Creating Leaders

Use an outside sounding board to get you out of the mind-forest.

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“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” —Albert Einstein

When you’re immersed in the mind-forest of logic and/or emotions, your inner monologue can disguise the best path for your company to follow. You usually find yourself in these predicaments when there is a lack of clarity in the direction you’ve taken or a lack of integrity in the decisions you’ve made. Many times the problem could have been prevented if you had used an outside sounding board (e.g., a mentor, business advisor, or advisory board). It is easier for someone on the outside to point out the current or predicted obstacles, because they are not attached to the inner workings of your business. They can help you generate a new commitment to develop and execute a workable solution while creating an ethical, but not always easy, best course of action to achieve the right results.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Who have you talked with on the outside to get a clearer view of the inside of your company?

Leaders talk straight —or their company fails.

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There are many schools, workshops, and programs focused on developing leaders’ abilities to communicate effectively. The problem is they are not focused on how to elicit the best in others and are concentrated on rote comments or insincere platitudes. Some executives lack experience or basic emotional intelligence when conversing with others, while other business professionals are afraid to hear the truth, particularly when they fear what their bosses, employees or clients have to say.

In this geographically diverse business market, the challenge of pulling everyone onto the same page can be a daunting due to differing cultural perceptions. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to learn how to converse with others in a manner that gets everyone on board in a reasonable period of time. Relying on emails or texts can actually cause more harm than good, since communication is filtered through cultural experience. There is greater probability of your intentions being misinterpreted due to differing reading levels or misinterpretation of jargon, slang, etc. Remember, a conversation may take 20 minutes and elicit a truer picture.

If you, as the leader, are a poor communicator and don’t take responsibility for your interactions, your enterprise can quickly lose market share, top talent, and desired outcomes. Think through your messages and tailor them to your audiences. Write a draft and have it reviewed by another to ensure you are capturing the tone of the message you wish to send. In your closing comments, be sure to invite feedback and be open to hearing what others have to share—those insights could make all the difference in correctly tweaking the actions required to achieve intended results.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly

What practices do you use to ensure your messages are conveyed in a way others hear them?

Small business owners should roll up their sleeves.

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Get involved in the day-to-day activities of your small business—it’s important for many reasons. It keeps you sane about your decisions instead of in the clouds. It helps you better understand employee challenges that you otherwise might disregard, and it helps you avoid inappropriate comments such as “They simply need to work harder.” It provides you with realistic expectations of how a job is done and brings an awareness of each job’s nuances while fostering loyalty and trust.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

 What have you done to foster loyalty and trust inside your company?

Impatience stymies the best of plans.

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Many gung-ho executives and entrepreneurs have one thing in common: They can be in denial about how fast they can achieve their vision or idea. Although failure is not an option for these dynamic leaders, their impatience stymies the best of plans.  While being confident and persistent are important, so is the ability to work with and through others to make the plan a reality. Emotions, office politics, wanting to be the best at the expense of others, or being focused on a personal million-dollar payout will cloud logic, ethics, good business practices, and common sense. Impatience diminishes the effectiveness of your team! Learn how to tame your impatience and use perseverance and dedication effectively to propel your team forward.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Executive coaching removes elephants in your career.

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Many times executives see coaching as “remedial fixes,” and not enough to remove the elephants in their careers that prevent them from enjoying more money, time, and success. A business advisor can help you design and implement successful results that impact company mission and goals, thus saving your current job and future career—even if you’ve been unknowingly sidelined!

Being the lone ranger and thinking you need to have the answers to everything rarely makes a positive difference for the enterprise. Reading a book or attending a workshop can actually have detrimental results when you attempt to superimpose your limited insights on your organization.

One client had said, “If I had known you would have asked to me to have this conversation with my boss, I would never have hired you.” My response, “A good thing you didn’t know … otherwise you would still hope for a different result without having taken the correct actions. Now you enjoy a lot of notoriety, make more money, and have more fun in your job!” He agreed.

When you embrace coaching and take the appropriate actions, you develop your skills in critical areas such as conflict resolution, project management, and working with and through people to execute ideas effectively. These processes ensure you see alternative solutions while developing your business acumen, taking you from OK to good to great. Many executives rate their coaching experiences as one the best investments of their time and money. Remove your elephant today!  Contact Jeannette Seibly @ JLSeibly@SeibCo.com.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

How has executive coaching helped your career?

Being righteous is a career saboteur.

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Leaders may win the battle but lose the war with their need to be right. Relying on a management style of browbeating employees or being condescending to clients is a lonely fight. Disheartened employees will find a way to invalidate your directives, and your clients will find another resource.  As a leader, it’s your job to learn how to listen to others’ ideas, even if they don’t appear to have merit, and build upon them for solutions. Being righteous is a career saboteur! Creating win-win outcomes is one of your most important jobs.

Where have you won the battle but lost the war in your career?

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Handling Devious Company Foxes

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“Foxes are devious—have you given one of them the keys to your office?”

Last Friday I had someone tweet me in response to the above posted caption. The person had given trust to another, and it turned out to be bad news. I’m sure many of you can personally and professionally relate to this experience. I know I can.

Unfortunately, foxes are devious and manipulative creatures. It’s simply their nature. But for people, being devious is often unconscious and based on fear of failure. The key is to become aware of devious people as quickly as possible by listening to your inner leader, or voice. Don’t second-guess yourself based upon your most recent interaction with the person, or your fear of not being strong enough to handle the situation.

Don’t immediately fire someone without conducting proper due diligence, stick your head in the sand hoping it will go away on its own, or jump into a new project, career, or job. These types of knee-jerk reactions will follow you.

First, look within to see what the life lesson is. Second, discuss the situation with your business advisor or executive coach for any additional insights. Now, make your decision and follow through on making the appropriate changes from a place of inner strength and leadership.

How have you successfully handled a fox in your company? How did it impact your career?

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Have you developed their talent lately?

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Hiring the right person requires more than simply hiring someone who appears to have the right skills. It’s selecting someone who can fit the environment and succeed. Many times they have the right stuff, but we fail to develop their talent and inadvertently sabotage their performance. Design a 180-day success plan to keep your employees focused on the targeted areas required for company success from the very first day on the job. Manage them daily, weekly, and monthly to ensure success, with the frequency determined by their most recent results. When left to their own devices, employees will usually go off-track to pursue their own interests.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

The key role of any executive

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The key role of any executive is to be an effective decision-maker and help steer the company forward profitably and productively. Unfortunately, we are often swayed by office politics, our personal biases, and lack of good objective information. Take time to learn how and when to ask the right business questions. Be strategic in your thinking so you are aware of how your decisions can impact others in doing their jobs, integrating with your current systems, and keeping your internal and external clients satisfied.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Don’t be afraid to “push into” a conversation.

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Many times we fail to ask the right questions. Even worse, we fail to listen for the true answers. Don’t be afraid to ask good questions before making decisions and probe to ensure you are on the same page with your employees, clients and bosses. Push into the conversation by asking the questions people are afraid to ask for fear that someone will get upset or be non-responsive. A good way to handle potential conflict is to let people know before asking a question that they may not like what you’re about to ask! That approach will usually deflect negativity and open up the conversation.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013