Do You Inspire?

What does an inspired person look like? Not only are they actively engaged, their productivity is superior. As a consequence, their production motivates those around them – and a new standard is set.

Inspired people can be team members, leaders, or managers. Arguably, all people can be leaders – thus it does not matter where an inspired person falls on the totem pole. This is about setting standards of excellence, and having it radiate to others.

If an inspirational leader (person) unlocks motivation and engagement – as well as commitment, there’s no question that businesses will be served well to help people tap into their inner inspiration. But how do we do that?

First, let me define what I mean by inspiration. Inspirational leaders use a combination of skills that motivate and simultaneously place value on accountability for results. This is not a cheerleader – it is a cheerleader with expectations. Inspirational leaders use taught or innate traits to help unlock performance potential in others.  

HBR conducted a study to learn what traits the participants identify as inspiring. The findings point to an interesting conclusion: inspirational people need to be diverse and have the ability to adapt. While many attributes help inspire others, only one trait is needed to double the likelihood that you will be viewed as an inspirational person.

Some of these traits include humility, empathy, openness, vision, focus, unselfishness, and stress tolerance. From my experiences, it is clear these attributes require self-reflection, receptivity, and a guiding philosophy of servanthood. [Are you taking steps to flex muscles that result in the aforementioned traits?]

The answer to reaching limitless potential is through the investment in people and in ourselves. Inspirational leaders recognize the opportunity to draw upon the rolodex of traits, contingent upon the situation. An aptitude to respond appropriately in differing scenarios takes poise and practice. The good news is, in dealing with people, there is never an absence of opportunity to practice inspiring others! What trait do your colleagues or counterparts possess that you find most inspirational?  

First published on LinkedIn

But… Wasn’t I The Best Manager Ever??

Every week I get the opportunity to evaluate systemic issues; from the micro-culture that is the office environment, to the macro-culture that is our government. Looking for the gaps in human interaction really makes me tick.

With a sufficient knowledge base – an undergraduate degree in communication, a master’s in leadership and organizational communication, and now an in-pursuit doctorate in business leadership, I must be able to walk-the-walk, right?

To answer the question: I most definitely was not the best manager ever.

Self-Assessment & Reflection

If you want to be a leader or manager (find out the leader/manager relationship here), the first step is knowing yourself. It might seem most reasonable to ask a friend what they think about your management capabilities, but that’s not going to cut it. Fortunately, behavioral psychologists and researchers before me have realized self-assessments act as a foundation for changing behavior; and change doesn’t occur without awareness.

In retrospect, revisiting personality or interpersonal leadership style assessments – and truly understanding them – would have proved quite useful before entering management. Here I was thinking I knew myself. In fairness, I was aware of my downfalls, but never took steps to address them… Yeah, that’s a problem.

Let’s see, in 2012 Stratton Consulting identified my interpersonal leadership style as Director, with a correlating perception of flexibility as Rigid. In 2013 the DiSC pinned me in a classic Inspirational Pattern. In 2014 Gallup Strengths-Based Leadership Report coined me as an Executor. And in 2016, Myers-Briggs reiterated my INTJ status. Now without context or experience reading these reports, the aforementioned classifiers aren’t particularly telling.

What I can tell you is I had (and have) blind spots. I’m critical and judgmental. I’m opinionated and persistent. I’m competitive and discontented. And yet, I truly believe people are at the core of functional businesses, and that the purpose of management is to serve their people, not to serve themselves.

It wasn’t until that clicked – until my team’s success meant more to me than my own – that I truly started to change my behavior.

I think of times a team member asked me to review an email or edit a deck. Each and every time I was nitpicky. I have no doubt I drove my team nuts. It was likely cringe worthy!

Did this empower them? No, it showed them that I thought my way was better. If something is flat out wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t inquire and help them get to the correct answer (key word help, not enable) but don’t assume your way is the only one. 

Out of all these personality tests, leadership assessments, and the like, there’s one thing I know for sure: any perceived negative attribute I’ve possessed over the years has to do with ego. And the moment we let our egos get in the way, is the moment we lose sight of the value in our human capital.

If you’re like me, you’re hoping I will get to the point here soon. The point is this: self-reflection is a path to leadership development. I encourage you to ask yourself two things:

1. Why do you want to lead?

2. What is the purpose of your leadership?

If the answers are power, money, and prestige, you are at risk for relying on external gratification for fulfillment. I’d be delusional if I said you can’t lead with the desire to serve others, and simultaneously earn influence, prestige, or wealth. But – and this is the big but – be cognizant of underlying motivators.

If there’s an area you’re hoping to improve and you’re looking for literature or some support, you know how to reach me.

For the solo high-performer who wants to remain as such: It’s OK to be a stellar individual contributor and never manage a team. The point here is not to change who you are – it’s to own it and maximize the hell out of it!

Middle Managers: Why the Focus?

For those of you reading my blog, you know you can expect an array of leadership insights each week. But at the core of BVC is a belief: the belief middle managers are essential to your organization. Just how essential? Let’s explore.

Imagine a budding company of 100 people. There is a healthy C-suite – from CEO to CRO, making up less than 10 percent of the company. Then imagine the VPs; there are four departments whose VPs report into the C-suite. Now, let’s skip a level and go to “worker bees” – the junior support staff, budding savants, what have you. Not too long ago, when the company was at just 60 people, those then juniors knew little about managing. Yet, they are now the tenured professional, managing a team of two or more (these individuals are now the big group we skipped moments ago!).

With such scale, is it probable the new managers received coaching and/or training? For their area of expertise, perhaps. But for management? Unlikely.

There’s no question that top management, namely executives, play a significant role in setting the overall direction of the company. I’m not debating this. But I am shedding light on the fact companies invest a lot (we are talking billions of dollars) on executive leadership or “executive coaching” as it’s coined. I’ll be the first person to share this service is helpful; we should all continue to grow, learn, and evolve. I also know some awesome executive coaches if you are in the market. But to that point, we should start this self-exploration and education far before we wear the VP or C-suite title.

The best managers are able to work closely with their teams, and simultaneously offer valuable contributions. These managers are not only equipped with the technical skills, but they encourage an environment of consistent feedback, acknowledgement, and respect. Unsurprisingly, these are the leadership elements we spoke about a couple weeks ago.

Middle managers are not only responsible for their team’s production, they are a primary driver of performance! Since this is the case, managers must be equipped with managing conflict — 30 percent of a manager’s time each week — and promoting cohesion. Decreasing conflict through effective management, by even 10 percent, is monumental to time effectiveness and results.

Middle managers have incredible influence. Not only on culture, but on productivity. Again, they are essential to the business(!), and are worth the investment.

Your Mouth is Moving, But What Are You Saying?

Our communication is comprised of much more than the words we speak – and our nonverbal cues often give us away if we are being inconsistent with what’s coming out of our mouth. We think of Albert Mehrabian’s 55/38/7 rule (55 percent nonverbal, 38 percent vocal, seven percent verbal) for nonverbal communication. However, it has since been critiqued and challenged based on the nature of the study (and the specific scenarios it was measuring: when the nonverbal channel and the verbal channel are incongruent). Thus, his research is indeed useful when incongruency is at play (e.g., a grimacing face doesn’t equate to the “I’m fine” vocalization).

This helpful insight aside, what about all the other scenarios we witness each – and every – day? The big presentation, the influential leader, the flustered colleague on the other end of the phone, the <insert one of the many other scenarios here>? It’s no surprise our verbal and nonverbal communication play a big role. Rather than focusing on the minute detail of how much influence each communication bucket has, let’s focus on actionable insights for communicating what you set out to communicate. That’s the bottom line, right?

Set your intent.
Is your intent to educate, to motivate, or to influence? Depending upon what you’re aiming to achieve, you need to adjust both your verbal and nonverbal communication practices. (Ah, yes, this comes back to expectations. Let’s not have individuals leave the room guessing.)

Decide how you want to be perceived.
Let’s say I’m aiming to influence (my intent). I need acceptance on new policies being implemented and I want buy-in, as well as understanding, from my audience. I’m also an executive at the company.

Do I:

• Read my PowerPoint (or notes), slide by slide, and ask if there are questions at the end (think Mr. Roboto)?

or

• Do I set the expectations for the meeting, maintain my agenda (also in front of attendees), and simply use the PowerPoint, or notes, as a reference?

Which will make you think I actually believe what I’m saying, and am bought into the information being shared? Simple.

(Having a trusted colleague or confidant to run things by – i.e., your presentation – will help you not miss these important communicative measures.)

Consider all levels.
To whom are you speaking? What language are you using? Speak to – not above – your audience. We call this “inflated vocabulary.” Does your language get your point across clearly, or does it confuse your audience further? I’m not saying dumb-down your messaging, but make it easy-to-remember and use language that causes understanding, not confusion. (Yes, as a leader/senior executive, you need to be knowledgeable and intelligent, but it’s typically the manager’s job to teach and train people – why non-executive managers are so important!! Thus, know what you’re talking about, but speak in a manner that allows each and every person to take away your message with profound impact.)

Consider multiple learning forms.
Some of us our visual learners – others are auditory, others reading/writing, and yet others, kinesthetic. If your intent is to influence, should you not want to influence each and every person in the room? Here are some guidelines for varying styles that can be incorporated into any presentation – especially those you find particularly important.

Visual Learners: Prefer to see information and need to visualize relationship between ideas. [Provide charts and graphics – show relationships between various points.]

Auditory Learners: Prefer to hear information rather than reading it, or seeing it displayed. [Give listeners a chance to repeat your points back to you – or someone else. You can do this through asking questions and calling on the audience for answers.]

Reading/Writing Learners: Learn best when reading and writing – interacting with text is more powerful for them than hearing or seeing images.
[Provide quizzes or allow them to write down what they learned. An easy way to do this: provide handouts.]

Kinesthetic Learners: Hands-on, experiential learners. They learn best by doing.
[Role playing – if the environment allows it and/or facilitate a way for them to write down what you’re saying.]

Next week I’ll discuss multiple ways you can leverage your body language to support your presence – the presence you want to exude – particularly in our digital age.