insight

As Henry Ford once said "You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do."

I’ve been in this industry now for well over 20 years, and I’m still learning. More importantly; I’m still ENJOYING learning and both Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman are of similar minds! I find their mature, unadulterated enthusiasm for developing leaders as infectious as it is inspiring.

Zenger Folkaman’s research into what constitutes Extraordinary Leadership – what separates the good from the great – has been hugely influential around the world as organizations have slowly woken up the enormous power – and truth – surrounding strengths-based leadership. As I travel around the globe, I am increasingly encouraged by the fact that most organisations now appear to have adopted a strategy for playing to people’s strengths and managing weaknesses, rather than the old way of thinking; to pour enormous amounts of money into training people’s weaknesses.

That never ends well!

I am also very proud of our association. It is exciting that Natural Direction was chosen to partner Zenger Folkman – a global organization that is well placed to differentiate the mediocre from the magnificent.

It’s as simple as 1+1=3.

Now, let’s see if I can make it add up to 4!

The interesting thing is that whilst we might look on in awe, we rarely seem to try to understand what it is that makes them different. What’s the secret? Where’s the magic?

I see this all the time in my travels; working with global businesses – at the highest level – there is still, often, a sense of “you’ve either got it, or you haven’t”. And whilst there is undeniably some truth in this, the greater truth is that – as in most things – it’s a cross between nature and nurture.

In fact most organisations would be in trouble if they were to only rely upon natural born leaders!

They are far and few between.

Instead organisations know the majority of their best leaders – extraordinary leaders – are the result of hard work and development. It doesn’t just happen. They have honed their craft either though a heart felt love of what they do, or a passion to change things for the better, or sometimes personal ambition. But rarely just that.

It’s one of the reasons I love what I do; I know that it’s possible to change things. A change in a level of skill, that then goes on to change other people's hearts and minds, the teams you lead and eventually your organisation.

Being intentional about being a better – extraordinary leader – reaps massive rewards for individuals, families, teams and businesses.

Perhaps even a country.

To say that you hate selling is a bit like saying that you hate company politics; the truth does not cease to exist simply because it’s ignored. Or even hated. And your ability to successfully navigate your way through both of these two potential minefields, will dramatically affect how effective you can be, both personally and professionally.

What's super exciting is that by becoming just slightly more intentional – about a flow and process – we can all become far more effective in the art – the simple, mechanical process – of selling.

It’s the small things; setting out a framework for a discussion, our ability to listen – and then think – before reacting, the investment we make in getting to know our audience, the time we take to understand the needs of our client – or perhaps spouse!

It’s certainly very rewarding to work with people who can immediately see, hear and feel – who can actually measure – the difference in their ability to connect with an audience.

Pitching to win. It’s a good thing!

Now, what do I fancy for supper?

So then, when Joe Folkan – President of Zenger Folkman – spoke at our event in London this week about the critical importance of the speed of leadership, it reminded me that the AMGF1 team were an excellent example of getting it right.

I recently learned from a friend – who worked in F1 – that if the car that won in Australia (the first race of the season) remained unchanged, then by the last race in Abu Dhabi – just 19 races later – it would be the last over the line. Such is F1’s speed of change.

Of course, raw speed is no good either! And the line can be tight between getting it done, and getting it right.

Better still; both!

Joe's blog post on the matter is an excellent – provocative – piece, that I would encourage you to read. You could even take your own pace survey – for free – by contacting us personally.

See you on the circuit. Possibly!

The accolades, recognition and praise comes from those areas makes you stand apart from the others. Traditionally, we focus on delivering in all areas and often try to excel at everything. Imagine if you adopted a different approach – consider focussing on some key strengths and use these to catapult your profile by demonstrating what you can do better than others.

In the coming weeks, start thinking about what you’re good at. Where do you really add value and what makes you stand out? How do you feel when you do these things and how does this impact on those around you? It will become clear to you that identifying, focussing and continually improving in these key areas will do wonders for your profile. Not only will those around you see what you are truly talented at and where your strengths lie, but you’ll feel great! You will be motivated, empowered and feel as though you have so much to give.

By enjoying and engaging in what you do, you add more value to those around you, making you feel stronger. Raising your profile by demonstrating the value you add can only be a positive – after all, it’s your responsibility to share your natural talents. Identify them, work on them and excel in them!

The question is where do you begin? What are the key levers to realising this discretionary effort and driving employee engagement? Joe Folkman’s whitepaper, Top 9 Leadership Behaviours that Drive Employee Commitment, highlights 9 leadership behaviours that, when done well, have a direct impact. Some of these behaviours, such as building trust or supporting others, might sound easy, but they are in fact often overlooked.

I recommend taking the time to read and discuss these 9 critical behaviours, either individually or collectively as a leadership team. Identify individual or team behaviours that may need attention. These behaviours will not only be costing your organisation, but diluting the efforts of you as an individual and of your leadership team.

Secondly, it is extremely important that you highlight the behaviours you are already doing well, and think about how you can apply this approach to strengthen your leadership even further. In other words, if you do more of what is working, the commitment of your staff will continue to grow.

This whitepaper highlights some practical, easy to achieve actions and logical first steps that cost nothing other than paying more conscious attention to your leadership and how it is experienced by your staff.

As a leader, everything you do, no matter how small, has an impact that can be negative or positive. Look closely and you may well find that just a couple of small changes to your leadership behaviour have a large impact on your employees’ performance and productivity within a very short time.

When you begin embrace the opportunities presented to you, the universe will present you with more and more. This will give you the energy to do what you should be doing. You’ll want more, you’ll feel excited and you’ll create momentum in your life.

The sad truth is that so many people do not honour this calling or embrace these opportunities. They don’t have the fundamental belief that we were put on this earth to do something well, rather than to do something poorly. We were put here to do something that we enjoy, to have a great time and to give value to those around us. By not engaging in opportunities, our skills and motivation will, bit by bit, die off inside. Our spark, the light inside of us and that uniqueness that no-one else has will start to fade. When this happens you live a life less than satisfactory than it could have been, and it’s a shame – life can work for you if you let it, and our choices can become self-fulfilling. It can be easy to convince ourselves that we shouldn’t have done it, or we shouldn’t have taken the risk – after all, nothing came of it, so why bother? But if we don’t take the risk and or take up these opportunities with energy and passion then we lose our chance. We need to wait for the next one to come along, and sure enough, after giving away a few they become less and less frequent, and soon the universe stops providing altogether. We need to tackle opportunities head on with energy, enthusiasm, action and drive!

We need to honour our calling.

Try to imagine a world where more people are doing what they really enjoy and what they genuinely want to do. Think about the feelings of satisfaction and pride, and the passion and energy that we feel when we are achieving. Not only will you lead a more fulfilled life, but those around you will benefit from it too.

Let’s rise to the challenge! The challenge is for each and every one of us to embrace the opportunities presented to us for the sake of ourselves and those around us, who will benefit from us being focussed, successful and playing to our strengths. Follow your calling and be true to yourself and others in everything that you can.