Remember when you were a kid and loved stories?  Like me, you might remember gathering around your 1^st grade teacher as she read a new chapter each day. I remember listening to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald who lived in an “upside-down” house and provided magical cures to children with bad habits. Great fun…and, as it turns out – great learning, too!

Whatever type of training you might design, develop or deliver, you probably face challenges keeping people engaged. Have you ever caught folks dreaming during class? Taking a mental nap while completing an e-learning module? Well…it turns out that one way to keep folks interested is through the age-old method of storytelling.

Storytelling can help learners place new skills into context and, perhaps most important…keeps them wanting more. They want to find out where the story line goes, what happens to the characters and how it all ends. How perfect!

In our work, we’ve had some great successes using storytelling for all sorts of learning – from classroom to e-learning and many types in between. For example, we recently developed some e-learning with a main character – our “hero” – whose story unfolded to reveal the correct skills to use (and not to use) in a customer service role. As the learners got to know our hero, and watched his story unfold, they not only learned the skills, but saw how using the skills worked to the benefit of our main character.

Have you used storytelling in your work? How did you do it? How was it received? Any advice for the rest of us? Let’s engage in some storytelling of our own…and see what we can learn!

Leadership development has a lot to do with experience, but that has its limitations – especially if you’re in the early stages of your career and experience is a smaller piece of your “leadership pie chart.” So how do you beef up your leadership capabilities beyond your own experience?

The answer is to supplement your own experience with what you can learn from the experiences of others. One way to do this is to read books about great leaders, the challenges they faced, the relationships they forged and the processes they followed to come to decisions and carry them out. This approach was explored in more depth in a GBlog entry last June entitled “Expanding Your Leadership Reading.”

For a moment, however, let’s consider another less time-consuming way to learn through the experience of others. I’m talking about reading interviews that are posted on the internet by such reputable sources such as HBR, The NY Times and The Financial Times. These interviews are a quick read and provide interesting perspectives on leadership from those who are recognized as highly credible leaders today.

A prime example of one such interview was posted on December 12 by The NY Times. It’s an interview with the C.E.O. and Chairwoman of the executive board of Wolters Kluwer, Nancy McKinstry. Her resume is impressive and her experiences have brought her to some interesting conclusions about leadership. Here are a few of the insights she’s gleaned through her experience as a leader:

•  “…you could produce better results if you knew where you were headed and what somebody wanted.”
• Management style must align with the types of communication and work styles that are prevalent in the countries to which your teams belong.
• Results matter; you must prove that you can drive something forward.
• You can’t motivate unless you set a direction for the business, create a plan, and really allow people the opportunity to get engaged around that.
• Problem-solving and successfully dealing with adversity are key attributes to look for in potential leaders and especially those who you may hire.
• Good leaders think on their feet.

What’s wonderful about these interviews is that you also get a glimpse of the circumstances within which these insights take form. Understanding the context makes you realize that the insights are not platitudes; they are information about what really works. And if you somehow take this information and translate it into what you do as a leader, you may find that you’re increasing your percentage of experience on the “leadership pie chart” at a faster rate.

Most of us remember the Hans Christian Andersen tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s the story of some slick con-men who prey on peoples’ fear of being discovered to be unfit for their position or just plain stupid. It’s a vivid description of the ridiculous extremes to which some people will go in order to maintain their image or cover up what they think are their inadequacies.  What a relief it is when a child, not yet encumbered with adult posturing, actually speaks the truth and cries out that the Emperor has no clothes. I imagine that the sigh of relief from the crowd must have been not just audible but also palpable.  The Emperor, however, even when he becomes aware of the truth, continues the parade in the old “carry-on” tradition, continuing to appear foolish until the end of the parade route.

When a story such as this one is found in numerous cultures and is told and retold from generation to generation, it is safe to assume that it contains some kernels of truth about human nature.  For our purposes, the question is “What insights does this tale bring to those who are leaders?”  What leadership actions can be taken to avoid the pitfalls described in this exaggerated tale?

• Establish relationships and situations that promote the sharing of perspectives, the search for “truth” and the generation of innovative ideas.  (Remember that “buying into” the weavers’ assertion that anyone who could not see the Emperor’s new clothes was either unfit for their position or stupid, severely limited the way people could deal with reality.)
• Build your self-confidence and the self-confidence of your direct reports through professional and career development efforts.  (In the story, the lack of self-confidence permeated the whole society.  No one, except the child, had enough self-confidence to speak the truth as he/she saw it.)
• If things are not working out as planned and recent information sheds new light on a previous decision, display the courage to correct direction and move forward.  (Think about the story.  Did the Emperor act courageously or foolishly by continuing on the parade route once he was made aware of the truth?  Is staying the course, for its own sake, an effective leadership decision or does it merely compound the problem and keep you and your team further away from what you want to accomplish?)

Isn’t it interesting how a simple tale can bring about some serious leadership thinking?  Are there other insights that you have gained from this tale?  If so, be sure to share them with us.  After all, if the child in the story hadn’t shared his perspective, the story would have a less than satisfactory ending.

Recently I was meeting with a group of high potential leaders who, over the past few months, have devoted a considerable amount of time to their leadership development.  They’ve learned about and applied some of the best concepts, models and tools that those who have studied leadership have to offer.  The results they have achieved reflect the success they’ve had in this most recent leg of their leadership journey.   But while they continue to hone their newly acquired skills and grow their knowledge what will be their focus for the next year?   To jump start their thinking, I asked them a question that Stephen Covey asks in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; i.e., “What one thing could you do (that you aren’t doing now) that if you did on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your business and professional life?” 

Now the answers to this question were as varied as there are individuals in this group.   Their responses ranged from building more effective relationships to working more strategically.  These varied responses, however, all had one thing in common.  In order to make this positive difference, each one was going to have to make the time to devote to these important tasks and not give in to the demands of the frequent crises or “fires” that keep cropping up and stealing their time. It also meant that they must eliminate activities that are not important and not really urgent.

The discussion naturally led to figuring out some strategies for freeing-up time to focus on what’s really important, but somehow keeps getting put off because it doesn’t seem urgent.  Here are a few time management strategies this group has decided to implement:

• Make sure to clarify your most important goals and the expectations of your manager
• Minimize/eliminate time spent on those tasks that will not contribute to attaining those goals
• Develop your people and delegate more
• Carve out a specific time everyday when you can devote time to work on the important, but not-urgent tasks without interruption

Now certainly this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start.  Perhaps you could add to this list.  What time management strategies have you employed to stay focused on what’s most important and maximize the contributions you make to your organization.

Jack-o-Lantern

The holiday season officially began with October 31st when many children and adults in the US and some other parts of the world celebrated Halloween. What’s different about Halloween is that although we don’t get any “official” time off from work to celebrate, many of us “make time” for Halloween activities. Each year on October 31st many people don costumes, go to parties, take the kids “trick or treating” and some even take in a horror movie.

Viewing Halloween as purely a secular event, I’d like to point out some of the things I’ve observed about this holiday that could be interesting to note from a leadership perspective. Here are a few of my observations:

Halloween is when at, some level, we address fears. This is especially true when we are young. Think about the young child who with a costume becomes a monster like the one he imagines lurking in his closet at night. Both the monster that the child becomes and the monster-in-the-closet are, at least momentarily, recognized as being pretend. As a leader you need to schedule into your calendar time to address your biggest challenges/fears – to define them, explore them and find the chinks in the armor that will make it easier to proactively address those fears.

Halloween is a time to unleash creativity – whether it is in creating a costume or preparing to throw a party. These things don’t just happen. You have to take time to come up with creative ideas and implement them in order to produce the results you want. Scheduling time and activities that nurture and enhance creativity and innovation should be part of the way to lead both yourself and others. For some great ideas on how to unleash creativity check out A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech.

Halloween presents an opportunity to reconnect with others in informal ways. Whether it’s while taking the kids “trick or treating” in the neighborhood or attending a party with friends, Halloween can be a time to reconnect. Making time to periodically maintain your connections with the network of people you know both within and outside your organization is an important leadership task. So don’t forget to schedule the coffee or lunch meeting or the brief phone conversation that keeps you connected.

Finally, one has to ask why so many people find taking part in Halloween activities so appealing. A simple and obvious answer is that…

Halloween brings an element of fun into our lives and that’s the final leadership insight I’d like to mention. Initiating and encouraging some fun in the workplace can do wonders for engagement, productivity, etc. (To learn a bit more about fun at work check out this article from the University of Florida News.)

So whether Halloween is your “cup of tea” – or should I say, “witches’ brew” – or not, observation of what the holiday requires of those who do engage in the celebration can serve as a reminder of what leaders should do as well.

Sometime in the early 1990’s I remember hearing about a random survey that was taken of 3,000 people to determine what their greatest fear was.  The fear that ranked number one in the majority of responses was the fear of public speaking.  To put this in perspective, in this particular survey, the fear of death came in at #7.

Although the validity of this survey may be debated, it does serve as a reminder of how common – and intense – the fear of public speaking is among the general population.  And yet the ability to make presentations in front of others is one that leaders in all fields of endeavors – and for all sizes and types of audiences – are counted upon to master.

Why is this skill so crucial for leaders?   Presenting to others is an important vehicle for leaders to:

• Contribute ideas and expertise to move the organization forward
• Convince and influence
• Communicate accomplishments and lessons learned
• Manage change
• Inspire and engage others
• Be seen as a leader

Since leaders arise from the general population who commonly fear speaking in front of audiences, it is natural to assume that many leaders must deal with those same fears and conquer them in order to be successful.

There are many ways to develop good presentation skills.  Books addressing the subject can give you ideas about what you can do and there are coaches and courses that can be very helpful. Becoming an active member in a local chapter of Toastmasters is a tried and true method that many leaders choose and attain good results. 

As you develop your presentation skills, remember that preparing to make presentations includes putting yourself in the right place as much as organizing the content of your speech or an accompanying PowerPoint. This is crucial to conquering the underlying fear that can hinder your ability to communicate effectively in front of an audience. To avoid the sweaty palms, pounding heart beats, your mind going blank, etc., there are exercises for relaxation and turning around negative self-talk that have proven effective for many people. One good source for learning about these exercises is Leadership Presence by Belle Halpern and Kathy Lubar. Within the pages of this book are step-by-step descriptions of techniques that have been perfected by those working in the performing arts and successfully adapted to the needs of leaders who have to create their own presence on the stages in corporate, not-for-profit and government arenas.

As you think about all the options we’ve mentioned, do you know of other ways leaders have conquered their fear of public speaking and honed their presentation skills?  What has proven effective for you?  Please share your thoughts, experience and opinions so that others can benefit from you insights on conquering this fear and becoming an effective presenter and leader.

Does working toward values-based goals give businesses an edge in motivating employees? Let’s take a look at what a couple of experts have said about the connection between values and motivation and then figure out what actions you can take as a leader.

Way back in 1942 when his book, The Future of Industrial Man, was first published, Peter Drucker pointed out that “western society has given up the belief that man is fundamentally Economic Man, that his motives are economic motives, and that his fulfillment lies in economic success and economic rewards.” Some 62 years later, when Drucker published a compilation of excerpts from his writings, called The Daily Drucker, he included excerpts from that book and added a simple directive to leaders for motivating and engaging employees, i.e., “Define a purpose that employees can believe in and challenges them to contribute their best work.”

The need to follow this directive seems to be even greater today. Businesses, as always, are looking for ways to develop new products and services, enhance current offerings and expand their markets. Doing this amid the current global financial, ecological, political and societal crises is no easy task. But is it possible that the challenges we face also bring with them an opportunity to motivate and engage a larger number of employees and to a greater extent? 

In a recent article that was posted by Harvard Business Publishing, which focuses on values-based business strategy, the author, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, stated that “leading with values is important for the new generation of employees.” She also cited an example of a team working on a project to build an energy-saving technology where a focus on values impacted performance. Their leader reported that team members talked about their desire to change the world while working on the project and noted that “people cared more and worked harder because values were tapped.”

How can you make sure that you are tapping into people’s values to motivate and engage them? Here are some actions that have proven successful with other leaders:

• Have a discussion with your direct reports to learn about what values are most important to them; share your values as well
• Help your employees make connections between their values and the organization’s values and strategies
• Provide a “values” context for the work your team members are assigned; help them see how their contributions will benefit not only the organization and themselves, but also how it will ultimately be of benefit to others (to customers by filling a need; to a region, country or the world by improving environmental situations, education issues, poverty levels, etc.)
• Encourage innovative thinking by looking for unsolved problems and unfulfilled needs that align with strongly held values

Have you already been motivating and engaging others with work that has a values-based connection for them? What have you said and done that helped others work harder and smarter toward results that align with their values?  If you haven’t tried this approach, try the action steps listed above and let us know how they worked for you.

Remember all the reading comprehension tests you took in school so that your ability to comprehend what you read could be evaluated? Apparently those in charge of our education thought there was value in having a population that could read and understand what they read. Can’t disagree with that!

Now contrast that with the number of times you were asked to listen to something and prove that you had understood what you heard. My guess is that the only time you were directly evaluated on your listening comprehension is in a foreign language class.

Apparently our comprehension of what is said to us in our native language is less than stellar. In a recent Forbes article Dr. Steven Berglas, who served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, for 25 years, referred to scores of studies that have demonstrated “that people accurately comprehend or internalize a dismal 25% – 50% of what they hear.” He goes on to state that the “natural inability to listen…comes from being, well, human.”

So when we assume a leadership role we bring with us all our “humanness” with its inherent strengths and weaknesses – including our natural tendency to not listen very well. Chances are those who are reporting to us, our peers and our managers may also suffer from the same “human condition.” As leaders we can and must break the cycle of poor listening for ourselves and help others to do the same.

What can you do about it? First, become more disciplined about your own listening. Start with these simple tips to become an active listener:

• Focus on each conversation and allow no interruptions (Susan Scott in her book Fierce Conversations advises that you “…listen as though each conversation is the most important one you will have.”)
• Demonstrate your engagement through body language, tone of voice and asking questions
• Check for understanding by paraphrasing and asking for validation of your understanding
• Pause to consider the information you have received before responding

Next, use the information you’ve gained to be a better leader. Armed with greater information you should, at the very least, be able to make better decisions and better prepare people for their assignments.

Give active listening a chance and let us know what results you attain!