Leadership Development Articles

From Awareness to Competence

Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 9/27/2012

I dusted the cobwebs off of an old training maxim this week. I was coaching a leader who talked about the discomfort she was feeling while trying to implement some of the changes in her development plan. She shared that while she has increased her awareness, she doesn’t feel like she has been successful in changing her behavior. The following learning path came to mind. I remember using it years ago when I first started working in the area of OD and Learning and Development. It will be very familiar to many of you—hopefully, it is a good reminder. My guess is that for many individuals you work with it will create an ‘aha’ moment. It did for my client.

Learning Path

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Courses and Employee Development

Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 9/19/2012

For the last couple of weeks I have been doing some training for one of our clients on goal setting and employee development. The training has primarily focused on helping employees write SMART goals and develop action plans and helping managers enhance their coaching skills. One of the handouts I like to use as part of the training is the 70/20/10 rule of development planning. Studies on how adults learn suggest that a good development plan should have 70% related to on-the-job tasks and assignments; 20% people interaction (coaching, mentoring, others to work with); and 10% courses, workshops and readings (see graphic). For those of us that have reviewed action plans, you know that most employees build development plans around courses and formal training and few concentrate on opportunities for on-the-job learning. My message to the managers in the audience was, “courses are a tool for employees to collect knowledge, but they need to use that knowledge back on the job.”
70_20_10
As several managers nodded in agreement, a manager spoke up with some reservations. He was concerned that “using the knowledge back on the job,” was creating nothing but busy work for his employees. Apparently, within his department, when an employee completes an external course that others in the department may need to learn about, it is the responsibility of the course-taker to create a presentation for the department. I have heard similar stories from other clients that they too encourage course-takers to create presentation for their departments and teams. The manager’s challenge was that the hours spent on a presentation to an audience that may or may not have an interest was indeed busy work and did not help the organization overall.

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Leadership Past and Present

Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 9/12/2012

I like to look for leadership everywhere. I talked about that in a previous post, Observe Leadership in Action. It might be evident on a sports team, in the board room, or at a neighborhood gathering. Leaders and leadership traits emerge all the time; and, we can learn from those around us on a daily basis.

This past weekend I learned about leadership past and present. I had the privilege of accompanying the Badger Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Eighty-seven veterans flew from Madison, Wisconsin to/from Washington DC to visit the war memorials.

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The Monkey on Your Back

Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 8/16/2012

“…if subordinates are afraid of failing in front of their boss, they’ll keep coming back for help rather than truly taking initiative.” – Steven R. Covey

As a resource for new managers, an absolute classic all managers should read is the Harvard Business Review article, Who’s Got the Monkey. In the article, the authors point out a key misstep managers often make, attempting to “help” direct reports find solutions to their problems by accepting responsibility for the solution. This inevitably causes the manager to take up his/her time with finding a solution when the burden of responsibility should remain with the direct report. If, like most managers, you have multiple direct reports, taking on just one problem from each of them will add up to a considerable amount of time away from what you should be focusing on as a manager.

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Increasing Personal Accountability

Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 8/9/2012

I regularly work with teams in the course of my job. The members change, the tasks are different, the timelines vary—but, one thing I have seen far too often is dysfunctional behaviors that get in the way of success.

I’m not talking about miscommunication, a few dropped balls, or workload challenges. While not easy, these are the issues that are part of our every day working life. I’m talking about true dysfunction that often manifests itself in backbiting and nastiness and leads to dissatisfaction and morale issues (not to mention lost productivity).

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Rewarding Others: Personal Currencies

Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 8/1/2012

One of the challenges many managers face is determining how to engage, motivate and reward their workforce. While financial incentives do have a part to play, they often are not enough to keep employees “happy” with their work.

Not long ago I was discussing this topic with colleagues and the phrase “personal currency” came up. The theory behind personal currency is that each of us place a high value on different things in our work lives. Those things we value most are our currency. For example, some individuals find the most value from monetary rewards or advancement opportunities. Others covet flexibility of schedule or autonomy in their work. Still others place a high value on skill development or involvement in a variety of projects. The list of personal currencies can go on and on.

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Will Coaching Work: 4 Questions to Answer

Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 7/10/2012

Faced with smaller developmental budgets, organizations need to be selective and invest a disproportionate amount of resources in key talent. One avenue for developing top talent is hiring a coach. But, truth be told, not everyone in your organization needs a coach. And, it is not appropriate to invest in coaching for all leaders. How do you know if a coach is the best resource for a given leader?

Here are 4 questions to help you determine if a leader should work with a coach:

1. Does your organization support coaching?
In order to achieve the results intended, individuals need support not only from their coach but also their boss and peers.

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Know What You Do Well and Build On It

Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 7/5/2012

Einstein QuoteFor the past 20 years or so, I have used 360 degree feedback tools to help leaders continue to learn and grow. I think they are extremely valuable in helping people see where they are at; what strengths to leverage; and, what improvement opportunities exist.

While extremely valuable, a mistake I regularly see is the desire to focus only on the negative. Now, I understand this. By nature, when I look at something I’ve done, it is easier for me to talk about what still needs to be improved versus commenting on what was right. When it comes to my own self-examination, I have a nasty inner critic of excellence that tells me to do more, do better, change, or adjust.

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Definition of Success

Author: Diane Hamilton, Date: 6/22/2012

The 2012 graduation season is coming to a close. We had more ceremonies and parties this year than most; so, I’ve had my share of commencement addresses and graduation cake.

Of the events I attended, there was one address that I thought was particularly moving. The young man, selected by his class, did a great job intertwining humor with wisdom; stories from the past with well wishes for the future. Now this speech wasn’t so different than others in terms of message. It included themes about hopes and dreams; celebrating the past while looking forward; and, current friends and those yet to be made. I was impressed, however, with how the speaker engaged the audience…a great job for an 18 year old.

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Teacher and Student

Author: Paul Dillenburg, Date: 6/13/2012

On a fairly regular basis, I facilitate mastermind groups for high potential employees. For those of you not familiar with a mastermind group, it is a monthly gathering of 5 – 8 individuals from different organizations that seek professional development through peer learning and the presentation of leadership content.

One of the key “ground rules” I like to present to the group is the idea that we are all teachers and students.  Meaning, you can teach everybody you interact with something and everyone you meet can teach you something.  This is an extremely powerful message and one not everyone embraces – especially as leaders.  But for those of us that must lead through collaboration, if you aren’t open to others input you may find yourself without followers.

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