Leadership Skills - Influence Others

Leadership has taken on a new meaning and greater challenges in the last decade. Influencing is a critical skill in today's environment, in which you must work with so many people to do your job. No longer can you order things to be done; no longer are problems so simple that everyone agrees on one solution.

Looking into the rest of the decade, it appears that leaders in business and industry will continue to encounter situations that will demand increasingly sophisticated skills to get others to endorse their initiatives. Influencing skills, then, will continue to be critical management assets.

The following are suggestions for developing the following skill areas:

Increasing Your leadership Impact: 
The ability to command the attention of others is necessary for effective leadership. If you suspect that your impact is low, there are several things you can do.

• when you meet with individuals and groups, stand up quickly and introduce yourself, if necessary.
• With employees, be firm and direct when stating expectations or confronting poor performance. Don't dilute your comments with phrases such as "..don't you think?", "it seems to me...," "maybe I'm wrong, but...," you can be firm and direct without being abrasive or disrespectfull.
• If you are uncomfortable stating your point of view directly, consider enrolling in an assertiveness training course to build your skills and develop your confidence in presenting your opinions more forcefully.
• Pay attention to your vocal qualities when giving direction or feedback to others. If you tend to be soft-spoken, work on delivering your message in a more forceful and confident tone.

Improving leadership through Feedback:
Most managers do not have clear perceptions of their leadership style and their impact on others. Some feedback can be gained through observing others' reactions and through the feedback others provide in formal and informal settings. In-depth feedback is often helpful, yet others may be hesitant to provide it unless you actively solicit it.

Becoming More Assertive:
people who lack assertiveness skills are often overlooked, and thus have trouble getting their ideas accepted. The ability to present your point of view without offending others, even if you believe that others will disagree, is critical if you want to have an impact on your staff and on the organization.

Giving Compelling Reasons for ideas:
People are persuaded by different things. some people are impressed by a strong, logical argument, while others are swayed by a forceful, impassioned by explanations. to be most compelling, adapt your persuasive style to suit your audience.

Winning Support from Others:
gaining support from others is a skill that takes time and practice to hone. Good ideas are often not enough to get others to accept your point of view.

Negotiating Persuasively:
Effective negotiation depends on a number of factors: preparation, knowledge of the other person's position and needs, and creativity in coming up with alternative solutions, to name just a few. One key to becoming a persuasive negotiator is to clearly specify how your objectives will benefit the other party or parties involved.

Getting Others to Take Action:
There are many ways to compel others to take action, but the most effective strategies result in people willingly  and eagerly acting on your initiatives. If you find that you consistently have a hard time getting others to get moving, consider the following:

• Show your enthusiasm.
• State positive expectations.
• Provide rewards.

Commanding attention and Respect in Groups:
Group situations are an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate your leadership qualities and to have an impact on a large number of people.

Influencing the decisions of upper Management:
One of the most important areas in which to focus your influencing efforts is upper management. getting the attention of your manager and his or her peers and other higher-level managers is a critical skill.  

Leadership Skills - Part 3 - Lead Courageously

Today's environment demands that leaders make decisions that involve risk, and take their stand in the face of ambiguity or adversity. Managers who lead courageously confront problems directly and take action based on what they believe is right. They win the respect and commitment of others by standing up for what they believe; making decisions despite ambiguity; by supporting others who make difficult decisions; and by following issues through to completion in spite of adversity.
Valuable tips:

• Identify your most deeply held convictions. Use those convictions to guide your leadership.
• Give people the feedback they need even when it may be difficult.
• Openly acknowledge that your stand may be unpopular, and then explain why it is important for others to consider your point of view.
• Stand behind your people and back their decisions.
• Say "no" clearly and explain why.
• Attack problems, no people
• Identify the people in your organization or your team whose courage you most admire. Talk with them and learn how they act on their convictions.
• Talk with decision makers about how they arrived at their decisions and how they dealt with people's reactions. Incorporate some of their ideas and strategies.
• Use simple, clear language when communicating your position.
• When you see a need or problem that you wish someone would address, ask yourself if you could be doing something about it.
• In meetings, verbalize your concerns so they can be openly discussed.
• Determine if one of your veteran staff members has a chronic performance problem that no one has really addressed. Then deal with it.
• Identify the upper-level manager you find most intimidating or critical and make a conscious effort to be candid with this person during your next encounter.
• Honestly determine if you tend to avoid passing negative information upward.
• Report on both your successes and your failures with equal candor.
• Look at your staff and decide if you are spending more energy protecting them than holding them accountable.
• Step forward with a position of principle even when there is ambiguity regarding the facts.
• Take calculated risks. Ask yourself, "what is the worst thing that could happen?" and then decide if proceeding is worth the risk.
• After speaking up for what you believe is important, be gracious whether your ideas are accepted or rejected.
• Remember that being a manager is not a popularity contest. You may not always be liked, but you should be respected.
• Show the courage to let your people learn from their mistakes.
• Believe that you have the power to make a difference, and accept the responsibility of trying.
• Read books or watch movies that exemplify true courage in others. They can inspire you to strengthen your courage in dealing with work-related issues.

 

Leadership Skills - Provide direction - Part 2

The hallmark of an effective leader is clear focus and direction. successful leaders operate with a vision of where they are going, and they use this vision to inspire their people and their organization.
Some leaders generate this vision and direction from within themselves and then develop support for it within their organization. Others work with their teams to create a vision together. In either case, it is this clear vision and focused direction that allow leaders to align and direct the energy and resources of the organization to achieve desired goals.
Successful managers align their vision with that of the larger organization of which they are part. They then work with their team to identify the mission and goals of the team, out of which comes the roles and responsibilities of each individual. This process helps ensure that each individual’s objectives and decisions support the larger vision and eliminates many activities that are counterproductive.
I am providing suggestions on how to create and communicate your vision for your area to clarify each person’s responsibilities in creating that vision. It addresses the issues of:

-Fostering the Development of a common Vision:
the foundation of an effective organization and team is a common vision and mission that is understood and accepted by everyone.
A vision is a statement of the future state that is desired.Each part of the organization should have its own vision of how it will contribute to the overall vision of the organization.
An organization and its parts also need a mission. A mission statement clarifies the organization’s present state by defining:

• What business it is in
• What the boundaries of the business are
• Who its customers are
• How departments and individuals work together
• What needs to be accomplished
• How success is measured

Your team’s vision and mission will focus its energy, clarify its goals, and set priorities in place. It will also help you and your team to reach agreement on team members’ roles and team’s direction.

-Providing Direction and defining Priorities:
People are most productive when they have a clear of what is expected of them, both on a daily basis and over the longer term. Being clear about organizational priorities enables employees to make appropriate decisions about the most important issues to tackle. you can take steps to clearly communicate the overall direction of a team to both current and new team members.

-Clarifying Roles and responsibilities:
Clarifying responsibilities increases ownership, alleviates conflicts, and eliminates unnecessary ambiguity. Furthermore, letting other areas know who is responsible for what allows your area to be more responsive to customer needs and can keep things from “falling through the cracks”. Role clarification is an ongoing process in a dynamic organization.

-Linking the team’s Mission to That of the Organization:
Sometimes employees are unclear about how their work ties into the organization; or they may be asked to do things that seem meaningless or unimportant. tying individual goals and tasks to the organization’s objectives can help employees view their assignments as important. Your contribution as an effective manager is to ensure that you and your people plan and act in a manner consistent with what the organization intends to accomplish.

-Making the Team’s Mission and strategies Clear to others:
Once you have a mission in place for your team, communicate it to others who are important to the success of your group. Doing so will help you gain the understanding and support you need to get your job done.
 

Leadership Skills - Part 1

Leadership: the ability to make things happen by encouraging and channeling the contributions of others, taking a stand on addressing important issues, and acting as a catalyst for change and continuous improvement.


In the past, leadership was simpler. Yesterday's managers could demand performance. Today's managers are faced with more educated and democratically oriented workforce. Problems and opportunities are complex and challenging.

As a result, today's managers must encourage and apply the contributions of all of the company's human resources, both individually and in groups. You need the creativity and resourcefulness of everyone to find solutions and the commitment of all employees to implement these solutions effectively.

In this series I intend to focus in the following seven areas of leadership skills identified as essential to managerial success:

• Provide Direction: Fosters the development of a common vision;provides clear direction and priorities;clarifies roles and responsibilities.
• Lead courageously: Steps forward to address difficult issues; puts self on the line to deal with important problems;stands firm when necessary.
• Influence Others: Asserts own ideas and persuades others; gains support and commitment from others; mobilizes people to take action.
• Foster Teamwork: Builds effective teams committed to organizational goals;fosters collaboration among team members and among teams; uses teams to address relevant issues.
• Motivates Others: Encourages and empowers others to achieve;establishes challenging performance standards; creates enthusiasm, a feeling of investment, and a desire to excel.
• Coach and Develop Others: Accurately assesses strengths and development needs of employees; gives timely, specific feedback and helpful coaching; provides challenging assignments and opportunities for development.
• Champion Change: Challenges the status quo and champions new initiatives; acts as a catalyst of change and stimulates others to change; paves the way for needed changes; manages implementation effectively.