Coach Andrea

Coach Andrea’s Intro

Is there value in promoting conflict? Encouraging differing opinions, yes.  Conflict, no.  If you are noticing conflict is becoming more prevalent in your company, consider David Cottrell’s tips on how to minimize the potential conflagration of conflict.

Quote of the Week

“Conflict is going to happen whether you want it or not. People will be butt heads. Sometimes when you least expect it.”

~ Jimmy Bise Jr.

Ways to Prevent a Conflict from Escalating

By David Cottrell

1. Get all the facts and clearly identify the problem.
2. Encourage people to challenge the status quo often so that alternatives are continually being evaluated.
3. When others explain their intention and viewpoints, summarize and paraphrase to confirm understanding.
4. Look for common ground in any difficult situation.
5. When possible, resolve one issue at a time.
6. Deal with the molehills before they become mountains!
7. Only send and respond to e-mails that are informational in nature. If there is any hint of disagreement, meet in person or pick up the phone.
8. Watch and listen for inconsistencies between people’s words and their nonverbal behaviors and encourage them to voice their concerns (Cottrell, p. 80).

From:  Cottrell, D. (2009).  Monday morning motivation: five steps to energize your team, customers, and profits.  New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Reprinted with permission from the OSU Leadership Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, (614) 292-3114, http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

Coaching Call To Action

Are you a conflict inciter or smoother?  What is the value of your position to yourself and those around you?  What would add even more value?  Who in your company will you share your thoughts with this week?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!  This song came to mind when I read this week’s Tip by Sal Monastero.  If you love what you do and want to inspire your people, show your positive feelings.

Quote of the Week

“Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.”

~ Georg Wilhelm

Love What You Do

By Sal Monastero

The most successful leaders are people who are passionate about their sports, businesses, family lives, or whatever it is that they are doing. Try to imagine an unenthusiastic sports coach.  Try to imagine a non-passionate politician.  Try to picture how boring an opera singer without passion would be.  Many leaders want to appear neutral to their employees so that they are seen as unbiased and not company parrots, so to speak. These leaders think that by being neutral, they will be seen as unbiased and out for the interest of the employees.  Rather, they are seen as people who don’t care enough about what they do to be enthusiastic. You have to start first with loving what you do.  If you love what you do and believe you are good at it, you won’t have a problem in communicating positively to those you lead (Monastero, 2010, p. 87).

From:  Monastero, S. (2010).  Winning at leadership: how to become an effective leader.  Bloomington, IN:  IUNIVERSE, Inc.

Reprinted with permission from the OSU Leadership Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, (614) 292-3114, http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

Coaching Call To Action

Are you the type of leader who habitually holds back on showing your enthusiasm?  This week let it rip!  Bring the passion you feel about your work to your conversations, meetings and presentations.  Let it shine in your eyes.  Be engaged and engaging!

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

I particularly enjoyed this week’s Tip by Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch due to its honesty – some days you just don’t feel like a leader.  They provide their recommendations for “damage control” on those days.

Quote of the Week

“Focus on remedies, not faults.”

~ Jack Nicklaus

Not in the Leadership Mood? Here’s what to do.

By Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch

While everyone loves leadership concepts and practices, it’s fair to say that there are days when you wake up and you’re not “feeling it.” You know those days … those days when it’s going to be pretty tricky to influence outcomes and inspire others because your attitude, frankly, stinks.

If there’s one thing we know about humans it’s that we are inconsistent.  However, don’t let one bad day damage the leadership reputation you are working so hard to develop.  Here’s what you need to do:

• Don’t deny it – call it what it is. Be accountable to how you feel and why you feel that way.  A bad attitude is a pink flag that is getting redder by the minute.  Really try to figure out what the heck is going on and how you can solve it.
• Minimize your impact on others. Don’t walk around the office with your head down, telling everyone that “it’s just one of those days.”  On the flip side, don’t feel that you can counteract your mood by insincerely spraying sunshine and false enthusiasm everywhere.
• Focus on what you can control. When you are down and low, it is easy to hurl blame on external circumstances and people.  Blame doesn’t solve problems.  Your accountability solves problems.  When you figure out what you can control, you put yourself in the position of ownership … a few steps closer to attitude adjustment.
• Hit the reset button. Go home and before you go to bed identify a few things that you can do differently the next day to do better and be better.  Action is always a great anecdote for a poor attitude.

This article was provided courtesy of Lead Star – a premiere leadership development firm. You can learn more about leadership by visiting their website at www.leadstar.us

Coaching Call To Action

Firstly, may you not need this Tip.  Secondly, for insurance purposes, you may want to prepare for a day when your leadership mood is slipping.  What will your actions be on the day you’re not feeling like the leader you are?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

For those of you who have done the PaperRoom with me, you are familiar with the iceberg analogy that Brian Tracy speaks about in this week’s Tip. The iceberg applies to yourself and others.  The more we become aware of what is below the surface and how it impacts behavior, the more successful we can be in connecting and leading others, and ourselves.

Quote of the Week

“What else is love but understanding and rejoicing in the fact that another person lives, acts, and experiences otherwise than we do?”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

People Are Like Icebergs

By Brian Tracy

It’s not easy.  Individuals are incredibly complex.  They have been formed and shaped mentally and emotionally by thousands of small and large experiences. Every thought, feeling, emotion, success, failure, fear, desire, and experience going back to childhood has had an influence on how the person in front of you became the way he is today.  This is equally true for you, too.

Imagine that each person who reports to you is an iceberg.  Only 10 percent of the iceberg is visible above the surface.  The other 90 percent, which you cannot see, understand, or influence, is under the water, in the past experiences and subconscious of the person in front of you (Tracy, 2011, p. 48).

From:  Tracy, B (2011).  Full engagement: inspire, motivate, and bring out the best in your people.  New York: AMACOM

Reprinted with permission from the OSU Leadership Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, (614) 292-3114, http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

Coaching Call To Action

This week give yourself time to reflect on your employees.  Seek to understand each and every one a little more.  Look beneath the surface.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

In 50% of my coaching calls and meetings last week, we discussed teams and how to make them even more successful.  Whether you are the leader or the follower in a team, this week’s Tip by Chris Widener provides key principles that if applied will take your team to the next level. They are simple and easy to understand.  An evaluation checklist is provided at the end of the Tip.

Quote of the Week

“Players win games, teams win championships.”

~ Bill Taylor

Secrets of Successful Teams

By Chris Widener

To be a success is not always to be a success individually. In fact, most of the time, we achieve our successes as part of a team.

We are all part of teams. Our family is a team. Our place of work is a team. The community groups we belong to are teams. Sometimes we are the team leader or “coach,” while other times we fulfill the role of follower or “player.” It is so important, then, for us to understand teams and how they work, especially those who achieve success-the achievement of their desired goal.

In my life, I have been on some successful teams, and some not-so-successful teams. This includes both athletically as well as professionally. When I was growing up, I worked for seven years with the Seattle Supersonics, our local National Basketball Association team, which now plays in Oklahoma City as the Thunder. They were at times unsuccessful and, in 1979, my second year working there, the most successful team in the league, winning the World Championship. I have been able to see firsthand what makes the difference between the unsuccessful teams and the successful ones.

Here are some principles I know that, when implemented on a regular basis, can turn any lackluster team into an outstanding one! These principles can be applied to your family, your business, your organization and, yes, your sports team.

Communication/Leader
The leader needs to communicate the vision. If they are setting the pace, they need to let people know where they are going so that the team can follow. The coach always does a pre-game talk, laying out the vision.

The leader communicates the vision frequently, so as to always be updating the team as to where they are at and what changes need to be made. The coach doesn’t relegate the direction he gives to the pre-game; he coaches and communicates all the way through the game.

Team
Watch a good basketball team. They are talking to each other all of the time. Helping one another out, encouraging one another, praising one another, and telling each other how they can make changes so the same mistakes aren’t made again. The same is true of successful teams in the professional world, and in life in general.

Excellence
The truly great teams are teams that are committed to excellence. In everything they do, their goal is to achieve at the highest level. And this commitment is held throughout the team and at every level. A successful team cannot have members who are not committed to excellence, because in the end, they will become the weak link.

Followership
If you want a fascinating read, pick up The Power of Followership by Robert Kelley. The author basically makes the point that the secret to getting things done lies not only in great leadership, but in how well everyone else, 99 percent of the team, follows the leadership. Good teams are filled with people who are committed to following and getting the job done.

Understanding Roles
Pardon the Chicago Bulls analogy, but it is so clear. In the team’s championship years, when the game was on the line, with only one shot left, everyone-the coaches, the players, the 20,000 people watching in the stadium and millions watching on TV-knew who would shoot the last shot. That was Michael Jordan’s role.

Every team works best when the members of the team have clearly defined and understood roles. Some do one thing, others do another. One isn’t better or more important than the other, just different. When teams operate out of their strengths and their roles, they win.

Strengths and Weaknesses
This brings me to strengths and weaknesses. Every team member has strengths and weaknesses. The successful teams are those who on a regular and consistent basis enable the members to operate out of their strengths and not out of their weaknesses. And one person’s strength will cover another’s weakness. This is teamwork, enabling all of the bases to be covered.

Fun
The team that plays together stays together. Is your team all work and no play? If you’re smart, that will change. Get your team out of the office once a month and go have some fun. Enjoy one another. Enjoy life. It will bring a sense of bonding that can’t be made even in “winning.”

Common Goals and Vision
I have found that these need to have three aspects: short, simple and clear. Can you say it in less than 30 seconds? Is it simple? Can you and others understand it? Does the team all know what they are working together for?

Appreciation
All through the “game,” successful teams appreciate one another and show it in a variety of ways. The coach shows it to the players, the players show it to the coach, and the players show it to one another.

Here is a “Successful Teams” checklist you can use for evaluation:

• Is there communication between coach and players and from player to player?
• Is your team committed to excellence?
• Do those on the team know what it means to follow?
• Does everyone on my team know their specific role?
• Do the individuals on our team regularly operate out of their strengths as opposed to their weaknesses?
• Does our team take a break from time to time to just have fun together?
• Do we understand our common goals and vision? Can we all state it (them)?
• Is there a sense of and communication of genuine appreciation among my team?

Chris Widener is the President of Chris Widener International. www.ChrisWidener.com Chris can be reached at Chris@MadeForSuccess.com

Coaching Call To Action

This week use Chris’s checklist to rate one of your teams.  What change would make the biggest difference to your team?  Share this with them!

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

When you delegate a job to one of your staff, why don’t you get back what you asked for?  One way to get closer at hitting 100% on your requests is to be clear in your communication.  Natalie Manor’s Tip this week is a great reminder about creating that clarity.

Quote of the Week

“The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.”

~ Joseph Priestley

Are You Creating Clarity?

By Natalie Manor

This is crucial to building a confident communication habit.  Make sure that you are clear each and every time you speak and/or write and that the other(s) in communication with you understands the usage of your words. In England, a boot is the trunk of a car.  In New Jersey, a hoagie sandwich is a submarine sandwich. In New England, a frappe is a milk shake.

Find out if people understand what you mean, especially when it involves critical communication such as projects, sales, negotiations, and performance requirements. People will trust and respect you for creating clear communication.

Natalie R. Manor, CEO is an author, business consultant, speaker and executive coach. Her company, Natalie Manor & Associates, is the ultimate resource for business leaders, executives, owners and managers who want to master their life and their business by Getting Clear, Getting Confident and Being Effective faster than ever before. You can register for her free bi-weekly articles at: http://www.nataliemanor.com/newsletter/subscribe.html

Coaching Call To Action

When you are communicating with others this week, look to be especially clear.  What is one thing you will do that will add clarity?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

During this holiday season, I’d like you to be thinking about what you can do to take care of the people in your organization.  How can you show your appreciation for a job well done and keep people moving forward with the mission and vision of the company? This week’s tip by Jon Gordon provides just such a recipe.

Quote of the Week

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

~ Andrew Carnegie

A Recipe to Nourish Your Team and Culture

By Jon Gordon

• Stir the pot with love
• Lead with optimism
• Share the vision
• Build trust
• Fill the void with positive communication
• Add a big dose of transparency and authenticity
• Create engaged relationships
• Combine inspiration, encouragement, empowerment and coaching
• Fill up with appreciation
• Heat with passion
• Bring it all together with unity (Gordon, p. 162).

From: Gordon, J (2010).  Soup: a recipe to nourish your team and culture.  Hoboken NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Reprinted with permission from the OSU Leadership Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, (614) 292-3114, http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu

Coaching Call To Action

This week consider what your team needs from you to be the best they can be.  What will you continue doing, start doing and stop doing?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

One of the biggest changes I was involved with as a business owner was selling my business.  The first time my partner and I tried to sell, we were not transparent and all our employees quit during the process.  And did I mention I was 7 months pregnant?  We learned from our actions and the results.  The second time we were successful.  We shared as much as we could with our employees along the way.  Read on for Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch’s suggestions on leading through change.

Quote of the Week

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”

~ King Whitney Jr.

Leading Through Change

By Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch

The world, our nation, our workplace and our lives are constantly confronted by change.  Change is often a scary prospect.  It means breaking out of one’s comfort zone and experiencing the unknown. And while progress does not occur without change, the anxiety that comes with it is real and cannot be overlooked. During these times, as a leader, it is vitally important that your focus remain upon those you are leading. In times of change you should always:

• Acknowledge Anxiety. During times of uncertainty it is of the upmost importance that people’s feelings are acknowledged and addressed.  If ignored, these feelings become the pink elephant in the room – silently occupying everyone’s attention – to the detriment of all other pressing matters.  When dealt with directly and compassionately, anxious individuals get the message that their feelings are important and that you are looking out for their best-interests.  With their anxiety assuaged, they can focus more clearly on the specific task-at-hand.
• Dispense Information Promptly. As soon as you have a piece of information that you know to be important to those who you lead, it must be disseminated to the group. A failure to do so will only result in heightened anxiety and a lack of trust in your leadership.
• Be a Transparent Decision-Maker. During times of change you will be called upon to make many important decisions.  Whenever a decision affects those who you lead you should educate them on how the decision was made.  Even if some individuals question your reasoning, at least they will understand the time and effort you put into making the decision and the thought process you utilized.

Opportunities for great leadership are abundant during times of change.  By placing your focus during these times upon the needs of others, you will ensure that you are able to effectively lead through change.

This article was provided courtesy of Lead Star – a premiere leadership development firm. You can learn more about leadership by visiting their website at www.leadstar.us.

Coaching Call To Action

This week keep in mind that people have varying ways of dealing with change, many are not positive.  If your company is in the midst of making changes, take action to help others more easily move along this path with you.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

After many years of being prompted to write my own Tip, I am sticking my toe in the water this week.  Periodically, I will be sharing my thoughts and learnings with you. Last week’s Tip was from the perspective of a person who has a boss and improving the working relationship with that boss.  This week’s Tip focuses on your behavior, beliefs and assumptions as the boss and how they can get you in trouble.

Quote of the Week

“Contrary to what I believed as a little girl, being the boss almost never involves marching around, waving your arms, and chanting, ‘I am the boss! I am the boss!’”

~ Tina Fey

5 Mistakes That Can Sink a Good Boss

By Andrea Novakowski

If you own a company or manage a department, part of the reason you’ve come this far is because you’re good at what you do. But inspiring the people who work for you to give their best efforts is another skill altogether. It’s hard to complete tasks well and on time if your staff isn’t on the same page with you, or if they don’t share your commitment to success.

Are you frustrated by employees who don’t perform as well as expected? It may be time to take a look at your leadership style. Here are five common mistaken beliefs that may be interfering with your effectiveness as a boss.

1. Good new hires will know how to do the job right out of the blocks.
Hiring a competent person is only the first step. Even if the new person arrives already accomplished in his field, spend time with him so he can get to know your approach and share your vision. No matter what position he occupies, help him become attuned to your strategic plan. It takes time, but the payoff is huge.

2. No one else can do the job as well as I can.
As your organization grows, you’ll be adding people below you. Why did you hire them if not to help lighten your load, so you can focus on what’s most important? (What’s important may even include your own improved quality of life.) Surround yourself with good people, then give them a chance to show they can handle the responsibility. Step back and let them take some of the weight off your shoulders.

3. If I tell them once, they should be good to go.
Not necessarily. Part of the job of a manager is to provide ongoing feedback. Don’t limit this to just once a year during performance reviews: help your people understand how they can do a better job now. Helping them grow and develop increases their value in the workplace, and more important, to your company.

4. I’m too busy to plan – I need to do!
Do you ever feel as if you spend your whole day at work just responding to the biggest crisis? Take time to sit down and map out a strategy for the future. Planning may seem like a luxury when you have so much on your plate already, but if you don’t invest time now, you’ll find yourself operating in perpetual crisis mode later – which, as everyone knows, is a sure recipe for burnout. Don’t try to muscle your way through every issue that faces you. Think before you execute (or delegate the execution to others).

5. My people know they are doing a good job. I don’t have to tell them.
One of the biggest mistakes managers make is failing to recognize their employees’ successes and only pointing out their faults. Think about it – do you perform better when you know you’re appreciated, or when you’re only chastised for your shortcomings? Letting people know you’re pleased with their achievements will encourage them to continue striving to do good work. It’s human nature!

Coaching Call To Action

Would you rate yourself as an inspiring leader with your people giving their best?  If not, choose one or two changes from the above list that will free you and your employees to do the job each of you is supposed to be doing.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Many of my clients have been reporting contentious conversation with coworkers and direct reports. Maybe it’s the heat of summer, although we’ve had beautiful weather this week here in MA. In the ’70s during the day! This week’s Tip from Angie and Courtney has you consider the other person’s perspective before jumping into defending your own position.

Great advice on how to keep your cool!

Quote of the Week

“The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.”

- Joseph Jouber

Seek Resolution, Not Revolution

By Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch

Take a moment today to think about an argument or heated discussion that you have had recently. It might have been a disagreement with a coworker, a fight with your spouse or a conflict with a friend. Whatever the case, think, not about the subject of the conversation, but about your underlying motivations.

How much of the conflict centered around your own ego? If you are really honest with yourself, as the conversation progressed, wasn’t the disagreement less about the topic at hand and more about your need to be right?

As a leader, you must work on your ability to take others’ views and opinions into account. If the topic involved was important enough to invest your energy in the argument, then what you really seek is resolution not revolution.

So, the next time you find yourself embroiled in an argument, stop and check your ego. Before you vigorously defend your own position, take a moment to consider the opposing perspective. After all, it’s not about being right, it’s about making progress!

This article was provided courtesy of Lead Star – a premiere leadership development firm. You can learn more about leadership by visiting their website at www.leadstar.us

Coaching Call To Action

This week expand your perspective by seeing situations through the other person’s eyes. What do you learn about them? Yourself?

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