tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32072055732496992062024-03-12T17:48:17.311-07:00Ed Ebreo's Leadership JournalEdwin Ebreo is a Leadership Training Consultant and Facilitator in the Philippines. In this blog, he shares his insights on personal leadership, leadership competencies and suggestions on achieving leadership success.Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-89062294452909626092022-02-07T02:34:00.001-08:002022-02-07T02:34:00.181-08:00How to Make a Hiring Decision<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Hiring is everything. A wrong hire can be expensive and hard to correct
if it ever is correctable. It is for this reason that managers need to be
careful about their hiring decisions. This is not easy when candidates are
putting their best foot forward and go to great lengths including lying to win
the much-coveted job. This is why some
hires end up with firing and resignations. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> It
is true that a lot of guesswork and gut feel go into hiring decision making but
there is a way to be more objective about it. Through this interactive and
experiential workshop, the participants will learn how to prepare for a
screening task, ask the right questions, probe candidates for the competencies
they are looking for and evaluate interviews more objectively.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In this video, I am sharing some thoughts on the role you play as a leader in staffing your team, and what you need to do to build the right team. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="388" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_MhQfryE05E" width="584" youtube-src-id="_MhQfryE05E"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-46264112155058814532022-02-02T01:38:00.005-08:002022-02-03T18:02:45.132-08:00Reverse Mentoring with Your Staff<p> Confidence and Humility are both positive qualities of a leader. Recognizing that we struggle understanding new concepts and acknowledging that people who report to us might help is one of the reasons why we should go for reverse mentoring. </p><p>One of my realizations as I reach the ripe old age of fifty is that the world is changing in ways I cannot always cope with. But others do, especially the younger generation. And if I am to continue to effectively communicate, and work with people and things in this ever-changing world, I need to learn from people younger than me. </p><p>The old Filipino saying "Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako" (You're just on your way there, while I'm already on my way back) does not apply anymore. Not in this disruptively transforming world. Thinking others know less just because they are younger is simply not true anymore. </p><p>This means that the idea of mentors being older and more experienced is well, old. My team shot a video some time ago to show how useful and beneficial reverse mentoring can be. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rqw-sOyqqcg" width="575" youtube-src-id="Rqw-sOyqqcg"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-18640319170386664752022-01-31T01:32:00.003-08:002022-01-31T01:32:00.192-08:00How to Manage Your Boss<p> Managing Up is a very important skill! </p><p>Here are four reasons why you need to develop this skill</p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>It has a big impact on your career progression</li><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->It helps with your mental and emotional health</li><li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->It helps the organization that you have a
healthy working relationship with your boss</li><li>Even if your boss doesn’t reward your
competence, it helps you grow personally and professionally that leads to
better opportunities in the future.</li></ul><div>Here are some practical tips to manage your boss.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="398" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CwngAq8M_Kc" width="608" youtube-src-id="CwngAq8M_Kc"></iframe></div><br />Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-4025017174633340962022-01-28T01:22:00.000-08:002022-01-28T01:22:00.173-08:00Learner-Leader<p> </p><p>John Maxwell said that everything rises and falls on leadership. So much depends on your ability to lead. Often, we don't get the necessary orientation and training to take on the leadership responsibility. </p><p>We need to take on that responsibility ourselves. In this video, I share my thoughts on how to embrace learning as part of your leadership development journey. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="359" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UFhv6oIH9tg" width="555" youtube-src-id="UFhv6oIH9tg"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-71045140947162532762022-01-26T00:36:00.011-08:002022-01-26T00:36:00.177-08:00How to Facilitate a Coaching Conversation Using GROW<p> Anyone can attempt to coach. Anyone can initiate conversations with their coworkers, even if they
have only the vaguest idea of what they are trying to achieve without any
articulated understanding of how to conduct the coaching conversation. The
results of such conversations will be random and an unclear. By chance, anyone
will, now and again conduct a conversation that achieves some useful results
like learning, understanding, and higher levels of commitment to higher performance. </p><p class="BodyTextKeep"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText">The GROW model provides a structure that helps focus the conversation, ensure clarity of output and mutual accountability between the coach and the coachee. </p><p class="MsoBodyText">Use the video below to help you use coaching to facilitate development and performance improvement</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="386" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h1DRSJFUeFM" width="599" youtube-src-id="h1DRSJFUeFM"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-60555017977984299542022-01-24T00:17:00.010-08:002022-01-24T00:17:00.168-08:00How to Give Constructive Feedback<p> Giving constructive feedback in a timely, clear and helpful manner helps improve accountability and performance. Many managers and supervisors avoid them because they are concerned that if they fail to communicate effectively, the feedback will cause more damage. Others on the other hand, do cause damage in the way they give feedback. We created this video to help you practice giving constructive feedback. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="394" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UPf94a1BKi0" width="590" youtube-src-id="UPf94a1BKi0"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Additional Tips. For you to effectively give feedback, develop the following skills. </span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Listening<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Actively listening to the
coachee<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Gathering all information both
verbal and non-verbal<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Checking for understanding<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Questioning<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Using questions<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">to facilitate the process <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">to gather further information<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">challenge the coachee<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Providing
Feedback<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Information which must be
accurate<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Intent which must be clear<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Emotional charge which must be
managed<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Giving
Instruction<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 72.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This may be required in certain
circumstances<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When the employee is tired <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When there is significant time
pressure<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When the employee is upset or
panicking<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level3 lfo1; tab-stops: list 108.0pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When the process is complex but
known to you<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>Remember, practice makes improvement. So, practice, practice, practice. <p></p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-67909569941732670852022-01-21T00:05:00.002-08:002022-01-21T00:05:00.174-08:00How to Give Proper Recognition Engage Employees Towards High Performance<p> <span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">Keeping employees engaged is an
everyday challenge that managers must succeed in to get the most out of each
employee. </span><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">To do this, </span><b style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">they need to
recognize that factors, including their behavior in the workplace, impact on
employee engagement.</b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">This Gallup Question, “In
the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good
work?”, is a powerful reminder of what managers can do to improve motivation
and engage employees.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">According to Gallup, managers who fail to
give feedback fail to engage 98% of their employees. But those who do give
feedback based on an employee’s strengths reduce disengagement in their teams
to under 1%. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Watch this video and see how you can practice recognition to engage employees at work.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="374" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SKk2kNFTq3g" width="574" youtube-src-id="SKk2kNFTq3g"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-37859142249723979812022-01-18T23:22:00.005-08:002022-01-18T23:22:00.153-08:00How to Become a High-Performing Team Leader<p> </p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Teams don't develop overnight. As a leader, you play a very important role of development facilitator. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #030303; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the biggest challenges of leadership is facilitating a team’s development from forming to high performing. As a leader you need to learn your own evolving role as the team progresses from one stage to the next. In this video, you will learn what to do when your team is just forming, when the members of the team starts having conflict, when their relationship improves, and when they achieve high performance.</span></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="356" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eGEKJL7SXCY" width="532" youtube-src-id="eGEKJL7SXCY"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Given the challenges of building a high performing team, I hope this video helped you realize that for you to succeed, you need to learn to listen, communicate, build trust, strengthen relationship, and accountability. <br /><p><br /></p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-92170591358228560292022-01-18T16:39:00.005-08:002022-01-18T17:06:48.982-08:00Ed Ebreo's Growth Zone Challenge<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5cjEU6O7MYTiNMmzUNy8LjfS9XMyvNV1icA5vktMs9wYWjHa_Ldq-MgQRdPPObAfQVuuLRd2exnwkTsky4fhb2nfxvTryXQHj_urutbrCaGqIWhkPjI6TDtKh35Jq0Eg9dCyBLyHCV1v7iLvrj__n9yz6FBEMC49HgflQlMri00nwr1zmhV_NuNvr=s800" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5cjEU6O7MYTiNMmzUNy8LjfS9XMyvNV1icA5vktMs9wYWjHa_Ldq-MgQRdPPObAfQVuuLRd2exnwkTsky4fhb2nfxvTryXQHj_urutbrCaGqIWhkPjI6TDtKh35Jq0Eg9dCyBLyHCV1v7iLvrj__n9yz6FBEMC49HgflQlMri00nwr1zmhV_NuNvr=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br />The way to get out of our comfort zone is to recognize what it is, and what it looks like to be out of it. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">In this exercise, I challenge you to first Identify your comfort zone, second, visualize what a better future for you looks like, and then recognize the fears that hinder you from pursuing it, and then take ownership of what you need to learn to realize your growth goals. Feel free to be more visual and creative by making full use of the features of this Padlet. I made an example of mine. I hope it inspires you to declare your own pursuit... and pursue it. Feel free to like, and add encouraging comments to others.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Click the link below to participate in this challenge. Our future is shaped by the COURAGEOUS CHOICES we make today.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<div class="padlet-embed" style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); box-sizing: border-box; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 100%;"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><iframe allow="camera;microphone;geolocation" frameborder="0" src="https://padlet.com/embed/8xzbsbivlkkr100g" style="display: block; height: 608px; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%;"></iframe></p><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 8px; text-align: right;"><a href="https://padlet.com?ref=embed" style="border: none; display: block; height: 16px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img alt="Made with Padlet" height="16" src="https://padlet.net/embeds/made_with_padlet.png" style="background: none; border: none; box-shadow: none; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="86" /></a></div></div>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-59266913148300784692022-01-16T23:00:00.006-08:002022-01-17T03:29:29.877-08:00Differentiating Leadership from Management<p> These are two terms we often use interchangeably. They are different not in the way of good versus bad, ,they are good and good. I believe that managers are more successful if they demonstrate leadership, while leaders will have better handle of limited resources if they know how to effectively manage them. </p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="362" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GwxNhHv4A_I" width="608" youtube-src-id="GwxNhHv4A_I"></iframe></div><br /><p>It has been said many times that leadership is not a position, it is disposition and action. When you get promoted to a managerial role, you are given authority to use as a leverage for getting things done. I recommend that you use this authority until you are able to build enough credibility to lead so that people don't just follow you because they have to, they follow you because they want to. It helps to take an inventory of what we do as managers to determine, how much management we are doing and how much leadership we are demonstrating. </p>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-30370885023417618292019-03-15T02:29:00.000-07:002019-03-15T02:29:24.798-07:00Learning from Miscommunication<br />
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Yesterday, we went to a
client meeting where we were supposed to conduct a pre-workshop session for the
participants of a leadership training we are conducting soon. When we arrived at the venue, only our
contact person was there. No participants. When I asked, she said she said she
didn’t know they need to be there. She
thought it was a preparatory meeting between us and her. I don’t blame her. It’s our fault. We assumed
that she understood what a pre-workshop meeting means. We thought our internal
jargon is universally understandable. We were wrong. It was a costly mistake. Lost time and
opportunity bears cost.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACU6YlUjcb0/XItvJREYvwI/AAAAAAAARA4/VhPXNENxjpYczWVOW-35Q80NjnibL5gaQCLcBGAs/s1600/Protecting%2Bfrom%2BMiscommunication.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ACU6YlUjcb0/XItvJREYvwI/AAAAAAAARA4/VhPXNENxjpYczWVOW-35Q80NjnibL5gaQCLcBGAs/s640/Protecting%2Bfrom%2BMiscommunication.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This kind of thing
happens everyday to anyone and any company. Some cause little damage, some a lot. As sure
as very few people are experts in communication, there will be miscommunication.
Even the communication between a communication expert and those who are not can
prove to be challenging. We miscommunicate even when we think we are doing a
good job conveying understanding. What can we do then? I believe the answer is
we can choose to learn positively from each miscommunication experience.
Positively? Is there a negative learning? I think there is! When we choose to minimize
our communication or avoid communicating, we regress in our endeavor to
communicate better. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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I think that we place
unrealistic expectations when we communicate to people or when they communicate
to us. We expect people to understand what we are saying while we expect them
to be accurate with what they say. By accurate I mean we expect them to use the
language the way we use it. When people ask
questions that we feel we have already answered, we feel irritated. We feel
that they are not listening or hard at understanding. When people are being ambiguous,
we also feel irritated. Why can’t they just tell us what they mean? When people
are too accurate about what they want to say, they also irritate us because we
feel that they are being too affront or rude. This is probably why some people
have become so careful about communication that they avoid it. You know, less talk,
less mistake.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s my proposal for
making communication better (not necessarily easier). Let’s accept that there will
always be a possibility for miscommunication so we should accept and embrace
it. To navigate our way better is to make the following a habit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Check for understanding – is this what you
mean?</li>
<li>Recognize our own failure to understand – I don’t
understand. Can you please explain?</li>
<li>Recognize a jargon and explain it or if you are
a recipient of an unfamiliar jargon, ask to clarify</li>
<li>Express disagreement – don’t pretend to agree
when you don’t.</li>
<li>Accept disagreement – the only way real conversation
happens is when people accept that opinions may differ</li>
<li>When it becomes clear that a misunderstanding occurs,
ask, how do we avoid this kind of misunderstanding in the future?</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<o:p> </o:p>If all else fail,
learn to do better next time. In my above story, I sat down with my staff and
agreed that moving forward, we should inform clients about how we do the
pre-workshop activity and lay out all our requirements and expectations. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As long as we don’t communicate
telepathically and are limited by the symbols we use as language, and as long
as there are psychological barriers to effective communication, our most
effective tool is the courage to clarify. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We cannot be better at
communicating by perfecting each word that comes out of our mouth. We can be
better at communicating by asking questions, by encouraging it, and by learning
from each interaction, reflecting back from before it happened, when it
happened, and after it happened. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-37627320169397615452019-01-25T05:52:00.000-08:002019-01-25T20:15:03.967-08:00What Makes a Great Leader?<br />
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</div>
<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KY29wHp8uqA/XEsS4BD8BnI/AAAAAAAAQrg/_K4eco6XwdYuiUuzk83qZr9UDpUtn27zwCLcBGAs/s1600/great%2Bleader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KY29wHp8uqA/XEsS4BD8BnI/AAAAAAAAQrg/_K4eco6XwdYuiUuzk83qZr9UDpUtn27zwCLcBGAs/s640/great%2Bleader.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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Some years ago, my
boss asked me to interview candidates for promotion to a managerial position. It
was critical that we make a good decision because the successful candidate will
lead a group that had a great potential for growth. We had a top candidate and a second one. The
first one was a shoo-in, the second was for comparison. My boss and I did the
interview together. I was shocked with his decision. Here’s why.</div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Boss: “Why do you want
this position?”</i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Candidate 1: “I believe
I am highly qualified for this position. I worked hard to deserve it. I built
my competence, performed well and showed that I am a reliable person who
delivers on expectations.”</i><i></i></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Candidate 2: “I’ve
been observing how we do things around here and I realized that I can do
something to help make change happen. I believe our group has a lot of untapped
talents that can really participate in innovation. I want to motivate them and
empower them to help grow the team.”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><i></i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Both candidates spoke
in earnest. The first candidate was my bet. The boss chose the second one. I
didn’t understand it at first. Good thing he explained. He said that intelligence,
technical competence and ambition is not enough to make one a good leader. In fact,
those things are easily beaten by two important factors; first, a desire to
change things, second, the desire to enjoin others to a worthy cause. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">It was an important
leadership lesson that took me a while to appreciate. Often, we are drawn
towards people who accomplished a lot in their lives. People who have shown
brilliance in some aspects of their work. We promote the best workers only to lose a great worker and gain an ineffective manager. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">I’ve been to so many
organizations. In companies, the formal authority enables people to force
compliance. I have seen interest groups and professional associations as the
real test for leadership. When titles like Club President or Association
Chairman don’t bear the same amount of force as say, manager or boss, all you’ll have
is influence. I’ve been a Toastmaster a long time, an officer of the Philippine
Society for Training and Development, a mentor and leader in some of the informal
HR groups in the country, Home Owners Association, and Parents-Teachers Association.
I’ve worked with people whom outside the social organization are highly
successful professionals who have achieved so much breakthroughs. I’ve
seen people run for office, take the position, and then do very little to nothing
to change things. On the other hand, I’ve seen real leaders who have influenced
people like me to invest time and effort on a common cause not because their
brilliant or successful but because they lead! They inspire us with their
intentions, their visions of what could be, and their willingness to lead the
way. The Philippines HR Group, one of the most successful online community for HR practitioners is not led by the most accomplished HR professionals, it's led by youthful people still with potential for growth. People like me, and some of the more senior HR professionals follow these leaders, and oblige when they need us because we believe in what they're doing and we can't argue with their success. It's remarkable what engaged leadership can do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Leading the way and telling people what to do are two different things. People
who fail to disassociate leadership from boss-ship make the mistake that their
job is to control things rather than inspire a movement or enable people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">A few years ago, I got
addicted to a mobile game called Clash of Clans. I played that game for over a
year. That’s the longest I played any kind of game. I was a member of a clan led
by a 17-year old kid. I was amazed by how passionate this kid was about what we
were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were scheduled chats,
planning on how to improve our clan, sharing of resources, giving advice, calling
people’s attention when they’re not aligned, empowerment of others who seem
like they know what they were talking about, and occasional consensus-getting
on kicking out of people who seem to be misaligned with what we all agreed to do. I
was so fascinated by this kid’s demonstration of leadership that I stalked him
on Facebook. It would be easy to see from his profile and posting that this kid
is no genius, kind of an under achiever even, as it seemed. But inside the game, he
was our great leader that led us to many successful battles!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">After years of
studying leadership, I’m now way past thinking that a great leader need to be intelligent, technically competent, and eloquent. What I’ve learned is this. Great leaders are
driven by aspiration. They enroll people, who share those aspirations, and
enable them to take a huge part in pursuing it. They don’t need control because
their focus is in achieving the goal, not the credit that goes with achieving
those goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’d be imperfect. They’d
say things that make you worry, but because you believe in what they stand for,
you stand with them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br />A great leader is not someone better than everyone else, it's someone who can inspire others to be their better selves. </span></div>
<br />Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-65994253432514893942019-01-04T21:26:00.002-08:002022-01-15T22:58:15.942-08:00The Leadership Journey from Instructing, to Getting out of the Way<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-62SvGcnrLj4/XDA-Ma6I1EI/AAAAAAAAQl0/YL_EWd9_0747KUk56uIhUzSHiVq_QR2hwCLcBGAs/s1600/leadership%2Bjourney%2B3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-62SvGcnrLj4/XDA-Ma6I1EI/AAAAAAAAQl0/YL_EWd9_0747KUk56uIhUzSHiVq_QR2hwCLcBGAs/s640/leadership%2Bjourney%2B3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">When a leader grows, people
around him/her grow as well. This is the amazing impact of leadership. This is why learning
and mastering oneself is imperative for a leader. </span>The leader’s growth
reflects on the appropriateness of the his/her conversations. In
this blog I wish to discuss four milestones in a leader’s journey with the
people s/he leads.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="330" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZhPFIdRF9dk" width="397" youtube-src-id="ZhPFIdRF9dk"></iframe></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>
<h3>
<b>Instructing</b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">A good leader
recognizes when a follower needs help. In a company or any organization, and
specially during the early parts of a member’s career, it’s crucial for a
leader to provide not just direction but hand-holding if needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why it helps for a leader to learn
how to train. It helps to understand the dynamics of learning and use it to
help build confidence and competence. While giving instruction is an important
leadership task, it’s important for a leader to recognize when it’s not what is
needed. When leaders give instructions even if not needed, they turn into micro-managers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h3>
<b>Suggesting</b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">A word of warning,
when team members see the authority before the person, the leader’s suggestions
become instructions. This is why it is important for leaders to build trust, to
establish a relationship that promotes open communication. When trust is high, the
position titles become less important and the ideas and opinions matter more.</span></div>
<h3>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><b>Asking</b></span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">As trust builds,
confidence improves. People become more capable and the leader’s job changes
from telling to asking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of
telling people what to do, the leader ask them what needs to be done so they
can achieve a common goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The leader
does not become less of a leader. The followers become leaders themselves. Asking
leads to shared leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
two ways to get here; one is to recruit other leaders, the other is to grow them.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Getting out of the way</span></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">A good leader
recognizes when he/she is not needed. When leaders succeed in empowering people
to empower themselves, they become capable of not just doing the job but most
importantly take risks and make their own decisions. The leader’s work reflects
on the ability of the members to take over making decisions. I’ve seen too many
people who can do their job but unable to make decisions because their leaders
do not allow them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">As Leaders, we need to recognize that our people’s journey
towards leadership is our own journey towards our own leadership. Their success
depends on our ability to journey down our path towards our higher future
selves as leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May we find the
inspiration to continually learn and grow .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-19654137550885812042018-12-06T06:17:00.001-08:002018-12-06T06:17:54.715-08:00To the Leader, the Vision is More Important<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vtp8kMDYAEE/XAkvOTGSVDI/AAAAAAAAQXg/Yu20xMy5Yac0MYEUIJfH1amKfMHEwt9UACLcBGAs/s1600/Lao%2BTsu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vtp8kMDYAEE/XAkvOTGSVDI/AAAAAAAAQXg/Yu20xMy5Yac0MYEUIJfH1amKfMHEwt9UACLcBGAs/s640/Lao%2BTsu.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">How do you know, you’ve
become a leader? The moment you realize you are willing to make personal
sacrifices, invest your time, money and effort, go out of your comfort zone, humble
yourself to seek help, because you realize, you have fallen in love with a
vision of a better future for people. A position title seldom does that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Of course, we may have
dreamed of becoming a person of power, where people listen to us, follow us,
defer to us. A lot of us are willing to sacrifice for that aspiration as well.
To have that power, however, without having a cause to share with others, we
can’t be called a leader. Of course, we can be called a leader, because people
mistake authority for leadership all the time, but not a LEADER, leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OCkd0Tlngek/XAkttCal_kI/AAAAAAAAQXE/gd11Wa4gMusnFk--m3V4F2dNbVKs5AlZgCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_0284.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OCkd0Tlngek/XAkttCal_kI/AAAAAAAAQXE/gd11Wa4gMusnFk--m3V4F2dNbVKs5AlZgCLcBGAs/s640/DSC_0284.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">I love this Quote from
Lao Tsu; “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">A leader is
best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim
fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">I think that a leader
rallies people together to achieve a common goal, pursue a shared vision,
believe in a cause. A leader knows that people don’t automatically follow. She
understands that she needs to go out of her way to inspire, to model the way, encourage
people to challenge the status quo, empower them and motivate them to have the
courage to go out of their own comfort zone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You know you’ve become a leader when you realize that your authority can
only get you as far getting people to comply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You know you’ve become a leader when you realize that compliance is so much
less than alignment and allegiance, that the whys are more important than the
how.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve realized that when people know
what to do, and why, they learn to figure out the how. Motivated people will
surprise you with how far they can go to pursue a goal with you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">You know you’ve become
a leader when you realize that the vision is more important than you that you
are ready to share leadership with others who can bring the group closer to the
vision, sometimes even give leadership away, because again, the vision is more
important than the leader. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--pB4xLP2-SU/XAkuLKw6bBI/AAAAAAAAQXQ/GCv3AN470UUoYgnD0Y4mN4xnB47eRDr8QCLcBGAs/s1600/P1080594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--pB4xLP2-SU/XAkuLKw6bBI/AAAAAAAAQXQ/GCv3AN470UUoYgnD0Y4mN4xnB47eRDr8QCLcBGAs/s640/P1080594.JPG" width="640" /></a>Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-11344919609637171242018-12-02T05:12:00.001-08:002018-12-02T05:12:36.420-08:00Are You a Leader or a Bottleneck?<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's easy to see when employees are dis-empowered.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On various occasions, I would hear people say the following:</span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">My boss won't allow that</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm still waiting for my boss' approval</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't possibly tell my boss that</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll tell my boss</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">My boss won't do it</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">According to <a href="https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/182792/managers-account-variance-employee-engagement.aspx" target="_blank">Gallup News</a>, <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px;">managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. When managers are incapable of leading, they become incapable of engaging others. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ltVX8RcUDl4/XAPZbv-tEoI/AAAAAAAAQTI/DuUgxtH3nJchzrvT63dqCSHsbFwL0fF4gCLcBGAs/s1600/Slide17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ltVX8RcUDl4/XAPZbv-tEoI/AAAAAAAAQTI/DuUgxtH3nJchzrvT63dqCSHsbFwL0fF4gCLcBGAs/s400/Slide17.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Empowering leaders are enablers. They know how much of what they say or don't say, do or don't do, have an impact on their team's ability to perform. They seek personal growth so they don't become a choke point in getting things done. They know that if they are better equipped to lead, people will be better equipped themselves. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Don't be a bottleneck. Be an enabler by enabling yourself. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-3616683459572008452018-09-22T07:17:00.000-07:002018-09-23T03:14:16.341-07:00Leadership and Building Trust<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PpQvcN5-AC4/W6ZOOlfn6kI/AAAAAAAAPcw/EqqHtRq3dZsXm0A8fwjZHqeMT0WRAcDNwCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_0214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PpQvcN5-AC4/W6ZOOlfn6kI/AAAAAAAAPcw/EqqHtRq3dZsXm0A8fwjZHqeMT0WRAcDNwCLcBGAs/s640/DSC_0214.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I always find my self in these interesting conversations with
participants. This often happens during Leadership, and Trainers’ Training. I
ask the participants what challenges they encounter when dealing with employees
or when dealing with training participants. These are often the answers I get:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Trainers’ Training<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Participants who seem to know more than we do about the topic</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Participants who ask questions they already know the answer to</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Participants who think we are not competent enough to facilitate the
training</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Leadership Training<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Employees who have more tenure, who refuse to follow our instructions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Employees who ask questions but are really challenging our authority</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Employees who think that we should exchange roles because they are more
competent</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">The passionate conversation starts when I ask them what made you conclude
that your trainees or employees are out to get you? Often, the answer I get is “It’s
obvious! I can sense it!” When I ask, other than you can sense it, do you have
other more concrete evidence to the matter? I get a stare. Was it bewilderment,
disbelief, or enlightenment that, all they have are assumptions, I don’t know. I
continue to ask this question, is it possible that what you are sensing is not
real, and that you might be reacting (being reactive maybe the better description)
to an imagined employee/trainee intention? I point to their facial reaction and
ask, is that a face of uncertainty? It leads to a lengthy exchange that finally
end up with a realization (I hope) that as leaders who can benefit from
building trust, they need to allow themselves to be vulnerable – capable of listening
and responding (not reacting) to questions, suggestions, challenges coming from
employees/trainees and be both humble and confident enough to say, I don’t know
the answer to that or, you are right, I am wrong, or I’m sorry I’m mistaken. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Many of us believe that Leaders are strong, knowledgeable, and competent
that we put up a front to that effect. We become suspicious of and defensive
when we feel there is a threat to that façade we create. How many times have we
been frustrated by leaders who refuse to listen, fail to recognize that we too
can think of solutions (sometimes better ones) or that we see what these so-called
leaders fail to see? When it is our turn to lead, we make the same mistake. We
refuse to listen, recognize that people have ideas or that we have blind spots.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Why are some of us intimidated by knowledgeable, intelligent, or highly
experienced employees? Isn’t it great to have people who can do their jobs with
less to no supervision, people whom we can share leadership with, and reveal
our blind spots?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Here are my recommendations to leaders:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">When you lead, your technical expertise comes second only to your
ability to engage people</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Take care of your contrarians (people who like to share opposing
opinions) they reveal your blind spots and help you make better decisions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Share leadership with people who know more than you. Ask for their opinion
or advice but be clear that if you have not delegated decision making with you,
then authority to make decision is yours.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Celebrate and share stories of team members who give great suggestions
or advice. Acknowledge employees and thank them every time they win a debate
with you to create a safe environment for people to speak their mind and help
you make informed decisions.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Communication plays a very important part in building a trusting
relationship with your team. It starts with a leader who is willing to be
vulnerable. It is not enough that we got our people’s back, it is important to
make them realize<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that we trust them to
have our back as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-67759594157260723032018-07-09T19:01:00.000-07:002018-07-09T19:01:01.231-07:00Rise to the Occasion <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oopkPeNoCfA/Wzg11ptx38I/AAAAAAAAO7M/BKuB7RE6Q58f4mMTcx6MCexctKIGvCD6ACLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oopkPeNoCfA/Wzg11ptx38I/AAAAAAAAO7M/BKuB7RE6Q58f4mMTcx6MCexctKIGvCD6ACLcBGAs/s640/DSC_0460.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">I attended a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>number of seminars recently. There were several
speakers in those events , and a lot of them impressed me. Some of them,
baffled me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One speaker started by apologizing
in advance for the blunders he will make because he was notified too shortly
and didn’t know why he was invited to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He read through most of his prepared speech with some commentaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He demonstrated true to his promise that he didn’t
have enough time to prepare. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other speaker started by telling the audience he didn’t know what to talk about and
had to be told what to say and that’s exactly what he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what the intention was for
saying what they said. Was it to lower expectation? To surprise the audience
with one’s brilliance that after one speaks, the audience will say there was
really no need to apologize?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was confused
because I invested my day prepared to learn something from people who know what
they are talking about, only to be apologized to for their lack of
preparation or idea about the topic assigned to them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">When I conduct
training, I am in the habit of asking questions. Sometimes the group fall into silence when I ask difficult question, but I wait until it becomes too awkward
that some participants will volunteer to answer. They often start with a disclaimer by lowering of expectation. They say “try lang po,” which means, I’m not
sure if this is the correct answer so don’t fault me for being wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Do you also do that?
Do you also try to lower people’s expectations, so they can’t fault you for
failing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a public speaker, I feel
that standing on a platform is a great leadership privilege. An opportunity to
influence people towards positive action. I believe that to be given that kind
of opportunity demands rising to the occasion and doing one’s best. When one
readies the audience by diminishing their expectation rather than excite them
about prospect is not a good way to start. One might think I’m nitpicking, but
this is more than the lousiness of the advanced apology, it goes back to the psyche that works (not works) in
preparation for that platform. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Not all of us are
speakers but all of us have the opportunity to lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When that opportunity comes, we start our
leadership journey by psyching ourselves up, preparing the hell out for it, and
engaging our constituents from the very onset. We do not warn them that we are
not prepared and that we are just going to try and to ask them in effect to not
blame us for failing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are going
to lead, tell them you are going to give it your 100% and then give it. No body
expects us to be perfect but when we take the platform of leadership, they
expect us to give it our best, otherwise, get off!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comPhilippines15.623036831528264 123.046875-14.445175668471737 81.738281 45.691249331528269 164.355469tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-33721392797822858802018-04-28T19:39:00.000-07:002018-04-28T19:40:51.091-07:00The Challenge of Creating a Safe Environment and a Culture of Accountability<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">My ideal workplace is
one that is rich with empowerment. People don’t need to be told what to do, don’t
need to be barked at to get things done. I dream of a workplace where people feel
safe to express their thoughts, take risks, and try out new things despite likelihood
of failure because they know that the boss got their back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-po501Jc8S_Y/WuUv0SedbJI/AAAAAAAAO6E/vXFtE1PWGQU6-RhS9_13pCDRocTeWUyLgCLcBGAs/s1600/Team%2BExeQserve.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-po501Jc8S_Y/WuUv0SedbJI/AAAAAAAAO6E/vXFtE1PWGQU6-RhS9_13pCDRocTeWUyLgCLcBGAs/s640/Team%2BExeQserve.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">I can be quite a
pushover. My team’s praise is also their criticism. “Mabait si Sir Ed”. “Masyadong
mabait si sir Ed”. That’s what I get from people. Both an appreciation and criticism.
There is no bundy clock in my office. People come when they think they are needed.
They start and quit work for the day when they want to unless there are client
commitments that need to be made. I give variable compensation and rewards that
allow them to have more take home pay if they work well enough. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I follow Richard Branson’s advice. Take care
of your employees and they will take care of your business and your customers.
After all my experiences with people, I continue to believe that with a big
caveat; you have to define what “take care” means. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The phrase changed for me quite recently to
mean take care of their professional growth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">My approach help me
keep my high performing and high potential employees. Sadly, I also kept people
who find it difficult to rise above mediocrity, What I realized is that you
cannot just supply knowledge to fill people’s knowledge gaps. You must make
them accountable for applying their learning and make them feel that they are
being held to a high standard of performance and behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past, when people fail to meet my
expectations or fail to deliver, I say “ok lang yan, you’re still learning”
sometimes people think it means I allow mediocrity. I’m guilty of allowing
people to think that I’m ok with less than good performance. I guess to a certain
extent I did and slowed down people’s growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I learned that to build a high-performance team, people should know that
nothing less is expected of them individually. While I encourage people to
communicate, express their ideas and find their own way of doing things, I
should not allow delays and excuses, otherwise that’s what I’ll get, “high-performance
excuses.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Here’s a proposal from
my own learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As leaders we should be
clear about what is allowed and what is not. We should be capable of quickly
recognizing alignment and point out misalignment. Coach, mentor, manage and eventually,
if people continue to fail, manage them out so they can find other workplaces where
they have a chance to do better, or do whatever they want. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-PH;">Creating a safe
environment and a culture of accountability should not be exclusive of each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can build it. Building a high
performing team means building an organization that attracts people who want to
grow and scare-off people who don’t have a sense of direction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-84899565072013921562018-01-28T01:40:00.001-08:002018-01-28T02:34:13.046-08:00When You Demand Integrity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g6T3sLGxGKQ/Wm2Zdox5TFI/AAAAAAAAOyI/SDtbgkaJu-c3JQFEqGonsnILCeGxMhbeQCLcBGAs/s1600/valus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g6T3sLGxGKQ/Wm2Zdox5TFI/AAAAAAAAOyI/SDtbgkaJu-c3JQFEqGonsnILCeGxMhbeQCLcBGAs/s400/valus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I often get to facilitate visioning workshops where
management teams or entire organizations determine their organization’s vision,
mission and core values. Whenever we get
to identifying core values, there’s always someone or some people proposing Integrity
as one of their core values. I have no problem with that. If it is indeed their
core values, that’s well and good! I have a very strict criterion for helping
companies identify their core values. This criterion is are the leaders of the organization
capable of modeling them? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is what Collins and Porras say about what core values
are; “Core values are the essential and enduring tenets of an organization. A
small set of timeless guiding principles, core values require no external
justification; they have intrinsic value and importance to those inside the
organization.” It’s an enduring tenet that the company must align with
whether it rewards them or punish them. In
this society and country, demonstrating integrity will both reward and punish
you!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a very good reason for demanding integrity from your
people. It’s the easiest way to explain compliance, avoiding pilferage, and
committing to what people agree to do as they are paid for. However, integrity can have an empty meaning very
fast when leaders of the organization, from the top to the front line can’t model
them. They become meaningless slogans.
When an identified core value like integrity loses its meaning in the
eyes of the people, the other core values are also put to question and when
people are not seeing visible examples of how they are demonstrated, they lose
interest in the whole exercise and get their cues from how their leaders act.
When they feel they are being cheated, they cheat back, or those who truly have
integrity as their personal core value feel misaligned and go away if they can
afford it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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90% of the time, when someone recommends integrity to be part
of the core values, they change their mind whenever I ask, can you model it? As
an organization, can you demonstrate integrity in your decisions and actions?
The room would go silent, people will start thinking of a way to justify
integrity even when, they don’t pay their taxes right, they bribe government,
they get personal commissions from suppliers, or even if they don’t give
employees what they’re due according to law. I tell them there is no such thing
as limited integrity, or selective integrity. It defies the meaning of the word
itself. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In my entire career, I only worked for one company that truly
embraced the value of integrity. When that company was bought by global investment
company, that value was eliminated, and the character of the company changed
drastically. I only have seen a handful of companies who truly demonstrate integrity.
Many of those who put it as their core value don’t really show it and you can
immediately see how the rest of the core values are just there for posterity
and are way away from how people conduct their work and business. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I believe integrity is important. To demand integrity from
your people is to model the way in demonstrating it. People follow their
leaders. Not what they say but what they do. The easy hint that people are not
following what you say is maybe because you don’t follow it yourself. <o:p></o:p></div>
Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-76467629478316599762017-12-19T18:29:00.000-08:002017-12-19T18:31:23.055-08:00First, Go the Extra Mile for Yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dlqKJeP4f9M/WjnHkjObI3I/AAAAAAAAOwA/5gSiq61ujd4UrJEEs5hTP_J7Yj82f5rTgCLcBGAs/s1600/jog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dlqKJeP4f9M/WjnHkjObI3I/AAAAAAAAOwA/5gSiq61ujd4UrJEEs5hTP_J7Yj82f5rTgCLcBGAs/s400/jog.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today, I decided to add an extra kilometer to my daily
jog/walk. On my last kilometer, my <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html" target="_blank">id</a> started negotiating with my <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html" target="_blank">ego</a>. I started asking myself if an extra kilometer
would really make much of a difference. I also threatened myself by saying this
could cause me some over-exertion injuries. I’m just glad that my id lost to my
<a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html" target="_blank">superego</a>, so I won, I ran/walked an extra kilometer and a half. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I could have lost that internal conversation had I not
recognized that this conversation is happening and that I’m taking a side –
that of my superego. Whenever we face a
challenge in our life, those conversations happen, and it is not always clear
which is id and which is superego. We often go back and forth, weighing
our options and decide which we want more, instant gratification or the
bigger yet delayed rewards. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I’m sharing this with you because I think that as our
leadership responsibilities go bigger, we need to equip ourselves to meet those
increasing challenges. We can’t do that if we don’t know where we last drew our
lines of limitation and decide when and how to cross them. This reminds me of the safety orientation
given by the flight crews before a plane goes up. The flight staff would advise
that you put your mask on first before helping another. I think this is a
metaphor for leadership. Before you help others, you must make sure that you
are in a position or condition to help them. You know what they say, you can’t
give what you don’t have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve been dismissive of my health these past many years and
as a result, I gained a lot of weight. I
used to love exercising. Now, I can’t even remember when I started hating it. I
started exercising again a few months back after joining the “biggest loser”
challenge at work. It was a hard start, but I finally found the love for exercising
the I lost a long time ago. Now, my goal for 2018 is to be healthy. I realized
I can’t help a lot of people, specially my family if my health limits me. In that
journey, I know that I have to tussle with my id some good countless times. I
have to be aware when those negotiations happen, so I know where I’m putting my
bet on – my superego. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">So here’s a call to action; what extra mile are you taking
for yourself? Which lines of limitations are you crossing? What are you going
to do to draw you closer to your higher future self? It would be hard to take an extra mile for others if you don't go the extra mile for yourself first. Decide what to do and be
aware of the pulls. Are your fears pulling you back or are your aspirations
pulling you forward? You have to decide which way you want to be pulled. Your growth
depends on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">You know, people are not always comfortable talking about these stuff because they think it's too touchy-feely. However, we need to recognize that managing ourselves is everyone's </span><span style="font-size: large;">(yes, you and I!)</span><span style="font-size: large;"> biggest challenge! Join me on January 16-17 so we can tackle these things that impact on our emotion and decision-making and see how we can achieve self-mastery. Click below for more details and to register. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://exeqserve.com/public-seminars/leadership-personal-mastery/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="536" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SAmRlVfgC_I/WjnKkz33myI/AAAAAAAAOwM/RBMWKBTDaDMKfNbzZ1scZ3sJ4koZR6zcgCLcBGAs/s640/23754811_1737163766302600_34098275548297072_n.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-86633353415328532772017-11-17T22:27:00.000-08:002018-09-23T03:28:23.163-07:00Underneath the Iceberg of Leadership<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tvDKMxOd28w/Wg_Q2pz2L4I/AAAAAAAAOs4/gVbcpmBRyxMKq08rQDOEfqQhI7WP5UrFACLcBGAs/s1600/leadership%2Biceberg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tvDKMxOd28w/Wg_Q2pz2L4I/AAAAAAAAOs4/gVbcpmBRyxMKq08rQDOEfqQhI7WP5UrFACLcBGAs/s640/leadership%2Biceberg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve been conducting Leadership and Management Training in
The Philippines for a long time. I’ve also been an observer of how Leadership
Training is being conducted by many organization. What I notice in my past practice and those
of others too is that a lot of focus of the training is on how to lead or
manage. We talk about leadership practices, We talk about how to plan,
organize, direct, and control. We facilitate the walk-throughs of various
leadership and management processes like problem solving, decision making,
managing performance, developing strategies, coaching, mentoring and the likes.
It makes a lot of sense because the what, how and whys help build knowledge, skills,
and habits – the behavioral components of whatever a leader or manager needs to
demonstrate. These are parts of the peak
of the iceberg of leadership. It’s important to equip learners with the
necessary skills to apply theories and processes of leadership and management
in their work. However, addressing just the peak of the iceberg is not enough. We
need to look at what’s underneath and make sure that there is enough in there
to float the iceberg. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hax9Jp5wUes/Wg_OiFkK6aI/AAAAAAAAOss/AgfNTXB5iS88V4VRtV84U23TNqzYfacjQCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hax9Jp5wUes/Wg_OiFkK6aI/AAAAAAAAOss/AgfNTXB5iS88V4VRtV84U23TNqzYfacjQCLcBGAs/s400/DSC_0114.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What are the elements underneath this proverbial
iceberg? Near the surface are attitudes
that bring to surface a person’s behavior.
Without the right attitude, a learner will hesitate to accept new
knowledge, not practice the skill, and fail to demonstrate the desired behaviors
that lead to success. If you want to facilitate change in a person’s behavior,
you have to facilitate the change in the person’s mindset. This means
addressing the stuff that are even deeper than attitude, the one’s that affect
it; Self-image, programming, beliefs, awareness of one’s emotion, aspirations, and
values. I believe this to be fundamental to a person’s development and even
more so in one’s leadership development. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I designed a program to address what’s underneath the
iceberg of leadership and I am inviting you to check out our Personal Leadership Training or invite me in your organization to facilitate this program for your
managers and supervisors or for people you are grooming to take on a bigger
responsibility. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://exeqserve.com/our-training-services/personal-mastery-training/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rytMlaTCKb8/W6dqCEXbVhI/AAAAAAAAPeI/MMciefhYmdYcCmX-dMrURUq-D14NL6vngCLcBGAs/s640/personal%2Bleadership.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click the image for the full details of ExeQserve's Personal Leadership Workshop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this training, I hope
to help the learners become aware of how all these things below the surface
affect their behaviors and influence their leadership. I designed a number of
self-awareness exercises to help them take inventory of their personal leadership
capital, recognize their leadership values, be aware, and ultimately be in
control of their emotions. I will help them use Appreciative inquiry to
recognize their strengths, their opportunities, their aspirations and their
success indicators. These figure in
their commitment to whatever it is that they need to do. I will also help them take charge and be
accountable for their behaviors, through management of their emotions. There
are two very powerful and grossly hindering emotions that I want to help them
with particularly, these are fear and anger. A lot of bad decisions come from
one’s failure to manage these emotions.
We will practice techniques that can be used to effectively deal with
these feelings, how to articulate emotions both internally and externally and more
effectively.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zP8WQiN6HwE/Wg_NlJ-ZaqI/AAAAAAAAOsg/dz_hFXeUetw9zeARu8BmPDW_-sJJ42yVACLcBGAs/s1600/Personal%2BMastery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zP8WQiN6HwE/Wg_NlJ-ZaqI/AAAAAAAAOsg/dz_hFXeUetw9zeARu8BmPDW_-sJJ42yVACLcBGAs/s640/Personal%2BMastery.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eventually we deal with the stuff right before and near the
surface of leadership which are social awareness, empathy, and connecting with
others. These are important. We often teach leaders how to empathize without
really understanding empathy. That’s why
we often see leaders who make such superficial demonstration of empathy without
the authenticity. There are a lot of
training on how to be eloquent or articulate in a way that impresses but not
connecting. I’ll facilitate exercises in assertive communication to help the
learners get used to exercising their communication rights without ignoring
their communication responsibilities.
These are essential to building trust, gaining respect and successful
relationships. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the end of the program, the participants will create a
personal leadership journey road map that directs to their highest future selves
as leaders which will guide them in applying the learning in their work and in
learning more skills about leadership. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Many leaders hesitate to attend training like this because they are afraid of being vulnerable. We often try to project a facade of stability and certainty but deep inside, we struggle to address the challenges of leadership in front of us. I believe we all need to address what's below the surface so that our true leadership potential may surface. </span></div>
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Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-87879435514284914672017-11-01T04:39:00.000-07:002017-11-01T04:39:19.817-07:00Stage Play and Team Work<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, I’m sitting here contemplating about one of ExeQserve’s
core values which is teamwork. Our lunch learn session is coming up and this is the assigned value for the month. We get to reflect about this as a group and talk about how far we can take it. I’ve been reflecting about how much teamwork is
really going on in my company because this is really important to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dBUwnXzRA5c/WfmwD2yGUEI/AAAAAAAAOrM/UDstbVuc0b0s1YJG6Equmje0v4JcwuogwCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dBUwnXzRA5c/WfmwD2yGUEI/AAAAAAAAOrM/UDstbVuc0b0s1YJG6Equmje0v4JcwuogwCLcBGAs/s320/DSC_0248.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I really can’t complain. I have a team with individual
members who are willing to go out of their way and help in any way they can to
deliver results. When we have workshops
that require a lot of marshalls, my accountant, our messenger, our company
driver, the marketing assistant, everyone, they’re all trained and willing to
take on the role assigned to them even if that’s not what they are paid for to
do. They are willing to fill the gaps, if that’s not teamwork, I don’t know
what is. My team is very good at
collaborating, coordinating and cooperating. What’s festering me right now is
the question of how else we can grow in terms of this value? How can we be more
successful? What else can we do? I know whatever we are doing now is not enough.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4ZxugJkO5Q/WfmwZlASdoI/AAAAAAAAOrQ/nf_4kGmtndgFmzYrxaYz4ahqgFuq_usNACLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4ZxugJkO5Q/WfmwZlASdoI/AAAAAAAAOrQ/nf_4kGmtndgFmzYrxaYz4ahqgFuq_usNACLcBGAs/s400/DSC_0065.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I thought about stage plays. I took mass communication in
college. I was a part of theater group called Dulaang Asilaw. Before college, I’ve
enjoyed every opportunity to act and perform before a crowd. When I joined Dulaang
Asilaw, it was hibernating. It was inactive for a time because all the leaders
and actors have graduated. No body knew outside of New Era University that the
group hardly exist, that there were no meetings, no projects, no nothing. So, the organizers of the First National
Drama Competition sent the school, the Dulaaang Asilaw an Invite. Fitri Grajo,
the one tenured member of the group called a bunch of students and convinced us
that we can do this. She convinced our course adviser, Elson Montalbo that we
can do this. It was a crazy idea. They called for a rush audition and end up
with a ragtag inexperienced bunch who decided what the heck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Make the long story short, we won! We were among the winners. We beat UP, UST and La Salle! We were up there with PUP, Integrated Performing Arts Guild of Iligan, a
theater group from Cebu, Ateneo de Naga. Among those groups was New Era College’s
Dulaang Asilaw. Not the Dulaang Asilaw of its glory days, but a group of
inexperienced amateurs who performed beyond everyone’s expectations, including us, the members. We performed beyond our own expectations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What was key? Teamwork, a lot of it. But it was more than
about individual willingness to help or contribute. It was more than just about
filling a gap. It was every single one of us doing beyond what was expected.
Fitri wasn’t a director before the show, but she took whatever she learned from
Dulaang Asilaw legend directors, Elson Montalbo and Jojo Pineda and brought it
to all the rehearsals and to the actual shows. We didn’t get school
funding. We had to improvise a lot on
our materials. We were fortunate that the play was Ang Paglilitis ni Mang
Serapio which is a story about a syndicate of beggars so all we had to do was
bring a lot of junks to the stage. The guys in charge of production, Chai, Baby Anita, Anna Liza, Jim, Jim's friend whose name I forgot, Chai's friend whose name I also forgot, they didn’t
just bring junk, they brought a marvel of a stage so dark and violent that it
was so easy to believe that one is in a court of beggars persecuting and
executing one of their own. All the actors were incredible. The main
characters, the bit players, there was no wasted moment. We had no money for make up so we spent a few minutes before the show rolling on charcoals as our makeup! I was so proud of what we accomplished. I was particularly proud that I was part of a
group of people who brought their talents to the show and exploded with their
passion. It was amazing and I'm still proud of that group, that accomplishment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, here’s a thought; Teamwork, yes, is about a group of
people working together to achieve a common goal, but it is more than that. It
is about a group of people giving their best and maxing out their talents so
the team can show its real power. I’m
still working on building that kind of a team.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-75397159828743317762017-10-27T03:18:00.002-07:002017-10-27T04:23:05.399-07:00Intent Focus<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I conduct training on Strategic Thinking in the Philippines
and one of the topics I cover is Intent Focus, which is one of the five
elements of thinking strategically as described by <a href="http://www.darden.virginia.edu/faculty-research/directory/jeanne-m-liedtka/" target="_blank">Dr Jean Liedtka</a>, a professor
of Business Administration from the University of Virginia. Dr. Liedtka says that <span style="background: rgb(254 , 254 , 254); font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 107%;">“</span>Strategic intent provides the focus that allows individuals
within an organization to marshal and leverage their energy, to focus
attention, to resist distraction, and to concentrate for as long as it takes to
achieve a goal.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vOsX_QUqQYM/WfMFsMgsr1I/AAAAAAAAOqM/64Bm40z7wFMI-RpYPF_qa0Zp2CrvdAgqwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG20170306162342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vOsX_QUqQYM/WfMFsMgsr1I/AAAAAAAAOqM/64Bm40z7wFMI-RpYPF_qa0Zp2CrvdAgqwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG20170306162342.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To help the participants appreciate being intent-focused, I
ask them to do an exercise called the <a href="https://www.tomwujec.com/design-projects/marshmallow-challenge/" target="_blank">Marshmallow Challenge,</a> a game
familiarized by Tom Wujec. The objective
of the game is to build the tallest free-standing tower with the resources
given and the time limit. It’s a fairly simple game to play and it’s fun! But here’s an interesting
lesson that I learned about the subject matter when I ask my participants to
play the game. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bIteYfk-pVQ/WfMWjp1kjVI/AAAAAAAAOqw/ZyJrl2K4lTQtG7lZ1SvZpcJ7laJNgofLQCLcBGAs/s1600/Strategic%2BThinker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bIteYfk-pVQ/WfMWjp1kjVI/AAAAAAAAOqw/ZyJrl2K4lTQtG7lZ1SvZpcJ7laJNgofLQCLcBGAs/s640/Strategic%2BThinker.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Most participants would really try to compete by building a
tall tower, sometimes too tall that they fail given the limitations of the
materials given to them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Some participants will be so engrossed in building the
tower, they forget or underestimate the strength of their materials and the
weight of the marshmallow that leads to failure.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">I try to make the time visible or known to the participants.
Some of them adjust their plans when they realize they are running out of time
which is a smart thing to do.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Here’s the most interesting part. On almost every occasion that
I facilitate this game, a team or two, will just go through the motion of
building a tower with no desire to build the tallest one. They just want their
tower built and standing because if they don’t finish on time, it would be embarrassing.
When I ask them why, they say they want to make sure that their tower is
standing albeit short. When I remind
them that the goal is to build the tallest tower, some would say that they are
hoping those who were trying to build tall towers would fail. Others just shrugged.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ua4f-YCfF0I/WfMGOsdoTFI/AAAAAAAAOqU/zdH_3R_tSDYiJXeGAaCRulIttBPT6WiIwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG20170307101443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ua4f-YCfF0I/WfMGOsdoTFI/AAAAAAAAOqU/zdH_3R_tSDYiJXeGAaCRulIttBPT6WiIwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG20170307101443.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">When I synthesize the lessons from the game, I tell
participants that being intent-focused means really doing one’s best to achieve
the goal. This means taking some risks and putting forth extra ordinary effort
to succeed. Many people behave similarly to those who do not bother to build
their towers high because they are afraid of failure. They comply but set their
expectations low to make sure that they will not be embarrassed if they fail.
It’s a teachable moment when some of these learners laugh at the teams who fail
to get their towers standing because they’re too tall. I tell them, at least
those teams tried.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This reminds me of a quote from Michaelangelo "The
greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and
falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark..." </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">As leaders, our decisions empower or limit the accomplishments of our people. Our decisions are multiplied by the number of people who defer to us. When we set our expectations low, we fail to grow and in the process those who expect us to help them grow also fail to grow. I believe being intent-focused is an important factor in strategic thinking, because you don't really need much of a strategy to stay the same. </span></div>
Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-82558074926763744322017-10-11T18:48:00.002-07:002022-01-23T04:23:44.373-08:00The Cost of Hiring a Coward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CvnNKbQjptQ/Wd7JrvMeM2I/AAAAAAAAOn8/AYDzhBVq0xwlICypHQDSI1jOhiS_klvbQCLcBGAs/s1600/TerrifiedEmoji.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="600" height="210" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CvnNKbQjptQ/Wd7JrvMeM2I/AAAAAAAAOn8/AYDzhBVq0xwlICypHQDSI1jOhiS_klvbQCLcBGAs/s400/TerrifiedEmoji.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don’t have the actual amount, but you can identify the
effect of un-managed fear. When you do, you can approximate the cost of lost
opportunities and unsolved problems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Coward” is a strong word. It’s also broad, so let me
enumerate behaviors that I think are cowardly. You may or may not agree with
me, that’s not important. Let’s focus on what these behaviors do to the
workplace and the business.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Fear of goals – Some employees fear goals. They
don’t like life goals; they most certainly dislike work goals. When people
hesitate to set goals, they lack the motivation to take initiative. They focus
on compliance and often, minimum compliance at that.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Fear of change – cowards don’t like uncertainty.
They like their comfort zone.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Your
company cowards are often the first resistors of change.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Indecision – Often, people who couldn’t decide,
know what decisions to make. What they are afraid of is the idea that they
might be wrong and fail. They fear failure and blame.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Inaction – One thing you can do with indecisive
people is decide for them. Some people, however, have overwhelming fear that
even if you decide for them, they still fail to act because they're afraid that
you may be wrong, and you will cause their failure.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve always said that some fears are hard to detect. We
often associate courage to mean massive things like making bold decisions, taking
leaps, challenging status quo. This is not everyday stuff. There are
opportunities to show courage every day that people hesitate to do. What are these? Not speaking up about a
problem, not making an attempt to solve a problem, avoiding learning a
necessary skill, not disagreeing when they should, not taking initiative when
they should. The costs of all these are not included in the usual business
analytics because companies seldom measure lost opportunities or quantify the
cost of inaction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">People who don’t have enough courage to act often underestimate
three things: seriousness, urgency, and growth potential. They deny the
seriousness of the issue, they look for “timing”, failing to realize that
problems tend to grow when not addressed or that opportunities pass when not
taken advantage of. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">What to do? I have a few recommendations:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Avoid hiring them, or hire them for positions
that don’t require a lot of decision-making and initiative</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Help your employees develop courage through training,
coaching, mentoring and empowerment</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Create an environment that promotes creativity,
risk-taking and learning.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Model the way. When the leader is courageous,
the followers develop the confidence to take courage.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3207205573249699206.post-51078322723034535672017-10-04T23:12:00.000-07:002017-10-04T23:12:51.298-07:00Assertiveness and Managing Up<div class="p3">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: inherit;">I've had too many
experiences when I was already at the client's office 5 minutes before the appointed
meeting time. The receptionist would tell me I have to wait because the person
I am meeting was called to the boss's office. This would mean I have to
languish in the reception area a minimum of 30 minutes before the meeting
actually happens. That's a minimum!!! There are times when I'm feeling easily
offended that I tell the receptionist I can't wait anymore. But that's seldom.
I'm hard to offend. The person would be apologetic and say It can't</span><span class="s2"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> be
helped as it was the boss who called, as if it that is a valid excuse. It is not, </span>OK<span style="font-family: inherit;">? It is not. You could tell
your boss that you have a scheduled meeting and that the person you're meeting is
already there!</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="s2">That's not all.</span><span class="apple-converted-space">
</span><span class="s2">Whenever I do
consulting or executive coaching work, I often encounter managers who complain
about their being powerless to change the situation at work because their
bosses make decisions without consulting them. When I ask them
if their boss knows they disagree with the decisions, they say the boss should know better because, well, they're the boss. In one occasion, I was talking
to an HR manager who said her boss doesn't have the heart for HR and seldom
gives instructions related to HR. When I talked to the boss, this is what he
told me "Ed, I'm a mechanical engineer. I have a master of science degree
in what I do. I know everything there is to know about the machines and the processes we have here. If there's one thing I know very little about, it's HR. I need
all the advice I can get in that area. I expect my hr manager to give me the needed advice." Here in lies the problem. When we lack the assertiveness, to ask
the question to our boss, we try to answer our own question, and often, the
answer is wrong. When we don't have the assertiveness to present and justify a
proposal to our boss, we grumble about why the boss can't figure these out for
himself/herself when we can see the problem and the solution clearly. We become
bitter about our assumed powerlessness and we start becoming prophets of doom
to our fellow powerless people. This doesn't serve us. It doesn't serve anyone.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://exeqserve.com/our-training-services/#assertive-communication-training" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zNG74IcGWNs/WdXMIBJLzMI/AAAAAAAAOmw/kY-HB1uS5X8jqMlzR1TZomVLPMvnWXrawCLcBGAs/s640/Assertiveness%2BFramework.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://exeqserve.com/our-training-services/#assertive-communication-training" target="_blank">EXEQSERVE ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION TRAINING FRAMEWORK</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p3">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="s2">There is a need for
assertiveness. The boss can declare open door policy and open communication
everyday, but if we don't find it our responsibility to ask a question, express
an opinion or painstakingly present a proposal, if we don't find the courage to
do it, we will continue to suffer from powerlessness. Again, it doesn't serve
us, it doesn't serve anyone.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p3">
<span class="s2"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Some people say,
they're just not assertive as if assertiveness is a personality. It isn't! It's
a competency! It can be learned! If you are a leader, you need to learn it! The
other communication styles are bad choices! Aggressiveness promotes resentment,
passiveness causes unnecessary tolerance, passive-aggressiveness, confuses
people! Be assertive! Learn assertiveness! You will discover that you have
immense power to control your life and to change situations if you are more
assertive. Sorry about all the exclamation points! I had to stress it.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Edwin Ebreohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821972694832736436noreply@blogger.com