Posts Tagged Leadership Development
A management disaster or an opportunity for leadership?
Posted by Chris Edwards in Leadership Development on August 26, 2009
In the last few weeks I’ve worked with two people, each with very different roles and responsibilities, yet both facing a similar dilemma:
One is a senior manager in charge of a team of high performers with millions at stake and the other, the owner of a small business that is gradually running into the ground. Each started their enterprise from scratch and each have been in their respective roles for over a decade.
One of these runs a business now owned by a multinational, and constantly clashes with the board, citing different philosophical ways of doing business as the main cause of tension. And the other is just plain sick of running their small business and wants out.
So what do they have in common?
For the manager in the multinational corporation, the dilemma is whether to invest time and effort in battling the views of the other directors, or whether to take another management role elsewhere (and there have been offers).
For the owner of the small business, the decision is whether to invest more into the business and build it up (because it has plenty of potential) or to close up shop and take a well earned retirement.
Your Leadership Coach can help you make the hard decisions
It would appear that each of these people would be better off on a personal level if they walked away. Certainly they are both suffering from tremendous levels of executive stress that would completely disappear the moment they make the decision to leave – but what is causing the stress?
The answer is that they are creating their own stress.
Each of these managers has a very strong sense of loyalty to their staff and their clients, and they have both demonstrated admirable levels of integrity in their business dealings.
So whilst both want to get out of their respective roles, they each feel trapped by their own sense of responsibility and their own beliefs about what is the ‘right thing’ to do for others.
If either of these people walked away from their roles, it would cause a great loss to many people. The small business would fold and be no more, and the large one would suffer with the loss of a key man and take a very long time to recover. (Yes, some businesses really should have ‘key man insurance’.) Staff in both businesses will lose their jobs.
So what is the best solution?
These managers are both trapped by their own beliefs. If they walk away, they will get immediate release from the stress and responsibility, but because of their strong emotional connection to staff they have worked with and supported for so long, they will both find themselves living with a sense of failure. If not consciously, they will definitely feel it at a subconscious level.
They both know that people who depended on them for a living, people they have grown to know personally, people who have supported them, will lose their jobs.
If they walk away, they will know that they have let others down, because when push came to shove, they didn’t take the leadership position and continue the fight.
So, what would you do?
Who should do the Boss’ staff appraisal?
Posted by Chris Edwards in Leadership Development, Staff Appraisal on August 23, 2009
The greatest benefit comes from staff appraisals that are done by either the employee’s manager or a senior manager who can take a personal interest in wellbeing of the employee. But what happens to the boss? Who does his or her performance appraisal?
Quite often, the answer is no one!
Now, if you are thinking that the boss doesn’t need a staff appraisal, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. The owner or senior manager actually needs a performance appraisal just as much, if not more, than any other staff member.
From a performance point of view, the whole organisation could potentially benefit more from improvements to the leadership team than it might from improvements to general staff performance alone.
Particularly if the performance appraisal of management moves management to initiate better staff performance and measurement practices that flow on to all staff.
What is the boss missing out on?
The staff appraisal process ensures that each employee has the opportunity to be helped by their manager, with the backing of the organisation, to focus on improving their work performance and help them to establish a clear career path. No one should assume that the manager or the owner of the business should miss out on the benefit of a good staff appraisal. But who is the most appropriate person to do their staff appraisal?
For most small business owners and senior managers, the best solution is engage an external Executive Coach or Leadership Coach who specialises in leadership development and staff performance.
As a business owner or a senior manager, your Leadership Development Coach should then provide you with the mentorship role that would usually be done by a good manager to ensure that your personal development not only gives you the maximum benefit but that the business is better for it too.
Contact Chris Edwards to find out more about how working with a leadership coach can benefit you and your business.
Recession proofing business strategy
Posted by Chris Edwards in Leadership Development on April 28, 2009
Clever planning and good leadership can ensure that you survive the current recession; great leadership will see you come out of it in better shape than you are in now.
Cutting costs – what should you do?
Many managers and accountants will advise you to cut spending, reduce staff and ‘batten down the hatches’, but is it the best course of action?
No, it isn’t. This is actually a knee jerk reaction that lacks initiative as well as social responsibility. Yes, your business may survive the recession – but at what cost?
Last week I attended a business function about recession proofing your business. One of the speakers was an economist representing a large, well known accounting firm. He told of how the company he works for has been advising their clients to cut costs and he gave an example of how their own business has started to save money.
He said that they have minimised business lunches and they have cut out all ‘unnecessary spending’. He went on to give examples of eliminating excesses, such as, no more flowers in the foyer.
He said that for years they have had a big bunch of fresh flowers delivered each week and put in the foyer and that this made the office look nice but it didn’t serve any business purpose.
Spoken like a bean counter I thought. ‘Hello’, I said – you really haven’t thought this through. What happens to the florist? what happens to the restaurateurs? Aren’t these the same types of business that make up your client base?
I pointed out that this sort of action is actually fueling the recession and in fact cutting spending is one of the biggest mistakes business owners and individuals can make. (The others being to reduce staff and to cut advertising budgets.)
What is a better solution?
By canceling the contract with the florist, the accountancy firm has effectively transferred their financial burden to the florist. The effect on a small florist will be bigger than it was for the much larger business, and so it will have greater effect – on the florist, their staff, the driver, the grower and so on.
Instead of canceling the contract with the florist, the accountancy firm should think more strategically and ask themselves, ‘how can we retain our contract with the florist and get better value from the flowers we buy?’
I suggested that they could spend the same amount, or even a little less if they were really struggling, on flowers but have them delivered as individual flowers. Then get the accountants or the receptionist to give each client one flower with their compliments.
This would result in wins all round. Everyone is still employed and the staff of the accountancy firm will feel better because they are giving their clients flowers. The clients will be blown away by the extra little touches their accountants offer.
And how many other accountancy firms give their clients flowers? It isn’t the emotional reaction you expect from a number cruncher is it? So what if the firm begins to get a reputation as being approachable and caring – is that such a problem?
By keeping the florists, the cleaners, the restaurateurs, the gardeners and everyone else employed, we will all stave off this recession together.
The bottom line
The bottom line is that we must all think a little harder and little more strategically if we are to all survive and thrive in the coming years. What you do today will set the tone for your future success.
Now is the time to cease the opportunity and innovate your way to success.
Are you a leader or a manager?
Posted by Chris Edwards in Leadership Development on January 25, 2009
The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization.
Fred Fiedler & Martin Chemers
As we move deeper into a world recession, it will be the individuals and businesses that demonstrate consistent leadership that survive. If you aren’t concerned about strategies for survival in these challenging economic times – the same applies, leaders will come out on top.
So what is a leader, and what is a manager?
A manager manages an existing system or process; it may be a team of people or a production line, the commonality being that the activity has been done before and there will likely be known steps and systems and procedures to follow.
A manager is not there to make changes, at least not big changes; managers are there to manage. The manager’s role is to get the task done as efficiently and as profitably as he or she can.
Unlike the manager, leaders make change; they challenge the status quo. Leaders don’t simply do things the way they have been done before; they have a broader vision. Because of this, a leader has the ability to conceive of new ways to do things or even new things to do.
The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.
Henry Kissinger
We cannot all be leaders, just as we cannot all be managers. But what we all need in difficult times is leadership.
Ask yourself this question:
Do I manage or do I lead?
If you are the owner of the business, you should be the leader in your organization. Even if you are a sole trader, having a leadership mentality is the key that will help take you and your business from ordinary to extraordinary.
Leadership is not something most people are born with. You don’t have to be charismatic to be a great leader. What sets leaders apart is combination of traits, all of which can be learnt and practiced.
To find out more, see out page on leadership coaching or contact us to find out precisely how we can help you become the leader you want to be.
If your are in a small or micro business our mentoring groups offer the most cost effective solutions to help you grow your business.