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What it takes to be a leader. If you are concerned that it seems to be taking you forever to develop as a leader, keep in mind the experience of one of the greatest leaders of our time, Nelson Mandela who spent 27 years in prison waiting to show how he could lead his country!

Finding out "How am I doing?" has always been a thorny issue for managers, particularly when the issue is about "How good a leader am I?"

It's relatively easy to get feedback on results (e.g. sales, budgets etc.) but it becomes more difficult to get feedback on how we lead and manage others. Often the only feedback we get is when our boss tells us "something has gone wrong". Or, when we do get feedback from colleagues it's often very general and likely to be more positive. Yet, research (first carried out as long ago as 1920!) clearly shows that:

• Managers who seek and get regular feedback from others are among the better performing managers.

In the last decade, research has confirmed these earlier studies and additionally found that:

• Managers who are accurately aware of their strengths and weaknesses are better leaders.

How can we get some realistic feedback on our performance as managers, and more specifically our ability as leaders? The simplest way is to ask others. Some of us do that from time to time in an informal way, but the accuracy and extent of the feedback depends on many variables, not the least of which is people's ability to receive and give honest feedback.

Are you positive or negative?  Does your behaviour impact those around you and can you change it? It all has to do with the positive or negative outlook we present which can dramatically impact those around us. Often we are not aware of the messages we are sending through our actions. Psychologists call this mode of behaving a ‘Locus of Control’.

Some years ago, I read a report by Spiro Zavos in the sports columns of my local paper, which described the behaviour of a rugby coach during a very tense finals game.  The antics of the losing coach gave a very good insight into why his team did not win and in fact loses many close games. 

In part, Zavos’ report read “He was at his over-emotional worst at Lancaster Park on Sunday.  The eyes rolled more wildly than ever, he stalked the sideline.  Not even the television cameras were safe from his flaying arms.  His antics sent a damaging message to his team: that the fates are conspiring against them and they are, somehow, destined to lose.  And for the second week in a row they lost a critical game.”  The winning coach on the other hand “ … sat impassively in the stands.  The sign he gave to his players with this emotionless posture was that if the players wanted to win, they had to do it themselves.  And they did.  Just.”

Both these coaches were very experienced and knowledgeable about the game.  Both had got their teams to the finals.  But why did one coach’s team always lose the close games and the other always win?

Good email service becomes more important when the economy takes a dip.  Many businesses lament the fact that people tighten their belts and buy less when the economy contracts.  Yes, that’s true.  But they still buy.  The real difference is that they probably buy less and from a more select group of suppliers.  In times like this, you need to set yourself apart from the pack – why not do it by way of more personal email service?  Customers will appreciate your point of difference.

How do most of your customers enter your business?  Through the front door?  By phone?  Via the web?  By email?  Chances are some of your business comes to you by email.  Or If it doesn’t initially, it’s a fair bet that you’ll have email contact with many of your customers during their relationship with you.

Is your email service as good as your face-to-face or phone service?  For example, do you have some standard policies and protocols that all employees must follow?  And are you taking the marketing opportunities provided by email contact?

Here are six tips that are guaranteed to improve your email service.

Are you a manager?  Would you like more available time?  “Yes”, then read on . . .

How come you’ve worked hard all day but haven’t started the one task that was most important to you?  As a manager, how come your daily work schedule often falls in a heap by mid-morning?

Who’s got the monkey?  The answer is, you have - probably several!

“Management Time: Who’s got the Monkey”  by William Oncken and Donald Wass, has been one of the most popular management articles ever published by the Harvard Business. First published in 1974, it has been re-published several times and now many years later, the message Oncken and Wass sent us on management, still holds true.

They suggested that there are three types of management-imposed time pressure – Boss, System, and Self - read on to find out ow you spend your time.

It seems that some writers, keen to establish what makes a great manager 'great', have settled on the term 'leadership' as a distinguishing factor. Then they've tried to define it. Then we tried to measure it. Some of us even tried to teach it! And there our troubles began.

So, is it management or leadership? Does it matter? Let me put another spin on the topic . . .

I was talking with the facilitator of a PD workshop in Lausanne a little while back. He was apologizing that his company's name had 'management' rather than 'leadership' in their title. He mentioned that the firm had been going for 25 years (which speaks volumes for their success) and that the world had now moved on. But because of their success, they could not change their name to include 'leadership'.

It seems that no longer do we talk about 'management', rather 'leadership' is considered the fashionable thing to discuss and to teach. Read on to find out ...

As managers, are we losing more and more brain cells?  Or, are we becoming more productive and smarter?  Most importantly, are we helping to develop organizational cultures that will support the development of healthy, productive employees and managers?

During our pandemic lockdown, I heard a lovely story about a local business owner.  The business was a home design one with five project managers, each working on a separate client project.  Every Friday at 4PM, the owner had a rule in the office to, “Down tools, relax, chat, eat and drink - and no work talk!”.  When the lockdown occurred the project managers started working from home (WFH) – the project nature of their work was ideally suited – but they missed out on their Friday ‘social get-together’ (and their regular Monday Zoom work meetings were not sufficing).

Being a very clever manager, the business owner made a point of every Friday during lockdown, having delivered to her five project manager’s homes, cake/scones/tart (whatever she had cooked) and asked that everyone Zoom in at 4PM with their favourite beverage to join the social get-together.

This manager obviously realised the importance of social interaction at work – to build engagement, inclusiveness and ultimately, relationships. But how and why were her Friday office social get-togethers working so well? Did her creative lockdown sessions replicate the office ones?

If you’re looking to ensure that your name or the firm’s name does not appear unfavorably on someone’s Facebook wall, then perhaps it’s time to think more strategically about how to build a culture of recognition within your company.

Over the last few years, there’s been a spate of cases where employees have been fired over a Facebook comment.   Most often such comments have been derogatory towards the employee’s boss, colleagues or the firm.

In ensuing legal and industrial disputes, there has been a mixture of results.  Some decisions have favoured the employee (e.g. reinstatement or settlements), others have favoured the employer and the dismissal has been upheld.

One case involved Dawnmarie Soouza a paramedic from Connecticut, who likened her supervisor to a psychiatric patient on Facebook.  As a result, she found herself terminated.

Soouza sued her employee.  The case was settled.  The key point according to a law professor interviewed on CBS News, is that this "really has expanded the free speech rights of American workers . . . If they are communicating about the workplace, and they're talking about their supervisors, then it's a protected activity."

Apparently, there’s even a term coined to describe such postings.  It’s called “Facestabbing - the art of applying a slam, inflicting an insult or gossiping on Facebook. The comment is done in such a way that the reader may not even know they, or someone they know, is being Facestabbed” (The Urban Dictionary).

To counter such issues from arising, it’s been suggested that prudent employers will want to introduce workplace policies in relation to posting online, either at work or otherwise any:

Post-Covid, there’s been huge debate and much controversy around the issues of working from home and in particular, returning to work in the office.  Is there an ingredient (or perhaps five!) that we’ve not considered yet?

Google's former Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Pichette, ruffled a few feather when he told the Sydney Morning Herald that he believed working from home is not the best way to generate ideas and innovation.

Pichette was visiting Google's Australian office and a local start up business community, when he made some unexpected comments on the topic of working from home (WFH).

"The surprising question we get is: 'How many people telecommute at Google?" Pichette said. "And our answer is: 'As few as possible'."

"It's somewhat counterintuitive. People think, 'Well, because you're at Google you can work from anywhere.' Yes, you can work from anywhere, but many just commute to offices . . . Working from the office is really important."

Pichette makes an important point that is often overlooked in the debate on how productive WFH (or telecommuting) can be – the need for social interaction in certain jobs, and I would add organisation cultures - and with certain personality types.

What gets you motivated at work - appreciation, money, responsibility, an interesting job, good colleagues?  Does your level of motivation affect others?  Here's a challenge for you.  Find someone doing something good today and tell them what a good job they're doing.  Because praise is the thing that motivates us the most, even though it takes so little time and costs nothing.

There was a story doing the rounds pre-Covid about the worker who was dead at his desk for five days before anyone discovered him.  The story goes …

”Bosses of a publishing firm are trying to work out why no one noticed that one of their employees had been sitting dead at his desk for five days before anyone asked if he was feeling okay.

George Turklebaum, 51, who had been employed as a proof-reader at a New York firm for 30 years, had a heart attack in the open-plan office he shared with 23 other workers. He quietly passed away on Monday, but nobody noticed until Saturday morning when an office cleaner asked why he was still working during the weekend.

His boss Elliot Wachiaski said: ‘George was always the first guy in each morning and the last to leave at night, so no one found it unusual that he was in the same position all that time and didn't say anything. He was always absorbed in his work and kept much to himself.’

A post mortem examination revealed that he had been dead for five days after suffering a coronary. Ironically, George was proofreading manuscripts of medical textbooks when he died.”

True or not, there is an important message in this yarn.  Have you been appreciated at work lately?  Whilst pondering this question, keep in mind that appreciation is a two way street – we also need to appreciate the work of others.

Displaying good management skills, will not only help motivate your team, it will lead to great career success for you personally.

“Bob Selden was a fantastic first manager. He has taught me the survival skills I needed to manage a business, but more importantly to successfully manage other people. Bob is an amazing diplomat that treats his staff and colleagues with respect and a manner that makes you want to give 200% to your job. I loved working with Bob and am thankful for the experience - it really was one that no MBA program could teach. Thanks Bob.” – Stephanie, one of our first team members at Focus Learning Systems.

You’ll read a lot about things such as “The 6, 7 or even the 20 Best Management Skills” - and there’s plenty of good advice in many of these articles and blogs - but really there are only five things you need to know, and more importantly, apply - the 5 managerial skills for becoming a great boss. These are the five that I used when managing people such as Stephanie and many others over a quarter of a century – and across different countries and cultures. So, read on and start applying!

Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, CEO of Australian telco company, Optus, has spent considerable time explaining a recent major cyberattack in the media (it was reported that 9 million customers cold be potentially affected). Most of her messaging is focused on facts and figures – how many customers had been affected? What do people need to do now?” and so on.

When asked, “How do you feel about this happening under your watch?” Rosmarin replied, “Terrible, a mix of a lot of mixed emotions. I’m angry that there are a lot of people out there that want to do this to our customers. I’m disappointed … I’m disappointed that it undermines all the great work we’ve been doing to be a pioneer in this industry, a real challenger to create new and wonderful experiences for our customers, and I’m very sorry and apologetic for what has happened”.

Except for the last few words, the language is about the harm caused to the business, not to the customers. She did use the word ‘sorry’ but is she ‘sorry’ that it happened to Optus, or ‘sorry’ for the potential hurt to customers?

Conversation and language are integral to everyday life.  Words are the primary tool humans use to express our thoughts and feelings. Why do words matter so much? Why do leaders so often miss the mark? 

Social chit-chat is a vital part of being human. But how does that fit in with the new normal of hybrid or home working where our physical contact with others is limited?

As a manager, I recall an occasion where I interviewed a lady for a job opportunity in my team. She was a good candidate, but not the most qualified for the position, so missed out on getting the role. Some days later, one of my team said to me “I didn’t know that you interviewed my sister for a job here”, to which I replied, “No, that’s her business if she wishes to tell you, not mine – those things are confidential”. Over the next few days, I heard this story repeated (in various versions) through the office “grapevine” with the message that, “Bob can be trusted to keep confidences”.