San Francisco Bay Area Executive Coaching

Leadership Coaching for Giving Feedback to the Boss – The Job of Effective Followers

Follow The Leader

Are you working in a company or law firm where followers properly manage their power? Do senior team members help the CEO or Managing Partner to be a better leader? Does your company or law firm have leader-follower relationships that built on mutual trust and respect?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture encourage followers to give necessary feedback to leaders at the top?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent followers encourage creating collaborative work relationships with leaders where ongoing feedback is required.

Do followers in your organization feel empowered to manage their boss? Are you Are you able to create a socially intelligent workplace where leaders and followers are energized by developing trusting leader-follower relationships?

The Job of Effective Followers

The sooner we recognize and accept our powerful position as followers, the sooner we can fully develop responsible, synergistic relationships in our organizations.According to Ira Chaleff (The Courageous Follower, 2003), there are three things we need to understand in order to fully assume responsibility as followers.

1. Understand our power and how to use it. As followers, we have far more power than we usually acknowledge. We must understand the sources of our power, whom we serve and the tools we have to achieve the group’s mission. We have a unique vantage point as follower or team member, but we have to know that and use it.

2. Appreciate the value of the leader and the contributions he or she makes to forward the organization’s mission. We need to understand the pressures upon the leader that can wear down creativity, good humor and resolve. We can learn how to minimize these forces and contribute to bringing out the leader’s strengths for the good of the group and the common purpose.

3. Work toward minimizing the pitfalls of power by helping the leader to remain on track for the long-term common good. We are all witness to how power can corrupt, and it takes courage and skill to speak up. We can learn how to counteract the dark tendency of power. Feedback to the leader is necessary for the new leadership styles to be effective.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader and or a valuable follower. You can become a leader or follower who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged and aligned with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

Leadership Coaching for Managing the Boss – Becoming a Better Follower

Becoming a Better Follower

Are you working in a company or law firm where members of the executive team are good followers? Do senior team members help the CEO or Managing Partner to be the most effective leader? Does your company or law firm have leader-follower relationships that are open, honest and build trust?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our organizational culture encourage followers to give open and honest feedback to the organization’s leader?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders encourage building work relationships with followers where there is open communication and feedback is appreciated.

Do leaders in your organization empower followers to manage their boss? Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate that is built on openness and trust? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where leaders and teams are energized by developing leader-follower relationships?

Managing the Boss

It is difficult to appreciate the pressures on the leader unless you have had that position.  While ego-strength is a quality to be desired in a leader, it can easily be reinforced and deformed into ego-driven. The pressures at the top need to be managed. Responsible followers can help leaders stay on track and manage their decision-making processes in the right direction. Responsible and effective followers have an important role in order to maintain the desired partnering dynamics.

Many executives do some of these things quite naturally. But often the executive team members are hesitant to speak up when the leader makes mistakes, whether they are made from the best of intentions or the worst. After all, “She’s (or he’s) the boss.” Although we’ve grown beyond an authoritarian leadership model where followers have no accountability, we haven’t yet developed a model for responsible participation at the follower level for the new leadership styles.

Teaching is another example in which there is a symbiotic relationship: you can’t have an effective teacher without responsive students. Teachers and students form a learning circle around a body of knowledge or skills. Leaders and followers form an action circle around a common purpose. You can’t have effective leaders without responsive followers.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader or a good follower. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged and aligned with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

Leadership Coaching for Follow the Leader? – Improving the Performance of Followers

Follow the Leader?

Are you working in a company or law firm where members of the executive team are good followers? Do senior team members help the CEO or Managing Partner to be the most effective leader? Does your company or law firm have leader-follower relationships that are open, honest and build trust?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our organizational culture encourage followers to give open and honest feedback to the organization’s leader?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders encourage building work relationships with followers where there is open communication and feedback is appreciated.

Do leaders in your organization empower followers to manage their boss? Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate that is built on openness and trust? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where leaders and teams are energized by developing  leader-follower relationships?

Improving Follower Performance 

Organizations are successful or not partly on the basis of how well their leaders lead, but also in great part on the basis of how well their followers follow. Surely improving the performance of followers should be worthwhile. What is the role of the follower and how does it affect leadership behavior and effectiveness? How can members of the executive team participate more effectively to create a truly dynamic partnership relationship with their leader?

When there is a crisis, when a company fails or commits some malfeasance, everyone cries out: “How could that have happened here? How come nobody said anything?” Followers have a responsibility to speak up.

No matter how much partnership and empowerment there is; the CEO has ultimate authority and responsibility. What are the responsibilities of the CEO’s followers? The most capable team members fail when they gripe about their leader but do not say or do anything to help him or her improve or get back on track. This requires courage and skill.

What distinguishes an effective follower from an ineffective one is intelligent, responsible and enthusiastic participation in the pursuit of an organizational goal.

The movement away from command and control leadership has brought new leadership styles that are more democratic and coach-like. The terms “shared leadership,” and “servant leader” are used to describe some of these new ways of interacting. There are also new ways of interacting in the follower role. Setting aside possible aversion to the term, the new flatter business organization requires more responsible followers.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader or a good follower. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged and aligned with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

Leadership Secrets for Great Boss and Manager Relationships – A Checklist for Managing Your Boss

Great Boss and Manager Relationships

Are you working in a company or law firm where managers do a good job of managing their boss? Do you have a collaborative working relationship with your boss that fits both your needs and personality styles? Does your company or law firm have boss-manager relationships that are open, honest and build trust?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our organizational culture encourage managers to give open and honest feedback to their boss?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders pay attention to building work relationships where the channels of communication are always open and feedback is appreciated.

Do leaders in your organization empower managers to manage their boss when appropriate? Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate that relishes the truth? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where leaders and teams are energized by developing great working relationships?Checklist for Managing Your Boss

Make sure you understand your boss and his/her context:

• Goals and objectives
• Pressures
• Strengths, weaknesses, blind spots
• Preferred work style

Assess yourself and your needs, including:

• Strengths and weaknesses
• Personal style
• Predisposition toward dependence on authority figures

Develop and maintain a relationship that:

• Fits both your needs and styles
•  Is characterized by mutual expectations
• Keeps your boss informed
• Is based on dependability and honesty
• Selectively uses your boss’s time and resources

No doubt, some managers will argue their jobs are complicated enough and they shouldn’t have to invest time and energy in managing upward. They fail to realize how managing the boss can actually simplify their jobs by eliminating the potential for severe problems.

Effective managers recognize this part of their job is legitimate and that they’re ultimately responsible for what they achieve in an organization. As such, they must establish and manage relationships with everyone on whom they depend — most importantly, the boss.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader who knows your own strengths and weaknesses and the priorities of your boss. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged and aligned with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

Leadership Secrets for Great Boss and Manager Relationships - Developing and Managing the Relationship

Great Boss and Manager Relationships

Are you working in a company or law firm where managers have a good working relationship with their bosses? Do you have a working relationship with your boss that fits each person’s personality style? Does your company or law firm have boss-manager relationships that are open to honest in the moment feedback?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our organizational culture encourage fear-free communication between the boss and managers?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders pay attention to building work relationships where there is no fear of telling the truth to authority.

Do leaders in your organization empower managers to manage upward? Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate where employees are fully engaged and happy? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where individuals and teams are excited about realizing the organizations’ vision?

Developing and Managing the Relationship

With a clear grasp of your boss and yourself, you can usually establish a way of working together that fits both of you. Ideally, it will be characterized by unambiguous mutual expectations, which allow both of you to be more productive and beneficial to the organization.

Ultimately, the burden falls upon the manager to learn the boss’s expectations. Working for someone who tends to be vague when expressing expectations can be difficult, but savvy managers always find a way to overcome barriers.

Developing a workable set of mutual expectations also requires you to communicate your own expectations to your boss.
 
Effective managers recognize that they probably underestimate what their bosses need to know. Managing the flow of information upward is particularly difficult if the boss doesn’t like to hear about problems. Bosses often give off signals they want to hear only good news, but managers must find ways to supply critical information.

Many managers aren’t intentionally dishonest with their bosses, but it’s easy to shade the truth or to minimize issues. Dependability and honesty are crucial to managing the relationship.

Every request a manager makes of the boss uses up the resources of time and energy. Part of managing the relationship wisely is to avoid wasting time on trivial issues.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader who knows your own strengths and weaknesses and the needs of your boss. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

Leadership Secrets for Depending on Your Boss – The Counterdependent Manager

Depending on Your Boss

Are you working in a company or law firm where some managers have difficulty managing upward? Do certain leaders in your organization rebel against the boss’s authority? Does your company or law firm have boss-manager relationships that are open and honest?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our organizational culture encourage open and honest communication between the boss and managers?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders pay attention to building work relationships where there is no fear of speaking truth to power.

Do leaders at the top in your organization encourage managers to manage upward? Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate where the workforce is fully engaged and happy? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where teams can achieve their goals aligned with the organizations’ vision?

The Counterdependent Manager

Some people’s instinctive reaction is to resent the boss’s authority and rebel against his or her decisions. A manager may even escalate a conflict to inappropriate levels.

Psychologists call this pattern of reaction to authority “counterdependent” behavior. The counterdependent manager sees the boss as the institutional enemy — a hindrance to progress and an obstacle to be circumvented or, at best, tolerated.

Reactions to being constrained are strong and sometimes impulsive. These managers strongly defend their sense of independence and self-sufficiency, making it difficult to accept orders, especially from a boss who tends to be directive or authoritarian.

Paradoxically, a manager with this predisposition is often a great leader to direct reports. These managers will go out of their way to support and go to bat for their departmental staff.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader who knows your own strengths and weaknesses and the needs of employees. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

Working Together With Your Boss – First Understand Yourself

Working Together With Your Boss

Are you working in a happy company or law firm where employees are empowered to manage upward? Do the leaders in your organization remove any workplace obstacles so that employees can be effective and get things done? Does your company or law firm have boss-subordinate relationships that are open and honest?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our organizational culture encourage direct two-way communication between the boss and managers?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders pay attention to building work relationships where there is no fear of speaking your mind to power and authority.

Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate where the workforce is fully engaged and happy? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where teams can achieve their goals aligned with the organizations’ vision? Does management encourage employees to manage upward?

Understanding Yourself

Developing a functional working relationship requires you to know your personal needs, strengths, weaknesses, and style or preferences.

You’re not going to change your (or your boss’s) basic personality, but you can learn which traits, habits or behaviors impede or facilitate working together. With awareness, you can take actions that make the relationship more valuable.

There are plenty of personality and work-style assessments available. By the time managers reach executive levels, they have more than likely participated in leadership development courses that include tests and surveys. Problems occur when the information gained in these training sessions is not used well. A coach or mentor can help leaders incorporate knowledge and increase performance.

A manager is typically more dependent on the boss than vice versa. This dependence inevitably leads to a degree of frustration and anger when one’s actions or options are constrained by the boss’s decisions. The way in which a manager handles these frustrations largely depends on predispositions toward those who hold authority positions.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader who knows your own strengths and weaknesses and the needs of employees. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

Executive Coaching for Understanding Your Boss – Appreciating Your Boss

Appreciating Your Boss

Are you working in a happy company or law firm where employees feel comfortable managing upward? Do the leaders in your organization have a healthy mindset about employees’ desire to be effective and get things done? Does your company or law firm have respectful boss-subordinate relationships?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Do we have a healthy organizational culture where there is great two-way communication between the boss and managers?” Emotionally intelligent leaders pay attention to all work relationships.

Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate where fully engaged employees can achieve their best? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where employees are fully engaged and aligned with the organizations’ vision? Do organizational leaders encourage employees to manage upward?

Understanding Your Boss

Managing your boss requires you to understand him and his workplace context, as well as your own situation. Some managers aren’t thorough enough in this regard.

At a minimum, you need to appreciate your boss’s goals, pressures, strengths and weaknesses.  Consider the following:

• What are your boss’s organizational and personal objectives?
• What are his/her pressures, especially from his/her boss?
• What are your boss’s strengths and advantages?
• What are his/her weaknesses and blind spots?
• How does your boss like to get information: memos, emails, meetings, text or calls?
• How does your boss handle conflict?

Without this information, a manager is flying blind and problems are inevitable

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader who knows your own strengths and weaknesses and the needs of employees. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

 

 

Nine Socially Intelligent Sales Secrets

9 Sales Tips for Tough Economic Times

It’s no new news that we are in a difficult business climate that requires making connections and building relationships more important than ever. We buy from people we know, like and trust.

Right know and for the foreseeable future, we are experiencing a business climate where people and organizations are holding on to their wallets. There is a psychological and behavioral contracting effect due to uncertainty about the future.

So marketing and making sales is more important than ever. However, the problem is that the old way of making sales by pressuring potential customers into buying may actually help you lose the sale and have unintended dire consequences.I will give you a personal example of my attempt to buy a car where the salesperson lost a potential sale by following a prepared script. She focused on her interests and not mine.

I recently visited the local Honda Dealer with my wife and son. I had done quite a bit of research on the new CRV and wanted to test drive the vehicle and get my wife and son’s thoughts about the car. I told the saleswoman that I had no intention to buy a car that day. I had just started looking.

After the salesperson made a copy of my license which already made me a little uneasy, we all got into the car and took a test drive. I asked the salesperson a number of questions about the car and was given answers I knew not to be true. After the test drive, I honestly just wanted to leave. The salesperson insisted that we go back into the dealership and proceeded to try and make a deal. I assertively reiterated that I was not interested in buying a car and we left. Over the next few weeks, my wife and I got several calls from the salesperson. It was such a negative experience that I’m still driving my old Toyota Camry!

We all need to market and create sales especially in this tough economy. However, there is a much better way by asking permission and establishing a relationship first.

Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall in “The Contrarian Effect” offer nine contrarian principles to help you change your mindsets about sales.

1.  Build relationships and make connections
2.  Respect your customers and honor their wishes.
3.  Target specific groups of individuals and your ideal clients.
4.  Make relevant and timely offers.
5.  Increase your “likeability factor”.
6.  Practice radical transparency.
7.  Establish yourself as a trusted advisor.
8.  Collaborate with strategic partners to leverage your efforts.
9.  Think bigger about who you are and what you offer your clients.

In fact, Michael Port has started a “Think Big Revolution” to help you serve your customers and clients.

Suzi Pomerantz in “Seal the Deal!” talks about reframing your belief system so that sales and business development are more about partnership and service than interrupting and bothering customers to buy your stuff. Sales is more about creating mindsets about authenticity, meaning and values, and creating relationships than merely making short-term numbers for personal gain.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership and sales assessments such as the BarOn EQi, CPI 260 and Sales Max can help you avert conventional sales wisdom and do the opposite.  It’s more of a coach approach to help sales entrepreneurs ask permission and focus intently on the needs of the customer. You can become a more emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent at making sales, by first listening and paying attention before you and your buyer collaborate to seal the deal.

I’m currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. I promise to pay attention and listen to your needs. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

Executive Coaching for Managing Your Boss – Getting Things Done By Managing Upward

Managing Your Boss

Are you working in a happy company or law firm where employees feel comfortable managing upward? Do the leaders in your organization have a healthy mindset about employees’ desire to be effective and get things done? Does your company or law firm have respectful boss-subordinate relationships?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Do we have a healthy organizational culture where there is great two-way communication between the boss and managers?” Emotionally intelligent leaders pay attention to all work relationships.

Are you a leader who models open communication by creating a workplace culture and climate where fully engaged employees can achieve their best? Are you able to create a high performance workplace where employees are fully engaged and aligned with the organizations’ vision? Do organizational leaders encourage employees to manage upward?

Managing Upward

There will always be those who view the concept of managing upward as flattery and manipulation. Others hold the common belief that if bosses are wise, they don’t need to be managed and such efforts will be viewed solely as attempts to play office politics.

But managing upward is not about ambition, promotions or raises. It’s about the job and how to be effective at getting things done. How do you acquire the resources, information and advice you need, as well as the permission to keep moving ahead?

The answers always point to whoever has the power: the boss. Failure to make this relationship one of mutual respect and understanding limits your chances of succeeding.

Here’s a review of key points from a classic Harvard Business Review article originally published in 1990, and it remains pertinent today.“Managing Your Boss” was written by Professors Emeriti John J. Gabarro, PhD, and John P. Kotter, PhD.

Mutual Dependence

Two people can be temperamentally incapable of working together. Personality conflicts occur all the time. But when they happen between bosses and managers, differing personalities are only a small part of the true problem.

People usually have unrealistic assumptions and expectations about the nature of boss-subordinate relationships. They fail to recognize that it’s one of mutual dependency between two fallible human beings, so they avoid managing the relationship altogether or do so ineffectively.

Some managers behave as though their bosses are not dependent on them. They don’t see how much the boss needs their help to do his job efficiently; how their actions can severely hurt him; and how they truly need to be cooperative, dependable and honest.

Other managers see themselves as completely independent of their bosses. They gloss over how much information they need from the boss to perform their jobs well.

A boss can play a critical role in linking managers to the rest of the organization, making sure priorities are consistent with organizational needs and securing necessary resources. But some managers see themselves as self-sufficient.

Other managers assume the boss is a clairvoyant who will magically know which information or help is needed and magically provide it. This is dangerously unrealistic.

Managers must recognize that mutual dependence between two fallible humans requires two components:

1. Having a good understanding of the other person and yourself, especially regarding strengths, weaknesses, work styles and needs

2. Using this information to develop and manage a healthy working relationship—one that is compatible with both individuals’ work styles and assets, is characterized by mutual expectations and meets the other person’s most critical needs.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become an inspiring leader who knows your own strengths and weaknesses and the needs of employees. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].