T 0345 130 0854
It is Ken Blanchard who said that feedback is the breakfast of champions. But it always seems so stressful. Whether you’re giving it or receiving it, few people are comfortable around it. It has got to the point where organisations are questioning the validity of appraisals and one company, GE, are calling feedback Insights so people feel less antsy about it. Why?
We are all made up of strengths and weaknesses, undiscovered potential and blind spots. Your best strategy for success is to exploit your strengths, uncover hidden skills (we all have them), open your eyes to your blind spots (we all have those too) and start working on these – and your weaknesses – to make sure they do not become your derailers.
Your biggest enemy in addressing any limitations is denial. If you want to have success, your best friend is your willingness to be open to discovering weaknesses and to work on them.
As the title of this article suggests – you are only as strong as your weakest link. Doing whatever it takes to mitigate against these is good insurance for the future and it will give you a sense of progress and achievement too. It may mean working on yourself (it’s much easier with the support of a good coach) or hiring in talent to make up for any shortfall. All the best teams, according to the principles of Belbin Team Roles require a variety of attributes to achieve success.
Belbin has nine team roles from Shaper (takes the business forward, creating strategy) to Completer Finisher (who puts the strategy into action). One cannot exist fruitfully without the others, otherwise the team is out of balance. Whether you are working on your own or with a team, the same principle applies.
In the 5 Pillars of Success, I look at the dimensions which help to make you successful:
1. ClarityAnd what weaknesses are there in your business? Do you have the skills, processes and systems in place to run the business effectively and profitably? Do you have a good quality team, performing well and working well together? Are you able to acquire and retain customers who pay well and are happy with your service or product? And are you able to meet your financial targets and obligations?
Remember that no one person can know it all, do it all and be it all. Perfection is not a human condition but it is a destination, one you can travel on your journey of self-development and business improvement.
What one area could you improve which would have the biggest impact for you? If you focus on one thing at a time then you will not risk dropping any of the many balls you are juggling and it is easier to integrate the change.
Why not book an assessment to see where you can best focus your efforts to create the best value? Call me on 0845 130 0854 to discuss your options.
© Tricia Woolfrey 2013
About Tricia Woolfrey – click HERE to find out about the author.
How do you know if you are a manager or a leader?
There are few job titles with the word “leader” in them. Manager or Director (depending on your level of seniority) seem to be the titles of choice – Customer Services Manager, Finance Director, Marketing Manager, Human Resources Director, etc. Yet, the title is not an indication. Being a manager is as important as leadership. However, without leadership, you are missing a crucial element in business success – winning people’s hearts and minds.
Management can be thought of as being the ‘nuts and bolts’ of your role, with duties such as:
All of these are absolutely essential and create a framework, structure and systems to achieve results which are monitored and course-corrected on a regular basis.
A leader, by contrast will be more of a visionary and will motivate and inspire people to follow. Their focus will be on the long-term and they will be concerned with:
Creating a vision will usually require change and a good leader will inspire the team to be motivated for that change which might otherwise be met with resistance. A leader paints a picture that people want to be part of and want to help make happen.
Managers deal with “shoulds” (the realms of necessity) while leaders deal with “coulds” (the realms of possibility).
Of course, leadership and management are not mutually exclusive. There is a lot of overlap between the two. A good leader will need good management qualities. A good manager will require good leadership qualities. If you tend to be a good leader but are not good at the planning, implementation and problem solving, it’s essential to have a very good, reliable and loyal team to do this for you. If you are a good manager without the leadership qualities, you will need a good leader managing you to help you pass on the vision to your team. Both skills can be learned and, with both skills, you will be a rounded professional contributing fully to the success of your team and your business.
And, to close, off, the wonderful Stephen Covey said “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” You have to have your vision right, otherwise you are managing the wrong things.
If you would like to have greater insight into your leadership and management skills, book a psychometric profile session. This helps overcome blind spots and highlights development opportunities for you. Call 0845 130 0854 to find out more.
© Tricia Woolfrey 2012
About Tricia Woolfrey – click HERE to find out about the author.
The ability to positively influence others with integrity is a key skill in business. It affects your ability to have people buy into you, your business, your product and your ideas. It impacts your leadership style and your ability to build constructive relationships. It can also be incredibly stressful if you are unable to influence people constructively, impacting your productivity, your sales and even your profitability.
Influence is about your ability to have a positive effect on someone. It differs from manipulation in that it is undertaken with integrity and regard to the interest of the other party. It’s about having people buy in to your ideas and perspectives, so that they say ‘yes’ to you more.
The talent for influence requires flexibility in style, clarity of outcome, the ability to understand a situation from several perspectives, and creating and maintaining a resourceful state, particularly during times of conflict, or when the stakes are high.
It is not about imposing but inspiring someone to take a particular action, while maintaining strong rapport and building positive relationships.
There are numerous language patterns which enhance your capacity to increase your powers of influence which are too numerous to go into in this short article but which I teach to many of my clients and which I include on my Influencing Skills training course. The issue, though, is not what the skills are, but the effect that they can have on your success. They can help you deal with objections and concerns so that you are able to transform potentially negative situations elegantly. It’s the YES factor!
Whether your intention is to create change, elicit support or diffuse potentially contentious situations, influencing skills can be a real boon to you in your business.
For further details, please contact Tricia Woolfrey on 0345 130 0854.
© Tricia Woolfrey 2012
About Tricia Woolfrey – click HERE to find out about the author.
