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The Leadership Challenge: Narcissism – 10 Tips!

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The Point: Some leaders go far beyond the abnormal ways of functioning in leading the business… They go right into the deep end of the narcissism pool!So that got us thinking here at Tip of the Spear Ventures, what would you do with a leader that loves themselves/their work-product far more than their stakeholders/organizational output? We see this in business when the opportunities for excess are great. So, in this article we explore the leadership challenge of narcissism, along with 10 tips… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge Narcissism 5 Tips

Exercises of Leadership Excess

Tom is a mid-level manager (Vice President) at a midcap market company ($150Million in Annual Revenue). Tom exercises in a fashion described as a “leadership of excess.” To say that he is a leader, and an effective one by some measures, is accurate: he has tons of charisma, energy, and the ability to inspire stakeholders with low/no drama. But when Tom took over his department a few months back, he made the first move in a series of events that culminated in his demise, pitting stakeholders against him, each other, and a very powerful C-Suite leadership team. Tom’s role as instigator of this chaos led many to question what kind of a person he was.

Some organizational insiders described Tom as simply going mad, no longer in full control of his faculties. Others, an admittedly small faction, denied that there was ever anything wrong with him. This minority would argue that he merely operated by a very different set of rules from those that other leaders within the organization adhered to. In reality, both factions were partially right!

Whatever the case might be, Tom and his actions brings us to several interesting questions regarding what exactly makes a leader go off the rails plunging headlong into narcissism:

  • What kind of psychological processes are at work in a leader like Tom?
  • What key factors push a leader like Tom “over the edge?”
  • How does this narcissism happen, and from where does it emanate?

10 Tips to for The Leadership Challenge of Narcissism

While Tom might not be able to be saved from the clutches of narcissism, you, your stakeholders, and your organization should be spared. The following represents 10 Tips to help therein overcome the leadership challenge of narcissism:

Tip #10 – Establish a Clear Vision

Establishing a clear vision allows for the narcissistic leader the opportunity to not only align current company mission/vision/values, but in those instances where they do not yet exist create them.

Tip #9 – Establish Admiration Zones

Narcissistic leaders tend to create a following that propels them/their egos forward. Ensuring that this propulsion is well timed/well placed is imperative.

Tip #8 – Create an Atmosphere for Constructive Criticism

Abrasive outcomes best describes situations where criticisms were leveled with the narcissistic leader. The atmosphere of allowing constructive criticism to provide alternative perspectives is a much happier outcome.

Tip #7 – Provide Town Halls for Listening

Narcissistic leaders typically find little/no value in subordinate input, let alone stakeholders. If criticism isn’t well received, input from others is also minimized. The creation of Town Hall settings where feedback/input can be gathered is often beneficial.

Tip #6 – Build Relationship Opportunities

If devalue and humiliation are the cornerstone of narcissistic leadership, establishing relationship building opportunities that show care and value for others is desired.

Tip #5 – Disciplined Consistent Actions

Values often drive the narcissistic leader, regardless of how misaimed they may be in reality. Avoid leadership narcissism by recognizing signs of destruction, no values, a preponderous level of fickleness and desire to change direction often because of boredom.

Tip #4 – Build Big Business

Narcissism often manifests in leaders desiring to build an empire, leaving legacies that reflect there sphere of influence. Allow the opportunities for big businesses to be built.

Tip #3 – Empathic Energy

While leadership narcissism reflects a desire to receive empathy and understanding from stakeholders, their ability to provide empathy is void. Bridge the receive/give empathic energy canyon!

Tip #2 – Healthy Competition

“Whatever it takes” and “Win at all costs” are the mantras of the narcissistic leader. Establishing clear ground rules for healthy competition are imperative for organizational longevity.

Tip #1 – Mentor for Motivation

Narcissists love recreating themselves in others, often dictating their behavior in mentoring situations. Mentoring for motivation creates a more structured atmosphere where leadership narcissism works within carefully constructed realms where motivation is the desired outcome.

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve explored the leadership challenge of narcissism and provided 10 tips for organizations/individuals challenged by the narcissistic leader. When are we going to recognize that narcissism is but one of the leadership characteristic potentials, that when properly classified and directed can have significantly more successful outcomes as opposed to when left to run free? If the fuel for narcissism is recognition, perhaps the 10 tips provided can create exponentially successful outcomes.

Sam Palazzolo

Leading at the Tip of the Spear Lunch Offer

Can Business Development Efforts Lead to Less Sales? 3 Tips!

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The Point: The common Sales Leader thought goes something like “Increased business development efforts lead to more sales.” But what if you, as a Sales Leader, increase your business development efforts and achieve less sales? We’ve run into this a few times here at Tip of the Spear when conducting some Sales/Business Development advisory services. So what is Sales Leadership to do when faced with decreasing sales as a result of increased business development efforts? In this post we’ll explore the topic can business development efforts lead to less sales and provide 3 tips… Enjoy!

Definitions of Sales Leadership

One of the most effective definitions of leadership, as applied to sales, comes from former president Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Eisenhower defined leadership as “the art of obtaining some other person to try and do one thing you wish done as a result of HE needs to try and do it.” Another nice definition comes from Peter Drucker, the dean of contemporary management. Drucker was quoted in a speech as saying “Effective leadership isn’t concerning creating speeches or being liked; leadership is outlined by results, not attributes.”

Leaders today face the distinct challenges of managing their stakeholders (Typically comprised of their superiors, subordinates and peers). I took these factors into account and adopted a “new” thorough faculty sales leader approach to sales leadership. What will that mean in practice?

The aforementioned suggests that adapting several of the core leadership practices that have been championed for years and trade them to suit today’s various sales department. What follows are 3 tips to help sales leadership when confronted with business development efforts that lead to less sales:

Tip #3 – Set Realistic/Measurable Milestones

A play off of setting SMART (Specific/Measureable/Attainable/Relative/Time Specific) goals. Sales involves driving towards goals. However, the sales team will not solely reach those goals if they’re realistic (They might be too easily attained, not enough STRETCH!) Sales leadership has to be compelled to work with their team to align milestones that are simultaneously difficult and achievable.

Tip #2 – Align Sales Goals with Business Strategy

Sales Goals ought to be grounded in business strategy and be measured over time. Doing this keeps the sales team on-time/on-target, provides perceptive information to guide new methods, and keeps workers engaged. Once the team witnesses the results of their efforts and recognizes their efforts, they’re driven to further engage to push forward and improve. In fact, a survey conducted by Globoforce found 70% of workers say that they need a bigger emotional association to their job once they’re recognized for his or her work.

Tip #1 – Share Holistic Feedback

Traditionally, sales leadership has stressed performance feedback. However, this feedback tends to be targeted on individual goals and outcomes. They’re observing every employee’s numbers and figures. Whereas scrutinizing concrete outcomes remains necessary, only specializing in this monetary information isn’t the foremost effective way to motivate sales performance. The sales leader understands that feedback must address discussing facts because the job competencies that builds a robust sales performance are present.

SUMMARY

Effective sales leadership is often the distinction between a sales organization that thrives and a mediocre one that hardly stays afloat. Yet, several of the most effective sales managers still mistake the outline in their job title for one thing that’s not even crucial to sales success. Leadership is not a lot of unchecked personal magnetism, rah-rah speeches and a charming demeanour. Instead, in order to offset increased business development efforts that lead to less sales by assigning quotas and reviewing performance reports.

Sam Palazzolo

Leading at the Tip of the Spear Lunch Offer

Mergers and Acquisitions: Avoiding Culture Clash – 3 Tips!

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The Point: For a successful mergers and acquisitions event to take place, there typically is an avalanche of financial figure reviews/due diligence (actual, forecast, and delta explanations from both buy-side and sell-side). But we asked ourselves here at Tip of the Spear Ventures, is there more to consider than meets the financial eye? What happens when one organization’s culture is in apparent direct conflict with that of the other organization? So in this post, we examine the mergers and acquisitions topic of avoiding culture clash along with 3 tips… Enjoy!

Mergers and Acquisitions Avoiding Culture Clash 3 Tips

Mergers Create Value and Synergies (Don’t They?)

In today’s highly competitive new economy, where global industry heavyweights fight for market share, mergers and acquisitions (along with joint ventures) appear to be a logical outcome for those looking to be here to stay. Most markets across the globe (even in local communities) provide for three primary providers of products/services. Creating economies of scope and scale while establishing global brands. Or do they?

According to an M&A Harvard Business Review report, 70-90 percent of all mergers and acquisitions fail. So at some point after a merger or acquisition, somehow/someway these once promising “new” organizations that were great on paper failed in practice. So what went wrong?

Culture: The Dominant Barrier to M&A Success?

Blocking the success path for many of these mergers and acquisitions (don’t forget joint ventures too!) is what could be considered a dominant barrier with the name culture. Let’s define culture as the implicit values, beliefs and assumptions that influence behaviors of those employed in an organization. While you may not be able to see culture spelled out, you certainly can see it being played out in the daily interactions amongst an organization’s stakeholders.

So what can leaders at the helm of mergers and acquisitions do to minimize the impact disruptive company cultures can have on success? What follows are 3 tips to assist leaders of mergers and acquisitions in avoiding culture clash:

Tip #3 – Leave Your Egos at the Door

Aggressive and arrogant can be used to describe some company cultures, especially those doing the acquiring in M&A transactions. Typically thought of as “weak” and “gobbled-up” are organizations that get acquired. However, cooperation and promised synergies rarely materialize if both organizations cannot put aside their egos in order for the overall common good to take place.

Tip #2 – Recognize New Cultural Marketing Opportunities

Isn’t business funny, and the leader actions that take place in M&A? While some pretty bright people put together months worth of financial analysis, the marketing that represents the culture of the new entity is rarely recognized nor given consideration for change. On top of this lack of marketing recognition of the new brand, continuing on in a “if it worked then, it will work now” methodology has proven fatal. Recognize new cultural marketing opportunities as two become one.

Tip #1 – Failing + Failing Rarely = Success

When two failing organizations go through an M&A, rarely do we see success be the result. With the old adage of “desperate people do desperate acts” we see two failing organizations combining heading on purposeful path towards future failure. Examples prevail from button-down vs. khakis and engineering vs. sales based cultures not playing well with each other in mergers and acquisitions.

SUMMARY

The Mergers and Acquisitions landscape is a complicated one, full of financial due diligence playing itself out. However, the financial figures alone cannot help in avoiding culture clash. In this post we’ve explore M&A – Avoiding Culture Clash and provided 3 tips to help leaders achieve greater success.

 

Sam Palazzolo

Leading at the Tip of the Spear Lunch Offer

 

The Leadership Challenge: Recruiting Top Talent – 4 Tips!

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The Point: At Tip of the Spear we know that the best strategic plans and the best processes often come-up far short of potential. Why? Regardless of the strategic plan or the processes in place in the corporate workplace today, if you don’t have the talent to execute both with precision, you’ll fail – And it all begins/ends with how you go about recruiting top talent! So in this post, we’ll explore the leadership challenge of recruiting top talent and provide 4 tips for success… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge Recruiting Top Talent 4 Tips

People, Processes and Pay plans… Oh My!

Have you ever heard of the “top” talent? The most important part of every business is leadership, followed closely by the talent they employ. While it might take more than 50 days to hire and activate talent who could fill up organizational positions, your staffing can also be an exciting journey. Building a company might mean finding a way to attract top talent sourced from a global candidate pool. Typically, the “top” talent already has employment. So how will you effectively not only identify but convince them to stop working where they’re at and start working for you where you’re at? Consider the following tips in winning the recruiting game for top talent:

Tip #4 – Win the Recruiting Top Talent Game

Once you consider the orthodox method of hiring, you are likely to shoot yourself in the foot. Change it up with your job description. For example, consider a creative way of hiring. If you want to net high-end or top talent, then your job posting needs to stand out from the crowd. While thinking of an ingenious way of hiring, you should consider adding a competitive salary. In that way, you are matching the value of the applicant with your offer for the job.

Tip #3 – Putting Extraneous Information Away for Top Talent Generation

More than that, put all extraneous information about your company away. Do not include anything that is not relevant about the opening and your company in your vacancy posting. Precision and creating perfects bullets for requirements and benefits of the job are a way of attracting top talent.

Tip #2 – SEO Strategies for Top Talent Recruiting

What SEO plans have you deployed for such openings before? Your Internal SEO experts on your digital marketing team could assist in identifying and incorporating search words, or tags that to drive the talent you are looking for towards you. In LinkedIn’s recent updates, there is a search functionality for both employers and job seekers and Google’s new AI-powered jobs search engine, effective SEO incorporation in job postings is important to get your job posting in front of the high-end or top talent with the skills and experiences your organization demands.

Tip #1 – Forgetting How Long It Takes to Hire

Hiring the perfect top talent can be long time-wise, but rewarding financially. Top talent are always defining the pace of business. Finding a perfect candidate for your business or company might be time-consuming. It might take several weeks/months before you find the perfect superstar. However, no matter how long it takes, most times, the time is worth it.

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve explored the topic “The Leadership Challenge: Recruiting Top Talent – 4 Tips!” It’s important to note that while strategic plans and processes are important to business success, there is little that leadership can do to achieve such success without the right talent on staff (And at the core of that people equation is Leadership!)

Sam Palazzolo

Leading at the Tip of the Spear Lunch Offer

Avoiding Epic Failure With Your Leadership Strategy – 6 Tips!

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The Point: As a leader, you probably believe that your thoughts lead to good strategies which lead to great execution and ensuing results. So we started thinking here at Tip of the Spear Ventures, what happens in those foundational leadership strategy moments where your thoughts aren’t as good as you think they are? Will you be able to clearly share with your stakeholders the vision of where you’re going? Will you be able to achieve optimum desired results? In this post we explore the topic of avoiding epic failure with your leadership strategy and provide 6 tips to do so… Enjoy!

Avoiding Epic Failure With Your Leadership Strategy 6 Tips

Leadership Strategy

Take a look at last year, and zoom into last month (perhaps even last week!) What went well for you/your stakeholders/your organization from a leadership strategy perspective? When you analyze the key performance indicators (or metrics to manage with), you probably recognize superior results (Greater revenue, optimal efficiency, appropriate expense control structures in place, etc.) Conduct an autopsy of these results and you will inevitably explore the leadership strategy that went into making them happen. Plans were drafted, goals were set, communication efforts conducted, implementation/execution moments occurred, and performance metrics measured.

So if leadership strategy takes place within your organization, just like it does within organizations all over the globe, why then do some strategies work while others fail? After all, it would appear that the business landscape is simply littered with strategies that have failed… and the reasons for epic failure can be just as prolific in quantity!

Avoiding Epic Failure with Leadership Strategy – 6 Tips!

So what exactly causes all of these epic failures in leadership strategy? What follows are 6 tips to consider when developing/executing leadership strategy: 

Tip #6 – Market Research

What will the market bear? If there is no problem, there is no need for a solution. In other words, conducting market research into what exactly the problems are, the scope/scale of them will lead to indications (projections?) of approximately how big of a problem there is for you/your stakeholders/your organization to solve. Market research not only helps identify scope/scale of problem, but also the context in which applied solution can be applied.

Tip #5 – Stakeholder Alignment

What if you conduct market research for your leadership strategy, only to have no one fall in line to support the initiative through implementation/execution? Having a strategy in and of itself will not guarantee successful results. Stakeholders not only need to have alignment for the initiative, but need to actually buy-in to the leadership strategy. While not every strategy requires maximum “skin in the game” for stakeholders, there does need to be consensus support for the leadership strategy.

Tip #4 – Accountability

Time and again we see otherwise brilliant leadership strategy achieve epic failure when accountability to results is not maintained. Consider it your #1 priority as a leader! Without holding stakeholder’s feet to the fire there can be no optimum results returned (PERIOD!)

Tip #3 – Beliefs/Opinions

We worked with a leader that would begin just about every conversation with the mantra “I believe…” or “My opinion is…” and the leadership strategy that he attempted to employ more times than not was unsuccessful. Why? He simply held a set of beliefs and opinions that were not shared with those around him (or more to the point realistic). Less beliefs/opinions and more facts would have served him/his stakeholders better.

Tip #2 – EQ over IQ

I’ve been fortunate to serve many a talented leader, where the majority of that talent was in the form of brainpower. However, some of the most intelligent people that I worked with also wouldn’t come out of the rain in a downpour! These same leaders were so out of touch with their emotional intelligence that they simply couldn’t/wouldn’t be able to trust their instincts. If your head tells you to “go” but your gut tells you “no go” you should probably listen to your gut (That is assuming you can hear your gut in the first place!)

Tip #1 – A/B Test + Contingency Plan

Las Vegas is a town filled with successful casinos, not successful gamblers. The reason why the airport here has 10x the quantity of flights compared with most other airports domestically in the USA is that everyone wants to come here to try their luck, and sooner or later they need to go back home. Typically this return home occurs after a loss in the casinos! Leadership strategy should be looked at as a Marketing A/B Test, or at the least with contingency plans in place. No need to put all your eggs in one basket, let’s divide them into two baskets and for goodness sake let’s plan for what might happen along the way!

SUMMARY

I love reading/seeing success play itself out firsthand as a result of leadership strategy just as much as the next leader (Even when it comes from one of our competitors!) In my mind, success breeds success. In this post, we explored avoiding epic failure with your leadership strategy as well as 6 tips to assist you in your leadership journey. Once you’ve tried one (or all six out), please take a minute and drop me a line letting me know how you did… I’ll wait to hear from you/your success!

Sam Palazzolo

Leading at the Tip of the Spear Lunch Offer