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Editor: Dr. Wolf J. Rinke
Publisher: Wolf Rinke Associates, Inc.
(c) 2011 Wolf J. Rinke
Vol. 14 No. 1, February-March 2011
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Welcome to 14 years of helping managers like YOU achieve
dramatic improvements in performance, productivity and profitability.
Feel free to forward this eNewsletter to others.
To get your own FREE subscription click on the link above.
IN THIS ISSUE
1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
2. HOW TO FIX A DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM
3. COACHING: HOW TO DO MORE WITH LESS--PART II
4. HOW TO FAST TRACK YOUR CAREER
5. HUMOR BREAK
6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
REALITY CHECK
If a high level of performance is to be achieved, it appears to be necessary
for a manager to have high performance goals and a contagious enthusiasm
as to the importance of those goals.
--Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
DOES BEING GUILT PRONE MAKE YOU A BETTER LEADER?
According to recent research the answer is: yes. Researchers gave standard
psychological tests, which measured the tendency to feel guilt, to about
150 employees of Fortune 500 firms and found that "guilt-prone
people are hardworking high performers who believe in the organization
and see the big picture. In other words they're leaders." They
also found that guilt ridden employees have higher job satisfaction,
experience less stress, are more altruistic, and are more committed
to their employers. And even though in certain circumstances inducing
guilt may backfire, overall the benefits outweighed the costs.
ACTION STEP
If all else fails, induce a bit of guilt and you'll probably get better
performance. And if you tend to be guilt-ridden, thank your parents.
Source: F. J. Flynn "Guilt-Ridden People Make Great Leaders,"
HBR 89 (1/2), 2011: 30-31.
2. HOW TO FIX A DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM
Lack of engagement reducing performance and productivity?
Contact me. In over 30 years of consulting I have developed a unique
and fail-safe conflict resolution process that in one day will get your
leadership or other team back in working order. Differences will have
been worked out and the team will walk away with written commitments
that will be used by team members to hold each other accountable. As
a result of this intervention, participants buy into a new reality which
enables them to take team performance to the next level.
For details go to http://wolfrinke.com/conflict.htm or contact us at
800-828-9653 (USA) or 410-531-9280.
Two high value team members unable to work together? I can help. For
details go to http://wolfrinke.com/conflict2.htm.
3. COACHING: HOW TO DO MORE WITH LESS--PART II
In Part I of this article we discussed the first 4 steps in the coaching
process:
Step 1: Agree on the Project or Assignment
Step 2: Mutually Identify the Goals and Outcomes Expected
Step 3: Facilitate Self-Discovery
Step 4: Agree on the Boundaries
Now let's look at the next four steps you must master if you want to
become a highly effective coach:
Step 5: Authorize and Empower
To get the job done, team members must have the authority to take independent
actions. I refer to this as giving your team members "rope."
That includes the appropriate spending authority to get the job done.
And please don't be timid here. After all, if employees at Ritz Carlton
hotels have the ability to spend up to $2,000 to solve customer service
problems, what's your excuse? To make this work, you must also master
the art of letting go. I mean really letting go, and giving away your
power. You see it is virtually impossible to learn by doing if your
team members have to check with you every time they need to make a decision
or a change. They would spend all their time running after you, instead
of taking care of business. In other words, you must tell your team
members how far they can go without coming to you, and then you must
stay out of their way and let them do their thing. This has been particularly
hard for leaders who are afflicted with that dreaded "perfectionitis"
disease. (I know all about that.) When they see something wrong, they
instinctively want to correct it right away. The better way is to let
team members learn from their own mistakes. "But," you protest,
"let them make a mistake, and not say anything?" Yes, that's
what I mean. "All the time, regardless of the consequences?"
No, that's why being a highly effective leader is an art first and a
science second. You must do a risk/benefit analysis. That's what physicians
are taught to do anytime they prescribe medication. They weigh the benefits
of the medication against the risks associated with it. You must do
the same when making a decision about how much "rope" you
should give your team members.
Step 6: Summarize and Reality Test
The purpose of this step is to enhance communication accuracy. If the
project is critical, do some reality testing by having the coachee state
in her own words what, specifically, the two of you have agreed to.
A good way to accomplish this is to say: "As you well know, Jane,
this is a critical project for us. Please be kind enough to summarize
for me what it is that you are going to do between now and the next
time we meet." Assuming that at this point you are both singing
from the same sheet of music, you'll be ready to move to the next step.
(For more read The Power of Communication: How to Increase Your Personal
and Professional Effectiveness, 20 CPEUs, http://www.wolfrinke.com/CEFILES/cepd.html#C197.)
Step 7: Track and Follow-through
This step is designed to make sure that nothing falls between the cracks.
It is especially critical if you are coaching someone for the first
time. In that case, you will want to be sure to put a note on your calendar
or your PDA that will remind you of the date and time your coachee promised
to provide you with an update or any other kind of feedback. Once that
is achieved, stand back. Yes, really stand back, and whatever you do,
don't--let me say it again, DO NOT--interfere! Then watch your team
members grow, and watch the dramatic improvements in performance, productivity
and profitability.
Step 8: Celebrate, reward and recognize
Your coachee has done a great job, and so you do what lots of leaders
do, punish her. Hey, don't get mad at me, at least give me a minute
and let me explain. Most managers--okay not you--know who the "water
walkers" are on their team. And that's the folks who get ever more
projects piled on top of their daily responsibilities. That's called
punishment, unless something positive happens to these water walkers
that does not happen to anyone else. Hence it's critical that you don't
forget step 8--celebrate, reward and recognize. Recognize a job well
done, and make that celebration commensurate with the size of the job.
Big job, BIG celebration, reward or recognition. And be sure to do it
publicly whenever you can.
And now several SMART STEPS to help you coach effectively and do more
with less:
Anytime you assign a project or assignment to a team or a team member,
explain the "why" and let them figure out the "how."
And then get out of their way.
Give your team members more power than you think is wise. Because the
more of your responsibilities you give away, the more powerful and effective
you become. Plus this is really the only way that you will be able to
"grow people." And the more your team members grow the more--you
guessed it--you grow.
Involve people, especially in decisions that have a direct impact on
them, such as parking spaces, training opportunities, work schedules,
and believe it or not even pay.
Reduce the number of rules and standard operating procedures (SOPs)
by 50% this month. Continue cutting them by 50% until you're down to
the absolute minimum. Not in charge? Then start lobbying the powers
to be. Nothing suffocates and de-motivates team members more than stuff
that gets in the way of them being able to do a great job. And this
is what most rules and SOPs do.
If a team member comes to you and asks you to make a decision, ask
him: "What do you think?" Then let him go with that decision
unless it will inflict harm to customers, is contraindicated by the
organizational philosophy, or costs more than you can safely sustain.
SOURCE: Based in part on my book "Don't Oil the Squeaky Wheel and
19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness,"
McGraw-Hill, available at http://www.wolfrinke.com/squeakywheel.html
or if you prefer to earn 20 CPEUs order the book with study guide at
http://www.wolfrinke.com/CEFILES/cemgt.html#C213.
4. HOW TO FAST TRACK YOUR CAREER
The fastest way to get to the next level is to learn from people who
have been where you want to go. I've partnered with AthenaOnline.com
to bring you 54 high-impact video mini-lessons that will help you fast
track your career. Topics range from "Advancing your Career"
to "Leadership in Tough Times." Each video mini-lesson is
about 2 -7 minutes long. To get started go to http://wolfrinke.com/mgttraining.html.
While there you can also take advantage of my on-line management and
personal development training programs at http://wolfrinke.ontimetraining.com.
5. HUMOR BREAK
One Minute Management Course #3:
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird
froze and fell to the ground. While laying in a large field, a cow came
by and dropped dung on him, which warmed the frozen bird and caused
him to thaw out! The bird was warm and happy, and soon began to sing
for joy. A passing cat heard the bird and soon discovered it under the
pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.
Moral of the story:
1. Not everyone who defecates on you is your enemy.
2. Not everyone who gets you out of "stuff" is your friend.
3. And when you're in deep "excrement", it's best to keep
your mouth shut!
6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
Dr. Wolf J. Rinke, CSP is a highly effective management consultant and
executive coach who specializes in building peak performance organizations,
teams and individuals. He is the author of 14 books including "Don't
Oil the Squeaky Wheel and 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership
Effectiveness" and "Winning Management: 6 Fail-Safe Strategies
for Building High-Performance Organizations" available at www.WolfRinke.com.
Wolf is also an internationally recognized management/leadership keynote
speaker and seminar leader who delivers customized presentations that
combine story telling, humor and motivation with specific "how
to" action strategies that participants can apply immediately to
improve their management and leadership effectiveness. Preview a live
demo at www.WolfRinke.com. To take advantage of Dr. Rinke's services
contact us at 800-828-9653 or WolfRinke@aol.com
7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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