You know that list of qualities you use as a leader in your organization? Creating and exporting your vision, confidence in yourself and others, a unique charisma that inspires followers as well as your experience, skills, expertise, or your network of associates and colleagues. Other leaders share some or maybe all of these qualities with you.

The potential contribution of the leaders who work for you is critical, but the opportunity for friction is even better if you don’t manage these relationships carefully. How do you leverage the assets of these talented and powerful employees while making sure that their egos remain intact?

You may be aware that the following behaviors are critical to people who are leading the leaders. The exceptional leader knows that these skills need to be attended to on a daily basis in an observable way.

To lead your organization’s leaders well:

§ Unite your leaders into a cohesive group and make your stars a team.

§ Provide direction and negotiate a vision for the organization that other leaders will buy into.

§ Mediate and resolve conflicts over turf and power among other leaders so the organization can move forward.

§ Develop other leaders, providing education for people who think they are already knowledgeable.

§ Motivate leaders and figure out how to move those who already seem “to have everything” to do the right thing for the organization.

§ Trust creativity by obtaining and keeping other leaders’ trust, the vital capital that your own leadership depends on.

6:27 AM •  0 Comments •

Everyone has a different idea about what makes a great manager and most people can tell me what their boss does wrong. The Manager has to communicate Executive Management’s objectives to employees and convey their employees concerns to upper management. It’s a squeeze play that can leave even the best of us anxious, vulnerable and lonely. If you are unable to manage these feelings, you can end up dumping on your employees. That may get you the results you want in the short term, and turnover and dissatisfaction in the long run.

Some Managers are more concerned with the content of their work than in developing and coordinating the work of others. Employees run around getting minimal management support while the boss is doing what they think is more interesting or more important.

The best managers can absorb the pressure from above; and they enjoy and get satisfaction from seeing employees growing, developing, succeeding and having fun at work.

Want to be the Best Manager you can be?

• Control your emotions: handle the pressure from above without jumping all over your employees.

• Manage the expectations of your boss so you can minimize the stress being placed on you in the first place.

• Spend 80% of your time managing, training, coaching, delegating, training, facilitating and motivating your team. The other 20% should be spent dealing with the strategic matters that you find most interesting.

• Spend time each week with individual employees, learning about what they are doing, how they are doing, and listening to what they are saying.

• Get the input of the people who are doing the work. You show them they are a valuable resource when you ask them to contribute their opinions and ideas.

3:02 PM •  0 Comments •