Where to Start with the Leadership Team?

The Leadership Indextm Identifying Actionable Opportunities Within a Firm's Leadership Team

AlanBoothCoach LLC

CEO Blind Spot

With a recent client who is CEO of a medium size financial services firm, he announced to me that 3 key high performing people have resigned.

He did not have a clue about their situation. His managers didn't have a clue.

Who are the next most vulnerable high performing people likely to jump ship. No clue!

How did we fix?

1.  Created a culture of "OWNER MINDSETS"

2.  Provided greater clarity of expectations

3.  Shift from reacting to issues to one of anticipating future challenges.

The top's obligation is to know what people at the bottom are saying. [and what their clients are saying]

Announcement Practice Change

My Executive Coaching practice has evolved to teaching executives how to coach their staff and teams.

The process involves coaching techniques so executives become acutely aware of how their messages are received, communicating by picking up of non-verbal queues such as facial expressions and body language.

We focus on real situations where coaching is a viable solution. For example, one of my clients is stuck on how to eliminate any late shipment to Fortune 50 companies. He is learning effective ways to effectively communicate with his COO...and in turn how that person can get results from his team.

Best Coaching Candidates

Who are the best candidates for Executive Coaching?

The people who gain the most - personally and with high impact on business outcomes.

Leaders who feel they are not meeting their own expectations rank #1 for my

clients over the past 10 years, 

They have the desire to reflect on where they currently are and where they want to get to. The executive, with the help of the coach, builds a road map to meet this desire.  Note that coaches do not build that road map - the executive does! That way he owns his own destiny.

They know what hurdles they will need to jump over, what motivates them and uses the coach to be a sounding board. 

Take Bob, a second generation CEO of a mid-cap business. One day a key staff member told him that he believes Bob does not think he is worthy of his position.  Bob, "how did I miss this after spending so much time connecting with my staff?"

That was the trigger for him to seek help.  He was not satisfied having a culture that hides unhappy people who he can learn from.

Teaching Executives to Coach

ANNOUNCEMENT

My Executive Coaching practice has evolved to teaching executives how to coach their staff and teams. The process involves coaching techniques so executives become acutely aware of how their messages are received, communicating by picking up of non-verbal queues such as facial expressions and body language. We focus on real situations where coaching is a viable solution. For example, one of my clients is stuck on how to eliminate any late shipment to Fortune 500 companies. He is learning effective ways to effectively communicate with his COO...and in turn how that person can get results from his team.

2017 CEO CHALLENGES

Rank	Client Leadership Challenges Alan Booth
1.	Not Meeting Personal Expectations
2.	Unclear Expectations Communicated to Staff
3.	Inspiring Staff
4.	Reactive - Weak Focus on Key Challenges

STOP FIRING PEOPLE

Rarely should a manager fire people, especially poor performers.

The alternative is a process to have people resign. Simply good management practices start with clear communication about expectations. Even starting on day one of a promotion or new hire! Of course we are assuming that management has provided the counseling and training for one to be successful. [Or admit this is a bad hire]

So a manager expects more productivity. She engages an individual to determine how they see meeting this expectation. She is not TELLING them, she is asking them their thoughts on how to meet this expectation. Then the person "owns" the solution.

In future touches, she asks this person how they feel they are doing and what roadblocks they are encountering. After about three touches this way, the manager can comfortably point out that meeting this expectation is the job they are in. "So not meeting the expectation means no job".

"As your manager, what do you need to do to succeed?"

No reasonable answer, "You do understand that not performing to this standard means you are not doing your job?" Usually the answer is "yes".

Last response from manager, "So let me help you find a position you can better succeed at. I am willing to support this effort for the next three months. First let's take a look at how you are presenting yourself on LinkedIn.

So you have been fair in communicating expectations and gotten the employee own progress or not. 

MAY I ASK FOR SILENCE

85% of my executive clients have learned that, better than words [text, email, phone], Silence has the unique power that enables [empowers] others to take engage about things they normally would not...for you.

That's true leadership!

Take the top executive, Mark, who engaged me me to help him transition to his new role.  He was challenged both in getting support from his superiors as well as to get his admin to step up and organize his day.

Mark to CEO: "Mary, I would value your thoughts on how I might better succeed on Project Arrow. What are your thoughts, please?"  SILENCE.

Mark to Admin: "Elizabeth, I need your help to better organize my day.  What would you suggest we could do to make that happen"  SILENCE.

Results:

When Mark was aware of his need to talk, he kept his mouth shut.  And he got valuable information that caused him to exceed expectations of himself and those around him.

Silence works, when we learn how to stop talking and listen!

2nd GENERATION BUSINESS LEADERS

The Father - Son Dynamic

The basic management model of American businesses seems to be taken from the family model of power and communication. This is hierarchy.  And it is more predominate in family businesses.

Is the concentrated power of the parent [CEO] as productive as the power of the team?

Absolutely not.

So how does the second generation CEO form their style of leadership?

Second Generation leadership

So the challenge for the second generation is finding the freedom to find themselves in their leadership role.  But, darn it all, thoughts of father and how he ran the business keep cropping up.

Or worse, these father thoughts stay at a sub conscious level and have influence that can be nagging, worrisome and upsetting...only  because you have not found your own voice.

One of my clients recently said that his father taught him, "when you begin having fun at work, this is a sign that you are not working hard enough to stay in business!"  How does that impact his staff and others?