San Francisco Bay Area Executive Coaching

Leadership Development for Paying Attention to Employee Complaints: Why Complaints Are Important

Pay Attention to Employee Complaints

Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders recognize the value of people expressing discontent? How do leaders in your company or law firm handle employee complaints?
One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture encourage leaders to immediately address the complaints of workers?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders create a culture that encourages open communication and discourages unproductive complaining.

Why Complaints Are Important

It is important to pay attention to complaints because they contain a seed of passion! For every statement of what a person can’t stand, there is an underlying reason, or statement about what they stand for.

Where there is passion there is possibility for transformation. There is energy and there is commitment. People do not complain about what they don’t care about. So underneath the complaint, there is a river of committed passion and a source of energy to be discovered and harnessed…if we look for it and ask about it!

Leaders and managers are faced with complaints all the time. Here are some typical responses:

1. Explaining: Acknowledge the person’s complaint and give them more information that would explain the situation and provide another perspective.
2. Empathizing: Acknowledge the person’s complaint by actively listening and empathizing with them in order to help them to accept the situation.
3. Problem-solving: Acknowledge their complaint and try to explore solutions using problem-solving methods. Depending on your leadership style, you will direct or coach them to take action, or you might take the monkey on yourself by agreeing to do something to fix the problem.

What if there was a different approach to handling complaints, one that actually encouraged people to stay with the problem in order to pursue meaningful transformation?

Asking this important question might help:

What sorts of things, if they were to happen more frequently in your work setting, would you experience as being more supportive of your own ongoing development at work? In other words, what do you really need to thrive?

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 a leader who listens to your people. 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 Development for Complaining at Work: The Art of Expressing Discontent

Complaining at Work

Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders recognize the value of people expressing discontent? How do leaders in your company or law firm handle employees complaining? One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture encourage leaders to immediately address the complaints of workers?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders create a culture that encourages open communication and discourages unproductive complaining.

What are people complaining about in your organization?

The objects of disaffections may vary but griping is always in season at work. When things go from bad to worse the discussions end up in the manager’s office. When they don’t, they form an undercurrent of discontent and resentments that is counter-productive.

People spend vast amounts of time complaining. They invest amazingly creative energies coming up with clever ways of expressing their discontent. No matter how sophisticated, however, a complaint is unpleasant to listen to. It can instill an aura of negativity and un-productivity. It becomes contagious. At its worse, it poisons relationships and sabotages team efforts.

We all complain, no matter what our position. No matter what the particular content of complaints, it turns out that most of us have an experience at work that we perceive as obstructing our own well-being, growth and development.

This conversation about what we can’t stand is so universal it goes unrecognized and accepted as normal. Obviously we recognize complaints from others more so than from ourselves. Complaining grows like a weed. The problem is that it does not usually lead to changing anything.

To be fair, complaining may help people let off steam. It can also create alliances and support because one realizes they are not alone. But it rarely accomplishes more than this. It doesn’t transform anyone or anything. It often leaves people feeling worse by virtue of the negative feelings that flourish.

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 a leader who creates a positive culture that minimizes unproductive complaining. 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]

Mindfulness Meditation Leadership Development: The Art of Non-achievement

Mindfulness Meditation for Leaders

Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders recognize the value of daily meditation practice? Do leaders in your company or law firm stay calm and focused when faced with new challenges and uncertainty?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture encourage leaders meditating to better manage stress?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders frequently meditate to stay calm under pressure and make better decisions.

The Art of Non-achievement

Practice mindfulness meditation with non-achievement in mind. Meditation’s benefits are attained by exercising unseen “leadership muscles” as you sit still. You can then exert these muscles at work and in all aspects of your life to make a lasting contribution to your world.

Ten leadership talents developed through meditation are presented in Michael Carroll’s book "The Mindful Leader: Awakening Your Natural Management Skills Through Mindfulness Meditation" (2008):

Simplicity   Enthusiasm
Poise         Patience
Respect     Awareness
Courage     Skillfulness
Confidence Humility

These skills develop with practice and can then be applied with a natural ease and familiarity.
Leading others is no small task, requiring a poised, courageous, down-to-earth acknowledgment of reality. Unfortunately, many leaders hang onto delusions of control and prefer the status quo, unwilling to face the risk of being uncomfortable or fearful.

When you slow down, you gain a realistic picture of what’s going on instead of speeding through your day—or worse, speeding through your life. Meditation and mindfulness are invitations to become more fully human. In everyday leadership, they confer the power to have a real impact on your organization.

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 a leader who benefits from practicing meditation on a regular basis. 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 Development for Mindful Leaders: Becoming a Mindful Leader

Becoming a Mindful Leader

Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders value practicing mindful meditation? Do leaders in your company or law firm have a calm presence when faced with unique challenges and uncertainty?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture support leaders meditating to better handle pressure?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders often meditate to manage stress and make better decisions.

Being You

To become a mindful leader, you must understand the distinction between trying to improve yourself versus experiencing who you already are:
• As a mindful leader, you acknowledge you’re already open (not trying to be more open).
• You acknowledge the wisdom and kindness you hold within (not trying to be more wise or compassionate).
• You don’t strive to achieve a better, improved you. Rather, you meditate to get in touch with who you already are and to discover your basic sanity and true qualities, as they already exist within you. You turn off the inner judge and critic.

Your goal has little to do with achieving arrogance and perfectionism (unattainable, for the uninitiated). Instead, you’re trying to find comfort with yourself as you are, rather than anxiously trying to become more or better. You’re developing a profound sense of honesty—the strongest foundation for genuine leadership, which creates authenticity in your efforts to lead others.

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 a leader who benefits from practicing meditation on a regular basis. 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].

Executive Coaching for Leaders Who Meditate: Enjoy the Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation

Leaders Who Meditate

Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders meditate? Do leaders in your company or law firm have a calm presence under pressure?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture support leaders meditating to better handle pressure?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders often meditate to manage stress.

Mindfulness Meditation Benefits

There are two basic approaches to cultivating leadership talents through mindfulness meditation. One is to engage the practice as a method that allows us to improve ourselves. From this perspective, we can develop abilities and benefits. For example, research shows that meditation produces the following positive results:

• Enhanced physical health
• Enhanced emotional health
• Reduced anxiety and stress
• Feelings of joy and compassion
• Enhanced wisdom

But if you view meditation solely as a means to achieve positive outcomes, you may misinterpret what you’re really doing and misunderstand the reasons why it’s important.
The other perspective is to approach meditation from the standpoint of appreciating the experience for itself. Meditation is no longer a means of achieving anything at all. Rather, it becomes an expression of who we are as we meditate.

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 a leader who benefits from regular meditation. 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].

Executive Coaching for Mindfulness Meditation: What Is Meditation?

Mindfulness Meditation

Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders meditate? Do leaders in your company or law firm have a calm presence under pressure? One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture support leaders meditating to better handle pressure?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders often meditate to manage stress.

What Is Meditation?
In short, mindfulness meditation is a friendly gesture toward ourselves, in which we take time to sit still for 10–15 minutes or longer.

You can meditate in your office, sitting in your chair. Here are some essential guidelines:
• Sit upright — relaxed, yet alert.
• Open your eyes and maintain a soft, relaxed, downward gaze.
• Place hands palms down, resting gently.
• Tuck in your chin.
• Breathe normally.
• Observe your thoughts gently, without judgment.
• Label your thoughts as “thinking” and dismiss them. Let them go.
• Return your focus to your being, breathing and bodily sensations.
• Be still.
• Experience being you in the moment—in the now.

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 a more mindful leader who meditates. 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 Proactive Followers – Speaking Up to the Boss

Proactive Followers

Are you working in a company or law firm where followers speak-up to their boss? Do senior team members help the CEO or Managing Partner to be a more inspirational leader? Does your company or law firm have proactive leader-follower relationships?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Do followers in your company speak openly and challenge leaders?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent followers encourage developing work relationships with leaders based on candid conversations.

Do followers in your organization feel empowered to speak truth to power?  Are you able to create a socially intelligent organization where leaders and followers build leader-follower relationships based on trust?

Speaking Up to the Boss

Part of the problem in following responsibly and pro-actively lies in the tendency for people to relate to authority figures as they would in a parent-child relationship. Early childhood memories are deeply embedded in the subconscious and trigger emotions in a split second. These memories are often out of our awareness, and it doesn’t take much─ a look, a tone of voice─ to trigger anger or anxiety when confronted by the boss. Developing one’s degree of emotional intelligence can help regulate these split second reactions and allow more logical and appropriate interactions.

The danger in the leader-follower relationship is the assumption that the leader’s interpretation must dominate. If this assumption exists on the part of either the leader or the follower, both are at risk. The leader’s openness will diminish. Followers will easily lose their unique perspective and abandon healthy disagreement. Creativity and problem-solving processes become stifled.

It is obviously not an easy task to speak up and challenge the leader, but without the courage and skill to do so, corporate scandals can ensue. Giving candid feedback to the boss is a skill that is not practiced as often as necessary. Working with a neutral party such as a consultant or executive coach can help a follower or executive team member to act courageously and effectively.

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 proactive 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 Risk-Taking Followers – Four Essential Qualities of Effective Followers

Risk-Taking Followers

Are you working in a company or law firm where followers manage themselves well? Do senior team members help the CEO or Managing Partner to be a more effective leader? Does your company or law firm have collaborative leader-follower relationships?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Do followers in our company take risks by speaking openly and candidly to leaders?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent followers encourage creating work relationships with leaders based on mutual trust and respect.

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

Four Qualities of Effective Followers:

1. They manage themselves well: The key to being effective as a follower is paradoxically the ability to think for oneself. Followers also see themselves as equals to the leader they follow.

2. They are committed to a higher purpose: They work towards the purpose of the organization, and to certain principles and values outside of themselves. If they see a misalignment with personal values, they may withdraw their support either by changing jobs or by changing leaders.

3. They build their strengths: They have high standards of performance and are continually learning and updating their skills and abilities. They seek out extra work and responsibilities gladly in order to stretch themselves.

4. They take risks: They are credible, honest and have the courage to speak up. They give credit where due, but also admit mistakes. They are insightful and candid and they are willing to take risks. They can keep leaders and colleagues honest and informed.

In information-age organizations, hundreds of decentralized units process and rapidly act on varied input within the design and purpose of the organization. This requires an entirely different relationship between leaders and 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 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 Effective Followers – Five Patterns of Followers

Effective Followers

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?

Five Followership Patterns

Robert E. Kelley, in his landmark article for the Harvard Business Review “In Praise of Followers” (1988), describes the behaviors that lead to effective followership. He defines two dimensions that underlie effective followership: the degree to which a person exercises independent, critical thinking, and the degree of active or passive participation. He describes five followership patterns.

Sheep, as Kelley calls them, are passive and uncritical. These followers lack initiative and a sense of responsibility. They perform the required task and then stop.

Yes People appear livelier but are equally un-enterprising. They depend on the leader for inspiration and can be aggressively deferential, even servile. Some leaders like them and can even form alliances with them that can stifle creativity and energy.

Alienated Followers are critical and independent thinkers but take a passive stance. They are cynical but perform with disgruntled acquiescence. They seldom actively oppose or speak up.

Survivors are those followers who go along with the leaders, usually because they believe “it is better to be safe than sorry.” They are adept at surviving change.

Effective Followers perform with energy and assertiveness. They are critical, independent thinkers and will proactively challenge decisions. They are risk-takers and problem solvers. They can usually work without strong leadership

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 Mindful Leaders: Self-Awareness is Key to Leadership

Mindful Leaders

Are you working in a company or law firm where leaders are self-aware? Do leaders in your company or law firm have a calm and reassuring presence under pressure?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company culture support the importance of leaders' self-reflection?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders know themselves and how they impact others.

Mindfulness

Most business books focus on how leaders can achieve more. How can you do more, better…and faster? This post takes the opposite tack: how and why, as leaders, you should sit and be still. How do your leadership skills benefit when you take time to quiet your mind and simply sit and be still?
 
Psychologist Daniel Goleman, an authority on emotional intelligence in organizations, calls this the leadership paradox in Primal Leadership: “For leaders, the first task in management has nothing to do with leading others; step one poses the challenge of knowing and managing oneself.”

This includes:

• Connecting with deep values that guide
• Imbuing actions with meaning
• Aligning emotions with goals
• Keeping ourselves motivated
• Keeping ourselves focused and on task

When we act in accord with these inner measures, we feel good about what we do. Our emotions become contagious. When we, as leaders, feel positive, energized and enthusiastic about our work, so do those we influence.

Honing the skills of awareness leads to mindfulness—becoming aware of what’s going on inside and around us on several levels. Mindfulness is living in a state of full, conscious awareness of one’s whole self, other people and the context in which we live and work.

Before you dismiss mindfulness as New Age rhetoric, pay attention to the research. Recent studies in management science, psychology and neuroscience point to the importance of developing mindfulness and experiencing meditation.

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 and mindful leader. 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].