How is your level of charisma?

How is your level of charisma?  It is an interesting concept to grapple with when it comes to leadership.  It often brings up connotations of heroic or powerful leaders such as Richard Branson, JFK and Steve Jobs.  Whilst I have a problem with investing so much in these heroic figures I do agree that charisma is an important element of exercising leadership.

I have just finished reading a great book which sheds light on this interesting topic. Charisma Myth - How to Master the Art and Science of Charisma by Olivia Fox Cabane.  She has written an excellent "how to" book to help people develop more charisma.  It challenges, quite rightly, the view that charisma is genetic and that you either "have it or not".  Charisma can be learnt and the author provides some verey good advice and exercises on how to do that.

There is a link below that takes you to an interview the author has done with Forbes magazine.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/04/13/how-to-master-the-art-and-science-of-charisma/

The book talks about the importance of presence and mindfulness and how just simply being present with someone can help improve your level of charisma. 

So if you need to influence more then read this book will be useful.

Talent & Learning

Today I had the privilege of doing some coaching for some emerging leaders who are undertaking an adaptive leadership program with me.  Everyone is at their own readiness of learning and it is exciting to see individuals stretch themselves in areas that aren't easy to do so.  So how do you recognise learning agile individuals. An example from one of my sessions today really highlights learning agility to me. 

First the person took responsibility for their session - I received a note outlining what she wanted to achieve and then at the start reiterated how we should spend the time together.  You would be surprised with how many people come to sessions without preparation.  So her accountability for the outcomes in the session was important.  Second, she had reflected on how her development goals and behavioural changes were going.  She was honest with herself about what she had done but also where she fell short.  At no stage was she hard on herself. She was curious about why she had not made progress on some areas rather than judging when she hadn't made the progress.

She had integrated the learning's from the program and articulated how she was applying it in her world.  She used the language from the program in an authentic way.  She knew when she was on the dance floor and when she was on the balcony.  She was able to challenge herself about spending more time in the diagnosis stage and constantly observes what is happening in the system within the cohort she is working with. 

During our session she was open to challenge and rather than  being defensive she saw it as an opportunity to learn.  She also challenged my role as the "authority" figure and how I may be creating a dependent relationship between some other members of the cohort. 

In summary - this person was curious, open, took accountability for her learning, was prepared to challenge and was specific about what she could be doing differently.  The session flew!!

Leadership and the US Election

A quick blog today as I am running a workshop. It is lunchtime and in the cafe the TV is on following the US election.  As a society we place so much expectation on our leaders and as a result  they invariably "fail" us.  Is it fair that we accede so much expectation to one person whether it be the President of the US or here in Australia, the Prime Minster.  Do we really expect this one person to fix all our problems.  What if we were to re frame our view on leadership to be less about the role someone plays and more about our own ability to exercise leadership.  Can we see leadership as a verb rather than being position based.  Would that lower our expectations of the "hero" leader and raise the expectations for our self to get in there and influence and make a difference.  So the question to you is, are you placing too many expectations on your leaders or are you exercising leadership in your organisation or community.

Understanding your Individual System

I am about to embark on a 2 day workshop with client where the focus is on helping a senior team be more effective in how they work together.  The work ahead for this team is a challenging one.  Whilst I can't provide details what I can say is that all of them are hijacked by their individual system.  Ron Heifitz in the program I took at Harvard back in May said "you can't lead the system if you are hijacked by the system".  In other words if we are rusted on to our own beliefs, assumptions, roles, needs and hungers that it makes it hard to step up on to the balcony and see what's going on in the broader system.  If you are rusted on it makes it hard to "progress the work".  In this case the work is helping the team be more effective and to dramatically increase it's revenue.  Part of our role as coaches or facilitators is to create a holding environment that allows our clients to step away from their own individual system, which is not easy, and see what's going on in the larger system whether it be a relationship, a team or an organisation.

To do that it is important to understand your own individual system - What are your "chimes" that make noise for you and hijack your ability to step up and see the broader system. Is it a need for competence, a need for approval, a need for control and structure, a need for power or a need for belonging or a need for Independence.  It is important to know what it is for you, when it rings and how you can acknowledge it but not surrender to it.  It is not easy to do so.  If you find that you are constantly hijacked by your own individual system then you may need coaching or even counselling to help let go and gain perspective.

The balance between competing priorities.

I just received the recent HBR for November and saw an interesting article on "What makes Analysts say Buy"?  The article highlights the factors that drive analyst buy recommendations across Asia, Europe, the US and Latin America.  Of the 12 factors that are rated from low to high importance. There were only two factors in the Very High Importance category that were consistent across 3 out of the 4 regions. In Asia, Latin America and the United States it was Projected Industry Growth and for Asia, Europe and the United States it was the Quality of Top Management.  It really highlighted to me the importance of building leadership. 

One of the challenges organisations face at the moment is their need to balance short term priorities such as taking costs out of the business whilst at the same time preparing for the future by building leadership capability. We see organisations at the moment taking costs of the business and one of the first things that is cut is their people development budget.  The implications of this may be a drop off in employee engagement in the short term but longer term there may be a drop off in the quality of leadership. 

Given that the quality of management is an important factor in valuing a business organisations need to get smarter at developing future leaders that doesn't involve spending $.  One key way of doing this and it costs nothing is coaching.  We know from research that most people learn from on-the-job experiences and if managers can be more intentional about their coaching then we know from experience there area a number of benefits.  First, it can result in an increase in the effectiveness of the relationship between the manager and the employee and second, an increase in the employees learning agility.

So even though organisations are taking costs out of the business it does not mean development takes a back seat.  It is equally important to build future capability and one cost effective way of doing that is through coaching process between the manager and staff member.

Willpower, Writing & Irony

I am currently embarking on a PhD in Leadership.  Well I have a hurdle or two to get through but at this stage I will be starting stage 1 in a few weeks.  In my research into doing a PhD, and yes I have heard the horror stories, I came across a constant piece of advice.  That piece of advice is make sure sure you write everyday.  I then thought how do I get into a discipline of writing every day.  Let's face it I can get very busy with work, travel, exercise and social engagements (Spring carnival anyone!).  I then look at someone like Jane who works with me in Brisbane.  She is about to have her fourth child and is able to churn out an entertaining and informative blog along with managing her very busy life. 

I was reminded of my last blog entry back in October 2011.  Yes, 12 months ago!! It was after I read a book about willpower and the importance of discipline.  It seems that things got in the way and I made time for the urgent things but maybe not the important things. Or maybe I lacked discipline.  Recently I read another book about Willpower by Kelly McGonigal and was reminded - again- that willpower is something that needs to be practised.  I now mindfully meditate 10 mins per day every second day as a way of practising.  But I don't write that often and if I think about the requirements of doing a PhD I know I need to get in the groove of deliberately practising writing.

So my willpower challenge is to write on this blog 3 times per week for the next 12 months. Not everyday but it is doable.  I hope that it will be interesting and thought provoking and either way if I stick to doing it I am sure I will get better at writing as well as provide discipline for doing a PhD.

For those interested in Kelly McGonigal's work - See this youtube clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbjjIId54g8

Willpower & Self Control

I have just finished the book Willpower by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney and found it enlightening both professionally and personally.  The authors contend that willpower is like a muscle that can tire but can also strengthened.  I then reflected on my own willpower and my level of self control and discipline and I have to admit that it was lacking.  There are things I have excellent elf control and willpower like running, eating reasonably well (having dessert once a week!) and there are areas I struggle - writing blogs, taking time out to build the business and conversely not thinking about the business.  One area that I really liked was the importance of doing the basic things right to enable yourself to focus your willpower on things that matter - It was these little things like making your bed, doing the dishes rather than leaving them, having the right food in the fridge or pantry, keeping things tidy and orderly, that got me thinking.  If we procrastinate on the little things how on earth do we have enough willpower for the important things in our life.  It made me realise that self discipline and self control are underrated and my aim is to be come more disciplined in the basic things to enable me to use greater willpower where it really matters - Now off to the do the dishes from last night :)