Working Resources Blog

Developing Leaders: Judgment...Making the Right Decisions

Do you have a proven track record of displaying exquisite judgment and making good decisions? The most successful executives I coach have one thing in common. In a turbulent world of constant change, they deal with complex issues by exercising good judgment.

What is the fundamental essence of leadership? Is it the ability to make consistently good judgment calls?

Realistically, leaders are remembered for their best and worst judgment calls, especially when the stakes are high, information is limited and the correct call is far from obvious.

In the face of ambiguity, uncertainty and conflicting demands, the quality of a leader’s judgment determines the entire organization’s fate.

That’s why leadership experts Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis claim judgment is the essence of leadership. In their popular book, Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls (Portfolio, 2007), they write: “With good judgment, little else matters.  Without it, nothing else matters.”

Judgment has rarely been discussed in academic or popular publications. Until now, it has been a fairly murky concept. Many assume it’s an inborn trait, but Tichy and Bennis prove it’s a skill that can be developed, refined and nurtured throughout an organization.

In their book, they assert that what really matters is not how many calls a leader gets right, or even the percentage of correct judgment calls. What truly matters is the actual number of important calls he or she gets right.

Effective leaders not only make better calls, but they’re able to pinpoint the make-or-break decisions and get most of them right.

What was the most important decision that you made recently and was it right?

Leadership Styles: Matching Leadership Style to Your Job Role

Are you sure your job is right for you? It is difficult to think about leading others without having a complete picture of your own job. What are the expectations of your boss, your subordinates, your peers, your customers? What does your role bring to the team that is different from the role of others? What does fulfillment of your role look like? What are the things that you strive for and enjoy? What gets you excited and fully engaged? What do you have a tendency to avoid? Most importantly, what are the areas where you feel confident, both as a person and perhaps as an expert?

According to the Hay Group, one of the most important factors in deciding which leadership styles to adopt is the nature of the specific situation. Effective managers analyze the objective requirements of the job at hand, and choose the leadership styles to match. Understanding what the job requires from you, versus what you find naturally satisfying, explains why you may perform well in some aspects of the job while finding other parts frustrating. This frustration, if not managed, may inhibit your ability to perform at the highest possible level across the whole role.

Do you have clarity about your job role? What will it take to get clear? Are you adept at matching your leadership style to your job role?

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership Styles: Leaders Inner Motivations

Are you aware of what motivates you at work? Do you display the flexibility to use the six leadership styles Visionary, Affiliative, Participative, Coaching, Pacesetting, and Directive described by the Hay Group research?

Emotionally intelligent leaders are aware of their inner motivations. Are you aware of what motivates you? Do you engage and inspire others at work to do their best?

Work Climate: How to Create a Positive Climate

We all want to work in a healthy work environment. Emotionaly intelligent leaders create a positive work climate. EQ leaders model specific behaviors that fully engage their people.

Developing Emotionally Intelligent Leaders: Six Leadership Styles

Do you have a flexible leadership style? Are you able to exercise good judgment and display the appropriate leadership style in the right context?

Situational Leadership: Leadership Styles Flexibility

Emotionally intelligent (EQ) leaders are flexible in adapting their leadership style to those they choose to lead. You will influence and engage employees by being socially savvy regarding which leadership style would be the most appropriate with certain personalities and in specific situations.

Emotional Intelligence: The Business Case for EQ

I met with an executive coaching client who is the President/CEO of a High Tech San Francisco Bay Area company yesterday. He is considering hiring a vice president of technology in order to help execute the new company strategy.

I have also been providing executive coaching for two other members of the executive team. The COO who had some difficulties in the area of emotional intelligence was partially responsible for some problems in the retention of key employees. He has gotten much better in developing his interpersonal skills and working with his team.

The President/CEO and I discussed my conducting a structured behavioral interview with the Vice President of Technology final candidates. The process would include using validated psychometric surveys to assess each candidates personality, ability and personal-interpersonal and technical competencies based on a competency model for the position. The President/CEO wants to assess which of the final candidates will not only have the technical capability, but the emotional intelligence to become a productive team member and company leader who is a great fit with the company culture. He had wisely learned from the initial difficulties with the COO the importance of selecting top talent who are both technically competent and emotionally intelligent.

Emotional Intelligence: Learning the Skill of Empathy

Business books are full of ideas, but sometimes those ideas are hard for busy people like you to implement.

The beauty about emotional intelligence is that of course some people are more gifted in this area, but that the skills can be learned. It takes a little information, a willingness to experiment in a real work situation and taking small steps to achieve success.

Receiving positive feedback from friends and coworkers can be an enormous help when learning a new skill.

Emotional Intelligence: What Is Empathy?

The ability to build effective working relationships is likely critical to your success. Most successful people work well with others.

How good are you at reading other people's intentions? It's a core skill for lawyers and accountants. In order to pick up cues from other people, and most importantly to know if they are telling you the truth you need to develop the skill of empathy. It is the basis for building trust.

Emotional Intelligence: Developing Leaders' Empathy

It's becoming more and more difficult for you to be a "lone ranger" or fly solo. Our world is becoming increasingly complex and we need to leverage our talents and partner with others to complete projects as quickly as possible.

Teaming with others is often essential to getting work done. I have found that using a virtual assistant or outsourcing certain work to experts invaluable in helping my work productivity. However, whether you are developing a website or writing a book you can't just give it away to someone else to get the best results. You need to interact and develop a productive relationship with whoever is providing you assistance.

In order to work well with others you need to develop the emotional intelligence skill of empathy which allows you to connect with other people. Empathy is the underlying competency that is integral to the emersion and phenomenal success of social networking sites ie. Facebook, My Space, You Tube, Linked In and Second Life. Empathy is the glue that holds all the connections together.