What is a team?

5 Keys to Inspiring Leadership, No Matter Your Style

Forget the stereotypical leadership image of a buttoned-up person in a gray suit hauling around a hefty briefcase. Today, standout leaders come in all shapes and sizes. She could be a blue jeans-clad marketing student, running a major ecommerce company out of her dorm room. He might be the next salt-and-pepper-haired, barefoot Steve Jobs, presenting a groundbreaking new device at a major industry conference.

"Our research indicates that what really matters is that leaders are able to create enthusiasm, empower their people, instill confidence and be inspiring to the people around them," says Peter Handal, chief executive of New York City-based Dale Carnegie Training, a leadership-training company.

That's a tall order. However, as different as leaders are today, there are some things great leaders do every day. Here, Handal shares his five keys for effective leadership: 

1. Face challenges.

Great leaders are brave enough to face up to challenging situations and deal with them honestly. Whether it's steering through a business downturn or getting struggling employees back on track, effective leaders meet these challenges openly. Regular communications with your staff, informing them of both good news and how the company is reacting to challenges will go a long way toward making employees feel like you trust them and that they're unlikely to be hit with unpleasant surprises.

"The gossip at the coffee machine is usually 10 times worse than reality," Handal says. "Employees need to see their leaders out there, confronting that reality head-on." 

2. Win trust.

Employees are more loyal and enthusiastic when they work in an environment run by people they trust. Building that trust can be done in many ways. The first is to show employees that you care about them, Handal says. Take an interest in your employees beyond the workplace. Don't pry, he advises, but ask about an employee's child's baseball game or college graduation. Let your employees know that you're interested in their success and discuss their career paths with them regularly.

When employees, vendors or others make mistakes, don't reprimand or correct them in anger. Instead, calmly explain the situation and why their behavior or actions weren't correct, as well as what you expect in the future. When people know that you aren't going to berate them and that you have their best interests at heart, they're going to trust you, Handal says. 

3. Be authentic.

If you're not a suit, don't try to be one. Employees and others dealing with your company will be able to tell if you're just pretending to be someone you're not, Handal says. That could make them question what else about you might be inauthentic. Have a passion for funky shoes? Wear them. Are you an enthusiastic and hilarious presenter? Get them laughing. Use your strengths and personality traits to develop your personal leadership style, Handal says. 

4. Earn respect.

When you conduct yourself in an ethical way and model the traits you want to see in others, you earn the respect of those around you. Leaders who are perceived as not "walking their talk" typically don't get very far, Handal says. This contributes to employees and other stakeholders having pride in the company, which is an essential part of engagement, Handal says. Also, customers are less likely to do business with a company if they don't respect its values or leadership. 

5. Stay curious.

Good leaders remain intellectually curious and committed to learning. They're inquisitive and always looking for new ideas, insights and information. Handal says the best leaders understand that innovation and new approaches can come from many places and are always on the lookout for knowledge or people who might inform them and give them an advantage.

"The most successful leaders I know are truly very curious people. They're interested in the things around them and that contributes to their vision," Handal says.

Gwen Moran

Gwen Moran is a freelance writer and co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Business Plans (Alpha, 2010).

7 Elements of a Great Company Culture

Build these things into your culture and your rock star talent will take you to the top.

By Marla Tabaka

IMAGE: Getty Images

What does it really mean to build a strong culture? For some entrepreneurs the very word conjures up images of employees dancing on desks, playing pool in the break room, and napping away in comfy, soundproof enclosures. While fun may be one component of a thriving culture, there's so much more to it. 

Build a culture based on your own values, but don't forget these 7 musts.

1. If you want to be trusted, you must trust.

A culture of trust is imperative, especially if you're employing millennials. If you behave like a helicopter parent, overseeing, or worse, taking over every project, it will directly conflict with the building of trust. What if they make a mistake? I think any successful entrepreneur will tell you that there is no mistake from which you cannot recover. Give your employees clear guidelines and let them spread their wings.

2. Give employees the opportunity to get to know one another.

How can people know, like, and trust one another if they don't have the opportunity to play together? An occasional party or outing is not enough to build and maintain these relationships; weave these events into the fabric of your day-to-day company life. Create little rituals at employee meetings, have themes for certain days of the week and holidays, and engage in community projects together. Find quirky ways to celebrate success, no matter how small, and certainly create friendly competition; both work-related and personal. A chili cook-off and a game-filled afternoon at the park are a couple of things to consider. Too much work? Assign a monthly "culture captain" to plan out the month.

3. Create a cool space.

Tossing a few desks in a room doesn't cut it anymore. Our external environment has a significant impact on our internal thought process. Design a creative corner with bean bag chairs, chalk boards, and a lighthearted theme throughout. Allow employees to bring fun decorations to add to their work area. If you can afford it, hire a designer to create your unique space. A creative environment sets the bar for innovation. Creating a "culture of cool" attracts the kind of people who value the kind of culture you're trying to build.

4. Give 'em free stuff.

Everyone loves free stuff! If you can't afford to supply personal computers or tablets, stock options, and grand parties--no worries, those things will come. In the meantime Friday morning breakfasts, afternoon smoothies, fun work tools, and inexpensive merchandise will go a long way. This will contribute to a work-hard, play-hard environment, making for happy, productive, and creative employees.

5. No jerks allowed.

I can't say this often enough: Hiring for skill alone will doom you to misery. Hire nice people who fit in with the intention design of your culture. Hire people who have a proven work ethic and are team players. Hire for creativity and personality. Sure, experience and skill are important, but not nearly enough to take you to the top of your industry.

6. Encourage growth and ownership.

A strong company culture isn't just about fun: it's about encouraging your employees to see their job as more than just a job--to own their job and their ideas. Once you've build this collaborative, trusting environment, your employees will bring ideas to the table. If it's their idea, put them in charge of it! If an employee wants to learn something new, provide the support for them to do it. Today, innovative companies don't hire employees to remain in one job for an eternity; they hire innovators who will contribute to the future of the company in a powerful way.

7. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Here's where I see entrepreneurs, especially startups, fail most often. When one hand doesn't know what the other is doing you have a recipe for disaster. But communication about processes and workflow aren't enough. Drill your values into your employees with ideas like those above and by demonstrating them in your own behavior. Be authentic and, at times, vulnerable. If an employee isn't performing up to par, don't let your frustration and disappointment grow; engage in thoughtful conversations about it and create a plan for improvement. If an employee has a win, celebrate! 

Building an outstanding culture is not an overnight event, and it's not always easy. You'll hit some bumps in the road. Never forget that your team, not your product, not your bank account, is your number-one asset.

What makes a winning team?

David Reeve CMgr MCMI

Most of us at some point in our lives watch a team sport. It might be only once every four years during the olympics or your might be an avid fan, whether it be football, athletics, hockey or motor sport. For me, it's Formula1 and with the start of the new season only 2 weeks away, it got me thinking as to what makes a winning team. The answer is of course complex and involves lots of different things, a key one of which is leadership. For me, however there are 3 key elements to building a winning team: 

Knowledge
Your team need to have the knowledge to do their job. This applies both as individuals and as a team. Each individual needs to know what their role is and to have the knowledge and skills to do that role. Take the example of mechanics in motor sport. Each mechanic has to be able to work at the top of their game whether that be re-building the engine or changing a wheel. They also need to know what everyone else does and rely on others to complete their tasks. This means trusting everyone in your team. 

Trust
In my view creating and mourishing mutual trust begins with honesty. If as leaders we display honesty in the way we deal with and talk to the people that we lead, then we set the tone within the area of the organisation that we have direct responsibility for. From experience, this then encourages your team members to be honest in return and builds mutual trust within the team.

Then the challenge, unless you are the CEO of course, is to influence upwards and set the tone and expectations of how you operate and therefore how you expect to be treated. Given time and work on relationship building, if you are honest with your managers, most people will accord you with the respect that you clearly should be accorded, which will ultimately create and nourish mutual trust. 

Communication
Communication underpins everything within a winning team. For your team to have the knowledge to do their job, they have to learn. Learning, whether it is formal or informal on-the-job training requires communication. Trust is built up over time and through experience that someone does what they say they will do. Communication is a fine art, and a post in itself, but is crucial in building a winning team. Great communication will help develop your team and build their knowledge. It will also help you build trust which in turn improves performance. Poor communication on the other hand will destroy everything that you have been working for and can turn a winning team into a losing one.

Innovating at Scale: Building Trust

In the military, trust is forced upon you. If you’re a soldier at a rendezvous point being picked up by a helicopter, you have no choice but to place your life in someone else’s hands. In business, trust has always been a bit harder to come by. There is a natural desire to control the process and leave as little to chance as possible.

Today’s networked economy is changing that. More and more organizations now operate in networked situations where ultimate success comes from the collective work of all. Now, as in the military, trust plays a critical role in the success of any organization.

For leaders looking to build trust, there are two key components to focus on: competence and benevolence.

Competence is the idea that every individual in an organization is committed to being a master of his or her craft. As we become more dependent on the work of others, people want to know that everyone is being held to the same high standard as they are. As a leader, it’s your job to instill confidence in your teams that everyone across the org is there because they know what they are doing.

The second piece is benevolence – which is the idea that other team members will solve problems for your best interests in addition to their own. In other words, people want to know their co-workers have their back. For leaders, this means making the ultimate metric for success not individual accomplishment, but instead solving for the greatest good.

Establishing this mindset is key to building trust. Now, instead of top-heavy teams weighed down with reps from every department looking out for their interests, leaders can put together fast and nimble small teams that have the faith of the entire org.

Of all the concepts I’ve discussed, trust is perhaps the hardest to pull off. Yet it is crucial because it underpins all the other concepts we have explored. Once trust is established at an organization, then you can truly have nimble teams moving fast with common purpose, shared consciousness, and with empowered execution – and build innovation at scale across an organization. 

Posted by:HARI SHEKHAAWAT

9 Things Great Leaders Say Every Day

People judge you by what you do--and by what you say. Here are nine phrases that should roll off your lips every single day.

Your words are among your greatest tools. They're a window into your vision, your values and your abilities. So, whether you're running a giant organization or just trying to herd a group toward a certain outcome, there are messages you need to communicate constantly in order to lead effectively. 

Start every day planning to say each of these things to at least one person, and watch the results: 

1. This is the situation.
People want to know what's going on. Odds are, they'll find out anyway, or worse, fill in the gaps with conjecture. When you keep important things excessively close, you sap morale, rob yourself of your team's insights, and make people feel undervalued. Sound crazy to let them in on everything? Walmart founder Sam Walton did it for decades, and he did okay. 

2. Here is the plan.
A leader is supposed to lead. People will offer great suggestions, especially if you're saying and doing everything else on this list, but you need to be able to make decisions and stand behind them. Your team needs to know where you're trying to take them, and how. Also, don't forget the crucial corollary: You need to be able to say "no," especially to moves that would be inconsistent with your plan. 

3. What do you need?
This is crucial for two reasons. First, people need to know that you care about them on personal and professional levels, and that you want them to succeed. Second, if you've put together a great plan, you need to leverage every person's abilities to the maximum extent possible. If they are not able to give it their all, you want to know why. 

4. Tell me more.
Let people know you're more interested in finding good answers than hearing yourself speak. Give others implicit permission to share their opinions--or heck, invite them explicitly, if you have to. Staying quiet is an invitation for others to offer ideas and insights. 

5. Remember our values.
You can't possibly stare over the shoulder of every person making decisions that affect your organization, but you can remind them to make choices that the rest of their team will be proud of. Reminding people of your values requires, of course, that you can actually articulate shared values. 

6. I trust you.
If you can't trust the people on your team, then they shouldn't be on your team. You need to trust their integrity, their judgment, their confidence and their passion--and you need to ensure that they understand how much you depend on them. 

7. You can count on me.
The flip side of that last point is true as well. If your team can't trust you, they shouldn't do you the great honor of letting you lead them. So tell them you've got their back, and then work like hell to fulfill the promises you make. 

8. We can do better.
One of the toughest, most crucial parts of leadership is to push your team to a higher standard than they might set for themselves. That means congratulating them when they do well, but also not coddling them when they don't live up to their potential. It also means admitting when you fail to live up to those standards, too. 

9. Let's celebrate!
Don't create a culture in which the only reward for great work is more work. Instead, make it a practice to celebrate your wins, both large and small. This can mean big parties and bonuses, but it can be just as important to call people out for great work and congratulate them for their milestones--both professional and personal.

Bill Murphy Jr.

What People Look for in Great Leaders

As a long-time student on the subject of leadership, I feel privileged in my role at Lockheed Martin to have a front row seat in the world’s greatest leadership classroom: the U.S. Military. Our men and women in uniform are a disciplined force, united in purpose and values, selflessly answering America’s call to duty. Building, supporting and motivating such a magnificent organization clearly requires outstanding leaders—people who have the vision, the intellect, the energy and the emotional intelligence to move other people toward a goal.

Today, the U.S. military is facing a lot of change, including the drawdown of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, a shrinking defense budget, and the Department of Defense’s pivot to the Asia-Pacific region. Lockheed Martin is facing these same changes. With this in mind, I started wondering if times of great change require something different from leaders. Do the same qualities and characteristics of good leaders suffice in turbulent times, or is something new required?

My thoughts led me to some powerful research from the Gallup organization* that is especially relevant to leading through times of great change. The findings are instructive whether one is leading an aerospace and global security company or a branch of the military. The research focused specifically on the perspectives of followers, and asked them to describe what they want leaders to contribute to their lives.

Gallup found that individuals expect four things from leaders: stability, trust, compassion and hope.

The results, while fascinating, are not surprising. Let’s take a closer look at each: 

Stability
To ensure stability, it’s important that leaders look beyond today and consider what’s over the horizon. This means taking action early to shape the organization and equip it to respond and succeed in a new environment. These actions sometimes involve making very tough decisions that impact employees and their families. I’ve found that when these decisions are necessary, keeping employees informed is critical to stability. Information is empowering. When employees can anticipate change and plan accordingly, they are less worried, less distracted, and more engaged in creating a positive future. 

Trust
Trust is the basis of all positive relationships. The foundation for trust has to be earned every day by the high standards you set, the energy and enthusiasm you show, the steps you take to develop your people, and the sincerity you demonstrate through words and actions.

Again, communication is crucial. It’s important to communicate transparently, honestly and in a timely manner. Bad news doesn’t get better with age. In particular, I’m a fan of person-to-person communication. It enables employees to look you in the eyes, ask questions, and walk away with trust in your leadership and an understanding of your priorities and vision for the future. 

Compassion
Compassion is more than just treating people as you like to be treated. It’s about treating people as they like to be treated. To do that, you need to genuinely know your employees. You need to understand who they are and what matters in their lives. You need to actively listen when they share their concerns and respond with empathy.

Compassion isn’t just for tough times. It’s for all times.

When you build a culture of compassion, it flows in all directions. It reinforces the importance of confronting tough issues rather than shying away or insulating yourself. Leaders are always thinking about the well-being of those they lead, not themselves. 

Hope
In times of great change, leaders inspire hope. I believe you inspire hope by embarking on missions that matter with a vision that motivates. As a leader, you must help people see where change is heading, the ideal future state when change is successful, and the roles people will play going forward. In my experience, the result will be a fully engaged, committed, and hopeful workforce – and a stronger company – for having weathered the storm. 

Stability, trust, compassion, and hope. These are the qualities that people look for in great leaders, and they are crucial to leading through changing times. Simply put, people want their leaders to give them what they need to have confidence in the future. Whether you’re leading a small team, a branch of the U.S. military or a major corporation, being a great leader means understanding people and what they need from you.

How about you?

Posted by:Marillyn Hewson

Chairman and CEO at Lockheed Martin

Leadership: Trust your best people. It works.

MICHAEL SHERAR

A decade ago, I was given a great career boost from my boss and mentor. He placed his trust in me, and stepped back.

I was given the opportunity to lead a large regional cancer program. This was quite a bit beyond my previous experience, a couple of stations above what I had done before. And the first job was to lead the transfer of this program from one organization to another. There were quite a few unhappy people. My mentor, who was my new boss at the time, came to visit me early on as I settled into the role to see how I was doing. He said to me as he left that meeting: “If you ever need my help, you know you can just pick up the phone. …I don’t expect a call.”

To some that might be seen as a heartless sink or swim directive. But for me, it was the opposite and it gave me an immediate lift; this person had trust and confidence in me that I could do this job and do it well. And that feeling is something I strive to instill in the people I lead.

The memory of that management moment came to mind recently when I saw the work of two mid-level employees at Cancer Care Ontario.

Each year we bring together the hospital CEOs and regional vice-presidents who are responsible for quality in our regional cancer programs to discuss progress against the Ontario Cancer Plan, our roadmap for quality improvement in the cancer system in Ontario. Cancer Care Ontario works with hospitals, doctors and other healthcare professionals to develop and implement the plan. As you can imagine, these meetings often involve lively debate around the pace of change and the challenges hospitals and providers face to improve quality in an environment of rising need for health services amid financial constraints.

One of the projects we discussed at the meeting was health system funding reform, which is changing the way hospitals are funded from global budgets where a lump sum is provided with few strings attached, to per-patient funding where the funding is tied to the quality of care provided. Cancer Care Ontario plays a central role in this health system funding reform, in the areas of cancer and chronic kidney disease. (Cancer Care Ontario oversees payment for and quality of services for chronic kidney disease as well as cancer). Changing the way hospitals are funded is complicated and difficult to implement. It’s a big job.

At this key stakeholder meeting, the task of presenting the ins and outs of the funding model to this senior group of executives was not assigned to me, or to a vice-president, or even to our director responsible for this work. Instead, it was entrusted to the two staff who had been responsible for much of the technical work behind the new funding models. These were the people who knew the details most intimately and who could answer questions in the most meaningful way.

My best management moment was spent sitting and watching. I sat there, silent and proud, while my two colleagues gave a truly excellent presentation, and then expertly handled questions from the hospital CEOs. A complicated subject had been distilled to a clear and concise picture for some of our most important partners. And they clearly understood the implications and expectations that would be placed on them. After the meeting, one of the hospital CEOs told me how unusual, but refreshing it was to see more junior staff being given the opportunity to present such challenging and strategically important material, and at such an important forum. He also said what an outstanding job they had done.

We have about 850 employees at Cancer Care Ontario. Our success depends on every one of them being able to strive to do outstanding things. The two staff who presented at this meeting are helping to transform and improve healthcare in Ontario. They are representative of our future leaders.

This idea of having trust in our employees’ ability to deliver excellent results, to enable them to stretch themselves and occasionally to allow them to make mistakes is at the heart of this story, and a key quality for leadership.

Michael Sherar is president and chief executive officer of Cancer Care Ontario (@CancerCare_ON), a provincial government agency that manages the quality of services and patient care for those with cancer or chronic kidney disease.

10 Leadership Resolutions to Make It a Very Good Year

By Jack and Suzy Welch

New Year resolutions -- who keeps them? Practically no one. But if you're a leader, be it of three people or 3,000, it's your flat-out responsibility to not just go into work every day and improvise around the latest crisis or email flurry or employee meltdown, but to go into work every day with a cohesive plan of action about how you're going to lead. Otherwise, why would anyone follow you, except that they simply have to?

That's no good.

So here's to 2014, and 10 resolutions to make it a very good year -- for you, and for the team you lead.

 1) Get In Their Skin
From the day you become a leader, your biggest role is to build trust, respect and support from your team. A mutual respect. As long as they deliver, you will support them and stand up for them in every way -- and they know it. It's a never-ending job and you can never slip up.

2) Over-Communicate
It's your job to communicate your message, your values, what's right about what's happening, and what's wrong -- over and over and over again. There can be no lack of transparency. Everybody has to be on the same page. Even when you're ready to gag over the message, you have to keep communicating it.

 3) Follow-Up Relentlessly
Just because you say something once, it doesn't mean it's going to happen. Too often, managers think, "Hey, I told my team what to do." Then they come back a week later and nothing has happened. Yes, your job is to set the direction. But you also have to make it your mission to follow up -- relentlessly -- to see that things are moving in the right direction.

 4) Create a Rallying Cry
I've always found that defining an enemy is very helpful. Define a competitor that's coming after you. Rally the team around every win you have against them, every new product you introduce that's better than theirs. Make that competitor come alive as your true enemy and you'll see your team galvanize around beating them and winning in the marketplace.

 5) Realize Personnel Actions Speak Louder Than Words
When you pick someone for a new job, you are defining what's important. Managers love to give speeches about how their new initiative is the most important thing in the world. But then they put whatever warm body happens to be available in charge of it. Nothing could be worse. When you make an personnel appointment, you're doing much more than any speech you could ever give. The people in the organization already know who the star performers are. And matching those stars with the projects you claim are important is absolutely critical for your credibility and the trust you want to build.

 6) Embrace the Generosity Gene
I happen to believe that every good leader loves to give raises to people. They are thrilled to see their employees grow and be promoted. They are turned on by their success. Good leaders understand that they are only as good as the reflected glory of their people -- and so they give until it hurts.

7) Fight Bureaucracy
Remember how much you hated bureaucracy from the bosses above you when they wanted this "i" dotted and this "t" crossed? Guess what? You're now the leader. Don't let bureaucracy creep into your place. Just because it's yours doesn't make it any prettier than when it was someone else's. Get rid of clutter. Bureaucracy slows things down and speed is one of the best competitive advantages you can have.

 8) Find a Better Way
Recognize that in business, somebody out there is always doing something better than you are. Your team can get insular and come to believe they're already doing everything right. Your job is to ask, "How can we do it better? Where can we find someone doing it better?" Finding a better way of doing things every single day can become so much more than a slogan. It can become a way of life and make your group stand out above the rest.

 9) Own Hiring Mistakes
Look, you're not the only person in the history of the universe who has ever made a hiring mistake. Once you understand that hiring is hard work and you'll surely have missteps along the way, realize that you've got to deal with mistakes fast and compassionately. Recognize that it was your fault that the fit didn't work and get on with it. The team will respect you more. The hire you dealt with fairly will respect you more. And your superiors will reward you for your candor and willingness to own up to your error.

10) Dig into Crises
Without doubt, crises are going to erupt in your career. You'll have someone do something wrong or have to face into a violation somewhere in your organization. To make matters worse, when you first hear about it, you're not going to get the whole story -- after all, you're the boss. You're only going to get the tip of the iceberg. Underneath the surface is a very big piece of ice. Your team will come to you and feed you, piece by piece, a slow-drip expose of the crisis. Your job is to dig deep, early and fast, to get it all to the surface. Be candid. Recognize there are no secrets anywhere. Get the right people involved immediately. And you will see a swifter resolution to problems that people all too often try to brush under the table.

Jack Welch is Executive Chairmacrisesn of the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University. Through its Executive MBA program, the Jack Welch Management Institute provides students and organizations with the proven methodologies, immediately actionable practices, and respected credentials needed to win in business.

Suzy Welch is a best-selling author, popular television commentator, and noted business journalist. Her New York Times bestselling book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea, presents a powerful decision-making strategy for success at work and in parenting, love and friendship. Together with her husband Jack Welch, Suzy is also co-author of the #1 international bestseller Winning, and its companion volume, Winning: The Answers. Since 2005, they have written business columns for several publications, including Business Week magazine, Thomson Reuters digital platforms, Fortune magazine, and the New York Times syndicate.

Posted by:

Jack Welch

7 Reasons Employees Don't Trust Their Leaders

Glenn Llopis, 

 

As the world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela and commemorates his greatness as a leader, we would do well to remember that one of the  many hallmarks of his leadership was trust.    The greatest leaders in the world gravitated toward Mr. Mandela because he was genuinely trustworthy and his purpose was to support peace, prosperity and unity not only in South Africa – but throughout the world.   Mandela was able to lead people in ways that many find impossible to do. As he famously said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Unfortunately, trust is in rare supply these days.  People are having trouble trusting each other, according to an AP-GfK poll conducted in November 2013, which found that Americans are suspicious of each other in their everyday encounters.   Only one-third of Americans say most people can be trusted – down from half who felt that way in 1972, when the General Social Survey first asked the question.  Forty years later, in 2013, a record high of nearly two-thirds says “you can’t be too careful” in dealing with people.

This same sentiment can be carried over into the workplace, where employees want their leaders to be more trustworthy and transparent.   Employees have grown tired of unexpected outcomes resulting from the lack of preparation.  They want to be informed of any change management efforts before – not after the fact.   Employees desire to know what is expected of them and be given the opportunity to reinvent themselves, rather than be told they are not qualified for new roles and responsibilities and can no longer execute their functions successfully.

Leaders are challenged between informing their employees of the entire truth and holding back certain realities so as not to unnecessarily scare   people or lose top-talent.   More and more leaders today are being placed into uncomfortable moral dilemmas because they are attempting to salvage their own jobs while trying to maintain the trust and loyalty of their employees.

The growing tensions between leaders and their employees are creating productivity challenges as uncertainty becomes the new normal in the workplace.  Furthermore, leaders are beginning to lose control of their own identities and effectiveness as their employees begin to lose trust in their intentions because of hidden agendas and political maneuvering – casting clouds of doubt over their futures.

Employees just want the truth.  They have learned that the old ways of doing things just don’t apply (as much) anymore and more than ever they need their leaders to have their backs.  Unfortunately, many leaders are operating in survival mode and don’t have the sphere of influence they once had; without leaders to sponsor and mentor them, high-potential employees must now figure out the changing terrain on their own.

Here are seven early warning signs to look out for so you can course-correct when employees are having trouble trusting their leaders:

1.  Lack Courage
Leaders that don’t stand up for what they believe in are difficult to respect and trust.   Too many leaders today battle the gulf between assimilation and authenticity.   They waste too much of their valuable time trying to act like other leaders in the organization – rather than attempting to establish their own identity and leadership style.   This is why less than 15% of leaders have defined and live their personal brand.

Perhaps leaders don’t believe that their employees are paying attention to this behavior – but they are intently observing.    Employees are always in tune to what their leaders are doing and how they manage themselves.   Employees know that if their leaders are not savvy enough to move themselves into a position of greater influence, it will make it that much more difficult for   them to get noticed and discovered as well.  The influence of a leader carries a lot of weight when it comes to how their colleagues judge and evaluate the potential of their employees.

When leaders lack the courage to enable their full potential and that of others, it becomes a challenge to trust their judgment, self-confidence, self-awareness and overall capabilities.

2.  Hidden Agendas
Leaders that are too politically savvy can be viewed as devious and inauthentic.  Employees want to follow leaders who are less about the politics and more about how to accomplish goals and objectives.   While being politically savvy is important, leaders must be careful not to give their employees the impression of orchestrating hidden agendas.

Employees want to believe that their leaders are focused on the betterment of the team.  If this requires well-intentioned political maneuvering to advance team goals and objectives, then great.  However, if it comes across that a leader is solely intent on protecting themselves and their own personal agendas – trust from the team will be lost quickly and difficult to recapture.

3.  Self-Centered
Hidden agendas make it difficult to trust that a leader’s intentions and decision-making are not self-centered.  When a leader is only looking out for themselves and lacks any sense of commitment to the advancement of their employees – this shuts-off employees quickly.
 
Great leaders are great coaches and are always looking to help their employees grow and prosper.   When leaders lack any real desire to mentor, coach and/or guide the career advancement of their employees – it becomes increasingly difficult for employees to trust them.   I’ve often said that leaders can’t go at it alone.   But when leaders are too disruptive, their employees sense that they are in it for themselves and/or don’t trust the talent around them.

Also, when leaders are self-centered their ego stands in the way of advancing others – further eroding trust.

4.  Reputation Issues 

When people begin to speak negatively about their leader, it makes it more difficult for others to trust their intentions and vision.  For example, look at what has happened to President Barrack Obama since December 2009 when his approval rating was 69%.
  
  According to the Rasmussen Reports, four years later (as of December 7th), Obama’s approval rating is now at 43%.  Nearly a 30% decline has created massive disruption to his reputation and many who have followed and supported him for years are now having troubling trusting him.

If you conducted a comparative approval rating survey in your workplace, how would your employees rate the performance of your leaders?

Every leader must be aware that they are constantly being evaluated and thus they can never grow complacent.   When they do, this begins to negatively impact their reputation and the trust employees have in their leadership.

5.  Inconsistent Behavior
People are more inclined to trust those who are consistent with their behavior.   Isn’t it easy to begin questioning one’s motives/judgment when they are inconsistent?  For example, I’ve worked with clients who appear to be on the same page – only to notice that they begin to disconnect when they believe that the direction of a project is not allowing them to mobilize their own agendas.   In order words, when everyone but the leader is on board with a strategy – you begin to wonder if their intentions are to support the organization’s advancement or their own.

Leaders who are consistent with their approach and intentions are those who can be trusted.   This is why so many leaders need to refresh their leadership style before they lose the trust of their employees.

6.  Don’t Get Their Hands Dirty
Leaders must touch the business, just as much as they lead it.    When leaders are over-delegating and not getting their hands dirty – employees begin to question whether or not their leader actually knows what is required to get the job done.    Distrust amongst employees begins to rise.

Though leaders cannot be expected to have all of the answers – they should not play at arms-length either. The 21st century leader must be more high-touch in order to effectively evaluate the business and coach-up their employees.    How else can a leader establish the standards to maintain and improve workplace performance?

Are your leaders getting their hands dirty or are they merely acting the part?

Leaders must earn the trust of their employees and stop believing that their titles, roles and responsibilities automatically warrant trust from others.

7.  Lack a Generous Purpose
When a leader doesn’t genuinely have your best interests at heart, it’s difficult to trust them.  When leaders are not grateful for your performance efforts – and are always attempting to squeeze every bit of effort they can out of you – it’s difficult to trust that they have intentions to be more efficient, resourceful and collaborative.

Employees don’t ever want to feel taken advantage of – especially during a time when everyone is being asked to do more with less.   Leaders must be more appreciative of their employees and more mindful of their endeavors.

Leaders who lack a generous purpose and are not compassionate towards their employees are difficult to trust. How can leaders expect their employees to give them everything they’ve got to increase their performance impact when they are not willing to do the same?

These seven behavioral traits are becoming much more prevalent in the workplace and if leaders fail to course-correct they will be putting their employees in positions of increased risk – disrupting their focus and the momentum of their careers.

This is what today leaders must consider: how to lead in new ways that focus less on oneself, but more on the betterment of a healthier whole. Leaders must enable positive social change through ethical innovation   – what I call “innovation humanity.”

Let’s honor Mandela’s courage and compassion by letting his leadership inspire us now as it did throughout the life he lived with such generous purpose.


  Glenn Llopis Contributor

Schmooze or Lose: How the Lost Art of Negotiation Led to a Shutdown

By Jack and Suzy Welch

With all the finger-pointing and name-calling going on in Washington these days, it’s hard to believe a delegation of kindergarten teachers from Dubuque hasn’t arrived to put an end to the nonsense. But no. The blame game goes on and on and the government stays shuttered.

And meanwhile, the people watching the story play out – and, we would say, especially leaders in business – might be missing the most important lesson of it all.

You have to schmooze.

Clarification: You have to schmooze early and often. You can’t suddenly burst out of your office to build relationships when you hear rumbles of trouble from down below, and it’s certainly too late by the time a crisis flares. No, schmoozing has to be what you do all the time as a leader; it has to be a massive part of your job. Walking around, having a coffee, sitting and listening, getting real, letting people get real with you. Showing who you are, what you care about, exposing your hopes and dreams and values. Asking people the same about themselves.

Building — in two big fat words — trust and transparency.

And look, we’re not talking about the standard, ho-ho-ho kind of social schmoozing you do with your customers and your team and your boss. That’s easy. That’s like President Obama schmoozing with Nancy Pelosi, or John Boehner schmoozing with Eric Cantor.

Leaders have to do something harder and more essential; something that can feel awkward at first. You have to schmooze with your known “adversaries” too, say, for instance, your union, or the group of employees who hate your new strategy and want the old one back. The resistors that exist in every organization. The perennial naysayers. Smart and annoying. Them.

Because if you don’t schmooze with friend and foe alike as a leader, unpleasant or wildly inefficient as it may seem, one day a crisis will come and, without thriving relationships and ongoing dialogue, it will shut you down, be it in the grand corridors of Capitol Hill or over in the three cramped rooms you call headquarters.

Here’s an example of what we mean. Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, GE was plagued by strikes. That changed in the ‘80s when the senior team made it a priority to meet with the unions at every possible opportunity. The idea was to create constant, candid dialogue about values and goals, treating union leaders with the dignity and respect they deserved, whether it was at the plant or national level.
 

There wasn’t a strike at GE for 21 years. Did that mean management and labor suddenly started to see eye-to-eye? Hardly. But where there had been suspicion and wariness, there now was transparency and trust. No more “first dates” every three years, sitting grimly across from each other at the bargaining table. Schmoozing had smoothed the way.

Now, we’re not Luddites. We love dashing off an email and texting can’t be beat for efficiency. Y call Sally abt her promotion when u can just send a :-) ?

But the day Sally has a bone to pick with you about a new initiative or a promotion she didn’t get – and she’s ready to start building a coalition around her position – a :-) isn’t going to cut it. She needs to have seen you smile in person, and heard your voice and mind – and you need to have seen and heard and known her too.

People will always have legitimate differences. What’s happening in Washington right now is, underneath it all, based on them. But for leaders, the building of transparency and trust is what makes those differences negotiable.

It turns foes into friends with different opinions.

Jack Welch is Founder and Distinguished Professor at the Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University. Through its executive education and Welch Way management training programs, the Jack Welch Management Institute provides students and organizations with the proven methodologies, immediately actionable practices, and respected credentials needed to win in the most demanding global business environments.

Suzy Welch is a best-selling author, popular television commentator, and noted business journalist. Her New York Times bestselling book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea, presents a powerful decision-making strategy for success at work and in parenting, love and friendship. Together with her husband Jack Welch, Suzy is also co-author of the #1 international bestseller Winning, and its companion volume, Winning: The Answers. Since 2005, they have written business columns for several publications, including Business Week magazine, Thomson Reuters digital platforms, Fortune magazine, and the New York Times syndicate.
 

Posted by:Jack Welch

8 Things You Should Not Do Every Day

It's for your own good. Cut these things out of your day and you'll see gains in productivity--not to mention happiness.

If you get decent value from making to-do lists, you'll get huge returns--in productivity, in improved relationships, and in your personal well-being--from adding these items to your not to-do list:

Every day, make the commitment not to:

1. Check my phone while I'm talking to someone.
You've done it. You've played the, "Is that your phone? Oh, it must be mine," game. You've tried the you-think-sly-but-actually-really-obvious downwards glance. You've done the, "Wait, let me answer this text..." thing.

Maybe you didn't even say, "Wait." You just stopped talking, stopped paying attention, and did it.
Want to stand out? Want to be that person everyone loves because they make you feel, when they're talking to you, like you're the most important person in the world?

Stop checking your phone. It doesn't notice when you aren't paying attention.

Other people? They notice.

And they care.

2. Multitask during a meeting.
The easiest way to be the smartest person in the room is to be the person who pays the most attention to the room.

You'll be amazed by what you can learn, both about the topic of the meeting and about the people in the meeting if you stop multitasking and start paying close attention. You'll flush out and understand hidden agendas, you'll spot opportunities to build bridges, and you'll find ways to make yourself indispensable to the people who matter.

It's easy, because you'll be the only one trying.

And you'll be the only one succeeding on multiple levels.

3. Think about people who don't make any difference in my life.
Trust me: The inhabitants of planet Kardashian are okay without you.

But your family, your friends, your employees--all the people that really matter to you--are not. Give them your time and attention.

They're the ones who deserve it.

4. Use multiple notifications.
You don't need to know the instant you get an email. Or a text. Or a tweet. Or anything else that pops up on your phone or computer.

If something is important enough for you to do, it's important enough for you to do without interruptions. Focus totally on what you're doing. Then, on a schedule you set--instead of a schedule you let everyone else set--play prairie dog and pop your head up to see what's happening.

And then get right back to work. Focusing on what you are doing is a lot more important than focusing on other people might be doing.

They can wait. You, and what is truly important to you, cannot.

5. Let the past dictate the future.
Mistakes are valuable. Learn from them.
Then let them go.

Easier said than done? It all depends on your perspective. When something goes wrong, turn it into an opportunity to learn something you didn't know--especially about yourself.

When something goes wrong for someone else, turn it into an opportunity to be gracious, forgiving, and understanding.

The past is just training. The past should definitely inform but in no way define you--unless you let it.

6. Wait until I'm sure I will succeed.
You can never feel sure you will succeed at something new, but you can always feel sure you are committed to giving something your best.

And you can always feel sure you will try again if you fail.

Stop waiting. You have a lot less to lose than you think, and everything to gain.

7. Talk behind someone's back.
If only because being the focus of gossip sucks. (And so do the people who gossip.)

If you've talked to more than one person about something Joe is doing, wouldn't everyone be better off if you stepped up and actually talked to Joe about it? And if it's "not your place" to talk to Joe, it's probably not your place to talk about Joe.

Spend your time on productive conversations. You'll get a lot more done--and you'll gain a lot more respect.

8. Say "yes" when I really mean "no."
Refusing a request from colleagues, customers, or even friends is really hard. But rarely does saying no go as badly as you expect. Most people will understand, and if they don't, should you care too much about what they think?

When you say no, at least you'll only feel bad for a few moments. When you say yes to something you really don't want to do you might feel bad for a long time--or at least as long as it takes you to do what you didn't want to do in the first place.

 

JEFF HADEN learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up from ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business.

One Tough Thing All Great Leaders Do

It's not a very easy thing to do--but it's the most powerful leadership tool at your disposal. 

Some years ago, a friend and I were waiting at a bus stop. The bus driver pulled up and stepped out of the bus to take a break. It was winter, so he left the door open so that people could get on--trusting that we would all pay our fares, which we all did.

After a few moments, he got back on and pulled away. "Excuse me," said one of the passengers, "Is this the day the fare goes up by ten cents?"

"Yes it is," he said. And so every passenger on that bus, including my boyfriend and me, got up to put an extra dime into the box.

The Power of Trust
I've seen the same sort of thing again and again. Few things are as powerful as giving people your trust. It's a vitally important lesson for anyone running a business because it's so easy to get this wrong. If you trust people who work for you and they rip you off, or share inside information, or otherwise deceive you, you'll feel like a fool. People will call you naive. Most of us desperately want to avoid having that happen, so we try to outsmart anyone who might try to "get over" on us.

That may seem wise, but it doesn't lead anywhere good. Another friend of mine had a business selling computer parts and shipping them all over the country. He employed a small team of customer service people who answered phones, kept track of orders, and handled returns as necessary. Although there were only five employees, he instituted a sign-in, sign-out policy to keep track of them. When he learned that some were spending some signed-in time making personal calls or eating meals in the break room, he was furious, and began watching them closely. Every time I saw my friend for dinner, the conversation would revolve around how lazy his employees were.

Though the company's revenues were impressive, my friend eventually had enough. He fired everyone, sold the business, and went to work for a large corporation instead. Trusting people can cost you, but not trusting them can cost you even more.

Why It Could Be Your Secret Sauce
My new hero when it comes to trust is Bobby Harris, CEO of BlueGrace Logistics. Harris and the rest of his executive team temporarily switched seats with the company's cubicle dwellers, and when Harris gave his IT maintenance guy his own office, he resisted all temptation to lock up or hide important files. It sent a powerful message, he says. "You're treating a professional like a professional. If you give someone an office with a door, you trust him. And if you don't trust someone to be alone in your office, you shouldn't employ that person."

BlueGrace has a tradition of providing beer for employees on Friday evenings. "People ask if I'm concerned about liability," Harris says. "But these are adults and I trust them to be responsible." I can't attest to whether all BlueGrace employees are trustworthy, but the company's success is hard to argue with. Begun in 2009--hardly an auspicious moment to launch a new venture--BlueGrace achieved $80 million in annual sales within four years. It started offering franchises about two years ago, and has 26 franchises so far, with more coming on all the time.

"People ask me what the secret sauce is that makes the company so successful," Harris says. "Trust is the secret sauce. The biggest thing you can do is trust people."

MINDA ZETLIN is a business technology writer and speaker, co-author of "The Geek Gap," and president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.