ELI Group's Blog

The way we work is through talk

As a leader in your organization, the way you work is through talk. You probably have a core expertise or academic specialty area that was the primary focus in earlier roles but at this point, the way you get your job done is probably through talk. And, by talk, we mean all forms of communication - conversation/email/presentation etc..  Many leaders struggle with this concept as they feel a need for a more tangible result from their day of effort.  In earlier roles, there is typically a concrete product or result from a day’s effort.  However, in leadership roles, the product of the day is achieved through teaching others, sharing information or ideas, influencing peers, directing staff, setting vision and motivating employees.  Your success in these efforts is dependent upon how well you are talking.

How often do you stop and assess how you are talking and with whom you are talking and thereby working?  If our work is to talk, we need to assess how we are talking.  We suggest a simple but powerful exercise to do this assessment.  Create a 2×2 box with yes/no as row headings and Talking/Listening as column headings.  In the Yes boxes, list the names of the colleagues that you are actively talking with and listening to.  And, in the No boxes, list the names of colleagues that you do not talk with and/or listen to.  When thinking of appropriate colleagues to consider, think of the individuals that make the most sense – the ones you should be working with based on your role.  When you examine your result, look for patterns. What do the boxes tell you about how you are working?  If the fact that you don’t talk or listen to some key colleagues is having a business cost,  you know you have work to do.  Choose an appropriate next step for each individual in those boxes and start your work!

Taking Charge of Career Success

Many factors come into play when determining career success.  Interestingly, many people simply fall into roles or let their next position be determined by a boss or mentor.  While occasionally this may work out well, truly effective leaders take a personal inventory every 6 to 12 months to make sure that their career is staying on track.

Aligning three key factors ensures that you are operating in your leadership “sweet spot”:

1. Skills & abilities – these are the tasks you naturally do well; the things that come easily to you and would be considered your strengths; areas of knowledge and expertise
2. Organizational needs — these are the things that the organization values or needs accomplished to be successful
3. Passion — these are the activities that you love to do; the things that energize you and bring you a sense of meaning and personal enjoyment

Too often we only consider two of these three important elements.  To truly reap the benefits of operating in your leadership “sweet spot” all three pieces need to be aligned — this leads to the most positive results for both the individual and the organization.

What makes this challenging is that all three components are constantly changing and evolving.

• Skills evolve (or become obsolete) over time
• Organizational needs change based on economic conditions
• Passions shift as we mature and experience new things

Therefore we can not take it for granted that once we achieve our “sweet spot” that we still stay in that state for the long-term.  Constantly be attentive to signs that you are no longer energized or stimulated by your work.  Take action in a proactive manner to explore next steps in your career before hitting a plateau or becoming disengaged.  This will allow your career path to be much more intentional instead of simply a stroke of luck.

The Power of Language

In our roles as executive coaches, we strive to enhance the leadership impact of our clients.  A significant tool at our disposal is langauge – word choice.  At the leadership level, the way we work is through talk.  No matter your academic or technical expertise, a leader works through communicating – both written and verbal.  So, if the way we work is through talk, then we can assess how effectively we are working by how effectively we are “talking.”

Our word choice  signals subtle messages.  At times, it is the smallest words that can be the most powerful. For example, the choice between “why” and “how.”  Both question words, both 3 letters, both in common daily use; however, they have a very different impact on the target of our question. 

• Why – signals to defend your idea.  “Why would we do that?”  This question puts the target of our question on the defense to explain the thought/idea.
• How - signals an invitation to say more.  “How would we do that?”  This question signals curiosity and interest.

Both are very valid options and signals. The question is are we thoughtful about what we are signaling and are we choosing our words intentionally.  As we speed through our conversations (both one-on-one and in meetings), are we being as effective as we can be?  With more intentionality on our word choice, we are assured to more closely signal the intent of our message.

Assess the Health of Your Network

We all know the importance of a strong network.  It is an amazing source of new information, creative ideas, and even access to professional opportunities.  However strong networks don’t build themselves — it takes conscious time and energy to make sure that our network is fully in place before we need to call on it.  Since we’re already in the second quarter of 2011, now represents the perfect time to check and assess the health and strength of your network.

When thinking about your professional network, it is easy to become overwhelmed and uncertain about whether or not you have the “right” people included in your circle of colleagues.  To ensure that you have your bases fully covered, consider the three following categories:

1. Current peers / colleagues:  Whether you use LinkedIn or some other way to track and maintain your network, be sure to include the people you engage with at your current organization.  While you may see them on a day-to-day basis, you want to ensure that you’re connecting with them around issues beyond just the task at hand.  Get to know a little more about their interests, hobbies, and professional aspirations.
2. Former colleagues:  Reach out to people from your past (college classmates, prior bosses, previous co-workers).  It’s interesting to see the range and diversity of career paths that people have taken. You may be surprised by the way people have moved through their careers.  We all tend to lose track of some people, so use discussions with former colleagues as opportunities to get current contact information for the people you know in common who have fallen out-of-touch.
3. People in other organizations / industries:   Because some of the most meaningful networking connections come from the places we least expect it, be sure that you’re connecting with people outside of your own professional field.  Learn more about the professional background of your friends and neighbors.  By having a broad and diverse set of skills represented in your network you’ll be able to make some interesting connections. 

Most importantly, it’s crucial to see networking as simply a way to stay connected with people you genuinely enjoy and trust.  Take the time to consider the important question:  “How can I help this person?”  Once you have that mindset in place, you’ll be pleased to discover how your healthy network will then be helpful to you in return.

Time to Think

What is a critical differentiator between a smart, talented contributor and a smart, talented leader?  The answer is surprisingly simple – reflection time.  It is not simple to find that time, nor is it simple to behave counter culturally and block time for thinking, but it is a differentiator.  We find that a great number of our clients don’t have time to think.  And, that loss shows up in a number of areas – relationships with directs and peers, long-term thinking, talent planning, building trust etc….   One of the key areas is in Strategic Leadership. 

Many of our clients are asked by their organizations to be more “strategic”.  They turn to us to ask what that means?  What does it really look like to be more strategic?  How does that look differently than what they are doing - executing and delivering results every day?  We find that we can typically help them answer those questions with some time to think.  Reflection time allows a leader to be intentional about how they move through the day, how they interact with others, the frame they put on a meeting or conversation.  Most organizational leaders are very smart and very capable – but they need time to think.

One of the best things you can do for yourself in the New Year is ensure that you are carving out time during the week to think.  It may not be consistent, it may not be in your office, you may have to call it something else on your calendar, but protect your thinking time and ensure that it is a top priority.  Your reward for carving out reflection time will be more strategic, intentional leadership.

Talent Planning

Many of our clients are creating and/or maintaining sophisticated talent planning systems.  A critical element in solid talent planning efforts is the organizational understanding of the language used in the talent planning process.  For example, most organizations use the terms high potential and readiness to depict different lenses through which they see talent.  Often, we see confusion on how these terms are different and how to use the accompanying tools.  The term – high potential – is typically used to define those employees who have the ability to impact the organization in an increasingly valuable way.  Those employees bring ability and attitude to perform exceptionally well in current role as well as grow into a variety of other roles in the organization.  On the other hand, the term – readiness – is used to imply the ability to step into a particular job and perform. 

Where confusion lies in how the two terms integrate.  For example, a key employee may be high potential but not ready now for another assignment.  Another employee who may be listed as ready now for a position, may or may not be high potential.   High potential is defining the individual employee as someone who has much to offer the organization now and in the future.  Readiness is indicating fit for a specific role – skills, knowledge and abilities for that position.

When thinking about ourselves as leaders, it is useful to differentiate between those two categories.  Some of you may be high potential but not ready for the next level or different type of role.  You need more time in current role to gain all that the role has to offer in terms of development. The distinction is also useful when examining your staff.  Who are your high potentials who will provide increasing value to the organization through a variety of roles?  How should they be developed?  Who are your key employees that are ready to move into a specific role when needed?  What do they need to be successful in that transition?

Living in the Past or the Future?

One of the most challenging tasks for most leaders is finding time to think.  While leaders may claim that they spend all day “thinking,” what they’re actually doing is “reacting.”  Consider where you spend a majority of your day:  responding to email, sitting in meetings, answering phone calls, dealing with emerging employees issues, etc.  While these are all necessary activities, how much time is actually spent in planful consideration of the future? 

The risk of continually operating in “fire-fighting ” mode is that you’re primarily living in the past — the issues have already occurred and you’re responding to them in some way.  In order to be a more effective leader, time and energy should also be directed towards the future — planning for upcoming opportunities, considering creative new solutions, preparing your group for what’s around the corner.  The challenge is finding ways to actually make this happen:

1. Block time on your calendar on a weekly basis for thinking about the future.  Protect this time by yourself as much as possible so that you can truly engage in thoughtful reflection.  Resist the tendency to use this time to simply catch-up on email.
2. Set personal targets for where you want your group to be in 5 years.  While this may align with established organizational goals, don’t feel like you need to limit yourself in that way. 
3. Allow some group time in your team meetings for brainstorming.  Avoid slipping into problem-solving mode and focus instead on proactive planning.

By carving out time to really attend to the future, you’ll find that you can actually lead in a more intentional and impactful way.

Continued Development for High Potentials

Companies are paying more attention than ever to identifying high potential employees within their organizations.  However there is much debate about whether or not to let these high potential employees know that they have been identified as such.  Unfortunately many people who are labeled as “high potential” tend to derail.  This happens because, sadly, these employees begin to feel entitled to promotion opportunities and lose sight of crucial self-awareness.  So what should you do if you’re identified as “high potential” within your organization?

1. Reflect on what additional skills are needed at the next level.  Don’t make the mistake of assuming that you will just be doing more of the same.  Focus on what is new and unique in more senior-level roles.  This shows that you understand how the next level is different from your current role.
2. Continue to pursue personal development opportunities in all forms (e.g., training, coaching, mentoring).  See all new experiences as learning opportunities and seek out different ways to expand your thinking.  This shows that you recognize the importance of life-long learning.
3. Identify mentor(s) from other parts of the company to broaden your organizational understanding.  If possible, also seek out people from other organizations to establish peer-mentoring relationships.  This shows that you value and cultivate professional relationships.

By continuing to focus personal development, you actively demonstrate the wisdom of strong leaders — the awareness that we all have significant strengths and weaknesses and that there are always opportunities to learn and grow.  While confidence is often seen as a key trait for leaders, self-awareness is actually much more important in the long-term.

Influencing through Ideas and Relationships

We believe sustained leadership impact includes goal accomplishment as well as people engagement.  An essential tool for leaders to achieve this level of effective impact is their influencing skills.  There are many techniques and styles of influencing that are discussed in leadership development; however, we find the broad categories of  influencing through ideas and/or influencing through relationships to be very useful. 

• Leaders who influence mainly through ideas focus on the work or the product.  They focus on the idea and drive the work forward.  A leader who influences chiefly through ideas might be heard saying, “I don’t have to navigate the politics or position myself for a promotion, my work speaks for itself.”    This leader tends to have a small, tightly knit network of others focused on the work.
• Those who influence through relationships put their energy into nurturing their relationships and connections.  They build trusted relationships that will help move ideas through organizations.  These leaders have a keen sense of who they need to have in their network to get things done and a lens to the informal network that exists in all organizations.

In early career, it is natural to rely on influencing through ideas to gain visibility.  As leaders develop into higher levels of organizational contribution, it is necessary to bring a balance to your influencing style.   It is imperative to build a web of relationships that will get your ideas heard.  

We suggest doing an analysis of your own influencing style.  How do you tend to influence - through your ideas, your product  or through your relationships, your connections?  Now, examine the organization in which you work.  Are you being as effective as possible within your organizational context?  Is there a nuanced shift that you could make toward ideas or building relationships that would help you influence in a more impactful way?

Having Strategic Impact

In order to work at a truly strategic level, its important to have “trust.”  Interestingly, organizational trust represents somewhat of a paradox — being both vulnerable and powerful at the same time.  The real question that leaders need to ask themselves is not ”who do I trust?” but instead “who trusts me?”  Sadly, research has shown that typically others judge us to be less trustworthy than we judge ourselves.

“The Thin Book of Trust” by Charles Feltman describes the four key factors associated with building trust:

1. Sincerity — walking the talk
2. Reliability — keeping promises
3. Competence — having the ability to perform
4. Care — keeping others’ interests in mind

The consequences of operating in a low-trust environment are huge and are highly linked to organizational goals and your ability to be strategic.  For example, if you are not trusted by your colleagues, then you will likely have restricted access to information, organizational silos will exist, and unhealthy competition may ensue.  If you are not trusted by your direct reports they may avoid challenging your decisions and even withhold necessary data from your decision-making meetings.

In order to determine if you are trusted enough within your organization to have a strategic impact, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I have access to all the information I need to make informed decisions?
• Am I able to encourage disagreements and challenges to my way of thinking?
• Do I see and recognize the broader organizational picture versus just my point-of view?