You don’t have to be a CEO to connect

As leaders, we’re immersed in metrics — perpetually measuring and evaluating business performance and looking for the next improvement. Yet one metric that gets scant attention in some organizations is employee engagement. A 2010 Gallup report finds that 71% of employees are disengaged, up 4% year-over-year. That’s a disturbing number.

However, there’s a one-word, cost-effective solution for bolstering employee commitment: connecting.

Connecting is good for individuals and for business. It’s a little dated, yet back in the late 1990s, Sears discovered that a 5% increase in employee satisfaction produced a 1.3% positive bump in customer satisfaction, yielding a 0.5% increase in revenue growth. How? With leaders transcending “it’s all about me” and instead building connections and relationships.

All work gets done by and through people, so connecting with them should be high on a leader’s priority list, right alongside strategizing, budgeting and planning the next acquisition. As Doug Conant and Mette Norgaard write in “Touchpoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments”: “Each of the many interactions you have during your day is an opportunity to establish high performance expectations, to infuse with greater clarity and more energy and to influence the course of events.”

Besides knowing one’s own strengths and weaknesses, there are three constituencies where fostering real connections (not just clicking a “like” icon!) pays big dividends: One’s own work team, others within the organization and the wider world.

Try one (or more) of these five ways to build meaningful associations with these groups:

1. Be honest with yourself and with others, and own up to your mistakes. We’ve all seen too many examples lately where leaders lie, cover up and then lose all credibility. Leadership development author John Baldoni offers a helpful nugget for handling these situations: “Demonstrate through words and passion that you have done what you think is best. At the same time, do not be defensive. Act with honest confidence, even when you admit mistakes.”
2. Be generous with your time. Don’t get caught in the trap of thinking you’re too busy to meet people for coffee, chat for a few minutes after a meeting or take in the occasional networking event. People want affiliation, so be the one who gives it to them.
3. Take some advice from Tony Schwartz, president of the Energy Project, and view the world through “a reverse lens.” Of course, we want to get the sales report to the boss as soon as we can; yet when a colleague drops in unexpectedly, think of it as an opportunity to engage and influence rather than as an interruption.
4. Champion and/or adopt others’ ideas. Being open-minded and practicing reciprocity belong on every leader’s playlist. If you want people to play in your sandbox, you must play in theirs from time to time.
5. Be an information and connection broker. Share information (what you can), introduce people, make recommendations, pass along the names of articles and books, etc. Being viewed as a subject matter expert or the “go-to” person for ideas boost both personal and professional connections.

Make it a practice to connect at least once a day and avoid becoming out of touch and short-sighted by focusing only on short-term tactical situations.

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Source: by Jane Perdue, founder of Braithwaite Innovation Group and a leadership and women’s issues consultant. Jane is @thehrgoddess on Twitter and can also be found doing e-learning at Get Your BIG On.

Common Factors Shared by Powerful and Influential Leaders

Terry R. Bacon, PhD, a thought leader, renowned consultant, scholar in residence and author of The Elements of Power posted an entry on the Great Leadership blog. Dr. Bacon pointed out common elements shared by powerful and influential leaders.



By TRERRY R.BACON,PhD, author of Elements of Power.

When most of us think about the power of leaders, we think about the legitimate authority that comes with whatever role they play in the organizations they lead. CEOs are powerful because they are the chief executives of their companies; presidents are powerful because they exercise the legitimate authority vested in them by virtue of their position. But it turns out that role authority, while an important source of power for leaders, is not a leader’s greatest source of power; in fact, it’s not even among the top four.

For the past twenty years, I have been studying power and influence among leaders globally, and that research has yielded some surprising findings about where leaders derive their power. First, the old news. Four hundred years ago, Sir Francis Bacon observed that knowledge is power—and he’s right—but it is a foundational source of power, a prerequisite for being in a leadership position. Character is similar. Leaders could not build a followership without being knowledgeable or skilled in ways that are important to followers, nor would people follow them if they lacked character. Knowledge and character are essential sources of power for leaders, but they are hardly distinguishing.

What is news is the importance of attraction, which I define as the ability to draw people to you, to cause them to prefer you to others. It’s based on the psychological principles of similarity and liking. When we like someone or feel similar to them in some way, we are more likely to be influenced by them. So leaders who are more attractive are more powerful. The attraction can be physical but it may also be based on personality, warmth, caring, energy, commitment, or common values. Having these characteristics makes leaders more powerful because they are more appealing to followers. Having an abundance of these characteristics is commonly called charisma.

Another surprising finding is the importance of a leader’s reputation. This power source is based on how leaders are perceived in their communities, whether those communities are business units, companies, tribes, teams, or nations. It goes without saying that a leader’s reputation is critical—just look at Eliot Spitzer before and after news surfaced of his dalliances with a prostitute—but the research shows that leaders with good or very good reputations are more than three times as influential as leaders with average or poor reputations. Being highly thought of is so critical a source of power for leaders that they should do everything they can to protect it. Moreover, a strong reputation has a halo effect—it enhances all of a leader’s other sources of power.

One of the biggest surprises in my research was the effect of a leader’s ability to communicate. I call it expressiveness—the ability to communicate in commanding and compelling ways. It’s the power of eloquence. People with the gift of speech—like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King—are nearly four times as influential as leaders with average speaking ability. Aristotle and Plato understood the power of rhetoric. In fact, they warned against its abuse, and we witnessed that abuse in the hands of another powerful speaker—Adolf Hitler. But when the gift of speech is used ethically, it can build charisma and be an extraordinary source of power for leaders.

The biggest ah-ha from the research was the importance of will power. If you want to be more influential or have more impact as a leader, nothing matters quite as much as your desire to be more powerful coupled with the courage to act. The research shows that people with very high will power are more than ten times more influential than average leaders. Walt Whitman called the power of will personal force—the will to do something when others merely dream or talk about it. Will power—along with attraction, reputation, and expressiveness—is the secret sauce, the magic elixir that differentiates between average leaders and those who become exceptionally powerful.


Terry R. Bacon, PhD, is the author of The Elements of Power. He has been a thought leader, coach, and consultant to global businesses in leadership, management, and interpersonal skills for more than thirty years. In 1989, he founded Lore International Insti¬tute, a widely respected executive development firm recently acquired by the Korn/Ferry Institute, where he currently serves as a Scholar in Residence. For more on Terry and his works, see http://www.terryrbacon.com/ or http://www.theelementsofpower.com/.
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Source:"Four Surprising Sources of Leadership",6/7/11, Great Leadership.
The Great Leadership blog are opinions and information on Leadership and Leadership Development by Dan McCarthy.

When A Career Veers Off Track

By CRAIG CHAPPELOW AND JEAN BRITTAIN LESLIE

Mid-career derailment can happen any time, but in today's economy there is no room for complacency. With job opportunities harder than ever to find, it's a particularly rough time to be fired or demoted or to hit a career plateau. You can reduce your risk for derailment by paying attention to your value and effectiveness and by focusing on interpersonal skills, adaptability, team leadership and bottom-line results.

Based on the Center for Creative Leadership's ongoing study of executive derailment with clients around the world, here are 10 ways to avoid these pitfalls:

Ask for instant feedback. When walking out of a meeting, ask a colleague, "I think that could have gone better – what could I have done differently?" Listen to the response. Don't defend or justify your actions and don't interrupt. Sean Fowler, assistant vice president with insurance company IAT Group in Cold Springs, Fla., uses feedback from his co-workers as a reality check. "You have to develop a bit of a thick skin," Mr. Fowler said. "Once you get past the initial shock, you really come to appreciate it. It's a long-term effort made up of small steps, not a leap."

Increase self-awareness. Become a student of your own behavior. Take stock of how you feel about your work and how you react when you are pushed outside your comfort zone. Explore the values that matter most to you and use them as an anchor during times of change, transition and stress. Amy Gillard, owner and operator of Gillard Enterprises, an event-management business notes that selecting work which is not the right fit will only create challenges with clients down the line. "Self-awareness is key in my business. You have to know who you are and what you have to offer," she said.

Pay attention to organizational culture. To stay aligned with your organization as it morphs and changes over time, you need a clear understanding of the prevailing culture. Analyze how decisions get made and think about the underlying assumptions that guide the organization as it responds to challenges and opportunities.

Use empathy. Your direct reports, your peers and even your bothersome boss are all human beings worthy of your respect. Listen without judging. Take the feelings and perspectives of others into account. Don't use humor inappropriately and always keep private conversations private. You'll end up with stronger relationships.

Learn to listen. Hearing isn't the same as listening. Turn away from your email and concentrate on the person talking to you. Don't be passive. Ask questions to make sure you understand. Stay in the moment and take notes to help you remember key points. Show people you're really hearing them. Air Force Col. Trent Edwards, Commander of the 28th Mission Support Group at Ellsworth Air Force Base, learned to listen differently in response to feedback from his team and his family. He realized he was using a "war zone" mentality in non-war zone settings. With tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, Edwards describes his previous approach as "very action-oriented. Everything was always go, go, go. Now I try to listen with more patience, with an open ear to try to hear what is being said and also what is not being said."

Collaborate. Try to not be the Lone Ranger. Be open and willing to disclose your decision-making process to others, along with important facts and feelings. Your influence and effectiveness will increase.

Deal with problem employees sooner rather than later. If a direct report's behavior or lack of skills threatens the success of your team, confront the problem head on. Don't let it fester. These kinds of problems almost never heal themselves. Document specific shortcomings and either dismiss the employee or create a development plan for improved performance. The cost of carrying poor performers can have a ripple effect across the organization – destroying morale and dragging down productivity.

Delegate authority. Don't keep your employees tied down and stuck in the same roles and responsibilities. Allow them to test their wings. Assign stretch projects you think they can handle. As they prove themselves, increase the complexity of the assignments. Give adequate guidance and follow up to see how they are doing. Debrief shortfalls and use them as a learning opportunity. Above all, acknowledge positive outcomes.

Focus on the task at hand. While it's great to have a development plan and to work on skills you will need down the road, don't forget that your main job is just that – your main job. Organizations value managers who get work done. Focus on what you need to accomplish each day. Bring jobs to a close. Tie up loose ends. Document outcomes. Get closure, and…

Break out of a rut. Learn from the mistakes that you and others make. Stop talking about how things were done in the past. Bring a new idea or solution to the table. Break away from your lunch cliques. Identify a rut you are in and get out of it.

Become known for your skill at adjusting to change, building strong relationships, leading effective teams and getting results. Your colleagues will appreciate it – and you'll reap the professional rewards.

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Source: Wallstreet Journal Career Strategies section June 9, 2011