|
Helping leaders create excellence in others |
| November 2003 |
|
Articles in this issue: 1. The WIN Leader: Can leaders lead without trust? 2. What Would You Do? Back next issue... 3. Editorial View: May there never be another rah-rah rollout meeting... |
| News from WIN Leadership |
| Leadership Influencing Skills workshop was a success! Nine people spent one day to learn five core leadership influencing skills and create a specific action plan to intentionally & positively alter the behavior of someone important to their success! If you missed it, it's happening again on Fri, Dec 12th, 8am to 3pm. Read the course outline at www.winleadership.com/workshops/influenceskills.htm Seating is limited to 16 maximum, and past participants can do it again for next to nothing... |
| The WIN Leader |
 Can
leaders lead without trust?
Of course they can! There's proof all over the world. Saddam
Hussein led without trust. The Soviet Union led without trust.
Many business leaders lead without trust, relying on their position,
authority and power to make or break careers to motivate the action they
want. The question isn't, does it work? The question is, "Is
there a better way?"Leading from a position of trust takes courage, and no one can do it perfectly. Sometimes, issues are pressing and you need immediate action. So you slide back into 'command and control'. Sometimes, your patience gets worn thin by people who procrastinate, who are needy, who get side-tracked or whose agenda conflicts with yours! I slip off the rails with my kids on this one regularly, despite my commitment and awareness of how 'giving orders' breaks down trust. All a leader can do in those moments, is own what they've done. That's when the leader becomes capable of making changes in their own practices. A leader recently told me about his frustration over a co-worker who constantly misses deadlines and refuses to work extra hours to get the job done. So he stays late himself. He doesn't want the company or his boss to suffer the consequences of the missed deadline, which could have serious financial consequences. Upon inspection, he acknowledged that he accepts a lot of missed mini-deadlines all day long. "What does this say to that person about your commitment to deadlines?" I asked. He grimaced. He recognized that his actions speak loudly. He is endorsing missing deadlines, every time he looks the other way, or does the work for his colleague. Sooner or later, this manager is at risk of swinging the other way, suddenly refusing to 'rescue' his colleague, or raising a stink with his superiors, or merely lashing out angrily. When he does, trust will breaks down. Good leaders notice when they feel resentful about someone's behavior and they act on it, quickly, sensitively and firmly. Building trust is not about being a "nice guy." It's about being a high-integrity person, who is real, helpful and has taken the time to understand the other person's reality before acting. Wise actions in these moments are what build up trust and respect. sincerely, John Kuypers |
|
Get The WIN Principle. This simple framework is the basis for teaching leaders how to build trust and influence people. Click on www.winleadership.com/Articles/WIN_Principle.pdf It's the basis for all of our leadership work. |
| Books and other Insights |
| "Fierce Conversations" by Susan Scott is a well-written book that highlights the practical and powerful benefits that come to leaders who learn how to have gutsy conversations. While she doesn't say it, what she describes is essentially the experience of being "fully present" with someone - authentic, real and vulnerable. Great examples and good insights... |
| Editorial View |
|
May there never be another rah rah "rollout" meeting. The most effective leadership and most rapid organizational change that I ever experienced came from a leader who never held a single "rollout" meeting, nor made any high-profile speeches. Instead, he focused on executing with excellence, holding us to high standards unflinchingly, often at the expense of delaying artificial deadlines yet not missing the boat. In less than one year, this organization completely changed. What changed more than anything was our culture - "the way we do things around here." Such is the power of leadership that is focused on the present moment. These are leaders who are able to notice the significance of how a decision gets made, whether the quality of this report, this product, this customer call is "good enough" or not. These leaders take action - resisting mediocrity, and paying the high personal price required to do so in the form of extra time to get it right, and extra effort to help people understand and willingly embrace why THIS MOMENT matters in the context of the organization's goals and its fundamental purpose. May there never be another rah-rah rollout meeting that sets high expectations and inadequate results. Leaders don't need to promise future glory to motivate people. They need to act on present moment reality, one moment at a time. Read an article on this topic called Inner Toughness, Outer Success. Go to http://www.winleadership.com/Articles/winarticles.htm John
|
| About WIN Leadership |
|
W.I.N. Leadership
is committed to growing leaders who want to create excellence in others. Go to
www.winleadership.com/winway.htm
to learn more about why W.I.N. works, all day, every day. |
|
Help out a friend or colleague
whose success depends on building trust and influencing people.
Invite them to subscribe by clicking here.
They will get a free
article when they sign up and they
will appreciate your thoughtfulness, every issue. Or ask them to Reply to this
email, writing SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. If you wish to be removed from this list, hit your reply key and type 'REMOVE' in the subject line. This is a free service of W.I.N. Leadership Copyright 2003, All rights reserved. Present Living & Learning, Inc. 905-381-0341 www.winleadership.com Burlington, ON Canada |
