How can I use my authority without being perceived as authoritarian?
In my work with executives and managers, I’ve encountered variations of this question frequently. It’s a common scenario for thoughtful leaders who must make decisions that could adversely impact others.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what really creates employee engagement.
According to Gallup, companies with highly engaged employees outperform their competitors by 147%. Engaged employees are generally more committed, productive, and likely to stay with the company, leading to improved performance and reduced turnover costs.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how right-sized confidence can be the difference between failure and success.
One of my coaching mentors used to be a confidence coach. He would meet with people and try to help them become confident in one session, hoping they would leave ready to boldly venture where they had previously feared to go.
Of course, these sessions had their limitations.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the leader inside all of us. Occasionally, people tell me that they “aren’t leader material.” Sometimes this idea comes from false humility. Sometimes it is an expression of the residual trauma of working for a poor leader. And sometimes it’s simply a failure to recognize the ways in which that person is already leading.
Lately, I’ve been contemplating a recent study about employee turnover. A report by the Corporate Executive Board found that companies with strong career development programs had a 20% lower turnover rate compared to companies with weak or no career development programs..
That got me thinking about the difference between leading like a chef and leading like a gardener.
Warren Buffett said, “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.”
Most of us would agree with Buffet’s line of thought, but that doesn’t make it easy.
When you are conditioned to live in the land of yes, no feels confrontational. It feels like a fight.
But no is the vanquisher of burnout.
When is the right time to change?
We all wonder about finding the right time to change. We lie awake some nights and ponder. Sometimes the universe seems too big, and our place in it too uncertain.
I can tell you that because I’ve coached hundreds of people who felt the same way. Each one of them had something they wanted to improve or a circumstance they wanted to change.
For some, it was a job that was no longer fulfilling. For others, it was a personal goal they wanted to reach. For many more, it was a hazy vision of a better future. But in every case, something was holding them back.
Are you being your authentic self?
I was leading a presentation on authentic leadership when a participant stopped me in mid-sentence.
She told me that she didn’t believe in authenticity. Her evidence? People at work didn’t seem to accept her behavior.
After a little discussion we both realized that she had been using the cloak of authenticity as an internal excuse not to adapt to change. She had been putting up roadblocks to progress and expecting people to be OK with that.
That’s stubbornness, not authenticity.
Fear is a cheat code.
We’re hardwired to respond to it. If the fear is big enough, action will follow.
So, you want to be respected at work. Who doesn’t? And wait, you also want to be liked? Some people might say that’s asking a lot.
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