Management Styles – Page 2 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Leadership Minute: Be Careful Where You Sit

Posted June 16, 2014
by admin

The world is full of cactus, but we don’t have to sit on it. – Will Foley

As a leader you will encounter your fair share of prickly people. Sometimes there is no escaping them. But how the behaviors and actions of others affect you is your choice. It’s a given that we all can have a bad day now and then and be a little prickly ourselves. But then there are those “special” people- you know the ones, they are just not happy unless they are unhappy. When life handed them a lemon instead of making lemonade they planted more lemons. But that is their choice. You will run across these people now and then. My advice? As best you can, keep running. You don’t have to sit there with them. Your happiness and disposition is one of the most important leadership decisions you will make so don’t surrender it to anyone. Be careful where you sit.

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Six Ways to Enhance Organizational Structure – with guest co-author Elizabeth Stincelli

Posted June 13, 2014
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The productivity of a work group seems to depend on how the group members see their own goals in relation to the goals of the organization. – Ken Blanchard

When was the last time you took a hard look at the effectiveness of your organizational structure? While most organizations have one, do the people in your organization know it or understand it? The time may be ripe for you to take a fresh look at yours and consider these six ways to enhance it.

Empower your leaders

Regardless of what your present organizational structure looks like its functionality should empower its leaders. Successful leaders thrive in an organizational structure that fosters creativity, unleashes potential, and doesn’t stifle progress. This happens when less emphasis is placed on hierarchical structure and more emphasis is placed on empowering the right people in the right places. Empowerment elevates the performance of leaders and encourages behavior that earns the respect of followers. This respect allows leaders to build partnerships within the organization that encourage open, two-way communication and foster a sense of loyalty.

Give ownership

Ownership occurs within your organizational structure when there is buy-in from the bottom up and system wide. If ownership is not shared then the structure is self-serving and not empowering. People want ownership and sense of belonging to a great cause. Without ownership that can’t happen. Ownership holds everyone on the team accountable for their decisions and actions. In order for employees to take successful ownership of their work they must clearly understand expectations. They must also have milestones where progress is evaluated. Ensure that employees are serving in the right roles, give ownership, and celebrate their victories.

Expand borders

Organizational structures don’t define you, you define them. As such, your organizational structure should not be a document of containment but a blueprint of open boundaries to grow and succeed. It should not box people in but should free them to do what they do best. As your organization grows so should your structure but in a way that facilities your growth and not in ways that impede it. Provide employees with the opportunity to be more flexible about how, when, where, and with whom the work gets done. Employees want to be involved in designing and managing their work tasks. Offer employees choices and the ability to personalize work. Allow employees to share ideas and be involved in the implementation of these ideas. As you expand your borders, provide opportunities for employee growth and focus your energies on the results that really matter.

Think lateral

Employees need to have a level of control over their work tasks. A top-down organizational structure hinders the ability of decision-making at the lowest level possible. Decision making on the front-lines allows issues to be identified and addressed quickly. In a lateral structure, employees understand where they fit and how they impact the success of the organization. A flat organizational structure allows employees at all levels of the organization to be empowered and given autonomy over their work. This less rigid structure allows for flexibility and promotes a feeling of equality and inclusiveness. When lateral thinking is put into action it allows for swifter response times that can translate into happier customers, gratified clients, and a healthy bottom line. Lateral thinking is empowering, efficient, and very effective.

Build trust

The support needed to successfully achieve organizational goals is gained by developing relationships based on trust and commitment. The organizational structure can enhance or impede factors such as open communication, management follow-through, accountability, consistency, and concern for employee interests all of which foster a sense of trust. Therefore, building trust is a deliberate action, not something left to chance. It happens as relationships are given priority, it grows in an atmosphere of community, and it pays huge dividends when everyone is engaged. Without trust you have nothing. With it your potential is unlimited.

Find common ground

Employees prefer to work with others they see as similar to themselves. When the organizational structure provides an inclusive environment with common goals a sense of community is developed. Finding common ground helps in the successful pursuit of these shared goals. The organization must foster a shared purpose so that employees understand why the organization exists and why they do what they do. Finding common ground is a fundamental condition of your success. You need to define, share it, but most of all; your team needs to own it. Common ground is your path forward.

Does your organizational structure support the goals you trying to reach? The continued success of your organization is dependent on your ability to continually evaluate and enhance your organizational structure. You can enhance your effectiveness by taking these steps to ensure that your organization is ready to succeed in the 21st century.

* Elizabeth Stincelli is passionate about recognizing and inspiring the leader in each of us. She is the CEO of Stincelli Advisors where she focuses on helping organizations engage employees and improve organizational structure. Elizabeth holds a Doctor of Management degree with an emphasis on organizational leadership. Learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her websites, www.stincelliadvisors.com and http://lizstincelli.wordpress.com/

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New Book Promotions

Posted June 1, 2014
by admin

I have great news to share with you! Now you can order PDF versions of my books, Leaders Without Borders and Great Leaders Wanted to download to your tablet or smartphone. When you visit my blogger website and place your order the PDF will be emailed to you. At just $3.99 each now is a great time to order your copies! Thank you so much for your support as we encourage and develop great leaders like you!

Go to www.dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com and order today!

Leaders Without Borders: 9 Essentials for Everyday Leaders – Whether you are the CEO of your business or serve elsewhere in the organizational structure, the boundaries of your leadership are limitless if you are devoted to developing your personal leadership skills. Leaders Without Borders will help you embrace the challenge of personal leadership in order to expand your influence. In order to reach your potential as a leader, you will also be inspired to not only embrace your passion but to identify it. Finding your one thing – your passion- as a leader- is life-transforming. Leaders Without Borders will provide answers to help you in the discovery process of understanding what your passion is.

Mark Sanborn, noted leadership speaker and bestselling author of The Fred Factor writes, “I rarely like easy answers because they’re unrealistic. I do, however, like books that challenge a leader’s thinking and provide him or her with new insights that prompt action. This book by Doug Dickerson is that kind of book.” The nine essentials from the book are: passion, priorities, optimism, teamwork, attitude, authenticity, authenticity, loyalty, kindness and legacy.

Great Leaders Wanted! In this second book Doug will answer the questions you have about leadership, building a great team, and achieving your best at your job, for your business, and in your community. The world wants leaders. It needs leaders. That could be you. Explore your full potential and become the leader that you want to be- and that your company, business, and community need you to be!

Writing in the foreword, Don Hutson, CEO of U.S. Learning writes, “In Great Leaders Wanted!, Doug Dickerson provides 56 short but potent chapters of wisdom and reflection that will help all of us regardless of where we may be in life’s journey or our current position in our leadership hierarchy…wherever you are on the leadership spectrum, Doug Dickerson’s book has something to offer you.”

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Leadership Minute: Turn The Other Cheek

Posted May 28, 2014
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Hurting people hurt other people. Once you learn this, it’s easier to “turn the other cheek”. – John Maxwell

As a leader you will encounter all types of people. Most encounters will be pleasant, some will be great, but a few will be uncomfortable. Of the various types of people that you will deal with there will be the hurtful type. It’s not your job to figure out why hurting people hurt others but your reaction to them is important. Over the years I’ve come to understand that while hurting people hurt people I don’t have to be their victim. But how do you turn the other cheek when you work alongside a hurtful person? Stand your ground; you are not a doormat. Take the high road and as best you can counter with kindness. Protect your boundaries and don’t allow their hurtful ways to escalate into something more severe such as bullying. If it does, then it becomes another issue altogether. But know this: your personal leadership skills in this area will be tested so your strength and resolve is vital.

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Leadership Minute: Change is an Opportunity

Change is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. Survival is not the goal, transformative success is. – Seth Godin

What is your attitude towards change? Do you see it as a threat? How you embrace change as a leader will set the tone for how others in your organization embrace it. If you are not out front with the flexibility to change and grow then it will be hard for others to follow suit when it’s in your best interest to do so. By involving your people in the change process it can calm fears, create buy-in, and make the transition smooth. Not everyone will want to go there with you. Some are simply too comfortable where they are. But when transformative success is your goal change will be embraced by most. Change can be a celebration of where you’ve come from, where you are now, and where you are going in your future. But you have to embrace it. Welcome change and the possibilities that are before you.

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Time To Let It Go

Posted May 17, 2014
by admin

I don’t care what they’re going to say. Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway. – Lyrics from Disney’s’ movie, Frozen.

Call me slow, but 229 million people beat me to the YouTube viewing of Let it Go, the enormously popular song from the Disney movie, Frozen. For the record, I haven’t seen the movie, but I have paid attention to the media buzz that the song has generated. It’s huge.

While people from many sectors have embraced the song for a wide range of reasons, the underlying tone resonates. There comes a time when you just to have to do what the song says and let it go. But let’s now make the leap and see how this philosophy plays out in the adult world and what the implications are in your place of work.

Last year, Forbes columnist Mike Myatt wrote about the “10 Reasons Why Your Top Talent Will Leave You”. He explains that for all the talk about leadership many companies do not have a process for retaining and developing talent. Myatt says, “As with most things in the corporate world, there is too much process built upon theory and not nearly enough practice built on experience.” His observation is both astute and troubling.

His research regarding organizational culture was also very revealing. His survey of employees made for some interesting revelations: 30 percent believe they’ll be working someplace else inside of 12 months, more than 40 percent don’t respect the person they report to, more than 50 percent say they have different values than their employer, and more than 60 percent don’t feel their career goals are aligned with the plans their employers have for them. “So for all those employees who have everything under control, you better start re-evaluating,” says Myatt.

If these revelations and those similar to it are going to be corrected then there must be shifts made in leadership styles and implementation. The shifts will vary in need and scope as each company’s needs prescribe. But here are a few general ideas.

Create a shared vision.

If you want your people to have skin in the game then give them a reason for the buy-in. When your people are involved in creating the vision for their company then they will also feel they are creating a vision for their future. It’s hard to embrace what you don’t create. Roles and responsibilities of each person in the organization may vary but not their commitment if you include them. Disseminating a vision is “I” driven; creating the vision is “We” driven. Which one would you more readily embrace?

Build your culture on purpose.

The best companies build their culture on purpose. Look no further than the workplace cultures of companies like Zappos and Google to figure out why. The culture of your organization is the environment, the tone if you will, whereby your business plan can flourish and grow along with the people who work in it. It has less to do with the perks (although included) and more to do with an atmosphere that in every way, with every person, foster the opportunities to grow and prosper. Your company culture is too important to leave to chance. Build your culture on purpose and you will succeed on purpose. To do anything less is to leave money on the table of your competitors.

Open channels of communication.

Nothing frustrates employees more than the feeling, perception, or reality of communication that is lacking. What a leader perceives as communication can be received as something far different by employees. While that disconnect can be harmful it is preventable. When a leader understands that communication has less to do with the what, (although important) and more to do with the why and the big picture, it can generate goodwill. When a leader is among his or her people it lends itself to the best practice of communication which is through relationship.

It’s to time create buy-in through shared vision, build your culture on purpose to implement your vision, and open channels of communication through relationship. It’s time to let go of anything and everything that would hold you back.

What do you say?

I welcome your feedback:

1. What are some leadership shifts do you feel need to be made in your organization?

2. What leadership skills do you need to enhance to help create that change?

3. Which of the three ideas did you most identify with? Why?

4. What advice would you give leaders in organizations today that you believe would be most beneficial in creating a stronger company culture?

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Leadership Minute: Change from Within

Posted May 12, 2014
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1 Comment on Leadership Minute: Change from Within

When we are no longer able to change a situation- we are challenged to change ourselves. – Victor Frankl

One of the hardest things for a leader to come to terms with is his or her inability to facilitate change the way they would desire. Leaders are people of action and sometimes that action involves change. But change can be hard to come by. It may be a simple matter of bad timing. It could be something more complicated. After all, not everyone likes change. So when the change you seek to create does not happen then you are left with only one of two options. You can accept it and move on or change yourself. Changing ourselves can be a challenging proposition. It can be hard to look inward and focus on what we need to do. But if change is what you desire look within.

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Leadership Minute: Are You Contributing?

Life is not about accumulation, it is about contribution – Stephen Covey

Great leaders understand this. Many leaders starting out make the mistake of thinking that the end game is about what you accumulate; wealth, power, position, etc. But your significance as a leader is not defined by those characteristics. How are you contributing? This is the essential and greater question of your leadership. It’s not about what you are gathering but rather in what you are giving. And once you settle the issue of how you can contribute and add value to those around you then the other less important things will take care of themselves. Focus on ways in which you can be more generous and add value to others. After all, you are not going to take anything with you. It’s what you leave behind that matters most.

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The Selfie Generation: A Call to the Renewal of Servant Leadership

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu

In 0.2 seconds after typing the word “selfies” into the Google search engine more than 17 million results turned up. To say that we live in a narcissist generation is obviously an understatement.

For those of you who have been visiting another planet and are not up to speed on what a selfie is let me introduce you to the phenomenon. Selfies, as defined by the Urban Dictionary are, “pictures taken of oneself while holding the camera at arm’s length.” In recent months it has become the trendy thing to do and mimic since the likes of Ellen and other celebrities have turned it more into a fun fad.

While on the surface there is nothing wrong with selfies (yes, I have taken one or two myself) there is a broader or deeper prevailing issue I’d like to explore as it relates to leadership styles. To be clear, in this writing my reference to selfies is a depiction of self-indulged leaders and not about the practice as defined in the Urban Dictionary. My concern is that with the rise of the selfie generation we are in danger of losing sight of the meaning and relevance of servant leadership.

A leadership pyramid I studied some years back by John Maxwell showed that the higher one climbs as a leader the more rights he or she surrenders. In its place is more responsibility. My concern is how less rights and more responsibility fits the narrative of a selfie culture. How do servant leaders emerge from this mindset? How do selfie leaders measure up against servant leaders? Here are but a few examples.

Selfie leaders choose style whereas servant leaders choose substance.

For the selfie type of leader it’s all about their image. Decisions are made and based upon not what’s best for the organization or team but how it makes him or her look. It’s a leadership trap to be sure. Everyone wants to be liked and to be popular, but servant leaders gave up that right a long time ago. Servant leaders will stand for and with those who choose substance over image. In the end it’s about honoring their principles over their popularity. The servant leader sets the example with his integrity.

Selfie leaders are more concerned about receiving while servant leaders care more about giving.

Nothing will more clearly define and set the two apart more readily than this. The selfie leader is all about what’s in it for him while the servant leader is about giving. It’s all in the math. The selfie subtracts (takes) while the servant leader adds (gives). It’s a reflection of the heart and priorities. The servant leader sets the example not by what he takes but by what he sacrifices and gives.

Chart is courtesy of: Developing the Leader Within You, by John Maxwell.

Selfie leaders care more about their position while servant leaders care more about their people.

There is no substitute for the human equation in leadership. Positions come and go, but at the end of the day the servant leader who cares less about his title and more about his people is the one who will survive. Selfie leaders can’t help themselves. Eventually it all comes back around to them. Selfie leaders will do whatever it takes to protect that which matters least (position or title) while using the people who matter the most. It’s a sad trap many aspiring leaders fail to see. The servant leader sets the example by modeling humility.

Max de Pree said, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” I believe this leadership philosophy is needed today and is a blueprint for the future. Servant leadership is not about being a weak leader but rather a strong and convincing one. The ultimate measure of a leader’s power is not found in the authority that he or she is willing to grab hold of but in what they are willing to lay down. It’s not determined by demanding more rights but in assuming more responsibility.

I believe now more than ever in the power of servant leadership. What do you say?

I welcome your feedback:

1. What do you believe are the biggest barriers to servant leadership today?

2. Are the selfie leaders as described here more the norm or the exception in your opinion?

3. What tangible things can you do to help build a servant leadership mentality?

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Leadership Minute: Listen Up

Posted May 2, 2014
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1 Comment on Leadership Minute: Listen Up

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. – Ernest Hemmingway

Listening is one of those ever-developing leadership skills. In our high tech world the art of undistracted listening is a waning skill. Listening is one of the highest compliments you can pay to another person. This means putting away your cell phone or tablet and actually making eye contact while acknowledging the other person. To the same degree we expect people to listen when we speak we should extend the same courtesy to others. People will feel respected when they are respected. Give the other person your undivided attention and hear what they have to say. You will be seen as a leader who cares and you will build your credibility as one who is engaged. Tune out distractions so that you can tune in to what’s really important. Listen up!

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