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Grow the talent you have into the leaders you need.

Many organizations are recruiting leaders from competitors but only a few are doing much to develop the talent they have into the leaders they need.

Here is why we think you should develop leaders from within – 

Organizations need to be proactive in identifying and cultivating leaders within their existing talent pool. Look inwards to identify candidates with leadership aptitude and invest in honing their skills with development programs.

Having a leadership development program yields important benefits for any organization so here are reasons to do it –

1. Boost employee engagement and morale

Employee engagement is a key performance indicator for an organization’s success. Many leaders agree that employee engagement impacts business success, yet quite a few have no engagement plan or strategy.  

Development programs give employees the opportunity to strive towards something more meaningful and valuable than just their day-to-day work. This in turn makes them happy.

While engagement programs are important, they have to align with your business goals. “It’s not about the volume of training as much as it is the caliber,” says Larry Gregory, VP of Strategy and Marketing for the DeSai Group. “Your leadership program must be able to catalyze business results.”

Leadership development is serious stuff. It takes time and dedication to make it work. If you’re going to adopt an official leadership development program, be sure to first identify your goals for the program.

2. Increase employee performance

There is a definite linkage between development and performance.  When you’re teaching people how to manage and coach, you’re teaching them how to motivate the people around them. 

“They learn how to identify potential and inspire people to reach their max,” says Beth Miller, Vistage Chair and President of Executive Velocity. “And for leaders to invest time and energy in them, it communicates a real value of getting their employees to their maximum potential.”

The highest performing organizations spend 36% more on development than their less successful counterparts. As Miller notes, “The ones that are doing this effectively understand what their future needs are going to be, and understand how to engage their potentials and give them the opportunity to develop the skills that they need to succeed in the operation.”

3. Improve retention rates

For many organizations investing in employee development-leadership development is a gamble. If the employee leaves, the investment walks out of the door and potentially into the hands of a competitor. 

Turnover is a valid concern when talking about development but if you are losing top performers, it’s rarely because you’ve invested too much in developing them. If you give your staff a chance to innovate and do more, they’re less likely to go looking elsewhere.

Good leadership development is about creating meaningful work and experiences that develop skills your employees need to succeed as managers and directors, while developing a pool of leadership candidates within your organization.

And you can do this without breaking the bank. For instance:

Implement coaching and mentoring programs with top performers.

Assign cross-training projects that give exposure to other departmental issues.

Task them with managing an intern or seven, with a list of deliverables to execute on.

Finally, transparency is key. Whatever decision is made–whether it’s a promotion from within or an external hire, it’s critical to communicate the why. To know more about training your staff for leadership positions please visit - http://stepconsulting.org/

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The 6 sins of leadership.

Being a leader is a daunting task for most of us. No matter how long we have been at it, and how much we try, it is ever changing and practicing the right behaviours is a never-ending task.

An article by Jack and Suzy Welch tells us about the 6 deadly sins in leadership.

Here’s what to avoid at all costs. –

Not giving Self-Confidence its Due. Self-confidence is the lifeline of success. It makes people bold. They become open to trying new things, offering ideas, being more positive. It makes people more open to cooperating with their colleagues instead of attempting to bring them down. When someone lacks self-confidence the situation is just the opposite. People cower, plod and spread negativity. Very often leaders end up ignoring this very basic condition. It is a leader's job to instill self-confidence in their people. The full potential of a person will not be unleashed if they doubt themselves. A fortunate few are born with self-confidence while others gain it from life and the work they do. Regardless of the type of person, leaders cannot stop pouring self-confidence into their teams. Make sure the goals are challenging – but achievable. Give positive feedback and constructive criticism. This is not say that leaders should blindly extol and exalt. But they have to find the right balance. 

Muzzling Voice. The quickest way for a leader to underperform is by over-talking. That is, they make their team think they are know-it-alls. They can tell you how the world works, what everyone is thinking and what it is that you should do. These types of people are just victims of their own personalities. Ultimately, the team and then the company end up being victims too. These know-it-alls aren’t just insufferable, they’re dangerous. They don’t listen and it becomes incredibly difficult to get any ideas across, debate, expand upon or improve anything.

Acting Phony It is quite easy to spot a phony. If there is one widespread human capability, it is finding out if someone is putting on airs, pretending to be someone they are not. Yet too many leaders end up wasting time on creating personas that put up walls between them and their employees. Authenticity is what makes people love you. Seeing you grapple with problems, sweat the details, laugh, care, etc. will make people respond and engage. But one must be careful because authenticity is unattractive if coupled with immaturity or an overdose of informality. Your realness will make you accessible and help you connect and inspire.

Fixation on results at the expense of values. We all know that the job of a leader is to deliver. But it is not sensible to care only about the numbers. They also have to care about how those numbers came to be. Were the right practices adopted? Was the work done with integrity? Were people taken care of? Etc. Values are often spoken about in companies, hung up on plaques in lobbies and discussed with potential hires and customers. But these statements are meaningless if the leaders don’t imbibe them. It is difficult sometimes to follow through with something but it is for the leaders to make the tough calls. Make sure work is done according to the right values.

Lacking the guts to differentiate. Not all opportunities are equal hence not all resources can be distributed equally. Leaders who don’t differentiate do the most damage when it comes to people. Unwilling to deliver candid, rigorous performance reviews, they give every employee the same kind of bland, mushy, “nice job” sign-off. Because of this, when the rewards are doled out, the star performers are rewarded only slightly different from the rest. This demotivates people and shows weakness.

Skipping the fun part. What is it about celebrating that makes managers so nervous? Maybe throwing a party doesn’t seem professional, or it makes people worry that they won’t look serious. Whatever the reason, too many leaders don’t celebrate success enough. Celebrating makes people feel like winners and creates an atmosphere of recognition and positive energy. Work is too much a part of life not to recognise the moments of achievement. Grab as many as you can. Make a big deal out of them.

That’s part of a leader’s job too – the fun part. To know more about leadership training please visit -  http://stepconsulting.org/ Image courtesy - www.instantshift.com 

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10 workplace changes to incorporate today!

  If you intend to be at the top of your industry you have to change outdated management styles.

Right now is the day and age of "transactional" leadership from what used to be "transformative" leadership and there is no going back. What this means is that the old days of command and control no longer exists. Businesses are moving towards more of a trust-and-track method, in which people are not just told what to do, but why they are doing it.

This transition is tough for a lot of businesses, especially the more established ones. But there is clear evidence that creating a company with a clear purpose and values will help your employees connect themselves to something bigger, and that, in turn, will increase productivity.

So here’s a simple list of some old practices that you should let go off and what you can move towards instead.

1)      No more – Micro management. You don’t have to control every tiny aspect of everything.

Instead – Empowerment. Let people have some space. Space to grow and learn. People do learn from their mistakes after all.

2)      No more – Management by walking around the office. It’s not enough to just be visible.

Instead – Leadership through engagement. Talk, listen, implement the ideas and distribute the results

3)      No more – Being a know-it-all. You don’t have all the answers. No one does. It serves no one to pretend that you do.

Instead – Trust your leadership team members. Choose the right people with the right skills and attitude, trust that they will do the right thing, get out of the way.

4)      No more-‘No tolerance policy’. Mistakes are human. Accept that they will happen

Instead – Learn from mistakes. Learn from your errors.

5)      No more - Making decisions based on the balance sheet. Believing it drives the business.

Instead – People drive business. Boost customer loyalty and profits.

6)      No more - Job competency is sufficient. Do the job asked, and you'll survive.

Instead – Hire ‘A’ players. People who want to go the extra mile.

7)      No more – Investing in technology to increase productivity.

Instead – Invest in people to increase productivity.

8)      No more – Demanding change.

Instead – Nurture change.

9)      No more – Junk food in the cafeteria.

Instead – Wellness in the workplace

10)   No more – Incentives. Pay more to get people to do more.

Instead – Rewards. Being valued matters more than money.

To know more about what you can do for your company and its people visit - http://stepconsulting.org/ Image courtesy - http://bit.ly/h7WIwu

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Be a more gracious leader in 12 easy steps.

People like to follow strong leaders with drive and ambition. But here are 12 gracious actions that will make you a leader worthy of a following.

Strong leaders often have to be aggressive and cutthroat to get ahead in their career and drive their companies forward. In one’s march to success it is important to remember the human side.

Inc.com shares with us 12 qualities that will leave you a more gracious individual.

Be Confident and Show Empathy People will follow you if they can see that you know what you’re doing and where you are heading. But not everyone may be able to keep pace with you. Understand that people move ahead differently and try to look at things from their perspective

Be Punctual and Show forgiveness Good leaders manage their time well and care for others equally. When someone is late don’t think the worst of him or her. Just make a note and move on.

Be Proud and Show Humility Take pride in your accomplishments but people admire those leaders who let their accomplishments speak for them.

Be Disciplined and Show Humanity Focus and discipline gets most jobs done. But not everyone can function the same way. Let people be who they are. They need time to relax and get back in the game. Show your team your fun side as well. A little humor goes a long way.

Be Recognised and Show Recognition Accept accolades graciously but never hog the limelight. Share the spotlight with those whom you have shared your journey with.

Be Bold and Show Discretion Effective leaders step out to the front and take charge. But they also know how to pick their battles. Determine the time and energy you and your team want to spend on a situation and then stick to it.

Be Spontaneous and Show Thoughtfulness Being ready for anything will help in a lot of situations. Shake things up with some excitement. Keep your team alert and inspired but remember to always think what you’re doing through. People find a lot of comfort in familiarity.

Be Directed and Show Consideration Lead your team by example. Demonstrate how the choices that you’ve made will have a positive impact on them. Consider that their experiences are different from yours and help them comprehend what they don’t understand.

Be firm and Show Compassion Most leaders are likable not because they are lax but because they set reasonable boundaries and stick to them. They approach failures with compassion, correction and learning.

Be generous and show gratitude As a leader one has to give a lot. Give your time, energy, motivation, knowledge and insight. The more the team knows the more they will succeed. But a team gives back as well. Make your team feel worthwhile by showing them you appreciate when they go above and beyond.

Be a listener and Show Appreciation Listening is important to leadership but it does not always demonstrate acceptance. Artful leaders are capable of making teams feel appreciated for simply having the opportunity to share their point of view.

Be a leader and Show Compliance The most gracious and powerful leaders are those who know when to step back and let the most appropriate person lead.

  To know more about leadership development visit - http://stepconsulting.org/

Image courtesy - cmcacorner.com

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What climbing the Mount Everest can teach you about team building.

Much like in an office team, teams that take on extreme sports or adventure activities can spend up to six weeks together in developing camaraderie and trust with each other before the actual work starts. 

Scott DeRue, the University of Michigan Ross School professor who reached the summit in March of 2013, says that this team development is not only crucial to conquering something like the Everest, but also essential for business executives who want to lead high-performing teams.

Here are the three major lessons about team building he’s learned while summiting the Everest –

Know your team's goals and stress points. Climbing the Everest is a high stakes situation because of the inherent dangers and also because nobody wants to fail once they have put in so much time, training and resources. This situation is quite similar to investing in a project at work. Some people are completely gripped by the idea of "Everest" and have their own interpretation about what it means to summit the mountain. Others play down the troubles, the dangers and the accomplishment — acting as if it were not a big deal. One has to monitor and assess where on this spectrum each person of the team lie. You can do this by encouraging transparency. Try starting with yourself; communicate your goals and motives to the team. Make it clear that achieving team goals can enable achieving personal goals. Be honest about what is possible and what isn’t. Cultivate psychological safety. Fear is the biggest enemy of success. There will always be unexpected events and setbacks. You have to make team members believe that they can be honest and speak up even if their point of view is unpopular. Here’s how you can do this:

Minimise status differences - For example, minimise discussions about differences in experience levels among team members. Scott worked with an executive who would intentionally not attend brainstorming meetings with his direct reports, so they wouldn't feel intimidated by his rank and hold back ideas.

Tell stories, even ones that make you vulnerable. - Sharing experiences about your mistakes is not a sign of weakness. It makes clear that nobody is perfect and creates a norm of sharing in the team.

Engage one-on-one. - Trust is key. Personally engage with every team member and get to know him or her.

Be inclusive and forgiving. - Invite other’s contribution towards major decisions. Appreciate their help. Demonstrate a commitment to forgiveness. Let your team know that mistakes will occur, but they can’t happen twice.

Be decisive but patient

In time bound situations leaders need to be decisive and have clarity, without feeling pressured to take any immediate calls. Imagine being at 28,000 feet with unpredictable weather, limited communication, and incomplete information. The team is anxious. This is the time when a leader cannot afford to get emotionally wrapped up in a high anxiety situation. Reinforce “what if” scenarios in advance. It will enable you and your team to more effectively deal with uncertain situations.

To know more about effective team building and motivation please visit - http://stepconsulting.org/

To learn more about Scott DeRue's journey to the top of Mount Everest, see PoetsandQuants.com

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Taking A Stand

Few words leave a mark so deep rooted, that try as much as you can, the impression lasts forever.

Al Pacino’s famous speech in The Scent Of A Woman is one such example, which can leave you pondering.

“Cradle of Leadership. Well, when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And it has fallen here. It has fallen. Makers of men, creators of leaders. Be careful what kind of leaders you’re producing here.”

This speech forces us to think, to question whenever we stand our ground. Many a times, we are threatened by the circumstances, forced to digress from our path, the path that we believe in our minds to be right.

Taking a stand requires courage. Courageous people know what is right. They act on it and they are the ones who are the true leaders. These people strive to make the conditions around them favourable. They do not compromise when circumstances plot against them. They stand firm and believe in their purpose and this is how they fight against all odds and come out as winners.

As Markus Buckingham says, “The only thing that leaders have in common is leaders break all the rules”. It is this trait that makes leaders stand out. They don’t buy what everybody is recommending.

Mr. Narayana Murthy, who is a pioneer in his field, is an excellent example of this trait. He held his ground while his co-partners were all set to sell Infosys and today, Infosys has carved a name for itself.

Leaders need to lead from the front. While doing so they need to be ready to bear the brunt of this responsibility. Even when they know that what is done is correct still the consequences can sometimes come with a twist. It is the grit with which they defy everything that helps them achieve the best. These people are unstoppable. Driven by a powerful force, they reach the horizons of new knowledge and possibilities.

Their ‘True North” is clear to them. The clarity of the objective ensures that they take the right path. It takes courage to stand up for what you truly feel is right. It is the leaders who can withstand all the winds blowing against them that make the impossible possible.

Yes, they truly show that impossible is not a possibility. With clear perceptions they explore new opportunities; in fact they create incredible new opportunities to pave a way for success.

They know that they are exactly where they should be.

  To know more about leadership development and training visit - http://stepconsulting.org/ Image Courtesy - http://sani-salim.com/

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Bizbreak with Samsung!

Check out STEP consulting’s Bizbreaks with the awesome Samsung Team. A day full of fun and games with lots excitement and madness thrown in!

We loved the energy!

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Talent and Development in Aftermath of Layoffs

Layoffs anywhere and at anytime send a bout of shocking reactions all around. The layoff syndrome hits people who have directly been affected, as well as those who have been spared the axe. It makes people wonder and deliberate over their own status and future.

The downturn of any economy haunts the corporate sector employees with the threat of the probable layoff scenario. The aftermath of the recession with the sudden decline in economic activities is usually seen when corporates axe a significant number of employees. Deserving or undeserving doesn’t matter, what matters over here are the cost cutting processes being followed by the organization.

Layoffs are painful for any business but this is the commonest tactic employed during tumultuous times in the market. It hits both the casualties and the survivors.

As an outsider, one is bound to sympathise with the person who has been let go from his job. But research shows that the survivors too have to bear the impact. A layman will try to blame the company or even the people left behind; not realising that these people too have to go through a grind of the uncertainty.

According to NBC news , the economic downturn of the 1990s hit the layoff survivors so much that they reported high levels of distrust and lower levels of motivation and engagement.  Increased cases of absenteeism plummeting productivity were noticed.

Mark Murphy, Chairman of Leadership IQ calls the phenomena "layoff survival stress," adding that "there is a myth that surviving employees will be so grateful that they still have a job that they will work harder and be more productive. But as this study shows, the opposite is usually true."

In his article titled The Impact of Layoffs on Surviving Employees published on June 20, 2010 Ray B. Williams has stated that in a leadership research and training company’s study of over 4,000 employees in 319 companies, 74% of employees who kept their job amidst the recession reported that their own productivity had declined since the layoffs and 69% of those surveyed said that the quality of their company's product or service had declined. Other key findings were: 87% said that they were less likely to recommend their company as a good place to work; 81% said that customer service had also declined. When the employees feel disposable their motivation level takes a dip and as a result the organization that is looking for a solution through job cuts suffers even more. It is this situation that organizations have to be prepared for all the time. The actual action taken should be balancing the business interests against the effects of decisions on the employees and business sustainability. It is agreeable that cut offs at times are inevitable but, it is equally important that the motivation level and optimism of the staff is maintained in all possible situations. It is, after all, the people who are the most important asset of an organization. However, this is a long term plan that companies need to invest in. The motivation level of the employees should be high enough for them to be ready for such turbulent times.  A firm ground for them to stand on should already, have been laid. Investing in its people should be a continued process for organizations. They should have a plan to support the aftermath of these layoffs. Trust, transparency, rewards and open channels of communication will help in weathering the storm together. The employees should be sensitized for the change being brought in. The bolster methods should trickle down to all.

The morale of the workforce is very important for the organization’s big picture. The HR must maintain regular interactions with them. The organizations should be able to gauge the performance and the gaps of the employees. Engagement and alignment should be carried on at the same time. A means of venting of the employees is also required. This can be done through coaching or counselling for them. If not dealt with, the effect will be be apparent in the employees performance. Yes, there is the increased workload that has to be handled.  But this can be best tackled by the organization by involving the workforce in finding and implementing solutions. It is important to make them part of the entire process. Let them feel responsible for the positive impact.

In fact, dealing with such situations should help, broaden their horizons in terms of both, their talent and knowledge. Workshops through which they can better their skills and knowledge base should be organised. Change is hard for anyone to accept easily. The organization should be able to make their employees realize the importance of new processes and also the change that will occour through these programs. The survivors should feel like warriors battling for their organization’s ‘BIG PICTURE’ despite certain roadblocks. They should be trained to overcome these roadblocks. Of course, the overall moral will take a tumble during these uncertain times but these can become exceptions depending how they are handled. Organizations should be able to pre-empt such situations and proactively invest in this business cycle by working on their most important asset,the workforce. It will mitigate the negative impact of the entire process.

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