by Sonia | Nov 10, 2018 | business coaching, Collaboration, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, Emerging Leaders, Human Resources, Leadership Attitude, Leadership Skills, Mindset, Neuroscience, Neuroscience of Leadership, Organisational Development, Team Building & Effectiveness, Team Mental Health, Teams
What’s the secret to improving your teams’ motivation and performance? You’ve probably asked yourself this plenty of times when measures that you’ve put in place haven’t been as effective as you’d hoped. You have great incentives in place for your team, you’ve streamlined your processes and procedures to make things as efficient as possible, but you’re still not getting their best.
Gallup conducted a 142 country study on the State of the Global Workplace, and found the following shocking statistics:
- 60% of Australian employees are “not engaged” – meaning they lack motivation and are less likely to invest discretionary effort in organisational goals or outcomes.
- 16% are “actively disengaged”, indicating they are unhappy and unproductive at work and liable to spread negativity to co-workers.
- Only 24% are “engaged”.
(Reference)
So how do you get your employees engaged, motivated and working hard? Something that you have to earn – trust.
Without trust, your team won’t be working to the best of their ability. If they can’t trust in their leaders, why should they put in more than the minimum amount of effort?
Author and professor of economic sciences, psychology, and management at Claremont Graduate University, Paul J. Zak, measured oxytocin levels and brain activity as people worked, over eight years. Oxytocin is the hormone that affects parts of our interaction and behaviours including trust. His research showed that trust within an organisation is absolutely vital to performance, and also that there are eight ways to quantify and boost trust within a workplace. Luckily for us, Zak made these into an acronym – OXYTOCIN – so it’s easy to remember.
Let’s take a look at what OXYTOCIN stands for
Ovation
Positive reinforcement (like rewards and recognition) has been shown to trigger the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is linked to motivation and effort, so it’s important to recognise and reward your team for great performance because then they’ll want to continue working to that high standard. Nobody likes working hard without that effort being acknowledged.
Expectation
Expectations need to be set and made clear, so employees know what they’re working towards. Make sure that your team knows they’re part of the big picture, and explain just how they are. When you get your team involved in the mission, knowing that they are directly influencing the success of that mission and your organisation boosts their motivation and commitment to meeting and excelling at their goals and your expectations.
Yield
Micromanaging gets you nowhere; as a leader you must be able to effectively make decisions and delegate tasks. Foster a safe environment of learning – mistakes aren’t the end of the world, just make sure to learn from them – and your team members will thrive when given more responsibility, and work more autonomously knowing they won’t be punished for mistakes. They will feel motivated and empowered from being trusted to do important tasks.
Transfer
Transfer refers to enabling your team to ‘job-craft’ – make their job their own, and make their own decisions about how they define success.
Research undertaken by the University of Michigan showed that allowing employees to job-craft resulted in higher levels of job fulfilment and engagement. This means less staff turnover as well.
Openness
Being transparent and open with information relating to your organisation builds trust with your team because it shows that you’re being honest with them. You’d be surprised how much time and effort is taken up when your team is wondering what’s going on, so be sure to practice openness when communicating with your team.
Team members appreciate being told what’s going on, even if it’s not always good news since it gives them a chance to voice their opinions and give their input. When employees feel heard, they also feel valued and so want to return the favour and work harder.
We have launched our NEW Performance Team Coaching Program – find out more HERE!
Caring
During his research, Zak saw a variety of studies that showed how important relationships (including friendships) are on retention, productivity, health and overall job satisfaction. Encourage relationship building amongst your team by providing plenty of team-building opportunities such as collaboration between departments, and making sure to reward great teamwork.
If your organisation isn’t getting across how important workplace relationships can be, then your team won’t be trying too hard to build their networks.
Invest
Invest in your team; provide them with training and opportunities for reward and advancement, and you’ll see a big improvement in their engagement. Your team will also trust you more, as they see how much you value them by choosing to invest in them. Feeling valued like this is a great motivator for employees to do their best.
Natural
The best leaders aren’t afraid to be vulnerable; being authentic and natural shows your employees that you’re human too and that they don’t have to be perfect because you aren’t either. When your team can relate to you, they’re inspired to be more open and honest as well. This allows them to ask for help sooner, instead of fearing being reprimanded, which means time isn’t wasted and work can be carried out more competently and efficiently.
Trust isn’t exactly something you can measure, but it’s a huge part of getting your team to consistently perform at their best. What Zak found from his research is that when you have people working for organisations that have an emphasis on trust, they are 76% more engaged, 50% more productive, and 50% more likely to stay in that organisation. You can’t argue with those results!
If you’re a leader who wants to step up your game and start encouraging a culture of trust in your workplace using resources backed by extensive research and with proven results, check out our Leadership Attitude Academy here, or book a coaching session here.
by Sonia | Oct 14, 2018 | business coaching, Emerging Leaders, Leadership Attitude, Leadership Skills, Learning and Development, Organisational Development
When placed into executive roles, by promotion or otherwise, 50-70% of those executives fail in their first 18 months. This is a shocking statistic from research gathered by the Corporate Executive Board, and it is needlessly high. So, why is this happening, and what’s the solution?
When someone has great skills and a good rapport with their colleagues and then gets promoted to a leadership position, it seems strange that they’d fail, right? After all, shouldn’t they be able to just get on with it?
Of course not! When they’re not provided with the right coaching or support, a newly promoted leader is destined to fail. If someone has never been in a leadership position before, how can they be a great leader without any kind of mentoring?
“Leaders are under a lot of pressure to produce results, but they often don’t get the mentoring support they need. The thinking is that at this level they should be able to just do it.” Madeleine Blanchard, organisational coaching expert at The Ken Blanchard Companies
It’s not surprising that such a high percentage of executives fail when this attitude is so prevalent within organisations; coaching is seen as something that those below leaders need when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because someone succeeded at their role previously, doesn’t mean they can make the transition to leader on their own.
Organisational and leadership consulting firm Navalent conducted interviews with 2,600 Fortune 1000 executives and found that 76% of newly promoted executives thought the development processes their company had in place were only slightly helpful in getting them prepared for their new executive role. 55% of those interviewed also said there was little to no feedback or coaching on an ongoing basis, which meant their leadership abilities weren’t being refined, affecting their performance.
For those in HR, it can also be very challenging to manage the transition of executives into their new leadership positions. In larger companies it’s not unusual for there to be multiple executives from varying departments transitioning at the same time, which means a big amount of change across the company.
LeadershipHQ have a FREE Leadership Development Plan and Online Leadership Academy which is perfect for new leaders (or anyone).
HR Executives then have to manage multiple different conditions, contracts, approaches etc., which can cause ROI and quality to suffer due to the overwhelming nature of these changes. The disruption continues throughout the company, as the teams that have lost these executives now have to compensate for their absence.
If you are the HR leader or CEO in your organisation or business, don’t try and manage the transitioning of these executives on your own, especially if there are multiple transitions happening at once. Be sure to engage with the leaders of these new leaders, and have one contact person per department if needed. This way you can ensure that the transitioning leaders are all under the same approach and coaching style; cohesion throughout the executive leadership roles gives your company the reassurance that each leader understands their role and has the tools and skills to get positive results.
Another solution to ensure cohesiveness and quality with transitioning leaders is to enlist the help of an executive coaching service (LeadershipHQ!). When you hire an external coaching/training service, you’re engaging professionals whose goals are to align their coaching with your company’s objectives and get the results you need. They also provide invaluable feedback about each of your leaders, that is also objective thanks to not having ties with your organisation.
“That’s what you are accomplishing when you bring coaching into an organization. You are ensuring that the bus is going in the right direction and all the right people are in the right seats.” Madeleine Blanchard, organisational coaching expert at The Ken Blanchard Companies
It’s almost always recommended to engage an external service for coaching rather than someone in-house, as many executives don’t often respond well to sharing thoughts with or taking directions from someone they perceive as less senior than themselves. And there is also the fear that the sessions are not truly confidential; that anything they say may be reported to management or gossiped about with coworkers.
When your transitioning leaders are given the tools to succeed in their new roles, rather than just flying blind or receiving inadequate coaching, they will feel valued and empowered, leading to the results that your organisation needs to succeed. Change the large amount of failing executives by investing in coaching for your new leaders; support them and watch them flourish in their new roles!
We want you to thrive.
LeadershipHQ have launched a FREE Leadership Development Plan which is perfect for new leaders (or anyone). If you would like to know more about our Online, One on One or Group Coaching please contact the team today at [email protected] or 1300 719 665.
by Sonia | Oct 7, 2018 | business coaching, Collaboration, Leadership Skills, Learning and Development, Organisational Development, Team Building & Effectiveness
This week I am the keynote speaker at the Ignite Conference at the Gympie Chamber on Leadership for SME’s, Start-Ups and Family Businesses. I have been reflecting on Leadership for SME’s a lot recently as well as speaking to many owners, founders and Directors of SME’s, Start-Ups and Family Businesses. There is a direct correlation between performance for these businesses and Leadership. Thing is when I am talking about Leadership, I mean self-leadership; knowing who you are as a person and leader and how your actions and behaviours drive culture and performance.
Why is it critical today? Strong leadership is important in a company of any size, but it is especially crucial when looking at SMEs and Start-Ups. With technology always improving, customer demands ever-changing and a fluctuating economy, leaders who can handle these obstacles and inspire their team to do the same are worth their weight in gold to any small or medium-sized business. Great leaders get their teams working to a high standard and give them the confidence to be able to overcome issues that arise, by fostering a suitable organisational culture that allows employees to feel valued and trusted. Recently Joanna Wyganowska conducted research on exploring how leadership and culture contribute to the sustainable success of high growth companies, reveals that these issues play a pivotal role and need to be better understood by high growth founders and company leaders. She found leadership was a deal breaker.
SMEs and Start-Ups need to be more adept at handling challenges than their larger counterparts, due to the fact they have fewer resources, so there’s less room for error. Most SMEs and Start-Ups turn their focus onto surviving in the business world; appointing leaders who may not be formally qualified or educated over those that are, because of the emphasis on learning on-the-job. This, in turn, affects leadership development and progression, as there are no clear requirements for leadership, and those who are not qualified are training the future leaders the same way they were taught, which is often detrimental to the success of an SME or Start-Up and perpetuates a cycle of poor leadership. If this cycle isn’t broken, an SME or Start-Up won’t ever reach its full potential – great leaders are needed to keep a company growing and advancing on the right track.
“One of the biggest changes a business goes through as it scales is the handing over of an idea from the founder to the people working in the organisation. The brand moves from being one person’s idea to being the professional focus of a whole group of people.”
Charlotte Keenan, head of the corporate engagement office EMEA at Goldman Sachs.
As Ms Keenan says, transitioning the day-to-day operations and running of the business from the founder/s to other team members and leaders is a big challenge to all SMEs and Start-Ups face as they grow. It’s important for a founder to have a team below them that aligns with their vision, values and beliefs, and shares the same passion for the organisation and its goals, as this is critical to success.
If you are interested in a leadership plan for yourself or your team sign up here.
Founders need to ensure they are choosing strong leaders to guide the employees and company in the right direction; the right leader will motivate your team to work their hardest and achieve great results and keep the organisation culture running smoothly. If your employees are working under a leader who cannot delegate, is hard to communicate with, doesn’t take responsibility for their mistakes or passes the blame, they will have low levels of job satisfaction and will be directly impacting the success of an SME or Start-Up through lack of performance. Leaders who micromanage will also have team morale at unacceptable levels, and again it’s the SME or Start-Up that will suffer. When a founder can trust that their leaders are performing at their best, and getting the same from their team, they are free to focus on other areas to help the business grow. Here is an interesting perspective from HBR too on Leadership and Start-Ups.
“As the team grows, founders often react by micromanaging the details of their business. In trying to take on everyone else’s job, the founder leaves the most critical position vacant. Learning to trust and empower others in the organisation leaves room for them to continue innovating, which is critical for business growth.”
Charlotte Keenan.
Leadership development is something many SMEs or Start-Ups don’t provide for their staff; they don’t place the importance on leadership that they should and think that less than qualified leaders teaching the next leaders is an acceptable practice. Resources may be sparse, and leadership development may seem like an unnecessary expense, but the lack of strong leadership will cost an SME or Start-Up a lot more. It’s something that must be made a focus for all if they wish to not just survive but thrive.
We want you to thrive.
LeadershipHQ have launched a free Business and Organisational Leadership Health Quiz and Leadership Performance Coaching for your SME, Family Business or Start-Up. If you would like to know more please contact the team today at [email protected]
by Sonia | Sep 26, 2018 | business coaching, Decision Making, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, Emerging Leaders, Leadership Skills, Learning and Development, Mindset, Organisational Development, Team Building & Effectiveness
You might think that sounds crazy (or that I’m crazy for saying it) but hear me out – I have a great example in mind that will really get my point across! Rocking it isn’t just about the money you make or the high position you work your way up to, and I’ll tell you why.
Let’s take a look at Mark Zuckerberg, for example. He’s considered a successful CEO by anyone’s definition and has reached goals that any leader worth their salt should be trying to achieve in their personal and professional lives. When you think of success, many people think of the 34-year-old owner of Facebook. After all, his net worth is in the billions and he’s supremely influential thanks to his company. Just about everyone is on Facebook; it’s had an amazing impact on the way we live our lives and the way we do business.
Zuckerberg seems to have it all: wealth, a business that’s taken over the world, and a high approval rating from his employees. He’s lead his team to incredible heights – but does that make him a good leader? Not necessarily!
First, the good aspects of his leadership. Zuckerberg is open to challenging the status quo, and due to being so focused on the future, has managed to create a powerful platform for business and personal connections that are backed by a team that has their ideas and opinions valued, no matter their ‘rank’ in the company. Happy employees that feel valued will stick by their leader.
Vision, vision, vision. Anyone who works for Mark Zuckerberg, and even those who use Facebook, knows that his ultimate vision is to create a world that is connected and open. He is open about this vision and backs up his words with actions. Employees are inspired by leaders that are passionate about their vision, and actually working towards it.
Zuckerberg is also known for surrounding himself with and forming, business relationships that are beneficial to the company. When a leader can admit their faults and weaknesses, and bring in others who can fill those areas, they are demonstrating humility and are putting the business’s needs ahead of their ego – a sign of a great leader.
That all sounds pretty good, so what’s the bad side of Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership? Well, for one, he doesn’t always act in an entirely ethical way, as demonstrated by his responses to scandals about Facebook’s handling of user’s data. Recently, when news broke of user data being exploited by a firm, Zuckerberg was silent for five days before issuing an apology. Being silent for so long was not an example of great leadership – leaders must have responses and contingencies in place to manage situations when things go wrong. When there’s an issue like this with Facebook, Mark issues an apology but then something similar happens again. It’s not very ethical to compromise user data in this way and has resulted in many people leaving Facebook.
His slow response after the latest scandal shows that he really needs to work on his communication skills. How good of a leader can you be if you cannot communicate effectively?
In this digital age, where we can access the latest news instantly, leaders need to be quick and decisive with their communication. Silence isn’t golden when it comes to things like this!
I’ll let you make your own mind up about whether Mark Zuckerberg is a great leader or not; there’s so much that can’t be covered in a short blog like this. Consider, though, whether a less successful (or lesser, in general) leader, would be forgiven of some of the mistakes Zuckerberg has made in his career?
There is definitely plenty to take away for your own leadership journey, both good and bad, but my reason for this blog is to remind you that even if you become successful (whatever your measure of success may be) you must never become complacent in your leadership. Always practice authentic leadership, and you will become truly successful. Finally, leadership is about Attitude, Mindset, and Behaviour – and not about title or success.
Can I share something with you – the best leaders we work with truly understand this and how this contributes to their success and significance. It could make all the difference to you too – so contact us to find out more!
Want to know more about how to be a Great Leader or build Great Leadership within your Organisation – find out more about our Group and One on One Leadership Coaching Programs here at LeadershipHQ
by Sonia | Sep 24, 2018 | business coaching, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, Emerging Leaders, Human Resources, Leadership Attitude, Leadership Skills, Learning and Development, Mindset, Organisational Development, Team Building & Effectiveness
Being true to yourself and having strong values and beliefs that you stick by is essential if you want to be a great, authentic leader! You also need to have a vision; what sort of leader do you want to be, what do you want to work towards with your leadership, how are you going to ROCK IT?
Let’s take a look at why these three things are VITAL to becoming a leader that kicks butt!
VALUES
Being a leader means people are watching you all the time to see whether you act consistently and practice what you preach. It’s important to sit down and figure out what you value; not just in work, but in life as well.
You also need to remember that everyone has values, and a lot of us value integrity – especially in our leaders! You can’t be an effective leader without trust, so be authentic and stick to your values. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not!
Want to know more about Personal Leadership – Grab your FREE Personal Plan HERE (Valued at $199)
BELIEFS
Be honest with yourself about what you believe in, especially in terms of leadership. Think of great leaders you’ve come into contact with throughout your life, and the bad ones too! They’ve helped mould your idea of what a leader should do, how they should behave, and what they should believe in.
Like with values, you need to demonstrate that you can stick to your beliefs so that your team will trust you! Without earning trust, you’ll be a pretty ineffective leader!
VISION
To be an authentic and great leader, you need to have a vision and share that dream with the people around you. Have a vision for yourself and your leadership future, as well as making goals to strive for. When you have a powerful vision and aren’t all talk, and you back up your words with meaningful actions, people will be drawn to you and your vision.
Think about John F. Kennedy and his vision of getting a man on the moon – it had been thought impossible, but his vision was so compelling that others wanted to follow his lead and make it happen!
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. John F. Kennedy
Take time to figure out your vision, and to clarify your beliefs and values. Make sure you truly believe in these, so that you’re able to be an authentic leader!
About LeadershipHQ
We will take you from Good to Exceptional. EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE = LEADERSHIP + CULTURE + STRATEGY. We partner with leaders, teams, HR departments, SME’s & CEO’s in developing and delivering leadership, people and culture strategies for PERFORMANCE.
LeadershipHQ is a Leading Leadership, Culture and People Development Consulting Company. It’s about building great leaders and organisations through strategy, culture, leadership, performance and change. We are that Advisor, Facilitator and Coach. So, is your leadership the best it can be? Are your people truly engaged, motivated and productive? Do you have a culture that people are banging down your door to work for? Do you know where you are going and have a great business strategy? Are you getting performance through your people? Have you got the right people, systems and processes in place?
We have helped 1000’s of organisations, teams and leaders achieve greatness. We partner with SME’s and Organisations to bring out the best in them. Our team deliver outcomes focused on Leadership, People, Cultural and Programs.
⭐️ Leadership Programs
⭐️ Diagnostics & Assessments
⭐️ Leadership & Business Coaching
⭐️ Culture Transformation
⭐️ Leadership Consulting
⭐️ Workshops & Events
⭐️ Online Programs
⭐️ Business Strategy
⭐️ Keynote Speaking
⭐️ Facilitation
We help increase engagement, motivation, retention, productivity and ultimately improve the bottom line within your business. We are focused on delivering only the best training, results and outcomes for you. It’s about how we can help you through our expertise to be that catalyst.
Phone 1300 719 665 or www.leadershiphq.com.au
by Sonia | Jun 29, 2018 | business coaching, Decision Making, Emerging Leaders, Leadership Skills, Learning and Development, Organisational Development, Team Building & Effectiveness
You’ve built your business up through sheer hard work, focus and money. But is that enough to keep your business on track for growing success? Are you a reactive business manager, making just-in-time decisions? Not sure if your business strategy is right? Or don’t even have a business strategy?
You are not alone. Many people start their business with a big fanfare and high hopes, then bit by bit, they lose their crystal-clear sense of direction and their hopes become a distant memory.
But it’s not too late to turn things around and get your business back on track. And the fastest way to do this is to use a business coach. Not convinced? Then read on to find out the top five reasons why you need a business coach.
1 You’ll set realistic goals
Your business coach will ask you questions to get right down to the nitty-gritty of your goals for your business. You might think you just want to make money. But your coach will ask you what that money will mean to you and your life. They’ll question you about the direction you want to take – and then help you to map out the steps to take to reach your goals.
2 You’ll be held accountable
When you get too busy to keep on track, your business coach will hold you accountable. You don’t want to let your coach down, and they want the best for you. So you’ll roll your sleeves up and get going – in the right direction – prepared to do whatever it takes.
3 Your business ego will take a back seat
How much ego do you put into your business? Not sure? How about “My way or the highway,” with your staff. Or a temper flare-up when things don’t pan out as you want them to. Your business coach knows that ego won’t help your hip pocket. Ego can stand in the way of an enlightened approach to your business. It can stand in the way of having great, supportive staff. And it can drive your business into the red. Your business coach will provide a ruthless ego check and give you the perspective you badly need to take your business forward.
4 You’ll go outside your comfort zone
Your business coach will give you the push you need to take you out of your comfort zone and take your business forward. This could be as simple as making some invaluable contacts. It could be trying a new approach. Or it could be addressing a group in an organisation like Lions Club to do some local business and get some great brand recognition.
5 You’ll learn how to make your ideas a reality
If your head is buzzing with ideas for your business, but you don’t know where to start, ask your business coach. They are great at evaluation and cutting through to what’s really achievable – and what’s not. And they’ll make sure that you go about things the right way.
Your business coach keeps you on track, working towards your goals. You’ll have the confidence to make savvy business decisions. And you’ll be accountable for your actions. And in so doing, your business will flourish, and you’ll make more money along the way So ask yourself. Can you really afford NOT to have a business coach?
LeadershipHQ have launched a NEW Program just for you. It is called The Business Collective TBC. Our first program launches in Brisbane. Find out and apply here!
Contact us NOW at Leadership HQ and give your business the boost it really needs!
