Category Archives: Great Organizations

Culture, Employee Engagement, Empowerment, Engage Now, Great Organizations, Leadership, Leadership Behaviors, Leadership Development, Management, Micromanagement, Teamwork, Trust

Improving Management Team Performance

“Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine.” —Chris Hadfield

The key to improving management team performance is summarized quite nicely in the Chris Hadfield quote above. When your management team can lay the groundwork for their employees to succeed and then stand back and let them shine, the whole organization performs better. So, what should you be looking at to improve the performance of your management team?

What is their focus?

What are your managers focusing on? It can be easy for them to get caught up in focusing solely on the bottom line and forget about the employees who are contributing to that bottom line. Or, they can become so concerned with gaining recognition for themselves that they forget about the people who are really doing the work. The best management teams focus on the ‘what’ and the ‘who’. When management spends their energy on supporting their employees in determining the ‘how’ for themselves, performance improves at every level of the organization.

How are their relationships?

What kind of relationships are your managers developing? Relationships are built on mutual trust and respect; they cannot thrive in an us vs. them environment. Without strong relationships managers are ineffective. If you want to improve the performance of your management team, help them build strong, trusting, inclusive relationships.

How do they accomplish objectives?

How do your managers accomplish the objectives that you have set for them? Many managers defer to micromanagement as a means for accomplishing tasks and achieving goals. Micromanagement kills employee engagement and does more harm to productivity than good. When you put an end to micromanagement and empower employees to make decisions and take action on their own you greatly improve performance.

As Your Management Team Performs

As your management team performs, so will their employees. Make sure your managers are focusing on the right things. Help them build the relationships that lead to efficiency and top performance. Teach them to empower and support employees in accomplishing objectives rather than micromanaging them. When your management team provides the foundation employees need to succeed and can then stand back and lets employees shine, everyone’s performance improves.

What action will you take today to start improving the performance of your management team?

 

 

© 2017 Elizabeth Stincelli

 

Liz Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the Founder of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations change attitudes, change communication dynamics, improve collaboration and problem-solving, engage employees, and strengthen organizational culture. Liz holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Liz 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.

 

Great Organizations, Leadership, Leadership Behaviors

How Do You Build a Great Organization?

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“The distance between number one and number two is always a constant. If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you. That is a big lesson. I cannot just expect the organization to improve if I don’t improve myself and lift the organization, because that distance is a constant.” —Indra Nooyi

 

By Elizabeth Stincelli, DM

 

Building a great organization is about leadership. And, leadership is about you. As Indra Nooyi tells us in the above quote,” If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself…” So, where should you start?

Get clear on your values

Building a great organization requires leaders and employees to embody shared values. Before you can build a culture on shared values, you better get clear on your values as a leader. What’s important to you? Why does it matter? Once you have identified the values that you are truly committed to, you can start developing a culture around those values and building a great organization.

Get your ego in check

If you want to build a great organization, get your ego in check. Leadership is not about your personal glory. It’s about achieving shared success. So, stop taking all the credit and start empowering and recognizing your employees and their contributions instead. When your employees know that their efforts are recognized and appreciated, they will give 110% towards making your organization great. So, stop thinking it’s all about you and make sure your employees know that it’s about them.

Ask the right questions

If you want a great organization you must start asking the right questions. You don’t have all the answers; you need to tap into the knowledge and experience of your employees. You must build trusting relationships where they feel comfortable giving you honest answers. A company of ‘yes’ men will never reach greatness. If you don’t ask the question, what might you miss? Your employees are your greatest asset. Make sure you are asking for their input.

Build your perseverance muscles

To build a great organization you, as a leader, must build your perseverance muscles. You must learn hang on tight while you struggle to find solutions to overcoming the obstacles you will inevitably encounter. Building a great organization requires the relentless, sustained, and passionate pursuit of long-term goals. There will be frustration, confusion, and some failures. But, you must keep the big picture in mind. Remember that there are always several paths to reaching the same goal so remain flexible and persevere even when times get tough.

Become part of an extraordinary team

Building a great organization requires you, as a leader, to become part of an extraordinary team. You can’t do it alone, and you can’t do it by surrounding yourself with those who are content to be average. Create an extraordinary team. Surround yourself with those who are smarter and more talented than you. Don’t feel threatened; feel excited about the limitless possibilities.

It Starts with You

What separates a great organization from an average one? It all starts with you. Get clear on your values, check your ego at the door, start asking the right questions, build your perseverance muscles, and create an extraordinary team to surround yourself with. Focus on how you can improve yourself and you will pull your organization up with you.

 

 

© 2015 Elizabeth Stincelli

 

Liz 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. Liz holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.

Learn more about Liz 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.