Bill Treasurer's Blog, page 28

How to Choose a Mentor

The benefits of having a mentor are big. A survey of Fortune 500 companies found that 96% of executives credited mentoring as an important development tool and 75% said mentoring played a key role in their career success.

But how do you get a mentor?

Many employees and managers complain about not having a mentor. Such people are usually waiting for the company to assign a mentor to them. Mentoring works much better when the mentee takes responsibility for choosing a mentor.

So, the first place to start is to find one yourself! Below are some characteristics of great mentors:

Respect: Look for someone that others respect. A mentor should be someone who can be looked up to as a role model of the company’s values and ideals and who understands the culture of the organization, its practices and the strategies needed to negotiate them. Additionally, it should be someone that you want to assist you in planning and achieving your career goals.

Broccoli Pointer: A mentor is someone who is capable of pointing out embarrassing things about how you are “showing up” at work. Think of it this way, if you came back from lunch with broccoli in your teeth, a mentor wouldn’t be shy about pointing it out!

Independent Loyalist: While a mentor is someone who is loyal to the company, he shouldn’t have drunken so much of the organizational happy-juice that he can’t think independently. Pick a mentor who has a mind of his or her own.

There for You: Find a mentor who will be available to meet with you regularly. Regular meetings will help to not only build a relationship, but will also enable you and your mentee to address topics on an on-going basis. Create a schedule. Consider meeting every month or two (sooner if you’re experiencing particularly tough work challenges).

Expert in Their Field: Your mentor should have job-related expertise in the field in which you wish to grow. This might be technological or managerial. It is expertise that you may ­find useful in their current or future roles.

Storytellers: A great mentor is a master storyteller. When you’re struggling with an issue, your mentor should willingly share a story about a similar struggle that he faced in the past.

Lifelong Learner: Experience accumulated through the mentor’s own life of personal issues that are or are likely to be of particular use to the person being mentored. Pick a mentor who constantly strives to be a better leader himself. Ask the mentor who he or she considers to be his or her mentor(s).

The aim of mentoring is to build the capability of you, the mentee. As such, you should always choose a mentor who you feel can respond to your needs in a way that enables you to find your own solutions to problems that you may be dealing with. Ultimately, your mentor should help build you up to eventually have a mentee of your own!

My life and career have been absolutely propped up by mentors. I value them so much that I dedicated my most recent book, Leaders Open Doors, to five mentors who make all the difference my life.

Do you need help finding a mentor? Contact GLC at info@giantleapconsulting.com to learn more.

Image credit: Pixabay.com

BUBBILY’ BOO

While on an epic vacation to Spain a few summers ago I learned a valuable leadership lesson from my kids.

My son began singing the “Bubbily’ Boo” song while we were waiting at a bus stop one day. We all joined in, singing the song as different characters. My son Alex said to Ian “Sing it like dad the business man.”

It was the first time I realized that Dad Dad and Business Dad were two different people.

Learn how I closed the gap between my Self Self and my Business Self in the short video above.

How about you? Is there a big gap between the real you and the person you are at work?

Contact Giant Leap at info@giantleapconsulting.com to learn about our signature leadership workshops and much more!

Catch Them off Guard

Inspiring creativity and imagination often requires disrupting people’s mental routine and catching them off guard. For example, a large manufacturer of paper plates held a series of marketing meetings. For people who spent most of their working life centered on this commodity product, the way to reach more customers was pretty straightforward … discounting!

Any time the company wanted to increase market share, they would just pump out more Sunday coupons. But the temporary discount-driven boost in market share would often come at the expense of lower profit margins. The division’s leader needed people to be more imaginative than just defaulting to discounting all the time. He wanted people to remember that they weren’t just selling plates, cups, and napkins. They were working for a brand that was deeply connected to the family experience.

To lift people out of the rut of discount thinking, he conducted a brainstorming meeting at a beautiful community park near the corporate headquarters. The meeting was different because it was set up as a backyard barbeque. There were picnic tables with red-and-white checkered tablecloths, an outdoor grill sizzling with hotdogs and hamburgers, even outdoor games like horseshoes and tetherball. Of course there was something else too: lots of the company’s plates, cups, and napkins. They weren’t just commodities; they were an essential part of the experience. The division’s open-door leader had helped people shift their thinking away from commodities and toward values and traditions.

New ideas started to emerge quickly, such as partnering with an outdoor grill company, including summer-inspired flower designs on the borders of the plates, clever wording on the packaging, and other methods for appealing to people’s values rather than just their wallets. Someone even thought to create a website where people could swap summer recipes, an idea that could potentially connect countless individuals and rally them around the company brand.

Changing your language or going outside (literally or figuratively) are two simple ways you can shift the thinking in your work environment. However, the means you use matter less than getting people to think positively, constructively, and productively.

You can begin your thought-shifting campaign by asking yourself the following question: What are some ways that your organization typically tries to inspire creative ideas? What about the approach works well? What opportunities for improvement do you see?

Image via Pixabay

Does your team have a leader who inspires creativity? Are you a project manager trying to figure out how to lead your team to success? Contact Giant Leap at info@giantleapconsulting.com to learn about our signature leadership workshops and much more!

Consider Your Words

Sometimes just making small language shifts can have a huge impact on how people define themselves and their roles.

The owner of a $5 billion construction company wanted his division heads to do less managing and more leading. For decades, the division heads had been called business group managers.

Was it really any wonder then that their focus was on managing their divisions? But the owner now needed them to focus less on internal operational issues (management) and more on external opportunities, such as developing business with clients (leadership). So he did something simple but important. He changed their job titles and, by definition, the expectation and focus of their jobs. Now the division heads are called business group leaders.

There are many simple ways that a shift in language can lead to a shift in thought. For example, do you refer to those you lead as your “employees” or your “team?” Are you the “boss” or the “leader?” Are you conducting a “performance review” or a “check-in?”

Shifting from a negative framing to a positive one is another easy way to shift thinking. For example, after hearing a good idea from an employee, a lot of leaders respond “not bad!” instead of “pretty good!”

Choose your language deliberately and you will be amazed by how quickly it will shift your thinking and the thinking of those around you.

How will you choose to change your language so that it positively impacts your team?

Please contact Giant Leap at info@giantleapconsulting.com to learn about our leadership workshops, including our team interventions and assessments.

Image credit: Pixabay

Leadership – Where to Start?

What is the starting point of leadership? A lot of people are confused by this. In working with thousands of leaders, I hear this all the time.

I once had dinner with a 33 year old young man about to take over a 3rd generation company. Just like a lot of well intentioned leaders, he was also confused about this same topic.

I let him know that the starting point to leadership is goodness and interest.

 

Learn more here.

Where will leadership start for YOU?

Delegation Can Be Your Friend

Delegation can often seem like a time suck, but remember this: taking a task off of your plate leaves you more time. How could you spend that extra time? Additionally, delegation empowers those you lead and gives them a greater sense of responsibility towards the success of the project or organization.

Yet we still don’t delegate.

According to a recent Conference Board report, 78% of all personnel in major corporations believe that their boss, manager, or superior with whom they have a reporting relationship routinely does work that would be more effectively done by someone at their own level. Most managers agree with their team members. In fact, 66% of managers say they would like to “increase their use of delegation as a time management and personnel development tool.”

The challenge is not that we don’t realize the need for delegation — it’s that we aren’t always sure how to accomplish it well. tweet this

Here are 10 steps to help you successfully delegate:

Know what the task is.
Have the end result/desired outcome you want in mind.
Find the right person.
Share with them the results you desire.
Explain why the tasks and/or results are important.
Acknowledge how performing this task will benefit them.
Ask them how it’s going to get done: “What do you feel is the best way to handle/complete this?” or “How have you handled something like this in the past?”
Determine the exact time-frame that you want the task finished by.
Reconfirm the deadline. That can sound like: “Okay great, then you will be able to have it done by next Monday?”
Follow up at an agreed-upon time. If you don’t, you run the risk of training the person not to be accountable by sending the message that it’s okay for tasks not to be completed.


How are you at delegation? Better question, how is your manager at delegation?

Are you struggling to delegate? Contact Giant Leap at info@giantleapconsulting.com to learn about our signature leadership workshops, including our New Manager Boot Camp. This post is an excerpt from GLC’s New Manager Boot Camp Workbook, by Bill Treasurer.

 

How to Give Feedback That Helps

Leading courageously often involves sharing feedback, both bad and good, with those around you. But feedback can be really hard to give, and it’s even harder to take. It helps to view it in terms of being constructive, helping people grow, or destructive, which simply seeks to “fix” people.

When was the last time someone gave you some really tough feedback that stung, but brought about positive change?

Consider this example from Bill’s days working at Accenture. It was time for a performance review, and his manager has some critical feedback to offer. But how he set up the conversation made all the difference in whether Bill would act upon his advice.

Watch this 3 minute video to hear the rest of the story!

People Need to Be Held Accountable

Even the best project managers occasionally have team members who fail to deliver. Workers sometimes miss due dates, don’t prioritize, or just plain misinterpret expectations. To put it simply, people need to be held accountable in order to grow and succeed in their work.

Here are 6 tips to consider when increasing your team’s accountability.

Be Clear about Your Expectations:  Start by giving clear instructions. If they do not know your expectations, how can they know if they are reaching or missing them? Be explicit about what you want.
Be Timely with Your Feedback:  When you realize that your expectations are not being made, give your feedback promptly. Don’t wait until their six-month review to address the problem areas. Hold people accountable as soon as you see accountability slip. Otherwise you aren’t being accountable in holding them accountable!
Be Consistent:  Don’t play favorites. Your expectations should apply to everyone in your team. Others will notice if you are inconsistent and only some people are held accountable.
Be Discreet:  Avoid criticizing people in front of their peers. The humiliation coupled with that experience will often lead to greater negative consequences. When holding people accountable, address them privately and respectfully.
Be Gracious:  Forgiving a person who has failed to deliver on expectations is sometimes a way to set up better performance in the future.
Be Balanced:  This is an incredibly important concept. There is nothing written on a stone tablet that says all forms of accountability must be negative. You can hold people accountable for what they have succeeded at doing well. Catch people doing something right!

Above all, make sure you remain accountable yourself!

People will take their behavioral cues from you, so practice what you preach. When you’re wrong, promptly admit it. When you miss your marks, own it. Above all, don’t blame others for mistakes you make. We all make ‘em!

What other tips do you have for keeping people accountable?

Does your team have a leader who keeps everyone accountable? Are you a project manager trying to figure out how to lead your team to success? Contact Giant Leap at info@giantleapconsulting.com to learn about our signature leadership workshops, including our New Manager Boot Camp.

This post is an excerpt from GLC’s New Manager Boot Camp Workbook by Bill Treasurer.

Image credit: unsplash

Does Being Disorganized Make You Less Effective?

An effective manager is an organized manager — because being organized reduces distractions and removes the unnecessary from your life. Sometimes “getting organized” is easier said than done, however.

But if you can’t keep your own workspace in order, how can you expect to properly manage others? If you begin your meetings half-focused on your computer screen, how can you expect your words to have much impact?

A messy desk and a cluttered focus are often indicative of limited effectiveness. tweet this

Here are five steps to get your act together and be more effective in every area of life:

1. Shine Your Space

Nothing says “weak manager” like a disorganized workspace. Who wants to be led by a person who is a mess? Getting organized starts by creating an uncluttered workspace.

2. Minimize Distractions

According to Psychology Today, it takes workers 25 minutes to return to a previous task after being distracted. So start focusing on your work and stop focusing on things like junk email and personal calls.

3. Carry A Notebook

But don’t just carry it — use it! Write stuff down. Take notes at meetings, with clients, with your boss — this shows that you’re serious about results and outcomes.

4. Know Your Priorities

What does it matter if you dedicate a week of exceptional work in creating a color-coordinated timeline that cross-references every detail needed, if it is such a low priority that nothing will ever be done with your chart? That sounds like you just wasted your time. So prioritize your work. Keep asking yourself, “What’s the most important task I should be working on NOW?”

5. Focus on One Task at a Time

Are you guilty of talking on the phone and typing an email at the same time? How effectively are you at really listening to the person on the phone? We are not as good at multitasking as we want to believe! It is more productive to focus on the task in front of you and complete it well the first time, before moving on to the next.

Here are some quick tips on how to avoid multitasking:

Batch your email responses: check emails when you start the day, after lunch, and at the day’s end. Don’t sit on email all day long!
Turn off the email alert on your computer when starting a conference call.
Turn off your computer screen when meeting with a person in your office.
Put down your phone when talking with someone in real life — even stop texting.

 

Have you ever noticed the correlation between organization and effectiveness?

 

Does your team have new managers? Or are you a new manager trying to figure out where to start? Contact Giant Leap at info@giantleapconsulting.com to learn about our signature leadership workshops, including our New Manager Boot Camp. This post is an excerpt from GLC’s New Manager Boot Camp Workbook by Bill Treasurer.

 

Inage credit: edar

Courage Doesn’t Always Mean Saying Yes

Sometimes people think that having courage requires saying YES to every big risk that comes along. But sometimes it actually means applying a disciplined NO to assert a boundary.

Ed Viesturs, one of America’s greatest adventurers, has summitted all fourteen of the world’s 8000-meter summits and has been to the top of Mount Everest – not once or twice – but seven times. Think he knows something about taking smart risks?

In this video, Bill Treasurer shares the story of Ed’s first two attempts to climb Mount Everest — both of which ended with him turning around before he reached the top. He applied a disciplined NO for the sake of a more important YES. Getting up the mountain was optional: getting back down was mandatory!

Watch the video now to hear the rest of Ed’s story, and discover how you can put your courage to work today.

What have you tolerated for too long that you need to start saying NO to?