How to Encourage Team Members to Lead

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Michael Ray Hopkin

Guest post by Lindsay Traiman

Leadership plays a vital role in every company. To have a successful business, it is important that every team member is prepared to step up and lead when necessary. Forbes.com defines leadership as “a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.” By encouraging others to lead, you can more easily achieve company goals and create a nurturing, supportive work environment. Use the following strategies to encourage your team members to lead.

Educate your staff — Not everyone has innate leadership skills, but these skills can be developed. Offer guidance and leadership training to give your staff the confidence and tools they need to lead and inspire others.

Encourage shared leadership roles — Leadership does not come naturally to everyone, which can make it a difficult and scary experience for some. Ease your staff into leadership positions by first allowing them to share the role with yourself or other team members. Allowing people to co-lead projects reduces anxiety and creates a more positive leadership experience by giving team members someone to lean on for assistance.

Define the goal — Unclear goals can create huge obstacles for those attempting to lead a project. Be sure that you clearly define the task, objectives and goals when assigning a project to assist your team members in their leadership efforts.

Listen – Listening is a very important part of effective communication. Always listen to what your staff has to say. By listening, you can gain more insight into the things that motivate individual team members while also learning what goals they have for themselves.

Lead by example – As a leader, your team members look to you as a role model. There is no easier way to encourage others to lead than by leading them effectively. According to a Dale Carnegie study, 62 percent of engaged employees said their managers set a good example. By practicing what you preach in all aspects of your business, your staff will grow to trust you. Employees who trust that their managers are taking their leadership role seriously are more likely to go the extra mile to support the organization’s goals.

Value your staff – Always let your staff members know how important they are to the company. When you see your staff actually taking initiative and utilizing their leadership skills, be sure to recognize them and acknowledge their efforts. Your employees must be reassured that their hard work and leadership is vital to the company’s success.  A study by Bersin and Associates states that companies that provide ample employee recognition have 31 percent lower voluntary turnover rates than companies that don’t. A little appreciation truly goes a long way.

While it may not be easy to develop leadership skills in others, it is essential to the success of your business. Encourage everyone on your team to lead in order to help your company succeed.

Lindsay Traiman writes on behalf of Dale Carnegie Training, a company founded on the principles of the famous speaker and author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Today, the company offers leadership training and helps businesses and individuals achieve their goals. Visit Dale Carnegie Training online to learn more about leadership training.

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The Product Management Perspective: Many of the strategies described here are key to successful product management. Product managers need to educate others (especially sales) about their products. They need to listen to the market and learn what makes potential buyers want to buy their products. They need to communicate effectively, both inside and outside the company. Perhaps most important, product managers need to value their coworkers and build trust with their organization.

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Are You an Effective Business Leader?

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Michael Ray Hopkin

Guest post by Mike Gardener

With the economic climate as tough as it currently is, leadership qualities are the main cornerstones of success when it comes to virtually all kinds of businesses. But what are the most important qualities when it comes to effective business leadership? And what are the essential characteristics of leaders that can inspire others to succeed in challenges that would otherwise seem impossible?

Good Judgment

First of all, every business leader that wants to be successful in his or her field needs to know the field inside out and understand even the smallest details, which are sometimes the most important factors in business projects. With good judgment, business leaders will be able to delegate all the task properly and to the right workers, meaning that everything will be done as efficiently as possible and without any wasted time or resources. To find out more about the topic, read this HBR article.

Dedication

Second is the dedication factor. It is of the utmost importance that the person who wants to lead is also the person that is the most dedicated to the goal at hand. Without dedication, there is no chance of having the entire team come together and remain inspired to do well. Success might come nonetheless, but it will be completely random and it will depend on many unrelated factors.

Responsibility

To make things even more complicated, all business leaders that have ambitions to succeed in their fields need to be able to take responsibility for their decisions and actions. That might seem like a very straightforward thing to do, but it often turns out to be one of the issues that many simply cannot overcome. The thing is that it is usually very easy to take responsibility whenever things are going according to the plan. Accepting responsibility for failures, however, is a much more difficult thing to do. Nevertheless, it is also one of the most essential challenges that business leaders need to face (and professional responsibility is obviously not the only thing to care about, social responsibility is yet another thing that has to be accepted). Honesty and willingness to accept defeats can go a long way – and, together, they can help leaders turn a bunch of skilled workers into a true team.

Creativity

Finally, leaders that want to succeed also need to be creative to overcome all the difficulties that might arise at any given moment. Original plans are worth sticking to and they will work in the majority of cases – but, from time to time, it is also quite important to innovate and change strategies at a moment’s notice. And that is when creativity will be crucial to the overall chances of succeeding. Successful business leaders will recognize those occasions and won’t be afraid to change strategies in order to find a way around the obstacles that might be found along the way. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is also possible to find schools that emphasize creativity in business leadership.

Uniting Through a Vision

There is, however, a bottom line to all these things. Namely, there is one ability that every effective business leader simply has to have – the ability to unite everything under one clear vision. You might be a leader that knows his or her business field inside out and still remain relatively unsuccessful if you are unable to present a vision that others could follow and a goal that others could strive for. The fact that the most successful business leaders (check this list for a good idea about how visions and businesses are related to each other) are also often regarded as true visionaries is definitely not accidental. The very opposite of that is true – it shows exactly what are the most important qualities when it comes to business leadership.

Mike Gardener is one of the owners of TheOfficeProviders.com , a company that provides office space for all kinds of businesses. Visit their website in order to find a suitable office space for your own business or just to learn more about the company itself.

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Letting Others Lead

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Michael Ray Hopkin

Guest post by Jason Miner

There is more to being a leader than simply assigning tasks for subordinates and making ruling judgments. A leader relies on his or her own confidence and knowledge in order to accomplish the task at hand. He or she needs to be able to quickly analyze a situation and have the tenacity to complete the project regardless of surrounding situations. The leader needs to be approachable, but command the respect of subordinates. Conversely, a good leader needs to realize when to step back and let others take responsibility. For the benefit of everyone involved and the success of the project, sometimes it is better to for leaders to yield to others. Here are three reasons why stepping back will benefit you in the long run:

  1. Success – A good leader understands what needs to be done in order to succeed in the project at hand. If he or she is unable to accomplish a successful outcome due to insufficient knowledge, then it might be in the best interest of everyone to allow a subordinate to lead the project who does. Delegating a subordinate to take the helm who has more experience in the specific task proves that the leader can see the sum of his or her assets within the organization. You wouldn’t delegate an experienced auto-mechanic to work on domain login authentications if you had an experienced network administrator within the group.
  2. Sacrifice – It may take swallowing of your pride in order to admit to yourself that a subordinate’s skill in a specific area surpasses your own. In order to complete projects in a timely manner while decreasing the chance of failure, stepping aside and delegating the task to this individual will lead to the success of the project. Sacrificing your pride for the good of the whole is one of the reasons why you are the leader.
  3. Experience – While unknown variables happen continuously throughout life, a leader can recognize the difference between being able to overcome an obstacle and not having a clue as to what the next step should be. If a subordinate has handled the situation successfully before, then it stands to reason he or she may have a solution that could benefit the team and the project. Letting someone else take command when you clearly are unable to handle the situation is a lesson in humility and judgment. As long as you’ve learned from the situation, you add yet another piece of knowledge in order to make you a better leader.

Stepping aside to allow a more skilled person take the reins throughout the project doesn’t mean you have failed in anyway. On the contrary, it means you are doing everything you can to make sure the task succeeds. Removing yourself doesn’t have to be a permanent situation as long as you learn from the experience and grow as a leader. Don’t allow your pride to be the downfall of your subordinates, the project, or your own self-worth.

 Jason Miner plays a vital role for http://www.blogcarnival.com. He is an expert in writing topics of different categories. He is helping the carnival team to grow & working on making this an even better place for bloggers.

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Taking leadership to the next level

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Michael Ray Hopkin

I am admittedly a creature of habit. I like to run and when I do I listen to books, podcasts and talks. This is a great time for learning and really letting things sink down deeply in my understanding. I also (as a creature of habit) find myself going back to books I’ve listened to in the past. In recent days I’m re-listening to Good to Great by Jim Collins.

Though I love every part of this book, I’m most impressed with the chapter on Level 5 Leadership. Collins’ definition is simple: “Level 5 leaders blend the paradoxical combination of deep personal humility with intense professional will.” This is, as Collins puts it, a “study in duality.” The following are among some of the phrases Collins uses to describe the duality of a Level 5 leader:

Demonstrates a compelling modesty, shunning public adulation. Creates superb results, a clear catalyst in the transition from good to great.

Acts with quiet, calm determination; relies principally on inspired standards, not inspiring charisma, to motivate. Demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult.

Channels ambition into the company, not to self; sets up successor for even more greatness in the next generation. Sets the standard of building an enduring great company; will settle for nothing less.

Looks in the mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor results, never blaming other people, external factors or bad luck. Looks out the window, not in the mirror, to apportion credit for the success of the company – to other people, external factors and good luck.

So can you and I become a Level 5 leader? Collins was asked this question and after stating he wasn’t sure (because their research didn’t delve into that topic) he said there are two categories of people—those who don’t have the Level 5 seed within them and those who do.

The first category consists of people who could never subjugate their own needs to the greater ambition of something larger and more lasting than themselves. The second category consists of people who could evolve to Level 5; the capability resides within them, perhaps buried or ignored or simply nascent. Under the right circumstances—with self-reflection, a mentor, loving parents, a significant life experience, or other factors—the seed can begin to develop.

This inspires me and should give all of hope that we can lead teams and products and companies to success.

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The Product Management Perspective: Product management provides a great opportunity to nurture leaders at your company. If you have responsibility for hiring product management or product marketing professionals, take the time to find the right people. Be rigorous in your search and interview processes and put your best PMs on your biggest opportunities.

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How to Foster Productive Communication with Employees

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Michael Ray Hopkin

Guest post by Diane Pierre-Louis

The best leaders are nearly always excellent communicators. Clear and productive communication between management and staff is a great stage-setter for a successful and rewarding workplace environment. Whether you feel that you’re already communicating well with your employees or know this is an area that needs polishing, it’s always wise to review some common-sense strategies.

Listen with Intent

The art of meaningful listening requires effort and practice, but it is well worth the effort in the end. Generally, most of us are pretty lousy listeners. Although we might keep our mouths shut, we’re mostly likely just biding our time until the other person is finished and we can have our say. We think we know what our conversation partner will say next, so we plan our responses, which means we are not honestly listening. How can we possibly understand what someone means if our attention is silently focused elsewhere? Pay attention and be an active listener. And whatever you do, don’t interrupt.

Pay Attention to Tone and Body Language 

Body language is often more telling than the words that leave our mouth. As you’re listening to your employee, be an active observer as well as an attentive listener. Body language experts assert that 90% of how we communicate is nonverbal, so what we do with our body and facial expressions are as powerful as the words we speak. Practice using open body language that indicates you are receptive and willing to enter into a healthy conversation. This can include leaving your arms by your sides instead of crossing them and leaning slightly toward the speaker.

Tone of voice is also important. Unless we listen to recordings of ourselves regularly, it’s hard for us to relate to how our voice sounds. Be aware that your voice may indicate how tired, stressed, bored or irritated you are – even if your words indicate otherwise.

Follow up on Conversations

Don’t depart from a meeting without restating what you just heard. That will go a long way to eliminating the possibility of misunderstandings. Also, get into the habit of sending a quick email recapping what was discussed in a meeting or other work-related gathering. Often, employees bring up questions or concerns during a meeting, so a prompt follow-up addressing those issues is a valuable communication tool that lets your staff know you were listening and that you care.

Great leaders know that a company’s fortunes will rise and fall on the contributions of its employees. Creating an environment that promotes open communication among all employees and supervisors will foster the trust and collaboration necessary for long-term success.

Diane Pierre-Louis is a writer for Bisk Education and covers a variety of topics related to higher education and the workplace, including effective leadership and conflict management.

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The Product Management Perspective: One of the best ways to show customers you care about them is to truly listen to them. Too often product managers hear the words coming out of a customer’s mouth and immediately start talking about how their product will solve the problem, rather than listening to find the root of the problem and seeking answers. Most product managers understand that customers are not always right. However, it is always in your best interest to listen to them and understand what they are saying.

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How can you make a positive perception?

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Michael Ray Hopkin

Beyond IllusionsHow we perceive things shapes our lives. In the book Beyond Illusions: The Magic of Positive Perception, Brad Barton—a magician, athlete and all-around great guy—takes you on a journey of looking past illusions and forming positive perceptions that will change your life.

When we understand how we’re deceived, we have the power to no longer be enslaved by the illusions and misperceptions that create personal, social and business crises. This is how we achieve freedom.

Each chapter deals with a compelling topic, with humor and emotion. I literally laughed out loud reading some parts and shed tears in others. Brad’s ability to teach principles through stories is second to none. For example, he discusses the terribly difficult business crises of Tylenol and Jack In The Box to drive home the point that bad situations can lead to great opportunities.

Brad teaches, “Anything is a blessing – illness, accident, injury, bad luck – depending on how we respond to it and grow from it.” He illustrates this with a powerful story about his brother Will, who became a quadriplegic after a terrible accident. Will almost died (actually did die and came back), never gave up hope, worked hard and eventually was able to walk.

Brad tells his own story about overcoming tremendous odds to become a top college athlete. “Helping others is the best way to help yourself.” He also developed what he calls the Ten A’s, “the magic formula behind the power of positive perception.” They are: acceptance, acknowledgement, acclamation, action, approval, appreciation, appraisal, achievement, accessibility and allegiance.

Beyond Illusions is an excellent (and quick) read that will change your life. It will improve your leadership and your outlook.

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The Product Management Perspective: Every product manager can benefit from the magic of positive perceptions. As the chief product evangelist you play a key role in keeping everyone engaged and optimistic about the work they’re doing. This book has valuable tools to help you win the fight.

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How do leaders make lasting change?

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Michael Ray Hopkin

One of the great leaders and thinkers of our time is Clayton Christensen, ”a down-to-earth” alum of BYU, Oxford and Harvard. His book The Innovators Dilemma has impacted the business world perhaps more than any other book in recent history. He has expanded his research and applied his theories to other industries like health care, higher education and even governments and tax systems.

I found two recent articles about Clayton Christensen that have increased my understanding about leadership: The first is published in the BYU Magazine’s Spring 2013 edition. (As a BYU alum I get the magazine in the mail; it will be available online in a few months.) The second article is an interview in Wired magazine. In this interview author Jeff Howe asks Christensen questions about his career and sheds thought-provoking light on how he became so important to the business world.

So how do leaders make lasting change? According to Christensen, you keep nimble and respond to up-and-coming innovations at the bottom of the market. You make a concerted effort to not let your company become vulnerable to what Christensen coined as disruptive innovation.

What’s even more important to Christensen is the application of his theories to individual lives; making lasting change in your personal life. He recently wrote the book How Will You Measure Your Life in response to his experiences with former classmates and students. Rather than attempting to explain it I will point you to a TED video where Clayton describes it himself.

If you really want to make lasting change in your life, understand these principles. In the end, says Christensen: “God will measure my life by the individual people that I have blessed.” That’s how you make lasting change.

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The Product Management Perspective: Product managers operate in a very interesting position (in light of Clayton Christensen’s theories): they need to innovate and keep their products viable. However, the very things they do to innovate lead to The Innovator’s Dilemma if not watched and guarded closely. Take a careful look at Christensen’s writings and talks, and look for ways to apply them in your role as product manager.

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