Are Your Future Bosses and Leaders Ready to Lead the Way?

“Preparation is the key to success – that includes developing your team’s talent as future leaders too!” Jeannette Seibly

“Leader and manager development” is at the top of the list of priorities for HR leaders during 2024, according to Gartner’s annual HR Priorities survey.

According to the survey, here are several of the factors driving this priority:

  • Productivity anxiety
  • Employee conflict
  • Mutual distrust between employees and bosses
  • Pressure for operational proficiency

Also:

  • Bosses (managers) are overwhelmed by the growth of job responsibilities
  • Bosses (managers) are poorly equipped to lead change

The bottom line – here are the mistakes we often make:

  • We wait until the new leader or boss has been given the job title before we provide the tools and training required to do the job. But that is not enough!
  • We assume there is no difference between being a top performer versus being the boss. But leveling up and the added responsibilities will cause failure. (Level up = emotional intelligence, flexibility, and resilience to name a few).
  • We subscribe to the traditional sink or swim mentality of letting them figure out their new job on their own! (Yes, there are still employers that rely on this poor practice.) We only intervene when it’s necessary to put the new leader or boss on a performance improvement plan or fire them if there is too much turnover, conflict, or other nefarious outcomes!

All of these costly mistakes ensure loss of top talent and customers, while negatively impacting business revenues and results.

How to Prepare Future Leaders and Bosses

Start with:

Develop a Career Pathway.

  • What are the person’s primary interests and goals?
  • How can they achieve these in your workplace culture?
  • What type of training and education is required to meet the company and the person’s goals?

Map out the career pathway in writing and provide the dollars necessary. Remember, not all people should be or want to be bosses or managers of people to move up in the company. This often-overlooked issue can be very expensive when the person fails and leaves the company.  All their knowledge, experience, and other attributes go with them! And, your reputation as an employer suffers too. Create different career ladders and opportunities for employee growth. This should include exposure to cross-training and other customer related opportunities.

Use Valid and Reliable Job-Fit Assessments. It’s important to hire and promote based on job fit. Another benefit of using objective data and predictive validity (the ability to measurement or predict future performance in a job) is the ability to change the job responsibilities to fit the incumbent’s thinking style, core behaviors, and occupational interests! Some job-fit assessments also provide leadership reports with objective data and insights into strengths and areas for development. Remember, people today refuse to work in jobs that don’t reflect their interests and do not provide perceived value to advance them on their career pathway!

Now, Provide Hands-On Training and Development:

Build Expertise. While providing ongoing leadership and management training is important, it’s even more important that they are given opportunities to use the training and develop those skills!

Example: “1 in 5 managers would prefer not being people managers.” Yet, guiding them to learn how to work with and through other people is required in most jobs. But managing people working on projects is different than managing people on a daily basis.

Ideas for development include: leading team projects, working on a corporate team project, being on boards for non-profits and for-profits too, volunteering, etc. The key is to ensure they are actively participating and not just observing!

Proficiency with Technology. Technology and innovation are here to stay! It’s important future leaders and bosses develop an entrepreneurial spirit or curiosity to think like a business leader and drive needed change. If they don’t have the authentic curiosity or interest in technology or business, your company and customers will suffer.

Provide Talent Mobility. Post jobs and allow employees to be considered for them. This provides incentives for them to expand their skills and knowledge – always critical components to improving retention, revenues, and results! Remember to use a strategic job fit selection system for internal job transfers and promotions. Have candidates interview for the job as if they were new job candidates. Also, review their job-fit assessment results and training and education to-date.

Ask these types of questions (these are offered to get you thinking):

  • What was your most recent mistake? What did you do to fix it? What did you learn from it? (Listen for: coachability, awareness)
  • How have you used xxx (pick one or two new skills) effectively? How do you know you were using it effectively? (Listen for: ability to adapt, be flexible, and use skill appropriately)

Also, conduct internal reference checks. Example: True story – a young man was promoted by his boss because of the young man’s likability. The problem? He wasn’t courteous or likable by his co-workers and customers(!) – his overconfidence and ego got in the way too often!  

Use Objective 360-Degree Feedback Assessments. Many companies use internally designed 360-feedback questionnaires. Most of these create a lot of employee apprehension rather than provide valid insights for bosses and leaders. The main reason? There is no objective measurement being used! Pay now or pay later when using internally designed 360-degree tools versus professionally validated assessments.

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select Partner for over 31 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about this state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tool or how to coach and manage your people to achieve extraordinary results.

A note from Jeannette: Are your leaders and managers (bosses) ready to lead? Are they comfortable with change? Do they have the interests to develop the skills and competencies required? Want to tap into my 31++ years of experience of developing effective leaders and bosses? Contact me now with your questions!

It’s time to get honest and genuine! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes for 2024. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

Are You “Rage Applying” to Release Job Frustrations?

“Believing the grass is greener at another company will normally cause job disappointment and dissatisfaction.” Jeannette Seibly

“Rage Applying” is not new. It’s a form of “quiet quitting” that occurs when employees feel unappreciated, stuck, micromanaged, or frustrated with an inflexible boss and/or inflexible company policies.

If you’ve ever had a boss criticize your work and fail to offer constructive feedback, you can understand an employee’s frustration. (This is one example of so many!) Today, employees, often in retaliation, spend time blasting out their resumes looking for the greener grass. The problem is that it’s for jobs they don’t know, don’t have an interest in, and/or don’t meet fit job requirements.

As an employee: “Rage applying” is usually not the most brilliant move when feeling frustrated or stressed. It can hurt your future career options.

But there are benefits you can: Improve your interview skills, give you a broader professional perspective, and feel in control of your career. Also, you may find your boss and company look pretty good (the grass isn’t necessarily greener, just different).

As a boss, it’s essential to understand that employees need outlets to express their frustrations with you, the company, and the policies & procedures (that are probably out-of-date). SEE the paragraphs at the end of the article for recommendations.

How to Reduce Your Job Frustrations and Avoid “Rage Applying”

First, talk with your boss: Don’t bypass the boss when having conversations about what’s next and how you can achieve it. Otherwise, s/he can hinder your career progress.

What Do You Really, Really, Really Want? First, list in writing things you want in your job or future job you don’t currently have. Then, select the top 3 “must-have” items. If you get them, don’t keep asking for more, or it’ll backfire!

Complete Your Brag Work. Before pitching to your current boss your “wants,” showcase what you’ve achieved. Saying you’re great and wonderful will only have your boss roll his/her eyes and not take you seriously! So instead, do the brag work before pitching yourself.

Be Willing to Negotiate. Your boss may be unable to provide promotions, new work assignments, or pay increases. Be willing to negotiate for a win-win-win outcome. But remember, having your coworkers upset with you because the boss offloaded your work on them will not decrease your stress.

Pay Is Not a Motivator. Yes, I know. You really need that extra cash. But do your homework. Some pay increases may put you in a new tax bracket, and the net result is less than you’re currently making! So do your research.

Focus on Job Fit. This IS very important and often overlooked. If you’re stressed out a lot, chances are very good that you’re in the wrong job for you. Take a qualified job fit assessment and work with an experienced executive coach to ensure you’re not jumping from one bad situation into another. The bonus is: the awareness could alleviate your current job stress too.

Second, when applying for new jobs: Jumping from one job to another doesn’t quell the frustration or stress. Often, it can hurt promotability and pay increases. For example, if you’ve been unsuccessful in outside sales, look at inside sales or customer service as other options.

Get Real. Too often, we latch on to jobs that sound better and pay more (e.g., sales, being a boss). But usually, those jobs don’t pay more! The other challenges are: those jobs may not be a good fit for you, or you’re not ready! So, take a qualified job fit assessment and remove your rose-colored glasses. This can prevent you from getting snookered into thinking the grass is greener elsewhere. Otherwise, your frustration will follow you and hurt future job opportunities.

Tell the Truth About What You Want. Tailor your cover letters and resumes to the specific job posting and include your brag accomplishments in both!

Take Time, and Don’t Jump. When offered a new job:

  • Take time to review your top 3 “must-have wants.”
  • Ensure everything promised during the interviews is in writing.
  • Never rely on verbal promises that the new boss may not remember later.
  • Otherwise, you may find your new job opportunity isn’t so great.

Talk with Your Network. Now is a good time for lunch and after-work network meetings. Be clear about what you’re seeking. Otherwise, you’ll have many job opportunities that don’t support your career goals. (See Chapter 10 for how to network effectively: The Secret to Selling Yourself Anytime, Anywhere: Start Bragging!)

Do the work! It’ll make a big difference in the quality of your job offers and opportunities.

For ALL Bosses:

It’s a red flag when job candidates:

  • Apply for positions they don’t have the skills for.
  • Have had many different jobs in a short period of time in different companies or geographic locations.
  • Seem scattered and unprepared for the interview(s).

Use a strategic selection process and “Job Fit Triad” (e.g., give equal weight to interviews, job fit assessments, and due diligence). Otherwise, you’re hiring someone else’s problem.

Also, ensure your employees:

Employees that “rage apply” also cause upsets with your team members, ongoing projects, and customer fulfillment. Using the ideas above will reduce “rage applying.”

Last, but not least, get guidance to develop an effective “boss style.” Every boss needs help at some point to address “blind spots.” Yes, they pop up at inopportune times! But addressing them will improve retention, revenues, and results!

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She is an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author. Her wisdom of over 30 years guides clients to work through sticky situations and challenging relationships. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about “rage applying:” This is the newest form of an old practice of quiet quitting. This article is written from both perspectives: employee and boss. Contact me for a confidential conversation about how to improve your retention, revenues, and results.

Have you considered the benefits of strengthening your superpowers and becoming a great boss? It’s not complicated, but it does require an experienced sounding board. I have extensive experience guiding bosses and leaders to work with and through their teams to achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one hour coaching program over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching speeds up your ability to win.

How Do You Bridge Communication Gaps and Create Positive Results?

Leaders often wait for a miracle to get the team on the same page. Yet, unfortunately, it rarely happens without the directed effort of the leader.

In my recent article, Are Your Relationships Working? I mentioned “Bridge Communication Gaps” as one of the essential tips for building good and effective working relationships.

Yet, many leaders are perplexed about how to do this in today’s workplace due to diversity, remote work options, and differences of opinion.

5 Essential Ways to Bridge Communication Gaps between Teams and Results

Appreciate Differences … Where Do I Start? You start by using a qualified job fit assessment that provides objective information (not the type of assessment that shows how people want to be seen). For many years, I’ve used the granddaddy of objective job-fit assessment products: PXT Select. Example: When team members (and business partners, boss/employee) are in conflict, I use it to provide an objective review of what’s working and where the communication problems exist. Everyone thinks they know the answers. But 99% of the time, there are surprises. This process and the knowledge you gain build comradery and resolve misperceptions.

Get Everyone on the Same Page. Share the goal, budget, and deadline with the team and allow them to contribute their ideas, thoughts, and opinions. Yes, this often requires training for you and the team on developing and using the skills necessary to communicate, create strategies, and execute results.

Include Everyone’s Ideas. It doesn’t mean all of their ideas are viable and will be used. But when everyone’s ideas are heard and acknowledged, they feel respected and valued. This closes many communication gaps while building positive working relationships.

Brainstorm for Solutions. The same mindset that created the problem will not solve the issue. It requires listening outside the norm and allowing new, off-the-wall ideas to take hold. It will require setting aside egos and judging what is or is not a good idea. Encourage everyone to construct the solution by asking questions for clarification.

Celebrate the Wins and Learn from the Failures. This is critical and often overlooked. Conduct a What Worked?/What Didn’t Work? for each and every project. This review is also a great way to get unstuck in a project, acknowledge the team, and fully appreciate their efforts.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She’s celebrating 30 years as an award-winning international executive consultant, speaker, and business author. Her clients value the listening and positive difference she brings to any conversation. As a result, they can work through sticky situations and challenging relationships to become positive influencers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about bridging communication gaps: For many leaders, this can be scary. They either don’t know how, are afraid to ask for help, or are unwilling to admit there is a problem. However, failure to bridge communication gaps will derail your ability to create good working relationships. It will also negatively impact your retention, revenues, and results. Contact me if you know you should but don’t want to. Don’t worry. You’ll glean at least one idea you can implement immediately.

This week’s PODCAST:  Listen to How the pandemic led a professional copywriter, speaker and author to become an accidental artist with my guest, Debra Jason, on The Entrepreneurial Leader.

NOTE: I love coaching current and future leaders to support them in leading, managing, and hiring their teams. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. It will accelerate your ability to influence others, hire the right people, and coach your team for unprecedented results. SeibCo.com/contact/ 

When Leaders Get Lonely at the Top …

“Traditionally, leaders tend to keep to themselves and feel lonely. But today’s leaders need to stay connected with others.” Jeannette Seibly

Many leaders report feelings of loneliness, with more than half believing being lonely at the top hinders their performance, as cited in several studies. Whether they are a boss, team leader, or executive, the traditional design of leadership keeps them apart from their teams.

But given the challenges in business today, it’s time for today’s leaders to minimize this unspoken issue of loneliness and get connected. If they don’t, they will negatively impact results! Leaders need to learn how to connect and communicate with others in a new way. Otherwise, essential cues about upcoming business and people changes will be missed.

How to Minimize Loneliness as a Leader

Number 1! Set Aside Your Ego. You’re not the only leader feeling lonely, and your challenges are not unique to you. Reach out and connect with others without your ego running the show. People will stop ghosting you when you connect and start telling you what you need to hear.

Stop Favoring Top Performers. Although every leader loves their top performers, they often ignore the rest of the team. Focus on each and every team member by meeting 1:1 and acknowledging the small and big successes, individually and as a group. Don’t forget to include your remote team members. This will keep you from being lonely and excite you about new possibilities.

Develop a Strong Team. Strong teams don’t happen by themselves. It requires you to be involved, hire the right people, and encourage everyone to speak up while listening and coaching all team members to deliver the intended results. The process frees you from the office and removes you from putting out all the small fires.

Be Present. When interacting with the team, be present. That requires you, during all conversations, to put away your electronics or stop thinking about other concerns. Being present makes others feel valued and respected while encouraging a robust discussion. This is key to not feeling lonely.

Live a Life Outside of Work. Life is not 100% work. Yet, many leaders have an unhealthy relationship between living to work and working to live. It’s a mindset! Cultivate a healthy one since healthy pursuits eliminate loneliness.

Join Professional, Trade, and Industry Groups. Participate and make long-lasting connections. This is a great way to build a strong network with other leaders dealing with similar issues.

Create or Join a Management Group. Sharing your challenges with colleagues, either within your company or not, is valuable. Remember confidentiality.

Be Part of a Community Group. Join one that touches your heart (e.g., cancer, Alzheimer’s). It’s a great way to expand your social network.

Take Part in Family Events. Be sure to attend your kids’ events … you won’t get another chance. Keep in mind that other leaders will be there too.

Make Friends Outside of Work. Having friends outside of work When the only other people a leader interacts with are work-related, it limits their conversations. And can create problems. Expand your horizons.

Hire a Coach. Feeling lonely is believing no one else understands your challenges. Hire an executive coach (all successful leaders have one) to share your challenges and successes freely. Usually, talking out loud with a committed listener has you focus on what’s next and feel you’re not alone.

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She’s celebrating 30 years as an award-winning international executive consultant, speaker, and coach. Her clients value the listening and positive difference she brings to any conversation. Feel stuck in a sticky situation or in challenging relationships? Want straightforward counsel to blast through it? Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a two-time Amazon International Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about being lonely at the top: This applies to bosses, team leaders, and executives everywhere! Today’s leaders cannot risk being lonely at the top. Instead, they need to minimize this phenomenon and learn how to connect in new ways. Not sure where to begin? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Many leaders feel isolated from others due to blind spots in their management style. It’s essential for you, as a leader, to uncover them now. Otherwise, you’ll lose important connections with your team, customers, and industry and company leaders.

Stop Quiet Quitting and Create Solutions

“Boredom results from not stretching beyond your current skills.” Jeannette Seibly

According to Fortune, 82% of GenZs and Millennials are quietly quitting. When I shared this shocking stat with a friend, she talked about a young family member ignored by her bosses! The GenZer would like to take on more challenging work and has often asked for more opportunities. But each time, she continues to be dismissed. So, she quietly quit her job.

As a member of any generation, you can be part of the problem or part of the solution, whether you’re the boss or employee. When employees of all ages feel bored, not challenged, or experience long-term job dissatisfaction, it creates quiet quitting! Remember, problems always have solutions. Left unaddressed, quiet quitting can sabotage your profitability and results too.

Bosses, remember, GenZs and Millennials are our future. Now is the time to train, develop, and coach them to create good work and results-producing skills … not discourage them further.

Two Points of View to Prevent Quiet Quitting

1. First, learn about career blind spots.

Boss: Create a strategic selection system to collect objective, valid, and reliable data for your hiring, job transfers, and promotions, and rehire decisions.

Employee: While you chose your profession for various reasons, you’re suffering because the job doesn’t fit you! Before you keep job hopping, discover your blind spots and focus on job fit. Talk with an executive coach. It’ll save you from career disillusionment and giving up on yourself or pursuing jobs that don’t fit you.

2. Do your homework.

Boss: Stop relying on the interview as your primary source during the hiring process. Using a strategic selection system will improve collecting objective, valid, and reliable data.

Employee: Before taking a job, conduct your due diligence by asking questions of the interviewers and your professional network. Talk about training, education reimbursement, and other opportunities available to grow that are important to you. Remember, you will have many career options during your lifetime … it’s your responsibility to build on these and not blame your employer for your lack of success.

3. Create Depth of Knowledge.

Boss: Many employees hate repetitive work or being micromanaged. Look for opportunities to allow them to make mistakes and learn.

Employee: Ask for opportunities to dig deeper into accounting, human resources, marketing, etc. Start with learning the basics (e.g., math, accounting, sales, hiring and assessment legalities). The knowledge and ability to use this information correctly can promote you further faster.

4. Create a Breadth of Awareness.

Boss: Provide new opportunities for upskilling, reskilling, and training and development as part of your team members’ career path.

Employee: Take an active role in interdepartmental teams addressing company-wide issues. Listen, ask questions, and learn. This helps you develop and use your knowledge and skills to positively impact the company and its clients.

5. Stay Current.

Boss: Provide weekly department meetings and monthly 1:1 sessions. Discuss what’s working, what’s missing, and the resources needed. Don’t forget to include coaching on taking initiative and being resourceful.

Employee: It’s easy to get bored. But actually, it’s easier to make an effort to learn more and expand your knowledge about your current job. It’s up to you to take the initiative!

6. Attend Professional Association and/or Trade Meetings.

Boss: Provide budget dollars and opportunities for employees to attend these events.

Employee: Don’t be shy. Get out there to meet and greet others. Ask and listen to current and future issues in the industry you work in … or wish to work in.

7. Stop Hoping for Job Satisfaction and Create It.

Boss: It’s up to you to provide appropriate initiatives or challenges for each employee to enhance their job satisfaction.

Employee: Hope is not a strategy. Grab your “Brag” book and complete the 5 easy steps. Now, share your brags with your boss and create action steps for what’s next in developing your career path. Yes, you need to take an active part! PS: Use your brags during Performance Appraisals and work reviews too.

8. Keep Learning!

Boss: Provide budget dollars for ongoing training and development. Include online and onsite workshops. Remember, you’re creating the next generation of leaders!

Employee: Your brain loves to learn. Even if you have a degree or trade certification, take advantage of company training and workshops. Primarily focus on skills required for career growth:  emotional intelligence, communication, project management, and leadership. (Yes, even before you need them.) Don’t forget critical, often overlooked education: financial planning, money management, technical certificates (for non-technical people), etc.

9. Hire a Coach!

Boss and Employee: Find the money. Hire the coach. Remember, successful people of all ages have coaches.

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She’s celebrating 30 years as an award-winning international executive consultant, speaker, and coach. Her clients value the listening and positive difference she brings to any conversation. Feel stuck in a sticky situation or in challenging relationships? Want straightforward counsel to blast through it? Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a two-time Amazon International Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about how to create solutions for quiet quitters: The challenge is that all employees need to take the initiative to develop their technical and other skills to have job satisfaction. As the boss, it’s your responsibility to get into action to guide the development of these needed skills. Not sure where to begin? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Quiet quitters often have unrecognized blind spots that get in the way of job satisfaction. It’s essential for you to uncover them now, before you quit or are transferred or promoted to new positions (remember the Confucius quote: “Where ever you go, go with all your heart.”):  https://bit.ly/BeEffectiveLeader

How to Use Failure to Grow Your Success and Opportunities

“Failure can lead to new successes and opportunities … are you ready?” Jeannette Seibly

Many leaders and bosses fear failure. Why? They want to look good in the eyes of their team, boss, and customers and be well-liked. The problem is that when leaders fear failure, they can become locked in a myopic point-of-view of what can be accomplished and how it should be done. This limits their successes and opportunities. Another result of being fearful is that team members and customers leave.

How to Attract New Career Success and Opportunities

Rock the Boat. Rocking the boat doesn’t mean someone or something has to go overboard! Instead, it means stretching outside your everyday thinking and including your team during this process. It strengthens everyone’s ability to brainstorm, use critical thinking, and disrupt the common limitations that hurt results. The key is to rock the boat without negatively impacting others.

When You Make a Mistake, Own it. What did you learn? Use “What Worked? / What Didn’t Work?”  individually and with the team to develop clarity. Then, share with your boss and customer.

Apologize. This reduces defensiveness when a mistake has been made. Remember, you must address the “elephant in the roombefore you can have a straight conversation and make a positive difference. For example, “I’m sorry this project went over budget. Here are the facts about why it happened and what I/we learned.”

Be Proactive, Not Reactive. Mistakes and failures are often avoidable when you are “present” in conversations. Learn to listen with an open mind. Then, ask questions for clarification about the impact new ideas could have on systems, people, and the bottom line. Be a guide for your team to be resourceful, resilient, and flexible when addressing change.

Hire the Right Team. You cannot achieve success alone. Let me repeat that you cannot achieve success alone. And hiring the wrong person for your team is the fastest way to fail! So instead, hire the right team the first time by using a qualified job fit assessment as 1/3 of your selection process. Included will be a coaching guide to develop your team and you and show you how to improve results now and in the future.

Uncover Your Blind Spots. Every leader and team has them. Your ability to recognize and work through them makes the difference between success, so-so results, or failure. Use a qualified job fit assessment and executive coach to move forward faster and with clarity.

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She’s celebrating 30 years as an award-winning international executive consultant, speaker, and coach. Her clients value the listening and positive difference she brings to any conversation. Feel stuck in a sticky situation or in challenging relationships? Want straightforward counsel to blast through it? Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion. PS: She’s also a two-time Amazon International Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about using failure to grow your career success and opportunities: Many leaders and bosses fear failure. They want to look good and be well-liked. The problem is that they become locked in a myopic point-of-view of what can be accomplished and how it should be done. This fear hurts career growth and opportunities for new projects. Not sure where to begin? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Leaders need to stretch themselves beyond their perceived limitations for professional growth. It starts with distinguishing your blind spots: https://bit.ly/BeEffectiveLeader

You Have Achieved Many Successes … So Why Do You Continue to Feel Like an Imposter?

You have what it takes to succeed. So, why do you feel like an imposter?” Jeannette Seibly

Imposter Syndrome: The persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills. Oxford Dictionary

Many high-achieving business professionals feel anxious. They’ve worked hard. They’ve learned invaluable lessons by working through challenging experiences. But … yet … they doubt their intelligence and talents and disregard acknowledgment of their accomplishments. They feel like a fraud … like they are an imposter.

This self-doubt occurs even though they pride themselves on doing excellent work. The high-achievers (aka top talent) are good team members despite enduring jealousy and microaggressions from less-qualified co-workers or when they make mistakes.

Can you identify with these feelings of being an imposter? Here are some tips to help you own your accomplishments. Now is an excellent time to shake loose from disempowering yourself!

How to Acknowledge, Appreciate, and Increase Your Successes   

  1. Hire a Coach and Be Coachable. This is the #1 key! Many successful people don’t believe they need a coach. Yet, anxiety or frustrations can increase the number of mistakes made and cause team conflict. Talking through the pros and cons expands your perspective. When you feel empowered, you will take focused actions and have straight talk Invest in yourself if your company is unwilling to do so. It is money well spent.
  2. Find a Company and/or Industry Mentor. Follow-through. These insiders can navigate you through sticky situations and relationships. But remember, they are not coaches! While they can provide insights and help you understand “why” someone is blocking your team’s (and your) results, they may not adhere to confidentiality.
  3. Complete Qualified Job Fit and 360-Degree Assessments. These tools can guide you to understand yourself and help you lessen your “imposter feelings.” They also expand your perspectives about “why” people do what they do! Some assessments also provide leadership insights for improving your leadership results. Remember, being successful in your current position is an opportunity to build your career.
  4. Attend and Participate in Leadership, Communication, and Other Workshops. Don’t be a bystander because observation alone will not develop your skills. Instead, get involved in company offered workshops and online presentations.
  5. Get Back to Basics. And learn the legalities and best practices through hands-on experiences. For example, don’t just learn how to crunch numbers, learn how to use them to make sound business decisions! Then, do the same with other business operations.
  6. Develop Your Emotional Intelligence. Handling nay-sayers, team conflict, and other interpersonal challenges are critical. Also, use this process to reduce anxiety.
  7. Overcome the Fear of Failure. While it’s important to succeed, learning from your mistakes is also essential. Don’t dismiss them as unimportant or overthink them. Instead, complete this exercise to build objectivity and provide feedback for future endeavors. What Worked? / What Didn’t Work?
  8. Learn How to Brag Humbly. Doing so in a business-savvy manner will allow you to share your achievements and ideas so others can hear you. Complete the exercises in the book “It’s Time to Brag! Business Edition.” It’s also a great confidence booster and will help reduce imposter syndrome.
  9. Own Your Successes! Using the eight points above, own your achievements, failures, and leadership style. Remember, knowledge of the job comes with experience. The key is to learn the basics as a foundation and then build on them. It will help you overcome feeling like an imposter.

©Jeannette Seibly 2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about overcoming the feelings of being an imposter: Many high-achievers (aka top talent) experience feeling like imposters, more so than others. How do you stop doubting yourself and own your successes? Read this week’s article and use the tips now. Need someone to listen and confidentially talk through concerns? Let’s Chat!

Self-confidence can develop when working through mistakes. It’s the realization that how you handle mistakes either builds your confidence or diminishes it! Grab your copy of the 9 tips needed to develop the self-confidence you’ve always wanted (FREE).

How to Use Adversity to Make You and Your Team Stronger

“Want to take advantage of new opportunities? Then, don’t let adversity stop you.” Jeannette Seibly

Like it or not, every team will hit a “wall” when adversity knocks. But remaining stuck or feeling sorry for yourself is not an option. These misfortunes or difficulties can originate from bosses, co-workers, and customers because no one likes change. Some feel threatened by it and will sabotage or block your efforts. Or, it can be due to a company “elephant in the room” no one wants to deal with.

Hoping that the adversity will disappear is a lose-lose-lose strategy! Instead, use your commitment and the team’s resilience to transform a situation, project, and/or relationship. Doing so will make everyone stronger. Here’s how-to-do-it:

5 Tips to Blast through Adversity

Get Real About What Happened. It’s essential to tell the truth. Putting frosting on mud pie and calling it a cake doesn’t change it from a mud pie! When difficulties occur, there is no shame in it. Everyone has experienced failure and unexpected adversity. Adversity can be due to a lack of critical thinking, ignoring ideas, or company politics. Take responsibility and talk with your executive coach and mentor when adversity occurs. Then, take immediate action to get it resolved.

TIP: Complete this exercise with your team: What Worked? / What Didn’t Work? This exercise will have you and your team focused on the facts of what worked and the lessons learned. It will also infuse objectivity into the conversations you need to have with others. This process is a precursor to moving through adversity powerfully.

Develop Emotional Intelligence (EI). It can be challenging to see a situation from another’s point of view when you are emotionally attached to being right. Ask questions. Listen and learn. Now build a bridge between where you are now and the goal you and your team intend to achieve.

TIP: To develop EI, talk with your executive coach or therapist and do the inner work to acquire the critical skills needed.

Utilize All Team Members Based on Their Strengths. There are times adversity occurs due to mistakes made by team members assigned the wrong jobs. Instead of relying on your favorite team member(s) to tell you what you want to hear, give assignments to the best-qualified person.

TIP: Use a qualified job fit assessment to clarify each team member’s thinking style, core behaviors, and primary interests. This information opens new opportunities to develop each and every team member, utilize their strengths, and reduce mistakes.

Be Responsible for What You Are Saying and Sharing. Today’s focus on transparency can backfire when you share too much and publicly blame others. Your relationships can be damage and other will stop trusting you. Straight talk is key. Include diplomacy and kindness to ensure everyone is willing to listen and get on the same page with you.

TIP: Keep a private journal and write down your thoughts and feelings. Not everything needs to be shared with others!

Practice Thanks! Everyone loves being appreciated. Saying “please,” “thank you,” and “great work” is critical. When done authentically, your teams’ confidence grows, and your customers feel valued. Appreciation is especially essential during and after working through adversity of a difficult situation. Be generous with your appreciation!

TIP: For one week count, how many times you appreciate someone. The following week double it. You’ll be surprised by the elevated confidence of your team. And, this is really easy to do!

©Jeannette Seibly, 2021-2022

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about using adversity to make you stronger: Big goals will cause adversity since most people don’t like change! Ask yourself, “Am I willing to do the work required?” Then, have the right conversations with the right people to move the project forward. What adversity are you dealing with? Are you willing to get unstuck? Need someone to listen? Let’s Chat!

Self-confidence can be developed even when dealing with adversity. However, it takes a commitment to yourself to address “lessons being learned” and not shy away from them. Grab your copy of the 9 tips needed to develop the self-confidence you’ve always wanted (FREE).

How to Keep Your Job When Working with an Overconfident Leader

“Take care — overconfidence can sabotage working relationships irrevocably.” Jeannette Seibly

A new customer gave Allison’s company a similar project to what she had worked on with her former employer. She put together the plan and excitedly shared her knowledge with her boss, Stan. But Stan had his own ideas of what to do and how to proceed. While Stan allowed Allison to offer her plan first, he didn’t listen and scrutinized each point. So, even though Allison was well-prepared, she became inflexible that her plan was the right one. And the initial positive energy in the room deflated like a balloon losing air!

Finally, Stan said, “While this plan may have worked in your former company, we’re not them. So you need to do it my way.”

Not surprisingly, the customer was unhappy with Stan’s way. When Allison attempted to enlist several executives to help turn around the results, they refused. They cited a lack of time. But the truth was, they lacked the confidence to have the needed conversations with Stan and wanted to keep their jobs. He was known to overreact to anyone challenging his ideas on how to get things done. They did, however, recommend to Allison that she leave the company before being fired. (Side Note: The customer terminated the contract and hired Allison’s former employer to get the project done in a way that worked for them!)

This story demonstrates what happens when two overconfident people have to work with one another … disastrous results.

When egos interact with egos, no one is listening. Each person is attempting to outtalk the other and are inflexible to consider alternatives. The project or program is destined to fail, while the customer loses money and time, and at least one person will lose their job or be sidelined until finding another job.

So, how do you keep your job when working with an overconfident leader? First, check your ego at the door. Second … keep reading!

3 Keys to Work with an Overconfident Leader and Keep Your Job

Stay aware and mindful in conversations. Listen up when an overconfident leader shares a decision s/he is making or is about to make. It will impact you, your project, team, and budget, either directly or indirectly. Expand the leader’s opinions by asking open-ended questions for clarification rather than debating their decision. (I’ve coached lots of people who challenged the leader’s opinions. The results? Some were fired, and many were about to be and had no idea their overconfidence got in the way.)

Stand up and speak up. When the leader is overconfident, you will question your own point of view. (Harvard Business Review) Don’t let this deter you from being assertive and sharing facts. But(!) … diplomacy is crucial! (It’s an essential skill to learn!) Remember, while you may be right, overconfident leaders will ignore you when their ego feels threatened. The outcome can impact your future projects, results, budgets, resources … and career.

Avoid confrontation if the leader’s idea or assertion does not impact you. Choose which issues to pursue. If you confront every issue, the overconfident leader will stop listening to you. (And so will everyone else!) Instead, focus on significant issues that will impact you from a win-win-win perspective.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019-2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about working with an overconfident leader: First, set aside your ego! Second, be mindful, diplomatic, and ask questions to keep the conversation going. While it is a dance, the steps don’t need to be complicated. So, what challenge is on your plate to address this week? Need someone to listen? Let’s Chat!

Self-confidence takes practice before you can master it (like all inner growth). What are the essential steps to achieve it sooner rather than later? It requires focused action! Grab the 9 tips needed to develop the self-confidence you’ve always wanted (FREE).

How to Prevent Overconfidence from Derailing Your Leadership

“If your ego is in the way, your overconfidence will derail your results.” Jeannette Seibly

Well, I think we tried very hard not to be overconfident, because when you get overconfident, that’s when something snaps up and bites you. Neil Armstrong, American Astronaut

Now, more than ever, confidence is essential for leaders. It encourages your team, customers, and communities to follow you. But problems arise when you become overconfident. You fail to listen to others, be coachable, and focus your team on intended results. To make matters worse, you don’t admit to and learn from mistakes or wrongdoings. Then, before you know it, “something snaps up and bites you” – now, you’ve derailed your leadership.

6 Tips to Develop Healthy Self-Confidence

Pay attention to your communication style. Learn to be aware of words or actions that signal you’re being overconfident (e.g., “I’ve got this handled!” “I never fail!” “This always works.”). Work with your executive coach to see what details you may be stepping over or issues you are failing to address when this happens.

Be honest about your skills. Take the time to conduct an accurate assessment of yourself and learn about your blind spots. Work with your executive coach and use objective data from scientifically validated job-fit assessments. This will broaden your awareness of how others see you as a leader.

Stop comparing yourself with others. Too often, we blame others for mistakes they make but excuse our own! Instead, develop healthy emotional intelligence, work through mistakes, and learn from them. It will build your inner self-confidence and humility.

Test your assumptions before declaring your decisions. We often make decisions based on fragments of information. And, we’re usually wrong. Develop your critical thinking by deep diving into the factual pros and cons. Use your network and team to test your assumptions. Remember, 90% of the world’s information is in people’s heads, not the headlines on the internet or the latest hubris being expressed on social media!

Listen to others’ feedback and concerns. Confident leaders welcome brainstorming and hearing others’ ideas. This includes managing healthy disagreements and building win-win-win outcomes. Remember, learn to listen to what you don’t want to hear to improve your results and keep you focused on what matters. It keeps you grounded in reality.

Recognize when it’s the right time. While many ideas may work with modifications, it may not be the right time or place to put them into action. Avoid circular logic to push through these ideas that your business and customers are not ready for. This is often a problem with overconfident leaders.

©Jeannette Seibly, 2019-2022

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning international executive and family business management consultant, keynote speaker, and author for over 29 years. Her focus is to guide leaders to make a positive difference. Feel stuck moving your team forward? Want straightforward counsel on how to do it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about being an overconfident leader: It’s important to develop healthy confidence. Remember, you can avoid overconfidence by listening, being coachable, and admitting to mistakes. So, what challenges do you want to overcome? Let’s Chat!

Self-confidence is an inside job … a life-long practice … and an essential factor in others following your lead. Grab the 9 tips required to develop the self-confidence you’ve always wanted (FREE).