are you delaying a difficult conversation?

First of all, we all do it. Some of us do anything to avoid conflict. Some of us want to be friends with everyone. No one really enjoys delivering words that might cause upset or worry.

Second, as a leader, there is no escaping the need, from time to time, to say what needs to be said. Nothing gets better if left alone, and it will most likely get worse and become a bigger issue than if you dealt with it swiftly. If you delay or avoid difficult conversations then you really aren't fully accepting the responsibility of being the leader.

Here is a simple guide to planning and having the difficult conversation.

1. Ask yourself if the person in question fully understands your expectations and specifically where they are letting you down or what the issue is. If the answer is no, then that's where you start.

2. Think about the result you want from the conversation. Be specific. What will success look like?

3. Think about how the person is likely to receive the news - predict their reaction. Could you achieve a better outcome by choosing different words and using a different tone? This is being empathetic.

4. Plan for the conversation. Book in a time for it to happen. Write down in advance what you are going to say, in the order you are going to say it. Plan how to finish the conversation on a positive note. Rehearse in private or even confidentially role play with a trusted third party.

5. Do it. Be positive, unemotional and firm. 

Like most things, the more we do them, the better we get at them. Before you know it you will dealing with issues the minute they come up and everyone will be happier.

Cheers

Greg

do you serve as well as lead?

Leadership means different things to different people. Some think it's about power and getting your own way. Here is a new way to think - it's called servant leadership and it's about making sure that you are making others better as well as yourself.

Imagine if all bosses were more focused on doing whatever they could to enable employees to be their best. If they did, I reckon there would be more people who are loyal, engaged and happy, including the bosses.

Leadership should be about you making sure that you are the best you can be. But don't stop there - focus on what you can do to serve those around you, to lift their performance.

Here are five things that you can do to be more of a servant leader.

1. Get to know your people, show them you care, and listen more.
2. Work out where you can build their confidence. Where can you help them grow?
3. Understand what motivates them and try to give them more. For example, praise and recognition are powerful motivators and they cost nothing.
4. Lead by example. How can you improve and in turn influence others by your performance?
5. Be aware of your legacy. What will people say about your leadership when you are gone?

Some people judge leaders by the number of followers they create. I would rather judge leaders by how many other leaders they grow and nurture.

Cheers

Greg

top five things for culture change

Just yesterday I presented at an industry conference on building a culture of leadership. In the presentation I listed what I think are the top five things you need to have in place if you want to improve your organisation's culture.

1. High level commitment (board/owner/senior management). Without it, as soon as things get hard or tough (and they will), focus will move onto another issue, when this one is super important. 

2. A plan. As with anything worthwhile, a sound strategic plan should underpin it. Think first, act next.

3. Widespread engagement and commitment. All levels of people in your organisation should be engaged and committed to the process. You will have to work hard at achieving and maintaining this.

4. Action. You might have commitment and have a plan, but nothing changes until you take action. This is where the rubber hits the road.

5. Courage. Courage to accept that change needs to happen and courage to see it through when it gets hard.

Last newsletter was about checking in on the state of your organisation's culture. If you decided you wanted to improve it, make sure you have these five things in place.

Let us know if we can help.

Cheers

Greg

is it time for a culture check up?

Australia Day is a time when many of us celebrate being Australian, and some of us reflect on elements of our national culture, both positive and negative.

I think we should also take the opportunity to do the same about our corporate cultures - both celebrate and reflect.

Use this simple guide to give your organisation's culture a check up.

1. How would you describe the culture of your organisation? In other words, how are things done around here?

2. Does your organisation have a clear vision for the future?

3. Who else other than owners and managers is aware of and understands the vision?

4. How do your people treat each other? (staff, management, owners, customers, suppliers).

5. Do your people care about the organisation - do they turn up fully engaged or is it just a job to them?

Now you have some important questions to deal with. What has this check up revealed to you about your organisation's culture? What are you going to do to improve?

The culture of an organisation is the leader's responsibility, and it's a big, heavy one. Let us know if we can help.

Cheers

Greg

happiness - what's it all about?

One thing that we all have in common is the desire to be happy. Smile if you agree. Have you ever thought about what happiness means? 

Is it pleasure, satisfaction, joy? Is it the absence of suffering? Is it a destination or a journey?

I recently came across a concept of happiness that caused me to reflect on my understanding of happiness. Michael Hyatt is a leadership authority and someone I really admire.  Michael says that happiness comes from making progress towards a worthwhile goal.

Think about that. You feel happy when you are moving towards the achievement of something that is important to you, like a loving relationship, a rewarding career, or secure financial situation.

It would follow then that a lack of happiness - sadness,can result from either lack of progress towards a worthwhile goal and certainly the absence of worthwhile goals.

To me, this highlights the importance of being goal focused in our personal lives and in our businesses. Some recent research I came across blew me away.Professor Gail Matthews of the Dominican University of California found that "just writing down your goals can lead to significantly more success in reaching them - even without action plans".

It's simple. If you want to be happy, write down your goals.

Cheers

Greg