leadership development

The Leadership Challenge: Developing Creativity and Initiative

August 13, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: We want to hire/create the best leaders. The main elements that highlight and distinguish leaders from others are their creative thinking and an urge to take initiative. Great leaders are known for utilizing their critical thinking capacity, and thinking out of the box. They utilize their talents to aspire and reach out for the stars, something which others can’t even dream of! Creativity and initiative are the critical elements of a leadership development program… Enjoy!

A true leader is driven and exerts all efforts to successfully achieve their goals and ambitions. A leadership development endeavor should include a drive for taking initiative and utilizing creative thinking for acquiring excellence in the field. What is the leadership challenge then, right?

Leadership Development And Creativity

Aspiring to implement leadership development in an organization is a creative step in itself. Leadership development programs ensure prompting creative and critical thinking in an individual, being trained as a future leader.

To infuse creativity in an individual, the leadership development program ensures the adoption of a variety of tasks and additional responsibilities for the future leader, which trains them for the creative skills required in their organizational position.

360 degree feedback, formal coaching and job assignments are some methods and activities through which organizations strive to polish the creative skills of an individual being developed as a future leader. (Cauley & Velsor, 2004)

As creativity is a core distinguishing element of a good leader, every good and effective leadership developmentprogram ensures thorough polishing of these skills through vigorous efforts.

Initiative And Leadership Development

Taking initiative and exhibiting the drive to take the plunge, is a factor which is deemed necessary for every future leader. The need to try out new ideas, learn about different techniques and methods and taking responsibility to take a risk, are vital and an essential skill of every leader.

An individual who does not try something new does not ensure personal development and growth, and this is something which leaders cannot afford to do. Without taking initiative, leaders can become stagnant and idle, and in this fast paced world, a drive and initiative to succeed is of vital importance.

Leadership development programs inspire initiative by encouraging employees to try out new ideas and follow them through. Assigning challenging and rewarding projects which inspire out of the box thinking, and utilization of unique methods, ensures skill development and personal confidence. Mentoring and coaching are effective techniques for prompting employees to take an initiative. New ideas and the initiative to try out something unique and ensure success, is one feature of an individual, which marks it as different from all the other leaders in the industry. A leader with a will to succeed and ensure personal and career growth, is one who can elevate an organization to new and superior heights in the industry, and ensure its prosperity and business expansion.

Summary

While developing leadership programs to ensure the proper training of the employees in a company, creativity and a drive for taking initiative is given great importance, as they are the sound pillars on which the foundation of leadership is built.

A multi layered and cross generational leadership, one which involves mentoring assistance and intervention is one which is required to instill and polish the creative skills in future leaders. Inspiring and encouraging aspiring leaders to take initiative and take the plunge prompts the development of the required leadership skills, within them.

To learn more about Tip of the Spear Leadership Development offerings, including The Leadership Challenge, CLICK HERE.

The Leadership Challenge: The 10 Most Endangered Leadership Communication Skills

August 12, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Neither you, your company, nor the society at large can function without good leaders. However, one thing we know here at Tip of the Spear is that so much has been said and written on the subject of leadership that it’s easy to be overwhelmed with all the ‘clutter’ out there. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at 10 essential leadership communication skills that are often ignored… Enjoy!

#10: A Horizontal Business Model

Effective leadership communication skills ensure that all members of your workforce are onboard about important business decisions you make. In this way, they all feel part of the organization instead of being treated as isolated and insignificant. Could communication skills training for leaders help in your organization?

#9: Effective Communication Removes Bias

Leaders that are good at communicating are aware of their own biases and are proficient at controlling the egos of fellow managers and team leaders.

#8: The Ability to Take a Joke

Sometimes, a little sense of humor can help you illustrate a unique business solution and soothe any insecurity in your organization (especially in the face of uncertainty!) I worked with one organization that as part of their communication skills training for leaders series brought in comedians from the local comedy club… Brilliant (and FUNNY!)

#7: Taking Disciplinary Action is Necessary

While communication makes all employees feel valued, leaders know when to take disciplinary steps. However, sometimes the right words at the right time are often missing. In short, confrontation is also part of leadership communication skills.

#6: Effective Listening

Being a great communicator doesn’t mean you speak all the time. You also have to be a great listener. This makes your clients, partners, and employees feel valued as you listen to them, ask meaningful questions, and understand their issues. When you listen more, you can respond more effectively to what people expect from you. To read about the one communication skill that is most important in leadership development from one of our previous blog posts, CLICK HERE.

#5: Communication Stems from Confidence

There will come a rainy day in your business… Let’s face it, it will happen! At such times, all eyes are on the leader. When motivation levels drop and stress levels rise, it is your job as the leader to bring back some enthusiasm in the workplace, which can only be achieved by staying calm and confident in your communication.

#4: Effective Communication Stems from Trust

Effective communication means learning to trust your team with your vision, without which you might never achieve next-level success in business. Learning to delegate is a key strength of leaders. Not to mention, when employees are delegated tasks more and more, they feel genuinely motivated to contribute to the company because you’re actually increasing trust levels accordingly.

#3: Honesty

‘Honesty is the best policy’ is an adage for true business leadership. Running a business means facing embarrassments and failures every now and then. Brave leaders are those that step up to the challenge, admit their follies, and face critics.

#2: Communication Breeds Flexibility

When you communicate effectively, your team will better be able to respond to change. Markets and consumers demands change rapidly, and unless you are well connected with your team, achieving results will become more difficult if they are unable to adapt.

#1: Non-Verbal Communication

Finally and most importantly, you need to remember that not all communication is verbal. When you are delivering a speech, training new employees, or listening to your clients, your facial and hand gestures matter a lot, and so does your posture. If you find yourself lacking in this respect, perhaps one of our Communicate with Influence program offerings can help you out (CLICK HERE to review the offerings available).

Summary

As we mentioned, there is so much written/said about communication skills training for leaders. Yet, leadership communication skills don’t seem to be on the rise! We hope that this blog post can act as the leadership development ‘spark’ needed to improve your communication skills as a leader.

For more information on Tip of the Spear’s Business Advisory Services where we specialize in providing communication training for leaders, CLICK HERE.

The Leadership Challenge: The #1 Reason Leadership Development Fails

August 12, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: If you’re seriously considering a leadership training program for yourself/your organization, you can look forward to spending roughly $50,000 per participant (Need proof? Here’s a link to one of Stanford’s Executive Leadership Development programs). If you’re going to throw-down that kind of investment in an individual, you’re definitely going to want to see solid returns in short order! However, time and again, leadership development program after leadership development program seems to come up short on those success metrics. Worse yet, employees who participate often depart the organization around 25% per year over the next five years. So why does leadership development fail so often? In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what we at Tip of the Spear have identified as the number one (#1) reason… Enjoy!

The #1 Reason – It’s the Training

We’re not known at Tip of the Spear for beating around the bush, otherwise we’d be called The Handle Ventures or The Shaft Ventures (neither tested well in our marketing studies!) The number one (#1) reason leadership development fails is the training experience. Back in 2008 I wrote a then (and even now) controversial article that was published in about 100 magazines titled “Should You Fire Your Training Department?” At the time, I sat on the Board of Directors for a Chapter of the American Society of Training & Development (ASTD). With the ASTD’s recent rebranding to The Association for Talent Development (ATD?), I guess even they were trying to get away from the stigma associated with training in the modern business environment!

So What Went Wrong… You Like Training Don’t You?

If you’re like me, you probably attended a training session or two over your career. Believe me, while I was the “odd” one in the room that actually looked forward to the experience (I mean who doesn’t like to learn something new, right?), my peers were typically far from excited. So let’s start at the very beginning and say that Training typically involved people being herded to an event instead of volunteering. The act of having people participate against there will actually turned the events into more of a hostage scenario than a welcomed part of their individual development plan (You have an IDP, don’t you?)

Clouded Learning? It’s the Training & Trainers Fault!

Regardless of hostage/volunteer status of the participants, the only people that sometimes seemed less prepared for the training were the people that were actually instructing the course themselves! Bad visuals (read that as death by PowerPoint) accompanied by lousy presenters only exacerbates the training session. How many times since a training session (go ahead, pick a training session) can you actually recall what was put up on the screen, or what the trainer actually said that was supposed to propel you to a higher state? If you’re like me… and I’ve sat through nearly 1,000+ leadership development sessions, less than a handful of the time. Quite the leadership challenge!

It’s About Implementation/Execution/Action!

To top things off, I want you to look at your office bookshelf and tell me what you see? If you’re like one of our clients (before they started working with Tip of the Spear obviously), you see a bunch of books/binders from training sessions that are sitting their collecting dust. Now I know when you came back from the training session you had every intention of implementing what you action planned out. However, something happened… You came back from the session, put the books/binders up on the shelf… and business happened! That’s right, you went right back to doing what you’d always done the way you always had. So what did you go to training for again?

The Answer: Executive Coaching

When I set out to work with a few organizations back in the late 90’s, I was a little frustrated. I’d worked at a premier consulting firm that produced volumes of solid action plans. However, upon returning to the client organizations to determine implementation success I was often really disappointed. It wasn’t as though all of the wheels had fallen off the implementation vehicle, but at least 1 or 2 had (Read that as 1 or 2 too many!) I knew there had to be a better way, and it presented itself to me one afternoon when one of the participants in a leadership development session asked me if I could coach them… The clouded skies parted and the sun shined down… EUREKA! Just kidding, there was no divine intervention present or maybe there was. I began coaching the individual on implementation/execution/action on the action plan developed during the leadership development program conducted. The results were immediate and powerful! I tested the coaching model over the next year and found this fact: Results from those that experienced executive coaching versus those that did not resulted in 65% better results.

Summary

If you’re frustrated with your leadership development training program returning less than desired results, try adding executive coaching on at the conclusion to ensure that you achieve greater implementation/execution/action!

If you’d like more information on Tip of the Spear’s Leadership Development program offerings, including those that incorporate The Leadership Challenge CLICK HERE.

The Leadership Challenge: Do Your Employees Love or Hate You? (And Does It Matter?)

August 12, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Some times as a leader, you win by winning. However, we’ve recently seen that you can just a successfully win by losing (and lose by winning for that matter!) The attitude and feelings of employees determine if a leader has won the leadership challenge or not! So if you’re a leader looking to more fully engage your employees (or even yourself), you’re in the right spot! While leadership isn’t a popularity contest, it isn’t an “unpopularity” contest either… Enjoy!

Employees: The Greatest Asset or Just a Bunch of Asses?

Employees are the greatest asset of an organization and it is the effort of every company to utilize this asset to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. It is the responsibility of every manager, in a leadership position in the company, to make sure that the employees are satisfied. This in turn leads to high productivity for the organization.

Though it is a common concept that employees are the assigned workers of a company and should be directed/driven to achieve the organizational goals, it is no longer an effective idea. Employees, who are merely used to perform their appointed tasks and treated as a means to achieve an end, tend to grow dissatisfied of the company leadership.

It is the responsibility of the organizational leaders to make sure that the employees remain satisfied and do not learn to “hate the leader”! If the employees hate the leader, they will not be willing to perform their best, whereas if they feel that their leader values them, they will be willing to utilize their efforts to help in the achievement of organizational objectives.

Your Employees Might Hate You If…

It is significantly important for a leader to know whether their team members are satisfied and happy with the relationship they have with their leader or not. There are a number of indicators which highlight the employee attitude towards their leaders, and recognizing them is of great significance. Think of that recent employee engagement survey that Human Resources taughted as the “next best thing” to come out of their department. Or perhaps a 360 degree review which was completed on your behalf (and unbeknownst to you!)

I Don’t Get No Respect!

Rodney Dangerfield might have said it (though we doubt he said it first), but the saying might be a true feeling held by your associates. What if you don’t respect them? With no respect and dignity, employees cannot be induced to give high performance. Now that’s quite the leadership challenge!

Leadership = Baby Sitting (NOT!)

Another problem why employees tend to hate their leaders is that they know how to manage their own work and feel that the constant interruptions tend to disrupt their efforts. So the next time you put on your leadership-micromanagement hat, you might want to think again.

What’s My Motivation (or Recognition?)

An employee might also not feel satisfied if they do not receive due recognition for their efforts. Recognition can come in a variety of formats… Money, time off, announcement at the monthly department meeting, etc. Appreciation is a great motivating factor, and any leader who does not offer this basic need could be “hated” by their employees.

Whereas, Your Employees Might Love You If……

Employees might feel inspired and motivated to perform at their best, if they feel that their leaders take an interest in their personal career as well as organizational development. (Katcher, 2006) Employee training and development is one feature which prompts employee loyalty in a leader.

Employees who have confidence in their leaders to take the best and right decision for them, “love their leaders” and are willing to exert effort for them.

Does Employee Attitude Matter?

If an employee is contented and satisfied, it will have a positive impact on their productivity and motivation. Employee attitude has a great effect on company success, which makes it essential that a leader should inspire a positive response from their team members.

Summary

To ensure quality leadership and success in the leadership challenge, it is essential to keep employee feelings in consideration and thus ensure organizational success.

To learn more about Tip of the Spear Leadership Development offerings, including The Leadership Challenge, CLICK HERE.

The Most Important Leadership Communication Skills Training You Must Have!

August 8, 2014 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: At Tip of the Spear, based on our research it is an undisputed fact that when it comes to traits that define a successful leader, communication ranks at the very top! However, communication is itself a vast subject which can further be divided into several skills/subcategories. In this blog post, we discuss why listening is the most important leadership communication skill, and why it should be a core component of every communication skills training for leaders… Enjoy!

Listening Creates A Loyal Workforce

The statistics are alarming. Some 40% of people in the workforce feel unappreciated and undervalued at work. Most of them either look for new jobs, or at least wait for an opportunity to come their way. This has dire consequences for your employee retention efforts. But if listening is emphasized more in communication skills training for leaders, you will be able to reach out to dissatisfied employees in new and meaningful ways, making them see that the company genuinely cares about them.

Listening Provides New Insights

Another key trait of leaders is that they are always learning. This enables them to come up with innovative and creative solutions to new challenges. Listening helps leaders in this respect as well. This is especially true when you actively listen to critics and those who disagree with you. Doing so will broaden your horizons and offer you unique perspectives on unprecedented business issues.

Listening Brings Out the Best in Employees

This leadership development hinges on the first point about employee motivation. As you listen to your team (not just what they say but their body language and general demeanor as well), you will learn more about their strengths and weakness, and you can leverage the former to make them more productive. This will ultimately reflect positively on your bottom-line.

Listening Engages Clients

Active listening isn’t purely restricted to your employees. You should also make it a point to let your clients speak their heart out. Offer them a chance to provide honest feedback on your website and social network. Seep this feedback in and you will better know how to cater to the needs of your target market. This will dramatically improve customer loyalty as they will look at your business as one that values its clients.

Listening Promotes Clarity

In today’s world of instant communication, listening is a lost art. Everyone is busy voicing their opinions, with hardly any message truly seeping in anyone’s mind and making an impact. In such an environment, a leader that speaks less and listens more will automatically become a revolutionary (and often is thought of as saying things that are more important).

Summary

To sum up, communication skills training for leaders is crucial. Listening makes you a better leader when you engage in the art of listening-not to have your opinions validated, but to be challenged and to learn something new. You establish your authority as a leader through listening, and if you don’t believe you have the skill developed as much as you should, consider leadership development training on the topic. Conventional wisdom may dictate that speaking establishes more authority, but then again you are not always right. So stop pretending you know everything and listen more as a leader!

To learn more about improving your communication skills for leaders, visit Tip of the Spear’s Leadership Development program offering “Communicate with Influence” by CLICKING HERE.

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