Tag Archive for ‘Emerging Leadership’ at DrivenLeaders.com

Book Review: Just Ask Leadership

“The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.”
– Peter Drucker

This month I had a chance to catch up on some reading, specifically a new book by Gary Cohen, entitled Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions. It has been said that the concept of “asking the right questions” is one of the most important and least appreciated skills a leader needs to achieve desired results. To reinforce this point, Cohen interviews nearly 100 leaders, including Fortune 500 CEOs, small business owners, military commanders, etc. – explaining how leaders at every level can learn to ask the right questions in the right contexts, thus enabling both individuals and organizations to thrive.

“Leadership is about allowing others the chance to flourish, and you do that by asking questions. This empowers coworkers to find solutions, embrace responsibility, and become accountable. Moreover, it opens the door to greater productivity and creativity. Indeed, more than ever before, leaders can’t know everything. By seeking others’ input, they can inspire powerful and positive change.” - Gary B. Cohen, Author - Just Ask Leadership

In the book, Cohen details many specific questions that leaders might pose in particular situations, however in my opinion; the more valuable takeaway is his explanation of how to create a culture of question-based leadership. In doing so, Cohen addresses five key areas:

1. Improving Vision - Getting Insights form All Levels of the Organization
Vision starts with an awareness of values. Questions can illuminate the values of both the leader and the organization. This, in turn, will enable good choices with regard to interacting with customers, hiring new employees, setting goals, and succession planning.

2. Ensuring Accountability - Increasing Team and Organization-Wide Performance
Having coworkers solve their own problems is critical to building their accountability, states Cohen. Leaders must encourage people to act and, provided good-faith action is taken, failure must be used as an opportunity for learning, not an excuse for punishment.

3. Building Unity and Cooperation - Creating a Culture of Trust
To unify an organization made up of vastly different individuals, leaders must invite coworkers to share their opinions and listen well to their input. This requires asking good questions– those that house the potential for growth and collaboration– not “gotcha” questions.

4. Creating Better Decisions - Getting the Right Answers by Asking the Right Questions
Most leaders make too many decisions, “If you don’t routinely ask, ‘whose decision is it?’ you’ll fall into the trap of doing others’ work,” he writes. The best decisions are often made by those down the chain of command, not up.

5. Motivating to Action - Asking for Success
“Because I said so,” is not a phrase that will inspire coworkers. In this section, Cohen offers insights into how to motivate people by building rapport, customizing incentives, and instilling respect.

Though the general concept of “asking questions” may sound simple, it’s often much harder to execute - especially for young or inexperienced leaders. Just Ask Leadership, is a quick read that provides many opportunities for self reflection and real world execution. Worth the read if you’re looking to define or fine-tune your approach to leadership.

(Disclosure: My copy of this was furnished by the author’s PR company.)

What is the purpose of business? (theengagingbrand.typepad.com)
Marshall Goldsmith: Focus on Results (huffingtonpost.com)
30 Challenges That Can Develop Leaders (myventurepad.com)

frustratedman So You’ve Just Become a Manager – Now What?

As soon as the jubilation from your promotion subsides, it hits you – “What do I do now?” The training is over, everyone says you’re ready, yet all of a sudden you are responsible for a number of employees and not even sure where to begin. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing a number of posts in a series entitled, “So You’ve Just Become a Manager,” highlighting the keys to making the transition a successful one.

To further examine this process, I’ve spent the past few months interviewing a number of top managers and directors here at J&J as to their first steps when moving into a management role for the first time. Though each had their own individual thoughts and style as to how they approached the transition, there were many suggestions that became consistent in each. Interestingly enough, many of the suggestions focus on self-management, versus managing ones subordinates during this period.

Though the future posts will provide greater detail, I thought I’d kick off the series with a brief overview of the highlights. The following are the 10 most common tips from some of the best in the business…

Monitor your work hours.
Set time limits to your work hours and stick to them. When you’re in a new position it’s very easy to get sucked into working longer and longer hours because you feel you have to. Resist the urge to consistently stay late. One of the worst things that can happen is burning out too early, if this happens, it will be hard to jumpstart your passion for the role, not to mention your employees will take notice.
Set up processes early.
Be conscious of your time - Now that you are managing other people, you will be pulled in multiple directions at any given moment. Begin to formalize a schedule of when you handle routine administrative tasks. (ex. approve expense reports every Monday, budget meetings on Thursdays) Whatever your particular role entails, begin to get a grasp of your time demands and build a routine to fit.
Establish trust early.
You might feel there is pressure to push for results early in your new role. Again, resist the urge. Take the time to get to know your people individually and as a team. What do they need and what do they expect from you. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their goals and ambitions? If they don’t tell you, ask. Establishing trust clearly takes time, but starting off on the right foot shows that you have their best interests in mind. When your employees trust you and want to work for you, the results will come sooner than you think.
Set clear expectations.
This should include everything from your expectations for their administrative activities to your vision for the team. Doing this early on aligns your vision with the group and the individual players. Once everyone has a clear picture of your expectations, the next question naturally becomes, “How do we get there?”
Communicate, communicate, communicate.
This means regular meetings with both your team members & your direct manager. Clear expectations raise the bar, but frequent communication holds everyone to them.
Give praise and recognition regularly.
Reinforcement of a job well done is one of the cheapest and most impactful motivational tools at your disposal. Making the effort to show you see and appreciate the little things can make the difference between a positive action being repeated or forgotten.
Focus on what is important, not just what is urgent.
This applies to managing up as well as down. Take the time to speak with your manager about the most critical issues they see for you in your role. Be clear as to the expectations from both sides and keep these in mind at all times.
Learn to delegate.
Failure to delegate is the most common failing point of new leaders. For managers, there are two key aspects to successful delegation:
- Having people to whom one can delegate, and
- Selecting the most appropriate tasks to delegate
Not only does delegation take things off your plate, but when done properly, delegation will foster the “initiative to take action” so that your people learn to develop their skills and knowledge to their full potential.
Continue to build your network.
Just because you’ve been promoted doesn’t mean you have to stop networking. Now more than ever the importance of networking and building coalitions will become apparent. Not only are you setting yourself up for personal success, but a strong network enables you to better help your employees. Everyone inside or outside your direct area of business provides value.
Find a mentor.
No good manager does it alone. Find someone who is or has been a successful “people” manager. Without a doubt, the most successful managers have told me that they have one person or a group of people that they often consult when faced with a new challenge. Meet or talk regularly with them to discuss your issues, challenges and ways that you can learn and develop.

There were many more powerful tips that I will undoubtedly talk about throughout the series, but these jumped out as some of the most prevalent. If you have a crucial step that was left off, feel free to add it as a comment and I will gladly work it into future posts.

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