Coaching for Leaders

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.

Sandie Morgan: Global Center for Women & Justice Questions are the language of coaches. Stories are the language of leaders. In this episode, I welcome Sandie Morgan, Director of the Global Center for Women & Justice at Vanguard University of Southern California, to speak about how she utilizes storytelling to influence the world. Hear Sandie and Dave biweekly on the Ending Human Trafficking Podcast 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*. It’s been a full year since I launched Coaching for Leaders, so in this special anniversary episode, Bonni and I look at a more personal topic: what leadership lessons we’ve learned from our son Luke in the first six months of his life. As you’ll see, the lessons could apply to many relationships, both personal and professional. What leadership lessons we’ve learned (or been reminded of) in our first six months of parenting: Sleep deprivation can take down anybody. Expectations are huge…and a bit of grace goes a long way. No matter how organized you are, you will get barfed on. There is true joy to be found anywhere and everywhere. It’s really not about you most of the time. 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.

Almost all of us are put into leadership roles where we need to influence people that we can’t bark orders to. It’s essential for all of us to learn how to lead without a formal title. In this episode, I explore 6 things you can do to lead others outside of title and position that will create better results for both of you. 1) Find out what’s important to people – and then help them get it Appreciate the past Understand the present Picture the future Identify passions ARTICLE LINK: 4 Ways to Prepare Your Team to See The Future 2) Go out of your way to recognize people Write thank you notes – I write at least 1-2 each week Do everyone possible to share people’s name is a positive way publicly Use people’s names 3) Make decisions for the long-run 4) Don’t love ’em and leave ’em 5) Engage your opponents Take time to listen to people who disagree with you You don’t have to agree – but understand where they are coming from 6) Have a sense of humor Groundhog day 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.

All of us would like to believe that we can lead in such a way where people would never drive us nuts. Of course, that’s not reality – and we’ve all had to deal with people many times that push our buttons in all the wrong ways. In this episode, I share a recent experience I had where someone was driving me nuts and what mistakes I made (and advise I have) for leading when this happens. Here are nine things you can do to lead when someone is driving you nuts: 1) Ask yourself, it is personality or performance? Rarely do we get to decide what personalities we get to work with and lead. If it’s personality, challenge yourself to be flexible. 2) Give people the benefit of the doubt. Almost nobody wakes up in the morning with the goal to make other people miserable. 3) Address non-performance early. If there is a clear performance issue, address it early. Trust your instincts and those of the people around you. What should it be? For me, 2 incidents. People know you are watching, that you care, and what the expectations are. 4) Tell people you are giving them a second chance. Error on the side of over-communicating here. 5) Use email wisely (and Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Stay off posting or sending things in writing when you are mad. Follow-up expectations with an email summary. 6) Find out if it can be fixed before losing your cool. Most everything can be fixed. 7) Sleep on it. We don’t make good decisions when we’re tired. We anger faster. We take twice and long to handle stuff. We don’t have perspective. We have the tendency to fire off emails. 8) Let other people do their jobs once you’ve raised a concern. Sometimes you’ll get punished for being proactive. 9) Decide how much of your time and energy this is worth. Dale Carnegie says, “Decide just how much anxiety a thing may be worth and refuse to give it more.” This too shall pass. Often I find that I am angry at myself when I feel like I am angry at others. 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*. Everyone interacts with the world differently, but there are two broad ends of the spectrum that can help us understand how we see the world and how we can support those that we lead. In this episode, we’ll look extensive at the judging-perceiving personality type preference and how appreciating both sides can help you to understand and lead others more effectively. Are you a Chaos Muppet or an Order Muppet? Check out this article from Slate. Judging preference Organized Scheduled Planned Energized by planning Tips for leaders who prefer judging: Not everyone will have planned things out as well as you have Watch out for micromanagement You’re going to need to be flexible with the real world How to lead those with a judging preference: Get them in the room when doing long-term planning and scheduling Coach them if they get too caught up in their planning Help people recognize when they need to be flexible Perceiving preference Spontaneous Adaptable Flexible Energized by deadlines Tips for leaders who prefer perceiving: Be careful not to change directions too many times on people There are huge advantages to giving people more time Remember that you can (and likely will) drive those with a judging preference nuts How to lead those with an perceiving preference: Coach them if they aren’t trending towards making decisions Tap into their strengths when things need to change direction quickly Let them be flexible in the workplace (workday, schedule, timeline) 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.

We all make decision as leaders, but we don’t all make decisions the same way. Our personalities influence what becomes important and prominent in our decision-making. In this episode, I explore the two dichotomies that help explain how we make decisions. Then, I discuss strategies leaders can use with folks who have preferences for each dichotomy in order to understand how we can make better decisions. Thinking preference Analysis Objective Egalitarian Tips for leaders who prefer thinking: Watch out for over-analysis Listen to how people feel about the situation Know that you can’t always be perfectly objective – consider the other side too How to lead those with a thinking preference: They are going to want data Coach them if they might appear cold to others Watch out for impact on one person Feeling preference Impact on people Values-based (my work – what inspires me) Individual considered Tips for leaders who prefer feeling: Spend time to consider the data in your decisions Know that the business work tends to understand “thinking” better Watch out for getting to tied into one person or cause on a decision How to lead those with a feeling preference: Discuss how decisions will impact people Coach them to consider data in their decisions and explanations of their decisions Talk in terms on decisions and values 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.

Everyone takes in information differently. Our personalities influence what we see and don’t see. In this episode, I explore the two dichotomies that help explain how people take in information. Then, I discuss strategies leaders can use with folks who have preferences for each dichotomy in order to maximize the impact of what we take in and how we communicate that to others. Sensing preference Tangible realities Concrete information from five senses Orientated towards present reality Real-life experience Take time to reach conclusions Need details to put together concepts and theories Experience Tips for leaders who prefer sensing: Tell people where you are going You can’t ever collect it all Get help thinking about the future Watch out for missing the big picture How to lead those with a sensing preference: Talk about the here and now Give plenty of details up front and lead them through to the conclusion Reference how practical experience is forming this communication/decision Intuition preference Intangibles Concepts and patterns – plus the sixth sense Oriented towards the future Ideas, possibilities, visioning Reach conclusions more quickly Starts with meaning first -> works back to details Inspiration Tips for leaders who prefer intuition: People don’t always get it until they see how it’s really going to happen Demonstrate how you’ve done your homework Get help looking at all the details Watch out for missing important details How to lead those with an intuition preference: Talk about the future Set the stage for the big picture and fill in the details later Reference how inspiration is leading to this 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.

Author Susan Cain discusses the power of introverts in a world biased towards extroversion. The episode highlights the value introverts bring to organizations, challenges they face, successful introverted leaders, and strategies to support introverted individuals in the workplace.