Coaching for Leaders

Bringing smart ideas to the table isn't enough; we also need to be able to sell those ideas. The best idea communicated poorly will fare much worse than a mediocre idea communicated well. In this episode, I'll examine what you can do to help your ideas take off. Six mistakes you may be making when pitching a great idea: 1) Neglecting to interact with the people who are impacted most by your idea. 2) Ignoring people who could help you. 3) Spending too much time on the unimportant details. 4) Assuming the "pitch" is the decision point. 5) Failing to strategize how to work around obstacles. 6) Hesitating on bad news. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

JoAnne Norton: Family Business Consulting Group Family businesses account for 60% of all jobs in the United States and 98% of all companies elsewhere. The dynamics of family business are unique and communication becomes even more critical. In this episode, I interview family business consultant JoAnne Norton of the Family Business Consulting Group on how family business can prosper from one generation to the next with effective communication. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

As our careers grow, we get more and more opportunities to attend conferences. Most people fail to maximize what they can gain from a conference. In this episode, I interview experienced conference-goer and speaker Charles Max Wood of Ruby Rogues and Javascript Jabber on how he maximizes the value he gets from conferences. Community Feedback USA: (949) 38-LEARN Global: +1 (949) 385-3276 Twitter: @DaveStachowiak #CFLshow feedback@coachingforleaders.com My guest this week is: Charles Max Wood of the Ruby Rogues and Javascript Jabber podcasts Learn Ruby on Rails at Chuck's site: Rails Ramp Up Twitter: @cmaxw Community Feedback USA: (949) 38-LEARN Global: +1 (949) 385-3276 Twitter: @DaveStachowiak #CFLshow feedback@coachingforleaders.com Thank you to Jeffrey Powers, Eveliina Vuolli, Cesar Abeid, Suzie Farthing, Michael Farthing, Risto Mononen, Kristie Cole, and Christina Caesar for either liking our page on Facebook or following me on Google+ A special thank you to Suzie Farthing for writing an iTunes review of our show this past week. Want a booster-shot mid-week? I send a weekly article via email so you can stay connected with our community and keep getting ideas and tools that will keep you moving forward. If you're not already receiving the weekly articles, please subscribe at this link.

All of us are trying to be effective while handling some level of chaos, yet some are more efficient in getting it all done than others. Dave responds to a listener question and gives suggestions for how to get it all done when the reason you aren't getting it done is because you have too much on your plate. 1) Figure out what you need to do exclusively, that no one else can do Look at the last really full week you had... What could you teach someone else to do? Are you believing the fallacy that no one else could do as good a job as you on all your tasks? 2) Have defined outcomes for a specific timeframe Contract with your manager on what outcomes are most important Remember that you can't hit a target that you don't have Keep these priorities simple and easily trackable. The SMART framework can be helpful (see episode #15) 3) Do quality work (be careful about just focusing on speed) Figure out what performance metrics are important to your organization Meet or exceed those metrics If you don't have clarity, try to find out how your leaders are measured 4) Come to the table with solutions Present challenges with the scope of work and give realistic projections backed up with evidence Allow your leader to participate in the decision you've made on priorities What not to say? My team has too much work and is overwhelmed (that's not taking ownership) 5) Learn how to say no You can't be everything to everybody Set boundaries in advance and trust your gut reactions Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

All of us are being bombarded by so much information and data that we can barely keep up. If we want to be able to influence more effectively, we need to be able to do it concisely. Bonni and I discuss strategies for making this happen. Mark Twain received the following telegram from a publisher: NEED 2-PAGE SHORT STORY TWO DAYS. And famously replied... NO CAN DO 2 PAGES TWO DAYS. CAN DO 30 PAGES 2 DAYS. NEED 30 DAYS TO DO 2 PAGES. In his book Information Anxiety, Richard Saul Wurman states that a standard issue of the New York Times contains more information than a citizen of 17th England would have absorbed in their entire lifetime. The problem? Many people will tune us out when we are not concise. People stop taking calls or are often "unavailable" from people who can't be concise. Lots of people will stop seeking advice from someone who can't give it concisely. We don't have credibility with most audiences if we can't communicate what we know concisely. What are the causes? For many of my clients, their technical training works against them in communicating concisely. People believe (falsely) that they are more credible the longer they speak. Not true...it's about quality, not quantity. The "PowerPoint culture" in many organizations has reinforced the myth that more information in slides is better when presentation information. Most of the time, it's not - less is more. Since making something concise takes time and investment, some of us simply just don't want to do it out of laziness...even when we know it would help the audience. Selfishness sometimes creeps in - we like to hear ourselves talk and we forget that our purpose is to add value for the audience, not to look good ourselves. What are the solutions? Ask yourself if what you are about the communicate is really essential to the overall message? If you put yourself in the audience's shows, would you really care about what it is you are about to say? Have someone you trust who knows your audience listen to what you are going to say before you get in front of your manager, a meeting, or a large presentation. Budget time to edit down what you are saying to make it more concise. Suggestions for implementation: Have firm standards on your conciseness and stick to them... As an example, this show is almost always 40 minutes or less. My weekly articles are 500 words or less Join Toastmasters and get practice speaking concisely Attend the Dale Carnegie Course and learn and use many models to get ideas across quickly. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Bonni and I discuss our eight suggestions for managing up: 1) Support your manager publicly: Avoid gossip if you can, and when someone is truly trying to problem solve, do your best to help them understand each side of the situation instead of being critical. One of the fastest ways to lose trust with your manager is for them to discover you've been speaking poorly about them behind their backs. 2) Tell your manager what you are planning: It rarely is a problem to over communicate something...most people take the opposite position and don't communicate enough. Talking openly about what you are planning to do is helpful when the outcome your manager expects isn't 100% clear - or if your manager has a history of changing their mind about a project without sharing that change. 3) Avoid surprises: Managers and people named Bonni don't like surprises...and none of us want to be caught off guard in a difficult situation. Help your manager save face by informing them when something doesn't go as planned. This is hard is your manager is the "shoot the messenger" type, but it's still an essential way to build trust over the long-term. 4) Come to the table with solutions: This goes right along with number #3. Absolutely address things quickly when there are issues, but also come to the table with a game plan for how it will get resolved. Your plan doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to reflect that you've done serious thinking about the problem and are ready and willing to put your talents into practice to resolve the issue. 5) Connect requests to their priorities: Most managers care about impact and sustainability. That means that whatever you are trying to do to influence your manager should align with the core mission of the organization and/or provide additional revenue or cost savings. If you can't make the case for either of those two areas, you're probably barking the wrong bark up the tree. 6) Spend time thinking through what your boss won't: Everyone has their strengths and everyone has their blind spots. You do a huge service to your manager when you determine where they don't have strengths and do whatever you can to support them in that areas through ideas, proposals, and actions. 7) Don't go over their head: Unless it's a serious ethical or legal situation, avoid trying to influence your manager by going over their head. Usually this only works once (the first time) and you'll pay the price for a long time after that, assuming you are still around. 8) Get advice from others you trust: Talk to other people who know your manager and the things they care about. Learn about their style. Getting helpful advice from others can help you position your requests in the right way. Even if you don't dialogue about it, observe what others do to influence your manager successfully. Remember, you won't always get what you want - and sometimes that is a good thing. Finally, don't get discouraged if you don't see people playing by the same rules. You can really do amazing things if you do these eight things with consistency! Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

A great mentoring program can help both the organization and its people achieve incredible results. In this episode, I welcome mentoring expert Stella Cowan to discuss what leaders should consider when designing and implementing a formal mentoring program in their organizations. Community Feedback USA: (949) 38-LEARN Global: +1 (949) 385-3276 Twitter: #CFLshow feedback@coachingforleaders.com Interview with Stella Cowan Here are the resources Stella mentioned on the show, along with some additional tools: Dr. Lois Zachary (Center for Mentoring Excellence) Ida Abbott (home page) Stella recommends her articles “Beyond Mentors, the Need for Champions" and “Mentoring Groups and Mentoring Circles”) Stella recommends two to us during training/orientation and to provide continued support to mentors and mentees are: “Being an Effective Mentor: 101 Practical Strategies for Success,” and “Working with a Mentor:  50 Practical Strategies for Success.” So You Want to Be Mentored by Stella Cowan* International Mentoring Association (some parts of this site require membership for access) Slideshow: “Implementing a Mentoring Program" Stella uses this slideshow when presenting to groups interesting in implementing a program. The slideshow provides a high-level view of what’s required to create a successful design and launch. Sample Mentoring Agreement – This is a sample Stella found online and has referenced as a model. Community Feedback USA: (949) 38-LEARN Global: +1 (949) 385-3276 Twitter: #CFLshow feedback@coachingforleaders.com Submit a story for the Great Leader Story Contest to air on episode #62 on November 5, 2012! Submit Real story on a specific incident Call in your story to (949) 38-LEARN or record right at your computer at: www.coachingforleaders.com/speak Keep stories to 2 minutes or less! Deadline for submission of great leader stories is Thursday, November 1, 2012 I was a guest last week on the Engaging Leader Podcast with my friend Jesse Lehay to discuss the Power of Authenticity. If you'd like to check it out, it's available at this link. Thank you to Venus Gray for liking our Facebook fan page! Wherever you are in the world, whatever is on your agenda today, take one idea from this show to engage and develop someone you lead.

Interview with listener Stefan Three lessons from Stefan's story: The importance of leaders to be willing to admit mistakes Why creating results over time helps you stand out from the crowd The power of a long-term vision Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She joins me monthly to respond to listener questions. I heard throughout my life that I should always honor those who are older than me and I've always been asked to lead them. In this episode, Bonni and I discuss situations where we've both been asked to lead people older than us and identify seven principles that can help you do this successfully as well. 1. Everyone is your superior in some way. “In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson 2. Focus on the right questions instead of the right answers. 3. Befriend people who are older than you are - and younger too. 4. Remember each person will be very young and very old. Movie recommendation: "The curious case of Benjamin Button." 5. Honoring and leading are not mutually exclusive. 6. Not everyone wants to lead. 7. You are there for a reason. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Almost all of us are doing more virtually than we ever have before - and that includes our leadership responsibilities. Virtual leadership has become the norm in many organizations and leaders have had to adapt in order to influence effectively across distance. In this week's episode, I speak with virtual teams expert Mike Demas on what strategies leaders can use in order to be as effective as possible in a virtual environment. Special Guest: Mike Demas, Director at Micron Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.