Effective Leaders

     Leaders can come in all forms. Some leaders are very remote, others are hands-on and others  serve as a guiding force because they balance their staff's need for autonomy and creativity in pursuit of organizational goals. The most effective leaders use a three-pronged approach including practical experience, training as well a reading industry-leading books on leadership.

Moreover, the Leadership Trait is a topic that is often researched and debated by scholars and businesses throughout the years. Each industry views leaders differently with some overlap. One area of consideration is the concept of how leaders are created. Some question if leaders are born or made with the skills that encourage others to follow them.

I believe that striking a balance between the two is key for a leader to excel. There are some leadership skills that are innate such as a people-centric mind set or a focus on the pursuit of tangible goals in an ethical manner. One example is ensuring the team is encouraged to be autonomous, passionate and creative in their work efforts so the group can excel together.

In addition, the ability to manage people and tasks effectively are talents that can be developed over time through training, education and practical application. For example, project management courses are everywhere and help people learn how to manage project time lines so they can deliver goods or services under pressure of  deadlines.

Over the years, I've experienced a variety of leaders who leveraged very diverse approaches to business. Some of my best teachers work in academia, corporations as well as government. They embody the characteristics of effective leaders including:

• Identify organizational goals
• Share her or his vision
• Listen effectively
• Offer feedback 
• Encourage autonomy
• Seek input from the team
• Avoid the need to micromanage
• Provide tools and resources needed for staff to succeed
• Recognize extraordinary efforts

Reading List:
Leading so People will Follow by M. Buckingham and C. Coffman
First, Break All the Rules by  E. Andersen

A Mentor for all Seasons, Blog #20

Mentoring.  According to Merriam-Webster, a mentor teaches others life lessons as well as offer  advice on a variety of business issues. Mentors help people develop professionally through informal discussions, career development sessions as well as explore problem-solving skills. Moreover, when business professionals participate in a mentoring program, they obtain the necessary tools required to navigate their career path.

Benefits of Mentoring Programs (for mentors and mentees):

• Learn something about yourself that you did not know before 
• Share and provide insights with others on everything from time management, tips on promotions and resume writing
• Professional development with a leader in your organization
• Obtain input about professional challenges that will help you grow and explore new career options
• Network with people inside your organization that you do not work with on a regular basis
• Enhance your verbal and communication skills

Mentoring Reading List:

• Mentoring - The TAO of Giving and Receiving Wisdom
• Sun Tzu for Women: The Art of Winning in Business 
• First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

Check out the online resources available for mentoring programs during the National Mentoring Month.

Earning a Seat at the Table, Blog #19

When you enter a meeting room, where do you sit? Do you choose the chair in the corner, in the middle of the crowd, among friends, back of the room or do you head directly for a seat at the table? Your seat selection is an important indicator of where you see yourself in the organization. It also denotes your level of interest and focus on the discussion.

Cozy Corner. The corner seat keeps you out of the spotlight. It is safe, warm and makes it hard to be vocal when called upon to provide information as a subject matter expert. 

Middle of the Room (Middle of the Road). Choosing a seat in the middle of the meeting room may become a challenge for several reasons. It may cause you to disappear into the ether and meld into the crowd which may hinder you being viewed as a thought leader. In addition, you may be perceived as someone who chooses a middle of the road approach to supporting topics and projects. 

Sitting with the “Gang”: Sitting with your friends is a comfort element many of us learned in school and continue to follow as adults. Sometimes, you may attend conferences or other professional events and feel the need to sit with the “professional team”, “the gang”, or your pals who are like-minded thinkers as a way to ease crowds. The group may also help you to ease into the moment so you may feel like you have backups to help you manage the myriad of professional communications that may occur. The more positive peers around you, then you are more likely to go into the crowd as a group and rarely venture out to meet others with diverse views. 

Back of the Room: Some people may choose the seats in the back of the room for two reasons: they may have arrived late to the meeting or a lack of interest in the topic offers the opportunity to be disengaged enough during the session to check your emails and texts without being obvious. Neither one sends a positive signal to leadership that you are focused, engaged and interested in the meeting at hand. 

Taking a Seat at the Table: Some of us instinctively know where we will sit during a meeting…that is  

at the table. 

Those who choose to sit at the table and engage with leaders, managers and peers reflect a quality of leadership that is often forgotten as a tangible skill set. For example, those who sit at the table are viewed as confident, engaged in the communication process, willing to share and receive information as well as provide input for serious consideration. This is done without the distraction of friends sitting next to you or people trying to hear or see you from the corner or back of the room.

Next time you are invited to participate in a meeting and no other protocols are used to identify assigned seating, take the place you earned in the room. A seat at the table.

Volunteering

Happy Holidays may include time focused on things other than business operations, budgets or networking at the office. After spending the entire year focused on work, it is now time to focus on family, have some fun and recharge your positive energy.

In addition, the Organizational Freelancer identifies well spent on giving back to the community through volunteer efforts. Check out and support local volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood at www.serve.gov.

Have a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year.

Autonomy versus Collaboration

Autonomy versus Collaboration

Work projects will come and go and it requires a great amount of business savvy, expert skills, passion and initiative to move work plans forward to reach tangible goals. Some organizational freelancers are very vocal and passionate about the direction of their work. Others may collaborate and basically meld into group structure without leveraging their voice in the process.

When you interested in contributing to the overall organization's goals, it is important to make sure that your voice is being heard during the decision-making process while understanding the significance of teamwork. This process is called autonomy.

On the other hand, some people  decide to support the team, even if their direction is wrong. They may side with others and not speak up or challenge ideas as a show of team support. Remember, silence is not always golden.  It may also be detrimental to your tasks. For example, what if you have a cost-saving measure that will create an effective product, reduce production time but you are too worried about the "nay-sayers" to speak up and voice your ideas?

You can still work well with others, meet or exceed the business goals and still remain autonomous. Leverage your voice in a way that your peers feel that you are working with them and not for self-recognition. In addition, when you leverage all of your talents along with your peers' collaborative efforts, you can achieve great things. It does not mean quiet yourself so others may be heard instead of you. If you have an idea, have the courage to share it with the team and be receptive to both positive and negative feedback.

The ability to be autonomous requires the skill to balance collaboration with others. 

How to Wade through the Myriad of Office Politics

Office Politics are those unspoken guidelines and business environment cues used by those in power to maneuver and focus all efforts on their individual goals in the work place. The ability to understand, wade through and survive the politics is a subtle skill that requires understanding of the office covert and overt power structure. It is also includes a delicate dance around certain areas or people who can create trigger mechanisms if it is perceived that the wrong thing is being done.

Moreover, office politics can create a chasm between employees and management if not handled properly. The Organizational Freelancer understands that these subtle cues and guidelines may occur and encroach on their efforts when stepping into someone else's "territory" in the office. Therefore, it may help to leverage the tips below to manage the myriad of office politics before they take control of your project timeline. 

Quick Tips for Wading through Office Politics:

• Get to know the people who run the covert and overt power dynamics
• Identify sensitive areas that may be perceived as a  "territorial" risk
• Do not gossip (don't share it and listen to it)
• Keep above the fray 
• Don't get sucked into power plays
• Avoid prejudging people
• Omit your bias
• Be ready to adapt to rapid change
• Identify the problems and create solutions
• Avoid talking about problems without identifying a problem-solving path that is both tangible and ready to implement

Resilience Effect

         I recently learned about the "Resilience Effect" from Dean Brooks at my university. She said it is the "ability for someone to rise above their challenges to keep moving forward in a positive and grace filled manner. This includes avoiding the temptation of getting stuck in a negative mode when things do not work out as expected. Instead, a resilient person learns to refocus their energy on all good things, even in the face of disappointment."