Monthly Archives: October 2014

Empathy, Leadership

Empathy-The Leadership Big Picture

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“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.” —Daniel H. Pink

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

The Big Picture

Harper Lee reminded us, “You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Empathy is the social and emotional skill that helps us understand and feel the emotions, experiences, intentions, thoughts, and needs of others. It is not a superficial understanding but an understanding at a level that allows us to offer sensitive, insightful, and appropriate support. It is at the core of developing trusting relationships by helping others feel safe and comfortable.

Empathy may be the most important characteristic of a successful leader. As a leader, you must learn to understand and acknowledge how others are thinking and feeling. You can’t give people what they want and need if you don’t know what they want and need. It’s about taking the interests of others as well as your own into consideration. You must be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and see things from their perspective. Empathy is about being we-focused rather than I-focused and understanding that, collectively, we are better off when we step outside of our silos. It is easy to get buried in the layers of management and overwhelming amounts of data within our organizations. We get caught up in fighting for our individual needs and forget to look at the bigger picture and true purpose of what we are doing. Empathy directs our focus back to what’s important in the big picture.

Internal organizational empathy

Stephen Covey said, “When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.” Why is empathizing with employees and colleagues so important? People want to work with and be led by someone they trust has an understanding of their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. If you want to be successful as a leader, you must become a reflection of the people you are leading and that requires empathy.

If you really want to get in touch with others, you must learn to actually listen to them. This means more than just hearing the words they say, you must also pay close attention to the signals they are sending. Empathy requires a new level of collaboration, a level that is close and personal. As a leader, you must emphasize value, not just transactions; people, not just processes. Studies show that organizations with happy employees, good organizational culture, and empathetic leaders perform better.

External organizational empathy

David M. Kelley explained, “The main tenet of design thinking is empathy for the people you’re trying to design for. Leadership is exactly the same thing – building empathy for the people that you’re entrusted to help.” Why is it important to have empathy for stakeholders external to your organization? You have to know and understand others before you can truly be of service to them. Having empathy for the wants and needs of your stakeholders isn’t just a superficial exercise; it should be the foundation of your entire business strategy.

Empathy is simple, it’s about understanding and respecting the choices of your clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders so that you can respond to their needs better. You must develop a deep understanding of their motivations; get familiar with what their lives are like on a daily basis. Empathy is about having firsthand knowledge of similar experiences and emotions and using that knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of the world through the eyes of others. It is this understanding that allows you to provide the service that is of the most value.

Reaping the Benefits

What difference would empathy make? For your colleagues? For your clients? For your community? Empathy matters, it lays the foundation for relationships, teamwork, leadership, and innovation. Ben Parr said, “Entrepreneurs may be brutally honest, but fostering relationships with partners and building enduring communities requires empathy, self-sacrifice, and a willingness to help others without expecting anything in return.” Empathy is our ability to identify with what someone else is thinking and feeling and then to respond with the emotion and action that is appropriate. It takes a commitment to really becoming tuned-in to the experiences, thoughts, and emotions of others. Leadership is about making a positive difference and empathy is the tool that brings people together for the benefit of self and others both internal and external to your organization. Empathy brings the big picture into focus.

 

 

© 2014 Elizabeth Stincelli

 

Elizabeth Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the CEO of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations engage employees and improve organizational culture. Elizabeth holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.

 

 

Habits, Leadership, Organizational Culture

Developing Healthy Habits in Your Organization

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“The difference between an amateur and a professional is in their habits. An amateur has amateur habits. A professional has professional habits. We can never free ourselves from habit. But we can replace bad habits with good ones.” —Steven Pressfield

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

Why Develop Healthy Habits?

Do you want your organization to play the role of amateur or the role of professional? Bertrand Russell explained, “Right discipline consists, not in external compulsion, but in the habits of mind which lead spontaneously to desirable rather than undesirable activities.” Habits give your brain a rest by putting some things on autopilot. Why not develop the habits within your organization that lead to right decisions and action on an almost unconscious level?

When you develop a habit, you create a connection between a specific situation and a resulting action. Why not make it easier for your employees and management to do the right things and make good decisions and harder to do the wrong things? Because habits become instinct, they eliminate the tendency to over think. Your values drive your culture and set the priorities that provide a framework for decisions and actions. Why not use habits as a tool for achieving the behavior you want within your organization?

Consistency

Stephen Covey explained, “Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” What character has your organization developed? When you develop healthy habits throughout your organization, you improve consistency in your behaviors. These healthy habits improve the character and reputation of your organization. The consistency created by the habits you develop makes it much easier to predict where you are going and how you will get there.

When you develop a positive culture, your employees love what they do, they love their clients, and they work together toward the same, shared vision. With healthy organizational habits you can empower your employees to act, knowing their actions and decisions will be consistent with the vision of the organization. The consistency which results from these habits increases the ability to accelerate problem solving and decision-making. Use habits to establish consistent core principles that reinforce organizational knowledge and clarify beliefs. This will allow you to streamline your business operations. Make sure your culture and habits mirror your mission and cultivate strength in your core beliefs.

Free up energy

Ralph W. Sockman said, “Good habits, which bring our lower passions and appetites under automatic control, leave our natures free to explore the larger experiences of life. Too many of us divide and dissipate our energies in debating actions which should be taken for granted.” How much energy can you free up in your organization by developing healthy habits? When your employees have healthy habits to operate by it frees up energy to be put towards their passion and gives life to creativity and innovation. Use the extra energy to ask the silly questions and perform the crazy experiments that may lead to incredible break-throughs.

Increase energy by developing and nurturing a culture and habits where employees are trained, equipped, and encouraged to think for themselves. When you instill good habits in your organization you can feel confident allowing employees the leeway to explore new ideas and expand thinking. Make sure the healthy habits you develop are all inclusive where everyone feels they are part of the greater whole. Use your extra energy to rally your people around a big idea but leave space for inspiration and the opportunity to think differently. Use habits to create a culture of gratitude where employees are energized and excited about the work they do.

How Do We Do It?

Culture is a deeply held and widely shared set of beliefs, norms, and assumptions that work together to make specific behaviors and outcomes more likely. Organizational culture starts with shared beliefs which influence the habits employees develop. These habits will play a big role in how employees think and act. The habits you develop should be clearly based on what you believe since they will be the foundation for behaviors, actions, and decision-making.

Culture has to be continually managed, refreshed, and refocused to maintain healthy habits. Success is no longer guaranteed by just attracting the best people and investing in innovative ideas; your culture must emphasize and reward healthy habits. Promote a positive and opportunity focused attitude at all levels of the organization. Develop habits that inspire people, focus them on a shared mission, and give them a sense of purpose. With the right support and habits, your people will be willing to move mountains to achieve a shared vision.

The process

As A. P. J. Abdul Kalam explained, “Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.” If you want to develop healthy habits in your organization, you will have to devote conscious effort to it. In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg lists the three step process that plays into the phenomena of human habits. First, there is a prompt that triggers a specific behavior. Second, there is a behavior routine that is triggered. And third, there is a psychological reward for performing the behavior.

If you want to change habits you must introduce a different routine. You must first identify the prompts that lead to the unwanted behaviors. Then, discover which rewards are associated with those behaviors. Finally, you can implement alternative routines which offer similar rewards. While the process listed here is generic, it applies to all habits. If you look closely, you will see it at work in your organization. With a little planning, you can use this process to your advantage in developing the healthy habits that bring about the desired behaviors in your organization.

Behaviors

Margaret Mead said, “Our humanity rests upon a series of learned behaviors, woven together into patterns that are infinitely fragile and never directly inherited.” The actions and decisions of your employees within the boundaries of your organization are based on the behaviors they have learned over time. These behaviors create patterns of action, which represent habits, in your organization and must be deliberately created if you want any influence over the behaviors and actions of your employees.

Design a culture that develops habits which are aligned with team, organizational, and individual values so that behaviors are predictable and consistent. Develop a shared meaning for success to ensure all decisions and actions are directed towards the same goal. Create a supportive environment where both individuals and the organization benefit. Once you have the right values and habits in place you can rally employees around a shared sense of purpose and mission. To get the behaviors you are seeking, develop habits that put your people before your strategy. Listen to the voice of your employees, build your team, play to their strengths, and then learn to get out of the way and let them run with it.

Don’t approach the development of healthy habits by asking yourself how you can repair what you’re doing wrong. Instead, start asking yourself how you can build on what you’re already doing right. Take a long-term perspective to identifying the habits that will serve your organization best. Trust that your healthy habits will turn obstacles into opportunities to innovate and grow. Use your culture and organizational habits as tools to reinforce skills and clarify knowledge. Habits are based on action not just words, so lead by example. Remember to celebrate the little successes. If you want to transform your organization, you must set your sights on a higher purpose and place a priority focusing on the health of the habits in your organization.

What Habits Will You Choose?

Benjamin Franklin explained, “Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.” Do the healthy habits in your organization outweigh the bad? If you want to get new behavior from your employees you must change their habits. What beliefs and habits will produce the behaviors that will cause your organization to thrive?

Cultivate a culture that allows employees to play an important role in something big and meaningful. Then, develop the healthy habits that will produce the desired decisions and actions. Brian Tracy said, “Successful people are simply those with successful habits.” What habits will you choose?

 

 

 

© 2014 Elizabeth Stincelli

 

Elizabeth Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the CEO of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations engage employees and improve organizational culture. Elizabeth holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.

 

 

Create Meaning, Leadership, Leadership Development, Organizational Culture, Thrive, Trust

Don’t Just Survive as a Leader, Thrive as a Leader

 

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“A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.” —Liberty Hyde Bailey

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

Leadership

Liberty Hyde Bailey’s quote does not just apply to gardening; it applies to leadership as well. You may manage to survive as a leader as a result of good intentions, but to thrive and grow as a leader you must expend purposeful effort. As a leader, you might survive by doing the bare minimum. But, thriving is about being connected, being engaged, giving of yourself, and promoting a positive environment. You must invest in yourself and in your people, in your relationships, and in your culture. You must devote energy to finding and sharing the meaning behind your work.

Relationships

Angela Ahrendts explained, “Everyone talks about building relationships with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first.” Building strong relationships with your employees based on trust and respect should be you first order of business as a leader. Leadership is not about you, it’s about others. You need to surround yourself with talented, passionate, and dedicated people and then focus your energy on supporting and engaging them. It’s your responsibility as a leader to help the people you serve to grow and prosper. Spend time with them and get to know them on a personal basis. Who are they? What are their aspirations? Learn to listen without judgment. Find out where their strengths lie and then give them the opportunity to focus on their interests. Take chances on them, it sends a great message of your trust and confidence throughout your organization.

If you want to thrive as a leader, be open, honest, and authentic in your words and actions so your people will trust you. Ensure that the relationships you develop are not one-sided, but are mutually beneficial. Focus on building a sense of community and belonging throughout your organization. And remember, relationships are all about communication so, communicate, communicate, and communicate some more.

Culture

Tariq Ramadan said, “Cultures are never merely intellectual constructs. They take form through the collective intelligence and memory, through a commonly held psychology and emotions, through spiritual and artistic communion.” This applies inside organizations as well as across cultures. Your organizational culture is not a set of policies or procedures; it’s not words in some handbook; it’s deeply ingrained in the behaviors and emotions of our employees. Your culture should illustrate the respect and value you have for the contributions and abilities of others. Develop a reputation for hiring great people, providing great training, and offering great opportunities. Create a culture where everyone thrives. Help those you work with find their voice and confidence. Encourage and value the contribution that diversity offers throughout your organization. Set an example of the collaboration and cooperation that will lead to success team building. Create a safe environment where employees can gain knowledge from failure without fear of judgment.

As within, so without; as you treat your employees, so your employees will treat your customers. If you want to thrive as a leader, exceed employee expectations and they will exceed customers’ expectations. Ensure that employees get face time with customers so they understand their needs. Teach employees, by the example that you set, to aim at improving the lives of customers not just making the sale. Encourage empowerment and autonomy, not conformity. Make the inclusion of employees in the decision making process a priority. Make yourself available to those you lead. Make sure your culture is constantly evolving in positive direction.

Meaning

Antoine de Saint-Exupery told us, “The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them.” Everyone is looking for meaning and purpose. People thrive when they find their work meaningful. It’s not the work itself; it is the relationship between the individual and the work they are doing. This is where attitude and perspective come in. Make sure every employee understands how truly important their job is. Help them connect the work they are doing to what is important to them and the organization. Employees will be more engaged when they are excited about the work they are doing.

As a leader, it is your responsibility to help those who follow you find meaning and align their work with their values. This makes achieving goals more satisfying. If you want to thrive as a leader, help them construct a positive way to view the world. This provides energy, focus, and fulfillment. Your employees will be more loyal and committed if they feel their work has meaning. Share your passion with them; build and maintain excitement about the journey you are on. Share a purpose that is inspiring at every level of the organization.

It’s Time to Thrive

We thrive and find strength by finding meaning and an inspiring purpose. As a leader, you must not only find meaning and an inspiring purpose for yourself and your work, you must also create meaning and inspire a sense of purpose in those who follow you. If you want to thrive as a leader, you must take an active role in developing yourself and your employees. Built strong relationships, develop an engaging and inclusive culture, and help those around you find meaning in their work. It’s time to stop merely surviving in your role as a leader. Step up to the plate, put forth the effort, and thrive as a leader.

 

 

© 2014 Elizabeth Stincelli

 

Elizabeth Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the CEO of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations engage employees and improve organizational culture. Elizabeth holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.

 

 

Challenge, Engagement, Opportunity

What Might You Gain by Embracing Challenge?

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“Challenge is the pathway to engagement and progress in our lives. But not all challenges are created equal. Some challenges make us feel alive, engaged, connected, and fulfilled. Others simply overwhelm us. Knowing the difference as you set bigger and bolder challenges for yourself is critical to your sanity, success, and satisfaction.” —Brendon Burchard

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

Challenge

Life is about learning and growing. You continually need new challenges to encourage you to work even harder to achieve your goals. By accepting and overcoming challenges you become a stronger, more adaptable person. How can embracing challenge benefit you?

Engagement

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Don’t shy away from engaging in difficult thinking. And, don’t let fear stop you from taking action. Start by doing what you can with what you have, soon you will be able to do more than you ever thought possible. Follow passion and get engaged in following your dreams, challenges and all.

Evolution

Oprah Winfrey said, “The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.” Change is the new normal and challenges offer you the opportunity to evolve. When you become complacent and satisfied with the status quo you are placing limits on the level of success you can achieve. Challenges offer great learning opportunities; stretching you beyond your comfort zone. Invest in yourself by engaging in a variety of activities and taking advantage of learning opportunities. You will evolve as you gain the new skills and knowledge necessary to conquer the challenges you encounter.

Opportunities

We’ve all heard Thomas Edison’s observation, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Think of the opportunities accepting and conquering challenges may offer. What new experiences might you have? Who might you meet? What might you learn? Accept the challenge, do the work, and make great things happen. Embrace enthusiasm for accomplishment and use it as motivation to tackle new and even more difficult challenges.

Are You Ready?

Sean Connery tells us, “There’s always a new challenge to keep you motivated.” Are you ready to feel engaged, to evolve both personally and professionally, and open yourself up to new opportunities? Challenges can serve to catapult you along the path to achieving your goals. So, roll up your sleeves and get to work; you are ready.

 

 

 

© 2014 Elizabeth Stincelli

 

Elizabeth Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the CEO of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations engage employees and improve organizational culture. Elizabeth holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.

 

 

Failing, Innovation, Perseverance, Success

Are You Good at Failing?

 

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“There’s no learning without trying lots of ideas and failing lots of times.” —Jonathan Ive

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

Why Fail?

We always talk about success, but what about the stepping stones to success that we call failure? We’ve all heard the advice: fail fast and fail often. But why fail at all? When we fail, we gain insight into what went right and what went wrong. This information helps guide our next steps in the right direction. Failure helps us to learn what we don’t know so we can determine who or what we need access to for success. We can also share lessons learned from our failure with others and implement lessons others have learned from their failures. The fact is, you’re going to fail so you might as well get good at it.

Innovate

Brene Brown explained, “There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.” Great innovations are developed through trial and error. It’s not very often you get grand innovation right the first time. The only way to assure you will not fail is by doing nothing and innovation is never built on inaction.

Fail

Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” As much as it may feel fatal, you will survive, failure is just part of the innovation process. The quicker you fail, the smaller and more manageable your mistakes will be. Every time you challenge yourself you are flirting with failure but, when you fail you have the opportunity to step up your thinking. You aren’t invincible so you might as well develop an accepting attitude towards failure.

Perseverance

Julie Andrews said, “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” Develop resilience; use your failures as learning experiences. Make adjustments and return better than ever. Fail, pick yourself back up and move forward. Failure can transform you and the way you look at the world around you. The more you fail the better you will become at making corrections quickly.

Success

Winston Churchill explained, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Failure is a stepping stone to success. It often brings with it new opportunities and perspectives. Most great successes have been preceded by failure, sometimes multiple failures. You will achieve success once you are willing to accept failure as a way to learn and move forward.

Are You Good at Failing?

Woody Allen said, “If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” Remember, failing is part of the journey. You learn more lessons and gain more wisdom from your failures than your successes can ever provide. Value and celebrate your successes, but learn to value the lessons that failure has to offer as well.

 

 

 

 

© 2014 Elizabeth Stincelli

 

Elizabeth Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the CEO of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations engage employees and improve organizational culture. Elizabeth holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website, stincelliadvisors.com and connect with her on Twitter @infinitestin, Google+, and LinkedIn. You can contact her by email at stincelliadvisors@gmail.com.