By Dana Borowka,
MA, CEO, Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC
Organizations are in need of
leaders at all levels
in order to
grow and sustain business.
Hiring the right people, mentoring
and coaching
individuals is vital in
not only sharing ideas from the past but also for attracting and
retaining top talent to ensure performance and
survival of an
organization.
Later in the article we will invite you to take a complimentary
leadership assessment. We feel this is very important in
order to better understand yourself as a leader but also to gather
insight on how to manage others. If you are able to inspire
and encourage others to share ideas that can be integrated into your
business goals and objectives then… WOW! You know
how to tap into unique resources of your team. If not,
we’d encourage you to continue reading to find a way to do so.
A number of years ago, a manager that we knew would yell,
scream and demean fellow team members. It got to a point
where the team wouldn’t even talk to this manager.
Team members started to gather together and created ideas on their own
to implement. After about six to eight months, profitability
started to increase – market share improved –
overhead costs were reduced. The manager wanted to know what
was going on! It turned out that since the team members were
selected for their proactive leadership characteristics, the team
succeeded despite their obstacle. They strived to rally each
other and effectively work together as a team. The manager
started to realize what had happened and learned a very valuable lesson
about leadership. While his team managed to pull together to
be an efficient team, he didn’t fulfill his role as a
leader. A leader needs to listen, ask non-judgmental
questions and communicate in a way that doesn’t
shut people down.
With the many challenges we all face, now is the time to rally your
team members … now is the time to enhance your leadership
style… now is the time to listen to ideas and plan for the
future! In-depth work style and personality assessments not
only help when hiring, they can be a manager’s best tool to
connect with employees and identify future leaders.
You can manage the hard way or the easy way, the choice is up to
you. The hard way is to be the “my way or the
highway” type of boss. You know the kind, always
forcing workers to do things in a way that isn’t natural for
them. Wouldn’t it be better to use your
understanding of work style traits to tap into the natural flow so you
can get the best out of your people? Of course, knowing your employees,
understanding their concerns, and developing connected relationships
with them should be the normal procedure for all managers.
What is the payoff to a manager for developing connected relationships
with employees using in-depth work style and personality assessments?
Here are three good benefits. First, it enables the manager to better
anticipate what roadblocks might occur with a worker, and what to do to
reduce this resistance. Second, understanding where employees are
coming from will help you plan out how much participation you need from
them, and will give some clues as to how change should be communicated
to them. Third, building connected relationships builds commitment and
loyalty.
Take
The Connected Leader Test
How connected are you as a manager? To find out, we asked our
colleague Dr. Bruce Heller, an industrial psychologist with 20 years
experience, to help us design a quick connected leader self
test. Once you answer the questions, we will provide you with
specific tips and ideas that you can begin to implement
immediately. For most managers, leadership does not
come naturally. The tips we share will help you to become a
better listener and a more connected leader. Employee buy-in
comes when a manager is able to listen attentively, understand their
needs and concerns, and to lead using your natural style.
To read more about this topic and how to use in-depth work style and
personality assessments during your selection process as well as
gathering mentoring and coaching ideas, you can order our book, Cracking The Personality Code
by visiting www.crackingthepersonalitycode.com.
To
begin taking the connected leadership test, please click
here.
Permission is needed from Lighthouse
Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this
article. © 2009
If you
would like additional information on this topic or others, please
contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting
Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica,
CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com
& our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com
Lighthouse
Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including
in-depth work style and personality assessments for new hires &
staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication
training, conflict management, workshops, and executive &
employee coaching. To order the book, Cracking the
Personality Code, please go to www.crackingthepersonalitycode.com.
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