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21 Compelling Reasons To Get To Know Yourself And Your Team

  By Christina Lattimer • September 27, 2012 - 5:46 pm

As a leader, manager or HR Professional, one of your foundational strengths is the depth of your own self-awareness and awareness of how other’s tick.   You know the key to motivating people is being completely open and transparent and being able to be yourself, which in turn allows your team to follow suit.

One of the easiest and globally credible tools to develop self-awareness and understanding is Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI).   Carl Jung, the great psychologist developed a model of personality type which was later refined by the mother and daughter team, Isobel Myers and Katherine Briggs.

One of the principles of Jung’s model, “Psychological Types” developed in 1921, was each person has an innate urge to grow.  Part of our growing process is to learn how we individually operate, develop the parts of us that we need to learn more about, and learn about the people around us.

Understanding difference is a real people skill.  Differences occur through cultural, physical and psychological factors.  Mix this up with differing beliefs and temperaments, and no wonder managing and understanding people can be challenging.

In the UK, we have travelled some distance in identifying equality and cultural issues; the Equality Act 2010 takes that thinking even further.  Some organisations are still learning how to get to grips with difference, and some excel.  But I’m sure you will agree it is fair to say we always have room to improve.

When it comes to understanding psychological differences, we still have some way to go, but understanding such difference is important from a leadership or management perspective. Not only is it important;  it is relatively simple to grasp.

If you’ve experienced MBTI, you may have found learning about your own psychological type a key starting point for self-development.  Once you have an understanding of what makes you really tick, then your whole world will look different.  Not only will it lead to greater self-acceptance, but it will also help you accept and value the differences of others.

Many leaders,managers and HR professionals are familiar with and use Myers Briggs extensively so I will skip going into more detail.  If you haven’t come across the tool before, you can find out more about Myers Briggs on the link.

If you haven’t used Myers Briggs or you don’t feel you’ve fully realised the benefits from using the tool, here are 21 compelling reasons why you might want to look again.

Learning and understanding how each other tick can help to:

  1.  Avoid and resolve conflicts
  2.  Play to an individual’s strengths
  3.  Identify gaps in the team
  4.  Discover how your team style works best with customers
  5. Enable self-understanding and so reduce stress
  6. Help you learn to relax
  7. Aid career development
  8. Assist communication strategies
  9. Provide managers with the understanding to give effective feedback
  10. Inform personal development plan
  11. Work together more effectively
  12. Relate to each other with greater understanding
  13. Encourage true psychological diversity
  14. Support people through life transitions
  15. Inform your  own and others decision making
  16. Develop thinking skills
  17. Develop emotional intelligence
  18. Identify and develop strengths and weaknesses
  19. Develop leaders,  managers, teams and HR expertise
  20. Encourage team members to understand and appreciate different strengths
  21. Improve and change culture.

There are some circumstances where it can be dangerous to use Myers Briggs such as recruitment selection, judging performance or by making assumptions because of type indicators. The 8 elements of Myers Briggs can be used interchangeably, and people can be just as accomplished using their non-preferred type

If you have used personality type as part of your leadership, management, team development, or HR strategy;  I’d love to know how you got on and what you got out of your experience……or not!

 

 

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This great article is from the our 6 months themed series based on the Centre for Creative Leaderships Report of 2013, in which they identified the 6 top challenges for leaders across the globe:   Don't Miss Out! Sign up here to be notified of subsequent issues and posts

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Managing Performance Is An Emotional Business – Isn’t It? – Emotional Intelligence

  By Christina Lattimer • September 4, 2012 - 2:37 pm

emotional intelligenceGreat Leaders Have Emotional Intelligence:

One of the most important but underrated skills leaders and managers need to be able to manage performance well is emotional intelligence.  If you are predominately a thinking leader then you may well be sceptical about emotional intelligence, but please bear with me.

Three categories of performance management

If you are like most organisations the hierarchy of performance management falls into three broad categories:

People who:

a)      Underperform

b)      Perform averagely/competently

c)      Perform over and above requirements

A number of organisations give more focus to under-performance and over-performance.  Why?  Because unchecked under-performance permeates the rest of the organisation and multiplies as it impacts on every member of the team.  Over-performance cries out to be recognised.  Quite often organisations depend on and excel because of star performers, and with a mixture of gratitude and desire to keep performance at that level, reward systems are introduced.

The Employment Practices report by Xperthr which can be found shows for nearly 70% of people surveyed, action for poor performance was taken for less than 5% of employees.   Although I don’t particularly subscribe to bell curve comparisons, some latest models advocate average rates of over-performance equate to some 16% of total workforce.  If you add both together then you are talking about 21% of your employees.   If you do the maths, there is a possibility that up to 79% of your employees are average or competent performers.

So yes, the figures are fairly subjective, but my guess is unless you are a top performer in your industry it’s likely that the majority of your people fall under the “average or competent performance” criteria.

As a performance manager you have distinct functions for each category of performer.  And you need to performance manage all of your people, not just extreme performers.   You will be more effective in achieving results if you use emotional intelligence techniques to enhance your management of each category.

Under-performance and emotional intelligence

Your aim is to either get your employee to perform to standard or to leave the organisation.  Whilst being very clear about your expectations in performing to standard; in order to avoid conflict and be effective, you need to be able to display at least two emotional skills:

a)      Detachment from the outcome.  In order to give your employee the best chance, you need to distance yourself from pre-empting the result.  If you do this, your employee will be able to self-select whether they are able to raise their game, or they will voluntarily leave as they know themselves they are in the wrong job.

b)      Put aside your feelings.  Quite often, poor performers cause you headaches and it’s common to assume an attitude about them.  Or conversely you worry about the consequences for them and this inhibits being assertive.  It is understandable, because under-performers increase stress levels, and utilise effort which could be directed elsewhere.  The majority of people who under-perform are just as horrified about the situation as you.  By putting aside your feelings and being impersonal and practical, you are in a position to listen and make sound win/win decisions.

Average performance and emotional intelligence

Managing is a stressful business and you have a multitude of tasks and issues to deal with; many decisions to make, planning to be done, well you don’t need me to tell you how busy it is.  The problem is, the majority of your people who don’t cause you problems, and get the work done are working in their comfort zone and it’s hard to find the time to raise the bar for them.  Your main task for this category is to use their talent, time and goodwill to drive up performance.   You can do this in a number of ways, but setting stretching objectives designed to drive up pockets of performance across the board is the key.  The EI skills needed to do this are:

a)      Put aside your limiting beliefs about your employees.  The biggest mistake is holding the belief that people have reached a limit of capability and capacity.  Often leaders make assumptions that people can’t or won’t do better.   But more often than not, if you genuinely believe in someone, and give them the right encouragement and support, they will rise to the challenge.

b)      Be patient about results.  We are creatures of habits.  When you raise expectations of your people, then it will take them a little while to change the way they have always done things.  If you are patient and encouraging and restate your belief in their ability to do better they will eventually get there and your business will benefit from all of that renewed effort.

Over-performance and emotional intelligence

I don’t know about you, but I have often nearly been on my knees with gratitude when self-starters have driven through tricky situations, or taken initiative and made my life easier, gotten great results and done a great job.  Given the choice wouldn’t we all like to have these people in our midst?  But while you need to hold the vibe of gratitude you need to remember your function for these people, and in this situation it is two-fold.  You need to reward great performance and you need to help these great performers get where they need to be. Hopefully that will be in a career in your company, but if it isn’t you still need to help them.  In order to achieve this effectively there are two attitudes you must hold and it takes some emotional maturity to achieve:

a)     Letting go.  Your star performers will more than likely move on.  One of the most emotionally intelligent stances you can achieve is recognising when someone you manage will likely progress their career further than yours.  Even trickier is realising that your star performer will move onto another business.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of limiting the help you give, or the development you make available to star performers, because they may leave taking all your investment with them.  But investment is never lost.  They will appreciate and give you accolades for the helping hand they received and your reputation as an employer of choice will grow.

b)     Understand each has their own path and guidance to follow.  I remember losing a star performer and thinking they were making a big mistake.  I also thought they were leaving for the wrong reasons.  I would like to say I used my emotional intelligence and gave them my blessing to leave, but I didn’t. I told them I thought they were making a mistake.  No much emotional intelligence there!  Did they change their mind? No.  They left and although a rocky road; they went on to even bigger and better things and leveraged change they might not have been able to had they stayed working for my company.  Respecting others’ own choices is key to great performance management, and in the long run your company will benefit, because your employees will know you have their best interests at heart.

 

 

 

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Lead Yourself First: The Empowering Magic of Detachment

  By Christina Lattimer • August 24, 2012 - 9:33 am
Attachment can become unhealthy

We all can become attached at some stage in our lives.  As children we are attached to our parents or other caregivers.  In this scenario attachment is seen as healthy and affirming.

When an attachment prevents us from seeing or acting clearly it has become unhealthy.   Sometimes we are attached to other people, to particular kinds of situations, or substances for example.  Obsessive attachments as we know become addictions.  When these kinds of attachments become obvious we will often seek help.

In the workplace, we can become attached to a particular culture, belief or perception about the way things are, or should be. We can become attached to our views of others and also about how relationships should be at work.   People who resist change are usually people who are attached to maintaining the status quo.

A number of years ago I worked with a manager, who believed employee surveys weren’t helpful because in his view the survey gave people the opportunity to complain and only employees who had a grudge filled in the survey. Hard-working employees did not have time to fill in the survey; they were too busy doing “real” work.   Despite attempts to help him see the employee survey as an opportunity, he preferred to be right and his view prevailed.   His survey results never did improve.

Often we don’t even realise we are unhealthily attached to our views, something or someone, until we have to face physical, emotional, or intellectual change.   An unhealthy attachment is actually a reaction to fear of change, or when letting go feels like we have to give up or sacrifice something we believe we need.    It’s also human nature, and very few of us have the emotional intelligence and insight to completely avoid the pain unhealthy attachment brings.

The problem with letting go of attachments is it feels scary. There is however a magical empowering alternative to attachment.  We all need to form relationships with people and situations.  We need to build a framework of beliefs and ideas so we can function.  Instead of attachment, we need to connect. Connecting is involving oneself emotionally, physically or intellectually without the fear of “giving up” or “sacrifice” unhealthy attachment is borne of.  We know we can connect, enjoy and when the time is right, with love; let go.

Below are some of the ways we can better navigate our lives by replacing unhealthy attachment with healthy connection.

  • Recognise when we are attached to people and instead re-frame into healthy connection. We can intimately connect with our very close relationships.  As you connect with others, rather than become attached, you are freer and can enjoy each other without the fear of loss. You realise people come into your life sometimes for a lifetime, and sometimes for a season.
  • We might not realise we are attached to objects or situations until we have to face the pain of giving them up.   How often do you hear sad stories of people who ruin or take their lives because of losses on the stock exchange for instance?  “Giving up” can create depression and despair.  “Letting go” is a healthy alternative. If we know we can enjoy our lifestyle, or our situation and be able to “let go” when the time is right, this attitude empowers us to live and enjoy the present.
  • Let go of our need to be right.   Attachment to beliefs, attitudes and ideas can limit our life tremendously.   Reality is shaped by our beliefs. What we focus on becomes our world. By keeping an open mind and being prepared to examine and change limiting or unhelpful beliefs and thinking; we stay fresh and open to what life brings.
  • Be purposefully positive.  Recognise when we are unhealthily attached to being negative and how negativity is limiting ourselves and others, in our lives and our workplaces.  Holding onto negative views and conclusions will ultimately prove us right in the end

If the manager who dismissed his employee survey results by his fixed views about the respondents had been more open minded; he might have been open to the possibility that even negative feedback was “valuable”.  He could have taken the opportunity to engage with his people, acknowledge their perceptions and take action to positively impact them, and his results.

We all become attached and sometimes unhealthily, it is an ego trait which can cause unnecessary pain, suffering and resistance.  If you find yourself attached, then with kindness and understanding, gently detach and reconnect.    You will become magically empowered to live life more openly and freely, and after all isn’t such freedom what we all want?

 

 

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.

   
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Do You Show Commitment? – Six Principles to Gain Trust

  By Christina Lattimer • August 10, 2012 - 11:39 am

commitmentCommitment engenders trust

If you are a leader, you must gain the trust of your team if you are going to excel at getting results.  For some people, trust is gained over a period of time, and sometimes, time is not a commodity you have at your disposal, especially if you have been seconded into a role or brought in to spearhead a project for example which has limited time-span.  Commitment and the length of time you spend in your role can be a big deal for your followers as shown in the following example…..

After the retirement of a respected and long serving senior leader, his new bright-eyed replacement newly selected for the position visited the team.  The arrival of the thirty-something female whose career had been fast paced and widely reported was met with eager anticipation.  Not only was she completely different from the outgoing leader; she had a liveliness about her, which together with her highly acclaimed reputation, gave off an air of professional brilliance.

Upon her arrival, her new team were excited, hopeful and welcoming.   But the buoyant mood didn’t last. Within an hour the atmosphere had changed considerably.  In her opening speech, the new leader announced what she hoped to achieve in her time with the team, and in the same breath told them her intention was to stay for two years, by which time she would be moving on.

The team’s optimism was crushed.  In the new leader’s mind, she was being upfront and honest with them.  In their eyes she was planning her exit even before she had opened the entrance door, and she lacked commitment. The deciding factor for her followers was that the two years term suited the requirements of the wider organisation and had nothing to do with the leadership task at hand.

Whether you are committed or not may not be in question at all for you as a leader.  The question and the doubt raised by longevity in terms of your leadership might be more of an issue for your followers.

In this fast paced world, corporate and team leaders come and go.    Founder leaders of established companies are more likely to stay and give their followers welcome consistency.  There are many stories where founders have exited their leadership roles and their “dream” by selling out and moving on, only to find the business fails or falters within years, if not months, of their leaving.  Given the rate of change both in the business world and as our own goals and dreams change, what role does commitment play in our credibility as a leader?

I believe that whether you are trusted as a committed leader depends on many factors. As a leader you must fully understand the depth, length and purpose of the commitment required of you.  Additionally you need to be clear about the possibilities of your leadership term being terminated early for you, and the circumstances in which you might choose to leave before time.  Crucially, in the beginning, middle and end of your term of leadership you plan, communicate and position your intentions.

As a leader several principles are relevant in communicating and positioning your commitment in different circumstances.   Commitment is a crucial aspect of your leadership role which gives your followers the certainty they need to be able to develop a relationship with you and grow in trust.  You must position your particular leadership commitment so that you can manage expectations.

The principles are:

  • When appointed for a specific , be clear about your outcomes and be prepared to see it through to the end
  • When appointed for a specific task, determine the part or phase of the task you will lead on, how long that will take and exactly which outcomes you will be responsible for delivering.
  • If you aren’t sure you will be reappointed, commit to a dedication to the vision, values and mission of the company while you are there. Be clear about your leadership outcomes during your first term
  • Where you are founder, a dedication to your own values and vision and a promise to do all within your power to put in place a sustainable plan after you leave.
  • A commitment to your followers that you will do the best you can for them while you are there
  • A commitment to doing your absolute best no matter how long your term as a leader lasts

I had no doubt that the new leader described above was committed, albeit for a predetermined period.  In retrospect she could have positioned her commitment to two years with a clear vision about her legacy, and what she could do for her followers in that time.

If you lead your team it’s vital you position your commitment.  If you doubt your commitment to any role, no matter how long it is then your followers will pick this up.  What is true for everyone, whether in a leadership role or not, if you doubt your propensity to stay the course, then simply commit yourself for a day at a time.  In that way you will retain your focus as will those around you.

 

 

 

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This great article is from the our 6 months themed series based on the Centre for Creative Leaderships Report of 2013, in which they identified the 6 top challenges for leaders across the globe:   Don't Miss Out! Sign up here to be notified of subsequent issues and posts

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If you are a leader, you are continually developing and "Sharpening the Saw".  If you lead and manage teams, then you must read about our Inspirational New Leadership Programme.  Sign up now to find out more details when we launch in July 2014.  There is no obligation to undertake the programme, if you sign up today, you will simply be sent more information about the programme.  You can unsubscribe at any time!  Click below to register for further information.