Think back to your first position as a supervisor or manager. Did you feel prepared for the job? Were you confident in your ability to lead the people you were suddenly responsible for? What would you liked to have known that would have made the new job easier?
One of the biggest problems so many organizations experience is the lack of ability in their management staff. It isn't that they're stupid, it's that there is a belief that for some reason the new supervisor or manager will pick up that leadership stuff in some magical way. After all there isn't time or money to do a lot of leadership training.
If that's the way you've been thinking, think again!
Leadership training is not an expense. It is an investment in the future of your company. Good supervisors and managers who understand how to effectively lead people will provide better productivity, more efficiency, and lower employee costs caused by turnover, complaints, and violations.
That seems like a pretty good return on investment, doesn't it?
Becoming a good leader is a lifelong pursuit but let's start with the basics. Your new supervisors or managers needs to understand these four fundamentals.
1. Themselves. This isn't touchy feely psychobabble. Leaders must develop a clear understanding of who they are before trying to lead others. It's essential for your supervisors and managers to know their strengths, weaknesses, and values. Strengths to know what they're good at and where they will not need much help, and weaknesses to know where they will need help. It's important for them to recognize these weak spots because their people will figure them out pretty quickly. Examining individual values helps people understand their own beliefs and how they compare to the company's values.
2. Communication. This isn't about a speech class, though that wouldn't hurt, but more generally how leaders communicate with others. In a leadership position communication is different and leaders need to know how to speak and write in a manner that will convey their message effectively both up and down the chain of command.
3. Leadership theory and styles. It's very helpful to understand leadership basics that others have already explained. Your new supervisors and managers don't need to become behavioral psychologists, but it's very helpful to learn a little about methods of effective leadership and why and how people follow. Leaders should also have an understanding of various styles of leadership and where they might or might not be appropriate.
4. Problem solving and decision making. The essence of good leadership is the ability to effectively deal with problems and issues that will arise on a daily basis. Leaders should understand how to address problems without the bad decisions that come from an unconsidered process.
Of course there is much more to learn and this is just a start. But, when you provide your new leaders these basic fundamentals, they will be much more effective and that means your costs will be lower.
And that's a good investment.
Leading for Dollar$!
Excerpts from the introductory leadership course that will develop energized leaders, engaged employees, and more profits.
Leading Change
CHANGE HAPPENS AND YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT
There's an old saying that the only constant in life is change. As a leader, you will come to realize just how true that is. Change will appear in many forms; new products, new employees, new bosses, new rules…the list is endless. Your job will be to handle all this change while still keeping things moving.
Often change comes from outside the organization you lead and you're forced into a reaction mode. You find you must implement the change while trying to get your people to accept it. Change is either good or bad and that will depend on who you ask. There are many books written on change management and you should definitely study more on the subject. Let's look at your responsibilities as a leader and some techniques for making change a little easier.
Think of some change that occurred in your organization.
Were you happy with the way the change was implemented?
Do you think it could have been done better?
Were the majority of people for or against the change?
The first step in change management is you, the leader, accepting the change. Many experts will tell you that once the boss has made up his or her mind, you must take that direction as if it was your own idea. In reality, very few people can pull that off. Most who try either appear dishonest to their subordinates or appear to have sacrificed their organization's best interests for the good of their own career. A better technique is to accept the change as something the boss wants done and something you are going to work hard to make a success. Use this approach.
First, discuss the change with your boss. Express your reservations in a positive way. Don't make this a personal challenge and don't argue with the boss in front of others. This puts the boss in a defensive position and won't help your cause. You may want to request some private time to discuss your issues. Once the decision is made though, you must redirect your efforts to implementing the change.
Next you must present the change to your organization. How you do this is critical. Lay out the facts. Explain the idea, what benefits the boss expects to gain, and how he or she wants to implement. Tell them what your reaction was, the arguments you put forth, and the bosses reaction to them. This isn't an opportunity to speak despairingly or disrespectfully about the boss, but to simply state the facts. If the idea was modified because of your input, point that out. Then, tell your subordinates you are going to support the boss' idea and, in the process, find good points that can benefit the organization.
At this point you have not taken ownership of the idea, but you have invested in its success. But your people may not agree. Unless the change is very big, there probably isn't time to go through all the steps for accepting change, so you must be firm about implementing it.
Unfortunately, the actual implementation of the change may not be as easy as it sounds. Often, reaction to change is very similar to the stages of grief identified by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining, and Acceptance. Not everyone clearly follows this model though and those that do will reach the acceptance stage at different speeds.
How do you handle change that starts within your organization? Change that comes from within your smaller organization is a little easier to manage. The change is probably rooted in an idea you or one or more of your subordinates had. You should carefully evaluate the idea to make sure it really will benefit the organization. If possible, give the originator of the idea the responsibility of implementation, including presenting the idea to the rest of the group. Don't throw them to the wolves though. Before you have them present the idea, sit down and discuss it. Look at the proposed change from all angles to find the good and bad points. If during this discussion, you think the originator can present it, fine. If not, do it yourself.
When you present the new idea, welcome discussion and critique, but keep it positive. Someone may think of something which you didn't. If after this the idea still seems good, implement it. Keep an eye out for quiet dissenters though. These are people who may not publicly state their opposition, but will quietly work for failure.
