the leadership challenge

The Leadership Challenge: Competitive Advantage – 5 Tips!

August 7, 2015 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: I met with a leader during the week who was competitive to say the least (Make that extremely competitive!) In their drive to succeed, they often overlooked their individual purpose, the potential of their organization’s stakeholders, and the “bigger” picture of where their organization fit into the market that they seemed to dominate. Perhaps a good thing? Probably accompanied by many potential bad things though. In this post, we’ll take a look at harnessing the power of competitive advantage as a leader along with five tips to align directionally for success… Enjoy!

Go… Fight… Win!

It’s been said that business is war. In order to accomplish victory in such “battles” it’s important to keep in mind not only what will be gained in such moments, but also what very well might be lost. John was a small mid-cap sized organizational C-Suite leader. Appearing to be in control of the majority of his faculties, he set out a strategic vision during one of our leadership development executive coaching sessions.

“If we execute this plan, our competition will look to strike here” he commented drawing out what appeared to be a marketing battle map on a scratch pad. “If they strike here we’ll have them exactly where we want them… Weak!” While these were grandiose plans (and why aim small and miss small when you can aim big and miss big!), he lacked the perspective of other organizational leaders and stakeholders. The fight had been fought without single action step being taken, and John was claiming victory.

Competitive Advantage

The leadership challenge faced in this example is one that has many facets. So let’s see if we can’t break them down by offering five (5) tips for competitive advantage:

Tip #5 – Innovation

There’s no doubt that you’ve read a lot lately about innovation and its role in organizational domination. “Innovate or perish” seems to be a captivating mantra. However, what does innovation truly look like, and more importantly who is supposed to be doing all this innovation? The bottom line is that in order for competitive advantage to take place someone/somewhere within the walls of the organization had better be planning/developing what’s next.

Tip #4 – Engagement

Similar in leadership popularity to innovation is the concept of engagement. Leadership as well as stakeholders engagement level not only sets the tone for competitive advantage, but accompanying pace as well.

Tip #3 – Inefficiencies

How are you/your organization measuring your efficiencies? If you have a key performance indicator (KPI) dashboard that insures that you are approaching targets on-time (and modify course accordingly when off), then you have a leg-up on your competition that might believe they are measuring like-kind indicators but are lacking the “key” components.

Tip #2 – Learning Leaders/Organizations

The key to Tip #3 – Inefficiencies lies in your ability to learn as a leader as well as an organization. While success breeds more success, there is an often misunderstood component regarding what lessons can be learned from moments of failure. Learning from both provides competitive advantages.

Tip #1 – Tools

Do you/your stakeholders have the right data, and perhaps most important are they equipped to take action on what they learn? If so, you have properly equipped yourself/your stakeholders with the tools for competitive advantage. Without these tools (out of date, broken, and/or nonexistent) and you’ll be at a competitive disadvantage.

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve looked at the leadership challenge of competitive advantage and five tips regarding how you can seize such moments so as to continue to progress down successful paths as a leader. Leadership development and executive coaching provides a framework to explore such opportunities, but implementation/execution/sustainment initiatives play a crucial role in the battle for future success.

Sam Palazzolo

The Leadership Challenge: Orthogonal – 1 Tip

August 5, 2015 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: So you say you want to move forward with your business idea. However, this business idea is gaining little/no traction with your leadership, as well as your stakeholders. So what’s a poor leader to do in order to regain focus, direct organizational attention, and achieve desired results? In this post we’ll take a look at the concept of orthogonal and how fully grasping independence probability thinking just might make the difference in executing one tip… Enjoy!

The Orthogonal Leader

Leading in times when decisions are agreed upon is a relatively easy task… Other leaders and organizational stakeholders typically fall inline when decisions are met favorably. However, what happens when decisions are made and they are not so favorable? What happens then to the initiative? What happens to the organization? What happens to the leader?

Orthogonal is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as being statistically independent. A play on independence probability theory further reflects that the occurrence of one does not affect the probability of the other. In other words, this independence of thought, implementation, and results occurs without impact on other moments.

The Ability to Forget

I worked with a leader an in executive coaching engagement as part of a leadership development program at their company. The leader was super smart, had attended the best schools, and was able to comprehend/process huge sums of data instantaneously which afforded him a significant competitive advantage to his peers (If you don’t believe that leadership roles are a competitive battlefield, you probably aren’t leading at the tip of the spear!)

Above all else, this leader was gifted with what could be called an extremely short memory… He would forget what happened a few minutes prior in assessing the current opportunity/problem that was staring him down. I believe that in other leadership development and in working with other executive coaches this was seen as a “downside” to this candidate for future career advancement. However, what he lacked in memory he soon used to his advantage, as he was able to assess without predetermined outcomes or biases.

The Leadership Challenge Orthogonal Tip #1

So if you want to get the most out of yourself, your stakeholders, and your organizations sooner or later your going to have to make decisions that aren’t popular. As a matter of fact, they might be so unpopular that they go against the grain of previous business decisions. However, in so doing, you’ll be looking for other key performance indicators that can/should/will be measured to determine effectiveness. While these moments will differ from others previously collected, the leadership challenge at hand calls for strategic planning to be made on an independent level. In so doing, results will be achieved (although different, or independent of previous ones).

SUMMARY

Orthogonal might be seen as a key for leadership strategic planning. Too much “sameness” often times lack the innovative moments that could be grasped. Full potential is seen as a far-off destination, with little/no hope of being achieved. So forget what you’ve done in the past and look to make solid decision making in order to lead forward.

Sam Palazzolo

The Leadership Challenge: Accountability – 5 Tips

August 4, 2015 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Have you ever sat in a meeting and heard the leader swear that from now on things were going to be different? How exactly is this “different” theme going to be carried out? Well, the leader swears again that they’re going to start holding people accountable. Accountable for what is one question you might be asking? Another question you should be asking is who is going to hold the leader themselves accountable? In this post, we’ll take a look at leadership accountability and provide five tips to better leader accountability efforts… Enjoy!

This Isn’t Oprah (It’s not even Ellen!)

I’ve seen a lot of leaders as an executive coach and leadership development coordinator. I’ve been fortunate to work with some really great leadership at Fortune 100 to Main Street organizations. Along the way on this leadership development journey, one aspect has rang the “failure” bell of many a leader looking to do good but ending up with bad results. That one aspect… Accountability. Accountability as a leader has at its core the ability to “count” on someone for doing something.

Too often leaders like their stakeholders to do what they say, but not as they’ve done (or are planning to do). In other words, some leaders are great at spouting off advice/hyperbole/recommendations to their stakeholders when all the while they should be heading their own advice. Unfortunately, Oprah (or Ellen) never show up in their workplace to ask them those really “hard” questions to get the leader to stop and reflect on what will/won’t work (You know those really hard questions… The ones that make you stop, think, and cry as you blubber out your response to Oprah).

5 Tips to Enhance Leadership Accountability

So what is our leader in development to do?(You are a leader in development, continuously learning, right?) What follows are five accountability tips for leaders searching to achieve better results:

Tip #5: Establish Expectations

It’s awfully hard to hold yourself/your stakeholders accountable if you don’t establish expectations. What are you going to do, by when, with what resources are expectation (or goal) setting basics. But begin to overcome the leadership challenge of accountability by beginning with the outcome, or the end in mind.

Tip #4: Determine Action Plans

As Marshall Goldsmith says, what got you here won’t get you there. However, if you know where there is and you don’t establish an action plan to get there you might as well not set out in the first place. Having an action plan that clearly establishes how you will get to your expectation outcome will provide you with a roadmap, one that if followed correctly and the current situation (market factors, competition, customer engagement, etc.) remains the same.

Tip #3: Identify Key Performance Indicators

You’ll need to know if you are to stay the course originally outlined, or pivot as needed to better overcome the situation identified. I know a leader that never measures his outcome until the end. They perceive the measurements to be some kind of leadership cherry on top of the sundae, when in reality it turns out being something a lot less savory. Knowing what your measurements are and taking them at routine moments can assist in letting you know where you are, how far you’ve traveled since the projects inception, how much is left to go, and identifying change in course moments.

Tip #2: Forget Hope

Hope is great when wishing for a gift to come true. It’s perhaps a deadly moment when it comes to organizational health. Simply put… Hope is not a strategy. As such, eliminate hope and the leadership challenge gets a lot easier.

Tip #1: Accept Ownership and Responsibility

You want others to follow you. You want to see things through. You’ll need then to roll up your sleeves and insure that the initiative gets done. While this doesn’t mean that you need to do every task associated (you should still look to delegate), it does mean that you’ll want to do everything possible to make certain the initiative is completed on time as expected.

SUMMARY

In this post we looked at leadership accountability. The leadership challenge at hand can be a daunting one, but putting into practice the five tips discussed can greatly enhance accountability for both leaders and stakeholders.

Sam Palazzolo

The Leadership Challenge: Troubleshooting – 4 Tips

August 3, 2015 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Unavoidably, problems do sprout up in your life as a leader no matter how well you plan your day/week/month/year. Is it a moment of preplanning that is lacking? Perhaps there is an opportunity to develop better contingency plans? Should you belabor the troubled moment? Or, exactly how should you rebound effectively from such problem times? In this post, we’ll take a look at how you as a leader can better troubleshoot to maximize your leadership potential… Enjoy!

Time, Time, Time… See What’s Become of Me

Simon & Garfunkel (and the Bangles) sang the verse of oh so many leaders in the classic tune “Hazy Shade of Winter” bringing up the point that there is never quite enough time to solve each/every problem faced without running into some form of adversity along the way. Think about it, is there really ever enough time to solve everything (and if you’re trying to solve all of them by yourself, this in and of itself is a recipe for disaster!) The problems will stack up faster than you can process them. Sooner or later, you’ll consider taking shortcuts (never a good leadership moment, right?)

What if in leadership development you could troubleshoot your problems away? Think of it this way… If you fail to solve the “core” of each problem faced, inevitably the problem will resurface again in the future (Think of this as blowing away the smoke, but never extinguishing the fire). You typically will find yourself facing the same problems in a never-ending continuous loop of predictable insanity.

Troubleshooting as a Leader

Solving problems is one of the essence of leadership. More importantly than always being able to solve problems, is that ability to problem solve. Getting out in front of problems and proactively problem solve is crucial, but this will take tremendous leadership strength especially when stepping out in front of problems that you may not know how big they are, can be, or are traveling towards you/your organization. Resiliency in solving such problems, along with a healthy dose of persistence, will reflect to the organization your abilities to troubleshoot and resolve issues.

Whether you are leading yourself, a team, or an organization here then are the four (4) most effective ways in which I see leaders troubleshoot:

Tip #4: Effective Communication

In what might seem like the most obvious of the four tips provided as leadership development opportunities, herein lies perhaps one of the most difficult. Communicating effectively has a dose of transparency mixed with both future vision as well as the plan for how that destination will be achieved. I often see/hear leaders that have a great “talk” with their organizational stakeholders. However, in discussing the message delivered with those same stakeholders find them to be confused, paranoid, upset, angry, etc. about the message delivered. It’s not that they don’t understand, they just couldn’t comprehend what was being said!

Tip #3: Forget the Org Chart

While organization charts were important 10-20 years ago, they still seem to play a role in the ego-driven leader of today (Think of it as how many employees can report up to a central figure and you’ll identify the power within an organization – either real or imaginary). Instead of fueling the leadership development ego flames of an out of control leader, look to communicate the message across the organization as a whole. There is no need to have one department hear the message and develop a solution while in the same organization but different part of the org chart a totally different solution is being developed to the same solution. Instead, troubleshoot together for a single best solution (or a series of solutions that could be appropriate for there to be a review of, and ultimate selection for the best).

Tip #2: It’s a People-Business

I can’t tell you how many leaders seem to forget that no matter how much technology is present, how big their organization has become, or how much revenue the organization drives that it’s the people that work in the business that make the difference. As such, having the best people working in your operation can, will, and does make the difference. Cautionary Note: A few years ago I worked with a client that was “force-ranking” all of their employees and looking to “Topgrade” all of their personnel. Everyone was ranked on a scale from 1-5 on a series of key competencies deemed important to the organization, with 5’s being the best. Those that did not measure up to a 4-5 were terminated. Unfortunately, in that group of 1-3 were some of the original people that helped start the company (and previously thought of as some of the “best” until HR started the ranking procedures). Also, the 4-5’s took note and most of the talented ones departed prior to the next go-round of force-rankings. Sometimes it’s important to note: You get what you deserved when it comes to treating your people like people.

Tip #1: Strategic Thinking

Who thinks strategic in your organization? If it’s only you as the leader, you’ve got problems! Troubleshooting, contingency planning, and looking for alignment with new methodologies that go above/beyond where you are today as an organization is crucial to future success. However, above how the troubleshooting message is delivered/received in the organization, it is important to insure that the proper metrics are measured/reviewed/acted upon.

SUMMARY

In this post discussing the leadership challenge – troubleshooting we took a look at leaders and their problems, as well as four tips for overcoming troubleshooting moments. It’s important to have open communication, a plan that encompasses the entire organization regardless of org chart structure, top-notch people in your organization, and strategic thinking to troubleshoot effectively.

Sam Palazzolo

The Leadership Challenge: Vacation

July 15, 2015 By Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

The Point: Each year you’re afforded the opportunity to take a vacation. Some do it to unwind, others to see a far off distant land, but the vast majority don’t even bother (See my previous post on Fear of Missing Out or FOMO by CLICKING HERE). In this post we’ll take a look from a leader’s perspective on this whole vacation hubbub and identify if you are better or worse off as a result of taking vacation… Enjoy!

Decrease Vacations = Increase Damage to Relationships

How much time do you take off every year? 1 day? 1 week? 1 month? A new study shows that Americans are taking less vacations than ever before. The study shows that on average Americans take 16 days per year. Furthermore, the study reflects that taking just a few more days per year could lead to making you happier. The study was commissioned by the U.S. Travel Association (CLICK HERE to see a press kit for Travel Facts and Statistics).

The results could be disastrous. Spending more time at work and less time with your family for the majority of us leads to damaging those relationships at home (There also could be parallels drawn to relationships at the office, productivity therein, etc.). So what’s the poor leader to do in such situations? In other words, to vacation or not to vacation?… That is the question!

Meet Leader Mike… He “Vacations”

One of the leaders I worked with on an executive coaching and leadership development program years ago exclaimed proudly on the vacation topic “I vacation. I will bring my laptop and cell to the beach with me and work, while the family frolics in the ocean.” In other words, Mike planned on spending his family vacation working. Mike’s logic (if that’s a good word) for working on vacation stemmed from two primary points:

In order to get/stay ahead he needed to get/stay connected to what was going on back at the office.
It was his tremendous appetite for work that allowed his family to go on vacation in the first place, so they should appreciate it!

I remember trying to imagine what his kids thought of the scenario? I’m certain that they blew it off as “That’s just our Dad and they way he’s wired” or “Quite frankly, we’d rather have him tied up with work rather than engage with us!”

The Benefits of Vacation

I’ll admit, I’m a terrible vacationer. Have lead several ventures the pressure I feel is incredible and I at times can very much relate with Mike. If as a leader you don’t do something, and there is always something to do, you will fall behind. While I’m not saying that you can’t delegate work off to stakeholders in the organization, but we all know that there are certain business moments where no delegation can do.

But a few years ago my wife reminded me that vacations can actually be beneficial for you. Vacations are supposed to provide you with the “down time” needed to refresh your leadership batteries. Vacations are a time that can allow you the opportunity to reunite face-to-face with family that typically you don’t see outside of the Holiday Season. Vacations are also a time or you to be a kid again (Remember those stress free times?)

SUMMARY

So I’m going on vacation! I’m going to take two (2) days off and recharge my batteries. I don’t plan on having this be “down” time for me though. Instead, my refresh/recharge moment is going to come by attending a professional association’s conference. My plan is to come away from this vacation with new strategies, new network relationships, and new methods to take the business higher. I also plan on coming away with great memories created from spending some high quality time with my wife. I’ll report out on my findings… Wish me luck!

Sam Palazzolo

PS – You may enjoy several of the other posts I’ve recently written:

the leadership challenge

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