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Editor: Dr. Wolf J. Rinke
Publisher: Wolf Rinke Associates, Inc.
(c) 2006 Wolf J. Rinke
Vol. 9 No. 5, October/November 2006
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Feel free to forward this eNewsletter to others.
To get your own FREE subscription click above.
IN THIS ISSUE
1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
2. SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT--FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
3. DON'T TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO--Part III
4. HEAR WOLF HOWL--I MEAN SPEAK
5. HUMOR BREAK
6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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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
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1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
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CHARISMA DOES NOT PAY
Professors at the University of Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of
Business surveyed the top leadership teams at 128 companies with an
average of $6.5 billion in assets and 16,000 employees before and after
the arrival of a new CEO. They found that the charisma of the new CEO
did NOT impact the financial performance of the companies as measured
by stock performance, sales growth, or return on equity.
ACTION STEPS
Be less concerned about your charisma and more concerned about "growing"
your people, that is helping them be as good as they can possible be.
After all your company or organization is only as good as your people
and if you want your organization to get better then you have to help
your people to get better. And one of the best ways to accomplish that
is to master the art of coaching. (See the recommendations in this and
the previous two issues of this eNewsletter www.WolfRinke.com
Source: J. Ewers, "Warning: Charm Doesn't Pay." U.S. News
& World Report, May 15, 2006, p. 51.
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2. SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT--FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
===================================================Get your holiday
shopping done the easy way with this one-of-a-kind gift that will save
you time and money!
It's a great way to say thanks to all the people who support you all
year long--team members, co-workers, friends and family. It is a universal
gift that everyone will LOVE. It will keep on giving for years to come!
Plus it's inexpensive! There is no other gift quite like it! What is
it? It's my "Make It a Winning Life Perpetual Desk Calendar"
This unique perpetual calendar provides words of inspiration and wisdom
every day of the year! PLUS easy to apply action steps to help make
the message a reality! Best of all at the end of the year, turn it over
and use it again, and again. Truly a unique gift that keeps on giving
. . . forever!
PLUS in the spirit of the holidays I will include my latest book Don't
Oil the Squeaky Wheel and 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership
Effectiveness, McGraw Hill Price $14.95 absolutely FREE, with orders
of 4 or more calendars.
** 4 Calendars plus my latest book for ONLY $30.00 **
Regular Price $51.80+$14.95 for the book. You SAVE $36.75
You risk absolutely nothing! If for any reason the calendars are not
everything you expected, send them back to me and I will give you your
money back. The book is yours to keep!
Log onto www.wolfrinke.com/holiday06.htm or call 800-828-9653. Mention
this ad when ordering by phone! Offer expires 1/15/2007.
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3. DON'T TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO--Part III
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In Part II 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 an 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
the 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 Contrarian 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 thing 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.
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 what ever 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, after all you are a
Contrarian Leader--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.
SMART STEPS
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--delegate--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 are down to
the absolute minimum. Not in charge? Then start lobbying the powers
to be now. 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 Chapter 16 of my book "Don't Oil the Squeaky
Wheel and 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness,"
McGraw-Hill. (Get this book FREE. See the special offer in section 2.)
http://www.WolfRinke.com
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4. HEAR WOLF HOWL--I MEAN SPEAK
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This is the last full day seminar for 2006 that maybe open to you, especially
if your company is a member of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS).
Contact the Chairperson for additional information.
Winning Management: Building a Peak Performance Workplace
10/18/06 Atlanta, GA, Dennis Piehl, Atlanta@ims-online.com
NOTE: I have other "in-house" presentations scheduled in
the U.S.A., Canada and Europe. Please let me know if you are interested
to preview me or bring me into your organization at reduced expenses
when I'm scheduled to be in your area. That way we can let you know
when I'm coming your way!
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5. HUMOR BREAK
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You've been in corporate America too long when . . .
1. You ask the waiter what the restaurant core competencies are.
2. You can spell "paradigm."
3. You use the term "value added" without cracking up.
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6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
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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. You can 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
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7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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We will not make your name or e-mail address available to anyone. Period!
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