Sandy Schwan at Evolving Strategies, LLC

Step Out of the Shade and Into Your Talents

"Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?"

Benjamin Franklin

I drive my sister crazy with all of the questions I ask people that I meet. But, if one of my life's missions to to help people understand what they are good at, then my questions must remain. [Note to sis: Coleen, I love you, but I've got to keep on keeping on with my questions!]

By paying attention and asking the right questions, you will likely discover many hidden talents among your leaders, peer, team members, family members, friends, volunteers, yourself. 

Many leaders are in a situation know where they cannot hire more talent. Why not ask the following four questions of the talent you currently have to determine how to maximize your resources? 

1. 

Turn a compliment into an interview.

• Congratulate an employee on a job well done; then, ask exactly what helped her succeed. By better understanding her process, you may uncover an unseen strength.

2. Ask why employees prefer certain tasks or projects.

• Preferences can provide insight into someone's talents. An employee might enjoy a project because it involves a product he cares about or because it gave him a chance to interact with customers directly or because... Knowing which will possibly uncover talents.

3. Inquire about dreams.

• Ask your employee what she would do if she had her career to do over again. Dreams often include an aspect of someone that she doesn't regularly share.

 4. Analyze how people think, not just what they do.

• This one is my favorite. What is behind accomplishments is a way of thinking, particular to an individual, that made success possible. Ask your team member to walk you through his thought process on how he arrived at a solution. Articulating this dimension of how his mind works will help you -- and your team member-- identify the other projects that require his inductive talents. It will l also show him that you truly understand the value of his contributions.

I will also suggest that you consider asking these questions of yourself. I know a number of people in the midst of a job search, and they feel at wit's end with what to do next. I am hopeful that these questions may be a source of freeing your thoughts to find what it is that truly inspires you.

Adapted from Steven DeMaio's How to Identify Your Employees' Hidden Talents. 24 June 2009

Gut or Wallet: Which Matters More When Motivating?You Might Be Surprised.

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Career analyst Daniel Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.

Follow this link to learn more about Daniel Pink and why you should listen to him.

Video copyright TED LLC 

Get and Make a Living: [Insert Reward]. Give and Make a Life: Priceless

 "We Make a Living By What We Get, We Make a Life By What We Give."

The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965)

I am looking forward to my first foray this evening with the Northwestern University Alumni Association Council of One Hundred, a women's mentoring organization whose members are willing to share their knowledge and experience to enrich the lives of Northwestern's undergraduate and graduate women students, and young alumnae.

Funny thing is...I always find that I walk away from such events (group or one-on-one coaching) having received MUCH more than I perceive I have given. If you have the chance to connect with someone - young or old - as s/he wanders along a professional or personal shift, I highly recommend it. Everyone wins, really.

ACTION

Prerequisite: Do the 'What to Ask the Person in the Mirror' exercise that I noted on Monday :)

1. Reflect for one minute on someone* in your life that may need mentoring, which John C. Crosby so eloquently describes as "...a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction." Create an opportunity to be that brain, ear, push.  

2. If you would prefer a more formal, structured approach, many businesses, associations, faith-based organizations, universities, governments, websites, etc. have mentoring programs or materials already. Check out these resources and see what works best for you.

3. You can always contact me if you are stuck. Mentoring is a significant part of my vocation and avocation, and I couldn't feel more fortunate.

* Caveat and lesson learned: you will need to determine if this person wants to be - or is capable of being - mentored. Otherwise, your wonderful energy, ideas and time will be underutilized. More on the 'capable' topic in an upcoming post. I will offer ways to spot the uncoachables.

What to Ask the Person in the Mirror

"...the best way to figure out how you’re doing is to step back and ask yourself a few questions." *

Today, I was just chatting with one of my mentors, John Fowler, a Senior Vice President at The Northern Trust Company, about if and how senior leaders really assess their skills, ethics, etc. Here's why:

1. All leaders get off track on occasion.
2. The higher the rank in the company (large or small), the fewer opportunities exist for honest and direct feedback.
3. If feedback is given, it is often filtered because no one wants to anger the boss. Or, the feedback is completed rejected by the boss.
4. The performance management process does provide the opportunity for feedback, but this feedback often seems more rote than useful.

So then what? How do you really know how are you doing as a leader; the ethics you are displaying; how your peers, subordinates perceive you, your leadership style, progress, capabilities and fit?

John shared with me one of his tactics for receiving regular, honest and direct feedback. He said he has never forgotten the message his dad shared with him years ago:

"Son, you better like who you see every morning while you are lookin' in the mirror and shaving. Because that is the person you have to answer to every day on how you are conducting business and treating people." 

And, as a strong believer in reflection being a key leadership trait, I love Fowler Sr.'s advice. And, I can vouch that this 'high-tech' method John employs on a daily basis works. His leadership and ethics bars are off the charts. Let's hear it for effective self-assessment in action!

In his spot-on article, "What to Ask the Person in the Mirror,*" Robert Kaplan suggests self-assessing your performance as a leader and manager periodically related to seven key leadership challenges. Here is a teaser:

To address this leadership challenge...Managing Time

Ask...Does the way I spend my time match my key priorities?

Because...Tracking your use of time can reveal startling - even horrifying - disconnects between your top priorities and your actions. Such disconnects send confusing messages to employees about your true priorities.

Follow the link to learn more. I think this is a fantastic 'ready reference' that any leader could post on his / her bathroom mirror for daily reflection while shaving or brushing your teeth.  I am sharing this article with the team of senior leaders I am working with now. I will let you know how it goes!

The Importance of Being On Time...But According to Whom?

Chronemics is the study of the use of time in nonverbal communication. How we perceive time, structure our time and react to time is a powerful communication tool, and helps set the stage for the communication process. Across cultures, time perception plays a large role in the nonverbal communication process. Time perceptions include punctuality, willingness to wait, and interactions. The use of time can affect lifestyles, daily agendas, speed of speech, movements and how long people are willing to listen.

Mike McGlinn, a senior vice president at The Northern Trust and adviser extraordinaire (see May 22, 2008, entry on biting your tongue), and I were talking about his important guidelines for leading teams. One guideline is stressing the importance of starting and ending meetings on time - punctuality overall. I agree and see this as a sign of respect for the time of the other people participating in the meeting. Does that mean Mike and I are monochronics?

Monochronic and Polychronic time systems are two systems commonly used to reference time and its influence on society.

• Monochronic: Things are done one at a time and time is segmented into precise, small units. Under this system time is scheduled, arranged and managed. Think North American and Western European cultures.
• Polychronic: Several things can be done at once, and a more fluid approach is taken to scheduling time. Think Latin American and Arabic cultures.

The statement “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” holds true with chronemics if you are undergoing an organization change or transformation, forming a new team, merging companies, working with a global team etc. Assess the situation and respond accordingly:

• Even though you are a timely person, you may have to deal with someone who is not as timely as you are. As appropriate, adapt your communication to their needs. These adaptations can vary depending on the position of the person you are dealing with, as well as the cultural background of that person.
• Although you will sometimes have to adapt to others, there will be times that things would be more positively balanced if the other parties adapted to your concept of time.
• Other assumptions: Consider main country location of the company, origin / influences of person you are meeting with, topic to be considered, time on year.

Adapted from Wikipedia

Five ways to better listening...and leadership

A recent poll in May queried over 2,000 people on what they felt was the single most important characteristic of a good listener.

Almost half (45.5%) said the key is "giving complete and focused attention to the discussion."

How would you rate yourself on that point?

Five ways to better listening -

1. Talk less (more)

2. Be approachable and receptive (more)

3. Give your complete attention (more)

4. Maintain appropriate body language (more)

5. Work to understand the message (more)

Action Step: Interested in learning more? Visit talklesslistenmore.com to quiz yourself on your listening skills, pick up actionable tips on improving (in all the different roles of your life) these skills and download a guide for offline reference.

Adapted from www.justsell.com

Correlating Competencies: To Each Industry Its Own

Talent research firm Bersin & Associates recently released “The Role of Competencies in Driving Financial Performance,” a study on the relationship among performance reviews, competencies and business success.

The firm found a clear correlation between the competencies used in performance reviews and business outcomes such as growth and profitability in four different industries:

• In the financial services industry, initiative and communication are critical to creating and managing the many mergers and acquisitions that take place in the industry.
• In industrial manufacturing, tactical competencies such as quality and job knowledge are needed to ensure the production of superior products.
• For retail professionals, dependability, personal organization and quality help mitigate the industry’s high turnover rate.
• In the high-tech field, customer focus and innovation help get successful new products onto the market.

While the study consistently found the competencies that drive growth and profitability are different in each industry, some larger trends also were identified. High-performing organizations focus more on organizational capabilities, while their lower-performing counterparts value competencies that build individual skills.

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Adapted from the January 2007 issue of Talent Management