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The Influential Leader

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An influential leader is able to continuously improve self performance and the performance of others. To be able to influence requires a great deal of confidence in you. However confidence is something you cannot touch, hold, or buy, so how can you instil confidence in yourself and influence others?

  • Learn to embrace fear with confidence,
  • Improve self performance and
  • Influence performance of others.

 

The Influential Leader workshop gives you proven tools that drive success in any aspect of your work where you need to build your confidence, sharpen your skills and be able to influence!

We share leadership models that positively influence attitudes and behaviours that drive success, and work with you so that you leave with a clear action development plan in the areas you really need support in.

So whether you want to:

  • Get Greater Recognition;
  • Influence Others Effectively;
  • Develop Specific Skills; or
  • Be More successful

 

Join us on “The Influential Leader” Workshop to confidently step out of your comfort zone start getting the results you want and deserve

 Content:

  • Case studies
  • Tools and practical sessions on proven methodologies
  • A personal development plan

Event Details:              

When:                                                       Friday 17th October,

Registration and welcome refreshments:    9.00am to 9.30am

Event:                                                       9.30am to 4.30pm

Venue:                                                     The Studio, 7 Cannon Street, Birmingham B2 5EP

Tickets:                                                    £240 per person  (includes all day refreshments)

 

For more information contact us at info@kaurvalues.com

or book directly  on Eventbrite by clicking here The Influential Leader

Do You Recognise Arrogance of Authority?

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A friend of mine emailed me the following (apparently true) story on “Arrogance of Authority”

As funny as this story is, it reminds me of what I often see in organisations where managers in responsible positions are so focussed on doing their job well, that they become oblivious to things, that if addressed would improve their overall performance and efficiency. Improvements are suggested all the time but managers are not engaging.

These managers grow unreceptive to new ideas or small changes because they religiously adhere to processes as instructed and lose sight of the important stuff. The important stuff includes why they are in the business in the first place and what the business vision and goals are.

It is not the manager’s fault, as they often work in organisations that compel them to cram more work in less time, meet demanding target indicators and have their performance challenged in annual appraisals. They unintentionally block out any form of communication that might help them because their experience tells them that they know better and in any case they have not got time. They have not even realised what their behaviour in the work place is conveying about them and the organisation’s culture. After a while the suggestions stop coming.

However, it does pay for these same managers to step back occasionally, be open minded and invite feedback from people they interact with at all levels. Someone will often try and tell them something that will make their job easier or more efficient, someone may want to share an innovative idea or someone may simply want to share their experience. Managers need to make time for these people, who are helping them. Managers need to openly engage to continually improve.Here is an example of someone in authority who learnt the hard way why it is important to engage with people regardless of anything else. Enjoy the story…

The Arrogance of Authority

A DEA officer stopped at a ranch in Texas, and talked with an old rancher. He told the rancher, “I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.”

The rancher said, “Okay, but don’t go in that field over there…..”, as he pointed out the location.

The DEA officer verbally exploded saying, “Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me!”

Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher.

“See this badge?! This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish…. On any land!!

No questions asked or answers given!! Have I made myself clear……do you understand?!!”

The rancher nodded politely, apologized, and went about his chores.

A short time later, the old rancher heard loud screams, looked up, and saw the DEA officer running for his life, being chased by the rancher’s big Santa Gertrudis bull……

With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it seemed likely that he’d sure enough get gored before he reached safety. The officer was clearly terrified.

The rancher threw down his tools, ran to the fence and yelled at the top of his lungs…..

“Your badge. Show him your BADGE…….. ! !”

The lesson to be learnt is – never ignore the small guy.

Listen, listen and listen

Engage with your staff, stakeholders and customers. If you stop listening, people will stop engaging, when that happens….well, showing your badge won’t help!

Why your Boss is Programmed to be a Dictator

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This is a brilliant book, which applies Systems Thinking to boss behaviour, written by Chetan Dhruve.

I found this book an excellent read explaining how bosses do not set out to be dictators. The author is certainly not analysing bosses’ behaviours, instead he explores how the systems in place influence bosses to behave in the way they do. I challenge you not to find any similarities with at least one of the case studies in this book with what you have experienced in your workplace.

Two particular studies that grabbed my attention were the Stanford Prison Experiment (I am not going to spoil a good read) and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986.

The details of the Challenger disaster is well documented and relates to the “O ring” failing to seal a gap at very low temperature, thus allowing hot gases to escape. This was the technical reason, but there was a people reason as well, which is explained eloquently in this book detailing what happened to all the parties involved. Everyone involved had a story, and everyone’s story was the truth. The root cause of the problem is traced back to the engineer’s advice not supporting the instructions imposed on the directors from above. If the engineer’s advice was taken then the management would fail to meet their targets and heads would roll big time. (If they had taken the engineer’s advice, maybe the disaster would have been avoided!)

I have seen similar situations arise many times in many organisations where in response to a problem the solution appears too difficult to implement, only because the solution does not alleviate other pressures influencing the project. The real problem is that everyone is trying to resolve the problem from a different perspective; everyone has a different priority ranking on the key project success indicators influenced by their own fear of the potential consequences. The fear of the potential consequences is very real, and amongst other things it can be the cause of stress in the workplace, exacerbated by the breakdown in communication and understanding of the perspective of all parties involved.

So a message to all you would-be bosses out there, don’t be dictated by a system, look at your own behaviours and the consequence it is having on the work environment of your staff.

You can start by seeking feedback from those you do not report to directly or indirectly. Secondly, encourage your staff to evaluate your performance. Thirdly, look in the mirror and ask yourself what you would really like to change in the way you respond to pressures in the work place.

All feedback should be received as a gift. Welcome it, reflect upon it, and positively act upon it.

 

 

If you would like to share your answer with me, or know more about me and the work I now do, please send us an email at info@kaurvalues.com

Do you have what it takes to be a Manager Whisperer?

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What do the dog whisperer, the horse whisperer and the ghost whisperer all have in common?

They all communicate in a language that is understood by the recipient they are communicating to.  (Ok so the last one is a TV drama, but the concept is the same).

What is the biggest problem in any organisation?

COMMUNICATION!

Can you see where I am going with this?

I am seriously thinking there is a market for a Manager Whisperer. No matter how people behave, as soon as they are in management there seems to be a communication problem between them and those they manage and vice a versa.

Everyone blames everything that is going wrong on communication (when they are not blaming the managers). Communication takes many forms, but as a Manager Whisperer you will need to understand how to listen.

Here are three critical skills you need to master if you want to be a successful Manager Whisperer.

  1. Empty mind listening – I know it sounds obvious, but listening to what is being said and ignoring the inner chatter in your head as you digest what is being communicated is quite a skill to master. Listening is not the same as hearing. Listening is a skill to receive what is being communicated without judgement, assumptions or analysis where as hearing is a function. So often we start to mentally think about what is being heard before we have finished hearing and therefore potentially miss vital elements of the communication.
  2. Effective verbal listening – Understand the tones, tempo and emphasis on the words. Often people leave half sentences hanging in the air as they assume that the tone they used has conveyed what they want to. It is equally important to listen to the tempo and what word(s) is/are being emphasised in a statement, as it can change the meaning of the sentence totally. For example look at the following sentences where the emphasis is on the word in bold italics.

      I did not say I wanted a report

    I did not say I wanted a report

    I did not say I wanted a report

    I did not say I wanted a report

    I did not say I wanted a report

    I did not say I wanted a report

    I did not say I wanted a report

    I did not say I wanted a report

  3. Effective non-verbal listening – Understand the expressions, body language, eyes. This is a big giveaway as to what the speaker understands and what they expect from you. Are they thinking as they speak? Are they dismissing the communication as an instruction from above? Are they aligned with the verbal communication? Experts always quote that non-verbal communication has the biggest impact on what you understand, whether consciously or subconsciously.

The easiest way to check how well you are mastering these 3 skills, is to give feedback on what you think you have understood by ensuring you are using the same vocabulary in the same context.

Communication is a two way process and any language is open to misinterpretation and ambiguity, never mind the gross misuse and misunderstanding of words and their meanings.

If you are not thinking of becoming a Manager Whisperer, but merely want to improve communications, the key is to develop a better rapport by practising the same skills as a “would be” Manager Whisperer. Communication is better understood the more you understand the individual. A big picture thinker often switches off if you spend too long in the detail before getting to the important message, likewise a detailed person may not understand what is required if you are talking in half sentences and half questions or vague details.

If you recognise your own speaking and listening style and that also of the person you are communicating with, then you have what it takes to be a Manager Whisperer.