Tip of the Spear Ventures

A Family Office that behaves like Venture Capital | Private Equity | Business Consulting

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

Three Communication Systems, Strategies and Skills of the Best CEOs

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The Point: What is the job of a CEO? Opinions may vary, but perhaps Peter Drucker answered the question best when he stated “The CEO is the link between the Inside that is ‘the organization,’ and the outside of society, economy, technology, markets, and customers.” One of the leadership development keys to fulfilling this role, is that the executive needs to undergo robust communication skills training for leaders. In this post, we outline three (3) necessary skills and strategies needed to become a successful CEO… Enjoy!

Three_Communication_Systems,_Strategies_and_Skills_of_the_Best_CEOs

#3 Exceptional Public Speaking Skills

All managers and leaders need public speaking skills as part of their leadership development, but in the case of the CEO, it is not enough to speak to the workforce or the board of directors. Keeping the definition given above, the CEO is the face of the company that represents the organization in the media and industry forums.

If you get the time, watch the 2005 remake of Fun with Dick and Jane. At the start of the movie, Dick Harper (Jim Carrey) is made the Vice President of Communications at his firm. The very next day, he is called to appear on a financial TV show, where the host and a politician lambast him with questions pertaining to the fiscally irresponsible behavior of his company.

No, Dick Harper doesn’t use his charisma to navigate through the interview and ultimately become a successful CEO (he ultimately becomes a crook). But this scene goes to show what happens when you have the wrong person representing you in media. It also highlights the importance of public speaking skills as a leader.

#2 Assertive, But Not Aggressive

Leaders command attention. The CEO doesn’t rely on his title alone to get people to listen to him. He makes sure that people are listening. They not only use the right words, but also exhibit proper body language. But a defining trait of successful CEOs is that they are assertive. They stand tall, speak with confidence, and get their point across, and sometimes do so without being confrontational.

This also includes the ability to command and control one’s emotions. Without being rigid and cutting others off, CEOs can sufficiently disagree with others and execute their ideas. Conversely, they know how to appreciate others without being overtly emotional.

#1 Being a People’s Person

An important aspect of leadership communication in leadership development is emotional intelligence (or EQ). This is where a CEO successfully leads a team by making those around them feel valued through the use of “street smarts”. Once again, this further relies on a variety of communication skills, such as maintaining eye contact, good listening skills, and most importantly, empathy. Important to note here is the ability to listen to their “gut” in such situations.

Summary

As the key link between the organization, the industry, and society in which it operates in, the CEO needs to have communication skills instilled that include empathy, active listening, public speaking, and confidence.

For more information on Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services where we specialize in providing communication skills training for leaders, executive coaching, and leadership development use the CONTACT US page of this website.

Improve Your Leadership Communication Skills in IT

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The Point: When we talk about leadership development, especially in the context of communication skills training for leaders in IT, most of the discussion is general in nature. It fails to take the intricacies of different industries and organizational structures into account. For instance, how should a leader communicate in an IT company? This role comes with its unique communication issues, considering that IT jobs typically attract introverted and shy applicants (Something we’ve seen time and again at Tip of the Spear in our Centered Executive Coaching initiatives with IT Leaders). In this post, we discuss three (3) communication skills training for leaders in the IT field… Enjoy!

Improve Your Leadership Communication Skills in IT

#3 Building Rapport

Although this is not a rule, but as mentioned at the outset, the IT industry typically attracts introverts. For example, some of the most successful software developers are introverts because this job requires problem solving and independent work. The same is true of data processing managers.

Hence, communication skills don’t come naturally to people who work and even excel in this industry. However, the key to IT and corporate success is building rapport with your team. Even though you work with technology, your employees, partners, and customers are all human beings. This is why you need to go out of your way to regularly communicate with and develop rapport with them. This doesn’t mean that you spend most of your 8-hour shift chit-chatting, but the occasional lunch, team meeting, or even a casual email can prove sufficient.

#2 The Art of Selling

Creative people, especially those in the IT sector, are not the best salespeople either. Hence, communication skills training for leaders should also include pointers on how they can and should deal with clients.

As an IT professional, you may typically know more about your craft than the client (internal or external) you are serving. However, never forget the Golden Rule of Business: The customer is ALWAYS right, even when they are wrong.

Even if the client is 100% wrong, instead of fighting them, you may need to learn to disagree in a way that doesn’t offend the client. And if the client may come off as sounding stupid, you still have to give them the chance to save face by saying something like ‘I completely understand your perspective. Here is what I think…’

In similar vein, you should never take the clients comments about your work personally. This will only make things more problematic (and if you’re like the majority of clients we coach, you’re looking to fill  your day with less problems, not more!) This will be a test of your leadership communication skills for sure.

#1 Shun Arrogance

Being highly creative, IT people have a tendency to defend themselves when there is a work dispute (see selling skills addressed above), and for the most part, the other person interprets this as arrogance, which is disaster for corporate relationships. No one is telling you to agree with everything people say, but you should make a conscious effort to listen patiently, even if your argument is 100% right!

Summary

To sum up, even if the IT industry is a technical and creative one, there are corporate interests at stake that can only be achieved with sound communication skills. These include being diplomatic with clients, improving listening skills, and shunning arrogance.

For more information on Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services where we specialize in providing communication skills training for leaders, executive coaching, and leadership development training use the CONTACT US page of this website.

Are You Grinding It Out as a Leader Like Mark Cuban? 8 Questions to Ask Yourself!

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The Point: Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re not working hard enough as a leader! Just ask Mark Cuban, the embattled entrepreneur/Dallas Maverick owner/Shark… Mark said in an Inc. magazine blog post that if he had to do one thing over again, it would be to push himself harder than everyone else around him (I imagine those that he could see as well as and perhaps more importantly those he couldn’t see!) So as a leader you control your effort/energy, where are you applying yourself? Read on and answer 8 questions to see how well you grind… Enjoy!

Are You Grinding It Out as a Leader Like Mark Cuban? 8 Questions to Ask Yourself

“I don’t regret starting a company that failed or investing in a company that didn’t make it, I think my regrets have come from not quite putting in enough effort,” says Mark Cuban. So here we have the only billionaire to sit on the esteemed ABC Shark Tank investor panel that isn’t content with where he sits.

Here then are eight (8) questions to gage if you’re not “grinding” hard enough:

  1. There’s an extra hour in the day… How will you use it?
  2. Do you take too many breathers, rather than keep on going?
  3. If someone outworks you, is that acceptable to you?
  4. What causes you to limit your effort?
  5. How content are you as a leader?
  6. What are you doing to better yourself?
  7. When was the last time you invested in leadership development and kept yourself on-time/on-target to meeting/exceeding your goals?
  8. If you didn’t achieve your 2014 goals, what are you doing about it?

Here’s the reality… There’s somebody out there that’s “grinding” as Cuban puts it and surpassing you in output.

One final question (Think of it as a bonus):

  • If you’re getting outworked, is that acceptable to you/those you work with/those you support/those that support you?

PS – You can see the video of Mark Cuban here: http://www.inc.com/mark-cuban/business-lesson-my-biggest-regret.html?cid=sf01001

If you’d like more information on Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services including Leadership Develepment employing The Leadership Challenge methodology, Executive Coaching using Centered Executive Coaching, and Communication Skills Training for Leaders use the Contact Us page of this website.

 

The Leadership Challenge: It’s All About Your People! Employee Engagement Tips

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The Point: At Tip of the Spear, we know a Leadership Challenge when we see it… You’ve got the leadership challenge on hand if you have the wrong people in the wrong positions. In other words, your business is in trouble. Worse yet, having the wrong people in the right positions can also be detrimental to your business! So with such a focus on business processes or technology that can “revolutionize” the marketplace, why do so many leaders focus on everything but the people they employ to actively participate in their business? In this post, we’ll investigate exactly what’s at stake for you/your business and several tips on how to leverage them fully. Think of it as insuring that the right people are in the right positions at the right time (each and every time)… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge- It’s All About Your People! Employee Engagement Tips

Employee Engagement (Shouldn’t It be Disengagement?)

I just saw Josh Bersin (formerly of his own fame, now of Deloitte) and a host of other “thought” leaders at the Glassdoor Employment Brand Summit for leadership development present on their take on the concept of “employment branding” or why is it that an employee should be so compelled to want to come and work at your place of employment. Think of it as a new spin on the employee engagement we’ve all heard so much of lately (If you haven’t heard of employee engagement, you’ve got bigger leadership challenge and leadership development issues). Here’s what’s at stake:

  • Gallup reports that roughly 13% of all employees are highly engaged
  • Glassdoor (of conference sponsor) reports that roughly 55% of employees would recommend their organizations to others to work at.
  • Many more employees from various employee engagement surveys report in “off the record” fashion that they would not say they were “happy” with their employers (However they wouldn’t say so “on the record” for official employee engagement stats.

Employment Branding – Bringing Sexy Back to Employee Engagement

There is also a growing trend of recruiters crying of “talent shortages” that are scaring the human resources world. Worse yet (and back to our new “employment branding” terminology) if your people are not happy and engaged, you’re going to have a hard time selling your company to potential applicants/recruits.

Applicants that ultimately do go to work for organizations after sometimes unnecessary and lengthy interview processes, report that they have automobile purchase analogous “buyers remorse” 51% of the time and leave the organization within the first year 81% of the time… STAGGERING! How many times have you heard “I wanted to come to work here, but the recruiting process was like buying a used car” from your newly hired team members.

I remember a time when the leader I worked with wanted me to “sell the dream” to recruits. If they could see it, smell it, and almost taste it they’d want in was his perspective. He couldn’t have been more accurate… We were able to “close” or recruit nearly 90% of the applicants we came in contact with. Unfortunately, employee turnover hovered near 300% annually!

Authenticity, Honesty, Clarity are Employee Engagement Keys

So what’s the answer to this employment branding and employee engagement issues? There’s got to be a logical explanation to resolve such a leadership challenge. Fortunately, as complicated as these issues may be, their solutions are rather straight forward and uncomplicated. It appears as though a return to authentic leadership, which characteristics of honesty, trust, communication clarity, and an action/feedback/pivot process are all that’s needed (Note: While simple to say in one breath, each is in and of itself a surmountable task).

Of course, this authenticity, honesty, and clarity all starts with the recruiting process. If recruiters can’t state these as well as share examples of each with potential candidates, the organization is going to miss out on talent.

SUMMARY

While employment branding and employee engagement should be front/present on every leader’s mind, the ability to take action on the characteristics of authenticity, honesty, and clarity are key to making dramatic improvements in each category. Whether you are looking for entry-level associates, or senior leadership in your organization, the ability to have everyone on the same page and executing the instructions from that page will show candidates exactly what type of organization you are.

 

The Leadership Challenge: How the Ebola Virus Can Cost You Your Business!

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The Point: The front-line customer facing members of your team are just that… Your front-line! The leadership challenge you face is as follows: How often are these team members put into positions of utmost importance, only to be the least trained, least communicated, and least paid members of your organization? If you answered yes to all (or any) you and your business future may be in jeopardy… Enjoy?

The Leadership Challenge- How the Ebola Virus Can Cost You Your Business!

 

The recent case of a man in Texas returning to the United States with the Ebola Virus should cause you as a leader to sit back and take notice. While the case continues to unfold in front of us, here is what is being reported today (Here’s a video from the Wall Street Journal: http://youtu.be/TGV5oCwXV4E):

  • Instead of the 6,400 reported cases of ebola in Africa, the number is now estimated to be north of 1.4 Million.
  • The man returning from Liberia was showing no signs of ebola prior to his departure. However, reports that he cared for a dying neighbor suffering from the disease.
  • The man upon experiencing sickness went to a Dallas area hospital. The hospital dismissed him with a prescription for antibiotics after he informed them that he had recently returned from Africa.
  • The man came into contact with no less than six students of elementary school age.
  • The man returned to the same Dallas area hospital, this time in an ambulance to receive treatment. He remains in the hospital under care and is quarantined.

So what went wrong at the hospital? Many things, and the press conference yesterday (Here’s a recap of the event from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/01/hospital-ebola-patient/16527143/) left little doubt that the hospital administration had a reasonable process for dealing with ebola (as well as any/all disease control). Unfortunately, the best laid plans in this instance went unfulfilled due to what can only be surmised as a front-line employee not following the process, leadership not inspecting the process, and no one being held accountable.

Here’s what I imagine taking place:

  • A man walks into the Emergency Room of the hospital complaining of flu-like symptoms (Fever, upset stomach, etc.)
  • The Emergency Room check-in clerk takes his information (The all too important insurance, personal, etc.)
  • The man enters into the facility and is given a quick (2-minute or less) assessment/diagnosis.
  • The man receives a prescription for an antibiotic.
  • The man goes home and the rest is history… Or as yet to be determined.

The bottom line here is that the organization had a process in place, and the Emergency Room technicians (many of whom aren’t doctors, get treated poorly by said doctors, and receive compensation under $20 per hour) didn’t follow it. The result is almost cataclysmic… Stock markets plunge, panic sets in as we grip for the unknown (Anyone remember the Center for Disease Control reporting that the Ebola Antivirus was all but used up after Case #2 was reported/brought back to the United States?), and all because one of the least trained, least communicated to, and least paid members of an organization couldn’t be held accountable to do their job. So the leadership challenge of this whole ebola virus mess can cost you your business in the forseeable end!

If you’re a leader that’s tired of laying the best-designed plans and not having your stakeholders implement/execute accordingly, or experiencing difficulties holding others accountable please use the Contact Us section of this website to inquire about our Leadership Development, Executive Coaching, and Communication Skills Training for Leader programs.