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The Leadership Challenge: Happy New Year! Now What?

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The Point: At Tip of the Spear, we reflected during the Holiday Season on just how lucky we are to work with the leaders that engage with us… They are some of the smartest people we know, extremely hard-charging, and they’re looking forward to accelerating their 2015 achievements. However, we also know that there is another leadership population out there that doesn’t engage with us. So we asked one of our new 2014 leaders what the biggest difference is in heading into 2015 working with us versus last year when he was ‘flying solo’ without us. The following post represents his perspective, as well as an opportunity we know you’ll want to take advantage of… Enjoy!

The_Leadership_Challenge-_Happy_New_Year_Now_What

5-4-3-2-1… Happy New Year 2014!

Flash back one year ago: John* was a senior leader for an INC500 organization. A quick learner, he wasn’t with his organization during their ‘good old’ startup days. Instead, he was recruited to come join the initiative after the founders had successfully gone through ideation, creation, formation, launch-pad and achieved sustainable lift-off. He came in at a senior associate position, but quickly rose through the ranks and was provided an opportunity to lead a team, then a department. Like so many leaders we run into, he was quickly promoted (relatively quick) but without leadership provisions (He had no idea what he was doing!) He remembers asking if he could participate in a leadership development program and one of the founders responded “You’re a quick study… You’ll figure it out!”

I Don’t Want To Get Out of Bed!

The year for John quickly went by… The good times didn’t seem to last nearly as long as they should have. The bad times seemed to last twice as long as was necessary though! As John approached Q4 2014, he was miserable… “I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning! It’s not that I didn’t love the work, or the company’s mission, it’s just that here I was a first-time leader and totally overwhelmed not with what my subject matter expertise (SME) is, but with the ‘softer’ skills of leading people.” Faced with the facts that something must change, John started searching the net for the best leadership development programs. He found several of our blog posts on leadership, the messages resonated with him, and he outreached to see what we might do together.

5-4-3-2-1… Happy New Year 2015!

So here we are, a year later and John has the following observations regarding what’s different about him as a leader this year versus last:

  • Behavioral Assessment – We started John off with a behavioral assessment to determine what his strengths, as well as weaknesses are. This provided the ‘line in the sand’ regarding where he was, and more importantly where he wanted to go as a leader.
  • Dashboard Development – As a result of conducting the behavioral assessment, John created a leadership development dashboard that specifically stated not only what we were to work on together, but where he ‘scored’ at each interaction with us. This dashboard is loaded not only with behavioral assessment items (Specific actions that would drive increased behaviors), but also measurable goals for his department/the overall organization.
  • Leadership Development – We began a journey of reviewing Tip of the Spear’s leadership development offering using ‘The Leadership Challenge’ methodology over the first month with John. Conveniently segmented into 5 leadership ‘buckets’ for ease of understanding/implementation, this program was easily digested by John.
  • Executive Coaching – To insure that John maintained the right direction, attitude, and altitude we structured a customized Centered Executive Coaching initiative with him. Meeting three (3) times per month for an hour each, the meetings allow structured progress reviews over consistent time intervals maximizing his organization’s return on investment (ROI).

So Now What?

If John experienced a ‘dog-chase-tail / tail-chase-dog’ moment prior to working with us in Q4 2014, he definitely is in position to conduct a much different 2015 campaign as a result. Setting the leadership bar even higher in 2015, he’s poised to have his best year ever!

So ask yourself the following Centered Executive Coaching questions:

  •   What am I going to focus on in 2015?
  •   How do I know that these are the most important goals?
  •   Who will help me along the way to insure successful completion?
  •   What do I need to learn in order to maximize my accomplishments?
  •   What will accomplishing my goals do financially for the organization? For me?

Summary

I hope you enjoyed the post. If so, don’t forget to click on ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ buttons and tell others who may find it useful. Also, I would love it if you would take a minute to comment on this post (That’s the BEST encouragement for me to continue to write and share!) If you’d like more information on how you can structure an initiative like John, use the CONTACT US page of this website.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Sam Palazzolo

PS – You may also enjoy some of the other recent posts I wrote:

Sam Palazzolo is the Managing Director at Tip of the Spear Ventures, an agile Venture Capital and Business Advisory Services firm specializing in Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, and Communication Skills Training for Leaders.

* John’s name has been changed for the purposes of this post.

Leadership Amnesia: Should You Forget the Past to Move Forward to a Better Future?

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The Point: As we approach the end of another year at Tip of the Spear, we challenged the leadership we work with to design their best 2015 Strategic Plan. However, we noticed that in order to do so some leaders simply could not let go of 2014. In 2014, some leaders experienced exponential growth, some stayed the same, and some regressed. So the thought struck us, and those we asked, are you better off forgetting about the past in order to achieve a better future? Hence the concept of leadership amnesia was hatched. In this post, we’ll take a look at how you, the leader, can forget to move forward… Enjoy!

Leadership Amnesia: Should You Forget the Past to Move Forward to a Better Future?

Amnesia’s Leadership Potential

Wouldn’t it be great if as a leader you could simply rid yourself of the past? What if you never had to worry about where you’ve been as a leader (or organization for that matter)? Instead, what if you could focus 100% on the road at hand, and more importantly on the road ahead?

With ‘leadership amnesia’ you’d have the opportunity to forget about memories such as facts, information, and experiences. While it’s popular in some movies involving amnesia to have the affected portray someone with no sense of who they are, the reality is typically one not involving a sense of loss of self-identity. But again, for our purposes here, wouldn’t it be nice if it did?

What Should You Focus On?

Here’s a list then of 6 Tips you can take to increase your leadership amnesia for a better/brighter future:

Leadership Amnesia Tip #6 – Do Research and Reading

While sometimes in leadership development we find a leader that knows exactly where they want to go, typically this is not the case. Identification of desired destinations is crucial in strategic planning. While the routes may differ, and ultimately the landing point on the distant shore, you simply must prepare for and plan where you want to head through research and reading. Leadership development has no finish line, so continue to plan, prep, and grow!

Leadership Amnesia Tip #5 – Get Quality Treatment

We all know that destiny favors the prepared mind (See Step #6 above for Research and Reading). However, having the knowledge is part of the success equation when dealing with leadership amnesia. Seeking quality treatment in the form of leadership development and executive coaching is crucial to not only setting the proper strategic plan in motion, but insuring that you are held accountable for desired results.

Leadership Amnesia Tip #4 – Communicating the Strategic Plan Effectively

We run a program for leadership only in our ‘Communicate with Influence’ communication skills training for leaders program titled ‘Communicating the Strategic Plan’. In this program, we typically see very educated people that are masters at preparing a strategy. However, their plans’ downfall is in the execution with primary culprit being not effectively communicating the plan.

Leadership Amnesia Tip #3 – Hold Treatment Effectiveness Discussions

In Step #5 we discussed aligning with the proper leadership development and executive coaching initiatives. At Tip of the Spear, we typically conduct 12-18 month engagements with leaders and their organizations to insure that strategic plans are established, leaders know their behavioral strengths, and implementations targets are established. In this step we’re referring to checking in on those treatment moments to insure that you/your organization is getting the appropriate return on investment (ROI). Typically, a leadership development program will run an organization an investment of $100,000+ and executive coaching for an individual executive $50,000. Why not hold your treatment providers accountable for achieving results?

Leadership Amnesia Tip #2 – Insure Leadership Quality of Life

While we’ll be the first to share with you that there is no such thing as work-life balance (we typically share that at best you can attempt to structure the appropriate amount of imbalance!), we do know that the most successful executives that we work with maintain a healthy quality of life through not only forgetting the past, but letting go of the burdens/stress/worry associated therein.

Leadership Amnesia Tip #1 – Look After Yourself (and Your Family!)

While work in and of itself allows for a successful non-work life, we typically see leaders looking to burn candles at both ends, drive hard towards unattainable goals, and basically screw not only themselves but families as well. Looking after yourself and family through similar strategic planning sessions (and the assistance of ‘treatments’ through executive coaching) can greatly enhance your ability to succeed with leadership amnesia.

Summary

In closing, the previous 6 tips to incorporate leadership amnesia should set you, your organization, and your family in an enhanced trajectory for success. As one leader shared with us, “I know that if I forget I’m bound to repeat the past. However, I also know that the past is what got me here. While I don’t care to run another lap on the same track, I know that I can get further ahead faster if I forget!”

If you’d like more information on Tip of the Spear Business Advisory Services, consisting of Centered Executive Coaching (hallmarked by the Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Executive Coaching methodology), Leadership Development (constructed around Kouze and Posner’s ‘Leadership Challenge’ methodology), and Communication Skills Training for Leaders use the CONTACT US page of this website.

The Leadership Challenge: Are Your SMART Goals DUMB?

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The Point: Setting SMART goals for yourself along the acronym for Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Specific is a best leadership practice. But if that’s so, why are so many goals that get established by a leader or leadership team actually DUMB (Disperse, Undefined, Morale Crushing and Bumbling)? In this post we take a look at how you, the leader, can avoid making such dumb decisions when it comes to strategic planning… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge: Are Your SMART Goals DUMB?
William Shakespeare Biography Poet, Playwright (c. 1564–1616). He never set a DUMB Goal (that we know of!)

I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!

John was a C-Suite leader at an INC 500 organization. In charge of the daily operations as Chief Operations Office (COO), he was also keenly aware of the goals that needed to be established for the coming year. However, what he was unaware of was how he and his team were unable to perform for the current year. “It isn’t that the year has been a total failure, it just wasn’t as successful as I would have liked it to be. If I was going to rate in on a scale from 0-5, with 0 being no execution and 5 perfect execution, I’d have to give us a 3!” he shared in a Centered Executive Coaching conversation prior to the annual strategic planning meetings the company held each November.  “If I’m so smart, how come I can be so dumb?” he pondered.

SMART Goals, or are They?

As leaders, we’ve all been asked to put together SMART goals for initiatives. Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Specific are benchmark classifications for goal structure. But if that’s the case, and so many of us compile goals in this manner, why do so many end up becoming unattained in review sessions (Hopefully you’re conducting your review sessions weekly/monthly, and not waiting until the end of the year to conduct – DISASTER!)

Shakespeare Would Be Proud, But Your CFO Won’t Be!

In reviewing goals that are established prior to our Centered Executive Coaching initiatives, we typically see them fall in one of two camps. Either (1) they are extremely short… 2-3 sentences at best. On the other hand, (2) they appear to be influenced by the great literary novelists and go on and on and on and on… Well, you get the point. Too short and goals couldn’t possibly contain the SMART criteria necessary to help structure the processes/implementation/sustainment initiatives needed. Too long, and you run into a “stimulus overload” scenario with little/no concrete direction being provided.

What’s a DUMB Leader To Do?

One of the key elements that we structure into each/every Centered Executive Coaching initiative is to put in place a series of metrics that are reviewed daily/weekly/monthly. Think of the most important key performance indicators that you identified in your strategic planning session (You DID identify Key Performance Indicators – KPIs, right?) If you’re measuring your progress, which might not always be in a positive direction, you’ve at least given yourself the leadership chance of succeeding. Why review so frequent? We’ve found that daily check-ins help identify derailment moments, keep focus on the initiative at hand and big picture simultaneously, and encourage high production levels.

SUMMARY

If you’re a leader and your struggling because your SMART goals are actually DUMB, all is not lost. Implement a rigid metric-oriented quality control program consisting of your key performance indicators. Consistent review of metrics will insure operational alignment towards strategic planning goal attainment.

Centered Executive Coaching Questions

Considering a goal from your strategic planning meeting, ask yourself the following:

SPECIFIC

  • Is our target specific?
  • In which ways?
  • Could it be broken down to the stakeholder level?

MEASURABLE

  • Is our target measurable?
  • What are the key performance indicators that we should track?
  • What would our stakeholders say is important?

ATTAINABLE

  • Is our goal attainable in the give timeframe?
  • What is the timeframe?
  • Why is this timeframe important?
  • What is at risk if we don’t accomplish in this timeframe?

REALISTIC

  • Is our goal realistic?
  • Has it ever been accomplished before?
  • What additional resources (human capital, technology, etc.) is required to accomplish?

If you’d like to know more about the Tip of the Spear Ventures’ Business Advisory Services, including Centered Executive Coaching, Leadership Development through The Leadership Challenge methodology, and our award winning Communication Skills Training for Leaders Series use the CONTACT US page of this website.

The Leadership Challenge: Are You Climbing the Leadership Mountain?

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The Point: How do you envision your job as a leader? One of the leaders we work with at Tip of the Spear recently answered this question with a metaphor: Leadership is like climbing a mountain. If that’s the case for you also, then ask yourself; Where are you climbing to? Where are you on the mountain? Are there days where you make progress, or did you regress? Who’s helping you along the way? Will you ever reach the summit? We put together the following post to share our thoughts on how ascending ‘’Leadership Mountain’ can be conducted effectively/efficiently/effortlessly… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge- Are You Climbing the Leadership Mountain?
George Leigh Mallory, Stakeholders, and Sherpa (His ‘Executive Coach’) prepare to climb Mount Everest (1922)

Preparing to Climb

Climbing leadership mountain can, and should be considered quite the leadership development task. While most leaders would prefer to start at the base camp level and simply work their way up, unfortunately this would spell disaster. The reason for this disaster is that climbing leadership mountain actually needs to begin in the preparation phase. In other words, you’ve got to get yourself in position to climb before you ever take the first step on the mountain. Preparation should consist of accomplishing the right physical, mental, rest, and stress states.

Base Camp

So you’ve arrived at Base Camp. Perhaps this is your first leadership assignment, a new role within the same organization, or perhaps a fresh start at a new organization. Regardless, know that the decisions you make in the first 100-days will spell disaster or dictate success for you. The direction of your climb, the goal per day, etc. will play a key part in your climb.

The Climb

The climb itself is typically one of ups, as well as downs. You will visit many crevasses, determine that the steepness of the grade is not climbable, and even encounter climate change that will attempt to push you off course. Determining your best plan forward (or up as it would be) is almost as crucial as who you have around you.

Where are Your Stakeholders?

If you’re going it alone, you’re going to have limited success. Business requires a team, sometimes one that’s close by (proximity) and other times geographically removed (a long way away!) Either way though, their ability to climb with you should be determined pre-climb, as well as periodically throughout the climb. Their own leadership development moments should be addressed along the way.

Do You Have a Sherpa?

If you’re the most experienced climber on the mountain, then you probably will still need/require/want a Sherpa to assist you. We typically engage in executive coaching (our offerings are titled Centered Executive Coaching) with experienced C-Suite Leadership as well as those identified as ‘high potentials’ within organizations looking to grow their own. We’ve identified goals, established dashboards (metric measurement tools for organizations), and insured that progress was made so as to accomplish results on-time and on-target!

Reaching the Summit

The goal of any climb is to achieve the summit. But what then? A leader who masters such climbs recently reported to us that there’s always another mountain to climb. It’s a response in like-kind to that of the ‘Why did you climb the Mount Everest?’ question posed to George Leigh Mallory in 1923. At the time of his Mount Everest climb, no one had ever achieved the summit – the highest peak on the planet. After two failed attempts in 1921 and 1922, he informed the New York Times reporter that asked ‘Because it’s there.’

Summary

So you’ve decided that you’re ready to climb ‘Leadership Mountain’ have you? Here are a few Centered Executive Coaching questions that we’d have you consider:

Centered Executive Coaching

  • Why are you climbing ‘Leadership Mountain’?
  • What’s in it for you?
  • What plans will you make before your climb?
  • What contingency plans will you prepare for in your climb, just in case things don’t go as planned.
  • Who is going to help you during your climb?
  • What happens when you make it to the top (or if you don’t make it this time, as George Leigh Hillary never made it)?

If you’d like to know more about the Tip of the Spear Ventures’ Business Advisory Services, including Centered Executive Coaching, Leadership Development through The Leadership Challenge methodology, and our award winning Communication Skills Training for Leaders Series use the CONTACT US page of this website.

The Leadership Challenge: They Want You To Fail! 8 Leadership Tips to Overcome Failure

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The Point: We’ve all heard the failure-to-success stories that propel us with optimism. For example, Steve Jobs fired from Apple, reloads at Pixar and ultimately returns to take a bight out of the Apple (and the World’s economy for that matter!) It’s with sports fanatic revelry that leaders who overcome failure are hailed, right? After all, who doesn’t like the long-shot coming from behind to win it all! But why did the leaders fail in the first place? What if it was from everyone wanting them to fail? With this in mind we put together the following post, along with eight (8) tips to help you, the leader, overcome… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge- They Want You To Fail! 8 Leadership Tips to Overcome Failure

The Profit (Double-Entendre)

Marcus Lemonis of CNBC’s ‘The Profit’ show weekly identifies a business that is failing, sometimes more miserable than others, strikes a deal for ownership stake after putting down his own money, and then works to help the company rise from the proverbial economic ashes a la The Phoenix. The fairy tale ending ensues… The business owner (typically small family owned) primarily reduces stress and debt, organizations head in a different direction, and Marcus gets filthy rich! Roll the end of show credits!

But what if the family actually acted to undermine Marcus? What if like most organizations there was the typical in-fighting and employee undermining or stabbing in the back? What if they wanted him to fail?

Who Wants You To Succeed?

As a leader you have the dubious task of getting out of bed each morning, getting dressed, and looking yourself in the mirror and providing your best Lombardi-like pep talk. Here’s one of those pep-talks a leader I work with provides himself with daily:

“Good morning handsome! Today, you will be unstoppable. Others will try to get in your way. However, you will overcome their obstacles to achieve the goals that you’ve laid out for yourself. You are smart, talented, and great at what you do for a living. I love you… Go make it a great day!”

From the above, you could look at this as perhaps the narcissistic moment of the post. Or, you could look at this as the intended direction which is typically the only person that wants you to succeed is… Drum roll please… Yourself!

8 Leadership Tips To Overcome Failure

So what can you do as a leader to overcome failure? We polled those we currently work with and assembled the following 8 leadership tips to overcome failure.

Leadership Tip #8 – Own Your Leadership: You simply must walk your talk as a leader. If you don’t… How can anyone else? Perhaps more importantly, if you don’t own your leadership why would anyone want to assist you in leading?

Leadership Tip #7 – Find Peace: If you know who you are, where you are going, and have a plan for how you will get there find peace in what you’re attempting to do. Nervousness makes for an interesting comedy sitcom, but not the best leadership moment.

Leadership Tip #6 – Trust Yourself: Similar to Leadership Tip #8, if you don’t trust yourself why would others trust you. Perhaps the single-most important element of leadership is the trust others have in you. With it, you’ll achieve great things. Without it, well we’ll see you on The Profit!

Leadership Tip #5 – Listen Actively: If you are a leader that speaks all the time and spends none of it listening to your stakeholders (as we recommend in our Centered Executive Coaching programs), you’re not going to have many follow you. After all, why would they if you don’t get their input? You’re probably doing everything yourself anyway!

Leadership Tip #4 – Think Critically: I hesitated when the first leader brought this up (There were more than one!) Here’s why: If the goal of a leader isn’t to think critically, how are they thinking? Perhaps another way of saying this is to think objectively to arrive at solutions.

Leadership Tip #3 – Influence for Engagement: If your workplace is like many of the leaders we work with at Tip of the Spear, there is a spirit of disengagement. Use the principles of influence to get engagement.

Leadership Tip #2 – Be Positive: Inevitably, the chips will not fall in your favor. Do not let that cause your attitude (which determines your altitude) to drop.

Leadership Tip #1 – Communicate with Influence: In Leadership Tip #3 we talked about using the principles of influence to engage those around you. In order to do so, you’re going to need to communicate with influence!

SUMMARY

Why not right your own television series each and every day? A television series played out in real life where you, the leadership hero, is victorious in everything you do! I hope these 8 leadership tips to overcome failure allow you to achieve more.

If you’d like to know more about the Tip of the Spear Ventures’ Business Advisory Services, including Centered Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, and Communication Skills Training for Leaders Series use the CONTACT US page of this website.