Lolly Daskal's Blog, page 65

What Are Some Harsh Truths About Being a Leader

Many people think of leadership as a glorified profession, one with impressive titles and lots of prestige and benefits. That may or may not be the case, but every level of leadership involves some hard truths. If you’re already in leadership, you likely know these all too well already, but if you’re aspiring to a leadership role, or if you work with a leader, keep them in mind:

Leadership means sacrifice. Leadership at its core is about sacrifice of self-interest. True leadership is other-focused—it’s about investing in other people to help them succeed, even at the expense of your own interests. You have to put your personal priorities away and work for the good of your people.

Leadership means constantly being judged. People are especially judgmental of their boss. Every decision you make—from promotions to project assignments to office decor—is subject to scrutiny. You have to learn not to take it personally, and that’s not always easy.

Leadership means having to be strong for others. People come to their leader with all kinds of challenges and burdens, and it’s part of your charge to always be strong and looking out for them. Making sure that people feel supported and provided for takes an enormous amount of perseverance.

Leadership means carrying the load. You may not have a sign on your desk that says “The Buck Stops Here,” but if you’re in leadership, it does stop with you. You’re in charge so you have to take responsibility, even when the burden is difficult.

Leadership means making people unhappy. There will always be people who don’t support your ideas and initiatives, and some of those people may actively oppose you or be upset with your choices. You truly cannot make everyone happy or have everyone like you. The best you can do is to be honest and consistent in yourself.

Leadership means failing visibly. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has failures. But when a leader fails, they fail in full view of the entire team. Bad judgment calls and missteps, large or small, are right there. Everyone knows about them; there’s nowhere to hide and no excuses that will help.

Leadership means being mindful of your influence. As a leader you need to pay attention to everything that comes out of your mouth. Your words matter, whether you’re addressing a large group, in a small meeting, or telling a joke in the hall. People will be paying attention to what you say and how you say it.

Leadership means liking your people, even the difficult ones. As a leader, your first priority is the people who work for you, even the most difficult, the most challenging, the most unpersonable. It’s a priority that can be tough to maintain.

Being a leader is not for the weak. You’re constantly scrutinized, judged and held to a higher standard than most people. Great leaders always find a way to make it work—and that’s what makes them great leaders.

Lead from within: There’s no manual for leadership, no five-step process that will give you the answers. You have to sort out how to be a great leader by doing it and being it.

 

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post What Are Some Harsh Truths About Being a Leader appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

Why the Best Leaders Ask For Help In A Crisis

Even in the best of times, executives and senior managers sometimes need help with the pressures of leadership. In times of crisis, they face much greater challenges. How do you set a direction when the future is unclear? How can you ask for more from people who are already stretched thin, or ask people to bring their best when their job security isn’t even certain?

Throughout a crisis, I work closely with my clients around the world to help keep them grounded. My role as a coach is to help leaders be more effective so they and their teams can be more successful. Here are some of the reasons why even great leaders turn to coaches at time like this:

A coach helps you assess your state of mind. It’s important that leaders stay aware of their  physical, mental, emotional, and social state. They need to stay in top form as much as possible so they can make the tough decisions and model the behavior people expect of them. A coach helps leaders prioritize their own well-being and increase their effectiveness.

A coach brings clarity and perspective. Coaches are skilled at helping leaders manage their energy and focus. They also give leaders the benefit of an outside perspective and provide a confidential space to test new ideas so they can navigate tough decisions with clarity.

A coach is supportive and protective. Part of a leader’s charge is to be there for others, but they rarely have someone supporting and protecting them. Working with a coach gives them a trusted presence who can listen—not necessarily to provide a solution but to help them uncover their assumptions, ask smarter questions, and find solutions in unexpected places. Every leader needs an unbiased source of support.

A coach builds value and helps to drive results. Especially in tough times, working with a coach helps leaders make the most of their limited time and resources so they can focus on obtaining results. Strong leaders always want to get ahead of changing circumstances, and outside counsel can help them not only navigate the crisis but understand the important lessons that come with it.

A coach helps leaders engage for impact. In times of crisis, no job is more important than taking care of your people. At the same time, those who lead within organizations have to take into account the bigger picture. It’s easy to be distracted and unfocused when you’re facing shifting circumstances and unclear priorities. A coach can guide leaders in finding ways to keep people engaged and motivated—and, as much as possible, protected.

Hiring a coach is helpful in good times, but it becomes essential in times of difficulty when leaders really need to be at their best.

Lead from within: Leaders with a great coaching relationship are better able to navigate hardship and tap into the powerful learning opportunities they bring.

 

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post Why the Best Leaders Ask For Help In A Crisis appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

What to Do When a Leader Does Something Unacceptable

After a leadership team meeting I attended not long ago, one of the executives in attendance sent an email asking to speak with me confidentially. When we were able to connect, he asked, “What do you do when someone in leadership above you does something completely unacceptable?”

The question was disturbing, but not terribly surprising. We may think of most leaders as educated and ethically evolved, but as with any other field, there are some bad apples.

Faced with the knowledge that a leader in your organization has done something immoral, unethical, illegal or reckless, you have a decision to make. Do you do something about it, or try to push it off to the side and continue working as before? And if you choose to do something, what’s the best way to proceed?

Most of us want to do the right thing, but it’s not a simple choice. Here are some helpful points to consider:

Think about the nature of the behavior you witnessed. The first step is to define whether the behavior is something you disagree with—something that violates your personal moral code—or something that’s truly intolerable. Ask yourself some questions: Is it illegal? Does it violate your industry or employer’s code of ethics? Is it an isolated one-time incident, or part of a pattern? How is it affecting others in the workplace? Read up on your employer’s conduct policies to learn about official and unofficial reporting options. You may even be required to report certain things.

Don’t let yourself become comfortable with being uncomfortable. The first time something happens, you’re likely to feel outraged and furious. But if you choose not to say anything and it happens again, you may be a little less upset. After every instance, it gets a little easier to think of it as just the way things are. Are you OK with the behavior continuing, or is there a cycle that’s important to break?

Think about repercussions. Whether you decide to take a stand or not, you may experience repercussions in your own career and life. Depending on the severity of the behavior, anonymous reporting options or whistleblower laws may be in effect—but it’s unrealistic to deny that integrity is often costly. On the other hand, if you look the other way and the behavior becomes public through other channels, you may be seen as complicit.

Consider the range of options. Depending on the situation, you may choose to look for a different job, share your concerns with someone within your organization, or take official action through HR or the legal system. Whatever path you choose, keep a written record of events with as much documentation as possible. You may also want to confide in a close and trusted co-worker.

Ultimately, you’re the only one who can decide how best to move forward without compromising who you are.

Lead from within: Sometimes the best you can do is to change what you can, accept what you cannot, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.

 

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

How Great Leadership is Generated in Significant Crisis
How to Lead Your Team When The Future Is Uncertain
The One Aspect Of Crisis Management That No One Talks About
How to Engage Employees During Uncertain Times
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post What to Do When a Leader Does Something Unacceptable appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

Why People Who Want Their Leader to Be a Cheerleader Are Getting It Wrong

Everyone needs someone to motivate and inspire them, whether it’s a parent or a minister or an athlete. People often look to their leaders for that kind of inspiration. And on the surface it makes sense: who wouldn’t want a leader who’s positive and encouraging compared to one who talks tough or is focused on outcomes rather than people? But wanting your leader to be your cheerleader is actually a big mistake.

Don’t get me wrong—I believe that leaders should be inspiring and positive. But we need much more from those who lead us:

We need leaders who will challenge us today so we can be better tomorrow. To be challenged can be uncomfortable, and it doesn’t always come with a feel-good message. Motivating people to achieve great things means stimulating and influencing and provoking them to do more and be more. It may not feel good in the moment, but often “You can do better—try again” is exactly what we need to hear.

We need leaders who are straight shooters, not sugar-coaters. Not everything a leader has to say is positive. Growth requires someone who will be honest and direct and tell it like it is, and experiencing criticism expressed openly and honestly can make teams stronger and more productive. We miss out on lots of opportunities for learning and development when we’re surrounded by soft-pedaling critics.

We need leaders who care less about being liked and more about being respected. Part of being a leader is making tough decisions. And if the leader is a good one, people will respect those decisions even if they dislike them. Leaders have to look at the big picture, and sometimes that means having the courage to do things that are unpopular—but those who are willing to make tough decisions for the good of all are ultimately the most admired.

We need leaders who are experts, not enthusiasts. At the end of the day, do you want a leader who spends all day speaking lots of positive messages but doesn’t make a meaningful contribution to your team’s work? Far better to have an expert who is optimistic and skillful. There are plenty of leaders who try to make people feel good without giving them much to think about. But effective leadership makes you think—and then feel good about it.

We all want bosses, managers and leaders who make us feel good, but it’s far more important—for ourselves and for our teams—that we find the people who can help us develop, grow and evolve. What we all need most is a leader we can trust and respect, one who will challenge us to discover our own motivation and become our own cheerleaders.

Lead from within: The best leaders might not be the biggest cheerleaders but those who challenge us the most—and because they do, we respect them for it.

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R
The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post Why People Who Want Their Leader to Be a Cheerleader Are Getting It Wrong appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How to Collaborate Effectively with a Remote Team

Many of us are missing the days when collaboration was as easy as stopping by someone’s office or arranging a face-to-face team meeting. Effective collaboration can still happen in the remote workplace, but it means cultivating a different set of skills and attitudes.

Here are some of the foundational elements for successfully collaborating as your team works remotely.

Shift the mindset. In the early days of the pandemic, working from home felt like a novelty—a quick solution for a few weeks until things got back to normal. The perspective now is far different. Remote work looks to be a long-term reality for many of us. As leaders, we need to help people shift their mindset to consider the new possibilities for creativity and innovation that remote work brings instead of wishing they were back at the office.

Understand the different types of distance people are experiencing. In addition to the constraints of physical distance, remote teams face operational distance, where different teams have different sizes, skill sets, and attitudes, and connection distance, where trust, empathy and listening are more important—and more challenging—than ever. Leaders who want to build a strong foundation for team performance should first focus on improving connection distance. Strengthened trust and communication, in turn, are the best way to overcome operational and physical distance.

Ensure psychological safety. Remote communication blurs some of the nonverbal cues people rely on for a sense of safety and security, and as a result there’s a greater tendency for people to hold back. Leaders need to create an atmosphere of safety and mutual respect so people know their questions and thoughts are welcome and feel safe speaking their mind.

Foster true diversity and inclusion. Great collaboration requires diverse viewpoints, and it’s easier for majority voices to dominate in online settings. Leaders need to make sure everyone is included—that diversity is genuinely built into the collaborative process and not a matter of token representation.

Prioritize process and accountability. Clear and well-documented workflows and documentation are critical to the success of any remote team. Something I often suggest to my clients is creating and maintaining a team charter—a regularly updated document that identifies the team and its responsibilities, context and accountability; sets specific measurable goals; assigns roles and responsibilities; and outlines work processes, a communication plan, and structures for decision-making and conflict resolution. Such a document, accessible to all and updated as needed, can go a long way in keeping everyone collaborating successfully and in promoting accountability.

Especially since the pandemic upended everyone’s work processes, a proliferation of systems, platforms, apps and gimmicks are all being marketed as helping teams collaborate effectively. Some of them may even be effective for your workplace. But before you dive in, remember that collaboration begins with people, and meaningful improvement won’t come from new technologies but from better connections and deeper relationships.

Lead from within: For collaboration to be effective as we work remotely, leaders need to focus on connections, processes, and communication.

 

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post How to Collaborate Effectively with a Remote Team appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How to Do Inclusive Leadership—the Right Way

In recent months we’ve heard courageous voices demanding social and economic equality, and leaders within many organizations have been responding to that call by examining their own attitudes and practices.

Most of them have good intentions, but there’s a big divide between intentions and outcomes. In practice, inclusion often goes amiss, strategies for change go flat, and the potential for excellence is lost.

I’ve made a point in recent months of having each of my clients—from small-business owners to executives of major corporations—take a fresh look at their organization’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. Most of them came away from the process with a desire to genuinely do better instead of spinning their wheels with measures that didn’t create lasting change. Here’s an outline of the coaching I’ve been providing these clients on how to start doing things differently:

Increase your self-awareness. Inclusiveness starts with the leader at the helm. Begin by honestly asking yourself how well you genuinely embrace and engage in inclusion. Many leaders understand the importance of inclusion and diversity in theory and are happy to advocate for it with their words, but they’re far less comfortable taking the kind of action that creates change. Commit to taking that action and make it a priority. When you do, your commitment will reverberate throughout your organization.

Expose your blind spots. Implicit bias is built in to the human brain. That means that even the best of us—individuals and organizations—have blind spots that keep us from seeing things objectively. It takes an outsider to identify and start eliminating those blind spots, so find a consultant or coach you trust and give them a broad mandate to help you achieve change.

Deepen your relationships. After you’ve developed a higher level of self-awareness, you’re ready to begin working on social awareness—the way your beliefs and implicit biases affect your relationships with others. If you want your company to become more inclusive, start working on your own ability to create authentic relationships with your colleagues and employees. Changing an organization’s culture begins with simple acts of connection.

Invest in change. It’s one thing to say you want change, but to make it happen you need to add money, time and effort to your words. Invest in resources and people. Spend time and energy working to confront challenges and create opportunities. Identify and study your gaps and find ways to bridge them. Do what it takes to make sure every employee feels valued and knows they matter and belong.

Embody courage. Being an inclusive leader isn’t easy. Some will criticize you for your commitment, and others will criticize you for not getting the results you want right away. But I believe that every leader should pursue this path with as much determination as possible. Change requires courage, and the best way of making it happen sooner rather than later is by forging ahead.

Lead from within:  All change has to start somewhere and genuine, meaningful inclusiveness has to begin within you as a leader.

 

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post How to Do Inclusive Leadership—the Right Way appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How To Be A Successful Leader From Home

Before the pandemic, working from home was something that a few people did and a lot more were interested in trying out. Now it’s rather suddenly become a fact of life for entire workplaces and teams, and many of us are still working to adapt. If you’re finding it difficult to manage some elements of working with your team or even staying on top of your own workflow and habits in this new normal, here’s some great advice compiled from my clients who are experienced in successfully working and leading from home

For Your Team:

Overcommunicate, especially when things are uncertain. Provide additional detail and context to make up for the information people can no longer pick up organically in casual conversations. Be as clear and consistent as possible to keep everyone moving in the same direction.

Raise the flag if something looks off. It’s important to speak up, because it’s harder to spot things that have gone awry when everyone is working separately. If you have a concern, check in to see if what others think . And if you’re spinning your wheels on a project, let your colleagues know. Identify problems early so you can start working toward solutions.

Create inner circles of collaboration. If you do your best work in collaboration with a work partner or small group, block a few hours to share a virtual room. Use technology to see each other, view each other’s screens and set up a virtual whiteboard to share ideas and work through problems.

Check in with others. Find the structure that works best for maintaining open channels with each member of your team, making sure you check in regularly. It’s more important than ever that you ask lots of questions and listen to the answers.

Recognize effort as well as accomplishments. There are fewer opportunities for recognition when everyone is working separately, so make an extra effort. In addition to celebrating wins, recognize those who are contributing extra effort and longer hours, those who are working through stressful situations, and those who have taken a risk or tried something new—even if it didn’t work out.

For Yourself:

Start and end the work day at a specific time. Those who are new to working from home often experience burnout because they feel they never leave work. Set a schedule for the beginning and end of every work day. Of course there will be some nights you work late, but make them the exception, not the rule.

Work with your peak hours and low-energy moments. We all have times when we’re more focused and productive and times when our energy is lower and we’re more prone to distraction. An advantage of working from home is that it’s easier to balance your time, energy and productivity around your individual rhythm.

Remove as many distractions as possible. When you’re working from home, it’s easy to realize you’ve just spent an hour on social media or down an internet rabbit hole. Take social media off your work computer. Leave your phone in another room and get rid of any distractions that you know will get in the way of your productivity.

Create breaks during the day. No one can sit at a desk for 12 hours straight and do their best work. Even 15 to 30 minutes a couple of times a day can make a big difference in your focus and clarity. Treat it like a meeting and make yourself unavailable.

Exercise or do something vigorous at least four days a week. Aside from the physical benefits, exercise increases mental sharpness and makes you better at handling stress. It’s harder to fit exercise in, especially if you’re used to the routine of going to a gym, but your productivity and mental attitude—not to mention your health—depend on it.

Pay attention to your mindset. Working from home makes it extra important that you stay on top of your thoughts and mental attitude. It can be harder to find ways to clear your head, and there are fewer interactions with others to keep you grounded. Find things that nourish you—take your laptop out on the porch, play some music, read an author whose work inspires you.

Fight loneliness and isolation. Working from home, you miss out on camaraderie, companionship and interacting with others. But you don’t have to feel you’re on an island. Set up a virtual lunch date or happy hour, or create chat channels for topics of interest. Spend a bit of time every day connecting with co-workers about nonwork topics- think of it as the online version of stopping by their desk to chat.

Lead from within: Successfully working from home is a skill; it takes time and commitment and dedication to develop that skill. But with a great leader at the helm, people and teams can find their way and be as successful as ever.

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

How Great Leadership is Generated in Significant Crisis
How to Lead Your Team When The Future Is Uncertain
The One Aspect Of Crisis Management That No One Talks About
How The Best Leaders Are Already Planning Past The Crisis
How to Engage Employees During Uncertain Times
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post How To Be A Successful Leader From Home appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How to Keep Your Remote Team On The Right Track

Something I’ve been hearing lately from my executive leadership coaching clients is that their teams aren’t functioning as well remotely as they were when they worked face to face. Among the top symptoms productivity and effectiveness have decreased.

Frustrating as it is, none of this is surprising. Remote teams have a different dynamic then in-person teams. One significant difference: they need a little bit more attention and clarity up front. Here is a simple but meaningful process I use in coaching remote teams to be successful and stay on track:

Articulate why the team exists. Set aside some time for the team to work together on articulating and communicating their “why.”

Ask your team

What kind of team are we and what are we trying to accomplish?

Does our work reflect our stated purpose?

Have we gotten distracted, or are we staying true to our purpose?

Identify the circumstances. Clarify who the team is accountable to and how accountability is reported. List any other individuals and groups that are involved in the team’s work and define their involvement.

Ask your team

Are we coordinating well with others who rely on our work?

Are we meeting stakeholders’ expectations?

Determine your goals. Define the outcomes that are expected from the team’s work as well as milestones, deadlines, and how results will be assessed.

Ask your team

Do the measured results of our work accurately demonstrate its value?

Is anything getting in the way of our success?

Decide on roles and responsibilities. Consider each team member’s strengths and perspective as you determine which individuals and small groups will be responsible for which elements.

Ask your team

Are roles clearly defined and executed?

Are we making good use of a variety of skills and perspectives?

Establish work processes. Decide together how the team’s work will be done. Be concise but make sure the essentials are clearly defined: how often the team will connect and meet and who will manage the agenda, how delays and snags will be handled, and how people working from outside the team will be managed. List things out step by step so everyone has the clarity they need.

Ask your team

Are our work processes effective? Do they foster creative thought and innovation?

Are we sticking to what we agreed to?

What new processes might help us be more effective?

Settle on decision-making. Make sure everyone on the team understands their level of autonomy and how decisions at every level will be made. Determine whether the overall approach will be one of seeking consensus among the group’s members or relying on the expertise of those charged with each element. Outline how decision points will be raised and resolved and who has the final say.

Ask your team

Are we including the right amount of input?

What surprises or frustrations have we encountered in the past?

How might we do it differently?

Clarify communication. Especially with a remote team, you can never communicate too much, but coordinating communication keeps people from being bombarded with so many messages that they miss things they need to know. Decide how routine and nonroutine communication will take place and determine which conversations will be archived.

Ask your team:

How well is our current communication plan working? Are we sticking to it?

What methods are working particularly well? |

What are we not doing so well?

Verify expectations. Make sure that each team member understands what is expected of them and what they can expect of one another, and that operating principles and conflict resolution processes are clear.

Ask your team

Are we adhering to the objectives we created?

Are they helping us achieve our objectives?

What norms do we want to add or delete?

How can we be better in the future?

The better you define your overall objectives, resources, constraints, roles, processes and expectations, the less confusion and the fewer complaints you’ll experience. A great team charter keeps everyone informed and working toward the same goal.

Lead from within: When you can be clear on where you are going and why, and what you have to do to be successful, people perform at their best.

#1 N A T I O N A L B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post How to Keep Your Remote Team On The Right Track appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How to Build Trust In A Room When You Need It Most

To be an effective leader you need to be able to build trust. It’s really that simple. If trust isn’t present, you can’t lead successfully. Building trust is an ongoing process, something you need to work at every day. Here are some of the key elements:

Learn to communicate effectively. Poor communication is a major reason for mistrust. Good communication includes being clear about what you have or have not committed to and what has been agreed upon. Building trust requires connection, so it’s important that the messages you send are exactly what you intend them to be and that you listen well enough to interpret other people’s messages correctly.

Demonstrate expertise and good judgment. People are more likely to trust you as a leader if they believe you know what you’re talking about and have the experience and discernment to make good decisions. You can’t build trust when you’re faking it. Do your homework and make sure you can showcase your expertise with clarity and confidence.

Value your relationships and don’t take them for granted. Strong leadership is based on developing and maintaining relationships. That means you need to be active in keeping relationships strong, never taking them for granted. When you support people, resolve conflicts fairly and give honest feedback, you show the consistency that builds trusting relationships.

Follow through on commitments and do what you say you’ll do. In a recent study, a significant percentage of employees said that the most effective way to build trust was simply following through on commitments. In contrast, 48 percent said their leaders were all talk and no action. Building trust means voicing commitments and then doing what you said you would do.

Be unfailingly honest and transparent. Many leaders, even those who pride themselves on communication and motivation, have a hard time telling the truth when the news is bad. While it’s a natural impulse to protect people from bad news, a lack of transparency and honesty creates a culture of suspicion and rumors.

Admit your mistakes and take ownership of your failures. You’ve probably seen what happens when someone—especially a leader—tries to hide their mistakes. Most often the person ends up looking even worse than they would have if they’d just owned up from the start. There’s a common fear that showing your vulnerable side and letting people see your imperfections will damage your credibility as a leader. In fact, it builds trust and relatability.

Trust is required in the workplace so everyone can feel they are there for the right reasons, working toward shared goals with a sense of purpose. Every effective leader knows that if trust isn’t in the room, they have to learn to build it and earn it.

Lead from within: Leading a company to greatness isn’t done in a day, and no one said it would be easy. But when you build strong foundations of trust, people can work to build greatness together.

 

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
How to Succeed as A New Leader
12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
The Deception Trap of Leadership

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post How to Build Trust In A Room When You Need It Most appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How To Manage An Underperformer Remotely

Love it or hate it, working remotely is likely to remain a reality for some time to come. A fairly common challenge, now that people have had time to settle into new workflows, is that more employees may be struggling to keep up. How you handle that situation is important—to your employee, to you, and ultimately to your entire team. Here are some tips that have proven to be successful for preventing and dealing with underperformance:

Set up clear expectations. Like many things, communicating expectations can be tricky when you’re unable to speak to people in person, so it’s important to be very clear and to make sure you’re understood. It’s helpful to not only list expectations but also prioritize them, and to connect them to the big picture by showing how they add value to your team’s and organization’s goals.

Get to know people individually. Especially with people you’ve never worked with in person, make a real effort to get to know them and begin building a relationship. Find out what motivates and inspires them, who they are and where they’re from, what their home situation’s like, what they’re passionate about outside of work.

Manage how you give feedback. When people are struggling brutal and direct feedback doesn’t work, and that’s even more true remotely. People become defensive or shut down, so the problem is still in place—and now the lines of communication are closed. Some better ways: relate and share (“Here are three things that really work for me in those situations”), question and analyze (“What was the thinking that led to that decision?”). Empower people` by allowing them to tell you what they’re struggling with instead of you telling them.

Ask how you can support them. If you suspect an employee needs help, ask them directly, “How can I support you? What do you need?” And then listen to what they say. It may be as simple as “The time we meet is the worst time for me to be present” or as complex as “I don’t think I can get this done without some additional resources.” Let them know you understand and respect what they say, and then do what you can to help.

Serve as a coach. When you help people learn for themselves, they grow and gain self-confidence. Switch hats sometimes and act as a coach—ask questions and guide them in finding their own way. Ask questions like “What did you learn?” and “How did things get better?”

Stay connected. Even in the best of times, it can be hard to stay connected. And working remotely compounds the difficulty. Make it a priority, and keep a toolkit of simple ways to connect—a Zoom call, a quick text or email, even a handwritten note.

It’s not easy to work with an employee who’s not performing well, especially when you can’t sit down face to face and talk from the heart. But using these specific road-tested techniques can help you strengthen others and  improve your leadership.

Lead from within: Invest in your people as you invest in your organization. Let people know they matter to you, especially when they are struggling.

 

#1 N A T I O N A L  B E S T S E L L E R


The Leadership Gap

What Gets Between You and Your Greatness

After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.

buy now

 

Additional Reading you might enjoy:

How Great Leadership is Generated in Significant Crisis
How to Lead Your Team When The Future Is Uncertain
The One Aspect Of Crisis Management That No One Talks About
How The Best Leaders Are Already Planning Past The Crisis
How to Engage Employees During Uncertain Times
The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed

 

Photo Credit: iStockPhotos

The post How To Manage An Underperformer Remotely appeared first on Lolly Daskal.