- leaders relentlessly upgrade their team, constantly assessing their progress and evaluating them along the way
- leaders make sure people breath the vision set, not just see it
- leaders get into people's skin, through positive energy and optimism
- leaders establish trust and credit. There is transparency and candor with their style
- leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions
- leaders probe and question how things are done to see additional opportunity or new methodology
- leaders inspire risk taking
- leaders celebrate
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
How Leaders Set Themselves Apart From Others
The question I am sure every employee asks is "what makes him a great leader and not me?". Well I know that I asked myself that question when assessing people I have worked for over my career. I think Jack Welch has said it best in his book "Winning". I have always been a fan of Welch and have read all his books and even was a stockholder of GE for many years. In his latest book, "Winning", I think he really articulates what leaders do and after re-reading this book for a 2nd time it finally hit home. So, what leadership knowledge has Jack imparted upon us, here are his eight key points:
Monday, October 25, 2010
Holding the Silence: Powerful Listening
Silence may mean quietness or refraining from making any noise. Some powerful synonyms
are stillness, hush and calm. The dictionary concludes that silence means not speaking, ignoring
something, to suppress something or to stop someone from making noise. Silence can be powerful within communication systems, including, ironically, mere conversation. As you have surely found, that silence properly placed in a heated argument can bring an element of strategic leverage and emphasis. Silence on the other end of a phone line can speak volumes or invoke fear and insecurity.
Certain personality profiles cause people to talk more than others. Many times leaders struggle
with silence for various reasons. Some reasons leaders and managers resist silence is the fear of what may fill the silence from the other person. Also, some just think they have more important things to say. Other leaders just are insecure and resistant to the fact that others possibly have a better idea or solution.
Silence, on the other hand, can be like dynamite in a conversation. As a great coach learns to
hold silence, as a leader why not try it on for size? When someone listens, really listens to you, how do you feel? Do you feel understood? Do you feel appreciated? Do you feel that you have value? Holding your silence as a team member speaks will give you better insight and understanding. I believe that as you practice using silence when other leaders are speaking with you that you will become more powerful because your discernment and wisdom will go up and up. You will transform into a powerful listener who hears and understands.
Next time a friend or family member is telling you a story, work hard at holding the silence.
Sometimes it can become so heavy you can barely hold on. Practice this. You will be amazed, as I have been, at how you will hear more and understand more as you keep quiet. Listen behind the story. As you keep silent try to hear the essence of what they are saying. As a leader or manager this will serve you well. It actually could be life-changing for you.
Remember that silence brings a calm to a conversation and the peace may even extinguish
some heated emotions. It could be that you will desire to have some communication coaching or have a coach demonstrate holding the silence in your sessions to model the technique. If you have a meeting coming up or a crucial conversation, attempt to hold the silence and see what happens. This one technique may change your leadership style and bring some great power to your influence.
a reprint from Rick Forbus of TROVE, Inc
are stillness, hush and calm. The dictionary concludes that silence means not speaking, ignoring
something, to suppress something or to stop someone from making noise. Silence can be powerful within communication systems, including, ironically, mere conversation. As you have surely found, that silence properly placed in a heated argument can bring an element of strategic leverage and emphasis. Silence on the other end of a phone line can speak volumes or invoke fear and insecurity.
Certain personality profiles cause people to talk more than others. Many times leaders struggle
with silence for various reasons. Some reasons leaders and managers resist silence is the fear of what may fill the silence from the other person. Also, some just think they have more important things to say. Other leaders just are insecure and resistant to the fact that others possibly have a better idea or solution.
Silence, on the other hand, can be like dynamite in a conversation. As a great coach learns to
hold silence, as a leader why not try it on for size? When someone listens, really listens to you, how do you feel? Do you feel understood? Do you feel appreciated? Do you feel that you have value? Holding your silence as a team member speaks will give you better insight and understanding. I believe that as you practice using silence when other leaders are speaking with you that you will become more powerful because your discernment and wisdom will go up and up. You will transform into a powerful listener who hears and understands.
Next time a friend or family member is telling you a story, work hard at holding the silence.
Sometimes it can become so heavy you can barely hold on. Practice this. You will be amazed, as I have been, at how you will hear more and understand more as you keep quiet. Listen behind the story. As you keep silent try to hear the essence of what they are saying. As a leader or manager this will serve you well. It actually could be life-changing for you.
Remember that silence brings a calm to a conversation and the peace may even extinguish
some heated emotions. It could be that you will desire to have some communication coaching or have a coach demonstrate holding the silence in your sessions to model the technique. If you have a meeting coming up or a crucial conversation, attempt to hold the silence and see what happens. This one technique may change your leadership style and bring some great power to your influence.
a reprint from Rick Forbus of TROVE, Inc
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Increasing The Use Of Variable Pay For Employees
Recent Hay Group research from several hundred organizations across all industry sectors indicates planned 2011 base salary increases for all employees are at a median of three percent. This reflects an uptick relative to March 2009, when salary increases were at a low point of two percent for most employee groups and zero percent for executives. Ten years ago, median salary increases ranged from 4.5 to five percent and then tracked fairly steadily at four percent from 2005 to 2008. While the past three years have seen the lowest base salary increases most employees have ever experienced, planned increases for 2011 are slightly higher versus last year, and are consistent across most employee groups.
a reprint from Hay Monthly Nesletter
The current economic outlook in the US continues to cause most businesses to exercise caution in growing their fixed costs, particularly base salaries and benefits. Organizations who survived the immediate challenges of a deep and wide-reaching downturn have emerged to a more cost-conscious and performance oriented business landscape. Fundamentally, the recession has caused organizations to get leaner and focus on activities that bring the greatest returns to the organization. Difficult choices are being made as available money has to be earned via performance and allocated to those areas (and people) most critical to business success. While the focus remains clearly on the bottom line, increased labor productivity and performance will be a core driver of profit growth going forward.
The performance-oriented, post-recession world in which organizations are operating has significant implications for line managers and HR professionals. Hay sees many organizations with a relentless focus on performance, as they seek to reverse some of the sloppy performance management practices that crept in during the boom years. Today, managers are looking for ways to balance the cost of reward programs and limited pay increases with the need to attract, retain and engage key talent. Because of this tension, many organizations are emphasizing both their variable pay and ‘total’ reward programs – engaging employees in non-monetary ways.
While there is not a significant change in pay increases for the coming year, the mix of pay is changing. As organizations emerge from the recession, they are shifting more of their focus from fixed compensation (i.e., base salary) to variable pay. In fact, recent Hay Group research reveals that organizations have increased (or plan to increase) the proportion of variable pay in their employees’ pay programs versus those who have decreased the proportion of variable pay in their employees’ pay reward package by a two-to-one margin. This change is partly cost-driven, as those organizations with higher proportions of variable pay tend to have more flexibility to cope with economic volatility.
This same research indicates that 66 percent of US companies (and 71 percent of companies globally) have recently changed or are considering to change the performance metrics in their variable pay programs. The top reason cited by organizations for making changes to their variable pay programs was to better align these programs with the changing business strategies (61 percent globally, 69 percent US). In the US, other top drivers were to create better line of sight between corporate and individual performance (39 percent), to improve organizational or team performance (37 percent) and to ensure market competitiveness (30 percent).
A significant legacy of the economic downtown has been a concentration on the bottom line and a trend away from ‘soft’ metrics, such as employee satisfaction, to hard, financial metrics. This is underscored by more than half (56 percent) of companies in our study reporting that they are placing increased emphasis on financial metrics such as revenue or profit in their variable pay programs. Another 21 percent plan to increase the emphasis on operational improvements such as efficiency and productivity measures. An emphasis on financial metrics can encourage employees to be focused on short-term financial gain without proper consideration of the risks to long-term sustainability, company brand or broader social concerns. The most successful reward strategies encourage an effective balance of short term and long-term goals, and recognize the need for a balance between financial, operational and human capital measures.
Approximately 40 percent of the organizations in the US and nearly half of companies globally have already increased or are planning to increase performance thresholds (which trigger a payout) in plans. But, during this time of change it is important that organizations are fully aware of the consequences that raising performance thresholds can have on employee engagement. Many employees have picked up accountabilities from colleagues who have been downsized, have seen limited or no pay increases over the past two years and if the variable portion of their compensation is even more difficult to earn, they may become further disengaged, just when companies most need them on board.
Hay's research found that while 80 percent of US companies agree that variable pay reinforces performance within the organization, only 55 percent believe that their variable pay programs are clearly understood by their employees. Recognizing this disconnect, 53 percent of US companies have already changed or plan to change the way they communicate variable pay programs to their employees. Variable pay programs can only work if they are understood by employees and managers. More often than not, a simple straightforward program aligned with business priorities is much more effective than a sophisticated program that is difficult to understand. We see many organizations seeking to distill programs communications down to core messages.
Hay sees many organizations working harder than ever to align their reward, performance and business strategies, either because their business strategy has changed or because alignment to the business strategy was not already optimized. In practical terms, this means ensuring that the right performance metrics are used and that reward programs are closely tied to those metrics, performance and rewards are appropriately differentiated, supporting performance management processes are in place and leaders have the capability and commitment to implement and communicate reward programs effectively.
a reprint from Hay Monthly Nesletter
The current economic outlook in the US continues to cause most businesses to exercise caution in growing their fixed costs, particularly base salaries and benefits. Organizations who survived the immediate challenges of a deep and wide-reaching downturn have emerged to a more cost-conscious and performance oriented business landscape. Fundamentally, the recession has caused organizations to get leaner and focus on activities that bring the greatest returns to the organization. Difficult choices are being made as available money has to be earned via performance and allocated to those areas (and people) most critical to business success. While the focus remains clearly on the bottom line, increased labor productivity and performance will be a core driver of profit growth going forward.
The performance-oriented, post-recession world in which organizations are operating has significant implications for line managers and HR professionals. Hay sees many organizations with a relentless focus on performance, as they seek to reverse some of the sloppy performance management practices that crept in during the boom years. Today, managers are looking for ways to balance the cost of reward programs and limited pay increases with the need to attract, retain and engage key talent. Because of this tension, many organizations are emphasizing both their variable pay and ‘total’ reward programs – engaging employees in non-monetary ways.
While there is not a significant change in pay increases for the coming year, the mix of pay is changing. As organizations emerge from the recession, they are shifting more of their focus from fixed compensation (i.e., base salary) to variable pay. In fact, recent Hay Group research reveals that organizations have increased (or plan to increase) the proportion of variable pay in their employees’ pay programs versus those who have decreased the proportion of variable pay in their employees’ pay reward package by a two-to-one margin. This change is partly cost-driven, as those organizations with higher proportions of variable pay tend to have more flexibility to cope with economic volatility.
This same research indicates that 66 percent of US companies (and 71 percent of companies globally) have recently changed or are considering to change the performance metrics in their variable pay programs. The top reason cited by organizations for making changes to their variable pay programs was to better align these programs with the changing business strategies (61 percent globally, 69 percent US). In the US, other top drivers were to create better line of sight between corporate and individual performance (39 percent), to improve organizational or team performance (37 percent) and to ensure market competitiveness (30 percent).
A significant legacy of the economic downtown has been a concentration on the bottom line and a trend away from ‘soft’ metrics, such as employee satisfaction, to hard, financial metrics. This is underscored by more than half (56 percent) of companies in our study reporting that they are placing increased emphasis on financial metrics such as revenue or profit in their variable pay programs. Another 21 percent plan to increase the emphasis on operational improvements such as efficiency and productivity measures. An emphasis on financial metrics can encourage employees to be focused on short-term financial gain without proper consideration of the risks to long-term sustainability, company brand or broader social concerns. The most successful reward strategies encourage an effective balance of short term and long-term goals, and recognize the need for a balance between financial, operational and human capital measures.
Approximately 40 percent of the organizations in the US and nearly half of companies globally have already increased or are planning to increase performance thresholds (which trigger a payout) in plans. But, during this time of change it is important that organizations are fully aware of the consequences that raising performance thresholds can have on employee engagement. Many employees have picked up accountabilities from colleagues who have been downsized, have seen limited or no pay increases over the past two years and if the variable portion of their compensation is even more difficult to earn, they may become further disengaged, just when companies most need them on board.
Hay's research found that while 80 percent of US companies agree that variable pay reinforces performance within the organization, only 55 percent believe that their variable pay programs are clearly understood by their employees. Recognizing this disconnect, 53 percent of US companies have already changed or plan to change the way they communicate variable pay programs to their employees. Variable pay programs can only work if they are understood by employees and managers. More often than not, a simple straightforward program aligned with business priorities is much more effective than a sophisticated program that is difficult to understand. We see many organizations seeking to distill programs communications down to core messages.
Hay sees many organizations working harder than ever to align their reward, performance and business strategies, either because their business strategy has changed or because alignment to the business strategy was not already optimized. In practical terms, this means ensuring that the right performance metrics are used and that reward programs are closely tied to those metrics, performance and rewards are appropriately differentiated, supporting performance management processes are in place and leaders have the capability and commitment to implement and communicate reward programs effectively.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Meet The Boss TV Launches Exclusive
Watch now an electrifying exclusive: A video teaser of an interview with Lamborghini CEO Stephen Winkelmann, who makes revelations on the concept debuting in Paris. An exclusive report with the name and specification of the car will be published on next Thursday. MeetTheBoss.tv has interviewed Stephen Winkelmann, President and CEO of Lamborghini, who has made some revelations on the new technological demonstrator that will be introduced at the 2010 Paris Motor Show next week.
To register to Meettheboss.tv got to http://www.meettheboss.tv/
This special concept - previewed by Lamborghini with a series of teaser images - "will be the blue print for all future Lamborghini models."
On next Thursday we will reveal the name of the car, along with the full specification, so stay tuned...
Also, we are officially launching ‘Your Voice’, an opportunity for those who have good, short, snappy tips or advice that they would like to share to others. We will showcase these videos on our website, so you could be watched by thousands of C-level executives! Learn more:
To register to Meettheboss.tv got to http://www.meettheboss.tv/
SlideRocket Takes On PowerPoint With Web-based Interactive Presentations
Chuck Dietrich, CEO and founder of SlideRocket, has a problem with PowerPoint and other presentation platforms: They haven’t fundamentally changed in 25 years. Enter SlideRocket, an online presentation platform that brings interactivity and collaboration to a market otherwise dominated by Microsoft’s PowerPoint.
SlideRocket allows users to create slideshows in which viewers can post comments and answer polls in real time, turning a stale presentation format into a collaborative meeting tool. Presentation authors can invite people to attend presentation-centered meetings remotely through the Web as well as in person.
SlideRocket’s launch comes at a time when business collaboration programs have become increasingly important, but more fragmented. Of course, remote Web meetings are a commodity feature available through Cisco’s WebEx and Citrix’s GoToMeeting. But those are largely used today to present conventional PowerPoint slides: The presentations take place over the Web, but they don’t otherwise make use of the medium.
SlideRocket allows users to create slideshows in which viewers can post comments and answer polls in real time, turning a stale presentation format into a collaborative meeting tool. Presentation authors can invite people to attend presentation-centered meetings remotely through the Web as well as in person.
SlideRocket’s launch comes at a time when business collaboration programs have become increasingly important, but more fragmented. Of course, remote Web meetings are a commodity feature available through Cisco’s WebEx and Citrix’s GoToMeeting. But those are largely used today to present conventional PowerPoint slides: The presentations take place over the Web, but they don’t otherwise make use of the medium.
SlideRocket users can pull live data from the Web like Google Docs and Spreadsheets for their presentations, so when the documents are updated the presentations are, too. Users can embed video and Twitter streams and other forms of media through the SlideRocket interface with plugins for YouTube, Flickr and other sites. SlideRocket offers tools for third-party application developers to create new ways to integrate content in SlideRocket presentations.SlideRocket also has a marketplace with stock photos, video and sounds to help users spruce up their presentations — for which SlideRocket takes a small cut of the revenue.
Presentation authors can get some feedback as to how long users spent on slides and the responses to various polls and what kind of comments users left on slides. Premium users have access to a dashboard that presents analytics on viewer feedback to help presentation authors tailor their slideshows to their audience. The subscription service costs $24 per user per month to have access to analytics. SlideRocket also has a free version that gives users access to all the presentation tools.
The San Francisco, Calif.-based company was founded in 2006 and has raised about $7 million from a seed round and its first round of funding. Dietrich said more than 100,000 companies use SlideRocket, including a number of the largest companies in the world on the Fortune 100 list — though he wouldn’t specify which companies.
reprint from Venture Loop
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Is Your HR Productivity App Saving You Time?
The smart phone market is really hot with the Blackberry (who really started the ball rolling), IPhone (pure leader in mobile technology, and Android (quickly catching up to IPhone), and other phones on the market today. And let me not forget the IPad for analytic use not games and pictures. There a over 1M applications for the phones today and HR applications are no exception. Mobile apps are really helping HR professionals today in our continuous loop connectivity.
Since time is a precious commodity today it makes real sense for HR to be in the forefront of productivity applications as they manage large and decentralized workforces. Companies that use mobile apps have seen a strong return on their investment and helps keep the HR executive and his/her staff connected 24/7. There are some companies that have developed their own apps which makes good business sense and there are those off the shelf (so to speak) as downloads.
So what applications make sense today, here are a few that you should look into or better yet use to keep on top of your game:
Since time is a precious commodity today it makes real sense for HR to be in the forefront of productivity applications as they manage large and decentralized workforces. Companies that use mobile apps have seen a strong return on their investment and helps keep the HR executive and his/her staff connected 24/7. There are some companies that have developed their own apps which makes good business sense and there are those off the shelf (so to speak) as downloads.
So what applications make sense today, here are a few that you should look into or better yet use to keep on top of your game:
- Payroll apps - to monitor pay cycle issues and fixed cost concerns
- Talent acquisition - to keep up with the active and passive job seekers
- Workforce management - managing an existing diverse human capital group
- Learning and development - managing training budgets and activity
- Peer and management reviews - performance management & process approvals
- Marketing and product cycle reviews, and
- Internet/intranet site management
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