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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.

The Leadership Challenge: Finding More Hours in the Day (Time Management)

September 5, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: This is 3^rd installment in The Leadership Challenge series, and perhaps the most important. Time management is a grave leadership challenge… meaning that it can be very serious if not attended to, or cause you to crawl into one! So much has been written and spoken about Time Management that you need to spend a lot of time studying it! But since Time Management is crucial to leadership development, here are five (5) essential tips on making more of your 24-hour days… Enjoy!

Tip #5: Defining Terms

To use time to your advantage, you first have to clarify what time really is. If you read books and download apps on managing clock time, then you are not going to achieve anything. All time is relative. Time for a leader is any duration where they get work done. Everything else stems from this definition.

Tip #4: Analyze your Time

Take a sample duration of how you currently spend your time, let’s say a week. For seven (7) days, monitor your schedule and track all your conversations and activities. This will enable you to see how much time in a work-week you actually spend doing things that produce results and justify your position in the organization. Step-by-step, you have to maximize the instances where you are productive, and vice versa.

Tip #3: (Don’t) Test your Limits

Let’s face it; you are not Superman. There is only so much you can excel at with a human mind and body. So instead of pulling yourself in all directions (like handling marketing, HR, and customer relations on your own), focus on what you do best and leave the rest for others on your team according to their expertise. Leaders are not good at everything, they just work with the best people and delegate/hold accountable for results.

Tip #2: Plan your Time Off Work

It has often been seen that people in leadership roles take too much work on themselves and only take off when their bodies give up. That is no way to live. You should be proactive and manage your breaks. This doesn’t only mean your annual vacations. You should take brief (yet focused) breaks throughout the day to give your muscles and brain cells time to rejuvenate.

Tip #1: Plan for Interruptions

Even the best managers cannot control changes in government policies, adverse weather conditions, changing economic climate, and personal problems (Remember that Open Door Policy you enacted?) Just like you get yourself insured for emergency situations, leave some space in your schedule for these interruptions. Otherwise, you will be caught unaware/unable to fulfill commitments made.

Summary

To sum up, time is a luxury for a leader. In order to keep yourself productive without burning out, follow these five (5) tips to manage it efficiently. And keep following the Tip of the Spear blog to learn how to be a better leader!

For more information about 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.

Results from Stakeholder Centered Coaching

September 4, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: The demand for leadership training is growing by the day, and there are dozens, if not thousands of training programs out there attempting to meet this demand. But which one should you choose for your organization? In the end, it all boils to one thing: RESULTS! In this article, we are going to discuss Stakeholder Centered Coaching (SCC) and identify real results you can expect if you engage in an initiative with Tip of the Spear… Enjoy!

Stakeholder Centered Coaching: The Basics

SCC works as follows: Under the guidance of a coach, a leader asks stakeholders of the organization to assess his strengths and weaknesses (A 360-degree review). Once results are tabulated/analysis is done, one (1) or at most two (2) areas of “opportunity” are selected to improve upon.

As the leader works towards their goals through executive coaching sessions. Additionally, they ask for regular feedback from the stakeholders on their progress. This helps the leader work towards/accomplish behavioral change. After the coaching engagement ends (the typical executive coaching engagement lasts a year), the same stakeholders assess whether the leadership development goals have been achieved or not.

The program design is simple and it is highly effective. You may be thinking that such centered executive coaching would already be doing rounds in the corporate world, but that is not the case. That is why Dr Marshall Goldsmith’s SCC is truly revolutionary in its offerings.

Purported Results

SCC brings improvements in various leadership development areas, such as:

Communication

You learn to be more articulate, and also more assertive of your opinions. You also learn to become a better listener. Conflict management is also a goal that SCC can help you with. All of this helps in timely decision making that is typically welcomed whole-heartedly by your team.

Mentoring and Disciplinarian

This follows from becoming a better communicator. You learn to manage teams, nurture talent, and use disciplinary measures when needed.

Leadership

SCC ultimately helps you become a better leader as you learn how to delegate effectively, take calculated risks, hold others accountable for results, and deal with performance issues on a timely basis.

Real People | Real Results

But while all these benefits look great on paper, are there any success stories?

As per Marshall Goldsmith’s SCC website, 95% of leaders who pay heed to what their stakeholders have to say experience measurable improvements. The conclusion was based on a survey that involved more than 10,000 leaders from around the world, some of whom have gone on record to testify to the effectiveness of Stakeholder Centered Executive Coaching. Our own results at Tip of the Spear regarding our Centered Executive Coaching mirror such successes.

Summary

The results are in! SCC really helps leaders lead better, provided that it’s done by a certified coach. So, if you want to bring measurable improvements into your leadership behavior (and hence your organizational goals), you need to hire a certified coach right away.

For more information on Centered Executive Coaching, the other Tip of the Spear Business Advisory Services, and/or information on leadership development through our affiliation with The Javelin Institute, use the Contact Us page.

The Leadership Challenge: Crucial Conversations with Your Worst Employees

September 4, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: We’ve all been there before as a leader… How do you effectively manage your worst employees? Every organization has them, right? They come in with a negative attitude and spread out like the ebola virus. The more negativity in the workplace, the less productivity there will be for you/your organization. So how do you effectively manage these “difficult” employees is a crucial leadership challenge. Here are some practical steps you can use to successfully identify/overcome this leadership dilemma… Enjoy!

Identifying Problem Areas

There are some defining traits of bad employees. To start off, they exhibit negative emotions toward the organization, and never miss an opportunity to make snide remarks about company leaders or co-workers. As mentioned above, such negativity can easily spread like the ebola virus in the work place.

This could eventually turns into insubordination, where the employee might refuse to perform a task, and in doing so, disrupt the entire workflow.

Secondly, bad employees also start or aggravate disputes in the workplace, thereby creating an uncomfortable team setting. This also makes problem resolution harder.

Thirdly, even if an employee isn’t overly negative and exhibit the traits described above, they may still be lazy and unmotivated. They neither focus on their work, nor let anyone do the same.

Assessing the Costs

Whenever you start to think that dealing with bad employees isn’t worth your time, remember that doing so can save your organization the expense of unnecessary hiring costs. The average cost to replace an employee is estimated at 150 percent of their annual compensation, and the cost is higher if they hold a leadership role.

Dealing with Bad Employees

Finding the source of bad employee’s bad attitude can help you manage behaviors without making them more upset. You have to consider factors like how does the employee interact with others in the workforce. You should also assess whether the change in attitude has followed a change in company policy, or their individual/personal workload. Many times, something happens in the individual’s life that triggers their bad attitude.

Once you know the root cause, confront the difficult employee privately and respectfully. Let the employee know how his or her behavior is negatively impacting the team and productivity. You have to be firm and discipline bad employees, but make it a point to keep the conversation professional and constructive!

Summary

To sum up, having crucial conversations with bad performers in your workforce is critical not only to the smooth working of your organizational operation, but also to your success as a leader.

To find out more about Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services, including Leadership Development through The Leadership Challenge, please use the Contact Us page.

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