The Leadership Skill of DEVELOPMENT

Let’s continue this week with our examination of leadership skills. The last 2 weeks, I’ve shared articles to reinforce the three concepts that we discussed during our “Introduction to Leadership” on the December 8^th airing of The Leader’s Edge.

We’ve covered the topics of Listening and Action. So, that leaves us with Development. The development of your employees and leaders is paramount to the success of your organization! Not only to make them as effective in their roles as possible (whether it’s technical or “people skills” training), but also to show them that you care about them and their contributions to your organization. The more opportunities you offer your employees to develop themselves and to then utilize those skills, the more likely they are to trust you and be loyal to you, in good times and bad.

Indeed, that reflects the title of a blog post which Dave published a couple of years ago, “Great Leaders Develop Good People - Even in Bad Times”. The topic of that article is certainly relevant to our current discussion:

Whenever the economy turns bad, and that seems to happen on a regular basis, many companies start looking for ways to cut their costs. One of the very first things that some companies cut are any costs associated with human development. Coaching, training classes, and even brown-bag lunches are viewed as a “soft cost” that have no direct impact on the bottom line.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

On the surface, wringing out any excess costs seems to make a lot of sense. But great leaders know that wringing out all the costs might also mean wringing out all of the energy, excitement and creativity from a company as well. And, when things are tough, you need your team to crank up the energy and creativity, not bury it under a blanket.

Imagine a scenario where one of your top customers places a big order that is going to require the very best from your team to complete the delivery. Your team, suffering the blahs after having their overtime cut, all of the plants removed from the office, the coffee service removed from the office, and all personal development eliminated, can’t figure out how to deliver this order on time with the correct content.

Of course, Jack could have led his team to get this done, but Jack left 6 weeks ago to join a competitor. Sally was another manager who could probably have pulled it off as well, but she left about 3 months ago and changed careers entirely. Their replacements came from in house and, while they are excellent technically, they lack the skills to lead the team on a project of this size.

You meant to develop more managers with the appropriate team leadership skills, but with times being tight, you cut back on hiring, stopped training both your technicians and your managers and hunkered down to wait out the downturn.

Now that downturn may last much longer than expected. And you may lose your best client for screwing up this order. But that’s ok because you were able to wring out all of those excess costs that don’t really add to the bottom line.

Great leaders understand the difference between unnecessary costs and the costs of keeping your managers and staff excited, motivated, and most importantly, on your team. Great leaders understand that developing people is not an unnecessary cost, but an investment in the business itself. Staff development can have the very same payoff and ROI that an investment in new equipment can have. And an investment in your staff has the added incentive of making your team more valuable over time.

And that can get you through a lot of tough times.

I hope this article has inspired you to think about additional ways that you can offer development opportunities to your team. We’d love to hear some of your thoughts on development and any unique development opportunities that you may have tried or are considering.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.


Until next time….

Laurie Valaer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ECILearning.com

The Leadership Skill of ACTION

Last week, I shared a blog that we had previously posted on the art of “Listening”. Listening is one of the key leadership skills that Dave and I discussed recently on The Leader’s Edge, where we introduced Leadership as one aspect of our Fusion Model of organizational and employee engagement.

It seemed fitting to repost the Listening blog to help reinforce the 4 secrets that will make you a good listener. This week, let’s continue the theme of leadership skills and take a closer look at the second concept we discussed during our Leadership introduction: Action.

A team is always a direct reflection of their leader. The energy of the leader turns into the energy of the team. The priorities and values of the leader should be shared by the team. In those cases where the leader and the team members don't share the same values and priorities, something must change. Either the leader will replace the team members, or the members will replace the team leader.

Show me the leader and I will know his men. Show me the men and I will know their leader. – Arthur Newcomb

Knowing how teams reflect their leader, we are always surprised to encounter a leader who states that his team does not share his values. Frankly, it’s not possible for a high functioning team to NOT share the values of the leader. When we encounter these situations, we often find that the team is, indeed, following the leader. But they are following his actions, not his words.

So many leaders have learned the right words or catch-phrases to parrot to their team. The message that “the customer is number 1” is trumpeted loudly, although slightly out of tune. Or they espouse “Our people are our top priority,” while cutting training dollars and hours, forcing unpaid overtime, and raising production quotas, giving no thought to the impact on the employees or the customers.

Actions speak louder than words and team members look past the words of the leader and take their queues from his actions. While the leader espouses the platitudes learned from the latest management conference they attended, the team members see the actions of their leader and KNOW the actions reflect where the leader’s heart really lies.

We have always found that team members are much more observant than they are given credit for. They can readily detect the incongruence between the words and the actions of the boss and they follow the lead set by those actions. It doesn’t matter if the issue is customer service, how you treat your employees, or how punctual you are for work and meetings. Where you lead, they will follow.

If your goal is for your team to treat your customers like gold, then you need to demonstrate, in both word and actions, that the customers ARE gold. If you believe your employees are the key to your success (and we certainly hope you do), then you need to treat them with the respect they deserve.

When you really begin to care about your customers, your employees, and your results, as shown by your actions as well as your words, you will see that all of your team members care about those things as well.

The above article excerpt (the original of which is published on our website) reiterates the point that, as a leader, your actions will speak louder than your words. Your employees will be watching you closely to determine whether or not you “walk your talk”….both so that they know now to act themselves AND to determine if/how much they can trust you and the organization. Therefore, as you can imagine, ensuring that your actions match your words can have great implications for the future success of your organization.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.


Until next time….

Laurie Valaer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ECILearning.com

The Leadership Skill of LISTENING

On last week’s radio show (The Leader’s Edge), we discussed the concept of Leadership and how important Leadership Styles are to creating engagement and energy in your organization. We reviewed 10 Key Leadership Skills (discussed in last week’s blog) and then focused our discussion on 3 skills that are not always covered in the latest leadership blogs, books, and classes: listening, action, and development.

Over the next three weeks, I’d like to repost / share some blogs and articles that we have written over the last couple of years to reiterate and reinforce the concepts that we discussed on last week’s “The Leader’s Edge”. So, let’s start with Listening….

I’m sure that many of you are aware of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habit’s of Highly Effective People.” If you are not, it’s a book you should read. Habit number 5 is “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” It’s a valuable habit that we should all study and practice.

But how exactly do we do this?

What is the secret of understanding?

Well, it’s not exactly a secret that two monologues do not make a dialogue, yet too often that is exactly the way our discussions are treated.

Listening is something that most of us say that we do well, but few actually do. I’m sure there was a time in the history of man when people really listened to each other, but I’d be hard pressed to tell you when the time was, or why people stopped listening to each other. However, I can tell you some secrets to good listening that the best listeners employ and that make them “great conversationalists.”

The secrets themselves are not complex and do not involve a lot of deep psychological understanding to employ. But, while they are simple to discuss, they are much more difficult to implement because they are “uncomfortable” and require a lot of thought. If you practice the techniques below, I promise you that you will be a better listener and that people will interact with you differently on a day to day basis.

Secret Number 1: Clear your mind

Just like Stephen Covey wrote in his groundbreaking book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” you must first seek to understand, and then to be understood.

When listening to another person, clear your mind of all thoughts and focus your attention 100% on the other person. Put aside your own perspective on the issue, or your feelings about the other person and make your mind a blank slate to be filled by the other person’s words.

Secret Number 2: Don’t anticipate the conversation

As the conversation starts, resist the temptation to leap ahead in the discussion to its “obvious conclusion.” Don’t try and guess what they will say next. Instead, let their words come to you in the way that they had intended. When we anticipate where the discussion is going, we often miss key points the other person is trying to make.

Secret Number 3: Don’t multi-task

Study after study has proven that multi-tasking doesn’t work. Although many of us feel that we can do two things at one time, the truth is that when we try and do two things at once, neither task gets the attention it deserves. This is especially true when we are trying to listen to someone else. When you are engaged in a conversation, give the other person your undivided attention. Not only will you hear more, but the other person will appreciate your efforts as well.

Secret Number 4: Pause before responding

Normally, when we are engaged in a conversation we develop our response while the other person is still speaking. Sometimes we key in on a word or phrase that they used, and sometimes we anticipate what they are going to say (see number 2 above). In either event, we begin crafting our response while they are speaking, and in doing so we tune them out, carefully picking the words in our response for maximum impact.

Instead, try letting the other person finish their statements and then pause before you respond. In reality it will only take you about 2 seconds to determine the perfect response, because of the quality of your listening. At first, this might seem like the longest 2 seconds of your life, as pauses in conversations tend to be rare these days. But after a little practice, this will become natural for you and for your listeners as well.

At first glance, it might appear that following these guidelines for listening could lengthen your conversations, taking up more of your valuable time. In reality, you will find that you will save time overall because the conversations will be more meaningful, you will reach resolution quicker, and you won’t have repeat conversations because of items left unresolved.

What are some of the rules that you engage in listening? Do you have secrets to share that make you an effective listener? If so, we’d love to hear them.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.


Until next time….

Laurie Valaer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ECILearning.com

10 Things Every Leader Should Know – Revisited

If you’ve visited the ECI website or if you’ve been following the discussions on our radio show (The Leader’s Edge), you’ll have seen (or heard) about a model that we call Fusion™. This model is based on the idea that your organization will be the most engaged and your employees will have the most creative energy when three important aspects of your organization are in alignment. Those aspects are your Corporate Culture, the Expectations of your Employees, and the Leadership Styles of your executive team.

Over the last few months, we’ve blogged a lot about Corporate Culture and we’ve talked about it with several of our radio show guests. While Corporate Culture is very important to the success of your organization, the other aspects play a key role as well. So, this week on “The Leader’s Edge”, we’ll introduce the topic of Leadership Styles. And, we’ll follow that in the weeks to come with several guests discussing their own personal Leadership Styles; how they developed them, how/if they must adapt them over time, and what those styles mean to their organizations.

Since we’ll be sharing various aspects of Leadership and Leadership styles this week, I thought it was appropriate to reprint a blog that Dave wrote some time ago called “The 10 Things Every Leader Should Know”:

Whether you are a new or an experienced leader, there are some key things that every leader should know and understand to ensure their success. While some people are natural born leaders, others learn through trial and error. But whether you are a natural leader or someone who has learned leadership the hard way, there are a few things every leader should know. Below are 10 items that you should apply every day to ensure your success as a leader.

1. Vision - Your team is looking to you for hope. As a leader it is your responsibility to tell the truth, but to also provide a clear vision and hope for the future.

2. Communication - It’s not enough to have a clear vision for the future if no one knows what that vision is. Communicate that vision continually to all levels of your organization.

3. Action - People will follow what they see more quickly than what they hear. Don’t just communicate your vision but live it through your actions.

4. People - The best way to show how smart you are is to hire people that are even smarter than you are. Your success will be defined by those around you. Surround yourself with the smartest people you can find at all levels of your organization.

5. Listen - All around you there are wonderful ideas floating around. But you can’t hear them if you are too busy talking. You hired those smart people, now listen to them.

6. Motivation - You can’t motivate anyone because motivation comes from within. But you can provide an environment that encourages people and allows them to stretch to their limits and beyond.

7. Talent - Everyone has talent; something they can do better than almost anyone else. Identifying people’s talents and utilizing those talents in an organization means that you can get the best from every employee.

8. Trust – Great teams are built on the foundation of great leadership. Great leadership is built on the foundation of great trust. Start building trust on day one and never let up.

9. Development – In good times and bad you want to be able to do more with less. That means spending the time and the money to develop the talent on your team. It’s this development that will help your team survive and thrive when you need them most.

10. Energy - Workplace energy means that your team is fully engaged at all levels of the organization. Workplace energy happens when the company’s culture, the management's style and the employees' expectations overlap and create a synergy that propels the entire organization forward.

We hope you can join us on MileHiRadio.com for our upcoming series on Leadership Styles (Thursdays at 3pm Mountain Time – just click the “Listen Live” link) and that you will join in the discussion on our show’s facebook page. We’d love to hear your thoughts and insights!


At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.


Until next time….

Laurie Valaer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ECILearning.com

A “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” Culture

Dave and I have given several presentations this year on the subject of failure, and the role of failure in success. As individuals, we have been taught that failure is a bad thing. Now I doubt that anyone sat each of us down and told us that failure is a terrible thing and that we should never, ever fail….or that any of us actually had a class on failure where we were told it was bad. But, all of life’s lessons, the things that we are encouraged to strive for, and the things that we might be admonished for, all potentially lead us to the conclusion that failure is bad.

Our presentation on failure is called “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” and, in it, we actually encourage people to take a few more risks and to not be afraid of failing. We offer a 4-step process to help individuals embrace the notion that failure is how we learn; that failure has lead to some of the greatest successes of our time. Now, I’m not going to go into all of the details here….because it would spoil the presentation for you! (but…..if you’d like to hear more about the tie-in between failure and success and how it can help empower your employees or group members and can lead to more innovation, give us a call. We’d love to bring “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” into your organization or company).

What I will discuss today is the idea of applying the “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” concept to company culture. Managers in a “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” culture understand that, for innovation to happen, employees need to have the space to envision, explore, experiment, and learn from any mistakes they might make in the process. A “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” culture is one where employees are rewarded for being flexible, taking risks, and trying new things; rather than being inflexible, sticking to the old tried and true ways, and doing things as they have always been done. What’s the old saying….. “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, then you’ll get what you’ve always got.” Not exactly the mantra of innovators, is it?!?!?

Now, don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that management should simply let employees experiment randomly, never learning from their mistakes and never applying those lessons to the task at hand. This is a sure way to accomplish nothing but repeated mistakes, schedule and budget creep, and, eventually, a loss in profits.

Rather, in a “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” culture, success is the ultimate goal and, when employees fail at something, they are encouraged to stop and examine that failure. Only when they acknowledge the mistake to themselves and others, can they truly examine the underlying reasons for the failure and learn the critical lessons that will make their next attempt more successful.

In our presentation on failure, Dave and I make the point that failure is temporary in nature. Problems arise only when failure becomes permanent. And failure only becomes permanent if we do not learn from our mistakes and move on. And, when moving on, we don’t simply forget the failure or the lessons. Instead, we focus on how we can grow from the experience, constantly looking for ways to apply those lessons and asking ourselves how we can build on what we’ve learned.

While risk can certainly be scary for an individual, it is even more so for an organization. But as the leader of an organization, you cannot let the possibility of failure paralyze you and your team. If you take no risks, you’ll have no failure…..but you’ll also have no gain.

Is a “F.A.I.L. to Succeed” culture right for your business? If so, is it the type of culture that you have created in your organization? Do you encourage risk-taking and acknowledge the potential for failure. Do you assume that learning those lessons are all part of doing business? Do you teach your employees that failure can be the road to the greatest, most satisfying, success?


At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.


Until next time….

Laurie Valaer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ECILearning.com

Leaders Create Momentum

Every fall, with the return of football season, we hear countless announcers inform us about the importance of momentum in sports. One team has all the momentum; with everything seemingly going its way as they cruise up and down the field adding points to the scoreboard. But suddenly, momentum shifts and their offense stalls while the opposing team finds new life and begins to move the ball.

“Old Mo is fickle” we are told as the pundits excitedly report on the sudden change in the complexion of the game. “You can feel the shift all the way up here in the press box” the announcers proclaim breathlessly.

But what really is momentum and how does it apply to your business?

Momentum is really nothing more than the feeling or excitement that comes from success. When people have success, it improves their confidence. And improved confidence leads to more success. On the football field, momentum shifts because the defense calls a blitz and catches the offense unprepared. The result might be a loss of yardage at a key point, or maybe a turnover. And that success translates into confidence for the players on the field. Suddenly, they know what they can do and they start believing in themselves and their coaches.

It is the same way in business. Momentum comes from having success in developing that new product, finding the financing that you so desperately need, or closing that first big sale. A company with momentum starts to grow because the team has confidence in themselves and their leadership. Success tends to breed more success so that one victory leads to another. And once momentum begins to pick up, and the confidence level increases, victories become more common and everyone on the team learns to expect success.

But just like in football, momentum in business can be fleeting. A setback in the product or the loss of a key customer can shatter the confidence of an organization, reverse the momentum, and begin a downward spiral. This downward spiral is often only reversed by another victory that restores that confidence.

But victories don’t happen by accident. Victories are the result of good planning and good execution. The team practices that blitz every week, but in a game, the coach makes the call at the right moment and the momentum of the game shifts. In business, the sales team is trained and the product features and benefits are built based on the needs of the customer. As in football, the tools are there ready to be used, ready to create momentum and confidence. What is needed is for the leader to create the opportunity for success, to call the right play to allow the team to win.

They say that a leader has a strategic vision, and that the leader sees what others do not. It is this vision that the company relies on to bring about the right play at the right time to allow the team to succeed.

As a leader are you setting your team up for success? Are you calling the plays that allow your team to win? Are you creating moment and creating confidence in your organization? Success builds confidence and confidence builds more success. Build the confidence of your team and let that momentum carry your business on to victory.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.

Until next time,

Dave Meyer

ECI Learning Systems, LLC

http://www.ECILearning.com

Knowledge Is Power - Part 2

Last week I wrote about the concept that “Knowledge is power” and how most people believe that knowledge is power only when it is hoarded. The reality is that knowledge only has power when it is shared with all of those that need it. Shared knowledge creates power simply because leaders get results through people and without the knowledge they can’t create the results.

But sharing knowledge has another component that is often overlooked in the business world. You see, sharing knowledge not only allows your team to perform more capably but it also demonstrates clearly how willing your are to be open with them, sharing your knowledge, sharing the strategies, and sharing the goals of the organization. By doing this, you are building trust with those that work for you. And trust is one of the key components required for employee engagement.

It is no secret that engaged employees work harder and smarter than non-engaged employees. The mere fact that they care about their organization and their manager provides the motivation to create something bigger and better than those employees who don’t care about their organization or, worse, want to see it fail. By sharing knowledge and building trust within your organization you not only get the benefit of better, more informed decisions, but you also create a team of people that care about what they are doing and the results that they get.

How much information do you have to share?

You want to share as much information as you can without jeopardizing your fiduciary responsibilities to the company. As the leader in an organization there is certain information that is provided to you in confidence. Information that is not available to the public at large or to most of the employee base. When you are entrusted with confidential information you have a responsibility both morally and legally to keep that information private. Breaking that confidence could actually compromise trust in the organization, rather than building it. When in doubt, you must use your own judgment on what can and cannot be shared.

By sharing as much information as you can with your employees you empower them in their jobs and open the doors for improved performance and creativity within the organization. The message here is to share as much information as you can with your team. Sharing your knowledge will not only allow them to make more informed decisions but will also create a loyal and engaged team that will serve you, the organization and your customers to the fullest.


I hope that you enjoyed this article. At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.


Until next time….

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ECILearning.com

Knowledge Is Power

Many managers and leaders often fall under the impression that one of the most effective ways to enhance their worth and their career is by hoarding knowledge. “Knowledge is power” they believe and, therefore, the best way to accumulate power is by becoming indispensable, by knowing things that others don’t know and by sharing that information very judiciously.

Sadly, at the lower levels of the organization where the manager is also the technical expert this strategy seems to work. Since the manager knows things that others in the department do not, they control the solutions to sticky problems and are rewarded for solving issues that their team did not.

Of course, this is not a long term solution for success. The higher one moves in the organization the less you are a technical expert. Hoarding knowledge is no longer a source of power, but now saps your power and limits your ability to find solutions and demonstrate your value to the organization.

None the less it is true. Knowledge is power. But, as you move up the organization, the power comes not from hoarding that knowledge but from sharing it as broadly as possible. In fact, the more you share information the more powerful you become in an organization.

Experienced managers understand that their success is not tied to how well they perform individually but to how well their team performs. No longer are they praised for their personal and technical knowledge. Instead, team results take the spotlight and they find themselves being measured for the performance of their organization. And, the best way to ensure that their organization performs up to expectations is to ensure that they have all of the knowledge and information that they need to be successful.

This can be an enormous paradigm shift for someone who has always viewed themselves as the technical expert and has been consistently rewarded for their ability to solve problems. It requires an entirely different mindset to acknowledge that others who are closer to the details may be better able to determine complex solutions. But, acknowledging that you are no longer the technical experts is one of the keys to moving yourself up the value chain in the organization. Instead of your value coming from your detailed knowledge, your value and your power now emanate from the performance of your team.

Managers who grasp this concept not only begin to share their knowledge more readily and reward those around them who share knowledge, but are also the managers who move up the ladder to higher levels of responsibility. Understanding that the power of knowledge is expanded, rather than weakened, through sharing is what separates those managers who top out their career quickly from those who continue to grow and move up in the organization.

Sharing knowledge has another benefit that is not commonly recognized. The sharing of knowledge in your organization actually creates a new level of employee engagement. But, I will write more about that next week.


I hope that you enjoyed this article. At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.


Until next week,

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ECILearning.com

Is Vision Enough?

It often seems that discussions about leaders and leadership begin with a statement about vision.

• All great leaders have a vision!
• She is such a visionary leader!
• I really buy in to his vision for our future!

It’s even fair to ask, “What good is a leader without a vision?” Having a vision for a better future is critical for any leader as it provides something to focus on for the future, a goal to attain, and even hope for all who believe.

Many companies today are struggling with reduced sales, shrinking profit margins, and reduced or non-existent profits. And, most employees realize the direct correlation between sales and profitability and their ability to receive raises in their salary, or even to keep their jobs. When this happens, new leadership is often brought in, bringing with them a fresh vision and new direction for the organization. Perhaps it involves developing new products, engaging in new markets, or improving the customer experience. Whatever it is, this new vision is expected to provide guidance to the organization and put it back on the path to profitability.

While I would certainly agree that vision is an important tool for any leader, you have to wonder if having a vision for the future is enough to solve the problems that we face.

The answer is “no”. Vision is just not enough.

A vision without some type of a plan is nothing more than a pipe dream. It’s like a starving man looking at a photograph of a fantastic meal. I mean, it looks good. You can use the picture to clearly depict what you want, but if you lack the funds to purchase the food or worse, purchase the food but do not know how to prepare it, then that picture doesn’t do anyone much good. After all, for a starving man what would be more nourishing – a picture of a Thanksgiving-style feast, or a bowl of rice?

Vision is indeed one of the key responsibilities of the leader. They must have the vision, they must communicate the vision, and, most importantly, they must position the followers so that the vision can be achieved. True leaders don’t rely on a vision without a plan. Instead, they create the vision, create the plan, put the right people into place, and provide the right tools to make it all come together.

Only then can they say that they have really led.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allow us to create a development plan tailored for your success.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer

ECI Learning Systems, LLC

http://www.ECILearning.com

The Top 5 Myths of Leadership

There are whole libraries full of books on leadership, as well as countless magazine articles and an increasing number of blog articles. Many of these mediums contain exactly the same message or messages, but in some rather unique ways. Some try and identify THE most important aspect of leadership, while others talk about the various components of leadership and how all are critically important. With all that has been written about leadership you would assume that most leaders, especially new leaders, would quickly come to grasp the fundamentals required to lead their teams. None the less, myths about leadership not only exist, but appear to be growing. Perhaps this is because companies have laid off experienced managers and replaced them with younger, less experienced managers in a misguided attempt to save money. Or perhaps it is a lack of good role models in leadership that fosters the myths. But in any event, myths and misconceptions about leadership abound.

Below are 5 myths about leadership that I experience most often as a coach. These top 5 do not come from a scientific survey with thousands of responses, but from my personal experience. See if these myths match up with the things that you experience most often.

1. Management is the same as leadership

Too many people (myself included) have a tendency to interchange the terms management and leadership. The result is that we are unable to distinguish between one’s ability to manage a process and their ability to lead people. Managing a process requires the intelligence and logic to understand the process, identify the shortcomings, and hopefully resolve them. The results are easily identifiable and measurable. Leading people, on the other hand, requires an ability to identify and communicate fuzzy concepts like vision and values, a willingness to live in the gray area of human values, and an understanding of the illogical nature of human beings.

These concepts could not be more different, yet the confusion remains.

2. Leadership cannot be learned 

We often hear about someone’s natural leadership abilities and how someone has been a leader their entire life. Likewise, we associate certain personality traits with leadership and believe that the lack of these traits means a lack of leadership abilities. The reality is that some people ARE natural leaders. The skills required to influence people come quite naturally to them. But the key here is that leadership is not a talent, it’s a skill. And, like any skill, it can be learned. It may not be easy for some people to learn and implement the skills of leadership, but it is not impossible. With the right guidance and assistance, any person can become a leader.

3. Leadership means controlling and manipulating others

Leadership is about influencing others and having them want to do the things you need them to do. Leaders have the ability to appeal to their followers and create a desire to achieve the common goals. It is about creating an environment of motivation and passion for the followers. Leaders create a feeling of openness and belonging. On the other hand, some people believe that leading is about making someone do what they don’t want to do. They use threats and intimidation to get things done. They believe that using their “power” is leading. But forcing someone to do something against their will is not leadership or motivation, it’s coercion. And coercion is not leadership.

4. The leader is always the smartest person in the room

There is no question that leaders tend to be intelligent people. And certainly there are times when the leader IS the smartest person in the room. But, a real leader understands their own limitations and focuses on the goals and vision of the organization. They realize that they don’t have all of the answers. And, in doing so, they routinely surround themselves with the smartest people they can find, listen to them, and meld those ideas in with their own. The only way that the leaders are the smartest people in the room is in the realization that they are NOT the smartest people in the room.

5. Titles create leaders

This may be the most common myth of leadership. And, this myth is common at all levels of the organization. But whether the title is “Team Leader” or “Sr. Vice President”, leadership cannot be bestowed through a title. The reason is quite simple. For someone to be a leader, they must have followers. And, while a Sr. Vice President might have staff below them, there is no guarantee that the staff is actually following the leader. If you want to identify the leader in any organization, simply check and see who the team turns to and who they listen to. That is your leader, regardless of their title.

There you have my “Top 5 Myths of Leadership”. I would certainly be interested in hearing your thoughts about the myths that you most commonly see.

I hope that you enjoyed this article. At ECI Learning Systems LLC we are dedicated to improving productivity and profitability by creating engaged organizations. Our unique combination of training and personalized coaching, combined with our expertise in assessments allows us to create a development plan tailored for your success.

Until next time.....

Dave Meyer

ECI Learning Systems, LLC

http://www.ecilearning.com

Where Does Engagement Come From?

Employee engagement can be a funny thing. Like motivation, you can’t cause someone else to get engaged in their job, but you can create an atmosphere that encourages and fosters engagement. Without buy-in from above, engagement rarely happens. But true employee engagement in a “make it or break it” form comes from the employee themselves and from their immediate managers.

Numerous studies on employee engagement reveal what the employees want and expect from both their managers and from the job itself. And, while employees have grown more and more cynical about their jobs over the last 20 years, they really don’t want to be that way. Like a person who has had their heart broken in love too many times, they’ve become cautious and tainted, reserving judgment about their feelings until they are sure they won’t be hurt again. Convince them that your desire for engagement is real and lasting and they will buy in. But first, you have to know what they want and be willing to demonstrate that you believe in it also.

What do employees want from their managers?

1. A relationship that goes beyond meeting the goals and objectives. Show the employees that you care about them.
2. Knowledge about the organization and where it’s headed. Let the employees know how their work supports the big picture.
3. Human skills. Most studies show that human and relationship skills are more important than technical skills.
4. Assistance in developing their career plans and help in meeting those objectives.

Managers who take this approach with their employees are creating an environment that is conducive to employee engagement. When employees recognize this they become more open to the idea of getting engaged in their work. But there are additional factors that employees want from their job as well.

What do employees want from their jobs?

1. The ability to utilize their own talents and skills on the job. And don’t forget, just because someone does something well does not mean they enjoy it.
2. The opportunity to be involved and give input. Nothing is as frustrating to your employees as having their ideas not heard, or heard but not truly appreciated.
3. The opportunity to learn and grow, both personally and professionally.
4. Clear expectations about what they are supposed to do and when they are supposed to do it. This goes beyond the concept of departmental goals and objectives and relates to both day to day clarity and knowing how the work fits the long term goals of the organization.

As you can see, these lists are neither long nor complicated. Creating an engaging environment is not difficult but really requires some rather basic people skills that should be part of any new manager’s repertoire. Unfortunately, since most new managers receive little or no training, these basic skills are often lacking.

Ask yourself if your employees are engaged or have they all checked out? If they’ve checked out, find out why. Which of these basic elements is missing from your organization? Creating an engaged organization does not require massive amounts of time and/or money. All you really have to do is show your employees that you care.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com

The Legacy of Walt Disney

Too many people underestimate the value of a legacy. In fact, too many leaders at all levels of the organization don’t even think about what will happen after they are gone. Oh, sometimes they will have groomed a successor, but even that is hit and miss. For a variety of reasons, leaders have engaged in short term thinking and have equated that with “nimbleness” in the marketplace.

Of course, another way to look at this nimbleness might be directionless.

The validity of thinking long term, creating something bigger than yourself, and leaving a legacy that can be built upon is no further away than Anaheim, CA. or Orlando, FL., or at any one of the other Disney Parks worldwide.

Walt Disney had a vision for something bigger than most people could even grasp. He wanted to build “the happiest place on earth”, where parents could take their children and be able to live in a fantasy world. And he wanted his new “world” to be isolated from surrounding business, and traffic, and congestion in general. To accomplish this new world, Walt Disney purchased over 27,000 acres of land near Orlando. When he announced his plans for his new world people thought he was absolutely crazy. After all, most of that 27,000 acres was swampland and not suitable for building.

I won’t bore you with all of the details but Walt Disney World in Orlando opened for business on October 1, 1971; about 5 years after the death of Walt himself. The fact that his legacy carried on and allowed this park to be built even after his passing is truly extraordinary, but that is just the beginning. Epcot Center was added in 1982, 16 years after his death and the Disney Animal Kingdom was opened in 1998.

Today the tradition continues, and the Magic Kingdom is indeed the “happiest place on earth” just the way Walt envisioned it. If you have visited the Magic Kingdom you are no doubt aware of it’s isolation from surrounding businesses, meaning that you are truly lost in Disney’s world. And, if you are like me, you were stunned by how clean and fresh everything looks all the time. Rides come and rides go, but technology is a key component of the Disney magic, and this company remains in the forefront of their industry and are more nimble than companies 1/3 of their size.

All of this happened because of the dream of Walt Disney and his ability to vest his dream in those around him. He left a clear legacy for his company that guides their decision making even today. Employees at all levels of the organization are introduced to Walt’s legacy, and the culture he created, while morphing over time, remains as strong today as when he first communicated it to his team.

The culture of Disney is not perfect, but it’s an excellent example of what a leader can do if they want to. It’s what they can do if they think big, think broad, and incorporate their vision into the company’s culture. Because the culture you leave behind is the building block for your legacy.

What is the culture that you have built in your organization?


At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com

A Leader’s Legacy Part 3 - When the Legacy Survives the Leader

We’ve been talking about the importance of a leader leaving a legacy and how that legacy can impact an organization for years to come. Just as you want to build a house on a firm foundation that will last for years, and maybe even generations, the same is true when you build a company. A true leader has a vision for the company and builds a strong foundation through the company’s mission, vision, and values. In fact, the visionary leader creates a culture and embeds it so deeply in the organization that it not only survives that leader’s time as President or CEO but it will actually outlive the leader.

If you’ve ever had the privilege of working in a strong, well run company with a strong, visionary leader then you know what I’m talking about. A visionary leader imparts on an organization something much stronger than the goals and objectives; something much more dynamic than a 5 year plan; and something much longer lasting than just the company’s mission statement. A leader of this type wants to create something bigger than themselves, something that will last more than a lifetime.

When I think of leaders of this type, a few different names come to mind. Henry Ford built a company based on his own values and it stays true to most of those values today. Thomas Jefferson, in writing our Declaration of Independence, created something much bigger than himself. And William (Bill) McGowan founded MCI Communications and built a company in his own image. Unfortunately for Bill McGowan, his legacy could not survive the telecom shakeout of the late 1990’s and was lost in the merger with WorldCom.

But, there is one name that truly stands out. This is a man who created something so much bigger than himself; a man who thought big, dreamed big, and acted even bigger; a man whose vision was so clear and his ability to communicate that vision so compelling that his legacy survives nearly 50 years after his death.

His name is Walt Disney.

Is there a man, woman, or child in the United States over the age of 7 years old who has not heard of Walt Disney?

For that matter, there are not too many adults anywhere in the world who do not know of Walt and what he stood for?

Walt Disney passed away in 1966, yet the legacy he left has survived him even to this day. And, while his company has undergone numerous management changes over the years, they remain steadfast to the values and principles that Walt Disney espoused when he created his company.

We’ll talk a little more about the legacy that Walt Disney left in our next edition.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com

What is the legacy of a leader? – Part 2

In last week’s blog we started talking about the legacy of a leader and the intangibles that remain after a leader is gone. Real leaders at every level of an organization need to be thinking about their legacy and what will happen to the organization once they are no longer a part of it. A true leader is always thinking about the long term impact of their actions and not just about what will happen today or tomorrow. But, there are far too many people out there in positions of leadership who think only about the here and now.

Many leaders do think about leaving their imprint on an organization and seek to clearly delineate their time as a leader versus those of a predecessor. And, while this imprint can be positive, too often we see leaders who make change for the sake of change without regard to the implications for the organization as a whole. For example, we’ve all seen leaders assume control of an efficient, functioning organization, only to turn it dysfunctional sooner than anyone thought possible.

When leaders focus only on the short term, or focus on themselves rather than what is best for the organization, they tend to chase away top performers, lose sight of the true goals of the organization, and create top heavy organizational charts which revolve around them. And, while these leaders may occasionally provide short term results, their true legacy is the long term despair of the organization – broken only by the short term elation and joy at the announcement of their departure.

When leaders focus on the long term and create a plan to leave the organization stronger than when they arrived, they build an organization with a vision for the future, instill the values to support that mission, and find talented people to carry the mission and vision forward. Leaders with this focus not only create results for today, but also for the future. You can feel the imprint on the organization years after they have been gone; managers quote them, employees are still empowered with the values they set forth, and decisions are made that are consistent with the long term vision they so clearly communicated.

In our next issue, we will talk about one such leader – a leader who created a legacy with such clear values and such a strong mission that it survives and thrives more than 50 years after his death.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com

What is the legacy of a leader?

Although much has been written about leadership and the qualities of a leader, one often overlooked aspect of leadership is the concept of legacy. What kind of legacy does a leader leave once they are gone?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary a legacy is “anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor”. That means that the legacy of a leader is what they hand down when they pass the reigns of leadership to someone else. It’s not a physical thing like a scepter that represents power or wisdom, and it’s not about systems or processes that make the business run. In terms of leadership, a legacy represents the intangible assets of the organization that make it different than their competitors. You might call it the culture, but that may not be broad enough to cover all aspects of what the leader leaves behind.

The problem is that too few leaders give much thought to their legacy beyond the new products offered during their watch or the merger that redefined the company’s place in the market. In some cases, these items may indeed represent the leader’s entire legacy. If so, that leader has fallen far short of the requirements to be a great leader.

Too often, leaders view their role rather selfishly and believe that the success of the company, or even just their individual department, is tied directly to their own brilliance and astute understanding of the technical details of the organization. The organization will surely fail without them, as no one can have the insights into the customers as they can. They have built the entire organization around the strength of their own personality and it’s clear to all that they can never truly be replaced. You can almost see their glee when they look back at the old organization and see that, without their leadership, the organization is struggling to perform or maintain their standards.

Perhaps you are recognizing these traits in some of your prior leaders at all levels of the organization. Leaders who leave a legacy that begins to fade almost as soon as their name is taken off the door. These leaders really don’t care about what happens after they are gone. They don’t care about the people, the products, or the customers. Instead, they think only of themselves.

Now, there is another type of leader who tends to leave a longer lasting legacy, even if it is not a positive one. There are certainly those leaders who leave a legacy of despair, and even brokenness. They come in like a deadly storm and lay waste to the organization without blinking an eye. Soon after their arrival, key members of the organization are suddenly no longer there. They have either been asked to leave or have decided on their own that they are no longer a good fit in the organization.

But, we will talk more about these leaders in our next edition.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors;
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com

Winning Is An Attitude

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been writing about the concept of Winners and Losers, my belief that there is not a single winner in business or in life, and that taking the view that there can be a single winner is one that will certainly limit your own desire to compete and succeed.

Winners and losers in life and in business are not always determined by the scoreboard. Or, maybe I should say that winners and losers are not always defined by the visible scoreboard. Instead, winners are defined by their attitudes and willingness to do what it takes to ensure their success and the success of those around them.

This moves the idea of being a winner away from the “1/0, there can be only one winner, if you are not THE winner then you are a loser” concept, to one where YOU get to decide whether you will be a winner or a loser.

It’s safe to say that we’ve all met “winners” in our lives. These are the people who find ways to overcome adversity, who look at the rocks in their path as stepping stones, not stumbling blocks, and when given lemons, they make lemonade. In fact, these people not only make lemonade, but they make the best lemonade in the world, have a knack for marketing that lemonade, and turn their lemonade stands into multi-million dollar businesses.

But, I would suggest that we’ve all me our share of losers as well. These people tend to be victims with too many things that are “out of their control.” They constantly blame others for their problems. They refuse to take responsibility for their actions. And they can’t enjoy even a momentary victory because they are convinced that something bad is about to happen to them. And it usually does.

Here are some of my thoughts on “winners” vs. “losers.”


              Winners:                  
Look for solutions.
Encourage those around them.
Lend a helping hand.
Create a plan for success.
Look at the glass as half full.
Believe nothing is impossible.
Find a way to keep going.
Don’t believe in excuses.

                     Losers:                      
Look for problems.
Don’t think about others.
Look for a handout.
Fail to plan.
Are pretty sure the glass is cracked.
Quit when something is “too hard”.
Look for a way to quit.
Always have an excuse handy.



What about you? How do you define winners? Or losers, for that matter? How do you identify winners from losers? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic as well.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/

What Defines A Winner?

In my last posting, I wrote about the concept of winners and losers and the idea that some people believe there can be only one winner. To me, having only one winner negates so many good things that happen in life and in business.

I looked up the word “winner” on Dictionary.com and found this definition:

“a person or thing that wins; victor.”

Looking further down the page I came across this definition:

“a person or thing that seems sure to win or succeed”

The difference in wording is subtle but, I believe, very important. The first definition implies a single winner, while the second implies that a winner is a winner because they “succeed.”

I continued reviewing definitions and came across this definition of winner:

“an excellent person or thing. : This one is a real winner.”

Now, that’s more like it. This definition seems to leave some wiggle room for there being more than one winner without demeaning the importance of competition or excellence. Being a winner is about being “excellent” or even “excelling” and is not limited to only the “last man standing.” I would say that my favorite basketball team which ended up with 30 wins and only 3 losses is a group of winners. They were focused on excellence and achieved it.

It’s pretty clear as you read through these definitions that there is some consistency in terms of excellence but some inconsistency in whether or not there can be only one winner.

Years ago I came across a “demotivational” poster that stated:

“Since there can only be one winner, there’s an excellent chance that you are a loser.”

How’s that for a message. Inspirational, isn’t it. Makes you want to give up before you ever get started.

I believe that the concept of winners and losers is an important one for all of us in both our personal and professional lives. And focusing on the idea of a single winner is a great way to make sure that you’re never bothered by the pressure of being that winner. To me, being a winner is more about attitude than it is about competition. And, since we control our attitudes, we also control whether or not we want to be, and WILL be, winners or losers.

I’ll have more about this next week.


At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/

Is there really just one winner?

“March Madness” is the name given to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, as 68 of the finest college basketball teams compete in a single elimination tournament to determine the National Champion. A lot of people who are sports fans but don’t follow college basketball do follow this tournament because every year there are fantastic finishes, Cinderella teams, and monumental upsets.

And, at the end, only one team remains standing - THE WINNER!

My team didn’t win the championship this year. They were eliminated in what is referred to as the “Sweet 16”, one of the final 16 teams in the tournament. It was a close game, but when their final shot didn’t fall, they were done and sent home. Needless to say, they were unhappy, even despondent over the loss. They had visions of a National Championship as did their fans. I, too, was upset that they didn’t win, but I knew I’d get over it. There are certainly bigger tragedies in life than not having your favorite team win it all.

But, I was surprised when I read some of the local newspaper accounts of the game, the team, and the season. Or more correctly, I was surprised by the fan reaction to the loss. After all, this team won more than 30 games this season, losing only 3. By nearly anyone’s description, they had a great season. Yet, after they were eliminated from the tournament, I read comments from the fans that said they were losers and that they were over-rated; comments that generally disparaged a fine team and a fine season. I found reading the comments to be disheartening, discouraging, and small-minded. Instead of celebrating a great season, fans were upset that their team was not that last team standing.

Not – THE WINNER.

I’ve always wondered about the way some people perceive winning and losing. They view it as a simple 1/0 game. They believe that either you are THE WINNER, or you are a LOSER. There is no middle ground in their minds.

And I’m not just talking about the NCAA tournament here, or sports in general for that matter. I’m talking about a view of life and business that has fostered this simplistic view of winner and losers.

Too often, we fail to value contributions from our peers and employees because they weren’t “the best”. We hold contests to compete for who can sell the most product, install the most widgets, or respond to the most customer complaints. We compete to be number 1 without any thought to what that means to our products, our employees, or our customers.

Is there really only one winner in life or in business?

Let me be clear here. I’m not advocating the silliness that says if you participate, you are a winner. I don’t think we all deserve trophies and bouquets of flowers, just for showing up. But I do think that there is more than one winner in many competitions and that understanding the difference, the real difference, between winners and losers is a big part of your responsibility as a leader.

I’ll be writing more about winners and losers next week. Identifying and cultivating winners in your organization is part of your ongoing success.

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearnin.com/

Building Support Through An Internal Network – Part 3

For the last couple of weeks, I have been writing about the importance and value of building bonds and developing an internal network within your organization. We’ve talked about how your success as a manager and leader goes well beyond the simplicity of producing results. And we’ve talked about some of the reasons why building an internal network can help you become successful.

The question becomes, how and where do you start building your internal network? It’s just not possible to build strong bonds with everyone, at least not all at once.

I like to think about building bonds in terms of concentric circles, with you and your organization at the center. If you start from the center and build out, you have the best chance of making strong alliances with the people who can help you the most immediately. In addition, these alliances will help you build future alliances as well.

The first step is to determine exactly who your customers are, especially those internal customers that you must satisfy. Depending on where you are in the organization, your internal customers might be the sales organization, an order processing unit, a technical support organization, the operations unit, or even the accounting and finance department. Just like your company has a need to satisfy their external customers to ensure growth, you must have a similar desire to satisfy your internal customers to ensure your ongoing success. Once you have identified who your internal customers are, you must clearly identify exactly what they need and want from you to ensure their success. It’s not enough to rely on satisfying your goals and objectives, assuming that this will also satisfy your internal customers. Instead, take the time to understand THEIR goals and objectives, the role you play in helping them achieve those objectives, and what you can do to make their job easier. Make customer service your passion and you will be on the road to building strong internal bonds.

Once you’ve identified your internal customers, focus on your interface departments; those groups that may consider you their internal customer. Just as you worked hard to identify the goals and objectives of your internal customers, you should be equally zealous in sharing your goals and objectives with your interface organizations. Chances are, their departmental goals were built without proper input from you and your team, so while they may be well intentioned, they may well be off the mark. Build bonds with these interface organizations by helping them understand how you can help each other. Understand what they do and why they do it and how it blends with what you do.

Once you have these key interfaces secure, you can begin to build your alliances strategically. Understand how your company works, where the new ideas come from, and how change is affected in the organization. Make your contacts in person and personal. Do more than understand the departments. You must understand the people as well. Remember, the business may be the reason for building the bonds, but it’s the people who you must ultimately bond with.

Build strong bonds with the people in your organization so that you always have someone to turn to, and you will find it much easier to be successful at every level.

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/

Building Support Through An Internal Network – Part 2

Last week I wrote about how it’s not enough for a new leader to get results in their organization, but that it’s also important to build an internal network. Some people view the concept of an internal network as “office politics” or “sucking up to the man” in an organization. But I believe the importance of an internal network has very little to do with office politics and everything to do with building allegiances that will help you prepare for an ever changing organization.

Numerous studies show that 80 – 90% of your success in life is not the result of how smart you are, but about how well you relate to others around you. We’ve all known brilliant people who no one listens to because they present themselves so poorly. Likewise, we’ve known people who were moderately intelligent, but thrived because of their ability to connect with people, the right people. Making connections and building bonds in an organization is about understanding others and being understood.

In the studies surrounding Emotional Intelligence, experts like Dr. Robert Cooper and Dr. Laura Belsten refer to “Building Bonds” as a key competency under Relationship Management. In simple terms, an emotionally intelligent individual understands the importance of building relationships and routinely seeks out relationships that are mutually beneficial. They understand that it’s not enough to be smart if no one will listen to a thing that you say. And they understand that the key to persuasion lies not in facts and logic, but in the emotional connection with others. According to Dr. Belsten, people who exhibit this competency “can pick up the phone and call anyone in the organization, and know who to call to get answers or to slash through red tape or other obstacles.”

Building bonds inside and outside of your organization pays off in a number of ways. When you have a good, but possibly unpopular, idea and need the buy in and support of your peers and superiors, those bonds will help gain you the support you need. When the business changes and you need help aligning your team, your support network will help you understand and process how those changes will impact you and will prepare you for the new environment. And when mistakes are made, as they invariably are, you can look for support and guidance from those with whom you have built strong relationships.

Contrast this with the “smart loner” who focuses only on themselves and their own team; the person who has not bothered to build the bonds required because they know that they can “get results.” When this same person faces the challenges of building support for an unpopular idea, they will often be left on their own. When the business changes and they need information and support, none is forthcoming. And when mistakes are made, others may actually take some level of solace in their sudden problems.

Clearly the idea of building bonds is an idea that every leader needs to accept. But the question becomes, where do you begin? Who should you begin to build bonds with?

We’ll talk more about that in next week’s edition.

At ECI Learning Systems LLC, we are dedicated to helping companies get the greatest return from their most valuable asset: their employees. We work with you to align 3 key organizational factors:
• Your Company Culture
• The Leadership Styles of your key managers
• The Expectations of your Employees

When these 3 factors are aligned, you create an energy in your company that improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, increases creativity, and positively impacts your bottom line. Contact ECI Learning Systems LLC today to get your free Workplace Evaluation.


Until next time.....

Dave Meyer
ECI Learning Systems, LLC
http://www.ecilearning.com/