Eric Jacobson


Lead By Example

In General Leadership Skills, Leading By Example on November 8, 2009 at 8:59 am

There is nothing more powerful for a leader to do than to lead by setting a good example.

So, here are 15 things you can do to be an effective and successful leader:

1. Praise when compliments are earned.

2. Be decisive.

3. Say “Thank You” and sincerely mean it.

4. Communicate clearly.

5. Listen carefully.

6. Teach something new to your team members.

7. Word hard and lend a hand when deadlines are tight.

8. Show respect for everyone on your team.

9. Follow through when you promise to do something.

10. Allow learning to happen when mistakes are made.

11. Allow prudent autonomy.

12. Respond to questions quickly and fully.

13. Return e-mail and phone calls promptly.

14. Take an interest in your employees and their important personal milestone events.

15. Give credit where credit is due.

And, last but not least, be humble!

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Be A Manager Who Makes Decisions

In Company Culture, Effective Communications, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Making Decisions, Management on January 27, 2012 at 7:59 pm

A manager who can’t make a decision or who can’t make a timely decision will frustrate his/her employees. Equally bad, a lack of decision will impede the progress of the manager’s team.

Some managers make endless requests for data as a way to postpone their having to make a decision. Employees end up spinning in circles, slicing and dicing the information far beyond what is truly needed for the manager to make a decision.

Some managers are simply afraid to make a decision in fear of making a “wrong” decision. These managers don’t necessarily request needless data, but simply just never decide.

Successful managers gather the data from their employees, make any truly necessary follow-up requests (probing beyond what their employee may have researched/gathered on their own), and then make their decision…knowing that in virtually all cases most decisions are not black and white “right or “wrong,” but are the best decisions made at that time for the current circumstances.

Good managers know that most decisions can be tweaked along the way as their teams carry out their tasks impacted by the decision.

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How To Know When You Need An Executive Coach

In Coaching, Executive Coaching, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Management on January 22, 2012 at 7:26 am

More business leaders today are turning to executive coaches to help them become:

  • more personally fulfilled with their contributions
  • more effective with direct reports, peers and other executives
  • better able to coach their team members
  • more flexible in challenging situations

Susan C. Gatton, a Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX-based executive coach, has worked with a many leaders and she says that if you answer “yes” to any of the following ten situations, you are a likely candidate for executive coaching:

  1. I need an objective sounding board.
  2. I know some things are not working as well as they should.  I don’t know what to do to change the situation.
  3. I want to go to the next level.  I’m ready. Why am I not being promoted?
  4. Work has taken over my life. How do I make my family a priority?
  5. I may be over my head with these new responsibilities.
  6. My 360 degree feedback had several surprises.
  7. I’ve never interacted with the Board of Directors before.  I don’t know what to expect.
  8. I need more visibility and don’t know how to get it.
  9. I avoid social situations. I don’t do well with the small talk.
  10.   I have a strong feeling I am not hearing the whole story from my direct reports.

Executive coaching programs often take six months to one year to complete and include both in-person and via phone conversations and meetings.  You can use a coach in your area or from another state (you’ll likely use video conferencing or web conferencing for your “in-person” meetings).

In a recent interview, Gatton explained why building relationships is important to help someone to become a better leader.  She said, “The higher you go in an organization the more crucial building relationships becomes.  The picture is bigger at the top and the focus shifts from what is good for a team or department to what is beneficial for the company.  Leaders need to collaborate with their peers to remove obstacles for their team and to get buy in for what the company needs to be successful.”

“At times,” she continued, “leaders want to implement an initiative that affects a multitude of functional areas.  Without strategic alliances, it will be a no-win undertaking.  Individuals will become territorial–creating an adversarial situation.”

During Gatton’s nearly 30  years in business, she’s found several areas that continuously surface for leaders to become more effective or for potential leaders to shorten the learning curve as they climb up the ladder.  She said those include:

  • A thorough understanding of the company’s financial picture
  • A broad perspective of the business from a variety of hands-on experiences
  • Highly effective interpersonal communications skills
  • Exceptional presentation and public speaking skills
  • Extraordinary ability to lead
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