| JJ's Oct Tips in this issue: 1. Turning Managers Into Influential Leaders 2. Welcome To New Orleans HDP Conference Attendees 3. JJ's Favorite Quotes 4. Tele-Coaching & Tele-Mentoring ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use the following tips as training tools. Present this situation to your group and brainstorm solutions together, or submit your own situation question to be answered in an upcoming newsletter. ------------------------------------- SITUATION QUESTION: ------------------------------------- One of the attendees at the New Orleans (HDP) Help Desk Professional Conference two week ago, reminded me of a question I am often asked. How can supervisors and managers become influential leaders with their groups? (Welcome to the HDP Conference crowd that attended my session. This newsletter is a reinforcement of some of the key points that were made in my "Turning Managers Into Leaders" program in New Orleans.) --------------------- SOLUTIONS: --------------------- Watch children on a playground, and you will see natural leaders, followers and sometimes bullies. Watch adults in the workplace and you will sometimes see natural leaders, followers and even bullies too. Some natural leaders are also bullies, using outdated fear management techniques to manage their groups. They are not liked or admired, but they do move the troops to get the work done. They are really managers managing the process their way. Most people who find themselves in a supervisor or manager position need additional management and leadership training. To manage the daily process, and lead with vision and inspiration, training is a necessity. Very often people are promoted from the front line because they were successful at their job, and then they are expected to automatically know how to manage and lead without leadership training. Most people are not natural leaders. Great leadership is usually learned and started with management training. To be successful in today's workplace, managers need to be open to new ways of communicating, negotiating and collaborating to be good leaders. According to the Herman Trend Alert, there will be more bottom-up teams coming in the next ten years. With flattened organizations, teams need to be led by managers who coordinate, network and connect with others, not direct others. It is stated in the book, Lean and Meaningful by Roger Herman, that collaboration is the key to leaders' success. Recently, an article appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on the Oracle bid to take over PeopleSoft. It painted a vivid picture of what had happened the day before in the PeopleSoft camp. CEO Craig Conway was ousted, and former founder, David Duffield, replaced him. The reason for the ouster was a loss of confidence in Conway's leadership. It appears he had grown hostile to his own managers and had refused to collaborate with them. Leaders must collaborate with their people to build high performance teams. They must hire well and have the courage to weed out the inherited ones (hired by someone else) who are not performing up to the team standard that is set by the team and leader. What is a high performance team led by an influential leader? A high performance team, led by a strong leader, is one where everyone on the team is working for the greater good of the team. They are all insiders respecting the strengths of others. They put the team and company interests first above their own. They know trust and risk taking are the norm, rather than the exception. Self evaluation and self correcting is a way of life, and striving for continuous improvement causes positive changes for the company. Mutual accountability prevails and the culture is shaped by the team members and the leader together. Managers manage the mission, which is the daily service standard that is expected from the group or company. Leaders are visionaries who lead the group toward what has not yet been accomplished. That is why it is called a vision; it is not reality yet. Leaders must share their vision for their department and company, and inspire, nurture and motivate everyone on their team to become a part of that vision. A shared vision raises confidence and self esteem in employees to accomplish even more. Points to Remember: Things do not always go as envisioned. Life happens when we are busy making plans. Leaders need to have perseverance and flexibility during changing conditions. They must avoid the "them or us" division of ranks. It is the recipe for trouble. Leaders must avoid the old 60's style of not questioning the leader. Instead, they should encourage the team to question any and everything as it helps the leader become a more collaborative leader. They must know when to pull the plug and rethink the plan, especially when outside factors are changing the situation. Leaders must not let the weakest member on the team imperil the goal either. They must balance job and family, and not give up the home in pursuit of the almighty company goal. Workaholics usually burn out and lose their perspective. When you become more of a leader than a manager, disperse your leadership across your organization. Share leadership skills through coaching, mentoring and growing your people. Be a role model with a strong vision. If you have chosen your teammates well, they will manage themselves, and look to you to lead them toward a prosperous future. John Naisbett wrote a long time ago that, "Success comes when leaders have managed their people in ways that keeps the involvement and sense of partnership. You don't have to scurry around motivating people, just keep them excited! It's the leader's job!" So manager, don't just direct and guide them, EXCITE them! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.jjlauderbaugh.com/about.html **************************************** |