Eric Jacobson

Archive for January, 2012|Monthly archive page


How To Give Praise

In Effective Communications, Engaging Employees, General Leadership Skills, Giving Praise, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Management, Motivating Employees on January 29, 2012 at 7:51 am

Entrepreneur magazine’s February 2012 issue offers these great tips on how to give praise:

  • Praise followed by criticism is not praise.
  • Praise followed by praise is probably a little too much praise.
  • Ending an expression of praise with “…and stuff” nullifies the praise.

And,

  • Make it timely.  The closer the recognition is to the behavior, the more likely the behavior will be repeated.
  • Be sincere.  Be impromptu.
  • Remember, a handwritten note is worth more than a gift card.

Having trouble writing your handwritten note of praise?  Try this template to get you started:

  • _______, I couldn’t be more impressed with how you______.  Not only did you____, but you_______.  Beautiful.  Thanks, ________


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.


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

7 Ways To Be A Collaborative Workplace Leader

In Uncategorized on January 21, 2012 at 7:26 am

Edward M. Marshall’s book, Transforming The Way We Work — The Power Of The Collaborative Workplace, remains relevant today, more than a decade after Marshall wrote it.

Particularly useful is the book’s section that teaches readers how to be a collaborative leader.

Marshall says that there are seven different, important roles and responsibilities of collaborative leaders when leading teams, and those leaders should select the appropriate style to meet the team’s needs.

The seven roles are:

  1. The leader as sponsor – You provide strategic direction, boundaries and coaching for the team.  You also monitor progress and ensure integrity in the team’s operating processes.
  2. The leader as facilitator – You ensure that meetings, team dynamics, and interpersonal relationships function effectively.  You also ensure internal coordination of activities among team members.
  3. The leader as coach – You provide support and guidance and you serve as a sounding board.
  4. The leader as change agent/catalyst – You hold team members accountable, make the unpopular decisions, energize the group to action and enable breakthroughs where possible.
  5. The leader as healer – You play the role of the mediator and serve as the catalyst to bring people together.
  6. The leader as member – You serve as part of the team, taking full responsibility for the success of the team and actively participate in the team’s activities.
  7. The leader as manager/administrator – You serve in a traditional role of tackling the daily administrative responsibilities, processes, and systems essential to managing the boundaries within the larger organization or key stakeholders.

Within any collaborate workplace, leaders will find themselves fulfilling all seven of these roles at different times, and sometimes fulfilling a combination of the seven styles at the same time, while working with work groups and teams.

Four years after Marshall wrote, Transforming The Way We Work, he penned, Building Trust At the Speed Of Change.  Marshall won an award for excellence in organization development from the American Society for Training and Development.  He holds degrees from Claremont McKenna College, Syracuse University and the University of North Carolina.

What To Read Next:  Top 20 Leadership Books For New Managers.


How To Hire A Marketing Leader

In Effective Communications, General Leadership Skills, Hiring, Hiring Great People, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Management, Marketing on January 19, 2012 at 7:35 pm

Welcome Debbie Laskey to my blog! 

With 15 years of marketing experience and an MBA Degree, Debbie developed her marketing expertise while working in the high-tech industry, the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, the non-profit arena, and the insurance industry. 

Currently, Debbie is a brand marketing and social media consultant to small businesses and nonprofits in California. 

I met Debbie a few years ago while we worked together on a training committee for MicroMentor, a nonprofit that connects small business owners with business mentors. 

  • Debbie and I recently discussed what business owners should look for when hiring marketing leaders, and highlights are provided below. 

Eric:  What personality traits are ideal for a marketing leader?

Debbie Laskey: First, marketing is not sales. I say this because, while the two areas must work in tandem if both departments exist in a company, sales people have very different personalities than those in marketing.

People who sell cars or real estate focus completely on the sale. Most people who work in marketing focus on the entire customer lifecycle from prospecting to building relationships to creating a sale to building repeat business. Therefore, marketing professionals need to be patient, flexible, high-energy, and dedicated. 

From a business perspective, the best marketing professionals are innovative, open-minded, adaptable, and enjoy working with all types of people. From a management perspective, the best marketing leaders are those who have managed both small and large teams, possess excellent communication skills, served as leaders in the past, and worked in a variety of industries.

Eric:  What’s the best professional background for a marketing leader?

Debbie Laskey: Talented marketing leaders can go from one industry to another with fast ramp-up time. Since experience and education are critical, a person who has worked as a marketing leader in one industry can apply what he/she has learned – both initiatives that worked and those that didn’t – and can easily market anything ranging from widgets to professional services. Naturally, there will be differences in the B2C, B2B, and nonprofit arenas, but marketing leaders can quickly study the competitive landscape, target market, value proposition, and then recommend viable marketing campaigns.

Eric:  What should be discussed during the interview process when searching for a marketing leader?

Debbie Laskey: Since a marketing leader should be an important member of a company’s leadership team, the hiring process should allow sufficient time for both parties to get to know each other. 

Several members of the company should interview the top candidates, and questions should focus on realistic situations to determine how the candidates will approach the development of marketing campaigns and how to increase business opportunities for the company. 

It is an insult to ask questions such as, “If you were a bug, which one would you be?” or “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” These questions range from the ridiculous to those that demand canned responses. The reality is that no one will hire a candidate who can list three weaknesses. Besides, if someone is a good interviewer, he/she can easily determine strengths and weaknesses without having to ask. 

Since the best interviews are conversations, rather than interrogations, focus on realistic marketing scenarios such as, “If we were going to implement a social media campaign, which social media channels would you emphasize and why?” or “If we were going to implement a mobile marketing initiative for the spring quarter, how would you create your plan?” 

Also, ask for details about previous marketing successes – and watch how the candidate explains the successes. Is he/she enthusiastic or bored? Does he/she take ownership of the campaign? Also, ask about marketing campaigns that might not have yielded the expected results. Ask the candidate to explain why and watch body language. Does he/she take ownership for the lack of results? 

If the candidate said he/she managed others, one way to confirm the accuracy of that fact is by asking how he/she rewarded or thanked a subordinate for performing excellent work. Again, watch how the candidate answers and be on the look-out for enthusiasm or discomfort.

Eric:  How should you measure the performance of a newly-hired marketing leader after 30 days, 90 days, and one year?

Debbie Laskey: When a new person joins the team as the marketing leader, there is often a lot to learn about the company, its competitive advantage, its target market, and its competitors. Therefore, a good marketing professional will spend time creating a marketing audit, which reflects on the external marketing environment (customers and competition), the internal marketing environment (company resources including staff, budgets, product portfolio, new products, pricing, distribution, and market share), and evaluates all previous marketing initiatives. 

It is critical to understand previous marketing activities, what worked, and what did not work in order to create a new marketing plan that will yield more successful results. 

If a company does not want the new marketing leader to analyze previous initiatives, that is a clue that the company does not want to undertake any serious marketing initiatives. Walk to the door and leave – no, run – the job is not a fit and will just cause frustration. But if the company’s leaders genuinely want to improve their business and implement new marketing initiatives, they will welcome a detailed marketing audit. 

Based on timing and priorities, an audit may take one-to-three months. 

In addition, a new marketing leader should speak with all department leaders to gain detailed understandings of their departments and how they will work in tandem with the marketing department. 

There may also be a need to hire additional marketing staff – that may take place during a marketing leader’s first six-to-twelve months. 

But the bottom line is that the new marketing leader and the business owner must agree on the marketing leader’s overall objectives for all timeframes – they must be on the same page for success to result.

Eric:  Where can a business owner learn more about marketing?

Debbie Laskey: Here are some excellent online marketing resources:

You may follow Debbie on Twitter (www.twitter.com/DebbieLaskeyMBA), Google+ (http://www.gplus.to/dlmba), or on her Blog (http://debbielaskey.blogspot.com).

Today’s Leadership Thought

In Uncategorized on January 15, 2012 at 6:55 am

Information sharing practices that rest on a leader’s sense of honor, practice of inclusion, and respect for followership distinguish the greater success of Trustworthy Leaders from those leaders who simply stop at doing what is practical, like sending out lots of email or posting and abundance of company notices.

From Amy Lyman’s new book, The Trustworthy Leader

Leveraging the Power of Trust to Transform Your Organization


Honor MLK By Volunteering Or Leading A Team To Volunteer

In Company Culture, Employee Engagement, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leading By Example, Management, Volunteering on January 14, 2012 at 7:48 am

As the nation honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16, volunteer or make the decision to volunteer in your community. King routinely asked “What are you doing for others,” and January 16th is the ideal day to ask yourself that question.

The federal holiday was first observed 25 years ago and in 1994 Congress designated it as a National Day of Service, inspired by King’s words, “everybody can be great because anybody can serve.”

You can turn to Volunteer Match to find volunteer opportunities right in your neighborhood or nearby surrounding area. Visit the web site, type in your zip code, and you will be presented with a variety of organizations seeking volunteers.

And, if you are a leader in the workplace, encourage your team members to volunteer in the community as individuals.  Or, organize team volunteer afternoons or evenings for your employees.


Leaders: Tips For How To Reach Your Goals

In General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Management, Motivating Employees, Setting Goals on January 12, 2012 at 7:55 pm

Social psychologist, Heidi Grant Halvorson, wrote Succeed to help you understand how goals work, what tends to go wrong, and what you can do to reach your goals or to help others reach theirs.

Because many of us may soon start struggling to fulfill our New Year’s Resolutions (goals), Halvorson’s book, packed with the findings from her own research, along with the most useful tips from academic journals and handbooks, is a timely read.

In her 260-page book, Halvorson covers:

•  How to set a goal that you will pursue even in the face of adversity.

•  How to avoid the kind of positive thinking that makes people fail.

•  How to create an environment that will help you win.

“Setting goals is important,” said Halvorson, “But that’s not the whole story. Because how you set your goals–the way you think about whatever it is you want to do, and how you will get there–is every bit as important.”

Halvorson recommends:

•  Making your goal as specific as possible.

•  Making your goal difficult, while still being realistic.

•  Being sure you don’t underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal.

•  Making sure you think about both the wonderful things that will happen if you succeed and the obstacles that stand in your way.

•  Filling your environment with reminders and triggers that will keep your unconscious mind working toward your goal, even when your conscious mind is distracted by other things.

•  Remembering why the goal is important to you. Also, choosing prevention goals, focusing on what you could lose if you fail.

She also said that, “One of the most important things you can do to reach any difficult goal is know when to ask for and accept help.”

And, if you are a team leader or business leader and you have the task of trying to get other people to adopt the goals assigned to them, Halvorson suggests you:

•  Try giving your employee or team member a sense of personal control. It helps when people can choose from several options–even a choice between two goals is still a choice.

•  Keep in mind that people are motivated to achieve a goal only when they feel it has value and when the value is clear. So, have your employees participate in decision making and goal setting.

•  Ask employees to commit publicly to reaching a goal. That will increase their motivation.

Halvorson stresses that it’s vitally important that employees understand the rationale behind goals given to them by their leaders. They need to know how to answer:

• Why is the goal worth pursing?

• How will I benefit from it?

“Remember that people are motivated to achieve a goal only when they feel it has value. When the value is clear, you’ll have fewer problems getting people on board and fully committed to succeed,” explained Halvorson.

Perhaps most important, Succeed, drives home the fact that persistence is key when working to reach a goal.

• Persistence comes more easily when a person believes more in effort and the effort to get better, rather than believing in ability.

I appreciate Halvorson sending me a complimentary copy of her book.  It’s a good read.


How To Identify A Leader During An Interview

In General Leadership Skills, Hiring, Hiring Great People, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Management on January 7, 2012 at 8:31 pm

The next time you are interviewing a candidate and you want to access  their leadership skills, consider asking the candidate these questions:

  • What personal qualities define you as a leader?  Describe a situation when these qualities helped you lead others.
  • Give an example of when you demonstrated good leadership.
  • What is the toughest group from which you’ve had to get cooperation?
  • Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas?  What was your approach?  Did it work?
  • Describe a situation in which you had to change your leadership style to achieve the goal?
  • One leadership skill is the ability to accommodate different views  in the workplace, regardless of what they are.  What have you done to  foster a wide number of views in your work environment?

Thanks to Sharon Armstrong, author of The Essential HR Handbook, for these helpful questions!


5 Questions To Ask Employees During Performance Reviews

In Effective Communications, Employee Engagement, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Listening Skills, Management, Motivating Employees, Soliciting Feedback on January 4, 2012 at 8:34 pm

Here are five important questions you, as a manager and leader, should ask during employee performance reviews:

  1. What have I done to help – or hinder – your job performance?
  2. What can I do in the next review period to help you achieve/improve?
  3. What conditions here enable you – or make it hard – to do your best work?
  4. What do you want most from your job?
  5. How can I help you reach your career goals?

I bet most employees have never heard most of these questions from their supervisors on a consistent basis.

Thanks to Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell for these questions — just some of their great advice from their book, The Essential HR Handbook.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 37 other followers

%d bloggers like this: