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The Leadership Challenge: Do as I Say, NOT as I Do – 4 Tips

September 30, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Sometimes being a leader is easy, but in those easy moments sometimes you lead others astray! For example, you can share with others how they can properly lead themselves and their teams. However, the leadership challenge is your words will be without merit if you don’t back them up with significant action. If you want people to do the “right” things as leaders in your organization, you should look to lead them in words and action… Enjoy!

At Tip of the Spear, we get to see all different types of leadership moments at play in a variety of different organizations. One such moment is when a leader encourages others to “Do as I Say, NOT as I Do.” Leaders talk a great game, yet when push comes to shove and the rubber meets the road, it’s easy to forget to practice what they preach.

Let’s Break Do vs. Say Down

Here’s an example of the leadership challenge. I was having a conversation with a senior executive who was giving advice to a new manager. He shared some insights of managing and leading that he himself doesn’t employ. It was your classic case of “Do as I say, NOT as I do!” Here is our example in a “Say” versus “Do” structure:

Say – Our leader shared how to motivate the team (or stakeholders) through moments of recognition and inspiration.
Do – Our leader’s style was to intimidate and haze others in communication (verbal and electronic).

As you can imagine, as a result, others are mirroring his style and negatively impacting the workplace. Here’s the ironic part… Our leader never recognizes nor holds others accountable for their actions (let alone himself!) Is there any reason employee engagement is one of the lowest we’ve ever seen?

What Would the Kardashian’s Do?

As a leader, all eyes are constantly on you. You’re like a celebrity with the paparazzi waiting to see your next move. Unfortunately, your PR Agent (think Chris Jenner-Kardashian) has not scripted your every move and staged the entire affair for you in front of perfectly positioned paparazzi. Whether you believe this “all eyes on you all the time” moment is fair or not, this is the life of a leader. People are more likely to try to emulate you, versus listen to what you say and adapt those words of wisdom into their own style.

How to Say What Your Going to Do, and Do It! 4 Tips

So, what can you do to improve and help others grow? Here are 4 Tips to help you in your “Do as I say, Say what I do” moments:

Recognize Your Opportunities – Identify those incongruent words and actions and what needs to change. Seek input from stakeholders (Your peers, superiors and subordinates). Once you identify the “gaps” create actions to shrink them.
Create a Plan for Change – How can you create habits so that the alignment of your words and actions comes naturally, and supports not only who you are but who you ideally want to be.
Seek Help from a Coach – Seek guidance and perspective from an impartial third party by hiring an executive coach. We’ve worked with thousands of leaders that had a difficult time following their own advice (Of course, this was pointed out typically by someone on their staff or in their private lives). At Tip of the Spear, we developed our Centered Executive Coaching process around you, the leader.
Take One Day/Conversation at a Time – Take this process in small chunks and make a conscious effort every day to make one change at a time. Biting off more than you can “chew” could lead to frustration, and that’s not a good thing for anyone involved.

Summary – Let Me Clear My Throat!

Change is not easy and you will have your ups and downs. Know this much as well: Change is not impossible! Set realistic expectations for your perfections. You’re never going to be perfect anyway! By being better yourself, you’ll get the desired results for yourself and your team. Remember, they will continue to watch what you do and do likewise. At the end of every day take time to reflect on what you did well and what you want to improve upon tomorrow. Each morning, commit to improving and work throughout the day to “talk the talk” and “walk the walk” on your leadership development journey!

If you’d like more information on Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services, including Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, and Communication Skills Training for Leaders, use the CONTACT US page of this website.

Leadership Development: Are You a SIMPLE Leader?

September 19, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: With all the latest-greatest innovations in leadership development, have you positioned yourself as a leader to fully capitalize on those offerings? If you’re like most of the leaders that we engage with at Tip of the Spear, the answer is a disappointing “No.” Even with so many “bells” and “whistles” available, there also seems to be an avoidance of returning to “simple” leadership moments (You know, the ones that reflect 2+2=4 in management decision making – and basic math!) In this post, we’ll point out three (3) ways in which you can become “simpler” (and that’s a good thing)… Enjoy!

At Tip of the Spear, we view Leadership development is a “continuous improvement” process. One where even leaders performing at the peak of their “game” realize that there is no finish line. However, along those lines there seems to be missing the “simple” moments. Therefore, here is a list of three Simple Leader Rules to aid you in adding “simpler” to your routine as a leader:

Simple Leader Rule #1 – Be Prepared

We believe that a prepared mind encounters no new obstacles (and as Louis Pasteur stated in the 1800’s “Fortune Favors the Prepared Mind.”) So what should you prepare for as a leader? Here is a list of our favorite learning moments from the past week that a leader stated in one of our Centered Executive Coaching sessions:

Know where you’ve been? – What happened yesterday, and knowing what you know now versus then what would you do the same/different?
What are your short-term goals? – These are most pressing to accomplish within the three month to one year timeline. As such, keep them front/present in your vantage point and allow those activities/decisions to be forefront in your leadership moments.
What are your long-term goals? – While the timeline for these is typically greater than one year (or twelve months out), these “larger” items should also be reflected/considered in the short-term decisions you make.
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate! – Yes, you will be called on throughout each day to put out the occasional (hopefully!) fire. Know that this is the opportunity to delegate to your senior leadership the responsibility to put out such fires. Keep in mind that you will have to “buckle-back” and hold these leaders and subordinates accountable for their decision making/actions taken.

Simple Leader Rule #2 – Plan Your Day

If you don’t plan your day, your day will plan you! Here is a list that you should include in the final thirty minutes of every workday (copy/paste into your electronic calendar, and set it to repeat Monday through Friday, or whatever your work-week looks like):

Things to do
People to see
Places to go
People to contact
Things to discuss with others
Things to delegate to others

During the this planning activity, ensure that you:

Recap the day (check off as complete or reschedule items on your To Do list)
File all new items, information, commitments
Plan the next day using the list above
Arrive home on time with next day planning preparedness

Simple Leader Rule #3 – Keep It Simple!

Back to the example that we provided in The Tip overview for this post, that being 2+2=4. If you know this to be true (and if you don’t we might have even larger problems), then why would you believe anything else to be the case? We typically see leaders that even in knowing that 2+2=4 accept from their senior leadership results/effort/energy that is typically short (2+2=3?) and rarely long (2+2=5?). If the basics of math hold true repeatedly (don’t even get us started on the laws of physics and an object in motion!), then why would you accept moments that are deviant of anything but?

There’s something to be said about the leader with prepared mind that plans their day. More times than not, they are more successful. Now there have been those that in spite of their best planning efforts have come up shy, we see this as a short-term occurrence (in other words it’s not permanent). As such, we hope that as a leader you simplify your day/week/month/year(s) in order to succeed.

If you’d like more information on Tip of the Spear Business Advisory Services, including Leadership Development, Centered Executive Coaching, and Communication Skills Training for Leaders please use the Contact Us page of this website.

“Mighty Midsized Companies – How Leaders Overcome 7 Silent Growth Killers” by Robert Sher

September 6, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Every once in awhile, there is a book that comes along that should be considered “must reading” for every leader. Robert Sher’s latest work (“Mighty Midsized Companies”) is just such reading. Loaded with tips, techniques, and even a few tricks that every leader (regardless of organization size/position therein) could benefit from reading. I challenge you to read just one of the “7 Silent Growth Killers” Sher relates and identify three (3) actions to implement in your organization ASAP… You’ll thank me (and Robert of course!)… Enjoy!

The Seven Deadly Sins that Will Kill Your Company!

I just read cover-to-cover Robert Sher’s latest work, appropriately titled “Mighty Midsized Companies.” While the target audience is squarely in the C-Suite of midsized companies ($10 million to $1 billion annual revenue), the lessons are equally applicable to leaders everywhere regardless of their organization’s size. In the work, Sher describes seven leadership “silent growth killers” (SGKs) that often “slip in and set up shop” leading to organizational direction questioning, action plan second guessing, and limited/reverse revenue growth.

The 7 Silent Growth Killers

In my work with leaders in the INC 500 space and beyond, I’ve unfortunately seen each of the following SGKs that prohibit organizations (and leaders for that matter) from achieving their full potential:

SGK #1: Letting Time Slip-Slide Away
SGK #2: Strategy Tinkering at the Top
SGK #3: Reckless Attempts at Growth
SGK#4: Fumbling Strategic Acquisitions
SGK #5: Operational Meltdowns
SGK #6: Liquidity Crashes
SGK #7: Tolerating Dysfunctional Leaders

A Leadership Development Opportunity?

With my focus primarily on leadership development and executive coaching with the organizations I serve, I was particularly interested in Silent Growth Killer #7 (Tolerating Dysfunctional Leaders). I’ve seen far too often the “dysfunctional” moment Robert describes in excruciating detail occur in the organizations I work with. Moments of tolerance for those that previously achieved long ago“hero” status in the organization, the brash new leader that disrupts/disorganizes/devastates the existing culture and morale, a lack of timeliness to current market directions, disregard for customer/client understanding/desires/demands, and the preference to “dance” with the devil/leader you know (opposed to the devil you don’t!)

Why Tolerate the Dysfunctional Leader?

At the heart of this SGK on leadership, Robert does a nice job of outlining the primary flaws of dysfunctional leadership, and provides solid/straight-forward recommendations for future direction. The focal aspect my mentor Dr. Marshall Goldsmith would recommend when it comes to personnel (i.e., “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”). Also outlined is an accountability plan for leaders that should be reviewed weekly/monthly/quarterly to ensure this killer remains a non-threat.

It’s in this “accountability” piece that I often see leaders not holding others feet to the fire! Similar to Richard Tedlow’s work in “Denial: Why Business Leaders Fail to Look Facts in the Face – and What to Do About It” there more times than not exists a level of unfounded/unjust loyalty to those that have gotten you to current business levels than is required even when the facts are staring you squarly in the face. As such, Sher outlines not only how you should evaluate whether it’s time to “develop or discard” as well as if you must/should discard how you can go about replacing key leadership positions with efficiency.

An Instant Classic for Leaders!

“Mighty Midsized Companies” will become cornerstone reading for my client base. The lessons are far too valuable in recognition and simply put what you should do about it if you find yourself as a leader in such an organization.

For more information on Robert Sher’s “Mighty Midsized Companies” CLICK HERE to head to Amazon.com. If you’d like more information on Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services, consisting of Centered Executive Coaching and Leadership Development offerings, use the CONTACT US page on this website.

Are You Too Scared to Lead? 10 Tips to Overcome Leadership Fear

September 5, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: If you always operate in the “safe” zone, you’re probably not going to achieve much! At Tip of the Spear, we work with some of the best leaders in the world. Now not all of them initially came to us that way (some organizational sponsors would argue 180-degrees divergent from “best”!) Overcoming leadership fear is a key aspect of your career trajectory. Disregard and live in fear, and your career is likely to stall/crash/burn. Pay attention and conquer, and you may know no limits! The following post provides an overview of why you might be scared as a leader, and provides 10 tips to assist you in overcoming leadership fear… Enjoy!

If You’re Scared, Say You’re Scared and Move On!

When I lived in New Orleans, Louisiana we had a saying… “If you’re scared, say you’re scared and move on!” Believe me, as a first-time leader there were plenty of moments of doubt, fears, and even a few tears. It wasn’t until I had multiple encounters (read that “I’m a slow learner” or just stubborn) that I finally did something about the way I was leading from a fear position. Leading from a fear position caused my decisions and ensuing actions to be far short of their potential success. I realized that I was giving way too much credit to the concept of fear. I changed the way that I perceived fear and the way it affected me.

Lead from the Front

I began a process of transition by which I started initiating my own projects, establishing goals/objectives aligned with corporate directives, and preparing/feeling mentally strong. I think something that many of us don’t realize as leaders is that everyone is scared at one point or the other. What separates winners from losers typically is how you deal with the fear. Some could argue that dealing with fear is similar to an addiction… It could very well be a constant battle. Experts in the medical arena say that an addict considers themselves an addict for life and the fear of leading then could be one that never truly goes away. However, the more you lead, the better you will be able to deal with facing fears head on. It’s unrealistic to think that you can get over the fear of leading if you don’t ever lead, right?

With leading from the front in mind, here are 10 tips to overcome leadership fear:

Tip #10: Remind Yourself That You’re Safe

Often times the leaders we meet with at Tip of the Spear believe that there decisions are life or death. Not to play up the difference, but typically the leaders aren’t making live/don’t live decisions in their businesses. As such, remind yourself that you’re operating in a relatively “safe” environment and that your decisions are not fatal if not executed properly.

Tip #9: Identify Real Danger and/or Irrational Fear

Let’s face it, some projects simply have more riding on their success than others. So prioritize your fears accordingly. If there is relatively no danger, stop putting yourself through the paces of making a bigger deal than the situation deserves.

Tip #8: Build Stakeholder Trust

In our Centered Executive Coaching programs, we typically elicit participation from a leaders stakeholders (i.e., Their peers, subordinates, and superiors). One thing that we’ve seen time and again is that fear escalates when there is little/no trust existing between the leader and their stakeholders. Stephen R. Covey wrote a great book titled “The Speed of Trust” in which he details out ways in which leaders (or anyone for that matter) can build trust. NOTE: This is not an overnight project, so establish an appropriate timeline!

Tip #7: Eliminate Distractions

I’m currently participating with several leaders on an experiment regarding distractions. The project hypothesis is that if you can create a distraction free environment, you’ll be more productive as a leader. The results so far are promising (Leaders that eliminate distractions at work appear to be nearly 1/3 more productive than their distracted peers).

Tip #6: Get Efficient at _____ (fill in the blank)

If you want to overcome fear, increase your knowledge, access appropriate tools, and practice continually. One of the leaders we work with was simply lousy at project management (Their annual performance reviews pointed that this was one of their primary weaknesses, causing their career to plateau). A few project management books later, a certification from the Project Management Institute, and executing what they’d learned and you’d never know that this was a weakness.

Tip #5: Breathe

Yes, I said it… You might want to remember to take a deep breath or three when you feel the anxiety of fear creeping into play. Studies show that taking several deep breaths allows you to once again gain clarity/increase focus on what’s really happening/important.

Tip #4: Stop Pretending

You’re a leader and you don’t want to come off weak to your stakeholders (What type of leadership development program did you participate in if you are?) We get it… Unfortunately, puffing your chest out and “pretending” that you know everything all the time is putting you in a worse position than necessary. Be transparent about what you know/don’t know and ask for help.

Tip #3: Block Out Fear

Once you’ve established that you might be irrational when it comes to fear and the affect it has on you, recognize those moments and block it out. Practice for these situations to do your best work, and visualize what success will look like.

Tip #2: Fail

What? Yes, that’s right… You should be pushing yourself above/beyond the fear of failing. If you’re not pushing yourself enough so that you encounter failure every once in awhile you’re probably not pushing yourself hard enough.

Tip #1: Reflect for Success

Conduct a debrief with yourself at the conclusion of every day. Ask yourself what you would do the same, different, add to, etc.

Summary

Fear is a normal occurrence for a leader. Those that are successful participate in leadership development (either formal or informal) in order to overcome their fear of failing. We hope that the proceeding ten tips equip you with techniques to assist you and your leadership efforts.

For more information on Tip of the Spear Business Advisory Services including Centered Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, and Communication Skills Training for Leaders use the Contact Us page of this website.

When Leadership Development Fails: Why Stakeholder Centered Coaching Succeeds!

September 5, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, consider leadership development training as something critical to their success. This is evidenced by the time and money (a staggering $14 billion per year as of January 2014) spent on leadership development. Not to mention, courses on leadership offered in educational institutions across the county also cost several thousand dollars each to participate in. Why then do we see leadership development failing? In this post we’ll investigate why this is so, and how Stakeholder Centered Coaching is a better (or best) alternative… Enjoy!

3 Reasons for Failure

Reason #3: Not Assessing Leadership Needs Accurately

More often than not, leadership programs are initiated without any clear goal in mind. Ideally, current and future business needs should be the driving force behind coaching programs.

Reason #2: No Support from the Executive Team

No leadership development training (Not even Centered Executive Coaching!) can become successful without the support of the executive team. The executive team should be there when the needs and outcomes of the program are being decided upon. This is necessary to further link the leadership development goals to those of the organization.

Reason #1: No Implementation Plan

This is perhaps the most crucial factor. When a leadership training program is starting, it is easy to get caught up in its short-term impact. The launch is exciting, and you are mentally stimulated throughout the duration of the training. However, if there is no implementation plan on how the positive effects generated through the training are to be sustained, then the whole program would be an exercise in futility.

Why SCC Fares Better?

Stakeholder Centered Coaching proves to be more effective than most leadership programs out there precisely because this system, pioneered by Marshall Goldsmith, avoids the leadership development mistakes listed above. Results are identified in early stages of the initiative, and driven towards throughout.

Furthermore, stakeholders (those active in the organization) are participants in the process, not just passive bystanders. Along with the leader and coach, a lot of emphasis is placed on stakeholder feedback (Hence the name!) These stakeholders are the best “experts” in how the leader’s behavior can improve. The coach then takes a backseat and helps the leader improve their behavior in line with what those around them want.

Long lasting behavior change occurs when a leader’s needs are assessed accurately, and improvement is achieved in a team setting, a team that both recognizes and supports that change. This is what SCC is all about!

Summary

To sum up, leadership development fails because the program is not designed to highlight the real areas that need improvement, and no system is set in place for long-term change. However, when you link direct business results to stakeholder driven changes in behavior, as in the case of SCC, it creates a system where everyone is driven towards the same goal.

To learn more about Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services, including Centered Executive Coaching, use the Contact Us page of this website.

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