The 3 Eee’s of Leadership...Engage, Empower, Enable

Andre Villas Boas at 35 is the youngest manager to win the Europa League (with FC Porto). “Being a manager is all about emotions. I remember hearing about the Boston Philharmonic maestro whose biggest breakthrough as a leader was realising he didn’t actually make any sound himself; only his players did. He had to lead them but by harnessing their emotions.”

As a leader how do you win the hearts and minds of your team? A common theme I come across is “my team are lazy/I make all the decisions/what’s the point of delegating”.  However if you step back you just might see a different perspective.

Your leadership style is directly reflected back by your team’s performance and overall results.

Louise was excellent at her job and was recently promoted to management. She was fired up with best intentions and ideas to get more out of her team. Within a few months the team were disengaged, she was stressed, working longer hours and doubting her capability as a manager.

Her previous excellent relationships turned to mistrust, the team did not support her or the new ideas. Her boss questioned if he’d made a mistake in promoting her.

During our coaching Louise had time to reflect and see what was going wrong. The old style of management, control and command, is a fast route to a disengaged and demotivated team resulting in lower performance. There are times for this style such as crises or safety issues however, modern day managers lead by engaging and empowering their team enabling their organisation to achieve its objectives.

Louise changed her approach. She fed back to each individual what they did well, asked what were their challenges and what support did they need.

She set up regular informal one-to-ones; she learnt to listen and to give constructive feedback. She led with a coaching style of management, asking questions not telling, opening a 2-way dialogue. Occasionally Louise would fall back to old habits, however trust and rapport was now stronger and her team could give her feedback.

An engaged team become empowered and enabled to make better decisions; they accept accountability and are motivated to do more.

Invest in engaging your team and individuals. What can you do to empower them? Get it right and watch your team and the results soar.

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We think we're clever but are we really, Aristotle saw through it all

2000 years ago Aristotle wisely said We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit. So what does this really means?

Our minds think about what it is most exposed to. What most occupies your thoughts shapes your perception and reality.  Your mind will reflect whatever it gets exposed to. 

What are you exposing other people to when they look at your behaviour? Do you pollute your mind with excuses, self pity, lack of integrity, inconsistency, apathy, sarcasm, gossip, procrastination, mediocrity, fear, worry, anger? These all negatively impact your results. 

Your mind thinks about what it is exposed to all the time. What impact does this exposure have on your performance?

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the fast pace of the 21st century, new technology driving our lives but in fact human behaviour has not changed and Aristotle's wisdom continues today.

Consciously take charge and expose yourself to new ideas, stimulating conversation, and good virtuous humanity.  Expose others to your good character, sound judgement and your helpful nature. Expose people to the example you want to see.

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Philosophy for Life - official website of author Jules Evans

Philosophy for Life - official website of author Jules Evans

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3 Simple Goals You Must Set to Succeed | Inc.com

3 Simple Goals You Must Set to Succeed | Inc.com

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How do you get 2012 off to a Great Start?

Seven questions to review your year, acknowledge yourself and help you to get 2012 off to a great start. Write all your answers down, don't keep them in your head.

• What was your biggest challenge in 2011?
• What qualities did you draw upon to meet this challenge?
• What have your achievements been this year?
• What are you most proud of?
• Which project or commitment could you let go of in order to release energy and time to spend on something more rewarding in 2012?
• Which people do you most value in your life and how can you spend more time with them in 2012?
• What is your greatest learning from 2011?
• In 10 years time, how do you want to remember 2012 - it was the year you did what?

And before I sign off, one last question for you to ponder....

What could you achieve if you had an extra hour each day in 2012? One hour extra equates to almost an extra work day per week....just imagine what would you do with this extra time?

Join me on 1st February in my complimentary webinar on How to Discover your Perfect Career

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What Do You Want in 2012?

1. Appreciate your Achievements

Think back over the whole of 2011 and make a list of absolutely everything you achieved.

This is supposed to be a LONG list so include everything - large and small.

I love this exercise. We so often forget what we've achieved and - perverse creatures that we are - seem to prefer to focus on all the things we haven't managed to do.

It's really important to acknowledge your successes on a regular basis. Write them down.

2. Your Vision for 2012

For this exercise you are going to look forward to the end of this new year.

Imagine that 2012 is drawing to a close and you are really satisfied with all the elements of your life. You've made all the changes you wanted and have achieved everything you set out to do.

What would that look like?

Write a description of your life as you'd like it to look like at the end of 2012. It's important to write in the present tense, as if it has already happened, and try to be as specific as possible.

How would you really like things to be for you in your life with your career, your health & lifestyle, your relationships and with your finances?

If you don't enjoy writing you could put together a visual representation instead - either by drawing or painting it yourself or cutting pictures and words out of magazines. You can be as creative as you like - some people include their partners or even the whole family in this exercise to create a 'family vision' of what they want to achieve in the coming year.

It's amazing how powerful this exercise can be. I often ask new clients to do this task - describing how their life will look when they have made all the changes they desire. It's so affirming for them to be able to look back at their description months later and to see - in black and white - that they've done all they set out to do.

I wish you a very happy and successful 2012.

Jennifer

Join me on February 1st in my complimentary webinar on How to Discover Your Perfect Career

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Influencing Your Boss

Although there are other important people in your work life, your boss is special because he or she is both an evaluator of your performance and the main source of the resources and rewards you seek. Your boss may also be the key to your career advancement.

Being able to influence your boss is critically important to your success as an employee. The extent to which you can influence that person will go a long way to determining:

• The level of resources you'll have available
• The opportunities you'll have for career growth
• The degree of autonomy you'll be given
• Your financial rewards

Mutual success
If your boss trusts and has confidence in you, he or she will welcome your participation in planning and decision making, which will give you a major level of control over your life at work. In contrast, having no influence will reduce you to being an order taker—a person who simply does what he or she is told.

Influence with one's boss is based on a relationship in which the boss:

• Trusts you
• Likes you
• Perceives you as similar in some ways to him or her
• Believes you have good and accurate information to share
• Depends on you to complement his or her strengths
• Is persuaded by your reasoning
• Considers you reliable and competent
• Recognizes an obligation to you for valued favors
• Believes you are working hard on the things that matter most to him or her

Tips to help you gain more influence with your boss:

• Make sure your boss knows he or she can trust you
  Trust is important in any relationship, especially if you want to exercise influence. But trust is absolutely critical in your relationship with your boss. Your boss looks to you to accomplish your departmental objectives, thereby making him or her look good. More than that, your boss needs to know that you will always tell the whole truth, the good news and the bad. There must be no unpleasant surprises, especially public ones! Your boss will not trust you if you violate the chain of command and go around him or her to confer with his or her superior without first clearing it.
• Focus on what’s important to your boss
  The starting point of an influential relationship with your boss is a clear understanding of your boss's goals and priorities, workplace concerns, and the pressures he or she is feeling. These are the matters that absorb your boss's attention and, in some cases, create anxiety. If you can accurately answer the following questions, you'll be able to recognize things you can do to help your boss:
  —What are your boss's goals and priorities?
  —What knotty problem is he or she struggling with?
  —What pressure, if any, is higher management putting on your boss?
  —What accomplishment would make your boss a hero in the eyes of senior management?
  —What kind of relationship does your boss have with his or her immediate superior? Is it tense? Collegial? Subservient?

Adapt to your boss’s work style

Every boss has a preferred style for doing his or her work and dealing with subordinates like you. Do you know what that style is? If you learn your boss's preferences and adapt to them, your relationship will proceed smoothly and you'll be in a position to project influence. Work style covers a number of areas:

Information Preferences. Most bosses want to know about progress against deadlines, problems with important customers, new expenditures and revenue projections that may affect budget projections, and so forth. Talk to your superior about the specific matters on which he or she needs to be kept posted. You want to provide what is needed but not overload your boss with too much information.

Information Format. Some managers prefer a short, verbal report: “In a nutshell, tell me the current status of __.” Others want written reports with plenty of supporting data. Be careful using e-mail to inform your boss of key information unless he or she has requested it; many busy executives are woefully behind on checking their e-mails.

Time Demands. How much time is your boss willing to give you? The typical subordinate wants more time with the boss than he or she is currently getting, but your boss may have other ideas. To maintain a good relationship, find a proper balance between your need for face time and your boss's ability or inclination to provide it.

Decision Making. Managers spend a significant percentage of their time making decisions. Some are little ones: “What's the best time to schedule this year's performance appraisals?” Others are big ones: “Should we invest $13.5 million in a new enterprise software system or continue with the current system—or seek a third alternative?” Your boss's decision process represents a potential portal for your influence. A sound decision process involves five steps, each of which represents an opportunity for you to contribute:
1. Defining the problem or issue and its context
2. Creating a set of feasible alternatives
3. Objectively analyzing the alternatives
4. Choosing the best alternative
5. Implementing the decision

How to lose influence with your boss
In tennis, amateur players generally defeat themselves by making mistakes: repeatedly hitting the ball out of bounds or into the net. People who seek to establish influence with their managers likewise defeat themselves by doing dumb things, such as the following:

• Being a habitual bargainer when assignments are given. Don't be a “What can you do for me?” person. Your boss will perceive dealings with you as a series of contests—for which he or she doesn't have time.
• Upstaging. Yes, it's nice to shine, but your job is to make your boss look good. Don't steal your boss's thunder—it will only create resentment and make you seem like a rival, not a trustworthy supporter.
• Self-promoting. It's fine to be ambitious, but instead of lobbying for attention or advancement, earn both through good work.
• Failing to check in. Keep your boss informed, even if it's only a quick update at the end of the day. Failure to inform will reduce trust in you.

Your boss has a tough job. The typical manager's day is fragmented with phone calls, meetings, people problems, and many fires to put out. There's seldom time to sit quietly, make plans, and think through the many decisions that must be made. The more order and support you can contribute to this chaotic situation, the greater the influence you will have.

© 2011 American Management Association. All rights reserved. This article is adapted from Increase Your Influence at Work, by Perry McIntosh and Richard A. Luecke. Published by AMACOM, a division of American Management Association.

About the Author(s)

Perry McIntosh and Richard A. Luecke Perry McIntosh has over 15 years of management experience at mid- and senior levels. Richard A. Luecke is a business writer and cowriter of the second edition of How to Become a Better Negotiator. Together, they are coauthors of The Busy Manager’s Guide to Delegation and Increase Your Influence at Work, from which this article is excerpted.

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