Leadership – Delegation Series
If you have a task greater than you can handle on your own, then you need to delegate. Not a choice many of us choose to make, but one we can all learn. This post will be the first in a series on this task and how to best accomplish it. There will be 4 posts in total, but this is the first and covers Why, that is, the Benefits, Preparation and Choosing the right people for the job.
So let's start with the Whys.
The first is obvious. The task if too big for one person. Or maybe is beyond the skills of that one person.
The second is that there is more chance of success because using other people brings in extra skill-sets, and added enthusiasm.
The third WHY is that delegation gives the leaders in an organisation the chance to develop the latent strengths and talents of their members, giving the organisation a greater pool of skill and potential leaders.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Saturday, October 22, 2005
WHERE GROWTH HAPPENS
By Dr. John C. Maxwell
If I asked you to rank your top five favorite leadership responsibilities, attending meetings probably would not appear on your list. It's not that some meetings aren't enjoyable; it's just that there are plenty of other activities that leaders find more thrilling, fun or productive.
That said, there is one kind of meeting that I absolutely love, and that is a creative meeting. For example, I once spent about four hours in a room with 11 people, doing nothing but talking about books. We discussed how to write better books, and we talked about which topics would add value to people's lives. In the process, we challenged each other. We built on each others' thoughts and ideas. We argued. We laughed.
Now I realize that to some of you, spending four hours brainstorming about books might sound about as exhilarating as watching paint dry. But for me, it was incredibly exciting. By the time I came out of that room, it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. After a marathon meeting like that, a guy my age ought to be getting little tired. But I was charged up and ready to spend the evening writing. Click here to read the complete article.
If I asked you to rank your top five favorite leadership responsibilities, attending meetings probably would not appear on your list. It's not that some meetings aren't enjoyable; it's just that there are plenty of other activities that leaders find more thrilling, fun or productive.
That said, there is one kind of meeting that I absolutely love, and that is a creative meeting. For example, I once spent about four hours in a room with 11 people, doing nothing but talking about books. We discussed how to write better books, and we talked about which topics would add value to people's lives. In the process, we challenged each other. We built on each others' thoughts and ideas. We argued. We laughed.
Now I realize that to some of you, spending four hours brainstorming about books might sound about as exhilarating as watching paint dry. But for me, it was incredibly exciting. By the time I came out of that room, it was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. After a marathon meeting like that, a guy my age ought to be getting little tired. But I was charged up and ready to spend the evening writing. Click here to read the complete article.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Creating a Positive Professional Image
"In today’s diverse workplace, your actions and motives are constantly under scrutiny. Time to manage your own professional image before others do it for you. An interview with professor Laura Morgan Roberts.
As HBS professor Laura Morgan Roberts sees it, if you aren't managing your own professional image, others are.
"People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace," she says. "It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish."
There are plenty of books telling you how to "dress for success" and control your body language. But keeping on top of your personal traits is only part of the story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today's diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and cut your hair to improve your appearance, but how do you manage something like skin color?
Roberts will present her research, called "Changing Faces: Professional Image Construction in Diverse Organizational Settings," in the October issue of the Academy of Management Review.
She discusses her research in this interview."
"In today’s diverse workplace, your actions and motives are constantly under scrutiny. Time to manage your own professional image before others do it for you. An interview with professor Laura Morgan Roberts.
As HBS professor Laura Morgan Roberts sees it, if you aren't managing your own professional image, others are.
"People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace," she says. "It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish."
There are plenty of books telling you how to "dress for success" and control your body language. But keeping on top of your personal traits is only part of the story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today's diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and cut your hair to improve your appearance, but how do you manage something like skin color?
Roberts will present her research, called "Changing Faces: Professional Image Construction in Diverse Organizational Settings," in the October issue of the Academy of Management Review.
She discusses her research in this interview."
Thursday, October 13, 2005
This is a technique that can gain publicity for your organisation in a three pronged approach.
Firstly, conduct a survey within your oganisation. This is a great way to discover what your people are thinking - get their opinions and maybe even their ideas. (You might even be able to harvest some testimonials - with permission, of course) But word it carefully and it can also be a very effective way of doing internal publicity as well. Word it so that the respondents are reminded of just how valuable their organisation is, what it does, and its brand. You are also then giving them fodder for their own PR activities.
Secondly conduct a survey about your organisation. This, too, may bring in opinions about your organisation and ideas for improvement. But, very basically, this is another way of bringing your organisation's name and brand to people's attention.
Thirdly conduct a survey on a particular subject. Choose something that is timely, or outrageous, or newsworthy, but preferably close to your own area of operations. Survey as wide a range of people and as large a population as you can, and voila you have a news item. Report that your organisation conducted this survey and report the outrageous or timely or newsworthy results of that survey and it is sure to make the news in your area.
Firstly, conduct a survey within your oganisation. This is a great way to discover what your people are thinking - get their opinions and maybe even their ideas. (You might even be able to harvest some testimonials - with permission, of course) But word it carefully and it can also be a very effective way of doing internal publicity as well. Word it so that the respondents are reminded of just how valuable their organisation is, what it does, and its brand. You are also then giving them fodder for their own PR activities.
Secondly conduct a survey about your organisation. This, too, may bring in opinions about your organisation and ideas for improvement. But, very basically, this is another way of bringing your organisation's name and brand to people's attention.
Thirdly conduct a survey on a particular subject. Choose something that is timely, or outrageous, or newsworthy, but preferably close to your own area of operations. Survey as wide a range of people and as large a population as you can, and voila you have a news item. Report that your organisation conducted this survey and report the outrageous or timely or newsworthy results of that survey and it is sure to make the news in your area.
Get publicity for your organisation with a survey
This is a technique that can gain publicity for your organisation in a three pronged approach.
Firstly, conduct a survey within your oganisation. This is a great way to discover what your people are thinking - get their opinions and maybe even their ideas. (You might even be able to harvest some testimonials - with permission, of course) But word it carefully and it can also be a very effective way of doing internal publicity as well. Word it so that the respondents are reminded of just how valuable their organisation is, what it does, and its brand. You are also then giving them fodder for their own PR activities.
Secondly conduct a survey about your organisation. This, too, may bring in opinions about your organisation and ideas for improvement. But, very basically, this is another way of bringing your organisation's name and brand to people's attention.
Thirdly conduct a survey on a particular subject. Choose something that is timely, or outrageous, or newsworthy, but preferably close to your own area of operations. Suvey as wide a range of people and as large a population as you can, and voila you have a news item. Report that your organisation conducted this survey and report the outrageous or timely or newsworthy results of that survey and it is sure to make the news in your area.
Firstly, conduct a survey within your oganisation. This is a great way to discover what your people are thinking - get their opinions and maybe even their ideas. (You might even be able to harvest some testimonials - with permission, of course) But word it carefully and it can also be a very effective way of doing internal publicity as well. Word it so that the respondents are reminded of just how valuable their organisation is, what it does, and its brand. You are also then giving them fodder for their own PR activities.
Secondly conduct a survey about your organisation. This, too, may bring in opinions about your organisation and ideas for improvement. But, very basically, this is another way of bringing your organisation's name and brand to people's attention.
Thirdly conduct a survey on a particular subject. Choose something that is timely, or outrageous, or newsworthy, but preferably close to your own area of operations. Suvey as wide a range of people and as large a population as you can, and voila you have a news item. Report that your organisation conducted this survey and report the outrageous or timely or newsworthy results of that survey and it is sure to make the news in your area.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Some people are addicted to love, but most of us are addicted to e-mail.
According to a new survey conducted by America Online, the average e-mail user checks e-mail nearly five times a day. Yes, that's right. AOL's E-mail Addiction survey examines our e-mail behavior and frankly, it's a little obsessive. The survey found that e-mail users rely on e-mail as much as the phone for communication, spend nearly an hour a day on e-mail, and that 77 percent of e-mail users have more than one mail account.
Here are a few of the survey's more interesting findings:
--Forty-one percent of e-mail users check e-mail first thing in the morning, before they've brushed their teeth or trudged to the kitchen to make coffee.
--Forty percent of e-mail users report checking their e-mail in the middle of the night. (Downright obsessive, yes?)
--More than one in four (26 percent) of e-mail users say they haven't gone more than two to three days without checking their e-mail.
--Most e-mail users have two or three e-mail accounts (56 percent). The average user has 2.8 accounts.
--E-mail users check for mail anywhere: In bed in their pajamas (23 percent); in school (12 percent); in business meetings (8 percent); at Wi-Fi hotspots, like Starbuck's or McDonald's (6 percent); at the beach or pool (6 percent); in the bathroom (4 percent); while driving (4 percent); and in church (1 percent).
"Last time I checked God didn't have a Blackberry," says Chamath Palihapitiya, general manager and vice president for AOL's AIM. The survey results, he says, speak "to the fact that e-mail has become such a fundamental way that people communicate. People thought that e-mail was just a business behavior, but it is a social and commonplace behavior."
Palihapitiya says it's the first time AOL has conducted a survey of this kind, probing the actual behaviors and habits of e-mail users. AOL recently launched its e-mail service Web-wide.
"One of the things we took away from this is that people need accessibility everywhere. They may be at home, at a friend's house, at the office, in the street... one of the things we did with our e-mail product is we made sure it was accessible all over the Web," Palihapitiya says, adding "But just as important, we make sure that it works with your work e-mail. We allow you to use Outlook to get your AIM mail."
That's important because the survey finds that 61 percent of all e-mail users check their personal e-mail at work at least three times a day. By syncing with Outlook, AOL mail becomes part of a user's normal work e-mail application. AOL plans to offer mobile e-mail access via Blackberry, mobile phones, and other handheld devices by the fall. AOL says its mail service supports advertising in the body of e-mails. "Our competitors don't do that," Palihapitiya says. It means that embedded ads won't be stripped out when e-mail is delivered in Outlook.
The survey's results, Palihapitiya says, will help AOL develop e-mail features and applications that users may find useful. "One of the things that jumped out of us is that e-mail users are really interested in un-sending a message and knowing when a message has been forwarded." He says in AOL e-mail, a user can un-send right away and check the status of whether mail has been opened. AOL is working on a feature that would notify users as to whether a piece of mail has been forwarded to them.
More survey findings:
--Sixty-one percent of e-mail users check personal e-mail on the job an average of three times a day. About half of those who check personal e-mail at work (47 percent) check it sporadically throughout the day, while about one in four (25 percent) check it first thing when they arrive, 18 percent check it at lunchtime, 8 percent during an afternoon break, and 2 percent right before they head home.
--Women are more likely than men to check their personal e-mail at work throughout the day (50 percent versus 44 percent), while men are more likely than women to check their personal e-mail first thing when they arrive in the morning (28 percent versus 21 percent).
--Six in 10 of all e-mail users (60 percent) check their e-mail while on vacation, mostly for pleasure (47 percent) rather than business (13 percent). Of those who access e-mail while on vacation, 57 percent say it's very (21 percent) or somewhat important (36 percent) that they have access to e-mail.
Get this, AOL has provided a quiz to determine your level of e-mail addiction. It's available later today here.
The survey was conducted with Opinion Research Corp., which conducted online surveys with 4,012 respondents 18 and older in the top 20 cities around the country to measure e-mail usage
Tobi Elkin is Executive Editor, MediaPost.
Just An Online Minute
According to a new survey conducted by America Online, the average e-mail user checks e-mail nearly five times a day. Yes, that's right. AOL's E-mail Addiction survey examines our e-mail behavior and frankly, it's a little obsessive. The survey found that e-mail users rely on e-mail as much as the phone for communication, spend nearly an hour a day on e-mail, and that 77 percent of e-mail users have more than one mail account.
Here are a few of the survey's more interesting findings:
--Forty-one percent of e-mail users check e-mail first thing in the morning, before they've brushed their teeth or trudged to the kitchen to make coffee.
--Forty percent of e-mail users report checking their e-mail in the middle of the night. (Downright obsessive, yes?)
--More than one in four (26 percent) of e-mail users say they haven't gone more than two to three days without checking their e-mail.
--Most e-mail users have two or three e-mail accounts (56 percent). The average user has 2.8 accounts.
--E-mail users check for mail anywhere: In bed in their pajamas (23 percent); in school (12 percent); in business meetings (8 percent); at Wi-Fi hotspots, like Starbuck's or McDonald's (6 percent); at the beach or pool (6 percent); in the bathroom (4 percent); while driving (4 percent); and in church (1 percent).
"Last time I checked God didn't have a Blackberry," says Chamath Palihapitiya, general manager and vice president for AOL's AIM. The survey results, he says, speak "to the fact that e-mail has become such a fundamental way that people communicate. People thought that e-mail was just a business behavior, but it is a social and commonplace behavior."
Palihapitiya says it's the first time AOL has conducted a survey of this kind, probing the actual behaviors and habits of e-mail users. AOL recently launched its e-mail service Web-wide.
"One of the things we took away from this is that people need accessibility everywhere. They may be at home, at a friend's house, at the office, in the street... one of the things we did with our e-mail product is we made sure it was accessible all over the Web," Palihapitiya says, adding "But just as important, we make sure that it works with your work e-mail. We allow you to use Outlook to get your AIM mail."
That's important because the survey finds that 61 percent of all e-mail users check their personal e-mail at work at least three times a day. By syncing with Outlook, AOL mail becomes part of a user's normal work e-mail application. AOL plans to offer mobile e-mail access via Blackberry, mobile phones, and other handheld devices by the fall. AOL says its mail service supports advertising in the body of e-mails. "Our competitors don't do that," Palihapitiya says. It means that embedded ads won't be stripped out when e-mail is delivered in Outlook.
The survey's results, Palihapitiya says, will help AOL develop e-mail features and applications that users may find useful. "One of the things that jumped out of us is that e-mail users are really interested in un-sending a message and knowing when a message has been forwarded." He says in AOL e-mail, a user can un-send right away and check the status of whether mail has been opened. AOL is working on a feature that would notify users as to whether a piece of mail has been forwarded to them.
More survey findings:
--Sixty-one percent of e-mail users check personal e-mail on the job an average of three times a day. About half of those who check personal e-mail at work (47 percent) check it sporadically throughout the day, while about one in four (25 percent) check it first thing when they arrive, 18 percent check it at lunchtime, 8 percent during an afternoon break, and 2 percent right before they head home.
--Women are more likely than men to check their personal e-mail at work throughout the day (50 percent versus 44 percent), while men are more likely than women to check their personal e-mail first thing when they arrive in the morning (28 percent versus 21 percent).
--Six in 10 of all e-mail users (60 percent) check their e-mail while on vacation, mostly for pleasure (47 percent) rather than business (13 percent). Of those who access e-mail while on vacation, 57 percent say it's very (21 percent) or somewhat important (36 percent) that they have access to e-mail.
Get this, AOL has provided a quiz to determine your level of e-mail addiction. It's available later today here.
The survey was conducted with Opinion Research Corp., which conducted online surveys with 4,012 respondents 18 and older in the top 20 cities around the country to measure e-mail usage
Tobi Elkin is Executive Editor, MediaPost.
Just An Online Minute
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Managing conflict
Managing Conflict with Peers
________________________________________
Managing Conflict
What's Your Role?
Everyone has habitual responses to conflict, but these reactions are often not ideal. By understanding your conflict behaviors and hot buttons, you can see how you contribute to constructive as well as destructive outcomes of conflict.
"The first step to improving the way conflict is handled at work is to get clear on the role you play and why you respond the way you do," says CCL's Brenda McManigle.
Typically, people behave in a way that sets them up to play a specific role in the conflict, such as:
• Avoider — someone who ignores or denies conflict.
• Aggressor — someone who stokes conflict.
• Diplomat — someone who mediates conflict between others.
• Peacemaker — someone who tries to keep work relationships happy and calm.
• Director — someone who confronts or acknowledges conflict and works to resolve the situation.
"If you can see your behavior clearly, you have the chance to make changes," says McManigle. She suggests writing out a recent example of conflict that you experienced. Write as much detail as you can about what you said, and what you did — or did not do. Did you behave as an avoider, aggressor, diplomat, peacemaker or director? Consider how the role you played helped or hindered problem solving. Did your behavior strengthen or undermine relationships? What impact is your behavior likely to have on your effectiveness in the short term? What might the consequences be on your long-term career goals? What changes could you make?
You will also benefit from knowing what kinds of situations are most likely to create conflicts for you. In other words, what are your hot buttons? Hot buttons are behaviors that may irritate you enough to provoke you or compel you to behave in a way that is unproductive. For example, your hot buttons might get pushed when someone is unreliable or untrustworthy, abrasive or hostile, micromanaging or overly analytical.
There are many techniques, such as deep breathing, that allow you to stay in control of your emotions. You might need to give yourself a "timeout" to prevent your hot buttons from taking over. If possible, take a break from the situation (go listen to music or do something physical if you can). If you can't leave the situation, slowly count to 10 or 20 (or higher if necessary) and focus on not taking the situation personally. "The key is to identify your emotional triggers and recognize them in the moment," says McManigle.
Name Your Hot Buttons
Want to know more about your emotional triggers or "hot buttons"? In its Foundations of Leadership program, CCL uses the Conflict Dynamics Profile, an assessment developed by the Management Development Institute of Eckerd College. The assessment includes a section on identifying hot buttons. A portion of this assessment is online: http://www.conflictdynamics.org/hot_buttons.shtml.
About Brenda McManigle
Brenda McManigle is responsible for the quality and delivery of the Foundations of Leadership program at CCL's San Diego, California campus. She also conducts needs assessment, instructional design and instruction for custom programs.
________________________________________
Managing Conflict
What's Your Role?
Everyone has habitual responses to conflict, but these reactions are often not ideal. By understanding your conflict behaviors and hot buttons, you can see how you contribute to constructive as well as destructive outcomes of conflict.
"The first step to improving the way conflict is handled at work is to get clear on the role you play and why you respond the way you do," says CCL's Brenda McManigle.
Typically, people behave in a way that sets them up to play a specific role in the conflict, such as:
• Avoider — someone who ignores or denies conflict.
• Aggressor — someone who stokes conflict.
• Diplomat — someone who mediates conflict between others.
• Peacemaker — someone who tries to keep work relationships happy and calm.
• Director — someone who confronts or acknowledges conflict and works to resolve the situation.
"If you can see your behavior clearly, you have the chance to make changes," says McManigle. She suggests writing out a recent example of conflict that you experienced. Write as much detail as you can about what you said, and what you did — or did not do. Did you behave as an avoider, aggressor, diplomat, peacemaker or director? Consider how the role you played helped or hindered problem solving. Did your behavior strengthen or undermine relationships? What impact is your behavior likely to have on your effectiveness in the short term? What might the consequences be on your long-term career goals? What changes could you make?
You will also benefit from knowing what kinds of situations are most likely to create conflicts for you. In other words, what are your hot buttons? Hot buttons are behaviors that may irritate you enough to provoke you or compel you to behave in a way that is unproductive. For example, your hot buttons might get pushed when someone is unreliable or untrustworthy, abrasive or hostile, micromanaging or overly analytical.
There are many techniques, such as deep breathing, that allow you to stay in control of your emotions. You might need to give yourself a "timeout" to prevent your hot buttons from taking over. If possible, take a break from the situation (go listen to music or do something physical if you can). If you can't leave the situation, slowly count to 10 or 20 (or higher if necessary) and focus on not taking the situation personally. "The key is to identify your emotional triggers and recognize them in the moment," says McManigle.
Name Your Hot Buttons
Want to know more about your emotional triggers or "hot buttons"? In its Foundations of Leadership program, CCL uses the Conflict Dynamics Profile, an assessment developed by the Management Development Institute of Eckerd College. The assessment includes a section on identifying hot buttons. A portion of this assessment is online: http://www.conflictdynamics.org/hot_buttons.shtml.
About Brenda McManigle
Brenda McManigle is responsible for the quality and delivery of the Foundations of Leadership program at CCL's San Diego, California campus. She also conducts needs assessment, instructional design and instruction for custom programs.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Leadership
Leadership styles are always interesting as we seek to develop our own best practices in our organisations. This article gives some thought-provoking insights.
Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?
"Business leadership is at the core of Asian economic development, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills. As he explained recently in Kuala Lumpur, the American and Asian leadership styles, while very different, also share important similarities.
by D. Quinn Mills
Editor's note: Political connections and family control are more common in Asian businesses than in the United States. In addition, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills, American CEOs tend to use one of five leadership styles: directive, participative, empowering, charismatic, or celebrity. Which styles have Asian business leaders adopted already, and which styles are likely to be most successful in the future?
In a talk in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 at the invitation of The Star/BizWeek publication and the Harvard Club of Malaysia, Mills explained the differences and similarities between American and Asian leadership. Below is the transcript of his talk, "Leadership Styles in the United States: How Different are They from Asia?""
Read the whole article.
More articles on leadership
Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?
"Business leadership is at the core of Asian economic development, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills. As he explained recently in Kuala Lumpur, the American and Asian leadership styles, while very different, also share important similarities.
by D. Quinn Mills
Editor's note: Political connections and family control are more common in Asian businesses than in the United States. In addition, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills, American CEOs tend to use one of five leadership styles: directive, participative, empowering, charismatic, or celebrity. Which styles have Asian business leaders adopted already, and which styles are likely to be most successful in the future?
In a talk in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 at the invitation of The Star/BizWeek publication and the Harvard Club of Malaysia, Mills explained the differences and similarities between American and Asian leadership. Below is the transcript of his talk, "Leadership Styles in the United States: How Different are They from Asia?""
Read the whole article.
More articles on leadership
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