Coaching for Leaders

Stella Cowan 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. Here are the resources Stella mentioned, 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. 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.

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. 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*. 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. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

I wish I could tell you that I’ve always felt confident as a leader, but I used to be a real scaredy cat. In this episode, I discuss six ways that I learned to have more confidence in my leadership abilities and not be consumed by the fear and worry about giving feedback to others. 1) Set expectations early: If expectations aren’t there with followers, create them. If they aren’t clear, clarify. Do it early or as soon as you can. 2) Be willing to change directions: A mentor gave me great advice when they said, “No leader is perfect. You can always acknowledge to a follower that something has been OK up until now, but that you are now making a different decision going forward.” 3) Ask a trusted colleague for feedback: I discovered that asking for advice from a person I trusted often gave me new ideas. 4) Respond in 24 hours: Zig Ziglar said, “If you need to eat a frog, you don’t want to look at that sucker too long. He ain’t gonna get any prettier.” (Customers – SCORE!) 5) Earn trust by being a good-finder: I spent time each day finding good stuff people were doing and told them. 6) Listen to daily inspiration: These days, I listen to podcasts. One that always gives me a boost is Michael Hyatt’s show This Is Your Life. 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.

It sure would be nice if we could all learn to be more effective leaders without making any mistakes. However, while none of us would wish for mistakes, many of us learn the most from past missteps. In this episode, I talk about the value of mistakes and highlight six mistakes that I have made as the host of this show. I discuss the mistakes that I made in starting my first business many years ago and what I learned from these mistakes. I the more recent past, here are the six mistakes that I’ve made hosting this show: 1) Being too structured I mention the book Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz by Frank Barrett that was featured on a recent HBR Ideacast. “If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake.” -Miles Davis One of my mentors once said, “Any strength overused, becomes a liability.” 2) Assuming everyone listens the way I do We have listeners on Zune, iTunes, Stitcher, and BlackBerry – and even more places than those. 3) Forgetting the reason behind the goal 4) Driving the agenda myself Upcoming shows on mentoring, lessons from changing companies, and stories about great leaders are all listener suggestions 5) Not sharing enough specific stories I started to turn the corner a bit with episode #48: How to Lead When Someone Is Driving You Nuts 6) Not being engaged with people Why the list of 100 is gone What others mistakes have I made? Tell me. What mistakes have you made? Share in the comments section below. 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.

Mike Demas: Micron 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. 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.

Carol Taylor: Vanguard University Leaders face difficult situations when their organizations struggle through budgetary challenges. My guest, Carol Taylor, is all too familiar with such challenges and tells the story of the crisis that faced Vanguard University when she was appointed president. She is the author of Leading a Turnaround and the Joy of a Third Class Ticket found in Thriving Leadership edited by Karen Longman, and joins me on this episode to share her leadership journey at Vanguard. Two challenges for you after listening to today’s show: Visit the Vanguard University website for inspiration on what wonderful work they are doing since emerging from this crisis Share this episode with someone who is leading through a challenging time or crisis 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*. Authentic leaders know that there’s more to an apology than simply the words “I’m sorry” – although that’s a good starting point. Mistakes are inevitable, but few leaders are able to communicate a genuine apology. This week, Bonni returns to discuss how we can make our apologies more meaningful and genuine to the people who receive them. Components of an authentic apology: 1) State “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” with sincerity 2) Be specific about what you are apologizing for and own it 3) Discuss what you will do to avoid the mistake in the future Tell me what you did to incorporate something from our discussion above – I want to know what is working for you! 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.

Getting results isn’t always easy, but the process is simple. In this episode, I’ll review the 3 steps that you need to get the best results from the people you lead. I’ll also point out many of the common mistakes that lots of us make when trying to follow these simple guidelines. If you aren’t getting what you expect from people, this show is a must-listen for you. What do I want for you? People know what outcomes you want People know when you’re going to check-in People expect consequences 1) Establish outcomes up front Dictating the process makes it yours and takes away innovation Establish the metrics for success Let people decide how they will get there 2) Agree to regular check-ins People don’t need to feel micromanaged if check-ins are scheduled If they are mostly on track, leave them alone… If they are going off track, provide coaching… 3) Provide accountability If something doesn’t match the expectations – call people on it Acknowledge people in some way – best is a thank you Episode #9 – positive feedback Episode #10 – constructive feedback 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.

If you are doing any type of serious leadership, you are going to hear complaining. As I discuss in this episode, complaining isn’t always a bad thing, but you need to handle it appropriately as a leader. In this episode, I discuss seven ways to handle complainers in your organization. 1. Expect ingratitude “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” – Colin Powell 2. Give people time and a venue to complain People don’t always want a solution to their problems Limit this time 3. Set the agenda in advance (and time frames) Have them bring an agenda to the meeting Follow that agenda If they aren’t ready for that, you set agenda and send to them in advance 4. Require solutions to problems Ask people to always bring a realistic solution along with any complaint They know the issue better than you do – they’ve thought it through 5. Set time limits and stick to them (see details in the 6 Habits to Keep People from Wasting Your Time article) Let people know in advance how much time you have End meetings on time If you need to, book something else after the meeting 6. Be frank with people Tell people why you aren’t taking action If they aren’t coming with solutions, call them on it. Share examples. 7. Limit your interactions with that person (try the others first) Gallup says that the best leaders spend a majority of their time with their best people You don’t have to always be available – schedule a time Use caller ID 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.