Marshall Goldsmith

A great article from him. Great leaders encourage leadership development by openly developing themselves. by Marshall Goldsmith Listen to what General Mills CEO Steve Sanger recently told 90 of his colleagues: "As you all know, last year my team told me that I needed to do a better job of coaching my direct reports. I just reviewed my 360-degree feedback. I have been working on becoming a better coach for the past year or so. I'm still not doing quite as well as I want, but I'm getting a lot better. My coworkers have been helping me improve. Another thing that I feel good about is the fact that my scores on 'effectively responds to feedback' are so high this year." While listening to Steve speak so openly to coworkers about his efforts to develop himself as a leader, I realized how much the world has changed. Twenty years ago, few CEOs received feedback from their colleagues. Even fewer candidly discussed that feedback and their personal developmental plans. Today, many of the world's most respected chief executives are setting a positive example by opening up, striving continually to develop themselves as leaders. In fact, organizations that do the best job of cranking out leaders tend to have CEOs like Steve Sanger who are directly and actively involved in leadership development. That has certainly been my experience. This has also been confirmed by a recently completed research project led by Marc Effron at Hewitt Associates, one of the largest HR consulting firms. Hewitt and Chief Executive magazine put General Mills on their latest list of the top-20 companies for leaders, among such familiar names as IBM and General Electric. Hewitt found that these organizations tend to more actively manage their talent. They put lots of focus on identifying high-potential people, better differentiate compensation, serve up the right kinds of development opportunities, and closely watch turnover. But crucial to all these efforts were CEO support and involvement. No question, one of the best ways top executives can get their leaders to improve is to work on improving themselves. Leading by example can mean a lot more than leading by public-relations hype. Michael Dell, whose company made the Hewitt list, is a perfect example. As one of the most successful leaders in business history, he could easily have an attitude that says, "I am Michael Dell and you aren't! I don't really need to work on developing myself." Michael, however, has the opposite approach. He has done an amazing job of sincerely discussing his personal challenges with leaders across the company. He is a living case study from whom everyone at Dell is learning. His leadership example makes it hard for any leader to act arrogant or to communicate that he or she has nothing to improve upon. Johnson & Johnson, tied for first on the top-20 list, has successfully involved its executives in leadership development. Its CEOs, formerly Ralph Larsen and now Bill Weldon, and top executive team regularly participate in a variety of leadership-building activities. Having a dialogue with the CEO about his business challenges and developmental needs makes it a lot easier for employees to discuss their own business challenges and developmental needs. Executive candor can even help turn around a troubled company. Consider Northrop Grumman, the aerospace defense contractor. CEO Kent Kresa inherited a company that had a poor reputation for integrity, a battered stock price, and an unfortunate reputation as one of the least-admired companies in its industry. His leadership team reversed the company's poor image and engineered an amazing turnaround - ultimately becoming the Forbes' most-admired company. From the beginning of the process, Kent led by example. He communicated clear expectations for ethics, values, and behavior. He made sure that he was evaluated by the same standards that he set for everyone else. He consistently reached out to coworkers. He didn't just work to develop his leaders--he created an environment in which the company's leaders were working to develop him. Unfortunately, in the same way that CEO support and involvement can help companies nurture leaders, CEO arrogance can have the opposite effect. When the boss acts like a little god and tells everyone else they need to improve, that behavior can be copied at every level of management. Every level then points out how the level below it needs to change. The end result: No one gets much better. The principle of leadership development by personal example doesn't apply just to CEOs. It applies to all levels of management. All good leaders want their people to grow and develop on the job. Who knows? If we work hard to improve ourselves, we might even encourage the people around us to do the same thing.

Leadership becoming Trusted partners

Leadership - just Google search and you will find millions of articles. Blake & Mouton's theory, Leadership practices and Situational Leadership are just a few. I came across this good article from articlesbase.com. Being in a leadership role invites scrutiny, so it is important to learn the top leadership skills that will make you trustworthy in the eye of the group you are in charge of leading. Leadership is an exceptional type of role in which you are in charge of leading and helping others achieve whatever goals you or they have set for themselves. However, many people are confused about what it takes to become an effective, trustworthy leader so it's always good to keep yourself in check and learn helpful tips, like the one presented in this article, to make the right type of progress. Make Sure to Engage People You should learn how to motivate and inspire others to engage their passions, strengths, skills, and creativity in the projects at hand. Do what you can to acknowledge and show appreciation for their contributions and efforts. You should make each team member feel like they did something positive to move the project forward. Don't let good talent go to waste. If someone in your team is greatly contributing to the increase of your company's profits, be sure to promote them, give them a raise, or, if you aren't in a position to do those things, recommend the person to someone who is. If you fail to do this, you might find that that talented, effective and hardworking employee has left for your competitor. Encourage Transparency Being a good leader require from you to always be truthful about the situation. If something isn't working out as planned, make sure to update your team as soon as it happens. If you need to change something, inform them. Your team needs to know what is going on, whether it be good news or bad. Remember that when you're dealing with customers or your employees you have to be ethical at all times. Ethics is a major part in any successful business. When your team knows you are to be trusted, they will do a better job for you. This will also give them a good lead to follow. Master the Art of Delegating To be an effective leader you have to know your own strengths and weaknesses. Delegate responsibilities in areas that you are weak in to a member of your team that excel in them. You'll give him or her a chance to shine, while ensuring that the job is carried out successfully. Real leaders are willing to learn Many great leadership skills don't just befall from a sudden flash of awareness or a great epiphany. Try reading some books on how to be an effective leader, going to business seminars, and talking to other leaders to see what works best for them. Keep in mind that, great ideas can come to anybody, but good leaders take time to study, learn and expand their knowledge. It can take a long time, but the more knowledge you have about proper leadership skills, the better leader you become. Taking action is what will propel you into a great leadership role. Leadership positions are highly fulfilling because you can help other people achieve their goals. It is a very rewarding yet challenging position

That is GREAT but

We had the honour of hosting Marshall Goldsmith at the Asia HRD Congress 2014 Kuala Lumpur recently. Marshall Goldsmith needs no introduction. The author of several best sellers including MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, and How to Get It Back When You Lose It! Was in his usual form. I reproduce here one of his articles: "That Is Great, BUT…" The higher up you go in your organization, the more you need to make other people winners and not make your job about winning yourself. This is a hard concept for people who like to win to grasp. The more successful you become, the more helping others win is how you win! For those in leadership positions, this means closely monitoring how you hand out encouragement and how you “help” others improve. If you find yourself saying, “That is great…” and then dropping the other shoe with a tempering, “BUT” stop yourself before you speak. Take a breath and ask yourself if what you’re about to say is worth it. In most cases it isn’t. If you really want to succeed and encourage others to do the same, try stopping at “great!” This is a challenge even for those who have acknowledged they do this and think they are past it. Let me share a little story with you. A few years ago, I taught a class at a telecom headquarters. One of the men in my class mocked me when I mentioned this problem that so many of us have with “That is great, BUT…” He thought it was easy not to use the words. He was so sure of himself that he offered $100 for each time he used these words. I made a point of sitting with him during our lunch break. I asked him where he was from, and he replied Singapore. “Singapore? I said. “That’s a great city!” “Yea,” he replied, “it’s great, but…” He caught himself immediately, and reached into his pocket for cash, saying, “I just lost $100, didn’t I?” That’s how pervasive this urge to win can be. It creeps into our conversations even when the discussion is trivial, even when we should be hyperaware of our word choices, and even when it might cost us $100. That was a description of the lighter version of those possessing this bad habit. Those who have the more serious version are even more harmful and discouraging. We all know negative people. My wife calls them “negatrons”. These are people who are incapable of saying something positive or complimentary to any of your suggestions. Negativity is their default response. You could walk into their office with the cure for cancer and the first words out of their mouth would be, “Let me explain why that won’t work.” This is the telltale phrase of negativity. It’s emblematic of a need to share negative thoughts, even when they haven’t been solicited. “Let me explain why that won’t work,” is different from adding value—because no value is added. It’s the big, bad brother of “That is great, BUT…” because rather than hiding our negativity under the mask of agreement, it is pure unadulterated negativity under the guise of being helpful. As with “That is great, BUT…” we employ “Let me explain why that won’t work” to establish that our expertise or authority is superior to someone else’s. It doesn’t mean that what we say is correct or useful. It’s simply a way of inserting ourselves into a situation as chief arbiter or senior critic. If you think one or both of these phrases might be your mode of negative operandi, I’d advise you to monitor your statements the moment someone offers you a helpful suggestion. Paying attention to what you say in response to their ideas is a great indicator of how you come across to people. If you find yourself frequently saying, “That is great, BUT…” you know you need to take a breath, pay attention, and stop yourself at “great”!

Don Kirkpatrick passes away

Don Kirkpatrick This morning I heard news from Jim Kirkpatrick and Wendy Kirkpatrick, the son and daughter in law of legendary Don Kirkpatrick that Don has passed away at the age of 90. Truly a legend in the HRD Evaluation field. More importantly a fine man, a great human being. I had known Don for a long time if I remember it right in 1983. As a young kid I had chanced to see a brochure of his programme in my mentor and Malaysian HR Guru, the late Sam Abishegam's office. I wrote to him an air mail letter inviting him to Malaysia. Next thing I knew, he and his wife Fern were here in Malaysia. We worked with some great companies: Mobil, Genting and so on. He was very much an American and I remember he espoused Republican values and he was so fond of the late Ronald Reagan. Even though I disagreed with many of his views, he grew fond of me. It was a joy talking to him and Fern. As a young graduate, he allowed me the trust to bring him here. I had no car; yet, he did not mind the hot Datsun taxi rides even though he was a legend used to very high class standards. We did not do much work but kept in touch. We brought him for Asia HRD Congress on a couple of occasions and did a little bit of work with Brunei Shell and other organisations but given his age, I was nervous to fly him all over the world. Again, while I did not attend very many of his workshops I continued to exchange ideas and he was a 'giver'- he believed knowledge belonged to the world. He was a religious person committed to moral principles. He made me feel good. Years later I had a wonderful opportunity to meet him more often. Based on his recommendation, we had his son Jim Kirkpatrick work for us in SMR USA. During the lst few years we exchanged the occasional Christmas and New Year greeting. A wonderful man who valued friendship more than money; one who made everyone comfortable and good. And a professional who contributed his four level Evaluatio

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith He was recognized in 2011 as the #1 leadership thinker in the world at the bi-annual Thinkers50 ceremony sponsored by the Harvard Business Review. He is the million-selling author of books, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won't Get You There – a WSJ #1 business book. His books have been translated into 28 languages and become bestsellers in ten countries. He will present a Master Class on June 9th at Asia HRDCongress 2014 and deliver the opening keynote on June 10th. For further details visit www.hrdcongress.com I have been captivated for years by his Feedforward instead of Feedback principle. Providing feedback has long been considered to be an essential skill for leaders. As they strive to achieve the goals of the organization, employees need to know how they are doing. They need to know if their performance is in line with what their leaders expect. But there is a fundamental problem with all types of feedback: it focuses on the past, on what has already occurred—not on the infinite variety of opportunities that can happen in the future. It is in this context I found his Feedforward exceptionally useful. Feedforward helps people envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past. Athletes are often trained using feedforward. Racecar drivers are taught to, “Look at the road ahead, not at the wall.” By giving people ideas on how they can be even more successful (as opposed to visualizing a failed past), we can increase their chances of achieving this success in the future. It can be more productive to help people learn to be “right,” than prove they were “wrong.” People do not take feedforward as personally as feedback. In theory, constructive feedback is supposed to “focus on the performance, not the person”. In practice, almost all feedback is taken personally (no matter how it is delivered). Feedforward is based on the assumption that the receiver of suggestions can make positive changes in the future. Feedforward can cover almost all of the same “material” as feedback. Feedforward tends to be much faster and more efficient than feedback. In summary, he says his intent is not to imply that leaders should never give feedback or that performance appraisals should be abandoned. The intent is to show how feedforward can often be preferable to feedback in day-to-day interactions. Quality communication—between and among people at all levels and every department and division—is the glue that holds organizations together. By using feedforward—and by encouraging others to use it—leaders can dramatically improve the quality of communication in their organizations, ensuring that the right message is conveyed, and that those who receive it are receptive to its content. The result is a much more dynamic, much more open organization—one whose employees focus on the promise of the future rather than dwelling on the mistakes of the past. To register for Asia HRDCongress please email neena@smrhrgroup.com or visit www.hrdcongress.com

Employee Productivity

Improving employee productivity with Social Tools Success Factors has released a white paper on improving employee productivity with social tools. As the paper outlines - these days you'll notice an emerging trend - tech-savvy 'millennials' are becoming an ever greater percentage of the workforce. And, as millennials fill more cubicles and offices, the corporate culture is changing rapidly. While these changes can create roadblocks for human resources professionals, they also present a unique opportunity to implement solutions that increase the productivity of everyone and the profitability of your company. The whitepaper outlines your roadmap to navigating - and benefiting from - the changing face of your global workforce. To download the paper visit http://www.workforce.com/roadmaps/515-learning-development/520-do/19922-improving-employee-productivity-with-social-tools For more information on how we can help you improve productivity with social tools email murali@smrhrgroup.com