leadership development

Can Mistakes Be Resolved?

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“Saying, ‘I apologize’ is easy – but if you don’t take responsibility for what you say or do, the apology is meaningless.” Jeannette Seibly

While the answer is “yes,” too many bosses and leaders derail their careers when they make mistakes, experience failure, or find themselves in conflict. Then, to make matters worse, they attempt to rectify it too quickly, lie about it, or fail to take responsibility by blaming others or the situation.

Remember, the same mindset that created the problem should not be used to solve it—it will only make it worse.

Have you:

  • Used a disrespectful tone of voice or become upset with your boss when s/he is critical of your work? Or the work of your team?
  • Lost your patience with a customer or team member? As a result, do they now refuse to work with you?
  • Offered inappropriate or incorrect solutions and then denied doing so? As a result, your co-workers are upset and want you fired.
  • Used microaggressions (e.g., men are more intelligent than women) when talking with your team. Result? They are offended.
  • Been given feedback by your boss or team, and you were defensive and rude?

While these may sound extreme, too often, you have done a version of them. (We all have.) When these issues occur, you can derail your career or job promotion opportunities without knowing it!

How to Resolve Avoidable Mistakes

Pause and Breathe. Mindfulness is important. Say to yourself, “I will work through this and get the help I need to improve.” Now, take action to resolve your mistake, failure, or conflict.

Contact Your Executive Coach as soon as possible before you make the mistake, failure, or conflict worse. Complete the “What Worked? / What Didn’t Work?” exercise to provide objective insights.

Take Responsibility. After devising a plan with your coach, talk with your boss. Map out who, what, when, where, and why it needs to be done. Remember, “hoping the issue will go away” is a strategy for failure! This is a golden opportunity for you to be the boss and leader who can make a positive difference – failure to do so will result in irrevocable loss of trust.

Apologize. Offering apologies will be the next thing to do. Saying, “I apologize” is easy.  But your apology must be genuine so your boss, co-workers, team members, and customers can hear you! While these two words seem simple, you may resist saying them! Remember, pay now by taking responsibility or later when you’ve been fired.

Do It! Enough talking about it. Get into action. Be willing to dance (be flexible) in the conversation—remember, the actual discussion will be different than the conversation you mapped out in your head. Listening to their concerns can turn around their negative feelings towards you and get you on the right track. Yes, you must take the time and offer the patience to solve the mistake, failure, or conflict. Remember, keep talking to your executive coach throughout the process.

©Jeannette Seibly 2024 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of practical 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 32 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.

A note from Jeannette: Mistakes, failures, and conflicts can be resolved if you’re willing to do the work and get into action. But if you act too quickly, depending on the problem, it will only make it worse. If this has happened to you recently, now is the time to talk it out using my 31+ years of leadership and management issues to resolve it — before it’s too late. Contact me now!

Now is the time to get into focused action! Are there days you dread doing what is needed to manage your people, projects, and team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has those days! But continuing to hide behind excuses only hurts you and your future promotability. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully – this includes getting you out of the way and working with and through people effectively to achieve the results required. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

This book (“Hire Amazing Employees“) by Nancy Schick, NY Employment Attorney and Mediator, can help you improve your hiring process. I met Jeannette Seibly a few months ago In this Together Round Table, where I also learned about her book, Hire Amazing Employees. Since my clients frequently struggle with this task, I bought myself a copy and gave several as gifts. The book contains many helpful tips for avoiding the impact of hiring errors. Read the full testimonial here.

I Thought We Resolved the Issue

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“Resolving issues and focusing on the long-term impact greatly improve your results.” Jeannette Seibly

How often have you thought an issue was resolved only to have it come back and knock on your door again? It’s frustrating! If you let it, it can sabotage your resilience, resourcefulness, and results.

Issues reoccur when you put a band-aid on them. You were in a hurry to make the problems disappear and take the easy way out. The truth is (if you’re honest about it) you allowed your personal feelings to get in the way, didn’t talk it out with others, or listened to sage advice. But ignoring the real issue(s) never resolves the true problem.

It can be difficult to confront challenging issues. You may feel powerless or lack the confidence or insight to resolve the core issue. Too many times, you and others talk about it over and over, taking weeks and months in hopes of resolving the issue. But instead, you and the team gloss over the actual issue. In the meantime, the window of opportunity has closed, and the damage has been done irrevocably.

Decisions will be well-thought-out when a company addresses the fundamental issue head-on and facilitates the process. It gets resolved quickly, and the issue disappears. I’ve been part of situations where the problems disappeared, and to this day, the issue hasn’t resurfaced because it was effectively resolved. It required integrity to do the right thing (not take the easy way out), critical thinking (not circular thinking), making decisions, and taking action immediately.

Build Solutions That Disappear Issues

Align on Core Values. Be clear in your communications and management practices that all solutions must align with the company’s core values. For example, when addressing employee retention, the issue is rarely about money (even though many focus on it). It’s about factionalism, quiet retaliation, or other less talked about (and real) issues. One solution may be enforcing workplace policies and procedures (e.g., no-tolerance policies).

Make Good Decisions. The process of making good decisions doesn’t need to be complicated. Integrity, honesty, and critical thinking will always create better outcomes when having tough conversations and addressing tough issues as soon as possible. When making informed decisions, remember to analyze the risks, costs, and impact on others.

Communicate the Results Appropriately So No One Involved is Left Out. When writing an email or talking, be present with what you say! Or, you may make the situation worse! Also, when coming to an agreement on the goal and focused action steps to take, go around the table or virtual camera to get everyone’s input until nothing new is added. Yes, it’ll take more time. But in the long run will save countless hours and money and stop the issue(s) from resurfacing.

Think Win-Win-Win. While you do not have a crystal ball, doing the right things right will be reflected in your decisions. If you are upset or angry about the issue or have a vendetta against someone, recuse yourself immediately. Otherwise, the core issue will hang around for a long time and hurt your business growth and career.

Follow-Up and Follow-Through. This is the step that is usually skipped! Ask the team: “What are the true results? Are the solutions implemented and working? If not, what do we need to do to move forward?” It’s helpful to come back in a day, week, and month to ask yourself and your team, “Did we address the true issue? Did we resolve the problem? Are you hearing any feedback or gossip that we need to investigate?” Note: The old issue may be resolved, but a new one may have popped up. Remember, you’re never done handling issues as a leader and boss. Don’t wait! Address issues now.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for success. As a leader, do you have bosses that are difficult for teams to work with? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom can transform those bosses from hated to respected! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about resolving issues: How often have you used the band-aid approach when resolving an issue, and have it returned to haunt you? When these issues resurface or hang around too long, they hurt your retention, revenues, and results. Get these issues resolved now. Do you need a facilitator to guide you through the conversations? Contact me!

Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? The coach is in! Every boss and leader has their blind spots! They get in the way of being a results-producer! When tough times occur, and they will, asking for the right help is essential! I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses to hire, coach, and manage their teams. Along the way, they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.

You Need These 5 Confidence Builders to Achieve Amazing Results

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“Building confidence that never fails requires ongoing and consistent attention.” Jeannette Seibly

Building your confidence is essential for you to do each and every day, especially when dealing with daily demands on your time, attention, and energy. Remember to be aware of saboteurs (e.g., your team, boss, customers, and co-workers). Paying conscious attention will help you achieve outcomes faster while continually building your confidence and competence.

Here are ideas to develop and build your inner power and confidence!

  1. Believe in Yourself. It’s difficult when you experience a failure, mistake, or rejection. Breathe. Learn for the experience. Now, get back into the conversation for focused action!
  1. Be Present. Allowing your internal mental chatter to get in the way limits results and relationships! When having conversations and attending meetings or events, give 100% attention to the speaker. You’ll be amazed by what you can learn, even if you believe you already know it all! 
  1. Be a Results Producer. Going through the motions without a conscious intention to improve the quality isn’t taking focused action!
  • Get honest about the actions you are taking by hiring a coach.
  • Have the tough and needed conversations.
  • Don’t overlook quality. And focus on performance challenges, not personality differences.
  • Now, you can achieve the goals you used to dream about.
  1. Be Coachable. You don’t have all the answers, and frequently, you do things the hard way with limited results. Hire the right coach and watch your confidence grow with clarity and calmness.
  1. Get Your Brag On! Pay attention to your daily activities and wins by keeping a written log of your achievements. When it’s time for a job promotion, job interview, board meeting, sales presentation, or pitch for your book or product, you’re ready! Your brags make a big difference in building your confidence. They also build your reputation and ability to influence others!

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is a champion for bosses and teams delivering intended results. Does your company or department have a persistent problem? Jeannette’s depth of experience and wisdom guides clients to achieve intended dynamic results consistently! Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about building your confidence each and every day: Consciously building your confidence each day requires recognizing when it is being sabotaged! Contact me for a confidential conversation about identifying and eradicating saboteurs!  

The coach is in! Are you ready to build your confidence and success as a boss? A great boss works with an experienced executive coach as a sounding board. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams. Along the way, they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs. Remember, being coached accelerates building your effectiveness, influence, and confidence.

Producing Effective Results Requires Trusting Yourself

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“Trusting yourself requires experience, resilience, and the willingness to learn from your mistakes.” Jeannette Seibly

Wanting to be a leader, boss, team member, and good citizen requires trusting yourself to take the right actions and asking for help on what to do to create effective results. What you do or do not do impacts others’ ability to trust you to make win-win-win decisions.

How often have you decided and second-guessed yourself because you didn’t trust yourself? Too often, we realize that if you’d asked the right questions or knew what you now know, you’d have made a better decision. But we didn’t trust ourselves, and every leader has been there.

So, how do we learn to trust ourselves?

Important Traits Required to Trust Yourself

Tell the Truth! We love to rationalize, justify, and lie to ourselves and others that we’re doing our best. Trusting yourself is built by asking for help when you don’t know what to do.

Example: What are you doing to make it difficult for your team members to trust you to achieve intended results or to ask you for help (e.g., gossiping, withholding resources, blaming others, etc.)?

Honor Your Word. This can be difficult for many people, including leaders. But, remember, while you may not believe your word impacts yourself or others, it does … and builds or diminishes trust.

Example: Pick up the phone and talk directly with the right person to solve a team conflict or other brewing issue (e.g., HR, boss, or coach). Then, follow through!

Stop Relying Solely on Intuition or Gut Feelings. Too many people rely on feelings, social media rants, and other lousy information and cite these as intuitive or gut reactions. While scientific studies indicate intuition and gut reactions are important, we can’t rely solely on them when making decisions.

Example: Too many hiring bosses rely on intuition and incorrectly use job fit assessments when selecting the right person for the job. This creates losses in retention, revenues, and results.

Learn the Rules. Many people today flaunt or ignore the rules; they are there for a reason. While they may need changing, complaining about them or signing a petition doesn’t make a difference. Building trust in yourself means being accountable for what you say and do with others.

Example: Are you working within your company’s policies and standard operating procedures? Or do you hope no one notices you aren’t? Learning the rules prevents you from planning your excuses if there is a huge and costly mistake.

Learn to Apologize for Mistakes. Instead of relying on your excuses when you make a mistake, genuinely use these words, “I’m sorry.” “I apologize.”  By trusting yourself to apologize for your mistakes, you will build trust with others so they know you take responsibility for your actions.

Example: A woman failed to show up twice in meetings she’d requested, set up with the same person, and then refused to apologize for being a no-show. This is what it looks like when you don’t trust yourself; it encourages others not to trust you.

Be Coachable! The fastest way to learn to trust yourself and encourage others to trust you is to be coachable. While no one can know what to do in every situation, trust yourself to seek the right person to coach you through the best way to resolve issues. Listen and follow the advice of your coach and boss.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. With over 30 years as an award-winning international executive coach, speaker, and business author, Jeannette’s clients effectively 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 trusting yourself: Many leaders like to think they trust themselves. Yet, they don’t. How do you know? Watch their actions, which speak louder than words. Contact me to assess how to trust yourself more for better results.

NOTE: Learning to trust yourself requires making the right choices and the right changes. I love coaching and supporting current and future leaders during critical and strategic situations. Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Remember, coaching accelerates your ability to trust yourself. This, in turn, influences your team for unprecedented results that others applaud.

How’s your leadership development progressing? Are you moving forward … or a tad stuck? Do you need a “nudge” and “clarification?” Want to accelerate and soar your results? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Why Are So Many Leaders Struggling Today? They Are Uncoachable!

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“Can you imagine wanting to win and ignoring the coach? Yet, many leaders refuse to be coachable.” Jeannette Seibly

Why is coaching essential today? The workplace has changed, and so have the unwritten rules. Trying to stay on top of people, projects, and performance while paying attention to profitability can be difficult. It’s why leaders must learn to be coachable but often are not due to ego, peer pressure, and fear of the unknown.

Why Being Coachable Causes Leaders to Win

Accelerate Self-Awareness. Being coachable helps leaders become mindful of what they do and say. As a result, they develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their motivations, leading to greater mindfulness, self-awareness, and personal fulfillment.

Develop Personal and Professional Growth. Being coachable allows leaders to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, identify areas for improvement, and discover their blind spots. This process helps them grow and excel; two critical traits required to win.

Increase Effectiveness. Being coachable guides leaders to clarify their goals, create action plans, and be held accountable for their progress. This results in improved performance and increased effectiveness in their roles.

Improve Communication Skills. Being coachable also improves leaders’ abilities to develop their communication, listening, and speaking skills. These are critical to success in any role. Leaders and their teams win when they can articulate their vision, build consensus through team conflict, and negotiate more effectively!

Make Better Decisions. Being coachable helps leaders to clarify their values and priorities and to weigh the consequences of their decisions. Creating win-win-win outcomes due to informed and strategic decisions separates so-so leaders from those who excel and win.

©Jeannette Seibly 2023 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has over 30 years of award-winning international experience as an executive consultant, speaker, and business author. Her clients surpass the norm by working through sticky situations and challenging relationships to become positive influencers. Contact Jeannette for a confidential discussion.

A note from Jeannette about being coachable: Imagine for a moment being part of a team of NFL players and ignoring the coach. Not going to happen! The team knows that being coachable is required to win the game. Yet, many leaders today are not coachable and make leadership harder than it is. As a result, they experience higher-than-average turnover, miscommunication, and failed team results. Contact me to talk through how to be coachable and win!

This week’s PODCAST: Listen to Want to Achieve Great Results? Use Peer Coaching with my guest, Meredith Bell, on The Entrepreneurial Leader.

NOTE: Do you want to win? All leaders who are winners have coaches! I love coaching leaders and have for over 30 years! Contact me if you want an in-depth, one-on-one hour over 13 weeks. Having a coach will speed up your ability to influence others, hire the right people, and coach your team for unprecedented results.

How Do You Bridge Communication Gaps and Create Positive Results?

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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/ 

Healing Our Inner Power Determines Our Leadership Success

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Grateful Giving: Happy holidays! In appreciation to my readers, I will give an additional one-hour of coaching for 50% off during the month of December, 2022. To participate, complete your Leadership PXTS Report and one-hour review, then, schedule your extra hour. Here’s additional information and link: Your blind spots limit what is possible in your career and business. Too often, we get stuck in how we look at a problem or a relationship. It defines our results! As a leader, it’s critical you discover your blind spots and reclaim your ability to influence and inspire others before it’s too late. Learn more by clicking here.

THE ARTICLE:

“Our inner power needs care like every other aspect of our health and well-being.” Jeannette Seibly

Inner power is the quiet force within you that knows when to act and when to move and gives you the strength to do so. (Psychology Today)

Many leaders experience a loss of inner power during professional and life challenges. Inner power helps you stay resilient and resourceful and bounce back after a loss. But when there is the experience of the loss of a job title, money, family status, zip code, or health, many leaders attempt to hide their feelings of guilt or shame. Instead, take the time to recognize what occurred and do the work to move forward. (An excellent way to objectively discover what happened is to complete the worksheet “What Worked? / What Didn’t Work?)

How to recognize a loss of inner power or strength. When you feel ineffective, or no one cares, you are controlling and challenging to work with, or you are feeling fear due to a person’s upset, you’ve lost your ability to influence and inspire others.

Healing Ideas to Reclaim Your Inner Power

  1. Make the Decision. Nothing can genuinely change until you become responsible for where you are now and then commit to moving forward. In my many conversations with leaders who have experienced a loss of inner power, they remember this declaration. It became the line in the sand of before and after. It’s when they get into focused action to move forward.
  2. Hire a Coach. The best way to move past a business or career loss is to get help. Work with the right coach to guide you in the right direction without the devastating ups and downs of trial and error. Please don’t make the common mistake of doing it yourself to avoid feeling shame or guilt. It’ll be harder to move on and achieve the needed wins.
  3. Know Yourself. Many leaders believe they do know themselves. But forget they have blind spots and talents they are unaware of. Now is a good time to discover them and learn new ways to develop these strengths. Remember, you cannot build your inner power on weaknesses.
  4. Build Healthy Relationships. Take the time to build sound professional, personal, and family relationships. Spend time with like-minded people by reaching out and taking the time to learn about them. Don’t forget to offer help as appropriate.
  5. Get Focused. When a loss occurs, take time to grieve. If you don’t, it’ll come out unexpectedly and hurt your progress. For example, if your loss of power is due to a job or financial loss, it may be time to review the direction or path you’ve been pursuing.
  6. Hire a Therapist. It can speed up the healing process. Take the time to conduct a “brag” inventory, and include strengths and successes you’ve experienced. This helps you focus on “what’s next” instead of living in the past.
  7. Be Mindful. Practice mindful breathing and learn to be present during conversations. It’s where the aha’s occur! Love yourself for who you are and who you are not. Now is a great time for self-reflection. Journalling will help you learn from the experience.

©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 three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about healing an inner loss of power: During this economic uncertainty, it’s easy to experience a loss of inner power. Pause and take the time to look at what’s working and what you are grateful for. Are your goals and life in conflict? Now’s the time to talk it out! Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Your blind spots limit what is possible in your career and business. Too often, we get stuck in how we look at a problem or a relationship. It defines our results! As a leader, it’s critical you discover your blind spots and reclaim your ability to influence and inspire others before it’s too late. Click here for details.

Do You Have the Leadership Wisdom to Influence Others?

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“Your ability to influence others requires not taking yourself too seriously.” Jeannette Seibly

Often, as leaders, we take ourselves too seriously and lose our ability to influence others. Then, our results suffer, and so do our customers, team members, and bottom line.

How do you know when you’re taking yourself too seriously? When you …

  • Fail to build on ideas and create win-win-win outcomes.
  • Openly disparage others that disagree with you.
  • Exclude people with broader experience instead of learning from them.
  • Defend your limited experience in an attempt to feel better about yourself.

… you are taking yourself too seriously.

Instead, can you …

  • Discuss others’ opinions without being defensive?
  • Take an idea or concept and build it into a win-win-win outcome?
  • Laugh at yourself?
  • See the bigger picture and reframe it into bite-size pieces to get everyone on the same page?
  • Make decisions that balance both the facts and the human interests?

If you answered yes to these questions, good for you! You are on the right track as a leader and influencer. And you’re not taking yourself too seriously.

However, if you answered no to any of these questions, these are areas of your leadership style that can negatively impact your ability to influence others and need development.

Remember, influencing others is essential to effective leadership … not our technical know-how.

4 Key Ways to Influence Others and Achieve Intended Results

When you stop taking yourself too seriously, we create a workplace culture focusing on results, relationships, and meeting customers’ needs. The following four key ways to influence others are critical to that success.

Practice Persuasive Listening. The secret to becoming an influencer is to listen more – talk less! When listening, you must silence your internal mental chatterbox and refrain from thinking about your next response while others are talking. Effective and persuasive listening is one of the top leadership skills required to guide new solutions that might not be readily apparent.

Be Open to Differing Opinions. The fastest way to lose your ability to influence others is when you become defensive, belittle others, or take a stand against others’ ideas. To be an influential leader, put aside your ego, listen, and ask questions or you’ll miss important details required for seamless execution.

Be a Team Player. Many leaders don’t make good team players. To be a great leader and influencer, you must be a great team player! Otherwise, you lose the ability to influence others and the outcomes of any project. Ask how you can help. Roll up your sleeves and get involved. When others make suggestions, you don’t understand or agree with, say, “Interesting. I don’t see how that would work. Can you walk me through the details?” Now listen and learn.

Appreciate Each and Every Team Member. Many leaders have team members they don’t like or don’t value. They allow their personal feelings and egos to get in the way. If you wish to influence others, you must learn to appreciate others and their contributions. Be genuine. Say to your team members: “I appreciate you.” “Great ideas!” “I look forward to working with you!” And, mean what you say!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2011-2022 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 three-time Amazon Best-Selling Author!

A note from Jeannette about being a leader with the skills to influence others: Listening, developing ideas with your team, and acknowledging others are marks of a leader that positively influences others. Not sure where to begin? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Your blind spots get in the way of achieving the results you want. Improve your ability to influence others by clicking here.  

When Coaching Is Required to Keep Your Job

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“Smart leaders and bosses hire the right coach before losing top talent and customers.” Jeannette Seibly

As a leader (boss, manager, individual contributor), have you:

  • Had a meltdown when situations didn’t go your way?
  • Used microaggressions to get others’ attention when not feeling heard?
  • Refused to listen to ideas and solutions you didn’t want to hear?
  • Had a tantrum when you lost a client, or the results were less than stellar?
  • Arrived at meetings late and disrupted the discussion with your own agenda?
  • Yelled at your boss when frustrated?

If you answered “yes” to even one of these questions, it’s time to get real and hire a coach to keep your job! Whether you know it or not, your career is now on a limited timetable, and you cannot succeed alone without the right help.

Improve Your Leadership Through a Variety of Coaching Opportunities

Hire the Right Coach. Start by hiring the right executive coach. Not all coaches are created equal or can turn leaders or bosses around. The right coach will guide you through difficult situations and sticky (often political) relationships to achieve your plan and goals while being a resource.

Discover Your Blind Spots and Ensure Job Fit. An essential part of your development and plan is to use qualified assessments that provide true clarity. Use a qualified job fit assessment for an objective leadership report. Also, include a 360-degree feedback assessment. Beware! Don’t get duped by the cheap assessments. These are notorious for not providing objective and valid data. Now, work with your executive coach to create your plan and goals. Remember, implement only one change at a time.

Emotional Intelligence Development. Another vital part of your plan is participating in workshops and programs designed to help you learn how to work with and through others to achieve intended results … including improving your communication skills. Also, consider talking with a therapist to uncover unresolved concerns or issues from your past.

Select an Industry Mentor. Whether or not it’s part of your plan, find an industry mentor. The right one expands your awareness of what is required in business today. Value these meetings by showing up on time, being ready to listen, and learning. But remember … industry mentors are not coaches! So, don’t ditch the coach! Instead, talk with your coach about insights and build them into your long-term plan. (Yes, plan to work with your coach for at least six months to ensure your changes are working!)

Let Go of Emotional Attachments. Last but not least, set aside your ego during the process and be open to making meaningful changes. This can be difficult. But consider the alternative (e.g., being fired, having a lousy reputation, unemployable). For example, if you’re a bad boss, ask your company to make you an individual contributor while maintaining the same pay and perks you had as a boss. If your company is unwilling to do so, find a forward-thinking company that does.

©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 getting real and hiring a coach to keep your job when you’ve gone off-track: when your employees or customers are leaving or complaining, it’s time for you as the boss or leader to listen and hire an executive coach, pronto! Many times, your behaviors and attitudes will improve with the right guidance. But don’t wait until it is too late! Not sure where to begin? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Hiring the wrong person for an executive or critical position jeopardizes your company. However, this can be preventable when using a strategic selection system. Get essential hiring and selection tips by grabbing the Amazon International Best-Selling Book,  “Hire Amazing Employees!”

Do You Want to Be a Successful Leader? Learn This All-Important Skill!

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“Do you want to excel professionally and financially? Then, be coachable! It’s the #1 way to success.” Jeannette Seibly

“The paradox is that the very things that hold us back are the reasons we need a coach in the first place.” Seth Godin

Being coachable opens up unimaginable doors and opportunities!

  • All successful leaders and future leaders have coaches!
  • As a result, they develop the skills, competencies, and inner confidence that comes from being coachable.
  • In addition, being coachable uncovers blind spots that get in the way of receiving promotions, special assignments, and acknowledgments.
  • They become an influencer and leader that others want to follow.

What Does Being Coachable Mean?

“Coachability is not a technical skill or an inherent ability. It is a mental attitude.” It reflects your ability to ask for feedback, listen, and make appropriate changes. Learning from constructive criticism is also a reflection of your emotional intelligence (EQ). (mvorganizing.org)

What Does Being Uncoachable Look Like?

You roll your eyes, take things personally, and have myriad excuses for why you don’t or won’t ____ (fill in the blank). You are unhappy being stuck in your career and unwilling to do the right work to change it.

How To Improve Your Coachability!

  1.  Be Open to Learning. While you may want to seek out people more experienced than you, remember, you can learn something from anyone, anywhere!
  2. Seek Out Feedback. Ask team members, customers, and your boss for feedback, and leave your ego at the door! For example, ask, “What’s one thing that would help me improve my project results? Or, ability to work well with others?” Listen and be respectful, especially if the feedback isn’t what you want to hear. Remember to say “please” and “thank you.”
  3. Stretch Beyond Your Beloved Comfort Zone. These confining spaces get in the way of your success! Be willing to ask for help! Ask, “I tried this approach, and it didn’t work for me. What do you believe is missing?” Listen and don’t debate. This helps you discover your blind spots and how to overcome them. Now, do the work!
  4. Be Present When Interacting with Others. It starts with quieting the mental chatter of thoughts and distractions. Then, when you truly listen, you will discover insights between what you say you want and what you are actually doing.
  5. Make Positive Behavior and Attitude Changes. Talking the talk won’t make a difference. You must do the right work! If you don’t know what to do, ask an experienced coach, use a qualified job fit assessment to clarify “why,” and then get in action! (Stop thinking about it and get started now!)
  6. Hire the Right Coach. Successful leaders and future leaders hire the right executive coaches. They find the coach that can guide them to achieve what they really really really want, not what someone else believes they “should” have or do. Also, they select executive coaches that have coaches too! (Yes, coaches need to be coachable!)

©Jeannette Seibly, 2021-2022 All Rights Reserved

Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. Celebrating 30 years of award-winning international executive and family business management consulting, speaking, and coaching. She’s also an Amazon Best Selling Author with essential tips for busy employers! Her commitment has guided 1,000s of leaders to make a positive difference in their businesses. Feel stuck in a sticky situation or in challenging relationships? Want straightforward counsel to blast through it? Let’s chat! Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.

A note from Jeannette about why being coachable is so critical: Forbes said it this way: “Many of us have the assumption that someday life will be easy.  … But this assumption that it gets easier is not true. It is never true because you change, the organization changes and the business environment is constantly evolving. A successful life means constant change and continuous learning. So set a goal now to remain coachable throughout your career.” Not sure where to begin? Contact me for a confidential conversation.

Are you tired of hiring uncoachable employees? During the interview, ask: “When was the last time you made a mistake?” and “How did you handle it?” This is perhaps the most critical and revealing part of the interview. Get other tips and interview questions by grabbing, “Hire Amazing Employees!” (Amazon #1 International Best Seller)