One of the most painful mistakes of leadership is choosing the wrong leaders. The difference between success and failure begins with choosing the right leaders. (And ejecting the wrong.)
It’s foolish to define leadership as getting things done. The focus of leadership is people. You earn leadership opportunities by getting things done. You become a leader when you get things done through others. When someone steps into leadership they leverage the talent of others:
How do they make people feel?
How do they maximize the skills and talents of others?
How are they instilling a sense of mission?
How are they developing others?
How are their values, not urgencies, guiding decisions?
10 Questions to Ask and Answer…
What is their definition of leadership?
How are they expressing curiosity?
Where do they fall on the scale of optimistic vs. pessimistic?
How are their values?
How do they appreciate the impact of their behaviors on others?
What makes you believe they can focus on “what” needs to be done without getting lost in “how” things get done?
How are they able to see the world through the lens of others?
How are they including others in decision-making?
How do they respond to failure or correction?
How do they respond to authority?
Bonus: Do they aspire to lead?
Exploring the answers to these questions, will provide you insight if you are choosing the right leader of people (and not a ‘boss’).
A bright spot is the one person on your team that you wish you would clone.
She has the perfect combination of attitude and skill. He is the team member that continues to effortlessly “make it happen” day in and day out.
Bright Spot!
You know these people; you have some of them on your team!
She’s the woman who makes your customer’s smile… every time they walk in the door!
He’s the guy that comes up a the great idea … and actually implements it.
It’s the team member with the contagious attitude that gets the rest of the team motivated each and every morning.
You fantasize about having 10…20…100 of these bright spots!
So, here is a secret… you can!
Seriously, it’s possible. It takes leadership on your part.
Here is how:
Step 1: Define what makes your bright spot so bright!
Shadow your bright spot. Interview her… ask her why she does what she does. Find out what makes her tick. She’ll tell you and guess what she will be thrilled that you noticed.
Step 2: Teach other team members to be bright spots!
After you figure out the secret recipe … create a plan to train the rest of your team. Tell everyone what you expect, give them examples and teach them how. Be creative! Use video, old movie clips or have your bright spot create the training.
Guess what? Your team will “get it”… they already know that Miss Bright Spot as special and unique.
Step 3: Lead by example.
Be the one! Walk the talk! Do what you expect others to do.
As the leader it’s critical that you model the behavior that you expect from your team. If you mess up… no worries just admit it and try again.
Step 4: Measure their progress.
Have a contest, keep score, be transparent and post the score for everyone to see!
Have some fun with this one! Don’t make it too complicated. For example: If customer service is your goal, then measure the number of times that each person on the team makes a customer smile.
Step 5: Reward bright spot behavior!
This doesn’t need to cost money… an enthusiastic “high-five” or “that was awesome” really does go along way! Of course, a pizza party, coffee gift certificate or team BBQ can’t hurt. The key is to celebrate their success!
Remember: The behavior that get’s attention grows!
Several weeks ago CBS launched a new reality show called Undercover Boss (Sundays 9:00 p.m. Eastern). The concept is simple, take a top executive from a major company and have him/her work “in the trenches” for a week. The twist? Have them do it incognito.
The routine is the same with each episode. The soon to be undercover boss tells the executive team what his/her plans are, the boss goes undercover with a plausible cover story for having the cameras around, and in the end the boss reveals themselves to all the individuals he/she had contact with during the week.
For many of you going “undercover” is nearly impossible. The good news – we can learn from these leaders and apply their Aha’s! to our organizations. Over the next few weeks we will feature one episode, share key teachable YouTube clips and challenge you to THINK.
Take a look at this 5 minute segment from episode #1:
This clip is from the end of the episode where Larry O’Donnell, CEO of Waste Management reveals himself to the front line workers he encountered during his mission. Watch how O’Donnell connects with each of the people. Notice how he:
Rewards positive and enthusiastic behavior with something non-monetary but valued
Learns from employees the impact that decisions made in the board can have on employees
Encourages employees to help others and get involved in issues and causes that extent beyond the confines of the workplace
Discovers through employee input improperly implemented policies and how he coaches a manager to improved performance
Rewards those that work hardest with more responsibility instead of just more work
Ask yourself …
Can you separate a worker from their “personal story”? Should you?
How do you reward your employees? How do you know when to reward them?
What data do you gather that tells you how your decisions impact your employees? How do you know your decisions (policies) are being properly implemented?
How do you take corrective action and still keep the experience positive.
Final Thoughts…
As leaders we sometimes have to go “undercover” to get to the heart of what matters in our organizations. It isn’t always an issue of communication, sometimes it is simply perspective…….closeness brings clarity. Get out of your office, roll up your sleeves, talk to your team and listen to what is really going on in your company. Get to know the people and their stories. You will be amazed at the connections that you make and the lessons you learn.
Complete episodes of Undercover Boss can be viewed by going to CBS.com.
