Leadership & The Power of Curious

May 28, 2014 by

Curious-Curiosity-LeadershipYou never know where a conversation could lead you.  It can start out with a simple, “hello” and lead to a short chat that ends quickly, or could turn into hours of discussion; but only if you let listening and curiosity take over.

The power of curious is really about not setting an agenda; about not being so set on an end result that you avoid or overlook or completely ignore the interesting, engaging, and authentic people that are sitting right in front of you.  They might have so much to offer, if you simply listen with a curious ear.

Try this in your next one-on-one or relationship-building meeting:  Focus on asking good questions that lead from one to another through curiosity.  Remove the need to reach a conclusive objective.  I experimented with this exercise in a coffee-chat debrief with a client.  The purpose of the coffee-chat was to get feedback on a session I had just facilitated for his team.  (I am always interested in feedback as it helps me become a better coach and facilitator). After receiving the feedback, I asked a number of questions that while, relevant to the feedback, also helped me better understand his team, their processes, their work and their clients.  At the end of our time together (30 minutes led to 60 minutes), he was impressed by my interview skills and asked me to facilitate another session for his group.

I was amazed at the power that this type of conversation holds.  Not only did I allow myself to be open to what could happen, I also was able to create a safe environment that allowed my coffee-companion to be open as well. Less pressure, more honesty, more connection, leading to a better relationship – all thanks to curiosity.

Think about this as a leader – How can the power of being curious impact my team?

It can lead to:

  • Innovation
  • Confidence-building
  • Problem-solving
  • Elimination of personal agendas
  • Removal of silos
  • Better understanding of priorities and mission
  • Ability to visualize success
  • Opportunity to learn from mistakes in a judgment-free zone

As you approach your next relationship-building opportunities & meetings, try the following to prepare for the power of curious to kick in:

  • Allow the person you are meeting to set the agenda, if any at all
  • Put your phone, tablet and/or pen away, and be present with undivided attention
  • Ask for clarification and further details or examples as often as possible
  • Concentrate on what is being said, not what you will say next

The power of curious comes from listening, being truly present.  Your curiosity will model the way for others to be curious.  It allows creativity to brew and build, relationships to strengthen and grow, bridges between groups to build, and foster momentum that can change the future.

How do you practice curiosity in your leadership? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Vulnerable Leader

March 12, 2013 by

Vulnerable-Leader-Lora-CrestanLeadership is not easy. In fact, if you are doing it right, it is downright difficult.  Learning to lead is an ongoing process that evolves with you.  Many skills and talents are molded together to create the leader you are today.  Your personality and the experience you have had either as a leader or with the leaders around you will definitely contribute to who you are as a leader.  We are clearly influenced by leaders and their actions, whether directly or in the media – a great leveler when it comes to viewing leaders as they truly are.

Think about this though.  Have you progressed in your leadership development so that you know it is okay to be vulnerable?

Vulnerable is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as ‘being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally’.  As leaders, we need to accept that we are human – being vulnerable is part of that.

Being vulnerable is not:

–        A sign of weakness or indecision

–        Becoming a doormat and allowing others to walk all over you

–        Crying at the drop of a hat

–        Taking unnecessary risks that could harm you or your organization

–        Abdicating responsibility

Being vulnerable as a leader is:

–        Letting others know you need help and asking for it

–        Listening to feedback and incorporating it into your next steps or development plans

–        Understanding that not everyone will ‘like’ you and dealing with the emotions that comes with that acknowledgement

–        Being empathetic and compassionate with your team, your family, your clients and your vendors – consistently and authentically

–        Allowing yourself opportunities to reflect and review your past performance and behaviour and seeking guidance for change

In quite the opposite direction, a leader needs to be confident to show their vulnerable side- this includes self-awareness that shows the leader can be multi-faceted and certainly focused at the same time.  It may not be easy to reconcile this in your mind.  As a human being, many emotions collide and keeping them bottled up really is not a good idea.  Finding ways to express emotions like frustration, confusion, regret, happiness, joy and all the rest is an art developed by experience.  Take some time to think about the many ways in which you interact with clients and colleagues.

Do you focus on building relationships instead of making transactions?  This applies to both clients and team members.  With clients, it is clear – get to know them and build the relationship so that they trust you.  As soon as trust develops, the relationship is now a two-way street and no longer about a transaction but about making both parties better.  The same applies to relationships with your team – it is not about strictly giving direction (the transaction – they do what we say). Now you are venturing into tapping into who does what best, or who needs to stretch and grow in new directions because you have gotten to know them and understand who they are and the direction in which they would like to move.

Are you interested in listening and truly understanding as opposed to glossing over objections to close the sale?  If you truly listen, you are doing so with your whole body – and seeing as well as hearing what is being said.  If you are only trying to close the sale and get the dollars, they most certainly will not stick in the future as there has not been a true effort to build trust.  By taking time to listen, even though you may not get the sale today, you have been open and vulnerable to rejection and allow the other party to learn more about you.

As a leader, you are charged with guiding others to move forward through your example. Lora Crestan Tweet this!

This could be an individual or an entire company.  How you act will define how others act.  How you develop relationships will be reflected in how your team learns to, and then builds relationships.  Your ability and courage to show vulnerability will provide a more open environment in your organization, allowing for change, personal growth and stronger bonds to develop.

 How you act will define how others act”.

Are you a Vulnerable Leader? Describe to us how you became one.

 

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Leadership Around the World Using Positive Power and Influence

March 16, 2012 by

Leadership InfluenceMany definitions of leadership involve the word INFLUENCE. “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” (John Maxwell) What does influence have to do with leadership, though?  A leader needs to do two things: build or maintain relationships, and get things done.

What is common to all cultures is the need for a leader whom people trust and admire. But in the global organizations that exist today, what makes someone trustworthy and admirable when you have five different cultures in the room as those attributes are viewed differently across cultures? Also, there are various personality types in addition to cultural differences. Lastly, don’t forget the various levels of dysfunction that exist in most corporate cultures! Therefore building or maintaining relationships can get complicated.

So how do you build relationships and get things done in this kind of environment? INFLUENCE.  There are many different ways to positively influence people. For example, you can use logic, you can be clear about what you need, you can draw out the other person using disclosure to make them comfortable, and you can speak to what you both have in common and paint a picture of where you are headed.  Positive influence is about being genuine and authentic which builds trust, hence relationships. That trust is built when the leader is consistent and therefore reliable.  These attributes come naturally when a leader uses positive influence.

Many top leaders want everything delivered in sound bites of data. The direct reports are instructed to have the problem defined and fixed, with the data to support the solution. If you can’t present it in ten minutes, then don’t bother. What many corporate structures do is isolate people as they get promoted so internal relationships become less and less important. Getting things done becomes critical, as the top layers are beholden, i.e. in a publicly traded company, to the Board and, in the US, to investors and Wall Street.

However, there is a period of time with each ascending role where internal relationships are critical in order to get things done. Understanding that each person is a unique personality requires you to be flexible in your use of appropriate influence styles, which is critical to your success in building solid relationships.

In order to get things done globally generally translates to a lot of conference calls with people that have never been in the same place physically and have cultural differences. There is, however, a similarity between unique personalities and cultural differences.  Leaders have to stop focusing entirely on their own agenda and understand what matters to their direct reports regardless of culture. Knowing about the culture you are interacting with obviously is a great first step. The next step is to create the time to connect. Listen to what the issues are that create barriers to progress. Make it safe for people to give you bad news. Back up your people when things go wrong. Be present.

Whenever I talk to groups about being present, the room becomes very still.  When I am present with another person from any culture, the gift of my attention in this age of a million distractions creates an immediate bond. When I am willing, as a leader, to be present with someone, I am authentic and become more trustworthy. I am then a leader whom people trust, admire, and want to follow. Isn’t that the definition of impactful leadership?  Building my constituency one relationship at a time and exceeding expected results.

Connect with Sherri Malouf: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Achieving Success with Personal Leadership

March 10, 2012 by

Personal LeadershipThe world is full of recipes for success, but many times we forget that success comes from within ourselves with work that we do. I would even claim that success is mainly about attitude. When you have the right attitude, you focus on the right things, obstacles are there to overcome, you feel better and work more efficiently. I am sure you know what happens if you have a bad attitude: nothing seems to work at that time. Here are some questions for you to ask to become more successful through your own attitude towards other people and life. Even though you may not have answers to every one of them, thinking about these matters will already take you towards your personal success.

Am I sure that those I love, feel loved by me? 

Love is the all-healing force of the world. Too many couples go days, weeks or even months without showing each other their love. Everyone wants to be loved, but even more everyone wants to love.  Any bad day will become better when you love someone so that it shows. And do not limit your love just to your spouse; tell your parents, best friends or to any other people that you love them and see the difference in your personal success!

Do I feel grateful every day for having whatever I have or get today?

Every day when I go to bed I thank for at least three things. It really lifts up your spirit to be grateful for what you have or you got that day. And do not limit it only that; thank for what you are going to get also! You can be brave and thank beforehand for what you are going to get. Try it out for one week and see how it changes your thinking. When you face hard times, it is much easier when you are thankful for other things that you already have. And if those hard times will not kill you, they will make you stronger and that is something to be grateful! Thanking beforehand for what you will get will set your mind towards getting that thing.

Have I done my best to avoid unkind acts and words?

Think only positive. There is nothing to gain by revenge, doing bad acts, saying bad things or even thinking bad things about anything. You are what you think, so if you think well, you are good. And people judge you by what you do, so if you do unkind acts, people think you are bad. So, do yourself a favor and avoid all bad acts, words and thoughts. That will promote your personal success by being the person, who everyone wants to hang around with.

What can I do today to make the world better place?

All of us can do something to make this world better place for everyone, every day. What have you done or what are you going to do today? As you well know: what goes around comes around.

Have I helped anyone less fortunate?

You can read this, so for sure you are doing better than many other people in this world (many of them cannot read, do not have Internet, etc.) so what can you do to help less fortunate people? Giving is the start of receiving process…

Have I done and reviewed my personal success plan?

Better tomorrow is earned today. So, have you done and reviewed a good, sound personal success plan for better future? You have very limited time in your life, so you better use it wisely. Have you written personal mission statement? Have you set goals for this and next year? Have you identified your roles in your life? And did you write all that down and review it regularly so that you stay on the track?

What worthwhile I have yet to accomplish?

What is your dream? Are you working towards it? Did you know that only difference between a dream and a goal is that are you working towards it? What is out there something that you really want to accomplish? Have you done a road-map and are you walking along it? Many dreams can come true if you just work persistently towards it.

What wonderful memories do I have?

If you want to dwell in past, you should then dwell only in good memories. Get rid of bad memories by writing them down, learning whatever you can from them and then forgetting them. Enjoy the feeling of good memories and make bad memories tools for learning and getting over them. Only good memories are of value to you (bad memories have value in teachings, not in memories itself).

Does my integrity hold as well in public as in privacy?

Are you living a double life? If yes, then quit it. The reason is that if you live your life by any other rules than by your internal ones, you will have conflicts and loose energy in thinking what should you do in each situation. Establish yourself ground rules that you can live by in every situation. And review those rule, if needed. Deny those activities that do not suit your integrity and go full with the ones that are in inner peace with you.

Each of these questions are big ones and you can easily find many books to help you on your journey. Only thing you need to bear in mind is what you really want to achieve and keep on working towards it and one day you will succeed for sure!

Connect with Janne Ohtonen: Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

Filed Under: International Leadership Blogathon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Ultimate Personal Success Plan

December 30, 2011 by

Success PlanThe blogosphere is currently flooded with information on goal setting and New Year’s resolutions, but lets be honest, goal setting is not enough to be successful…you need a plan. At the beginning of 2011 I wrote about my 2011 Personal Success Plan.  I had a many wins and some losses in my 2011 goals, but overall, I am a better person and I achieved a lot more because of my plan. This year I have made a number of changes to help guarantee a successful 2012. The changes are not just aesthetic, but in how I manage my success, execute on the goals, keep motivation, track progress, and hold myself accountable.

Ben Stein beautifully said, “The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this:  Decide what you want.” This image to the left serves as the basis for stating what you, “want out of life”, or more specifically, what you want out of the year.  I value this document because it serves as a singular focal point to all I want to accomplish in the year (Read on to receive a template for yourself). Each of the parts are important to the success of the whole. I suggest you open up the image in another window to lok at as you read.

The Success Plan

The first part of the success plan is this success plan document. This is a Microsoft Word document that holds everything that is important for defining my goals. I will not use this document for tracking, but for defining and planning. Tracking comes later. Here are the parts of this “defining” document:

1. Annual Vision

I debated on what to call this section, but ultimately decided it was almost like a mini BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). It was not a definite goal, because goals ultimately define what your overall success looks like.  It is a statement that is meant to define what I will become and what I will look like when I complete all my goals. It serves as the inspiration to WHY I’m doing this and WHAT I will become when I am successful. It is written as if it already happened, setting the mental image and motivation for the hard-work ahead.  My vision statement for 2012 is “2012 was a launching-point for a better future and a better me. I have set positive habits for the future that will make me a better father, a better husband, and a better friend. I have strengthened my professional reputation as an innovative, solid, and proven leader and I have become more spiritually in-tune and financially stable.”

2. Mission Statement

Developing a personal mission statement takes some time, but once you have it, it will serve as a guide for all your actions. I feel it is important to state this on the personal success plan because it is my “code of conduct” and guides me as I execute and as I come to problems throughout the year. Leaving this out leaves a big hole in the plan. My personal mission statement is, “I will not accept status quo and as such will seek after that which is efficient and effective in all areas my life, but never at the expense of my relationships.  I will focus on that which is important versus that which is critical.  I will be teachable and will strive to always learn new things that will help me reach my full-potential.  I will act with Integrity at all times and will treat others as they would like to be treated.  I will look for the good in all I experience, and remember all the blessings that I have been given.” Take the time to develop your own, it will be well worth it.

3. Values (Areas of Focus)

My values are actually listed in 2 places, for 2 different reasons. In my mission statement I actually list values that are important to me. You do not have to do this, but you can. These values are more guiding to my life. Right above my mission statement I list the values that I will be focusing on in 2012. These could be called my areas of focus. My focus’ for 2012 are: Relationships, Spirituality, Intellectual Stimulation, Financial Success, Physical Wellness, Professional Growth, Giving Back, & Renewal. These help me to categorize my lower-level goals into groups that are easier to track and help me to see how everything fits together. The image is meant to remind me that everything contributes to the whole of who I am and who I want to become.

4. Lead Measures (Goals)

Lead measures are something I talk about in detail in my book. But basically they are smaller goals that predict the success of a higher goal. In my case, the higher goal is my annual vision. The beauty of a lead measure is that, assuming you set the right lead measures, when you complete them, you will have accomplished your goal. My lead measures are organized according to my areas of focus. They are all written as if I was in the future looking back. They are positive and stated what I have accomplished, not what I want to accomplish. Kind of the same thing but a mental difference.

5. Vision Board

Below my lead measures is a small vision board with images that remind me why I am doing these goals. I did not change this over last year, because my focus areas are the same. I know a lot of people put a crazy amount of effort into this part alone, but for me it is a mental reminder of the what is important in this plan.

6. The Reward (The Clincher)

This is probably the biggest change to the plan this year. One of the problems I saw with this plan was motivation. The thrill of achievement sometimes just isn’t enough, even for those like myself that are motivated by achievement. So the reward concept was brought in. It took me a while to come-up with a reward that would be motivational enough to keep me going, but a trip to Europe or Asia is what did it for me. There was one other problem with the reward. You see the vision accomplishment could be subjective. I don’t necessarily have to complete ALL my lead measures to accomplish my annual vision. So I am going to have to prove myself to a board of 4 people. I am going to have to keep records and track my progress. My “board” will consist of a financial expert, a business expert, a relationship expert and one other wild-card.  Only a unanimous decision will result in the reward. This is a kind of kick-in-the-rear, motivation also. I have to be a success in others’ eyes, not just my own.

Some Important Steps in Creating Your Success Plan

1. Take time to make sure the goals are right for you and what you want to accomplish. It took me over a month to nail down all my goals.

2. Talk to others about your goals. I have a personal performance partner that spent loads of time questioning me and helping me to narrow and define my goals better. The best thing I did was have a meeting with my wife to talk to her about my goals and get her feedback. Some of my goals changed because of that meeting and she is now vested in my success and we worked out some details to the execution that I had not thought of. Depending on who your goals touch, will determine who you should talk to.

3. Push yourself. I told a friend the other day that I felt like a very small person about to climb a very big mountain.  I am scared of my goals. Once that fear came on, I knew I had pushed my goals far enough to make me a much better person. I know they are all achievable as well. If you are not scared of your goals, you are probably not reaching far enough, and therefore you are limiting your capacity to grow.

Execution & Tracking of your Success Plan

I spent a lot of time setting up the processes to make sure that nothing will prevent me from hitting the ground running when I start. I am using a service at http://www.sendrecurring.com/ to schedule emails and text message reminders to myself and to my wife for certain things we need to remind ourselves to do. Until everything becomes a habit and second nature I want to be bugged about it.

The next and most important thing is I let my personal performance partner or accountability partner know about my goals. He will push me, make sure I am on track and not let me waiver. I will be sending reports to him on a weekly basis and we talk on a weekly basis via phone on the goals.  We also email each other on a daily basis regarding important weekly and daily goals or things we are struggling with. I am doing the same for him. This type of relationship is really important to the success of a plan that pushes your comfort level.

Success PlanThe last thing I needed was a system of tracking and measuring my progress. Everyone has to do what is best for them on this.  Some people like to track things on paper, not me. I am in front of the computer most of the time, I prefer typing and I like charts and graphs and percentages and other hard data to look at. I thought about using Excel, but it was going to be too much of a pain. I use Outlook all the time, and while I will be using it for task management and calendaring, it is not good for managing goals and running reports. I ultimately settled on a software program called Goal Enforcer (http://www.goalenforcer.com/).

Goal Enforcer is a mind map based program that’s sole purpose is Goal Management. There are a couple reasons why I chose it. First is because it allowed me a quicker method of inputting (or really importing from excel) my goals. When all my goals are broken down into daily tasks and weekly tasks and unit based tasks I had 3,448 tasks for the year just involving my success plan.  That does not include other things I do. Using excel I was able to knock all the goals into a spreadsheet in a couple hours and import that into Goal Enforcer.

Success PlanGoal Enforcer  integrates with Outlook tasks and beautifully setup all my tasks for the entire year on the appropriate days. It also imports from Outlook, so I can complete my tasks in Outlook and it will update Goal Enforcer.  It also allows me to email a report from within and save it to a remote location, which is good for me as I travel a lot.

Because I have some sub-goals that are daily, resulting in 366 circles under a task, I will not be using the mind-map very much. Instead I will be using the tree view. The tree view allows me to quickly click tasks that are done, update the percentage, if it is that type of goal, and easily add notes or logs to the task. I will be using this daily and weekly in my planning sessions. I can also attach files or website links to a task if I am using another type of log or agenda for something. It is reasonably priced and you can get a free demo and purchase it from http://www.goalenforcer.com/.

Another thing to prevent barriers was I systematized and created processes and checklists for various tasks such as my daily planning agenda, my weekly planning agenda and my social media strategy.

This was a long post and a lot to take in, but I believe there is not anything more important to do for your success, than to develop your own 2012 Personal Success Plan.  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.

If you would like a blank 2012 Success Plan to work your own plan, subscribe the the Slice of Leadership list on the top-right side of this page. I am happy to provide my Daily Planning Agenda, Weekly Planning Agenda, and Social Media /Personal Branding Checklist for those that would like a copy. Just subscribe and request it in the comments below.

I hope that everyone has the most successful year in 2012 that they have ever had.

Filed Under: Personal Success Plan Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Never Underestimate The Lowly Peasant In Front Of You

October 10, 2011 by

I was at a couple conferences recently and a familiar topic came to mind, that is the value of those you network with.  The reason why this topic stuck with me because I had an interesting conversation with the CEO of an association that serves the IT industry.  There was an exclusive party for technology vendors and sponsors at this conference. I was invited by one of the technology vendors.  I was just a guy that had recently resigned and was looking for other opportunities.  I guess to the lay person, I was an unemployed nobody.  As with any party, I circled the room and talked with people about what they did and what companies they were from.  I met some fascinating people.

During the party, I ran into the CEO of the association that was putting on the conference. I congratulated him on the event and engaged in small talk. He then asked who I was and who I was with. When I explained that I was not with anyone and that I had recently resigned and was looking for other opportunities, he kind of shook his head, chewed some food and non-chalently turned around and started talking with someone else.  I stood there in in awe at this experience.

I don’t consider myself prideful, but later I thought to myself. Does he realize I run the largest IT operations oriented peer group with CEO’s from 3 continents? Does he realize I have almost 10,000 social media connections, of which at least two-thirds, work in the IT industry?  Does he realize that I write guest articles for an IT Industry Channel blog that is read by thousands of IT executives? Does he realize I have been asked to speak at several IT industry events in the coming year that will be attended by thousands of IT executives? Does he realize I have a book that will be published soon by a major publisher? Does he realize I was invited by one of the vendors paying him money to be there?

No, my head is not getting big. I guess to the lay person, I am an unemployed nobody. But who knows where I will be in a few years and what kind of influence, good or bad, that I could have on his association. I have often heard people say that they only connect with fellow peers of equal or greater position. I always respond that I connect with just about everyone (I have a few moral exceptions).  I tell them, that I will connect with people from other industries, because someday the IT industry could drastically change(i.e. Cloud Computing).  I explain that I will connect with an entry-level technician, or customer service rep., because one day I may need to hire one, and one day that person might be CEO of their own company. I will connect with an artist, because I might need one (I have), or any just about any other person, because you never know who they know. Perhaps they are the son of a Board member that will make a decision about having me come into the company.

The point I am trying to make goes back to the golden rule.  Treat others as you would like to be treated. Treat others with respect and interest, because you never know when you may need their help or when another might help you for no other reason than, they can. 

Filed Under: Networking Leaders Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,