View as Web Page Subscribe Send to a Friend
Carl Robinson, Ph.D. on Leadership Store Jan 18, 2011
 
We help maximize the effectiveness of individuals and organizations by helping them improve their ability to lead, work together, select and develop their people.  Some of our related business services include: executive coaching, executive team coaching and executive assessments for development and selection.


Carl Robinson, Ph.D., Managing Principal
.
Seattle, Washington
206-545-1990
carl@leadershipconsulting.com

In This Issue:

Increase Your Effectiveness Today

Sell Your Ideas!


Your "Must Read" List - Book Recommendation

Is there a magic bullet for igniting passoinate performance in your employees?  Sadly, there is not.  The good news is that there are useful resources such as this book to help see you through the process of developing an egaged workforce that will bring better business results. 
 
This book will take you from the stage of getting a firm grasp on employee engagement all the way through engaging the minds of your employees, adding the critical emotional side, and seeing the program through, no matter what.  Pick up this title to get started on a major shift in your organization!
>Link to Amazon.com

.

.

Increase Your Effectiveness Today

Influence is often the most powerful tool you have for building a successful project, career or company. Are you a thought leader in your world? What can you do to increase your influence, increasing your overall effectiveness? Here are some areas you can concentrate on in order to keep expanding your influence (and therefore, your actual authority).
 
1. Give your social network a check-up. Widen the boundaries of your influence, and give yourself a chance to make connections that you may not otherwise make. Look at how your LinkedIn or Facebook profiles are positioned and give them a facelift. Actively search out new connections or professional groups in your industry.
 
2. Repair damaged relationships. Once a professional relationship has been damaged, it can be difficult to know where to begin the process of amending it. Instead of concentrating on resolving past issues, try tactics such as offering genuine flattery and bringing up opinions that he or she previously expressed. The genuine flattery will go a long way toward softening the edges of your past interactions and remembering his or her opinions, especially in a public setting, will show general respect and regard.
 
3. Focus on others' positive attributes. This is the age-old practice of fanning the behaviors that you want to see more of, and tamping down less positive attributes. If the people you communicate with feel that you "understand and respect" their passion or skills, your influence will be increased.
 
4. Let others know how you can benefit them. This one may sound like bribery, but here is the rub: People are generally self-serving. If you can let them know who or what you know that might benefit them, you will see your influence take off.
 
Sometimes the sway of influence is all a situation needs, in order to break it loose from stagnation or deadlock. Make sure the strength of influence is working for you.

Sell Your Ideas!

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere.
--Lee Iacocca
 
So you would like to present a new idea or solution to your key stakeholders, or you have been presented with a new set of new parameters and need to persuade others of a different approach.  What do you do?  How do you begin?
 
Take Joe, a successful bank vice president.  His branch has been so successful that the bank president wants to take 30% of his team and disseminate it across the company, in an effort to bolster performance across branches.  Joe thinks this would be the death knell of his success.  He has worked tirelessly to develop and bring up his team, and this move would take him back to zero.
 
This is just one example of someone who needs to figure out how to court stakeholders and get their buy-in.  You may have found yourself in a similar situation at some point. 
 
Clearly, your success in this kind of situation will depend on how well you sell your ideas.  Confront these barriers and you will be on your way to successful sale of your ideas:
 
Relationships 101
Relationship status is critical, because a relationship gone sour can overshadow any other leverage you may have.  How does the stakeholder view your relationship?  If it is negative or hostile, is there anything you can do to soften that impression?  Can you bring on another well-respected stakeholder, to keep discussions from becoming personal, between two opposing forces?
 
Credibility! 
You are certainly credible. You have the background and experience to handle the decisions that are being presented to you.  Does the decision maker (or decision-making group) in your situation feel the same way?  Now is the time to look hard at your past performance, skill areas and experiences.  If they have heretofore gone unnoticed, now is the time to bring to light the practical insight that you have brought to similar situations.
 
Communication Mismatch
As the "seller" here, it is up to you to patch over any communication mismatches that take place.  Who is your typical audience when you are selling your decisions?  Is the current situation different?  In Joe's case, he usually finds himself working with the bank's board of directors, and is typically reporting positive numbers.
 
In this case, he is working directly with the president of the bank, and has to advocate for the most successful set of employees staying under his own umbrella. 
 
Alternatives
Offer alternatives.  Make it easier for the decision makers to change their current path.  Maybe Joe could offer to develop a training program for other banks. Perhaps he could "lend" some of his representatives out to other branches, so they could learn the working style that he has fostered in them.
 
Address all of these barriers and you will find that your relationship, credibility, communication style and ability to offer alternatives will soften an otherwise polarized situation. 


This Month's Featured Tool

50 Activities for Collaborative Management!

 
Organizations everywhere are facing the challenge of how to work more closely with one another. This collection of ready-to-use activities will help you better understand the concept of collaborative management—a term used to describe an ideal work environment where everyone is dedicated to achieving a common objective.
 
In 50 Activities for Collaborative Management, you'll find an array of dynamic and engaging exercises to help you explore what makes collaborative management work, its potential benefits and how to experience them in your organization.
 
Each exercise highlights a specific aspect of collaboration, such as:
  • Thinking collaboratively
  • Ten collaboration myths
  • Finding collaborative common ground
  • Playing collaborative roles
  • Finding collaborative opportunities
  • Talent tapping
  • Erroneous collaborative assumptions
  • Reaching collaborative consensus
With each exercise, you'll get everything you need to bring it to life—including a purpose, description, time to allot, presentation tips and debriefing statement. This book is ideal for trainers and managers who are looking for creative ways to: Reduce the risk in decision-making Bring different perspectives and expertise into the decision-making process Instill ownership in decision-making Eliminate finger pointing and the "blame game."
 
Designed as a unique way to bring people together, 50 Activities will elicit the best from all those involved in making decisions and solving problems.
 
 $99.00
  
 



Advanced Leadership Consulting • 14416 3rd Ave. NW, Suite 300 • Seattle, WA 98177
http://www.leadershipconsulting.com/
Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Send to a Friend | Preferences | Report Spam
Powered by MyNewsletterBuilder
Bookmark and Share