Category Archives: Management

Four Traits of Selfless Leaders-Guest Post by Doug Dickerson

December 23, 2016 Liz Stincelli

It’s difficult to find common ground with others when the only person you’re focused on is yourself. – John Maxwell

You may have heard the story of two friends who met for dinner in a restaurant. Each requested filet of sole. After a few minutes the waiter came back with their order. Two pieces of fish, one large and one small, were on the same platter. One of the men proceeded to serve his friend. Placing the small piece on a plate, he handed it across the table.

“Well, you certainly do have nerve!” exclaimed his friend. ”

“What’s troubling you?” asked the other. “Look what you’ve done,” he answered. “You’ve given me the little piece and kept the big one for yourself.” “How would you have done it?” the man asked. His friend replied, “If I were serving, I would have given you the big piece.” “Well,” replied the man, “I’ve got it, haven’t I?” At this, they both laughed.

One leader’s self-confidence is another leader’s arrogance in the world of perceptions. So let’s put the cards on the table up front- many leaders struggle with acts of selfishness. We want the big piece of fish. It’s not a truth to take pride in but one in which we have to acknowledge if we are going to grow and mature as a leader. In my own leadership journey the biggest mistakes I’ve made along the way can be traced back to selfish acts.

Growing to this new level in your leadership is about overcoming your fears, insecurities, and misconceptions about what it means to lead in a selfless manner. Here are four traits of selfless leaders and why they matter.

Selfless leaders empower their people

The emergence of a selfless leadership style begins by embracing this fundamental principle: until you empower your people they are only spectators. When they are empowered they can produce, achieve, and succeed. Unless you mature in this area as a leader you will never grow to your full potential.

Why does this matter? It matters because in any successful organization it’s empowered team members who run with the vision, fulfill its mission, and achieve its goals. Selfless leaders make it possible not by promoting themselves but by promoting others.

Selfless leaders share the credit

Billy Hornsby once observed, “It’s okay to let those you lead outshine you, for if they shine brightly enough, they will reflect positively on you.” The powerful wisdom of that statement must not be lost on the reality that selfish leaders struggle in this area.

A selfish leader wants to take all of the credit- often at the expense of work others did, and boast “look at what I did.”

Why does this matter? A selfless leader will concede being in the spotlight by putting someone else in it. It matters because each individual who had skin in the game and gave it their all deserve credit. A selfless leader will gladly say, “Look at what we did!”

Selfless leaders initiate the conversation

The mark of maturity in a leader begins to take shape when he or she invites open and honest conversation instead of dodging it. Selfish leaders seek to control the message, the agenda, and in the end stifle creativity and deprive themselves of much needed feedback. If a leader’s head is buried in the sand the view for everyone else is not that pleasant. Instead, a selfless leader engages in conversation with his or her people and makes it a priority.

Why does this matter? A selfless leader understands that open communication is the life-blood of the organization. Disconnected people create disconnected organizations. Selfless leaders build bridges and get people talking because your survival depends on it.

Selfless leaders create the culture

Leaders, whether selfish or selfless, set the tone and create the organizational atmosphere. Through your growth and maturity as a leader you’ve come to understand that people buy in to your actions and attitudes before they embrace your vision. Better to be rejected as a leader because people did not embrace your vision than because they did not embrace your selfish leadership style.

Why does this matter? Selfless leaders understand that value is created where value is given. Selfless leaders know that when they help others succeed they succeed. It matters because when this is the underlying foundation of your organizational structure it creates an atmosphere where everybody wins, not just a few.

What do you say?

Doug Dickerson is an internationally recognized leadership columnist, author, and speaker. Read more at Dougdickerson.wordpress.com

Crisis Management, Leadership, Management

Are You in the Habit of Management by Crisis or Crisis Management?

September 30, 2016 Liz Stincelli 3 Comments

“We’ve got to be judged by how we do in times of crisis.” —Johnnie Cochran

Putting Out Fires

Johnnie Cochran’s quote suggests that it is during times of crisis that we really show what we are made of. I kind of disagree. While every one of us will be faced with crises, getting in the habit of putting out fires all day long says more about your management style than it does your character. This is what I would term as management by crisis. No time to think, no time to plan, just respond to fire after fire as they arise. On the other side of the coin is crisis management. Quite different from managing by crisis, crisis management involves looking two steps ahead, planning, communicating, evaluating and adapting.

Eye on the radar

When you manage by crisis, you are so overwhelmed with what is happening here and now that it is impossible to foresee what might be coming down the road. When you manage by crisis, you are operating in fight or flight mode. This makes it impossible to use higher-order thinking to plan and solve problems. With crisis management, you are always looking two steps ahead. This gives you the, while ever so small, amount of breathing room you need to keep fight or flight at bay so that you can think clearly.

Planning

When you manage by crisis, there is no time for planning. You are simply in survival mode, running here and jumping there in the attempt to keep the situation from spiraling into chaos. Crisis management stays ahead of the game by asking questions like, “How will we respond if……?” When we have a plan we can respond to situations as they arise rather than constantly reacting to them. Sure, we might plan for something that never happens; sure, we can’t plan for every possible future incident; but we can develop plans that are flexible enough to apply in a variety of situations. And, always better to be safe than sorry.

Communication

When you manage by crisis, there is never enough time to effectively communication what is happening and what needs to be done in response. Things often break down into the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing and not having the time to even care. When things really do go south, that is not the time to start trying to communicate a response to your employees. Crisis management includes communicating the position of the organization on a regular basis, sharing plans and implementing procedures for responding to crises, and outlining clear lines of communication so everyone is always on the same page.

Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate

Is your style managing by crisis? Or is it crisis management? You can’t assume that your answer today will be the same next week, next month, or next year. When it comes to how you deal with crisis, you must continually evaluate your methods and past results. What has worked? What hasn’t worked? Where do you need to focus your energy to become more effective? Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate, and then adapt.

Manage Crisis Before it Manages You

We’ve all heard it said that if you don’t plan the day, the day will plan you. It is the exact same for handling crisis; either you manage the crisis, or it will manage you. The choice is yours. Will you constantly react, or will you plan and respond? Keep your eye on the radar; give yourself just that little bit of extra time to prepare for impact. A little time is all you need to access your executive brain and avoid the fight or flight reaction. Ask the questions that allow you to create plans for future crises that may, or may not happen. Make these plans flexible so that they can be implemented in response to a variety of crisis events. Communicate early and often. Make sure everyone is on the same page so that you are working as a team to overcome the crisis. And then, evaluate and adapt. If it’s not working, stop doing it. Make sure your crisis management procedures work. Start to manage crisis before it manages you.

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.

Leadership, Leadership Behaviors, Management, Micromanagement

Stop the Micromanagement Madness

September 9, 2016 Liz Stincelli

“Trust is a core currency of any relationship. Sometimes our need to control and micromanage everything erodes our confidence in ourselves and others. The truth: people are much more capable than we think. A hearty dose of trust is often what’s needed to unlock the magic. Go ahead, have faith.” —Kris Carr

Kris Carr hit the nail on the head in the above quote. As a manager or leader, trust is the key to effectively influencing others. Without the ability to influence you completely lose your ability to lead. But, trusting the abilities of others is often easier said than done. When you don’t trust others to perform their work tasks at your definition of a satisfactory level you get caught up in micromanagement madness.

We’ve all been on the receiving end of a micromanager. Do you remember how it made you feel? Did you dread walking into work every day? Did you cringe when you heard your manager’s voice down the hall? Micromanagement destroys employee morale and the culture of the whole organization. Here are three important aspects of micromanagement that you must understand.

Your issue not theirs

Your inability to let go of control is your problem, not your employees’ problem. Your micromanagement is bases solely on your need to control everything. Employees do not cause micromanagement, insecure leaders do. This creates an unhealthy environment for everyone to work in. Through the lens of a micromanager, they are forced to micromanage everyone because everyone else is incapable. This is an absolute lie. Capable employees are hired to do specific jobs and should be provided the necessary resources and then allowed to do their job without a babysitter.

Build confidence

Relinquishing the control of micromanagement requires you to build confidence, not only in your employees, but in yourself. You must give employees the training they need, and then let them do what they were hired to do. You must also be confident that you are able to give them the tools they need perform their work and problem-solve on their own. You must also be confident that you are capable of monitoring and managing performance from a distance. Through the lens a micromanager, they are overly confident in their own abilities and underestimate the abilities of others. This overconfidence is usually compensation for lack of true self-esteem. Develop your own healthy self-confidence and then work WITH others to develop confidence in their abilities.

Learn to trust

If you don’t have mutual trust with you employees, you have nothing. The relationships you need to be successful are built on a foundation of trust and respect. When you look at others through the lens of a micromanager, no one seems trustworthy; no one seems capable; except, of course, yourself. This is the perspective of someone who is insecure and is willing to kill all trust to hide it. Your employees are as capable of doing their job as you are of doing yours. If they aren’t, it’s you that has dropped the ball. Give them the training and resources they need and then trust them with their own responsibilities.

Let Go of the Madness

Good managers are NEVER micromanagers. If you are a good leader, you will never need to micromanage employees. You will give them training, tools, and guidance, but you will never micromanage. Organizations thrive when employees are engaged, making decisions, and designing their own work. Micromanagement is the madness that suffocates the life out of any team, department, or organization. Let go of the madness.

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 engage employees and improve organizational culture. Liz holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership.