Category Archives: Leadership

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How to Become Indispensable to Your Clients

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What makes you indispensable to a client? So indispensable that she treats you as a valued partner and pays you well for a sustained period of time? The obvious answer is to have clearly demonstrable expertise in areas she values. This alone will open doors and close deals for you.

It won’t ensure long-term loyalty, however.

To become truly indispensable requires a human connection that nurtures trust. Integral to this type of connection is Shared Identity, Shared Empathy and Shared Understanding. 

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Vince Lombardi’s Success Formula: “Task + Relationship Excellence = Results”

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I once attended a meeting where it seemed that everyone was focused on the people or relationships in a business and believed that doing so would bring success.

Don’t believe it.

Great leaders focus on achieving BOTH task excellence and relationship excellence. This dual focus produces sustainable superior performance.

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How Leaders Can Guard Against Unethical Behavior

When leaders behave in ways that violate ethical norms and harm customers, it has a devastating effect on connection and employee engagement. A quick glance at business news headlines shows the extent to which unethical behavior has become a problem today. Many of these unethical practices seem to defy common sense, such as the restaurant owner in China who made headlines for lacing food with opium in an effort to get customers to return.

The best leaders, whom we at E Pluribus describe as servant leaders, maintain a mindset that they serve employees who in turn serve customers.  This mindset inspires them to excellent performance and helps protect them from drifting towards unethical behavior.

If leaders don’t maintain this mindset, they are likely to start serving themselves, which makes them vulnerable to drifting into unethical territory to beat competitors and maximize personal wealth, power and status. Ironically, this mindset only diminishes personal wealth, power and status because unethical behavior sabotages sustainable superior performance once a business’ reputation is tarnished.

How do you protect yourself from the temptation of unethical behavior? Leave a comment to let me know your thoughts.

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Connect Others Through “Flash Mentoring”

Employee connection with leader

 

#51 Employ “Flash Mentoring”

One way to match mentors and mentees is to ask them to commit to meet just once to see if both parties “click” (or “connect,” if you will) and if the mentor believes he/she has the knowledge/expertise and sufficient time available to meet the mentee’s needs and expectations. If both parties agree to continue, they should agree to a set number of additional meetings rather than leave the term open-ended. Unless both mentor and mentee agree to a set number of additional meetings, there is no commitment to meet again. “Flash mentoring” was a term coined by K. Scott Derrick in his work with 13L, a group of federal employees who share a passion for leadership excellence.

This is the fifty-first post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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How to Save “The Shack”

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RadioShack is on the ropes. What can be done to save it?

Over my career I’ve seen this scenario several times.  Xerox comes to mind.  In 2000, when Anne Mulcahy became Xerox’s CEO, the company was nearly bankrupt.  Her leadership helped save it.  In 2012, I spoke with Ms. Mulcahy in a series of interviews about how she led Xerox’s turnaround.  She described three behaviors that were similar to how A.G. Lafley led the turnaround of Procter and Gamble, how Howard Schultz and Howard Behar led the turnaround of Starbucks and, more recently, how Alan Mulally led the turnaround of Ford.

Our firm’s research over the past decade found these three behaviors in leaders who achieved long-term superior performance. The behaviors brought about an extraordinary degree of connection, community and unity so that people pull together rather than retreat to protect self-interest. Stated another way, these leadership behaviors create a team that pulls together and protects the culture from spiraling down into a dog-eat-dog environment.

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Leaders: Don’t Forget to Make Time for Q&A

Disengaged employees explaining employee engagement to their boss

#49 Make Time for Q&A

If you directly and indirectly lead a large number of people, set aside times for people to ask questions that you then answer.  You can have people anonymously submit questions or just ask them during the meeting.

Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America and Starbucks International, called the sessions he held “Open Forums.” Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS Institute, holds sessions like this that are referred to as “Java with Jim.” Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL, had people email him questions that he answered on his blog so everyone could see the question and his response. The founders of Google used to do this each Friday at the “TGIF” meeting by having people email questions that are then posted on Google’s intranet. Google employees would vote on the questions and Google’s founders would answer the questions that receive the most votes.

This is the forty-ninth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Connect With Your Direct Reports By Helping Them Find Mentors

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#48 Arrange for Peer Mentoring

A great way leaders can serve their direct reports is by making peer mentors available for those who want to improve in a specific area of competence or character. Select a mentor who is strong in the given area, and make the introduction. The mentor does not necessarily have to be someone at a higher level in the company, but should be someone knowledgeable about the area and willing to help others grow.

This is the forty-eighth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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What CEOs Can Learn from Alcoholics Anonymous

Change-Direction

By Michael Lee Stallard and Colton Perry

As seen on Fox Business.

Change is hard.  It requires energy and effort. Some people relish change; most resist, consciously or unconsciously.  For them change is uncomfortable at best, painful at worst.  CEOs who want to effect major change have their work cut out for them.

It might not be an obvious place to look, but CEOs can learn about successfully implementing change from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Beating addiction is no easy feat. Seventy percent of addicts relapse within one year.  Since its founding in 1935, AA has helped many alcoholics change their attitudes, language and behaviors to resist drinking alcohol despite the extremely unpleasant sensations of withdrawal.  Clearly AA is doing something right because presently it is helping more than 2 million members in 180 countries.  How does AA do it?

Here are three insights from AA’s approach that CEOs need to understand if they are to succeed at changing their organizations.

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Seek Ideas and Opinions in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions

Man having an idea#45 Seek Ideas and Opinions in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions

When leading Knowledge Flow Sessions, share with participants that “I don’t have a monopoly on good ideas and we will be our best only when we all share our opinions and ideas.” Encourage dialogue by asking participants to tell you “what’s right, what’s wrong and what’s missing” from your thinking.

Everyone’s opinions and ideas should be considered so ask people who are quiet to share what they think.  Listen and consider the ideas put forth.  Implement good ideas and give credit where it’s due.  This practice reflects the character strengths of integrity, humility, curiosity and open-mindedness.

This is the forty-fifth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.

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Lead with Vision in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions

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Photo Credit: StockImages

#44 Lead with Vision in Group Knowledge Flow Sessions

A knowledge flow session is a meeting that allows leaders to both inform and listen to members of their teams. Begin by sharing your Vision, i.e. your thoughts about what actions need to be done, by whom, and when each action needs to be completed. We call this “putting your cards on the table.”

In the coming weeks, I will share more helpful tips for facilitating knowledge flow sessions.

This is the forty-fourth post in our series entitled “100 Ways to Connect.” The series highlights language, attitudes and behaviors that help you connect with others. Although the language, attitudes and behaviors focus on application in the workplace, you will see that they also apply to your relationships at home and in the community.