Archive for April, 2009

Key Contributors to Successful Team Leadership

Posted in Courses, Leadership, Team Building on 04/30/2009 08:44 am by Kairology

By Duncan Brodie

Leading teams is challenging but in truth, certain contributors can result in you being a more successful team leader. So what are the 6 key contributors to successful team leadership?

Contributor 1: Relevant and meaningful purpose and goals

Teams that prosper need to have a clear purpose which is meaningful to them and matters to them. Additionally, they need to have goals that act as milestones or checkpoints along the way. In successful teams, the team will be passionate and enthusiastic about what they want to achieve and will get behind it if it is meaningful. Ask yourself what the team is trying to create, the reputation it wants to have and the results it wants to achieve. As the leader, get clear on the role you want to play, your style of operating and how you want to be seen by your team.

Contributor 2: Confidence and commitment building

As the leader of the team you need to build the confidence and commitment of individuals in the team. Part of your role here is to create an environment where people are encouraged and supported to take risks. How you respond to setbacks will be an excellent indicator of how well you do this. Another part is providing meaningful feedback on the good and not so good things.

Contributor 3: Skill mix

In your capacity of the team leader you have a role to play in getting the right skills in place and then continually strengthening these skills. The team does not operate in a static environment so you need to adapt to changing circumstances and people will only adapt if they have the skills to do so.

Contributor 4: Relationship management

The team you are leading might be totally motivated and be full of belief. However, you cannot expect that to be replicated throughout the organisation. People will be envious and may even try to derail your efforts. It is important that you as the team leader create good relationships outside of the team and leverage these relationships to overcome obstacles.

Contributor 5: Opportunity creation

As team leader you could decide to personally take all of the best opportunities that come up. Successful leaders know that it important not just to think about their own situation but also to look at creating opportunities for others to learn, grow and develop.

Contributor 6: Do the work

Teams are generally small in size so there is no space for people who distance themselves. Team leaders who are successful don’t sit in an Ivory Tower, dishing out instructions. They get involved and do real work rather than watching in the wings.

Bottom line - By focusing on some key contributors you can make a step change in your performance as a team leader. So what’s your next step?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with teams in organisations who want to be more effective and achieve sustained success.

He is an authorised Facilitator for Team Coaching International’s Team Diagnostic Assessment.

Sign up for his free e-course and monthly newsletter at goalsandachievements.co.uk

Article Source: EzineArticles

 

Twelve Strategic Leadership Actions To Fire Up Your Employees During Change

Posted in Leadership, Strategies, Team Building on 04/03/2009 07:38 am by Kairology

By Glenn Ebersole

Many people and their companies they work for fear and resist change.  Some literally detest any change.  It is very important to realize that with the application of some solid strategic thinking, change can be a catalyst to energize and fire up your employees.  One needs to recognize that change has the ability to open doors, hears and minds that otherwise may remain closed and/or locked forever.

After reading the first paragraph I imagine some of the readers thinking, “that is easier said than done.”  So, what is the key to leveraging the dynamic of change into a charged up workforce?  One of the most important keys is to find out people’s point of need during change and that build a burning desire of commitment from them because you are meeting those needs.

Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach is a change agent and has learned many lessons from coaching through change.  After reviewing those lessons learned from the business coaching experience, here are 12 strategic leadership actions recommended to fire up your employees during change.

  • Strategic Leadership Action #1:  Be a strategic thinker and use the power of strategic thinking to identify the needs of your employees during change.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #2:  Develop a Strategic Action Plan for the changes and share it with your employees.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #3:  Engage the power and advice of a business coach, mentor or other outside trusted advisor.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #4:  Display passion in your commitment to the change.  You must “walk the talk” and exhibit the passion every day.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #5:  Facilitate and celebrate achievements.  Leaders need to be engaged in facilitating the change and also be consistent promoters of celebrating the success of achievement throughout the change process.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #6:  Honor and acknowledge everyone’s value to your business.  This should be done verbally and in writing.  And it should also be done in public and in private, as appropriate.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #7:  Empower each employee to do his or her work and provide everyone with some leadership responsibility over a segment of the change.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #8:  Promote the inclusion, rather than exclusion, of employees so they gain a sense of really belonging to the team and to the company.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #9:  Always focus on achieving measurable goals that will provide proof of accomplishments and will build momentum to reaching the next goal.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #10:  Create an environment that fosters a spirit of “we” rather than “me.”
  • Strategic Leadership Action #11:  Create performance based compensation systems so employees can “get a piece of the action” and gain a sense of ownership.
  • Strategic Leadership Action #12:  Develop a zero tolerance for an attitude of no commitment or even a weak commitment to agreed to expectations.

Your strategic thinking business coach encourages you to fully realize the benefits of business coaching to strategically lead and manage change in your business.  If you would like to learn more about how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering.  Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices:  The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm  and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant  to a diverse list of clients.   Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 240 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site at http://www.businesscoach4u.com or  jgecoach@aol.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Twelve-Strategic-Leadership-Actions-To-Fire-Up-Your-Employees-During-Change&id=595564