Volume 6 • Issue 2 • February 2006
 

Letter from the President

Leadership

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what leadership means to me, and what makes a good leader. As I reminisced about all of the amazing (and not-so-amazing) leaders I’ve encountered, I realized that the ones who inspire me the most are the ones who demonstrate common principles, attitudes, and values:

  • Integrity means doing what you say you will, and if you can’t or don’t, being straightforward about it, and repromising by when you will.
  • Vulnerability means being willing to look at yourself and share what you see, even if it isn’t pretty.
  • Openness means being open to constructive criticism and being willing to try on others ways of seeing the world.
  • Steadiness means being someone people can rely on for consistency.
  • Charisma means being someone who creates presence and power without force
  • Commitment to the development of people means that people around these admirable leaders flourish
  • Personal accountability means taking full responsibility for what is working and what is not.

I just got back from leading a sales conference for 150 very successful sales professionals of Clark National, a national food distribution firm. The training was engaging, fun and powerful—I truly have found another one of my passions.

As much fun as I had, the one thing that really struck me about this conference and keeps coming to the forefront of my mind is how impressed I was with Clark National’s CEO’s leadership style. Donald Hindman’s people admire and respect him. Over and over again his entrepreneurial sales force shared insight about his leadership style with members of my team.

They said he had high expectations, but he was fair and acknowledged winners. Additionally, they said he was a man of integrity—if he said he was going to do something, he followed through with it. He took responsibility for corporate issues as thought they were his own, and did not pass the buck. He created plans that would benefit all involved and then reported the progress to his people. His team said that he was open to their suggestions and made the changes he promised. They also said he listened to them and stood by them, and they said over and over again that they trusted him.

Just imagine: 150 sales people nationwide trusting and respecting their CEO—that is pretty darn impressive. My team and I felt honored and privileged to be chosen to partner with this group and be surrounded by this powerful example of leadership.

Another opportunity I have had to observe powerful and charismatic leadership was in my participation in a seminar called the Landmark Forum. This January, I reviewed the Landmark Forum—10 years after the first time I attended. My seminar leader’s name was Jeff Wilmore. The man was grounded, confident, calm, honest, and a total contribution to each and every participant in the room.

As our facilitator, he led an inquisitive and engaging conversation about what it meant to be a human being. I can speak for each and every person in that room, Jeff was innately in tune with who we were collectively and as individuals. No matter who needed coaching in what, how mainstream or out of the ordinary their issues where, Jeff was unflappable.

Several times, people commented on how his very presence was calming and refreshing. The folks there wanted what he had. As a participant and an observer myself what I saw in Jeff was vulnerability, openness, generosity, and accountability. He was committed to making sure each and every person got what they came for, and even as some of us really struggled with trying to complicate the simplistic coaching he gave us, Jeff never wavered. He just kept steady and on task, he was there for a purpose.

Jeff’s stated purposed of leading the Landmark Forum was for human beings to understand that anything they want for themselves and their life is possible. And you know what? Everyone in my seminar did get that, and much, much more!

As I embark on further developing myself as a leader, I will remember these two powerful, charismatic, and forthright men. If I can be half the leader they are, I will have accomplished magnitudes.

—Margaret Graziano

 

Which Management Style Matches You Best?

Have you ever really thought about what an ideal boss is like? Do you imagine somebody who is nice, cheerful, and a motivator, or somebody who is stern and demanding? How about a manager who gives you freedom to do whatever, who doesn’t tell you how your performance is and then they lays it on you doing your review? What about the autocratic powers who tell you to what to do and when to do it, with no freedom to make any mistakes? Or would you rather work for a micromanager who watches everything you do under a microscope? Laying out what type of management style you follow will help you determine what traits to look for in a leader.

There are a number of assessments that can tell you what your communication style is. The most commonly used assessment is the DiSC. The DiSC profiles four different communication patterns that tell you how you communicate and what types of communicators you work best with. The four different quadrants are dominant, influencer, steady, and conscientious.

The dominant profile is somebody who likes to be in charge; they want the facts and the most efficient way to get things accomplished. This person will want to partner with somebody who is equally as driven and powerful. They will need a boss who can tell them what to do and expect them to get the job done. They don't need (or want!) someone who is indecisive or who cannot think for themselves.

The influencer is a social butterfly. They like to make friends and use their enthusiasm to persuade others. A high influencing personality will want somebody who they can have a conversation with outside of work. They want somebody who can tell them what to do when at work, but who they can go out with afterwards. They don't like as much directness because they like to have a "social" setting around their directions and conversations. These people in management roles can be great because they like to bring a “fun, energetic” nature to work and make sure that everyone gets along, but then the next thing you know, the entire department is disintegrating because nobody was holding anybody accountable for their performance.

The steady personality likes to have precise directions laid out for them. They are very careful in what they do so they want to make sure they have all the answers before they do it. They need somebody who can give point-by-point instructions so there won't be any questions left unanswered. They do not like to have people telling them what to do and expecting them to just figure it out on their own.

The conscientious employee is direct like the dominant person, but they are more detailed in their actions. They are to the point, but all of the questions are answered along the way before the entire instructions are given. They do not like to hear stories or long excuses; they are people who want the facts and strictly the facts.

When you’re interviewing for a new position, it's important to identify the management style to make sure that it's a strong match for you. Good questions to determine this are "What would you say your management style is?" or "How would you handle a situation where...?" or "Would you say that the management style is more hands-on or more about observation?" There is no right or wrong management style; there is, however, a style that may be a strong complement to you. You can alter your communication style when you speak to somebody who has a particular pattern; you just need to know how and when to alter it.

Just knowing who you are speaking to—and where you’re coming from—can be a powerful tool for the workplace when you know how to use it right.

 —Katy Browning

 

Determining Promotability Qualities Through Assessments

Whenever I am working with a candidate and assisting them in distinguishing what their promotability qualities are in stepping into a leadership role within their company, we start by determining what the candidate wants in a position. If the new role would be a step up, then we would need to determine what behaviors are needed to get that promotion. Do we think it is a specific set of behaviors? Or is it innate motivations? Or is it a fine-tuned set of leadership traits and skills that have developed over time?

If we agree that behaviors are the key in determining promotability, I would conduct a behavioral interview to assess whether a given candidate has a predisposition towards specific key behaviors:

  • Arranger—Does the candidate know how to effectively delegate work to appropriate subordinates?
  • Developer—Does the candidate value developing and growing her staff based on the staff’s strengths?
  • Mission of Service—Is the candidate committed to the company and what’s most beneficial to the organization?
  • Producer— Is the candidate results oriented?

If you show strong results in all these categories, then you have the groundwork for successful leadership.

If we decide that innate motivations are the key in determining successful promotable traits, then we take a look at the Personal Interests, Attitudes, and Values assessment (the PIAV) to examine what motivates you. If you score well above the national mean, in the 50-70 range in individualistic motivation, this shows that you will want to be in control—and will find greater satisfaction in a leadership role rather than a support role.

Let’s say that you and I determine that a specific set of traits and skills are necessary in identifying successful promotable qualities. We would then take a look at the Executive Achiever assessment. This assessment will not only tell us if you have the mental capacity for a role that requires higher mental acuity and communication, but it will also show us a scores in leadership, delegation skills, organizational abilities, and an innate disposition to having authority. The higher your scores, the higher your chances of promotion.

These assessments are great tools for determining whether a specific position fits closely what your strengths are. Everyone is good at something, and it’s essential for you and your company to determine whether it is the right time in your career for a promotion. The more you look at what you are good at and well fitted to a position, the more satisfied the you will be, and the more significant your contribution to the overall success of your company.

 —Kirsten Hollesen

 

 

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