I need to make a change in my company – How do I do it, and how do I manage it?

This is a question I hear from business leaders every day . . . yet the question often comes to me after the fact . . . when people are up in arms and ready to bolt. A change can be something as simple as new stationery or as tumultuous as a merger or acquisition, and while the change is often seen by top leadership as necessary to move ahead of aggressive competitors, this is not always the case for employees. Why? I believe the answer is this: Your employees are not angry about the change itself . . . they are angry because they are often the last to hear, you did not get their buy-in, their vote didn’t count , and bam . . . Trust is shattered!”

Imagine this: During a strategic planning meeting, the executive team of a large technology company makes the decision to launch a new product line and ditch an existing one. Ditching the existing product line means that a few talented employees will become obsolete, and the new product line will require a new pool of talent. The executive team chooses to “keep this quiet” until they are ready to launch (yeah right!) They begin to meet after hours in a locked room to discuss their plans. As human behavior often teaches us, it is very hard to keep a secret when you know you have one inside you. So . . . Sally Smith, CIO, makes the decision to tell one person outside the executive team: “I have something to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone” (yeah right . . . again.) In addition, the janitor knows something’s up . . . he cleans after hours and sees the big dogs locked in a room every night for three weeks, and he begins to whisper in the halls to his comrades. Suspicion builds and the grapevine begins to circulate rumors: “I hear the company is closing,” or “I heard we are merging” or “I heard that we are headed for a 20% lay off” or “I heard that the company is in big trouble” and so on. The fear, doubt, worry and anxiety begin to build. People are not sure what is going on, but all they know is that it must be big, and they are nervous . . . very, very nervous!

Change efforts are delicate, and they require finesse . . . they can’t be taken lightly, and they must be communicated from the top to the bottom of the organization. I believe that the key to success during any change initiative includes three very important aspects:

1) Communication - Communication needs to be clear, consistent and repeated again and again. Repeat the communication until you hear yourself and others saying “Okay, okay . . . we got it . . . we are tired of hearing about it . . . we are on it!” Communicating a change takes time for people to really hear it. The have to roll it over in their minds, talk about it with others and get clear about what’s what. The first time employees hear about a change, they are usually hearing it through filters of fear, doubt, worry, and confusion. So . . . don’t expect them to get it the first time, and by all means . . . don’t send it in a memo! Use verbal communication . . . talk to them, talk to your managers, talk to your team, and keep repeating the message again and again.

2) Gain Commitment - During a change initiative, it is critical for a company to gain buy-in from everyone in the organization. You want each person in the company to support the change and to feel as if they have been a part of planning the change initiative. Empower your employees by inviting them to collaborate during the change. The “town meeting” format is perfect for this purpose and coupled with smaller management meetings. This approach can provide an open forum for people to be able to clear (a form of venting which is highly constructive . . . allow for 10 minutes of clearing in the beginning of each town meeting,) ask questions and above all to allow their ideas to be heard and implemented.

3) Coaching - Emotions will be running high during a period of transition, and I believe that coaching for the entire organization during this time is not a luxury – it is a requirement. Managing people during change is one thing but managing their emotions is an entirely different animal. It requires listening, empathy and the giving of time. Coaching during change can support an organization in building teamwork and can foster a sense of support and trust. As thought leader Phil Harkins, President of Linkage, Inc and author of Powerful Conversations: How High Impact Leaders Communicate says “The organizational change coach operates like a free safety-a term for the player who can move freely around the field as the play requires. In other words, the coach must be able to work when and where the need arises, in order to facilitate the shift that is taking place.” From The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching by Howard Morgan, Phil Harkins, and Marshall Goldsmith.

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This article was authored by Bea Fields.  Fields is an Executive Coach and the President of Bea Fields Companies, Inc..  Fields specializes in leadership and team development and in generational issues in the workplace.  She is the chief principal of The Gen Y Project and the author of Edge: A Leadership Story.

Setting goals as the way to create priorities is what
leaders do to maintain direction and focus. Unfortunately,
many managers take a tremendous amount of potential
leverage out of their organizations by not prioritizing.
Many do it by using the Brute Force style of management.

How to define Brute Force management? It’s the “just keep
working harder, working longer, and working smarter and
everything will be OK.”

It’s the “just do what I tell you to do when I tell you to
do it.”

I had a Brute Force  boss whose standard answer to “What’s
the most important thing?” was “Everything’s the most
important thing.” We were in a crisis mode and there was a
lot to get done, but what that “Everything is important”
direction led to was a lot of counterproductive behavior
-.do what you’re told to do, and then ask “What’s next?”
After a year of that no leverage management style he was
fired – but not until some very good people had left the
organization.

Managers that take the “everything is Number 1″ approach
are often rewarded for being tough, no nonsense, aggressive
problem solvers. The fact that they created many of the
problems they then solved seems to go unnoticed. Instead of
leadership, they use the  brute force approach to getting
things done. That often works in a crisis situation, but
when everything becomes a crisis, those managers lose their
effectiveness and their people become cynical about how
they are treated. Brute force managers rarely have goals
they share with people, and even more rarely do they have
their people participate in any meaningful way in setting
goals and priorities. To many of them, sharing information
and open communication are threats to their control. Many
of them are quite happy with a compliance level workforce -
the “Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it” people. There
is no leverage in the Brute Force management style.

How do effective leaders create priorities that maximize
their own effectiveness and the effectiveness of their
organization?

They start with a clear understanding of what the three to
five most important things are, both personally and
professionally. This is tough – there are always many more
issues vying for attention than there are resources
available to address them. The leader makes the tough
decisions – the Brute Force manager doesn’t.

Then the leader enlists people in the areas of importance
to help arrive at ways to succeed in meeting the most
important requirements.

Then the leader creates and communicates and negotiates
goals that support the most important three to five issues,
or challenges, or opportunities.

The goals are used to create supporting goals, expectations
and understandings of importance in the universe of people
that can contribute to meeting the goal.

Then leaders act – and expect action from their people.

Leaders protect their own time, and the time of their
people, so that maximum focus can be kept on the critical
few, and not frittered away on the unimportant many.

And then leaders evaluate, change if change is necessary,
and continue to use the process as the basis for action
throughout their organization.

And they insist that this process be kept as simple as
possible – minimum bureaucracy here. Don’t wait for an
enterprise wide software system to capture all the data and
sign ups and goal statements. More good goal setting
systems have drowned of their own administrative weight
than for any other reason. Leaders fight that. Leaders know
the critical intersection in goal setting and prioritizing
is at the person to person level – not at the form
completion and submission point.

And the resulting action they get is so different from the
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it” people. Lots of
leverage in a shared goal environment – on both a personal
and work level.

Leaders know most people want to help, want to contribute,
want to be involved in a worthy enterprise, want to be
recognized for their contribution. Leaders also know most
people work best and most effectively where they have
structure and an understanding of what needs to be done.
Once they have that, great things start to happen! The
people doing the work no longer have to say “Just tell me
what to do and I’ll do it” – they know the priorities and
what is most important. They can use the freedom that
knowledge provides to keep their eyes on the few big balls
- and not be distracted by all the little balls that will
always bounce around and take up all the time people will
let them take up.

Leaders also know there are times when brute force may be
the only appropriate tactic – a public safety health
product recall, a natural disaster, a systems failure, a
fire – all call for everybody pitching in to get things
done – whatever that means. But leaders know the brute
force tactic is the exception to the rule, and is only used
when absolutely necessary. And their people know it – and
rather than take it as just another in a long line of fire
drills, they pitch in and know their efforts will be part
of a worthy enterprise’s efforts to succeed. The result is
maximum leverage when needed.

If you work or live in an “Everything is important”
situation, be careful of burning out. If you can take what
leaders do and apply it to your work and your personal
situation two things will happen – you’ll have more time
for the really important things, and your personal and
professional success will increase – I guarantee it.

And on those brute force days, or weeks, keep the leader’s
model of goals to priorities firmly in your sights – and
get back to it as soon as possible. Start today.

—————————————————-
Andy Cox founded Cox Consulting Group in 1995 after
extensive experience in leadership positions in Fortune 500
corporations. His focus is on helping clients select,
develop, retain and enhance the performance of leaders and
emerging leaders Click on http://www.coxconsultgroup.com
for more information on the selection of the right people
for the right jobs.

Yesterday my riding session with my bay mare ended with her
dripping sweat, her sides heaving… me with a beet red face
struggling to maintain any semblance of control
whatsoever…then me giving her a bath to cool her down and
walk her and myself up and down our driveway to calm us
both.

Today ended with me relaxed, at ease and totally happy with
our accomplishments….her licking her lips and enjoying
being petted and praised.

What changed?

I began our session today before I ever went into the round
pen… By thinking about and analyzing:

what went wrong in our ride yesterday

how her personality played into our interaction

figuring out what Tasha, my big bay horse needed to be
comfortable and progressive

how my thoughts had to change for us to be successful

how my actions had to change for us to be successful

what my breathing pattern had to do with our success

what I needed to do with the energy my body was giving off

You’ll notice that none of these things have to do with
changing her but instead all have to do with changing me
and how I present myself and how I interact with her.

Which leads me to these 5 essential acts of Great
Leadership:

1.Begin with your inner most thoughts and attune your
thought patterns and energy to the situation at hand. For
example if you want a calm and collected interaction then
your thoughts need to be calm, slow and collected
maintaining a quiet peaceful rhythm.

2.Next be aware of your breathing pattern. Do you want more
energy in the interaction?… If so then you might be
breathing at a faster clip and with more energy…if not then
breathe slow and deep…allowing your body to feel each
breath and slow your senses down.

3.Your body is giving off energy…is it fast and action
oriented or quiet controlled and calm? Do you want a slow
measured response from the person you are interacting with?
Then control and measure your energy…they will sense and
respond to the energy you put out.

4.What is the personality of the person you are working
with? Are they quiet and calm and need a slight push? Or
are they full of energy and anticipate what they think you
want so that you need to slow them down?  Be willing to
change your style to meet the needs of the individual and
the situation.

5.Be willing to slow down…analyze the situation…and back up
if you need to…so that you can move forward once again to
meet your goals.

Great leadership begins by Taking the Reins of your
emotions, thoughts, energy, breath, body and actions.

—————————————————-
Jean Starling has an MBA in International Business and is
an author, speaker, trainer, business consultant and coach.
With over 20 years in corporate leadership, management,
consulting and training she is an expert at helping
individuals and businesses reach their goals. Author of
Taking the Reins, a book of stories that teach leadership
in a new more innovative way.
http://www.taking-the-reins.com . Contact
mailto:jean@Taking-the-reins.com .

Leaders know the old saying  “How you act shouts so loudly
I can’t hear what you’re saying” is the truth. They use it
to their advantage. Leaders know the greatest sense of
accomplishment and importance often comes from non –
monetary rewards, and from positive recognition from the
person who is the  boss. And they know they can do it
without “breaking the rules” or incurring big expenses.

Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations
of their organizations. They feel that their hands are tied
when it comes to rewarding their people – that their
actions are controlled by others, and there is little of
any real value they can do to motivate their people.

Here are 12 Ways  leaders let their people know how
important they are:

Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their
people  is important. This may sound pretty basic, but that
is an absolutely essential belief. Without it there is
simply no way people can be convinced  that what they do is
important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of
saying – or thinking – “Oh, she’s just the receptionist”
or, “He’s just the janitor” or “They’re just trainees” or
“They’re just a staff weenie?”

Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle
for nothing less. Nothing makes people feel more important
than high expectations for their performance. Leaders  make
sure their people share in setting the expectations.

Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show
the tie in of individual work with the success of the
organization.

Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they
have. Every tool is used to ensure that the best possible
decision is made on who is selected. People watch very
carefully to see who is picked – they need to be involved
in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know
that actions taken in selection communicate how important
the open position is. Who is selected is  seen  as a direct
reflection on the quality of the  people in the
organization.

Way #5 – Leaders are their people’s institutional champion!
What’s that mean? When their pay is wrong, leaders  get it
right. When their reviews are scheduled, leaders  ensure
they are done accurately and on time. When their raises are
due, leaders make sure they are handled properly and on
time. Leaders jealously guard their relationship as the go
to person for their people. Institutional support people
can help, but leaders know they are the key contact for
their people.

Way #6– Leaders are  absolutely intolerant of unsafe,
disruptive or other negative behaviors. They act on them
quickly and decisively, and never let their people see them
knowingly ignore a bad situation. Leaders know these
situations will not go away, regardless how much “wish’in
and hop’in and pray’in” might be done.

Way #7 – Leaders know that trust and respect are not the
same thing as being liked. It is nice to be liked, it is
absolutely essential that  people trust and respect their
leader.  As a comedian said: “If you want to be liked, get
a dog.”

Way #8 – Leaders cultivate a climate of civility for their
people. In their relationships with their people, they make
sure their actions reflect a fundamental respect for others.

Way #9 –Leaders get every one of their people some form of
self development activity on a regular basis. It may be a
seminar, it may be tuition refund, it may be a book, it may
be a CD set, it may be reimbursement for a Webinar or a
podcast, it may be a Community College course – it does not
have to be expensive and time consuming, but the act of
creating added value through the investment of personal
effort supported by organizational resources is a powerful
way to express importance.

Way #10 – Leaders respect their people’s time – it’s their
most valuable asset. Leaders start meetings on time, end
them on time, keep meeting commitments. They do what they
have to do to ensure their people have the use of as much
of their work time as possible.

Way #11– Leaders keep the rules and policies to an absolute
minimum. If there is  workable set of cultural and
organizational “Way’s Of Doing Things” then  the basis for
treating people with individual regard exists. If they
don’t exist, leaders set them in their own area of
responsibility.

Way #12– Leaders celebrate  the successes – they create the
opportunity for group recognition to happen all over the
place – if Safety is an issue, they create a Safety Award
process that celebrates progress. They make the celebration
events frequent, the rewards modest – but they do it all
the time. Leaders know the frequency of awards and the
opportunity for celebration are as important, actually more
important, than the annual lunch or dinner or whatever.

Did you notice one thing about all 12 Ways? Not one of them
deals with lots of money, or more capital, or new policies
or procedures. All do require beliefs and behaviors – and
they are the most challenging, most high leverage efforts
that can be made to improve an organization. It’s always
tempting to do a feel good seminar, or buy something, or
take some action that shows a high level of commitment to
the people.. But the truth is that the way to greater
success is through a  focused, day to day effort to improve
the level of commitment of the people in an organization,
and that takes hard work, leadership and the acceptance of
change.

If you can see Ways that can help you organization or your
work group or yourself in this article, take them and run
with them – they are the basis for successful managers
becoming successful leaders.

—————————————————-
Andy Cox and the Cox Consulting Group have helped many
organizations in designing and implementing change. To
reach the Cox Consulting Group, go to
http://www.coxconsultgroup.com .

Managing goals, leaders and trimming trees? Hang with me. Let me tell you, I am a goal junkie. I constantly set goals for all kinds of things in my life. They are all SMART goals – they meet the criteria for good goals – I know how to do that. The only problem is my wants always exceed my gets. And that’s a problem. How many of you have the same problem? Too many goals – too little time – too many unmet goals that have the ability to demotivate. You know what you want – you know how to get there – but the results simply do not meet the intentions. Leaders know how to fix that all too common condition.

A story about trimming trees:

I have a tree in the backyard. A Palo Verde tree – absolutely beautiful. Green trunk, delicate leaves, many, many branches and, like many desert trees, it’s covered with hard, sharp thorns. Tough to trim without my becoming a pincushion – so it didn’t get trimmed.

Up until last year it had lots of foliage – even in the driest months. Then something happened, and this year there are any number of small and large branches that are dead – dry as a bone. There’s still some foliage, but not what it had been. The tree looks like it’s dying. We increased the water, and some of the branches flourished, but many others didn’t. I trimmed the outer branches, and removed a lot of the dead growth – but still no real progress.

Finally I consulted a tree expert to see what could be done. The expert took one look at the tree and knew exactly what had to be done. He could see that the tree had grown without any trimming. Lots of small limbs that should have been trimmed had grown into large limbs. There must be 15 or 20 limbs that are creating this pattern of unrestrained growth. Only problem is that the tree’s root structure can’t support that much foliage – this is a desert tree, adapted to a low water environment. The result is going to be the death of the tree – unless the number of major tree limbs are reduced to no more than 5 to 7.

Since talking to the expert – my tree coach,  I’ve stood back and circled that tree any number of times, and now I know which limbs to remove to get down to 5 to 7 major branches. Looking back, if it had been trimmed periodically it wouldn’t need this kind of major surgery. Once the trimming is done, I will have a tree that won’t look so good for a while, but it will flourish as it recovers from its foliage overload. My tree expert/coach – told me if I hadn’t sought out somebody with knowledge of the type of tree, its structure and needs as well as its growth habits, and then followed the advice given to reduce the burden on the tree root structure, within two to three years the tree would be dead, or blown over by one of the violent summer storms we get in Phoenix.

Now that major surgery is being done, I promise to trim it every six months, and not let this situation occur again.

What does this have to do with managing goals?

I sat down to review my goals for the first half of the year and wasn’t too pleased with my accomplishments. Oh sure – I had gotten a lot done, but there were so many things I had included as either goals or as action items that my list of the things I completed looked pretty puny next to the list of things I wanted to get done. Then it occurred to me that my goals and that Palo Verde tree had a lot in common. And just like that tree, my goals had grown to the point where I could no longer sustain and meet them. I had gotten myself to the place where I had put too much on my plate at one time, and was busily trying to support too much with too little. I realized I had to admit my own limitations.

My goals had become so numerous that many were wilting on the tree – they were undernourished. And yet, I was working my butt off to support all this wild growth.  Luckily, I’m stepping back – like my tree expert/coach advised – and taking a really hard look, and cutting back this thicket of goals to 3 to 5 major goals that I can support. I will be better for it – and more successful – and able to support more things in the future, but first I have to trim the tree – keep the 3 to 5 most important goals as the most important goals, and then work them – hard. Leaders know you have to nourish the major branches – and in doing that, allow for stronger long term growth.

Take a look at your own tree of goals, along with your thicket of must do’s and have to do’s – and if you see too many branches for your resources, trim – and trim aggressively so you can focus on success in the main things. And while your at it, take leadership and get the other people in your universe to do the same.

Do it today – the beginning of the second half of the year is a great time to adjust, reengage, reevaluate, and come out of 2007 with success in the truly most important things.

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Andy Cox and the Cox Consulting Group have helped many organizations in designing and implementing change. To reach the Cox Consulting Group, go to www.coxconsultgroup.com .

You’re energetic.  You’re focused.  You start off with a fabulous idea that you are absolutely certain you can take you to places of amazing success.  It’s not just you who
thinks that your business concept is a great one.  Nearly everyone you talk to offers their support for your bold move.  Some of them even envy your chutzpah.  You embody the stuff dreams are made of.  You are proud to call yourself an entrepreneur.

You know your business inside and out because you’ve had
your hand in every decision and every move from the get go.
Essentially you have become your business!

But wait!  What happened?   Suddenly, you’ve got more
business than you can handle on your own.  You’ll have to
bring in new people, new systems, new processes.  Making
that shift can be daunting if not completely debilitating.

This growth phenomenon is a very common challenge shared by
entrepreneurs.  We have seen this process time and time
again.  An entrepreneur’s business starts to grow, and then
he or she wakes up one morning and decides to close the
business doors.  Over the last decade, I have noticed that
most businesses don’t fail because they go bankrupt, but
rather because the owners decided that the amount of effort
they must put into their businesses is simply not worth it
relative to the payoff they are currently receiving.  When
it all boils down, this credo holds true:  Learn to work
smarter, not harder.  First, here’s the typical cycle:  The
business grows, and the owner pulls back because he or she
is faced with more decisions.  More decisions mean more
fear and indecision.  More fear and indecision mean less
dialogue because people shut down when they’re afraid.
Weakened dialogue means that business is becoming less
visible and well known in the marketplace.  The less that
business and its principles are expressed, the more fear
the entrepreneur feels, because he or she is sensing the
downward spiral.  It’s a vicious circle, and suddenly
people start saying “What happened to John?  Is he still
around, or did his business fall off the face of the
earth?” If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be asking
“What do I do now?”  The down and dirty answer is this: 
You shift your thinking from being an entrepreneur to being
a leader!  You may have begun as an entrepreneur.  To grow
and thrive, however, you must become the leader of your
company…and not just in word but in deed.  Take
responsibility for deciding what you want your business to
look like, and start taking the bold steps you need to take
to make things happen!   Follow these five principles, and
your actions will speak volumes for you.

1) Vulnerability: This may sound like a touchy feely word,
but it’s really quite practical.  First, identify the
weaker threads of your leadership and/or your company.
Recognize any weak spots or sinkholes in your foundation.
Second, address specifically-with your team, your Board,
your coach or mentor-how you’re going to work on those
issues to shore them up.  Be specific.  Many leaders are
afraid to discuss their shortcomings for fear of appearing
incompetent.  The truth is that vulnerability engenders
trust, which engenders camaraderie, which engenders growth!
People respect honesty because it creates a level playing
field where they know who’s in what position – what the
strategy of the game is.  Ironically, addressing your own
vulnerability will make you less vulnerable in the
marketplace because you’ll inspire the loyalty of your team.

2) 50/50 Likeability: With a new business, it’s easy to
fall into the trap of doing whatever it takes to attract
the greatest amount of business, being everything to every
person you meet.  You want to make everyone happy,
regardless of whether or not their request falls outside of
your business principles, core values or mission.  One
piece  of advice…Stop this insanity!  Instead, work to
create a leadership style that demands a reaction from
people; they’ll either love you or they just won’t like
you, and that’s okay.   Think of leaders like Abraham Lincoln or Elizabeth I.  They served and lead amidst
inconceivable controversy and left some of the most amazing
marks on humanity.  Think of an Apple vs. Microsoft
computer.  Each has its own function and reaches a unique
market.    Allow your customers, your clients, your
team-the people whose lives you touch-to experience a
legitimate emotional reaction to your business.  They’ll
remember you and they’ll return because they know what you
stand for.  As you develop 50/50 Likeability, you will be
attracting people who are perfectly suited for your
business, and when people are perfectly suited for your
business, you will do your best work, which results in very
happy customers.

3) Find the gold in toxic feedback: How often do you get
negative feedback about your business?  Whether that
nasty-gram of an email or that verbal tirade came from
someone on your team or from one of your customers, look at
it closely.  It may be exaggerated, but there’s most likely
a nugget of truth in there. Realize first that it’s just
feedback; you have a choice as to what to do with it.   For
starters:  Don’t take the feedback personally.  Step back
from the feedback, boil down the issue, address it, and use
it to help you grow as a leader.  If someone has had a
negative reaction to your business, look closely at what
you have done to contribute to the problem.  Chances are
very good that this feedback will be the key to unlocking
your next business opportunity.    Last but not least,
thank the person for the insight!  Shift your perspective
and realize that they’ve given you a fresh perspective for
examining your business and your style as a leader.

4)  Delegate: Yes, it’s the “D” word.  Most entrepreneurs
have spent so much time in total autonomy mode that
allowing themselves to delegate is a monumental task.  I
highly recommend a simple three step process for delegation.

a) Clearly articulate your expectations, but don’t be glued
to an exact vision of the outcome.  Leave some wiggle room
for people to bring their own energy into the process so
that the outcome is stronger.

b) Communicate in spades the process you want to see.  Be
specific about the who, what, when, why and how of the task
you are delegating.  People respect and respond well to
boundaries, so don’t be afraid to spell things out in
detail.

c) Provide feedback and make adjustments.  Respectfully
interact with your team and employees as you move toward
completion of the task at hand.  Let them know exactly what
they are doing well and what types of improvements you want
to see, and above all, give your employees permission to
fail.  If you are afraid to delegate, because you are
afraid people will fail, chances are very good that your
team and your business will never grow into its full
potential. The synergy created in delegation should be
greater than you.  Let people exceed your expectations.

5) Agility: Say the word agile, and you probably think of a
gymnast.  Instead, think of yourself and your business. 
Learn to bend…not break.  You can grow in many more
exciting directions when you have the courage to bend and
stretch beyond your comfort zone.  The beauty of it is,
you’ll inspire your team to do so right along with you!
And the more you’re willing and able to find out what’s new
and different in the world on a daily basis-be it
technology, information or even something as seemingly
simple as expanding your team or seeing their skills in a
different light-the more your agility will develop.  Soon,
you’ll be doing cartwheels around the competition! The
proof is in the pudding.  These principles can be
instrumental in your own evolution from entrepreneur to
leader.  When that shift happens, hang on!  Your company
can then take the amazing journey from successful to
significant!

—————————————————-
This article was written by Bea Fields and Corey Blake. Bea
Fields and Corey Blake with Eva Silva are the co-authors of
Edge! A Leadership Story. Fields is an Executive Coach and
the President of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training.
Blake is an author, screenplay writer and the President of
Writers of the Round Table, Inc.  http://Edge-Book.com .

“Bodacious” means to be bold, outstanding, and remarkable.
Take those attributes to work and you’re on your way to
building a fulfilling, bodacious career.  Does having a
bodacious career sound exciting to you?  It is!  After
starting as an $8 an hour customer service rep, I rose
through the ranks of AOL, accepting four promotions and
surviving over six layoffs to become the head of corporate
training for 12,000 employees.  Along the way I learned I
needed to be bodacious to achieve the career I wanted.  Out
of that experience I created my “cheat sheet” of ten
essential Bodacious Career Builders.  Here’s number two:
Create Deliberate Relationships

Bodacious Career builders know that in today’s business
world value lies in relationships. Everything is
introduced, evaluated, negotiated, bought, sold, resolved,
ended, and enjoyed based on relationships.  The
technological advancements that have evolved over recent
years serve as both metaphors and evidence of our demand
for an infinite ability to make connections through
computers, modems, phone lines, and air waves, as well as
among people in organizations.  Even with all this
high-tech stuff, it’s still all about people.

What I’m about to say flies in the face of all good girl
coding most of us have had embedded in our systems from the
day we first heard, “Now play nice.  That’s a good girl.”
And it might make you so mad that it will cause you to stop
reading this article and move on to something else.  I
certainly hope not.

But in the name of authenticity and full disclosure, I have
to tell it like I see it:  To build a Bodacious Career,
deliberately seek relationships with people according to
who they are, who they know, what they do — and what they
can do for you.

Sounds horribly selective, doesn’t it?  But it isn’t really.

Think of how you’ve created relationships at work in the
past.  My guess is that more often than not, you’ve created
friendships based on those around you who you easily
connected with or felt some kinship because of working
closely together or having something in common.  These
approaches are okay, but they don’t do much to increase the
quality of the selection.

Your mother always said to choose your friends wisely,
right?  Now it’s time to do it strategically.  Proactively
create relationships with people who can support your own
growth, who can contribute meaningfully to your journey.
Do the same in return.

So what kind of people would be best for building your
Bodacious Career?  Perhaps it’s someone with a particular
kind of experience that you’d like to have.  Or, someone
with an organizational rank that you want to make sure
knows you exist.  Maybe it’s an internal or external
customer whose performance is linked to yours?

While there are no “right” one-size-fits-all answers, here
are a few suggestions of the kinds of people to seek out
when creating deliberate relationships:

- People who are in key leadership positions

- Women or men who are successful in your profession or
industry

- Women who represent an achievement or personal growth
spurt that you would like to experience

Once you’ve brainstormed a list of 2 -3 people, reach out
to them.  Send an e-mail, call them up, invite them to
lunch or coffee, or ask for a phone appointment.  Yes, you
can do this, even to very successful people!

Make sure you identify what’s in it for them to invest
their time with you, be it something emotional like a the
positive boost for being recognized and appreciated, or
something practical like offering your talents on a project
they need done.  If you’re able to succinctly and
gracefully capture what you have to offer, you’ll get their
attention sooner.

Thinking of developing relationships this way may feel
awkward at first, but I encourage you to give it a try.
You have nothing to lose but the potential of meeting
someone who could make a huge difference to your career.

BODACIOUS CAREER BUILDER #2:  Decide who in your company or
organization could help your career in some way and how you
will go about getting to know them.

—————————————————-
Mary Foley, author of “Bodacious! Career: Outrageous
Success for Working Women” inspires women to be
courageously in charge of their lives, careers and
businesses. You can be inspired, too! Get her free e-book
“10 Bodacious Ways for a Bodacious Career today at
http://www.GoBodacious.com/ebook .

VA hospitals neglecting our veterans, global warming, a
poorly rated public education system, unaffordable health
care, and corporate corruption running amok have all been
in the news. What’s going on here? What do all of these
have in common?

“Inadequate leadership”‘ is the answer.

Steven Covey, in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People, mentioned the discovery of an interesting
phenomenon when he reviewed success literature written
during the last 200 years. The success literature of the
past 50 years emphasized the importance of personality and
skill development. The literature of over 50 years ago by
writers such as Emerson, Thoreau, and others, emphasized
character and inner development.

What happens if we do not build a strong foundation through
inner development? We have witnessed charismatic
politicians, ministers, athletes, and others with
tremendous communication and interpersonal skills who ended
up in disgrace and/or prison. What was missing? The
foundation. It was either missing or unstable. Character is
the foundation upon which we must build skills, techniques,
and strategies for effectiveness which can withstand the
test of time and temptation. Without strong character the
likelihood is that our skills will be misused and
improperly channeled, which may be damaging to us and
others.

Competent leaders with character and integrity who lead by
example are needed. We need principled leaders who
genuinely care about the welfare of others.Where are the
great leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and
Mahatma Gandhi? We need leaders of this caliber.

The good news is that we can develop successful leaders. We
can achieve this by examining great leaders and systems
that are producing results. Then we can create and use
models of what is working. This is an effective way to
address the problem.

Schools are one place where we can start developing future
leaders. Our schools need to teach character education and
create a climate where kids strive for excellence and learn
to care about others.

Are there examples of such schools? Fortunately there are
many. For example, kids from the poorest neighborhoods who
go to KIPP charter schools, who are on the average two
grades behind when they start, are outscoring students from
excellent schools on standardized tests. The students
develop character traits and work in a spirit of
cooperation to help each other succeed. The teachers are
excellent leaders whose dedication inspires students to
bring out their best.

True leaders are torch bearers who nurture the seeds of
greatness in their followers. Helping others to unfold
their potential is education and leadership at its best.
Developing more of these types of leaders is a solution to
the leadership crisis.

Copyright 2007. Raymond Gerson

—————————————————-
Raymond Gerson has over 40 years experience coaching and
teaching career and personal development. He is also an
adjunct professor of college success strategy courses. He
is the author of five books, including Create the Life You
Want. Two of his career how-to e-books and a motivational
audio presentation are available as free gifts. Go to:
http://www.raymondgerson.com/freeGifts_landingPage.html

Jane’s and Bob’s department isn’t the sales department of
the company, but they frequently have to use sales skills.
To get their department producing efficiently and
effectively, they have to sell their ideas to create buy-in.

What’s important about buy-in?

Everyone knows that projects fail or succeed depending on
the buy-in from the other stakeholders in the department:
employees, team members, and management.  But buy-in isn’t
about getting everyone to say “Yes!” to your way or idea,
but getting everyone to say “Yes!” to an idea or way of
doing something.

Getting buy-in from the stakeholders on a project is
crucial for its success.  Let’s define what buy-in is
before we try to create it.

Buy-in is not your idea, your plan, or your way of doing
things.  It is not “I’m right!” and it’s not your job to
convince everyone else that you are, indeed, right.  Buy-in
is defined as a group of people who say yes to an idea, a
plan, a step, a project.  It’s the agreement of everyone on
one thing (or idea, plan, etc.), not just one person’s
particular thing, idea, plan, etc.

We know what buy-in is.  Now what?

Jane and Bob need selling skills to create that buy-in, but
they’re not scared by that idea.  Just like buy-in isn’t
about convincing everyone else that you’re right, selling
also isn’t about your “rightness” and forcing something
down everyone else’s throat.  Selling is about getting
people to articulate their needs, their points of pain,
their values, and what drives them.  Knowing this helps you
identify how your product or service (in buy-in, the ideas,
plan, actions) helps meet the needs, relieve the pain,
coincide with the values, and help the customers
(stakeholders) in their quests as they drive toward a goal.

How do Jane and Bob sell their ideas?

It’s not by telling their folks their idea and why they
should buy in.  It’s about asking them questions.  Here are
some examples of some of the questions Jane and Bob might
ask:

1. What do you want to achieve through this project (or
idea, plan, action…whatever they’re trying to create buy-in
for)?
2. What will happen if this project isn’t completed
satisfactorily or on time or finished at all?
3. What do you mean by satisfaction?

If stakeholders aren’t committed or convinced, you will see
symptoms of dissatisfaction later:  changes in scope,
miscommunications, personnel problems, and more.  Just as
in selling a product to someone who isn’t convinced of the
need for the product, you run the risk of that person
rejecting the product.

Final thoughts from Jane and Bob

Learn to ask questions and listen.  Selling is just that –
mostly listening for needs, for values, for points of pain,
for problems, and for solutions.  If you listen, you’ll
learn a lot more and have a greater chance of success than
if you do all the talking.  Buy-in is simply another
product to sell by asking powerful questions of your
stakeholders and listening carefully to their answers.

—————————————————-
Linda Finkle, CEO of INCEDO GROUP, works with innovative
leaders around the world who understand that business needs
a new organizational growth style. These innovative leaders
know that powerful cross-functional communication is the
highest priority and the strongest strategy for building
organizational effectiveness. To find out more, visit:
http://www.IncedoGroup.com

Would you like to experience the benefits of being a good
speaker? Speaking before groups offers a tremendous
opportunity for personal and professional development.
Never before have excellent communication skills been more
important than they are today.

This article contains fifteen elements for making a
successful presentation. Use these ideas, and you will
speak with greater self confidence and ease before a group
of any size.

1. BUILD RAPPORT AND TRUST.

Talk with-not at –your audience. Establish some common
ground. Communicate with sincerity and warmth, and make eye
contact.

In speaking to a large group of secretaries, I established
rapport quickly by telling them about my mother’s success
as a secretary and how much I admired her. I gave them
examples of why competent secretaries are the backbone of
my successful organization.

2. DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE OPENING.

Grab your audience’s attention from the start. Use a
dramatic or startling statement, a human interest or
personal story, a question, an anecdote or illustration, a
relevant quote-or a humorous opening, if appropriate. I
recently heard a speaker open with, “I wrote that great
introduction you just heard. It gives me something to shoot
for when I speak.”

3. DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE ENDING

Close with a bang. Use a relevant quote, a poem, or an
appeal for action. Give your audience a sincere compliment,
a powerful story, or a summary of your main points. Make
sure your closing—whatever it is—is relevant to your
topic. Also, your entire speech and the ending should be
tailored to your audience.

4. REDUCE NERVOUSNESS.

According to the book of lists, public speaking is the
number one fear, greater even than the fear of death.

Before presenting: Thoroughly prepare and rehearse before
your speaking engagement. When you are about to begin, take
several deep breaths. Visualize yourself giving a relaxed
presentation.

During the presentation: Focus on your message and your
audience, not on yourself. Give yourself opportunities for
physical movement. Don’t try to be perfect. Make
nervousness work for you. Channel your nervousness into
enthusiasm; let your adrenalin take over. Butterflies in
your stomach? Let them soar, taking you with them.

5. MAKE YOUR PRESENTATION COME ALIVE.

Talk to the audience in terms of their interests, problems,
and concerns. Communicate with vitality and conviction.
Talk to, and make eye contact with individual members of
the audience. Change the pace with vocal variety and humor,
using pauses to emphasize points. Use inspiring human
interest stories, making only a few points and supporting
them with examples, illustrations, anecdotes, and
analogies. Use natural gestures; physically move from time
to time instead of remaining behind a podium.

6. USE VOCAL VARIETY.

Variety speed, volume, and pitch. To emphasize points,
speed up or slow down, speak more softly or loudly, and
allow your voice to rise and fall. Speak conversationally
to an audience, but with greater force and energy.
Appropriate vocal variety and gestures will naturally occur.

7. VISUAL AIDS, HANDOUTS, OTHER AIDS:

Use visual aids only when needed to clarify a point or
idea. Don’t show a visual aid to the audience until you are
ready to use it. Use visual media as an aid, not as crutch
or a substitute. Visual aids should be large, clear,
legible, and brief. Avoid talking toward your visual aid or
turning your back to the audience. You might provide a
brief outline of your objectives, the topics to be covered,
and information about yourself. Then supply handouts that
reinforce your points. Distribute most handouts at the end
of your presentation so that participants maintain eye
contact and keep their attention on you during the
presentation.

8. TRY USING HUMOR.

You don’t have to be funny. But humor can be effective in
changing the pace, relaxing the audience, building rapport,
and supporting your points. If you are uncomfortable using
humor, avoid it-or practice it on your friends and family
until you become more comfortable with it.

If you use humor, keep it brief, relevant to the topic, and
appropriate for the occasion. Do not tell off-color jokes
or racial, ethnic, or religious jokes. Don’t say, “I’m
going to tell you a joke”-just do it. Allow your audience
to laugh before you continue speaking. Have a comeback if
your attempt at humor fails.

Never use humor at the expense of another. However, poking
fun at yourself can let your audience know you don’t feel
superior or have an egotistical attitude. I often tell my
audience the following story: A woman and her little boy
came up to me after what I thought was one of my most
inspiring speeches. The woman gushed, “That was a wonderful
talk, and I am so full with your message!” Smiling with
delight, I asked her little boy, “And how did you like it,
son?” He replied, “Yeah, I got a bellyful of it, too!”

9. INVOLVE YOUR AUDIENCE.

Use stories and examples that relate to audience concerns.
Keep your presentation lively, allowing time for questions.
Ask if there are questions, and hold the silence a few
moments. If no one responds, say, “If there are no
questions, let me mention a question I am often asked”-and
then answer it. You might also ask questions and request a
show of hands.

10. APPEAL TO DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES AND PERSONALITY
TYPES.

People think and learn in different ways. Some are more
logical; some, more intuitive. Broaden audience response by
varying your techniques. Use some human interest stories,
appeal to logic, present general themes (“the big picture”)
and appeal to the senses, providing concrete examples. The
success of an engineer often depends upon his or her
objective analysis of a problem. If you’re speaking to a
group of engineers, appeal to their logical thought
processes. Present a problem and a logical solution for it,
perhaps using a graph based on statistical data. This is
not to say that human interest stories or appeals to the
emotions are lost on engineers. But they are most likely to
be persuaded by logic.

11. MANAGE THE SEATING ARRANGEMENTS.

Being physically close to your audience increases your
ability to build rapport. If the audience is scattered, it
is more difficult to lead them as one unit. Bring them
together, removing large numbers of empty seats. They will
be less self-conscious if they are sitting close together.
Arrange seats so the audience can easily see you.

12. DEAL WITH DISRUPTIONS.

If you encounter disruptive persons, keep control of your
emotions. Do not show irritation. Wait until they finish
talking; then use active/reflective listening. Lower your
voice; don’t try to shout them down. Sometimes humor can
reduce the tension. If they continue to be disruptive and
it is appropriate, ask them to leave or to meet with you
later to discuss their concerns.

13. BE A LEADER.

Your audience expects you to create the atmosphere, set the
tone, assume a leadership role, and be in control. They
want to be treated with respect. Arrive early to make sure
everything is properly set up and ready. Be yourself,
allowing your unique personality to shine.

Remember, you are there to make something happen, to move
your audience in some way. It is up to you to inspire them.

14. KNOW YOUR GOAL.

Every speech has at least one of four goals: to inform or
explain, to persuade, to inspire action, or to entertain.
Know the goal of your presentation, and keep it in mind as
you thoroughly prepare. Lack of preparation reflects
indifference and insults your audience. Careful preparation
is the only way to achieve the results you want. Use simple
and clear language that communicates your ideas in a manner
suited to your goal.

15. EXHIBIT VITALITY.

When Dr. Kenneth McFarlin, an outstanding professional
speaker, was asked what is the most important quality of a
speaker, he responded: “vitality.” Vitality includes
enthusiasm, energy, forcefulness, and aliveness. It comes
from a depth of conviction-a deep belief in yourself and in
what you are saying.

CONCLUSION You will be amazed at the positive influence you
will have on others by becoming a good speaker. Public
speaking will enrich both your life and the lives of others.

Take advantage of opportunities to speak to audiences no
matter how small. Remember the words of Demosthenes, one of
the world’s greatest orators, who said, “Small
opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”

Copyright 2007. Raymond Gerson

—————————————————-
Raymond Gerson has over 40 years experience teaching career
and personal development. He is a former Toastmasters
International speech contest winner and teaches college
success strategy courses. Raymond is the author of five
books including, How to Create the Job You Want. This ebook
and an audio recording of Raymond speaking to a live
audience are available as free gifts. Go to:
http://www.raymondgerson.com/freeGifts_landingPage.html