LEADING WAYS NEWSLETTER #31

Speaker Tip of the Month

MEMORABLE PRESENTERS ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE BY ANSWERING THEIR QUESTIONS
Sometimes when you say “Who wants to ask the first question?” there is a stony silence.
TIP :: After a brief pause, launch straight in with “Well who wants to ask the second question?” It may bring laughter, and often the first ice-breaker question.
If there is still a silence polished speakers also have questions at the ready…. “Often at a meeting like this I am asked………….”

I have spent a lot of time in newsletters talking about elements of the leadership quadrant, and so now I thought I would turn my attention to What Leaders Actually Do.

I think there are four critical elements to effective leadership whether you own a small business, run a work team or are a senior executive in a larger company.

Fostering Team - I believe it starts with hiring the right people, but more importantly ensuring that each person matches the culture of the group. This means hiring for the right attitude, after all you can always teach skills…..If, after coaching the person is still not a good fit to the group then the leader should have the courage to reassign that person.

Remember also that there is no “I” in “Team,” and so the leader’s role is to build team spirit by their own example, and through open communication.

Teams perform better where there are differential financial rewards to reward individual effort, and where team and individuals are recognised through success celebrations.

Marshalling Resources - There are three kinds of leader, those who know how to make money, those who do not, and those who are as yet, untested. We all need to be leaders who know how to make money and that applies whether you are in a line or staff management role, or are a business owner.

"Many people will walk in and out
of your life, but only true friends
will leave footprints in your heart."
-- Author unknown

This means of course that cost management and finding new ways to increase revenues should always be in your mind.

Your catch phrase should become …. “What is the ROI from……………?”

Marshalling resources also means ensuring that when new processes or ways of doing things are introduced, that they become new habits. To do this great leaders create an understanding on the reasons for the change and tie the reasons back to business plans.

In growing other people leaders set s-t-r-e-t-c-h goals, monitor performance and provide feedback to, and coach others. Mediocre performance is just not an option to truly effective leaders.

Building Coalitions - This is an area where you have heard me speak before.

Anyone can cut costs, but great leaders understand fair pricing and build long term relationships with both their vendors and their customers.

In relation to the former, multi-year contracts at carefully negotiated prices will ensure vendor stability and good supply continuity.

Negotiate a supply contract too hard on just price and you and the vendor are unlikely to trust each other in the important relationship from that point, of ensuring goods or services of high quality and stable continuity of supply.

People do business with those they like and trust – from one person deciding to do business with you it is now a good idea not only to nurture that relationship, but also to expand your relationship to others within the customer’s business.

By building a depth of contacts within the client company you are minimising the risk of losing the business if your initial contact should happen to leave.

To really wed a customer to you find areas of mutual personal (not business) interest to explore and nurture.

Getter the Right Stuff Done - I call them CSF’s – Critical Success Factors.

That is those few key things which if done well will ensure that I am successful in my role.

If you are a business owner then it will be those few things which will determine if my business is successful.

In either case stay focussed and do the follow-through to ensure that you achieve your CSF’s in a reasonable time-frame.

Self-control and time management will ensure you act decisively and prioritize work both for yourself and your team members.

Finally, effective leaders are innovators and are those who consistently find better and more efficient ways to complete tasks.
You too can take your career and business to the next level through this new focus.

“Neither should a ship rely on
one small anchor, nor should hope.”