main strategic deliverables. Now you begin to speak the language of those above and it’s possible the ears will open up a bit and opportunities to formalize your great idea emerge. Ideas are just one area where it’s easy to lose yourself because it’s easier to just go along with the status-quo.
You need to be yourself. Yes, you need to learn and grow but if you go into a situation thinking that you need to change to adapt to the situation, you may find yourself behind the eight-ball. Perhaps you can identify ways to do what you know how to do best in the situation. This trust in yourself and what brought you to the dance is extremely freeing. There is a reason you got the job – you. Use this important asset.
Growing and changing is good but not at the expense of independent thought. Don’t forget, You’re Brilliant!
*Listen to my Personal Brilliance – Up Close and Practical audio interview with Howard. Click here.
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By Jim Canterucci on August 25, 2009 | No Comments
The following is a short book preview contributed by the Ohio State University Leadership Center.
How Do You Practice Humility?
From: Kuczmarksi, S.S.; & Kuczmarksi, T.D. (2007). Apples are square: thinking differently about leadership. New York: Kaplan Publishing.
- Express concern for others.
- Take responsibility for your failures and learn from them.
- Express gratitude for the good and bad – both are blessings!
- Admit mistakes.
- Apologize when you are wrong.
- Give credit to others for their help in your success.
- Show patience and forgiveness when treatment is unfair.
- Be gracious when receiving feedback (Kuczmarksi & Kuczmarksi, 2007, p. 32).
Apples are Square is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page.
Click here to learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is strengthening tomorrow’s leaders today.
The OSU Leadership Center is home to a wealth of resources to help you and the people you work with improve your leadership and interpersonal skills. Please check the materials in our Lending Library (available to you for a small annual fee), Leadership Publications (absolutely free), and links to other leadership-related information.
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By Jim Canterucci on August 24, 2009 | 1 Comment
We’ve got some great new content from our ELC Advisors this month. Remember you have to be a member to view these lessons but no worries. If you’re not a member, click here for a 7 day Free Trial.
Mike Figliuolo – Thought Leadership Foundational Framework
Have you ever been told to “be a thought leader” or to “think outside the box” and “push the envelope” but you’ve never been shown exactly HOW to do that or what that means? This module will help you understand how to do just that. During the module, you’ll learn:
- What is thoughtLEADERSHIP? (the quick answer: a thoughtLEADER is someone who delivers business results by agitating for and leading change)
- What characteristics do thoughtLEADERS possess?
Janine Moon – Building Your Business Network
Your business network is crucial to getting things done. In this lesson we discuss the what and how of successfully growing and nurturing your network.
Belinda Gore – How to Become a Resilient Leader
In times of change, and change is a constant in the fast-paced global economy of the new business environment, leaders have to be able to adapt while continuing to move forward toward fulfilling their organization’s mission and strategic goals. This program will teach you how to become better able to recover quickly from adversity so that you and your organization can survive, adapt and flourish. Topics include:
- how to take a positive attitude toward challenge without overloading your capacity,
- building networks of connectedness that form a safety net,
- how to take control and how to let go (and knowing the right timing for both) and,
- finding core beliefs that give change meaning and value.
Bill Fournier - Defining Your Genius
Are you a genius? By the end of this session you will understand, be able to identify, and articulate the importance of your genius, discover your passion, help others identify their genius, and the role of genius and passion in the workplace.
Our Guest Lesson is from Delia Mallory – Targeted Development Planning
This video provides some of the basics for staff development planning. In this session you will learn:
- the importance of solid development plans
- how a development plan can differ based upon it’s purpose
- elements of a solid development plan
- a widely held theory on how adults learn optimally
And our CEO Interview this month is with Ken Peters of Mettler Toledo.
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By Jim Canterucci on August 23, 2009 | No Comments
We are pleased to announce that the the Emerging Leadership Circle Blog has been selected for inclusion in the Alltop® blog directory in the Leadership section.
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By Jim Canterucci on August 20, 2009 | No Comments
I’ve been surprised enough times to cause me to constantly remind our executive clients that they are teachers. Last week we asked the question, How will your people know what to do? The unconscious reason I believe leaders tend to forget this important role is that there is an assumption that people should just know. “After all, no one taught me. Let’s see what they can do on their own.” Can we really afford the time for trial and error?
The breakdown in logic here is that we can’t assume that everyone has the same capabilities as the leader. They may not have the resources or experience.
The best way I know for a leader to teach is by strategically telling a story at the right time that teaches a lesson and moves the team forward. The story may be about a client engagement, a past failure or success, or a funny, self-deprecating anecdote that teaches a timely lesson and reinforces the values and ethic the leader wants to reinforce.
Why stories as a teaching vehicle?
- Stories capture attention – touch the emotions and engage the audience and they become part of the story.
- Stories can be repeated – with repetition your work is multiplied.
- Stories deal with how to think - bullets deal with what to do in this instance.
- Stories are practical – being able to see the application of an idea via the story makes the lesson much more practical.
Some Storytelling Hints
- Appeal to the masses. Your stories should not require specialized intellect. Common happenings appeal.
- Don’t ramble. Short, sweet, and – most importantly – to the point are requirements.
- Create engaging dialogue. A good story is a journey that involves the listeners.
- Define identity. The biggest question for most is, how do I fit in? Allow the story to answer that question and draw parallels between the characters in your story and the audience.
- Deliver the point. Explain why you told the story and provide the context.
Steve Denning author of The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative
provides a table that lays out the Eight Different Narrative Patterns that describes the different types of stories for eight different leadership situations.
Look for opportunities to tell a story this week. Try it. Then, polish that story for future use. Develop a repertoire of stories that grows with you throughout your career.
Photo by jurvetson
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By Jim Canterucci on August 18, 2009 | No Comments
The following is a short book preview contributed by the Ohio State University Leadership Center.
Holding Ourselves Accountable
From: Gergen, C. & Vanourek, G. (2008). Life entrepreneurs: ordinary people creating extraordinary lives. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.It is all too easy to speed through life with our eyes focused only on the road ahead. The challenge is scanning the horizon from time to time to determine where we are headed. To stay on track, we need to take regular stock of our decisions and actions. Reflection keeps us focused on the right priorities and accountable to our vision and goals.
To hold ourselves accountable, we should adopt a regular routine of checking progress against our goals, ensuring that our actions reflect our priorities (Gergen & Vanourek, 2008, p. 147-148).
Life Entrepreneurs is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page.
Click here to learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is strengthening tomorrow’s leaders today.
The OSU Leadership Center is home to a wealth of resources to help you and the people you work with improve your leadership and interpersonal skills. Please check the materials in our Lending Library (available to you for a small annual fee), Leadership Publications (absolutely free), and links to other leadership-related information.
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