Lolly Daskal's Blog, page 99

The 4 Powerful Conversations that Will Improve Your Leadership

Everyone I know in leadership has more to do then they have hours in the day. But even with the top leaders I coach, there’s a common mistake they make when they’re pressed for time—most are concentrating on tasks instead of leading. It’s understandable that when you have too much to do, you do what comes easily, but that impulse doesn’t lend itself to great leadership.

People go into leadership because they are visionaries and motivators, and they should be creating leaders among their team members instead of putting out fires and staring at spreadsheets all day.

To implement your vision and direction, you have to do the work of leadership. That means, above all, creating strong relationships with your teams so they can work productively and effectively even in your absence.

Too often, though, leaders get stuck in the weeds, doing daily tasks, being a manager instead of a leader.

So how can you make sure you’re actually leading? By having these four powerful conversations every month:

Conversation #1—Check in on the weather. Spend a few moments with every team member learning their thoughts on the organizational culture and their day-to-day work life. Make sure you know if there is the forecast looks clear or if storms are brewing. A monthly check-in keeps the channels of communication open so there are no surprises or last-minute course corrections at the end of the year.

Conversation #2—Identify greatness and gaps in those you value. We all have strengths, areas in which we excel and talents. But we also have gaps—the habits of mind that get in the way of our greatness (as you may have read about in my new book, The Leadership Gap). To be effective, we need to know and embrace our best talents and inner strengths, and we also need to know the gaps that may keep us stuck and playing small. As a leader, you should constantly be aware of your team members’ strengths and nurture their talent, but also understand their gaps and help them learn to leverage their unproductive thinking into something positive.

Conversation #3—Ask about development and improvement. Most people are eager for opportunities to improve and develop new skills. Too often, though, leaders don’t expend the time or effort to find out ways to help their people grow—not because they don’t want to, but because they’re too busy. But making time for people to learn and grow is as important as anything else you could be doing. Aside from the benefits to your team, it shows that you consider them a worthy investment. Making time for the development of your people is the essence of leadership.

#Conversation #4—Generate a game plan for success. We’ve all heard the quote “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” And the way to show you care is not with words but action. Work with each member of your team to generate a game plan for success. Give them the benefit of your experience in helping them identify and reach their goals, and they in turn will give you the best they have to offer.

Don’t be one of those leaders who feel they don’t have time to hold regular meetings, who say they’re too busy to have these conversations. And don’t try lumping everything in together so you can feel you’ve done your duty. This system works if you maintain one single conversational theme at a time. The idea is to keep the channels of communication open, to keep the dialogue moving, to learn what makes your team more effective and productive.

Lead from within: At the end of the day, when it comes to leadership if you don’t have the time to do right, when will you have the time to do it over?

National Bestselling Book:

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: Getty Images

The post The 4 Powerful Conversations that Will Improve Your Leadership appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

Why Your Emerging Leaders Need Coaching

Recently I gave a keynote at a company, and while I was there I overheard one of the senior leadership team members say he didn’t believe in coaching and that nurturing emerging leaders isn’t important to leadership development.

My first reaction was to ask myself, “What am I doing here?” The second, which followed closely, was that it’s no wonder the company has trouble meeting targets and pleasing stakeholders, or that they rely outside consultants to tell them what is wrong. (Which, by the way, is not the same thing as coaching—it’s the difference between someone telling you something’s wrong and having them help you get it right.)

I believe, coaching emerging leaders makes the development process smoother, quicker and more thorough. Here are some of the areas where coaching is critical to leadership development:

Self-identification of leadership. Emerging leaders need to develop and identify their own leadership framework. Leadership is a difficult role, and unless they’re among the rare few who are born leaders, coaching will help them identify and clarify their leadership—which, in turn, leads to clarity regarding those they’ll be leading.

Development of emotional intelligence. An older generation may consider leadership to be all about being the boss and guarding the bottom line, but happily the field has changed since those days. Emerging leaders need to be able to explore who they are as a leader, which includes developing and managing their emotional intelligence, and a coach is well equipped to guide that process.

Communication and feedback. Coaching provides an outside perspective that helps emerging leaders understand how to communicate with clarity, how to embrace feedback and how they influence the potential of others just with their communication.

Effective decision making. In the fast pace of business, emerging leaders have to learn to be decisive. You can leave that critical process to chance, or you can have a coach on hand to provide best practices, tools and techniques to make strong decisions quickly.

Motivation and effectiveness. A key ingredient of every emerging leader is finding their personal source of motivation when times get tough. Sharing inspiration with a coach helps put them in touch with that source.

Leveraging their leadership gaps. Every leader needs to know their strengths and weaknesses, and be able to identify some of their blind spots or triggers. Once they understand those gaps, they can leverage them to their benefit. As I discuss in my new best-selling book, The Leadership Gap, what you don’t own ends up owning you. Emerging leaders in particular can’t afford to allow blind posts or other areas of weakness to get in the way of their authentic, honest, courageous leadership.

Manifesting character. Emerging leaders who start out on the path of leading with character will earn trust, receive and give respect, and be consistent in integrity. Coaching helps keep them on that path in the difficult early stages.

Good leaders are passionate and committed, authentic, courageous, honest and reliable. But in today’s high-pressure environment, leaders need a confidante, a coach—someone they can trust to tell the truth about their struggles, which is a difficult role for others within the same organization to fill. That’s where coaches truly earn their keep.

Lead From Within: Every good leader and every great emerging leader can benefit from a coach. Coaching gives them the confidence they need as an individual and as a leader to lead self and others to success and achievement.

National Bestselling Book:

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: Getty Images

The post Why Your Emerging Leaders Need Coaching appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

The Secret to Becoming A Great Speaker and Author

Summary

What is the secret to impacting audiences through writing and speaking? Is it confidence? Charisma? Eloquence? The answer may surprise you. Today’s guest reveals counter-intuitive wisdom, gained from decades of leadership, on how to impact your audience whether you are writing or speaking.

Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans fourteen countries, six languages, and hundreds of companies.

As founder and CEO of Lead from Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world. Based on a mix of modern philosophy, science, and nearly thirty years coaching top executives, Lolly’s perspective on leadership continues

to break new ground and produce exceptional results. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Psychology Today, and others. Lolly’s insights are the subject of her national bestselling book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness.

We’ll explore:

Why Lolly focused on the big talk instead of a book for many years, and how her big talk has changed since the book’s release.
How she discovered her core message by working with clients.
Lolly’s process for turning The Leadership Gap into a talk.
The three keys to a talk that moves people.
The most important thing to remember when giving a talk.
Lolly’s writing process.
How speaking and writing have impacted her business.
The surprising way in which Lolly chose the publisher for her book.
The secret to being a great writer and speaker, and why passion and soul are so important.

 

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The most important thing to remember when you give a talk: it’s not about me. @LollyDaskal #speaking

 

 

What makes a great book is not having a unique message, but saying it in a unique way. @LollyDaskal #voice #writing

 

 

 

People want a talk that moves them, is actionable, and is meaningful. @LollyDaskal #speaking

The post The Secret to Becoming A Great Speaker and Author appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old

In an age when everything is newer, better faster, it’s good sometimes to pause and remember some of the old wisdom that humanity has acquired through the ages.

If we hold to these evergreen principles, they can carry us through the toughest and most challenging times in work and in life—just as they did for our parents and grandparents.

The words may seem timeworn at first glance, but that’s evidence of their enduring value, and if you move past their familiarity to connect with the meaning, you’ll understand why they’ve lasted so long.

Everyone’s list may be a little different, but here are 12 of my own favorites:

1. If you want something in life, you have to pay the cost.

Too often, we want the reward without the risk, the success without the failure. But you can’t have a destination without a journey. And every journey comes at a cost—an investment of time, patience and discipline every step of the way.

2. When you can’t change the situation, you can still change yourself.

Sometimes you have no choice but to accept whatever life sends your way. When that happens, the important thing is that you meet the situation with the best you have to give. Nothing more, nothing less.

3. Every leadership success story is laced with struggle.

Just because you’re struggling, it doesn’t mean you’re failing. Every great success requires some kind of struggle to get there. Use your difficulties and frustrations to motivate and inspire you. The true measure of your success is how many times you can bounce back from failure.

4. Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

It doesn’t take long for a temporary slip in standards to become permanent—and when that happens, it becomes part of your character. Don’t accept excuses from yourself or allow yourself to slack off.

5. Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself.

Even the wrong choices can bring us to the right places. To be creative and productive in life, you must first lose your resistance to being wrong. On the darkest path, there are lessons to learn and moments of grace to savor that you won’t find anywhere else.

6. Positivity fuels positivity; negativity fuels negativity.

Your ability to be positive hinges on your attitude—an external expression of your internal state. When you keep a positive orientation, you infuse your life with purpose, meaning and vitality in every situation.

7. When you help others you help yourself.

The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and goodwill to help others. Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others instead of asking “What’s in it for me?”

8. There’s no progress without a plan.

As the saying goes, if you fail to plan you are planning to fail. If you want to achieve results that you can document and point to, you need an achievable, measured, specific goal. Learning to set appropriate goals is a skill you can practice and learn.

9. There are things you can control and things you can’t.

Even though you cannot control much of what happens, you can control your attitude toward those events. When you do, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.

10. The key is not to spend time but to invest it.

All that really belongs to us is time. So treat your time as a precious and nonrenewable resource: treasure your time, invest it wisely and enjoy every moment. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination. Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.

11. Determination will get you through almost anything.

When things are tough, you have to be tougher. Simply refuse to give up, make sure you’re working hard, and keep it up until things improve. Replace your fears of what else could wrong with positivity about what could go right.

12. You are the only person responsible for your success.

You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously. Remember that all great achievements require time, and be patient with yourself on the journey.

LEAD FROM WITHIN: The principles in which we live by in our business and leadership they are the most important elements of our success and happiness.

To lead in a way that is most valuable to you.

Find the answers in my National Bestselling book:

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:

The Test Every Great Leader Must Pass
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: Getty Images

The post 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

Stop Looking For Leadership!

Have you found yourself asking where are the leaders?

Have you thought to yourself where has leadership gone?

I can imagine you might want to know where you can look for leadership so you can find a great individual that you can follow and maybe even emulate.

But I am going to tell you to stop looking for leaders.

Because the individuals that are leaders, you don’t have to look for them, they are there and they will rise up, they will do so in the following ways:

When everyone does what is good for them, it will be the leader who does the right thing. There is really only one sure fire method for identifying leaders – Do they have the character and integrity to do the right thing, for the right reason, at the right time. The answer to this test will be born out through their actions.

When everyone else is worried about their reputation, it will be the leader who leads

with character. Norman Schwarzkopf once said, “Leadership is a potent combination of

strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.” I couldn’t agree more. It will not be the titles or position – they do not a leader make! Rather, leaders must possess the necessary character to inspire others to follow. because a leader who lacks character will not endure the test of time.

When everyone else has self-doubt, it will be the leader who shows up with confidence: Most individuals suffer from having self-doubt, in their abilities and skills and therefore shy away from what they are capable of accomplishing, it’s the individual that projects confidence- they are the ones that standout because they can captures people’s attention with who they are.

When everyone else is rigid, it will be the leader that is going to be flexible: if as an individual you lead in way that says, my way or the highway, that kind of leadership style has no place in the world of business or leadership today, but if you are flexible in your approach and you understand the necessity of being fluid, you have identified a leader.

When everyone else is serving themselves, it will be the leader who is serving others. If an individual doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self” they will not engender themselves as being a leader. Any individual that has a servant heart, that things of what is good for others, that prides themselves as being a supporter and serving others, is a leader.

When everyone else is preoccupied with taking the credit, it will be the leader that is leading by example: Leaders need no identification as they instinctively and inevitably make their presence known without much fanfare or taking

When everyone else is distracted, it will be the leader who will be focused: Leaders who are not intentional and are not focused, will fail themselves and their team. Leaders who lack discipline will model the wrong behaviors and will inevitably spread themselves too thin. but when a leader can focus, and follow one course of action until they succeed, that is a leader.

When everyone is blaming others,  it is the leader who takes responsibility: Real leaders are accountable. They don’t blame others, don’t claim credit for the success of their team, but always accept responsibility for failures that occur on their watch.

If you find that your company, your organization, your team are looking for leadership and you want to fill it the gap, by appointing an individual to the position and you are hoping they perform- stop.

The leaders you want are there, you just have to notice them, they are rising to top, they are leading by example, taking responsibility, staying focused, and are busy serving others.

Lead from Within: Stop looking for leaders out there when you can easily find leadership from within.

 

Still looking for leadership, you will find it in my National Bestseller book:

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:

The Test Every Great Leader Must Pass
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: Getty Images

The post Stop Looking For Leadership! appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

Why the #MeToo Campaign Has Been So Impactful

The slew of accusations against Harvey Weinstein is bringing the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace back to the forefront. Leadership coach Lolly Daskal offers advice on how to handle workplace harassment.

In light of reaction to allegations against Weinstein, the social media campaign #MeToo has gone viral. Daskal says the reason this campaign has become such a sensation is that influential people have stepped forward.

WATCH FULL EPISODE HERE:

The post Why the #MeToo Campaign Has Been So Impactful appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide to Greatness

The root of the word manifesto is the Latin manifestum, which means “to be clear or to made public.”

Every leader needs a personal manifesto—something that lets everyone know their views, their thoughts, and their beliefs and intentions. When you create your manifesto, you instill a sense of transparency that makes it easy for others to respect, emulate and trust you.

To create your manifesto, start with what you value. Let it be the guide that steers you to embrace your greatness.

Here are the statements I recommend to my coaching clients who want to create their own leadership manifesto:

I will commit to being an authentic person.

When you commit to being genuine as a leader, you embrace all parts of who you are—the good, the bad, the weak, the strong, the gaps and the greatness. You’re committed to acknowledging and leveraging the sum of all your parts. If you can be genuine, you will win hearts and minds.

I will take responsibility for my life.

Commit to being fully responsible for your health, happiness and success. Refuse to blame others or make excuses for your problems and hold yourself fully accountable for whatever you do.

I will communicate in a way that conveys what I mean to say.

The words you speak and the way you communicate will always matter; every time you say something it provides a reflection on who you are, what you think and what you value. Make sure your heart and mind are saying the same thing.

I will remember to serve something bigger than myself.

The greatest rewards come when you give of yourself. It’s about bettering the lives of others, being part of something bigger than yourself, and making a positive difference. People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be in a situation where they feel that they are doing something for the greater good.

I will take ownership of my work and strive

to make things better within my sphere of influence.

Leaders inspire accountability through their ability to accept responsibility before they place blame and the best leaders serve humanity in a way that lifts everyone around them. Accountability is the measure of a leaders height.

I will embrace resilience.

Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. Learn not to reject failure as fatal but instead to face everything with boldness and courage. When you do, you will gain the perspective that nothing is off limits and that every opportunity is a platform for future success experiences, because only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.

I will invest in myself as I invest in others.

No leader sets out to be a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders. So the point is not to become a leader but to invest in yourself as a person. To use yourself completely – all your skills, strengths, gifts and talents– in order to make your vision manifest. You must never hold back. You, must, in sum, become the person you are meant to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming. The true great leaders are constantly making ongoing commitment with themselves to invest in their own growth as a leader and also in growth and training for those around them.

I will remember there is always free choice.

You may not always be able to change or choose your situation, but you will always be able to choose who you are going to be in the situation. Choose the character and the values that lead you to embrace your greatness.

I will dedicate myself to my calling.

Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve your greatness, because not everyone lives up to their calling. But if you know what is important to you, and if you know that what you do matters, you will put your best into what you do and how you do it. To live up to your calling is to tap into your greatness and embrace it.

Lead from within: Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It’s precisely that simple, and it’s also that complicated. Leadership is a choice and a privilege, learn to embrace the greatness it can bestow upon you.

 

Learn to embrace your greatness by reading my  National Bestseller book:

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:

The Remarkable Power of the Truth Teller
The Test Every Great Leader Must Pass
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: Getty Images

The post A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide to Greatness appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

7 Fears You Need to Overcome to Be An Effective Leader

Everybody has fears—and that means every leader has fears. But not letting those fears

get the best of you is an important part of successful leadership. If you don’t learn to

manage your fears, you’ll be tempted to take the kind of shortcuts that undermine your authority and influence.

Here are seven of the most common fears that leaders, in particular, need to look out for:

The fear of being seen as an imposter. If you secretly feel you’re not really good enough

or smart enough for leadership, you’re not alone. But left unchecked, those feelings can do harm to your effectiveness. Fear can make you forget everything and want to run. Instead, leverage your fear by experiencing it and being great anyway. As Mark Twain once said, courage is the resistance to fear, not the absence of fear. You can feel the fear and still

be who you want to be as a leader.

The fear of being criticized. Facing criticism is part of the territory of leadership.

You don’t have to let it bother you—in fact, you should be concerned if you never hear

criticism, because that means you’re probably playing too safe. Think of it this way: If

you have no critics you’ll likely have no success. So don’t fear criticism but take it in

stride and strive to be your own best and meet your own standard of excellence.

On the other side of your fear is everything you need to be.

The fear of being a failure. When you fail as a leader, you get everyone’s attention.

Failure is something we all fear, but it doesn’t have to mean it’s fatal to your leadership—

think of failure as simply part of succeeding. When you become afraid to fail forward,

you end up missing out on new learning experiences and new opportunities. In the

end we regret only the chances we didn’t take.

The fear of not being a good communicator. Not everyone is born to be a great communicator, but good communication skills are essential to leadership. if you

are fearful that you’re not good at communicating in a compelling way—in a way

that inspires and motivates others—practice your speaking or writing skills. The

more you practice and rehearse and revise, the more confident you will be and the

less fearful you will become.

The fear of making hard decisions. As a leader, you need to be able to make hard

decisions without getting stuck in “paralysis of analysis”—taking too long to choose

because of indecision. A lack of decisiveness can cripple any business or organization.

Hard choices are sometimes necessary without much time to reflect. Make the best

decision you can based on where you want to go, not where you are, and then move on.

The fear of not taking responsibility. As the saying goes, with much power comes much responsibility. To take responsibility you have to first realize that your leadership is the

cause of and the solution to the things that matter, and you can’t escape that responsibly

by postponing or evading it. The moment you move past your fear and take responsibility

is the moment you can change anything.

The fear of not getting it done. In today’s global economy, effective leadership is

defined by results—but, as we all know well, there are hundreds of distractions and

millions of diversions that can get in the way. If you’re fearful you won’t get the job done,

stop focusing on the results you want and concentrate on the actions you can take

right now that will lead to those results.

Lead from within: These are just a few of the possibilities. The leaders I coach have

all kinds of fears. Whatever form your fears take, once you learn you can tackle them

head-on you’ll quickly realize you can handle anything.

Learn how to be an effective leader in my National Bestseller book:

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:

The Remarkable Power of the Truth Teller
The Test Every Great Leader Must Pass
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: Getty Images

The post 7 Fears You Need to Overcome to Be An Effective Leader appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How to Manage A Leader Who Makes Everything Urgent

Have you ever worked with a boss who made everything so urgent that you never

knew what was truly important? If so, you probably haven’t forgotten how frustrating

it is to be unable to prioritize.

Or you may have worked for someone who required an immediate response for

every little request, making you feel like you were living in a constant state of

emergency.

Or maybe you’ve had to choose between two genuinely critical priorities, both

equally important to your boss.

In reality, when everything is labeled urgent, it turns out that nothing really is. We

can’t know what’s important, which means we can’t know how to respond. You

may not be able to change your boss, but you can change how you respond to

make the best of a bad situation. Here are some helpful ideas:

Manage your boss. Before you can manage the emergencies, you have to learn

to manage your boss. The way you respond to your boss’s urgent requests can

either reinforce their way of acting or steer yourself in a healthier direction.

Tackle the issue head-on. When the next five-alarm fire comes along,

communicate the challenge to your boss and ask them for a plan to help you

deal with the competing priorities. Face the facts and don’t let your emotions

get in the way. Don’t wait until your boss approaches you and asks you why

you haven’t done what you were told to do.

Manage expectations. Anytime your boss wants you to do something, it’s

important to be able to manage expectations. If you’re concerned that you

can’t finish the assignment on time, or that doing so will keep you from meeting

another priority, keep your boss informed.

Talk with your boss frequently. It’s important to keep your boss updated on

your progress, good and bad news, and what you might need help with in the

future. If you are struggling with an assignment or have finished early, let the

boss know. Another benefit of frequent communication with the boss is that you’ll

have a chance to build a rapport, which will make it easier for you to communicate

during difficult times.

Identify your own priorities. If your boss is all about making everything urgent,

diving in immediately may be right thing to do. But depending on your other

duties and tasks, there may be good reasons to shift your boss’s request

down the list. Identify for yourself and your boss what you expect to get

done on what schedule. As long as you can commit to a specific time,

this will often be sufficient.

Leaders who are driven by excessive urgency often do so because they

themselves can’t prioritize what is urgent and what is not. The best way

to handle such a boss is to inform, communicate and educate them.

When you do, it will help them be a better leader and achieve better

relationships and performance from others.

Lead from Within: Leaders need to remember that when everything

is urgent nothing really is.

Learn how to be the best leader you can be in my National Bestseller book:

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:

The Remarkable Power of the Truth Teller
The Test Every Great Leader Must Pass
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: Getty Images

The post How to Manage A Leader Who Makes Everything Urgent appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

How to Succeed as A New Leader

Congratulations on your new leadership position! I am sure you’ve worked hard and persevered along the way to get to this point.

Everything you’ve done so far in your career has led you to this position. But the experiences and skills that landed you this new job will not be what allows you to succeed.

In fact, you’ll need a new set of skills to continue being successful. You need to adapt the traits and develop the skills that make leaders into great leaders. There are no quick fixes; it takes hard work and the refusal to give up.

As a leadership coach for over three decades, I have groomed some of the top leaders across all industries. I’ve learned there is no real secret to succeeding—it’s just a matter of learning the habits and skills you need.

Here are some powerful things you can do. Use this as a blueprint and revisit it every few weeks to make sure your leadership is moving toward where it needs to be.

Create with style. Identify your own leadership style and make it clear to everyone what you stand for, what’s important to you and what you will not tolerate. Allow others to get to know you—make it personal and inspirational.

Create a template. To make an impact from the start, make sure you know what you will do. Conduct an organizational assessment after obtaining input from all sources, then create a template of the information you receive and make a plan.

Avoid power trips. Now that you’ve earned your place as a leader, it’s easy to let the power get to you. But don’t. Rather than letting your ego get the best of you, treat your new position with respect and work humbly on being able to adapt, transform and do what is right.

Understand the concept behind the company. As a new leader, you need to learn the lay of the land. Become familiar with all aspects of the company so you can see what is working and what is not.

Communicate who you are. Let your colleagues and employees who you are and what you are all about. Let them get to know you so they can follow you. Those who don’t know what you stand for will find it hard to follow your lead.

Trust your new team. When you became a leader, you inherited a team that you may not have even had a hand in selecting. They may not be the dream team you want, but don’t become discouraged. Give them a chance to align with you and start building trust.

Generate your own vision. Craft your vision and use diversified communication vehicles, including email, memos, video conferences, and face-to-face meetings, to articulate it effectively. Let people know that you have great ideas and aspirations and you plan on making them happen.

Identify your priorities. Show others what’s most important to you by identifying the priority areas to improve the bottom line. Create an action plan, dividing the areas into short- and long-term goals. Let people know you are here to get things done.

Manage all stakeholders. Most leaders think they have no time for this, but it’s so important—you need to meet all stakeholders to hear firsthand their expectations and aspirations. Travel or use electronic conferencing to connect with those who are far away. Connecting with stakeholders is as important as any other task you will do.

Listen more than you speak. Speak less, listen more—get input on the major changes that need to happen and then work to improve the organization’s effectiveness and bottom line.

Communicate with candor. In every communication—public or private, with people at every level of the organization and outside—be open, transparent and forthcoming.

Devise a new strategy. Don’t make the mistake of following the strategy of your predecessor. It may (or may not) have worked for them, but you were hired to bring your own ideas to bear.

Create a winning formula. Create a winning formula based on your recreated vision and show how the organization can succeed with your plan. Seek early wins from the very beginning so you can build momentum.

Identify roles and responsibilities. Make sure everyone is rightly placed with their roles and responsibilities to leverage their strengths. At times, good employees are wrongly placed in the organization. Spot and place them properly.

Encourage creativity and innovation. Encourage innovative ideas among employees and reward them for their efforts.

Provide feedback. You gain credibility when you give input to your employees regularly. Guide, coach and inspire them daily.

Align and eliminate. After you have given them time to align and a chance to grow and develop, consider eliminating those who aren’t on board with your ideas. Sometimes part of making sure you have the right people on the bus is making sure the wrong people get off.

Stay open to learning. Every great leader knows that to have a continuing impact and a great legacy you need to keep learning. Self-improvement is a lifelong journey, and success as a leader and as an individual requires constant learning. Treat your education as a process, not a race with an end point.

Remember, it’s always about others. It’s not about your achievements, your goals, your ambitions or your success as a leader. Everything you’ve done and earned for yourself is now your goal for your team. It’s about recognizing their efforts and contributions, rewarding them for positive behavior and helping them succeed.

Think of your legacy. Ask yourself how you want to be remembered at the end of your time with the organization. Then work backward, building upon your vision of your legacy daily.

Lead from within: The new leader is one who commits people to action, who converts followers into leaders, and who may convert leaders into agents of change.

Learn more about leadership in my National Bestseller book:

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.

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Additional Reading you might enjoy:

The Remarkable Power of the Truth Teller
The Test Every Great Leader Must Pass
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

 

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