Transformation

Do you consider yourself a born leader? few people do - and for goad reason. even if yo are a naturally imposing person and have headed up every single group you have been in since entering kindergarten, this only means that you are a more dominant than other. fact is no one is born a leader.

Leadership is a skill and it's completely up to you to develop it. the potential success of you and your company is limited by one single quality: your ability to lead. The vast importance of the leader also means that when an organization is hurting its typically the leader who's going to take the fall. For instance when the consultants at the advisory firm global hospitality resources are called in to rescue a struggling hotel, one of their first solutions is to fire the boss. For them it's obvious that, if the hotel had a good leader, it wouldn't be asking for help in the first place.

As a manager I always have a curiosity to observe and follow those whom I admire as leaders and who have x-factor and obviously the only reason behind this interest was to learn those skills and attributes and exhibit same in my personal and professional life. As mentioned earlier in this article that leadership is a skill which can be acquired so after reading some good books on transformation and attending few online sessions I am going to share summary of my learnings here in trailing paragraphs for benefits of my contacts.

What drives transformation

1.   Personal Development

2.   Executive presence or X-Factor

3.   Strategic Thinking

4.   Decision Making

5.   Relationships and Networking

If you are a manager or a team leader it means you are hardworking, dependable and competent and these are qualities which brought you here but what else you need to shift from here to next level

• You need to be strategic
• Innovative
• Influential

Managers are knowledgeable, action oriented, informed and tactical but leaders on the other hand are insightful, visionary, influential and strategic.

We have been told by our mentors and coaches that journey from manager to leader starts with improving our interaction with others but in reality its not 100% true. Leadership begins with enhancing your personal growth specifically increasing your self awareness.

What steps one can take to enhance his or her self awareness and more importantly to become a type of person who has real followers at work place.

1.   Evaluate your opportunities and strengths for growth

2.   Know your value

3.   Manager your impact

How many of you have taken time out from your own life routine activities, sat down on a chair at some calm and peaceful place and evaluated your strengths and weaknesses. Thought about the emotions, motivations and hardest of all the temperament to personality and trait that actually drive the way you lead others. what improvement you can make to become a more strong and flexible leader. If you get angry on a small mistake by your coworker , subordinate or a family member then people will develop impression about yourself that you are not a calm leader under pressure.

It's very important for you to know your value. What differentiates you from others. What special you bring on the table different from others

• Are you ensuring business is running efficiently
• Are you good in problem solving and root cease analysis
• Are you innovative, resourceful and insightful
• What problems and pain points have you solved for others

Its important to understand and manage your impact. How are you perceived and what's your reputation.

And to know how people perceive you and what's your reputation its important to get feed back. You can develop your own feedback form on google forms and share same with your trusted colleague, your boss and your subordinate. This way you will have a 360 assessment of yourself. Its very important to make sure that the feedback survey is filled anonymously and the ones who are filling your feedback survey are also aware of this fact.

Key is to ask goal oriented questions instead of asking general questions. Getting the feedback is great but if you don't apply the learnings, its useless. If you discover difference in your intentions and their experiences take the action on things which matters you to match. If you uncover blind spots fix them. Learn more about your strengths and leverage them.

In organizations we have seen and learnt that the role of CEO demands to stay calm and poised in the middle of a crisis. People expect from manager to give feedback in such a way that inspire rather then breaks the spirit. And this is emotional intelligence in action.

Emotional intelligence is not related to our intelligence or IQ or technical skills but EQ is how we bring those skills to the table. Its the intangible side of the equation.

Emotionally intelligent people understand their own emotions and how their emotions affect their decisions and behaviors. They know how to read others and respond in a way recognizing their needs and emotions.

People with high EQ are attentive, nonjudgmental, approachable, open, fair, responsive, high stress tolerant, decisive but also flexible when things change. People with high EQ posses the intangible skills that allow them to work much more effectively at a higher level to influence, connect, engage and inspire. Research shows that the EQ is the hidden skill that only those people have who go up in the organization.

Companies hire people on the basis of their technical and other tangible skills but companies fire people on lack of intangible skills which we call EQ.

How one can improve EQ

• Become more self aware
• Manage your reactions. Its very important to control impulsive reaction. You should look calm, poised under pressure and resilient. Its important to respond rather then reacting...
• Your body language and tone speak volumes about your domineer.
• Be a person in a room who could put things in perspective and pursue goals instead of obstacles and set backs.
• Be intentional about your interactions.
• Be open to the thoughts and perspective of others.
• Find ways to genuinely connect with people around you.

Think about a person in your organization or in your life you really admire and try to behave and act like him. What makes him or her so special that he or she has real world followers. This is called X- factor or executive presence. This is all about image, domineer and leadership. People with executive presence speaks with ease and influence. They use diplomacy and tact. They project self assurance and manage their emotional reactions. They can command attention in a room without saying a word. They are at the same time strong, vulnerable, decisive but flexible, strategic yet creative, outgoing but simultaneously introspective.

How can one acquire the attributes or skill of executive presence. Self awareness and EQ are the building blocks of this most critical skill. Make sure that you look and sound like an executive. Use sound voice, excellent eye contact, articulate speech and select appropriate clothing as per situation. Increase your relatability, work hard and put others at ease. Make an effort to relate well to people from all walks of life. Be sensitive and patient. Keep in mind the importance of balance and look for ways to make others feel valued. Boost your persuasion skills, spend the time necessary to gather stake holders input and build a strong business case. Know your audience, understand their need and demonstrate how your goals aligned with theirs. Use concise and efficient communication but be prepared with additional details needed. Use flexible interactive approach. Pay close attention to the reactions and responses of your audiences. Master the technique of reading them so you can change your content accordingly. Remember executive presence is remarkably important.

Another idea is to become a thought leader. Thought leaders are the people who passionately consume information about their business and industry overall. They are endlessly curious and have the ability to connect the dots. They are the high value adders. They can identify potential and risk for an event. They consistently read industry publications and trade journals. Share their perspective. Analyze studies and data. Network with people who can broaden your horizon. Expand your interaction with colleagues ho have different skills or field. It will not happen in a day but it requires continuous efforts and interaction with people.

Expand your perspective. Leaders have more of a panoramic perspective instead of a tight focus. Managers think about the deadlines of their projects in hand and the grooming and development of their own team reporting to them whereas leaders envision strategy to leverage the skills of other teams across lines of business. Managers feel strongly accountable and responsible for the project but leader is responsible to the project, team members and to the organization overall.

From manager to leader scope expands significantly. As a strategic leader start stretching the thought process in these four areas

1.   Organization perspective. Instead of focusing on tactical moves take part in strategic initiatives. Seek a bigger role. Ask for a high potential career move. Ask to participate in managing event. The key is to challenge yourself to stretch.

2.   Market perspective

3.   Customer perspective

4.   Try thinking like a CEO

Innovation is another key skill which can help you transform from an ordinary manager to an inspirational leader. Innovation can not be scheduled like brain storming sessions. Innovative leaders look at everything from a fresh lens. Means unlearning something, letting go and learning something new. Innovative leaders feels comfortable thinking in futuristic way. They see details when every one else sees a road block. Tolerate more risk and be persistent. Make adjustment and keep trying. Gather as much information as you can and open new lines of communication. Be persuasive (Never force or push your ideas). Adopt the habit of innovative thinking in everything you do.

The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.

Since a decision is always made in a certain way it does not mean that that's the correct way. Managers decision making comes with a territory but true leader approach, choices and options in a different way. They don't procrastinate and they are not abscessed with the feeling of making wrong decisions. Four things leaders consider in decision making

1. Consider wide range of possibilities
2. Thinks carefully about their decision on company, bottom line and customers.
3. What are the long term consequences.
4. Leaders are decisive and courageous in their decision making but they also know when to stop and hold.
5. Leaders use standard way or models to make decisions.

Focus on highlighting your strategic side which will give you more attention.

Move from doer to a driver.

Coaching

A good mentor will make his team see what they can become rathe then what they are, One of the core job of a leader is to grow and develop others. Develop their skills to make them grow in the organization through coaching and mentoring. Great leaders know how to unleash great talent. Managers focus more on training but leaders know when to jump as a coach to unleash the hidden talent of their teams and others.

How to be a coach.

1. Get to know your team at a deeper level and show them that you really care. this way you will know their strengths and challenges. Ask them about their long term goals. Actively listen when they speak. The key is building trust.
2. Use specific tactic, ask questions partner with them.
3. challenge their thinking leave them to the right solutions by asking them the smart questions. Be Patient.
4. Provide them the resources to develop.
5. Tie the coaching process back to outcome. Provide feedback.

Build Meaningful connections

Leaders don’t box themselves in boundaries of their basic contacts they consistently stretch beyond the usual limits and capture the benefits of a much bigger network. Managers typically remained focus on building high performing teams, leaders also do the same but they also consciously amplify their commitment to people and relationships beyond that scope they work to build a broader set of meaningful connections with peers, executives and senior level executives in and out of their industry. Why is it important having a bigger network allows leaders to radically expand their knowledge levels. It challenge their thinking in unexpected way, give them access to important resources they may not otherwise have and it gives them broader base of support to reach their goals. There are four ways one can expand his network as a resourceful leader.

·      Invest the time to make new contacts with the people outside of your team and be strategic about it. Attend conferences and seminars. Participate in industry events. Don’t be shy in introducing yourself, speak up and contribute to the conversations. They key is to elevate your visibility beyond the boarders of your own organization.

·      Develop and nurture your professional relationships. New ones and old ones. Follow up and stay in touch. Comment on their linkedin posts. Just make a point to remain on their radar. The more people you stay connected with the larger your network of knowledge and opportunities. 

·      Be respectful and gracious when asking for assistance or advice. When you are contacted for assistance put all your efforts to support them. Position yourself as a kind of leader who believes in sharing and giving back.

·      Leverage wisdom of trusted advisors. You can't over estimate the value of a person who will help you to make strategic decisions about opportunities, provide candid feedback when needed and encourage you along the way. A trusted advisor, someone who genuinely care about you and your success can prepare you for leadership like nothing else can.

"If you can't influence people, then they will not follow you. And if people won't follow, you are not a leader. "