Sure, you likely know what you contribute and how you add value to your employer. But are you in tune with the unique value you bring – the really good stuff that no one else has or no one else can replicate?
As Brett Simons reports in his blog, your value, what you can do uniquely well, is your currency. If you are remarkably good at helping others with something that really matters, then you will merit fair if not impressive compensation and rarely want for work.
Unique value could present itself in the form of a seasoned "intrapreneur" – a person within a large corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation. Or perhaps you have the ability to see things in black and white when others cannot see things as well, giving you the ability to make sound and profitable decisions.
As a key organizational leader, it’s important for you to understand this value and also learn about the potential limits to your value. Perhaps there are ways for you to continue to increase your value? Individual self-assessments can help to give you these insights, particularly when supported by an independent business coach who can help you to interpret, internalize and further develop this value.
Knowing your value and being able to articulate it with confidence will be your source of competitive advantage. Having such self-confidence is important in gaining trust, loyalty and commitment – tempering that confidence with authenticity and genuine caring.
Knowing your value does not mean being able to tell people how great you are. Knowing your value as a leader is the confidence that comes with having a crystal clear understanding of what it is you can do uniquely well to help others seize opportunities or solve problems that matter to them.
Enlightened leaders have a good understanding of their unique value. It’s part of the foundation in rounding out their emotional intelligence, self-confidence and marketability.
Do you know the true value of what you bring to the organization?
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Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance. Show all posts
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Relinquish Control and Share the Glory
One of the best ways for leaders to really demonstrate how much they value their employees is to relinquish control, loosen the ties and give them exposure throughout the organization. It’s a great way to prove your trust in them while at the same time helping to build their confidence and manage risks.
Recognizing your team and empowering them to represent your department demonstrates how much you value their contributions and confidence in their ability. This effort goes a lot further than merely saying “Thanks”. Although regular demonstrations of appreciation do go a long to foster engagement, commitment and pride. As Bob Sutton writes in his blog, it’s about giving as much credit to each employee as he or she deserves. The good boss goes the extra mile to make sure that employees succeed in their jobs and keep developing skills. And this includes giving them the opportunity to communicate and shine with higher levels of management in the organization.
It may feel risky to loosen control and let go of micromanaging. But a good manager empowers people in ways that make employees want to do their best to and contribute in meaningful ways. The end result is better performance, higher productivity and stronger commitment.
Of course, an employee may miss the mark from time to time. But this is an opportunity for the leader to be a coach and not a referee. Help employees to learn from mistakes and address conflicts rather than ignore or dismiss it. Model your own behavior as a way to inspire your employees to emulate you.
At the end of the day, you want to be a mentor to your employees so that they can be the best they can be and prepare them to take the company forward. Are you ready to relinquish some control?
Recognizing your team and empowering them to represent your department demonstrates how much you value their contributions and confidence in their ability. This effort goes a lot further than merely saying “Thanks”. Although regular demonstrations of appreciation do go a long to foster engagement, commitment and pride. As Bob Sutton writes in his blog, it’s about giving as much credit to each employee as he or she deserves. The good boss goes the extra mile to make sure that employees succeed in their jobs and keep developing skills. And this includes giving them the opportunity to communicate and shine with higher levels of management in the organization.
It may feel risky to loosen control and let go of micromanaging. But a good manager empowers people in ways that make employees want to do their best to and contribute in meaningful ways. The end result is better performance, higher productivity and stronger commitment.
Of course, an employee may miss the mark from time to time. But this is an opportunity for the leader to be a coach and not a referee. Help employees to learn from mistakes and address conflicts rather than ignore or dismiss it. Model your own behavior as a way to inspire your employees to emulate you.
At the end of the day, you want to be a mentor to your employees so that they can be the best they can be and prepare them to take the company forward. Are you ready to relinquish some control?
Monday, September 13, 2010
Is the Lunch Break a Relic?
Has the true lunch break become the exception rather than the rule? Fewer than half of employees take a break from work for lunch during their day, according to a new poll by our research team at Right Management. As Anne Fisher writes in a recent Fortune post: “It's a sad day when leaving your desk for 30 minutes can make you fear being branded a slacker, but welcome to the post-recession world.”
We know employees are under a great deal of pressure. Workloads have increased for most employees and many are logging longer hours. But skipping lunch or being reluctant even to step away from the desk is not a good way to deal with the added pressure. On the contrary, taking a break to have lunch may go a long way toward relieving stress, boosting energy, promoting creativity and improving morale.
However, at some companies there is an unwritten expectation that everyone works through lunch. In conversations with employees at various companies, they’ve spoken about the need to apologize for stepping out. This kind of culture isn’t the way to heighten performance and engagement.
If your employees aren’t taking a lunch break, consider encouraging the practice – it’s about quality of life and quality of work. Just 30 to 60 minutes of free time can feel like a mini-vacation – and employees return refreshed, with new ideas, a clear head and probably a healthier, more positive attitude. Be sure to support them and lead the way by taking lunch yourself. And take time to talk with employees to see if individuals are struggling to manage their workloads. Review priorities and deadlines if workers feel they can’t take a break. An oppressive atmosphere where no one feels they can leave their desk is not one that leads to a satisfied, productive and loyal workforce.
Are you giving your employees a break?
We know employees are under a great deal of pressure. Workloads have increased for most employees and many are logging longer hours. But skipping lunch or being reluctant even to step away from the desk is not a good way to deal with the added pressure. On the contrary, taking a break to have lunch may go a long way toward relieving stress, boosting energy, promoting creativity and improving morale.
However, at some companies there is an unwritten expectation that everyone works through lunch. In conversations with employees at various companies, they’ve spoken about the need to apologize for stepping out. This kind of culture isn’t the way to heighten performance and engagement.
If your employees aren’t taking a lunch break, consider encouraging the practice – it’s about quality of life and quality of work. Just 30 to 60 minutes of free time can feel like a mini-vacation – and employees return refreshed, with new ideas, a clear head and probably a healthier, more positive attitude. Be sure to support them and lead the way by taking lunch yourself. And take time to talk with employees to see if individuals are struggling to manage their workloads. Review priorities and deadlines if workers feel they can’t take a break. An oppressive atmosphere where no one feels they can leave their desk is not one that leads to a satisfied, productive and loyal workforce.
Are you giving your employees a break?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Finding the meaning of... Work
Finding meaning in your work takes a bit of a different path than Monty Python’s parody on The Meaning of Life. Sure, it requires some philosophizing and speculation and probably a few calamities along the way. But most importantly, it requires some understanding of your values, motivators, demotivators, skills and strengths.
People want their jobs to be meaningful. And as they grow more aware of social and environmental issues, they become more interested in having their work align with those values. In fact, as many as 75% of employees find their work to be meaningful, according to a recent poll conducted by our research team. Only 4% of employees rarely or never find meaning in what they do.
Our findings suggest that most people care about their work – how it challenges them, offers a sense of worth or allows them to contribute to larger organizational goals and values. But finding your work meaningful doesn’t necessarily translate into high performance. As a leader, I’m sure you want to strive for a convergence of meaningful work and high performance - creating a powerful catalyst for employees to further the organization’s objectives. It benefits the organization to not only help employees find the kind of work that inspires and motivates them, but ensure employees are committed to the success of their company.
Business schools are doing little to prepare employees to find jobs they enjoy, but leaders and managers can play a real role in helping employees achieve meaning and engagement. Creating this type of environment can be difficult because each individual’s preferences are based on personal values and choices. However, managers are in a great position to identify individual preferences by regularly engaging employees in career discussions – uncovering those areas that drive increased levels of meaning and satisfaction. The challenge is to dig a little deeper and learn whether these same employees are engaged with their job as well as the organization.
Have you had career discussions with your employees lately?
People want their jobs to be meaningful. And as they grow more aware of social and environmental issues, they become more interested in having their work align with those values. In fact, as many as 75% of employees find their work to be meaningful, according to a recent poll conducted by our research team. Only 4% of employees rarely or never find meaning in what they do.
Our findings suggest that most people care about their work – how it challenges them, offers a sense of worth or allows them to contribute to larger organizational goals and values. But finding your work meaningful doesn’t necessarily translate into high performance. As a leader, I’m sure you want to strive for a convergence of meaningful work and high performance - creating a powerful catalyst for employees to further the organization’s objectives. It benefits the organization to not only help employees find the kind of work that inspires and motivates them, but ensure employees are committed to the success of their company.
Business schools are doing little to prepare employees to find jobs they enjoy, but leaders and managers can play a real role in helping employees achieve meaning and engagement. Creating this type of environment can be difficult because each individual’s preferences are based on personal values and choices. However, managers are in a great position to identify individual preferences by regularly engaging employees in career discussions – uncovering those areas that drive increased levels of meaning and satisfaction. The challenge is to dig a little deeper and learn whether these same employees are engaged with their job as well as the organization.
Have you had career discussions with your employees lately?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Scare tactics: keeping the adrenaline going
No one would dispute an undercurrent of fear continues to run through our current economic climate. Yet fear, as it relates to creative tension, can be a valuable tool for motivating high performers.
Nothing innovative or truly cutting-edge is born of complacency. Leaders need to motivate employees by inspiring them to achieve their maximum potential. To be sure, the balance between fear and creative tension is a fragile one. But when this balance is achieved, its payoff will be a high performance culture.
In a sense, high performers thrive on fear. They are inherent risk-takers who have little interest in playing it safe. As such, they operate best in a culture where creative tension is the norm. They bristle at the idea of being micromanaged. Yet, born decision-makers, they also have no qualms about being held accountable. Rather than shy away from responsibility, they embrace it. Rather than walk away from a challenge, they meet it head-on. Leaders need to find a way to effectively stimulate these high performers while simultaneously affording them the freedom they need to succeed.
Of course, creating a culture of fear benefits no one. Creativity cannot thrive in an environment where fear — a fear of failure, primarily, and its dreaded consequences — is prevalent. Leaders need to be sensitive to creating a culture in which the creative process, often in the form of risk-taking, is not simply tolerated but actively supported and sustained as a means to achieving success.
And to that end, a little fear can go a long, long way.
Nothing innovative or truly cutting-edge is born of complacency. Leaders need to motivate employees by inspiring them to achieve their maximum potential. To be sure, the balance between fear and creative tension is a fragile one. But when this balance is achieved, its payoff will be a high performance culture.
In a sense, high performers thrive on fear. They are inherent risk-takers who have little interest in playing it safe. As such, they operate best in a culture where creative tension is the norm. They bristle at the idea of being micromanaged. Yet, born decision-makers, they also have no qualms about being held accountable. Rather than shy away from responsibility, they embrace it. Rather than walk away from a challenge, they meet it head-on. Leaders need to find a way to effectively stimulate these high performers while simultaneously affording them the freedom they need to succeed.
Of course, creating a culture of fear benefits no one. Creativity cannot thrive in an environment where fear — a fear of failure, primarily, and its dreaded consequences — is prevalent. Leaders need to be sensitive to creating a culture in which the creative process, often in the form of risk-taking, is not simply tolerated but actively supported and sustained as a means to achieving success.
And to that end, a little fear can go a long, long way.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Feedback as mentoring
For managers, as much as for employees, the feedback session can be an event to dread. While the employee may feel like the lead in a horror movie, the manager sometimes faces the distressing prospect of having to deliver home truths at the risk of offending or, worse, demoralizing the employee. Even under the best of circumstances, the feedback session is rife with tension. It doesn’t have to be this way.
With the right approach, feedback sessions will be positive and rewarding for all concerned. One key is to frame the event correctly. Feedback should never just be about skills and capabilities, but should also include a discussion about career interests. Employees need a clear sense of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their interests and what the organization expects of them so that they are equipped to help the organization achieve its goals.
A second key is to approach feedback as an open, collaborative effort. Give praise where praise is due. Ask questions and listen. Work together to set a course for enhanced performance.
A third key is frequency. A single annual performance review simply sets everyone on edge. Providing feedback routinely, however, demonstrates your continuing interest in and support for someone’s development. Feedback and mentoring become indistinguishable.
With the right approach, feedback sessions will be positive and rewarding for all concerned. One key is to frame the event correctly. Feedback should never just be about skills and capabilities, but should also include a discussion about career interests. Employees need a clear sense of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their interests and what the organization expects of them so that they are equipped to help the organization achieve its goals.
A second key is to approach feedback as an open, collaborative effort. Give praise where praise is due. Ask questions and listen. Work together to set a course for enhanced performance.
A third key is frequency. A single annual performance review simply sets everyone on edge. Providing feedback routinely, however, demonstrates your continuing interest in and support for someone’s development. Feedback and mentoring become indistinguishable.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Are your high performers prime for poaching?
Given our hyper-competitive marketplace, everyone is looking for an edge – especially if that edge comes from poaching your talent. So, rest assured, right now one or more of your competitors is probably gunning for your high performers – your workforce elite – and those likely to outperform and drive significant success within your organization. While hiring will remain lackluster in 2010 and efforts to control costs will continue to be a key focus, organizations will be ramping up their efforts to attract and hire these high performers as they seek ways to get a jump on the competition. Risk losing your high performers, and risk losing any hope of becoming an industry leader.
It’s necessary to understand that this high performing group marches to a different drummer. A cookie-cutter approach to retaining and engaging them won’t work. Any organization using a “one size fits all” strategy to manage their workforce will lose. High performers have unique needs and demand more choice and challenge – compelling organizations to employ a more flexible and customized “one size fits one” strategy.
What does this mean? Quite simply, not everyone is motivated by the same thing. And there are significant differences in what motivates high performers versus average performers. But we do know that high performers share some common needs, which include the need for greater challenge, risk, decision-making and leadership responsibility. Give them what they need and everyone wins. They’ll find their work meaningful and engaging and you’ll reap the benefits of an innovative, high performance culture.
Are your high performers getting what they need?
It’s necessary to understand that this high performing group marches to a different drummer. A cookie-cutter approach to retaining and engaging them won’t work. Any organization using a “one size fits all” strategy to manage their workforce will lose. High performers have unique needs and demand more choice and challenge – compelling organizations to employ a more flexible and customized “one size fits one” strategy.
What does this mean? Quite simply, not everyone is motivated by the same thing. And there are significant differences in what motivates high performers versus average performers. But we do know that high performers share some common needs, which include the need for greater challenge, risk, decision-making and leadership responsibility. Give them what they need and everyone wins. They’ll find their work meaningful and engaging and you’ll reap the benefits of an innovative, high performance culture.
Are your high performers getting what they need?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
New Leaders Require Due Diligence
Why do so many organizations spend more time researching office equipment (or a new paper supplier or phone system) than they do identifying leaders that will be put into critical roles? Organizations don’t have the luxury of time, resources and money to get their new leaders up to speed and fully contributing. The ability of a new or recently promoted leader to smoothly transition into a new or expanded role is not assured. In fact, more than 40% of new leaders fail to meet expectations. With so many new leaders derailing, how can any organization hope to achieve business objectives? The costs are substantial: from direct replacement costs to lost opportunity costs to poor morale. Simply put, effective leadership can ultimately make or break a company’s ability to grow and compete.
How do you accelerate the on-boarding process and substantially improve success rates? The best place to start: put the right people into leadership roles from the get go. Each new leader is an investment. Like any investment, you want to carefully assess and evaluate before making a commitment. Assessing for competencies that drive success in your organization is one way to ensure you are making a wise investment. Our own research shows that as many as 50% of organizations do not have a model for identifying and developing the leadership competencies needed to drive results.
Do your new leaders have the knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics needed to perform a particular role within your organization? If you haven’t taken the steps to assess for the human drivers of successful organizational performance, you could find yourself fighting a difficult and costly battle. In the long term it is far more cost effective and will deliver a far greater return on investment to create a sustainable leader profile up front than to spend time selecting a new office coffee dispenser. Get it right from the start.
How do you accelerate the on-boarding process and substantially improve success rates? The best place to start: put the right people into leadership roles from the get go. Each new leader is an investment. Like any investment, you want to carefully assess and evaluate before making a commitment. Assessing for competencies that drive success in your organization is one way to ensure you are making a wise investment. Our own research shows that as many as 50% of organizations do not have a model for identifying and developing the leadership competencies needed to drive results.
Do your new leaders have the knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics needed to perform a particular role within your organization? If you haven’t taken the steps to assess for the human drivers of successful organizational performance, you could find yourself fighting a difficult and costly battle. In the long term it is far more cost effective and will deliver a far greater return on investment to create a sustainable leader profile up front than to spend time selecting a new office coffee dispenser. Get it right from the start.
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