Entelechy: Unlocking Potential
House Icon Home
Search Icon Search
Phone Icon Contacts
Training Solutions Training Services Training Tools Case Studies About Us

Unleash Your Leadership Potential
December 4, 2013

In This Issue
»  
Letter from the Editor
»  
Seven Truths about Leadership
»  
What Makes a Leadership Development Program STICK?
»  
Your Leadership/ Management Development Questions
»  
And Now for Something Completely Different
»  
The Key Archives
 UYLP_Logo

 

Letter from the Editor
Clint_1This is coming to you from the Reverend Terry Traut! That's right, you heard correctly! I officiated the wedding ceremony of my nephew, Clint, and his now wife, Kelly, several weeks ago in San Diego. As Kelly whispered to me after the ceremony, "Now you can check that off your bucket list...."

 

Actually, it was never on my bucket list, but it was a thrill nonetheless!

 

You can imagine my surprise when last May Clint and Kelly approached me at my father-in-law's 85th birthday bash and asked, "You can say no, but we would really like you to officiate our wedding." I was speechless! And honored. And confused. Clint and Kelly gently explained, "You can go online and get your certificate that would allow you to conduct the ceremony; it's pretty simple."

 

Clint_2

I said yes, of course. And over the course of several months, the three of us - the groom-to-be, the-bride-to-be, and the reverend-to-be - crafted their ceremony.

 

The ceremony was beautiful (it's San Diego, and the venue overlooked the ocean - how could it NOT go well?) and I thought I had done well. The greatest compliment came from Kelly's parents - who, I'm guessing were a bit nervous about having this guy conduct one of the most important ceremonies of their daughter's life; they approached me after the ceremony and said simply, "That was truly amazing - very heartfelt. Thank you."

 

Clint_3During the reception people joked with me saying, "So, looks like you've got a new vocation!" Some even asked if I would do this again to which I replied, "No way!" But reflecting on why I DID do this ceremony and why I wouldn't want to do others, I realized that I officiated this wedding out of love for Clint and Kelly. It was EASY! I can't imagine officiating a wedding of a couple I don't know (and I admire those who do it well!).

 

I think my "day job" is like that. Developing leaders and managers is a passion. I love it! I love the impact our training has on the lives of those we train. I love when people come up to me after the training - sometimes YEARS after the training - and talk about how the training changed not only how they manage and lead at work, but also how they show up with family and friends outside of work.

 

I can't imagine doing anything else!

 

Terry (The Rev')
 

  

Seven Truths about Leadership
I had the honor of speaking recently at the 2014 Leadership Kickoff conference held at the Gaylord Conference Center in Dallas, TX.

 

With over 30 years in the management and leadership arena, with 21 years of developing leaders and managers through Entelechy, Inc., and having worked with 60 leadership gurus over the past decade, I often am asked, "What's the most important leadership skill or behavior?" As I explained to the audience, that's an impossible question to answer. The answer, of course, is "it depends!" For example, having a vision is important, but so is executing on tactics and getting things done. Building relationships with employees is important, but so is identifying and addressing poor performance.

 

8_LeadersHowever, there are several important truths that apply to all leaders regardless of the situation, industry, or level in the organization. These seven truths - drawn from leadership gurus Entelechy has worked with over the years - included:

  1. Be Authentic - According to Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic, authentic leaders are committed to a purpose or a mission; who live by their values every day and who know the true north of their moral compass. They lead with their heart, not just with their heads, and have compassion for the people they serve.
  2. Create a Team - Building off of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, all leaders need to surround themselves with people who can argue with you and question your assumptions. As leader, you need to connect with team members and share credit for successes.
  3. Question Everything - Professor Henry Mintzberg calls them half-truths, but regardless of the name, leaders need to be healthy skeptics and look beyond hype and crises to base decisions on facts.
  4. Execute - Love him or hate him, Jack Welch - former CEO of GE - was right about focusing on performance and contribution. The role of a leader is to link organizational vision to individual contribution ... and then enable individuals to contribute.
  5. Don't Drink Your Own Kool-Aid - Executive coach Marshall Goldsmith speaks of the "success delusion" caused by a lack of subjective feedback the higher one climbs in an organization. Effective leaders create a process for gathering objective, honest feedback about their impact on individuals and the organization.
  6. It's Your Ship; Take Command - Former captain of the USS Benfold, Mike Abrashoff speaks of the importance of taking command. When in charge, take command. And whether you're a Patton, a MacArthur, an Eisenhower, or a Nimitz, taking command is job #1.
  7. Be Deliberate - USC professor and The Father of Leadership, Warren Bennis, states that effective leaders are - above-all - deliberate. They have tools and techniques they can deploy based on the situation and use them with forethought.
  • Leadership can be Learned - I added this "bonus truth," relating to my 21 years of providing leadership and management development to hundreds of organizations training thousands of leaders - leadership skills can be learned.

 

The audience responded to my presentation with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. One audience member stated simply, "The last truth really hit home. Learning how to lead has changed not only how I manage, but it's also changed how I interact with my family - it's changed my life!"

 

 

 

 


What Makes a Leadership Development Program STICK?
UYLP_LogoArguably one of the greatest issues with a leadership development program (or any training program) is whether it will STICK - will the skills be applied on the job and will the application of those skills result in the desired business results?
 
  

We at Entelechy have been designing leadership development programs for years now and have found a number of elements that significantly increase the chances that the program - any program - will have the intended impact on people and on the organization.

 

Use these tips to increase the STICKINESS of your programs: 

 

  • Make it simple. Difficult or confusing models and content tend not to get used outside of the classroom. The models we use in Unleash Your Leadership Potential (ULP) were honed over 20 years of field application - our clients have helped us refine the models into practical, usable techniques that can be easily used on the job for immediate results.
  • Embed engaging activities. Engaged participants learn most and retain that learning longer. Our activities help participants shift their perspectives in order to embrace new ways of leading and managing.
  • Build in multiple levels of practice and application. Training without application is time wasted. ULP requires participants to apply each of the skills immediately and receive feedback in class; additionally, participants identify specific ways in which they can apply each skill on the job making transfer of the skills from the classroom to the job seamless.
  • PerfChecklistProvide multiple levels of support. Key to the success of any training program is building in the support participants will need when they return to their job. The Executive Reinforcement program ensures that the participants' managers will provide the support needed for success.
  • Support with innovative tools. In addition to the Management Action Plan (MAP), ULP includes innovative tools such as Entelechy's Performance Checklist, a mobile app designed to help managers identify and improve the performance of their employees.

 

Each of the above strategies increases the likelihood that your program will STICK and have the results you're looking for.

 

If you're looking for a leadership or management development program that is GUARANTEED to stick, make Unleash Your Leadership Potential YOUR program. Contact us today.

 

 

 

 
Your Leadership/Management Development Questions
In this feature, I answer one question that you've submitted since the previous issue. Please email your questions to [email protected] and I'll do my best to respond to you directly.

 

The following question comes from Marina in San Antonio:

 

You said that coaching focuses on developing performance that is already acceptable or good. Why would you spend time doing that?

 

Terry: The reason is simple: to make your average performers good and to make your good performers great. Many managers spend 80% of their "people time" dealing with performance problems, which are typically found in less than 20% of their employees. The poor performers in most organizations get much of the attention, with little or no attention devoted to developing one of the most overlooked - but critical - groups of employees: your average to good performers. As a result, productive and high-potential employees are left underdeveloped AND unattended; these are the folks who quietly leave your department or leave your company.

 

Mike Myatt wrote a Forbes article about a year ago (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/12/13/10-reasons-your-top-talent-will-leave-you/) in which he states, "employees who are challenged, engaged, valued, and rewarded (emotionally, intellectually & financially) rarely leave, and more importantly, they perform at very high levels."

 

Coaching is about challenging and engaging your performing employees; and by giving them your time and support, you encourage them to perform at even higher levels - and stay with you over time. 

 

 

 
And Now for Something Completely

One of the things I love about leadership and management development is that the skills - communication, delegation, motivation, engagement, relationship-building - are so universal and transferable to other parts of one's life. In fact, recently the COO of a large company shared with me the "conversation" he and his teenage son had via text. The COO was showing how he used coaching questions to encourage his son to share information and do his own problem-solving. Cool!

 

CoupleLeadership requires proactive responsibility-taking; if you want something to happen, look first to what YOU can do. This philosophy works well in leadership ... and in marriages. Here are 20 Marriage Tips Everyone Needs to Know: http://www.viralnova.com/20-marriage-tips/  While they're written by a man who recently divorced, many of them may sound surprisingly familiar! Simply replace "that woman" or "her" with employee.

 

We all lead teams. What's the power of teams? Here are three humorous videos that you can use to initiate conversations with YOUR team: http://www.teamworkandleadership.com/2012/04/3-funny-teamwork-videos-you-might-want-to-share.html?goback=%2Eanb_2771739_*2_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1#%21

Crabs_Beach

 

Training Solutions Training Services Training Tools Case Studies About Us Home Search Contacts
� Copyright 2013 Entelechy, Inc. All Rights Reserved.