Watch Your Leadership Image!

According to a recent article by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), the following “mistakes” can negatively impact an executive’s leadership image:

1. Too Much Seriousness:  Leaders who are overly reserved appear to be rigid, inflexible, and uncaring — effective leaders need to convey graciousness, warmth, and passion
2. Poor Speaking Skills:  Flat or monotone speaking styles, inappropriate volume,  and poor enunciation are the key offenders here
3. Lack of Clarity:  If a message is unclear and/or non-specific, the audience will tune out
4. Self-Absorption:  Leaders need to be bigger than themselves — and frequently using the words “I”, “Me”, or “My” will disengage the audience
5. Lack of Interest:  Leaders need to show energy, enthusiasm, and interest in the topics that they are speaking about
6. Obvious Discomfort:  Leaders who are uncomfortable in front of crowds — or who are awkward in conversations — are not seen as effective leaders
7. Inconsistency — Inconsistencies in thoughts and behaviors will result in a leader being seen as flaky, insincere, or dishonest
8. Defensiveness — An unwillingness to to consider other views, reacting in a knee-jerk fashion, and being unable to seek and understand feedback from others will undermine perceptions of leadership effectiveness

More information can be found in the recent CCL Guidebook “Building an Authentic Leadership Image” (www.ccl.org) .

Is it OK to Cry at Work?

Is it OK to cry at work?   A recent article in TIME (April 4) suggests that the answer is a qualified “yes” — with both men and women seeing some emotional displays as being perfectly acceptable in the workplace…

Interestingly, men (48%) feel that it is more acceptable to cry at work than do women (41%).   Men are also less likely to consider those who have cried at work to be unstable (32% of men felt that criers were unstable, vs. 43% of women).

When it comes to actually shedding tears in the workplace, women have the advantage — 41% of the women surveyed had cried at work in the past year, while only 9% of men indicated that theyhad cried in the workplace.

The above research findings — adapted from author Anne Kreamer’s recent volume “It’s Always Personal” — also provide other interesting tidbits about emotions in the workplace.  For example, both men and women report that “Stress spilling over from home into work” was the most common reason behind tears on the job.   Women tend to judge others who have shed tears more harshly than men do.  And some recent studies have suggested that emotions can have as much impact on job performance as do cognitive brain functions.

With the boundaries between personal life and work life becoming less well-defined, perhaps it is natura to expect more displays of emotion in the workplace.   Author Kreamer points out that 69% of survey respondents report that when they see someone get emotional at work, it results in the person being see as “more human”.  In addition, 88% of all respondents feel that being sensitive to other’s emotions at work in an asset for leaders to possess.

Still, showing emotion in the workplace can carry some baggage.   For example, some recent studies show that women are judged more harshly than men when they express anger, and these same studies also show that men are more likely to be seen as “justified” when they do express anger —  with women being seen as having a personality flaw when they do display anger.

CEO Top Priorities? Talent Management is #2

When CEO’s were recently asked to rank their top ten priorities, “Business Growth” understandably received the top rating.  What occupied the second spot?   This was reserved for “Talent Management” activities.

In a survey of 704 CEO’s conducted by The Conference Board in late 2010 and early 2011, “Talent Management” was rated as an overall higher priority than such business-worthy topics as Cost Optimization, Innovation, and Customer Relationships.

Why the focus on Talent Management?  Cost-cutting efforts have curtailed bringing in outside talent for many organizations, turning the focus on development towards internal staff members.  In addition, many leaders are recognizing that their internal staff — like incumbents in other organizations — may be biding time in their current roles until the job market rebounds.  Once this rebound occurs, a massive churning of the workforce could occur — and actively developing internal staff members can be an effective tool to aid employee retention.

The Conference Board survey included CEO’s from a variety of industries.  While Talent Management concerns were not rated as the second highest priority by all industries, talent management was rated as a top 4 priority by CEO’s of all industries, and received a #2 rating overall.

During Cutbacks — Don’t Neglect the Survivors!

During times of staff cutbacks, managers frequently spend too much time tending to the mechanics of the layoff process itself — and, in turn, fail to spend enough time or attention on the surviving talent in the organization.

As detailed by former General Electric VP of HR Bill Conaty in his upcoming book “The Talent Masters”, organizations that successfully manage staff cutbacks deal with laid-off employees in a humane and ethical manner — and offer services such as career transition centers, training opportunities, and fair financial separation terms.   However, successful firms don’t stop there — they also take active steps to ensure that they focus equal attention to the employees who do remain…

During times of lay-offs, financial rewards for existing employees are not an option for improving motivation or morale.   Instead, having management simply recognize the accomplishments of existing employees, and outwardly letting them know that they are valuable team members can go a long way towards keeping motivation and loyalty at a solid level.

In addition, Conaty points-out that during times of cutbacks and layoffs, managers frequently clam-up and become less communicative, figuring that they do not have answers for the difficult questions posed by employees.  Conaty stresses the need for a “personal touch” during these times, not only to increase the likelihood of individual employees feeling that the company has a future, but also as a way of allowing the manager to get unfiltered information from employees, which can help turn down the rumor mill and dispel any unnecessary worries.

Conaty strongly feels that organizations who successfully manage the lay-off process — specifically, dealing compassionately with those who have been laid-off, while also investing time and energy into those employees who remain — will be in the best position to retain (and ultimately attract) world-class talent. 

With many HR minds anticipating the “talent churn” that will be occurring once our economy straightens-out, Conady’s words of advice — particularly about taking steps to increase employee retention —  should resonate with organizations everywhere.

Key Insights from Global Chief HR Officers

What future challenges do global Chief HR Officers see as being most pressing?  Is it talent retention?   Leadership Development?  Increased productivity or efficiency?   Actually, the key issues identified by these leaders may come as bit of a surprise..

As revealed in a recent study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, none of the above issues were mentioned specifically as pressing needs.  Instead, in a far-reaching survey effort (600 face-to-face interviews with Chief HR Officers from around the globe),  the following issues were seen as being of the greatest importance for the next 3-5 years:

• A Shortage of Creative Leaders — organizations need to identify, develop, and empower effective & agile leaders, as leadership candidates will not only have to have solid empirical decision-making skills, but will also need to have the capacity to develop creative solutions to problems.
• Rapid Development of of Workforce Skills and Capabilities — this is not formal training and development activities in the classic sense, but instead involves properly identifying the skills and abilities of new and emergent leaders, on-boarding these new leaders as they begin their careers, and then properly deploying these individuals within the organization.   Most of the Chief HR Officers interviewed said that these areas received very little attention within their organization, although they see them as being vitally important.
• Ineffective Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing — applying collective knowledge and experience is seen as critical to building an agile organization, but organizations lack the structure and the resources to facilitate knowledge-sharing.   Departmental silo-building and political turf wars are seen as exacerbating this problem.

The IBM report, officially titled “Working Beyond Borders”, also details some of the challenges expected to increase in importance as work is done across cultures, geographies, and time zones.   The areas of highest expected growth in headcount?   China at 40% growth, followed by India at 29% and Latin America at 26%.   North America is expected to see headcount growth of 17% .

To read or download the entire research report, go to www.ibm.com/workingbeyondborders  .