Blog - KM Leadership Solutions

Agile Coaching and Modern Leadership - We're Speaking the Same Language

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 21:37:08 GMT

Are the principles of leadership and agile coaching different?

Effective leadership is a delicate balance between guiding a team toward a common goal and empowering individuals to reach their full potential. Interestingly, the principles of Agile coaching, originally developed for project management and software development in early 2001, align remarkably well with the long-standing fundamentals of great leadership.

Here's why Agile coaching principles translate to excellent leadership practices – Yes, we speak the same language.

Empowering Teams : Agile coaching principles emphasize empowering cross-functional teams to make decisions and take ownership of their work. This mirrors the concept of servant leadership, where leaders support their team members' growth and success rather than exerting top-down control.
Open and Transparent Communication: Agile teams thrive on open and transparent communication. Good leaders recognize the importance of regular, honest, and inclusive communication, which fosters trust and ensures everyone is on the same page.
Customer-Centric Approach: Agile principles prioritize delivering value to the customer. Effective leaders also understand that the customer's needs and satisfaction should be at the forefront of decision-making, ensuring that the organization's efforts align with customer expectations.
Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Agile encourages an iterative approach and learning from failures. Great leaders embrace a growth mindset, encouraging their teams to experiment, learn from mistakes, and constantly improve.
Collaboration and Teamwork: Agile teams work collaboratively to achieve their goals. Successful leaders promote collaboration, breaking down silos and creating an environment where diverse talents work harmoniously.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Agile practices rely on data and metrics to make informed decisions. Effective leaders use data and evidence to guide their strategies, enabling them to make well-informed choices.
Flexibility and Adaptability: Agile teams are adaptable and responsive to change. Good leaders are flexible and pivot when necessary, confidently leading their teams through uncertainty.
Focus on Value Delivery: Agile coaching principles revolve around delivering value quickly and consistently. Similarly, effective leaders prioritize tasks and initiatives that add the most value to the organization and its stakeholders.

Agile coaching principles and effective modern leadership share a lot of common ground in today's fast-paced and complex business environment. Whether leading a team of software developers or a diverse workforce in any industry, embracing these principles helps you become a more effective and impactful leader.

Do You Have What it Takes to Chair a Board Today?

Tue, 23 May 2023 22:57:11 GMT

Five Universal Skills of Successful Board Chairs

In 2023, a board chair in a private company must embody a diverse skill set to effectively lead and govern the organization.

The list of skills is long and will vary based on the company's unique needs. However, this article outlines five skills for a board chair that apply no matter the company.

1. Leadership and Communication: Effective leadership skills are crucial for a board chair to inspire and motivate board members, executives, and employees. Clear and concise communication is essential to convey the company's vision, priorities, and performance internally and externally. The best communicators are leaders that ask relevant questions.

2. Strategic Thinking: A board chair must possess strong strategic thinking skills to guide the company toward its long-term goals. This involves assessing market trends, identifying opportunities, and making informed decisions that align with the company's vision and objectives.

3. Corporate Governance Expertise : A board chair must understand corporate governance principles and best practices. They should know legal and regulatory requirements, risk management, compliance, and ethical standards. This enables them to ensure that the company operates transparently and responsibly.

4. Financial Acumen: A board chair must have strong financial acumen to oversee the company's financial health and sustainability. They should be able to interpret financial statements, assess financial risks, and make informed decisions regarding investments, capital, and resource allocation.

5. Relationship Building: A board chair must build and maintain effective relationships. This includes fostering a constructive relationship with other board members, executives, shareholders, and external stakeholders such as investors, customers, and regulators. Relationship-building skills enable the board chair to collaborate, negotiate, and engage with diverse groups to drive the company's success.

Again, looking for the unique skill set of your private company’s board chair is important. However, the above mentioned skills provide a solid foundation for a board chair's success in a private company in 2023.

Post Acquisition Secret Revealed

karen@kmleadership.com (Karen Mildenhall) — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 21:40:15 GMT

Keep your high-performance teams in an M&A

It's Friday. On Monday, all of us would no longer be employees of USF&G Insurance but instead, the company that acquired us.

As the leader of multiple offices for USF&G, I knew I needed to do something to help my high-performance teams make it through the post-acquisition integration.

What did we do?

We created a rite of passage.

What is a rite of passage?

A rite of passage is a ritual, event, or experience that marks or constitutes a significant milestone or change in a person's life. (Merriam-Webster)

Societies across the globe have utilized rites of passage for centuries.

A rite of passage helps us make sense of change and provide a sense of renewal with that change.

Our Rite of Passage

Employees engaged with humor sharing their memories, thoughts, and insecurities. Activities included a pinata with pink slips intermingled with candy, music full of good-byes and get-over-it messages, party favors showing the company logo with a door closing, and balloons on which employees wrote a thought about the change and then let the balloons go.

Before leaving the office that day, we agreed we would come to work on Monday ready to be Vikings (the acquiring company was in Minnesota.)

What Does a Rite of Passage Do for Deal Value?

The team members who participated in a rite of passage came to work post-deal with a more positive attitude than those who did not participate. They also more quickly demonstrated their value to their new employer. They were high performers, and they stayed.

Mergers and acquisitions occur daily. Talent is a critical consideration in most deals.

There's no shortage of checklists for due diligence and post-acquisition integrations. What I have yet to see on any of these checklists and project plans is an effective change leadership tool – the rite of passage.

When you are a leader in either an acquiring or target company, how you help your talented employees prepare and weather life before and after the deal either adds or erodes the company's value.

Consider creating a rite of passage for your upcoming M&A integration.

My Mind-Blowing Failure That Forever Changed How I Lead

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 22:59:00 GMT

A couple of months into a management job early in my leadership journey, I experienced a near career-derailing failure.

At 27-years old, I inherited a department of seasoned professionals in a field where I had no expertise. Yes, they were all older than me too.

All indications showed this department needed an about-face. Things looked bleak. Clients were unhappy, and critical performance measures were terrible. The internal resistance towards changing their status quo appeared insurmountable.

After speaking with the department supervisors and several employees, I thought I knew how to make that 180-degree change our department needed.

I gathered all of the employees and shared my change program. I saw eye rolls, crossed arms, heads shaking, and grumbles. Pushing my approach to the brink of ugly, I repeated the plan, saw we were going nowhere. I then said, “We have to make these changes. If you don’t like it, too bad so sad, it’s going to happen.” (Imagine the mushroom cloud rising from the room.)

That experience helped me discover critical changes that helped me get back on track and move from a manager to an influential leader.

What is an Influential Leader?

A person who consistently demonstrates skill engaging others’ hearts and minds while creating behavior change without the means of position or authority.

Too bad, so sad I had such a long way to go with my rough start.

Powerful Change Leadership Requires Influence Skills

The leader that uses their title or their position to create change will never produce sustainable results.

While I went through the motions of gathering ideas, I missed the point of connecting with the hearts and minds of people in my new department.

Using the power of my position to try to generate change was a big mistake. No way were they going to change without first connecting.

I also missed how my communication style might come across negatively to the department. Recognizing your communication style and adjusting your approach to others helps create an initial connection.

(Click here to learn more about your communication style.)

A study reported in 2013 Aug-Sept HBR showed that initially putting forward an impression of competence or self-determination undermines influence.

Instead, when we first show high levels of warmth followed by moderate competency, we win active engagement and connection.

What Did I Do After That Meeting?

First, I apologized. We would not have another meeting like that ugly department meeting. Next, I shared my plan on how I would listen more, and together we would figure out how to better serve our clients. It would be a team effort.

I stepped back so that we could take steps forward together.

Opposition is a Gift to Change Leaders

The people who show the most opposition to change give you an invaluable gift. They show where the vulnerabilities lay. When you sincerely ask for their point of view, they will share it.

As opposers lay-out what is wrong with a potential change, the deft leader transforms the conversation into a co-creative experience.

This co-creative conversation converts opposers into allies.

When circling back to the most apparent opposers in that never-to-be-repeated meeting, I found that the biggest complainers cared the most about their work. They were a fountain of relevant ideas.

When asked to identify the easiest and most significant changes to make – they delivered. They were excited to present their expert solutions to the department. Their insight and expertise lead to change.

Not all opposers become your ally. However, they will show you the vulnerabilities not yet recognized – it’s a gift.

How Can My Mistakes Help You?

The mistakes we make as leaders are opportunities. An early-career mistake I made helped me course correct and transform from a manager into a leader.

What were some of the lessons I learned?

Leading is more than achieving results – it’s about connecting with hearts and minds, so people want to make a change.
When we lead with influence rather than title or position, we create a sustainable change momentum.
Opposers give you precious gifts. Embrace opposition.
Being an influential leader is an adventurous process. Enjoy the ride!

To learn more about influential leadership and how to develop your leadership skills, contact us at info@kmleadership.com .

The Best Advice for Getting Excellent at Strategy Execution in Today’s World

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 23:22:00 GMT

How are you doing executing the strategy your executives prepared last Fall? Nobody could imagine the world would change to the extent that it did since then. Was that strategy a waste? No. What is the best advice for getting excellent at strategy execution in today’s world?

Is there a way to tease-out innovation and execute something even better than you imagined?

Yes. There is more opportunity today to innovatively execute a strategy than ever before.

In my 30 years as a transformational business leader, I found that executing a strategy is a combination of recognizing strengths, leveraging what you are good at, grit, teamwork, and focus. Leaders that apply my advice will execute their strategy and deliver results – no matter how crazy your job becomes.

Keep It Simple

The most powerful business strategy will fit on a single page. Keep your plan simple with no more than three to five strategic imperatives. The fewer, the better your focus. A strategic imperative is a clearly stated change or goal for your business. (This is the point that some will get caught up in the semantics of goals vs. objectives vs. imperatives. It’s tempting but a waste of energy.)

What’s Your One Thing?

Ask yourself, “What is the one thing that takes the least effort and will create the biggest results?” Your answer is your one thing. Your one thing must be one of the 3 -5 strategic imperatives. If it is not, you have the wrong imperatives.

Knowing your one thing is gold because you will repeatedly communicate it, focus on it, and get it done.

Translate Strategy Into Actions

Start with your one thing and brainstorm the critical activities that will move you towards achieving that one thing. Break these actions into 30-day increments and build in milestones. Utilize your team to identify what steps they must take within the next 30 days to move forward towards our one thing? Write them down. Identify what resources you and your team need? Who owns each action? What is the target date to complete the action item? Go through this same exercise for at least a rolling four-month period of time.

Build-in multiple points where you reassess your strategic one thing, actions taken, and the results. Check-points provide you the agility you and your team need to make necessary course corrections early on.

Add Action Items to Your Calendar

Now that you have clear actions outlined that will move you towards achieving your one thing add these actions into your schedule. Translating actions into calendar items shows where you may have conflicts and enables you to resolve them in advance. Moving action items into the calendar removes part of the angst about staying on top of the strategy. You have more freedom and confidence to innovate and focus.

As a leader, including team member action items in your calendar and the advanced check-in dates. How are they progressing? What support would they like? These check-ins create focused strategic and tactical conversations with the team. I enjoy asking the group to rate our progress every quarter. They always respond with honesty.

Be Accountable

Executing a strategy requires accountability. When you utilize our team in creating the action items, and they share information about who owns what they are doing individually and collectively. Those check-in times you built into the calendar become coaching times.

Harness Momentum

The momentum you create, focusing on your one thing becomes infectious. Progress and achievement generate clarity and the desire to add action items for the other strategic imperatives. It’s a controlled snowball effect that usually begins within 90 days of progress on the one thing.

This Works!

Are these steps innovative? Yes, as a leader that consistently executes a strategy, you now have focused, creative energy. I challenge you to apply this advice as you plan for your business’ future. You will join the ranks of the few leaders that execute strategy – guaranteed.

Check out more blog posts for information about strategic planning and execution.

How to Ask Questions that Brighten Your Future Now

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 00:27:00 GMT

If you want a bright future, sharpening your communication skills will take you to the next level in your career, business, and life overall.

The problem is, smooth-talking is not your forte. (Me neither.) Should you say something or not? If yes, what do you say to start making a connection? What’s the secret?

The best way to communicate requires you to ask questions, listen, and ask more questions.

Ask Questions

If you want to learn something about a person, ask a question. Questions lead to connections in every facet of our lives. Questions show you are interested in the thoughts and experiences of another person.

When you ask a sincere open-ended question, you show you want to listen and understand. The person answering the question will think about what you asked before answering. That pause usually signals the start to a connection. Open-ended questions allow a respondent to give you a glimpse into their mind and often their heart.

As you listen to your open-ended question’s response, your curiosity leads you to follow-up questions. Voila! A conversation happens, and connection ensues.

What’s the Easiest Way to Create a Good Open-Ended Question?

To easily construct an open-ended question, start with the basics. Start the sentence with what, what if, how, when, who, and why. (My top two basic favorites are what and how.)

For example, if you are in the dreaded room or Zoom full of people you do not know, pick a person that is not speaking with anyone, and practice asking open-ended questions.

“What prompted you to attend today?”
“When you participate in these events, what are some of the ways you meet people?”
“Who would you like to meet here that you haven’t yet met?” (I like this one at networking events as it can give me a job to of introducing the person.)

There are many different scenarios for open-ended questions, and here are some favorites when making a new connection.

What do you like about your career/work/business?
What lead you to choose the work you do?
What is the best advice you have ever received?
If you could design the ideal ________ (thing, service provider, experience), what would the key components include?
If you suddenly received a massive cash inheritance, what would you do with it?
If you could meet for dinner with anyone (past or present), who would be your top three picks?
What is a favorite childhood memory?

Once you’ve begun to have dialogue, you can then learn more by using phrases like

Tell me more about _______________________________

Describe __________________________________________

Always avoid asking personal questions to strangers or casual connections.

Are Close Ended Questions Useful?

Yes. Close-ended questions help narrow down options very quickly. For example, yes/no, 9 am or 3 pm, with ice or without ice, etc. Use close-ended questions sparingly as they rarely create connections and halt most conversations in their tracks.

Closed-ended questions often start with verbs such as is, are, was, were, do, does, did, may, might, must, can, could.

Is this your first time at one of these events?
May I ask you a question?
Do you like __________________?
Could you please pass the butter?

Listen

The most important thing to know about asking open-ended questions is to LISTEN. Quietly face the person, make eye contact, smile sincerely, and listen. Silence the brain chatter and listen to what the person says to you.

Listening includes watching their response to cues about their feelings and thoughts. For example, do they face you, smile, and respond to the question? Do they turn away and mumble a response? These are clear cues for follow-up questions or not.

Listening requires you to focus on the message rather than thinking about your next question. When you listen and invite curiosity, follow-up questions flow.

For example, while meeting with a prospective client, you ask, “If you could design the ideal solution, what would be some of the important components?” As you listen to the answer, the person lays out what they want and need. Your follow-up can clarify what they just told you. “You mentioned that fast response is critical. What does the fast response look like for this solution?” Ask and listen to discover what’s important to someone.

Summary

Brighten your future by asking questions that create interaction. Open-ended questions invite people to open their minds to you. Open-ended questions start with what, how, why, who, and what if. Close-ended questions are useful for providing quick clarity or direction. When asking a question, quiet your mind and listen. What you hear will help you easily ask more open-ended questions, and connection ensues.

What are your favorite conversation-starting open-ended questions?

Successfully Execute Your Strategy Without Blowing Up Your To-Do List

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 21:06:00 GMT

What is the simple way to successfully execute a strategy without adding to your to-do list?

Overscheduled leaders know that time, energy, and resources are precious. How we use these limited reserves makes the difference between successfully executing our strategy or continuing running on the hamster wheel not making recognizable forward progress.

The Formula for Successfully Executing Strategy

Ready for the formula to successfully executing your strategy without blowing up your to-do list? The formula is 1,3,5.

The formula is 1,3,5.

First, identify your “one thing.”

Ask yourself, “What is the one thing that takes the least effort and will create the biggest results?” Your answer is one thing . Your one thing must align with the organization’s strategy. While you have many tasks on your daily to-do list, your one thing will now become interwoven into your daily and weekly activities.

If you lead a group, ask them to help to determine the one thing . Share your one thing with your team, co-workers, and your leader. Ask for their support and input.

Three Repeatable Actions Each Week

Next, identify three repeatable actions to complete within each workweek that integrates your one thing into what you already do. Think of all the meetings and conversations. How can you interweave your one thing into those meetings and discussions? What questions will you ask? What will you do with the answers?

When integrating your one thing into what you already do, you will notice the to-do list adjusts to more critical actions and less busy fillers. Your focus becomes infectious and creates momentum.

High-Fives!

Where does five come into the equation? High-fives! Celebrate the positive adjustments and progress.

Success and achievement will be yours as you consistently interweave your one thing into three repeatable actions and celebrate progress.

Here’s a story of how an executive applied our simple 1,3,5 formula to execute her business strategy.

Jane serves as Senior Vice President of commercial clients in a highly competitive financial services organization. She chose one thing from the strategy to integrate into her actions – deliver recognized innovation for clients.

While her schedule is very tight and her to-do list mind-blowing, she keeps delivery of recognized innovation for clients interwoven in her meeting agendas, conversations, and client discussions. Her team discussions adjusted to better focus on their clients. She asked different questions and listened more intently as she consistently explores the one thing. Her team leaders now foster innovation and better recognizing with their colleagues.

After 90 days, Jane’s division showed remarkable progress in client innovation. Client retention and profitability were increasing as teams engaged with clients with focus. Jane gave high-fives to her team leaders thanking them for the early progress and challenged them to keep the momentum going. By year-end, Jane’s division achieved remarkable results.

The 1, 3, 5 formula works!

What’s your one thing ? What works for you to successfully execute your strategy? Let us know by commenting on this post.

Check out more posts about strategy .

Four BIG Mistakes Executives Make that Stop Strategy Execution

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 19:30:00 GMT

When it comes to executing your business strategy, what drags your organization to a strategic slow crawl or even a full stop?

Conventional management practices point to initiatives as the vehicle to drive strategic change. However, studies show that over 75% of strategic initiatives fail within most corporations. It’s not surprising that so many CEOs say that their organizations are great at planning and not very good at executing.

Are strategic initiatives friend or foe? The answer to this question depends on if executives make any of the following four big mistakes that stop strategy execution.

Mistake #1: Thinking Big and Complex Equals Innovation

A big mistake often made by executives is thinking that big and complex initiatives are better. The following story illustrates how big and complex initiatives can derail a strategy.

A leading global corporation’s strategy targeted an under-tapped market segment. Consultants recommended an innovative bespoke end-to-end system to support the target market’s business. The executive committee determined to turn this recommendation into a complex process redesign and system building initiative. They formed a cross-sectional initiative team and provided a big budget with substantial resources. Meanwhile, their competitors used off the shelf support systems focused on the target customers and growing rapidly in the market. Fast forward 18 months beyond the target implementation date and $10M over budget, they did not have a system, and it still appeared to be at least two- years away.

Solutions: A big complicated initiative may look innovative and promising. However, smart strategic innovation is simple. The most successful initiatives are focused with all levels of the organization easily explaining the expected changes.

Mistake #2: Picking Misaligned Initiatives

Too many times, initiatives focus on what appears tangible to the executive committee. Senior leaders often focus on concrete actions of structure, governance, and process as the go-to ways to execute their strategy. They avoid addressing the mindsets and attitudes of their people – the human cost. Focusing initially on the tangible ignores the culture and usually creates immediate fatal resistance.

Solutions: A way to counteract the tyranny of the tangible includes utilizing the most critical assets of your organization – the people. Take a pulse of the culture by using front-line managers’ input. They will provide a well-rounded perspective on where expectations, attitudes, and human cost misalign. Your human capital will deliver dividends when their expertise and insights are a part of creating and selecting strategic initiatives.

Mistake #3: Creating Initiative Overload – Too Many & Bad Timing

Executive committees too frequently look at initiatives on an individual basis rather than the holistic view of their business. They miss the cumulative and often paralyzing effects of multiple changes occurring in their operations. On a stand-alone basis, an initiative might look good. However, when combined with other initiatives, it’s clear that what seemed good now becomes ugly.

For example, an executive committee of a global financial services firm approved three initiatives intended to improve customer service, increase focus on a particular market segment, and support ethical compliance. What they failed to see was that the combined impact of the initiative roll-outs. The cumulation of these initiatives created a field shut-down for the client-facing teams the two weeks before the close of their biggest quarter of the year: the results – angry clients, poor financial results, and disgruntled employees.

Solutions: How do executives counteract initiative overload? Decision-makers must compare the cumulative effects of the initiatives they are considering, including operational impact, resource requirements, and roll-out timing.

Apply the Pareto principle, meaning 20% of what you do will have 80% of the impact , so choose only the best few initiatives that will deliver the most impact. Rate potential initiatives as good, better, or best. Those rated as best are in the 20% that will create focus and results.

Mistake #4: Quiet Death of an Initiative

If 75% of corporate initiatives fail to deliver anticipated results, a big mistake is to not learn from those misfires. Create a simple process to evaluate initiatives that deliver vs. those that fall short. Focus on the assumptions, methods, what went well, and what did not. The intent is to learn not to blame. Share the lessons learned with all leaders in the organization. Taking these steps reinforces a culture of learning and communications.

Solutions: Apply the lessons learned to all future initiatives. When we learn from our missteps, and we share those lessons with the organization, we are less likely to repeat the same actions that took us off track. Executives can reverse the high rate of initiative death by learning from their mistakes.

Final Thoughts

Corporations do not need initiatives to make every relevant strategic change. Rather than reflexively turning to initiatives, leaders must first make their own critical behavior changes that move the status quo. From there, the most significant cultural and systemic differences become apparent. When we listen to our colleagues, choose wisely, and learn from errors, our rate of successful strategic execution will surprise the most seasoned executives.

Stop Torturing Your Team by Making Your Next Meeting the Best Ever

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 00:05:00 GMT

I’m not a fan of most meetings. Why? Meetings are usually one of two things – an instrument of torture or a carefully utilized tool that generates positive results.

What can leaders and participants do to make a meeting worthwhile?

Not all meetings are the same, but there are ways that participants and leaders can make meetings productive rather than torturous.

Know the purpose of the meeting

If you call the meeting, be sure to include the intended outcome and the agenda on the invitation. “Touching base” or “discussing the numbers” is not a purpose. Instead, “comparing our results to our plan and determining the top two adjustments we will make in the coming 30-days” is much clearer. With a clear purpose and agenda, people know what to expect and can prepare to contribute. My favorite rule is no purpose or agenda = no meeting.

Decide how you will “show up” with a point of view

Think about the agenda and do your homework. Prepare your questions to address the meeting’s purpose and develop your point of view. Determine how you will help the attendees achieve the meeting objectives. If you have data, provide it to the participants in advance.

If the meeting will impact you and your team, it is essential to contact the other participants to understand their point of view. This connection before the meeting increases your influence as you know the insights of your fellow participants, and you can prepare to address their point of view in contrast to your own and amplify your common ground. Never underestimate the connection before the meeting.

Arrive early and pick your spot

When you arrive a little early and thoughtfully chose your seat, you begin influencing without saying a word. Studies have shown that where you sit in a meeting makes a statement about your power, a point of view and if you will be heard. Head of the table facing the door is the one leading. Seats to the immediate right and left of the leader seat have the most influence. The seat opposite of the leader is usually in the opposition spot. Side seats are less visible and often heard less.

Take your space

Give yourself working space, be open, and use open body language. Studies show that many women allow others to crowd them in meetings men often do not. Taking physical space reinforces that you have influence and a voice even when you are not speaking.

Speak early

If you’re going to influence the outcome of the meeting, speak early with a concise point of view. Use language that reflects thought and logic. Amplify ideas that you agree with throughout the meeting. The exception to speaking first is if you are the highest-ranking leader. The leader should speak last, so all have the opportunity to get their point of view on the table. When the leader speaks early, it can shut down interaction in the meeting.

Stay on an even keel

When discussing tough topics in a meeting, keep your emotions in check. Breathe deep if you are starting to feel anxious. I recall an executive’s style of screaming, cursing, and flaying his arms when a person disagreed with him. Being on the receiving end of his furry, it took the wind out of his sails when I stayed in control by breathing, relaxing my body, and speaking calmly. Breath -it works. Our brain works better, and we gain respect from other attendees when we stay on an even keel.

Use a parking lot

Sometimes a topic comes up in a meeting that does fit the purpose of the meeting. A way to harness this potential diversion is to use a parking lot.

Anyone can do this. Thank the person for bringing the topic to the group, write the issue in the parking lot – the whiteboard, flipchart, notes, and let all know that topic is not lost but addressed at another time. Then go back to the purpose of the meeting. An agenda helps reinforce that time is used to achieve the meeting’s objective. A parking lot helps capture off-topic ideas or topics while remaining focused.

Confirm the outcome

Right before closing the meeting, be sure to confirm the expected next steps and who does what by when. Assure there are no dangling misunderstandings or unstated expectations.

Meetings can help us move our organizations forward and achieve our goals. It requires a relevant agenda, prepared attendees, focus, and sticking to time limits for a meeting to be a powerful tool for your team.

What actions help make your meetings productive?

To learn more about ways to strengthen your leadership and effectiveness, contact us at www.kmleadership.com .

Comfort Kills Great Leadership

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 23:37:00 GMT

A leader making business decisions based on being comfortable is like a couch potato trying to run a marathon.

A comfortable leader will always underperform in a competitive environment.

A comfortable team will likely feel good but miss opportunities.

I worked in the financial services industry for over 27-years. That industry struggles to break out of the status quo of the same look, background, gender, and interests – you name it. I repeatedly heard comments like “the client would be more comfortable working with a male” or “if you don’t golf, you won’t go anywhere.” Overlooking people of color and women supported the status quo– they were too different. This belief that capability and talent are secondary to feeling comfortable permeated the industry.

What is comfortable?

Merriam-Webster defines comfortable as “enjoying contentment and security,” or “free from vexation or doubt,” or “free from stress or tension.” In business, comfortable is the status quo, stale, and not learning or growing. It sounds like a formula for feeling free of stress as you approach a cliff in the competitive market.

Hey, I’m not knocking feeling comfortable. I like a cozy pair of slippers or a great meal as much as the next person.

But in leadership, being comfortable is being one step away from extinction. Leaders need to look at why we weigh comfort so heavily when being comfortable means we are not stretching or growing, and we are likely making decisions that limit our opportunities.

Isn’t feeling uncomfortable a sign that something might be wrong?

Not usually. It is natural to gravitate to the familiar or to what is homogeneous to us. Examples include visual traits such as age, race, and gender. Let’s face it; when someone looks different or comes from a diverse background, that difference might initially feel uncomfortable. But that uncomfortable feeling doesn’t mean there is something wrong.

Comfortable ≠ Better Performance

Some believe that a homogeneous group will work more efficiently. Homogenous teams may feel easier or more comfortable, but studies show that easy is terrible for performance. In a September 2016 HBR article titled “ Diverse Teams Feel Less Comfortable—and That’s Why They Perform Better ,” the authors cite studies showing that individuals on homogeneous teams perceived that collaboration flowed smoothly, giving a false sense of progress. They found that the diverse teams had better outcomes, precisely because it was less comfortable. The heterogeneous teams arrived at the correct solution more than twice as often as the homogeneous teams.

Comfort Bias Blocks High Performance

Numerous studies show that moving away from homogeneous comfort drives better decision making.

The mere presence of diversity can lead groups to work harder, share unique perspectives, be more open to new ideas, and perform better, per a February 2016 HBR article, “ The Biases That Punish Racially Diverse Teams. ”. The article summarizes a series of experiments where people saw transcripts with pictures of homogeneous or racially diverse teams. The transcripts were the same; the only difference was the racial mix of the teams.

The tests show people believed that racially diverse teams had more relationship conflicts than the homogeneous ones—even though the actual content of the group interaction was the same. This experiment was repeated with additional types of diversity, and it showed there was a clear bias against diverse teams.

Dig Deeper

If you find yourself ready to say, “I’m not comfortable…”

STOP! Ask yourself, Why am I using comfort as an excuse? Is it merely a reflex to protect the familiar, or is there something relevant about this uncomfortable feeling?

Will, what makes you uncomfortable challenge what you do or how the team thinks? Could this uncomfortable state be temporary as you make a consistent effort and apply yourself?

If yes, GO forward! What is making you uncomfortable is likely a good thing.

Dig in and revel in being uncomfortable. Move forward, being uncomfortable.

As you do this, your comfort level will change, so keep pushing it.

Leaders, let’s get stronger. Move away from what is comfortable, move toward making better decisions with vibrant and diverse leaders, and be uncomfortable!

How to Enhance Your Executive Presence, Part Three

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 22:32:00 GMT

In Part One “How to Enhance Your Executive Presence” , you inventoried your strengths and received feedback on how others view your strengths. In Part Two , you took a closer look at the expectations of individuals with executive presence and compared your strengths with those expectations.

Now you are stronger than ever and ready to dig into three ways we express or show our executive presence.

Three Ways to Show Your Strengths

People perceive us as having executive presence based on three critical components. Consistent mastery and delivery of these components creates the perception we are in the presence of executive material.

1. Executive Behavior: Self-Control

Control your body, face, and hold up under pressure. Studies have shown that there is a powerful connection between the mind and the body. As your body expresses strength and confidence, your brain begins to catch on. People around you also catch on and perceive strength. No matter what intrinsic traits you possess, the outward manifestation must be positive, in control, and convey the message “I have strengths.”

Controlling your body does not mean you become a robot. Instead, deliver a firm, straight up and down handshake; keep your posture open and upright both standing and seated; be civil; offer a genuine smile and make eye contact.

Self-control, when under pressure, is a critical litmus test for our executive presence. You do not know a person until you have seen them in stressful situations. I have found that when under fire, if we keep our posture open and upright, breathe, listen, and use a touch of humor, we will stay focused and show our executive behaviors. No matter your unique strengths focus on showing those strengths with definite self-control.

2. Executive Communication: What we say, how we say it, and what we do not say will either enhance our presence or derail us.

Communication, in all of its forms, spoken, written, and on-line, will reinforce your strengths or hide them. The 2012 Center for Talent and Innovation Study emphasized the importance of strong public speaking skills for executive presence. Public speaking is critical. Enhance your communication skills now, whether in front of a group or one-on-one.

Listen more than you speak.

Keep your communication concise and relevant. Remove fillers, i.e., Ummm, you-know, like…like, so…., I may not know what I’m talking about…

Know your topic and what you want to say.

Always keep it clean and civil. Show you are articulate without using foul language.

When speaking, moderate and vary the speed, pitch, and volume of your voice.

3. Executive Appearance: Fast Derail

While this is not the most important way to enhance your executive presence, your appearance can derail you the fastest. This does not mean that you must wear a black, grey, or navy suit at all times. (Black, navy, and grey look ghastly on many people-especially me.)

Instead, be clean, neat, wear clothing that flatters your shape, and stay well-groomed. Wear what is authentic to you and fit the needs of the job. Both men and women need to avoid extremes and tight or revealing clothing and heavy make-up.

A reliable rule is to dress for your brain.

These three components, behavior, communication, and appearance, must consistently align with our strengths. When we are inconsistent or unauthentic, we create distrust and confusion.

It is also vital to act within the context of your audience, your role, the circumstances, and the environment. For example, speaking to a large group of scientists as a subject matter expert is very different from interviewing a person as a potential employee. Each audience, role, circumstance, and environment requires adjusting to how we behave, communicate, and appear.

Start Simple

Look for areas where if you make slight behavior adjustments, you will see the biggest impact. These are your best leverage points. Chose one behavior that you will consciously adjust to better highlight and build upon a strength.

Change is Awkward

At first, a slight change in your behavior might feel a little awkward. That’s normal. Consistently practice and work on it. Keep practicing, and it will feel more natural. When you build from a position of strength, work consistently, and embrace accountability, the awkward time shortens.

One Step At A Time

Remember, Lisa, who received a big promotion to the executive director in Part Two ? She knew one-on-one communications and connecting one-on-one were two of her strengths. She struggled when it came to giving presentations to groups. Determined to take her communication skills to larger groups, she knew that building on her current strengths gave her a strong start. Lisa took on the challenge of improving her communication skills in larger groups.

How? Lisa created a plan that she could work on every day in steps.

First, she created accountability by telling her team and a trusted advisor that she was determined to build her communication strength to the point where she would be considered an excellent communicator in front of a large group. She solicited their help through the process.
Second, she created her clear and concise message for an upcoming presentation.
Third, she practiced out loud over and over. She practiced in from of her team, trusted advisor, coach, and recorded herself. She used their feedback to adjust her message and how she delivered the message. She worked on controlling her voice, posture, and gestures. She practiced, improved, and practiced again.
Fourth, she thoughtfully chose a simple outfit in flattering colors and lines before her presentation. She looked powerful, she stood firm, communicated with strength, and she knocked it out of the park!
Fifth, she continues to take the same approach to each of her presentations. Her presentations are clear and strong. Lisa has an added measure of confidence that she earns, and her presence is more authentic and confident.

Make It Happen!

You now have a roadmap to enhance your executive presence. The critical pieces include:

Know your strengths and how they align with the ways executives with presence behave.
Identify the strengths that if you leverage by making a slight adjustment, you will make the most recognizable impact.
Start simple, practice, and consistently work on behaviors, communication, and appearance that effectively emphasize your strengths. Work through the awkward and adjust with feedback.

Good luck! Keep me posted on your progress. Contact us at KM Leadership Solutions to help you move to your next leadership level with an executive presence.

Ellevate Network published this article Jan. 2017.

How to Enhance Your Executive Presence, Part Two

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 19:33:00 GMT

In Part 1 of How to Enhance Your Executive Presence , you made an inventory of your strengths and received feedback on how others view your strengths. Any surprises?

If you chose to take one of the tests (links provided in Part 1), you have some very concise descriptions that will help you as you enhance your executive presence. A concise description of your strengths and traits is an important foundation of self-awareness, whether using your own list of strengths, using test results, or creating a combined list. This awareness allows you to build confidence in yourself.

The next step to enhancing your presence is to be aware of the needs of your colleagues and leaders in your work environment. Let’s face it; people expect some common behaviors from their leaders. What are these common behaviors?

If you work for a large corporation, they often have leadership characteristics or behaviors outlined and available through human resources. They are often called “competency models.” Use the information your company already has as a tool to help you with your firm.

If a competency model is not available from HR, there are several studies conducted over the past ten years that outline what behaviors and characteristics that people with presence exhibit. Let’s explore the findings from a few of them.

In 2012, the Center for Talent and Innovation reported the outcomes from a study of over 260 senior executives. They organized their findings into three pillars of executive presence.

#1. Gravitas – Behaviors included confidence and “grace under fire”, acting decisively, showing integrity, demonstrating emotional intelligence, polished reputation, projecting vision.

#2. Communication – behaviors included great speaking skills, ability to command a room, ability to read an audience.

#3. Appearance – Look like a leader is: good grooming, physical attractiveness.

While appearance did not rank the highest in importance, appearance stood out as a fast derailer.

With the outline of your strengths and traits in hand, you are ready to compare your strengths and characteristics with what your team or organization needs to perceive your executive presence. Place your strengths and traits side by side with the description of executive presence behaviors and traits. What stands out right away and aligns with what people need to see from professionals with presence? Highlight where you align. If you see some disconnects, match the needs up to your closest strength(s).

You will also notice gaps between your current strengths or traits and the traits people perceive as executive presence. Be aware of them, but keep your focus on your alignment. We first enhance our presence building on our strengths, then we can make small adjustments to help close the gaps.

You are on the road to strengthening your executive presence as you are aware of your strengths and aware of leaders’ expected behaviors. Here’s an example of how one person completed this awareness exercise and found she had good base strengths and traits that she could build upon to demonstrate a better executive presence.

Lisa received a big promotion to the executive director role. She knew she was good at one-on-one communication but struggled to give presentations to groups of 8 or more people. Her strengths included confidently communicating her message to small groups, creating a compelling vision for her group, and the ability to connect with people. She compared her strengths to the expectations of an executive director with an executive presence. She found a gap in her communication skills in front of a group.

Before exploring her strengths (on her own and gathering feedback), she believed she could not speak in front of a large group. After going through this exercise, she gained more confidence than ever before. She had relevant strengths to build on. She was determined to better leverage those strengths to better communicate in front of a group.

In the next installment of How to Enhance Your Executive Presence (Part 3), we will dig into the three critical components of how we express our strengths and traits to create a positive perception of our executive presence. We will see what Lisa did after becoming aware of her strengths and the need to better communicate in front of a group.

What strengths did you discover so far about yourself?

For more information about KM Leadership Solutions , check out our website or follow up on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Ellevate Network originally published this article in 2017.

How to Enhance Your Executive Presence, Part One

Sat, 23 May 2020 09:02:00 GMT

Can we influence how people perceive us in our jobs? Do you want to be recognized as a person that genuinely has what it takes? No matter how seasoned we are in our profession, each one of us can improve upon the way our boss, colleagues, clients, and prospective employers perceive us in at work.

Presence is how you express yourself and how people perceive your strengths based on what they see and experience interacting with you, how people perceive that expression is your presence.

This post is part one in a series of posts that will address how to enhance your professional presence. The conscious mastery of expressing your unique strengths in leadership gives you an executive presence.

Start with Awareness

To strengthen your professional presence, start with awareness of your strengths. We each have a unique combination of strengths, traits, capabilities, talents, skills, and interests. No one is exactly like you. That uniqueness alone is a strength. So what are your other strengths?

Inventory Your Strengths

Take a brief inventory of your strengths today—list 5 of your strengths. If you are not sure how to describe your strengths, try plugging into some interesting online tests that help you identify some of your top strengths and traits.

Taking a personality or strengths test is not essential, but there are two ways that they can help you inventory your strengths and traits.

Describe strengths— Test results provide alternative descriptions of your strengths that you might see right now.
Offer Insights— You receive information about how these traits and strengths result in behavior themes with your test results.

As we are all unique, I do not like to describe traits and strengths as a “type.” Do not fall into this narrow trap. If you chose to explore a testing instrument, approach it to help you better see the facets in your behavior to polish rather than to place you in a “type” box.

Here are a few free tests available online. They each offer enhanced insights into your results (for a fee), but the free information is beneficial on its own.

Free Personality Test through 16 Personalities

Free Strengths Test through Workuno

The free abbreviated DISC test

Get Feedback

Talk with a person you trust that observes you in action on the job and is good at giving candid feedback. Ask them to describe five of your strengths, traits, talents, skills, and capabilities. Compare her or his list with your list. Are there gaps? If so, ask them to describe your behaviors that have them see something different than what you see.

What others see that you cannot see is called a blind spot. Discovering a blind spot is a gift. It can also be startling to learn something that reveals a previously unknown facet of your behavior. Open up to these blind spot revelations. They are a key to unlocking essential leverage points—meaning if you make slight behavior adjustments in what was once a blind spot, you will see the quickest and most potent results.

Feedback is a tremendous gift that will help you narrow down your next steps to enhance your professional presence.

Awareness Not Absorption

Keep in mind; awareness is NOT absorption. Awareness is a sensitivity to who we are and how we express ourselves to others. Awareness helps us better frame our strengths as we show them. In contrast, absorption is a lack of sensitivity to others, as a self-absorbed person only looks at themselves, not caring about their impact on others.

When we combine our strengths with an awareness of our strengths and a genuine desire to improve our professional presence, we are on the road to making positive in-roads to being perceived as a person who has what it takes.

“How to Enhance Your Executive Presence, Part 2” will further clarify how to strengthen your presence with focused feedback applied constructively.

Ellevate Network originally published this as an article in 2016.

Time to Get it and Be a Phenomenal Leader Now!

Fri, 22 May 2020 20:46:00 GMT

Using Two-Sided Self-Awareness and Asking One Question Will Make You Stand Out

Phenomenal leaders understand who they are – they “get it.” They know their values, aspirations, reactions, and their impact on others. This self-awareness gives leaders critical information to impact those they lead.

Self-awareness for a leader includes two parts – our internal awareness and the external. You guessed it; the internal is how we see ourselves. The external is understanding how others view you. Self-aware leaders know that internal and external perspectives may compete. This gap between the inner self-awareness and their external self-awareness contains the opportunity to grow.

Studies show that while most leaders believe they are self-aware, only 10-15% of the people studied, met the self-aware criteria. Another study showed that high-level leaders and those with the most experience were not as self-aware as they believed.

Want to be a phenomenal leader and get it ? Cultivate both sides of the self-awareness equation.

Dr. Tasha Eurich’s HBR article offered compelling insights into self-awareness and how to exercise both parts of this critical skill for phenomenal leaders. She shows that those seen as effective leaders frequently seek crucial feedback. How they use this critical feedback helps them build both their internal and external self-awareness.

She warns leaders that introspection does not always improve self-awareness. Eurich says, “…one of the most surprising findings of our research is that people who introspect are less self-aware and report worse job satisfaction and well-being.” The reason is that most will ask the common introspection question: “Why?”

For example, Kelly asked himself, “Why did my peers rate me so low in my 360-review?” He thought he knew how to connect and work with other leaders, but the recent feedback did not match his perception of his skills. How could they not see his strong leadership skills? “They just don’t get me.”

Asking why is a futile attempt to tap into unconscious thoughts, feeling, or other’s motivation. We then move to prove how we are right, and others are wrong. Next comes the wheel-spinning negative thoughts. Asking why is a no-win thought process!

The key to creating productive thoughts, becoming more self-aware, and get it is to ask what . Eurich points out that “what” questions are future-focused, require objective thinking, and empower us to act on new insights.

Ask What, Not Why

Let’s switch the inner dialogue with Kelly. He now asks, “What actions will help me improve my connection with my peers?” or “What leadership skills can I better demonstrate, that will make a difference in my interactions with my peers?” These what questions will direct Kelly to think of positive ways to close the gap between his inner perception and his peers’ perceptions. He gets it!

Understanding both facets of self-awareness allows us to get it and make behavior changes that enable us to be phenomenal leaders. When we frequently seek critical feedback, asking what instead of why we too will have a relevant view of our internal self-awareness and our external self-awareness. Know thy self and get it!

What changes will you make to move you into the ranks of phenomenal leaders? Contact us now for assistance.

Five Ways to Strengthen Resilience

Fri, 22 May 2020 18:38:00 GMT

“Sometimes you’re the windshield. Sometimes you’re the bug.” – The Bug – Mary Chapin Carpenter

This song by Mary Chapin Carpenter came to mind lately. Recently, I could relate to that bug – the deaths of family members, a series of near-catastrophic mishaps in our home, two beloved pets dying unexpectedly, receiving word of a disappointing conclusion to a project, and the list goes on. That pile of challenges in a short time is not unique. In fact, my problems are lightweight as I see people with a myriad of severe challenges.

We all face difficulty, grief, and disappointments. How we recover, move forward, and adjust to our challenges is a measure of our resilience. So, what are some ways to face our challenges? What are the ways we strengthen our resilience?

Determine That Difficult ≠ My Life

Through it all, difficulties do not define my life or your life. My behavior determines my life. Each of our lives is a gift even when we feel like that bug on the windshield. We all struggle with challenges, and it’s our choice to grow stronger from the challenges we encounter.

Ask – What Can I Learn? Where is the Gift?

One of the purposes of life is to learn. Learning is a gift. When I face disappointments, I ask myself, “where is the gift?” or “what will I learn from this?”. Self-destructive thought is not permitted as I think of the answers to these questions. When our two beloved dogs, passed away within four weeks of one another, my response included identifying the gifts of our adventures together, their lessons of enjoying the moment, memories of cuddles, and my gratitude for being our dogs’ person for our years together. I miss them, and I have so many gifts that I received from them.

The near-catastrophic mishaps in our home had gifts in them. It was a gift that we discovered the problems before the house burned down or flooded. Inconvenience is do-able – it could have been much worse!

Move…Forward

Some of the ways I process challenges are to move my body. I go for a walk, work in the garden, work-out, or deep clean the house. (you guessed it, my house is CLEAN right now!) Moving my body helps me mentally cope and determine to move forward. Sometimes, just taking a deep breath, sitting straight or walking with my head held high gives me the mental boost I need to go forward.

Numerous studies show that the mind and body have a synergistic link. The body can reinforce positive messages to the mind and vice versa. Harvard psychologist and TED star Amy Cuddy studied this tie between the body and brain. In her book, Presence and her TED talk , she presents her scientific findings on the body-mind effects of “power poses” or adopting expansive and open nonverbal postures increase our ability to face difficulty. Using our bodies positively will help our minds move forward with strength.

Lean On

Bottling up the pain, disappointment, frustration, and any emotions we feel as we experience challenges results in problems growing, increased anxiety, and can lead to deeper distress. Find a trusted person that will listen. A family member, friend, or professional who wants to be your sounding board and will keep your confidence is essential. My husband is my listening ear and shoulder to lean on. There were also moments that I just talked to my plants in the garden. Allowing myself to express my emotions permitted me to release and then move forward. Feel it, express it, and let it go.

Take Care of You

A friend of mine ends all conversations with the directive, “Take care of you!”. This direction especially applies when experiencing difficulties. Drink lots of water, keep nourished, and sleep. If you struggle with any of these, give them an assignment to someone that wants to help. People who care will be grateful to help in some way. “I need your help in remembering to eat or drink water.” Or “Help me find some quiet time to rest.” These basic needs for the body, if attended to, will allow the mind to heal and move forward. Follow my friend’s directive to take care of you.

Summary

Whether at work or just life in general, we all face difficulties one-by-one or several at once. Know that we are not our challenges. We define who we are by how we behave. Determine to find the gift or lessons in our challenges, let your body help your mind become stronger, lean on others for support, and take care of you. No matter how difficult the challenge, we all have the capability to move forward, learn, and become better people.

Six Leadership Lessons I Learned from a Crisis

Thu, 21 May 2020 21:54:00 GMT

(Published by HuffPost .)

In May 2016, it became clear my father’s health was declining. He lived a significant distance away from his eight children. Three of us traveled to evaluate his situation and ensure he received help. This initial intervention began a problematic road of navigating Dad’s health care, financial, legal, and housing challenges. As I reflected on these experiences, I found six insights about leadership in a crisis that will continue to influence me throughout my life.

My Dad’s Self-Portrait

Be Your Best

Behavior during a crisis reveals who leaders really are. Intentionally determining to be your best takes the stress down a notch. Behaving with courtesy and speaking with respect allows the leader to focus their energy on those whom you lead and will enable you to problem solve rather than struggle with repairing relationships. Being at your best enables you to think clearly, respond rationally, and remain focused on what is essential.

Be Observant

Effective leaders understand the culture, behavior, and norms of the world in which they operate. Notice shifts or changes in these norms or behaviors. These are early indications that clients, markets, and/or colleagues require attention. Ignoring change indicates a low level of care and immediately puts you behind the crisis in a defensive position. The person who notices changes and gives appropriate attention to those changes can more effectively lead and can, in some cases, prevent a crisis from occurring. Noticing change shows you care and gives you the ability to move to an offensive position more rapidly.

Ask Questions

Information gives leaders the power to guide the team through a crisis. Asking relevant questions and carefully listening gives you the knowledge and the ability to strategically and tactically prepare for what comes next. This mutual give and take of information also help build trust. During Dad’s crisis, I picked the brains of first responders, doctors, nurses, social workers, Medicaid representatives, Social Security representatives, health care administrators, and providers. Listening to them helped my dad receive proper care and my siblings to understand better the situation we were facing.

Be A Communicator

Crisis leaders provide candid, clear, and brief communication frequently to help the team be at their best and remain focused. The regular Facebook group messages we exchanged helped all the siblings understand what was happening and provided clarity on how to help. Frequent communication also helped us compare observations and support one another as we navigated the crisis.

Take Action

Leadership in a crisis requires decisive, focused action. Observing, asking questions, and communicating are the three most powerful resources to determine the course of action. Your activity must remain focused on the most critical steps to address the problem(s). It is easy to become distracted by being busy with matters that do not precisely move you toward your goals. Be courageous and make decisions. Move forward to reach your objectives.

Be Grateful

Navigating a crisis within an organization is never a one-person show. Express sincere gratitude to the people who take on the various facets of working through the crisis. Giving timely and specific feedback, including what you are thankful for and expressing trust, further spurs those involved to stay engaged and working toward the goals. Our family owes a lot of thanks to the various caregivers and professionals who helped with my dad’s care. A grateful leader increases the capacity of the individuals and the team. As Margaret Cousins said, “Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”

Summary

Dad passed away late in September 2016. The summer was very difficult for all, but these six leadership insights helped our family navigate the unknown and challenging road we traveled. The dark days are not as dark when we determine to be our best, be observant, ask questions, communicate, take action, and be grateful. Intentionally implementing these leadership practices will help each of us in everyday leadership, especially when navigating a crisis.

If more information about crisis leadership, contact us today .

Where are the Future Leaders?

Thu, 21 May 2020 20:22:00 GMT

A 2010 McKinsey study predicted that by 2018 25% of the workforce in the insurance industry would be eligible for retirement. This talent drain occurred as predicted. Look around you. This challenge is not unique to the insurance industry.

How deep is your leadership bench?

Are those on your bench prepared to lead your organization to thrive and succeed? Preparing leaders is not a simple as sending people to a training program or choosing people that are good at what they currently do. Solid preparation is a blend of stretch experiences and personalized coaching combined with focused training.

HR Takes Care of It – Really?

Top high-potential employees need challenging stretch assignments and the expertise of a coach/trainer that understands what they are facing in the challenging business world every day. As a 27-year veteran of Fortune 500 firms in crucial leadership roles, I see that the traditional approach to delegate leadership development or succession planning to HR is not the solution . Today’s HR professionals manage an ever increasingly complex regulatory compliance environment. HR professionals feel the crunch of not having enough bandwidth. It is a vicious cycle that exacerbates the impending leadership crisis.

Many organizations have succession plans in their HR systems or on-file. The managers of your high-potential colleagues tagged in those plans struggle with time and resources to develop their people. Providing experts with time and experience as successful leaders will develop your high-potential leaders now. For those that have not started their succession planning, sorting out where to begin can be overwhelming.

What Do Tomorrow’s Leaders Need Now?

Tomorrow’s leaders need to understand how to manage people, financials (P&L’s), processes, and clients based on real-world expertise. The typical theoretical approach to leadership will fall short. Real-life, in the trenches experience, coupled with an insightful couching, delivers the time-sensitive solutions you need. Both hard and soft skills required to lead cannot be taught only in a classroom. Developing leaders must have support as they change behaviors while developing expertise.

When you are ready to experience solid business results while your high-potentials transform into influential leaders, contact KM Leadership Solutions .

Blog - KM Leadership Solutions

Agile Coaching and Modern Leadership - We're Speaking the Same Language

Are the principles of leadership and agile coaching different?

Do You Have What it Takes to Chair a Board Today?

Five Universal Skills of Successful Board Chairs

Post Acquisition Secret Revealed

Keep your high-performance teams in an M&A

What did we do?

What is a rite of passage?

Our Rite of Passage

What Does a Rite of Passage Do for Deal Value?

My Mind-Blowing Failure That Forever Changed How I Lead

What is an Influential Leader?

Powerful Change Leadership Requires Influence Skills

What Did I Do After That Meeting?

Opposition is a Gift to Change Leaders

How Can My Mistakes Help You?

The Best Advice for Getting Excellent at Strategy Execution in Today’s World

Keep It Simple

What’s Your One Thing?

Translate Strategy Into Actions

Add Action Items to Your Calendar

Be Accountable

Harness Momentum

This Works!

How to Ask Questions that Brighten Your Future Now

Ask Questions

What’s the Easiest Way to Create a Good Open-Ended Question?

Always avoid asking personal questions to strangers or casual connections.

Are Close Ended Questions Useful?

Listen

Summary

Successfully Execute Your Strategy Without Blowing Up Your To-Do List

What is the simple way to successfully execute a strategy without adding to your to-do list?

The Formula for Successfully Executing Strategy

The formula is 1,3,5.

First, identify your “one thing.”

Three Repeatable Actions Each Week

High-Fives!

The 1, 3, 5 formula works!

Four BIG Mistakes Executives Make that Stop Strategy Execution

When it comes to executing your business strategy, what drags your organization to a strategic slow crawl or even a full stop?

Mistake #1: Thinking Big and Complex Equals Innovation

Mistake #2: Picking Misaligned Initiatives

Mistake #3: Creating Initiative Overload – Too Many & Bad Timing

Mistake #4: Quiet Death of an Initiative

Final Thoughts

Stop Torturing Your Team by Making Your Next Meeting the Best Ever

What can leaders and participants do to make a meeting worthwhile?

Know the purpose of the meeting

Decide how you will “show up” with a point of view

Arrive early and pick your spot

Take your space

Speak early

Stay on an even keel

Use a parking lot

Confirm the outcome

What actions help make your meetings productive?

Comfort Kills Great Leadership

A leader making business decisions based on being comfortable is like a couch potato trying to run a marathon.

A comfortable leader will always underperform in a competitive environment.

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A comfortable team will likely feel good but miss opportunities.

What is comfortable?

Isn’t feeling uncomfortable a sign that something might be wrong?

Comfortable ≠ Better Performance

Comfort Bias Blocks High Performance

Dig Deeper

How to Enhance Your Executive Presence, Part Three

Three Ways to Show Your Strengths

1. Executive Behavior: Self-Control

2. Executive Communication: What we say, how we say it, and what we do not say will either enhance our presence or derail us.

3. Executive Appearance: Fast Derail

A reliable rule is to dress for your brain.

Start Simple

Change is Awkward

One Step At A Time

Make It Happen!

How to Enhance Your Executive Presence, Part Two

In 2012, the Center for Talent and Innovation reported the outcomes from a study of over 260 senior executives. They organized their findings into three pillars of executive presence.