When I began learning the skills of coaching I quickly realized that clients respond with excitement at two distinct points. The first point is when they achieved clarity on the challenge they are confronting. At this point confusion and vagueness disappear, and the client clearly and specifically sees what they really want to achieve. The second point is when they discover options that were previously hidden from their view and realize that their goal is achievable.

Both of these points involve seeing the issue through a fresh set of eyes, letting go of assumptions and being open to possibilities. I’d like to suggest that everyone build their ability to create these Aha moments. You can do it with or without a coach.

I was reminded of how important this is by a Masters thesis completed by a member of our local professional coaching association. Her study involved extensive interviews with a small group of executive coaching clients to explore what it was like to be in a coaching relationship. For these clients, key high points in coaching were the times when they transitioned from feeling unsure, stuck or pessimistic to feeling energized because they could see where they wanted to go and saw possibilities that they believed could get them there. This is a shift to optimism and a sense of control.

Earlier life experiences have taught me how important it was for people to learn to see beyond their current problems and believe in their ability to create solutions. Somewhere in my early study of psychology I came across the notion of internal and external locus of control. People who see the outcomes in their life as being controlled externally, i.e. by fate or other people, are less likely to seek out and work for their own solutions. Those who believe they can shape their own future see at least some of the control in their life as resting within themselves. This has always struck me as a important difference in how people approach life and improve their chances of success and happiness.

To be a resilient human being and a successful leader one has to believe that they can see beyond their current hurdles and difficulties, find solutions and influence the future through their own actions.

As a coach, I am excited by the idea of helping people become more resilient by helping them learn that they can be creative in the way that they define problems and find solutions. In the past few years books like The Art of Possibility (Zander and Zander, 2000) have inspired me to think about how creativity can be a tool for enhancing individual lives. By deliberately searching for new perspectives and possibilities a person discovers a world full of options rather than constraints. Books like The Big Book of Creativity Games (Epstein, 2000), Unstuck (Yamashita, 2004) and Thinkertoys (Michalko, 2006) have proposed a similar perspective to bring better problem solving and more innovation to organizations. As a coach, I am challenged to bring these ideas and techniques to my clients for both individual and organizational benefit.

In most business situations, the aim is to give your audience something that really matters to their plans and decisions, and to do it a way that is concise, simplified, and easy to remember and act upon. Ideally, a business speaker is also passionate about the importance of their topic, and able to speak in a style that is engaging and even entertaining.

Here is a great way to structure a business presentation. The focus is on the interests and needs of the audience, whether they are your colleagues, clients, employees, executive committee or board of directors. Your role is to give perspective and insight, and to facilitate a path forward.

I.  State the topic and why it is important to this specific audience.

• Example re: a concern – Today I have some new insights on changing market conditions that will help this executive committee turn around the falling demand for our products.
• Example re: opportunity – This morning I would like to talk about the new project and how it will boost the chances for each one of us to learn more and do some fascinating leading edge work.

II.  Give your point of view. (Don’t leave them searching for the big picture you already have.)

• Having examined the situation carefully, my perspective is that we are facing …
• I would like to suggest a new and useful way of looking at our challenge.
• The research suggests that there are three things that really matter as we move forward.

III.  Give supporting evidence.

• Let me highlight the key reasons this point of view makes sense.
• Here are the key supporting facts.
• There are also risks/weaknesses that also should be acknowledged.

IV.  Give a resolution, i.e. a plan, proposal or idea

• It appears that we can benefit by …
• There is an opportunity here for a win-win if we …
• You may wish to reduce the inherent risk by implementing a plan with these elements …

V.  Give or suggest the next step.

• If you agree that this should be implemented, the next step would be to …
• I would like to suggest that each team move forward by …

Let me continue with my challenge to encourage leaders to think about the essential components of their personal leadership.

 

Here is another very interesting leadership model that diverts significantly from the previous two. The MIT Leadership Center has created this picture of leadership. See http://mitleadership.mit.edu/r-dlm.php to learn more. They refer to it as “a pragmatic, research-based model of how successful leaders at every level actually work”. According to them leaders do the following things.

 

1.     Sensemaking: making sense of the world around us, coming to understand the context in which we are operating.

2.     Relating: developing key relationships within and across organizations.

3.     Visioning: creating a compelling picture of the future.

4.     Inventing: designing new ways of working together to realize the vision.

 

Sensemaking is the component in this model that strikes me as most unique compared to other views of the leader’s role. It also seems right on the money. We only have to look at the trauma caused by the current economic meltdown to see how much employees look to leaders to make sense of what is going on in the world, in the market place and in their company. Leaders who can provide insight, perspective and calm direction in any challenging time are valuable people indeed.

 

So how do you react to MIT’s take on leadership?

My last entry began a series that challenges leaders to think about the essential components of leadership. So what elements of leadership to you believe in?

 

Here is another great leadership model that is definitely worth some thought. It is called “Legacy Leadership”, and it was developed by Dr. Jeannine Sandstrom and Dr. Lee Smith. You can learn more at http://www.legacyleadership.com . They have an excellent book and a number of useful reference materials. Have a look, and consider how each of these areas of leadership skill could work for you and your team.

 

Based on a broad review of leadership research, Legacy Leadership identifies the following leadership traits as lasting aspects of leadership that endure beyond the fads that are the focus of so many trendy leadership books.

 

1.     Leaders hold, model and communicate vision and values to establish direction and commitment

2.     Leaders build and measure responsibility and accountability for execution and performance

3.     Leaders create innovation and collaboration by shaping the environment of working relationships

4.     Leaders inspire people and help them become leaders through the way they connect with others

5.     Leaders build a community that recognizes and values people’s differences

In a previous article, I suggested that leaders need to find their own leadership style. This is a matter of clarifying what you personally believe about the kind of leader you want, or need, to be. One way to do this is to reflect on a variety of leadership models that have been endorsed by researchers, authors and significant organizations. As you ponder these models think about a) what really makes people excited about coming to work in the morning, b) what it takes to produce innovative, exceptional results, and c) what would stretch your leadership skills but still be relatively comfortable for your personality.

 

The next few entries on this site will summarize a few models worth considering. Check them out further by going to the listed websites. To get started here’s a model that is pretty much a classic for contemporary students of leadership.

 

From The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes & Barry Posner – Based on their long term research into the attributes of great leaders, they believe that exemplary leaders do the following.

 

Model the Way by clarifying their values and aligning action with those values

Inspire a Shared Vision by imagining exciting possibilities for the future and creating shared aspirations

Challenge the Process by searching for innovative ways to do things and by experimenting and taking risks

Enable Others to Act by fostering collaboration, building trust, and strengthening others by sharing power and discretion

Encourage the Heart by recognizing and appreciating others, celebrating values and victories, and crating a spirit of community

 

Which of the ideas in this model could make you a better leader? Learn more at www.leadershipchallenge.com or pick up a copy of the book.

First tip: Make sure you have a printed copy of your PowerPoint presentation, and make sure it is in a form that you can refer to quickly. Often the best bet is to have your slides in a handout that you will give the audience, and simply make sure that you have a copy for yourself. Then before your presentation go through your printed copy and quickly number all of the slides in the exact order that they appear in your presentation. Now when someone asks you a question, and you want to refer to a specific slide, you simply glance at your printed copy and find the number of that slide. Then enter that number on the keyboard, and press enter. PowerPoint will jump ahead and show that specific slide. Then when you want to go back to where you were before the question, enter the number of the slide you want to return to and press enter again. This avoids the messy situation of having to click forward and back through all of your slides while your audience waits and you looked disorganized.

 

Second tip: When you provide a handout of your slides to an audience make sure that the slides are printed large enough and clear enough to be easily read. Not only does this make it more likely that people will actually referred to the slides in the future, it can be a lifesaver if the computer or projector crashes. If the technology lets you down you can simply continue your presentation by having people follow you in the handout. If a presentation is particularly important, I like to print the handouts with only two slides on the page. If the projector is not working you simply ask people to refer to the slide on the top of page 2 [or whatever slide you are on] and carry on with your presentation, while someone else tries to fix the technology. You don’t have to be flustered, and your level of organization will impress.

We have all been bored to death by PowerPoint presentations with slide after slide containing line after line. It gets to a point where you just want to run from the room screaming. So how do you use PowerPoint intelligently while you keep an audience fascinated with what you have to say?

 

First of all, let go of the obsession with piling on the information. People with technical expertise have a lot of trouble realizing that most people do not want to hear all of the details. You may think every little point is vitally important, but take a long cold look at it from your audience’s point of view. Then narrow it down to what really matters to the audience, and leave out the rest or move it to a handout. Ask yourself, what do I want them to remember two weeks from now? And ask yourself, what are they really looking for? For example, if you are seeking approval for a project from an executive, they typically want the vital few facts that will determine their decision.

 

Next, think about which parts of your presentation are about conveying facts and concepts and which parts are really about trying to evoke an emotional response in the audience. Many people want to pretend that emotion is not part of business, but it is a very important part. Often we want people to be enthusiastic or excited, or to feel that they should trust the presenter. When you are in the emotional realm turn the projector off. You will do much better if you simply talk with your audience, and build a person to person connection. The easiest way to do this is to push the “B” key on the computer. The screen will instantly go black, and people will pay attention to you rather than stare at the screen. When you are ready to resume showing slides, push B again, and the screen comes back to life.

 

For the parts of your presentation where you are actually trying to teach, use slides to get your ideas across. Typically, that doesn’t mean listing point after point after point after point. Look for ways to represent your information, concepts and new ideas visually in simple charts, diagrams and illustrations. Photographs and video clips can also be very powerful. Yes, it takes a little longer to build these kinds of slides, but you only need a few of them. Instead of burying your audience in dozens of points, your goal is to have them understand and remember the few points that really matter.

 

And finally, learn to simply be a good speaker. Practice getting your ideas across clearly and concisely with only your voice. Then when it is appropriate to add slides, the combination of your words and visual representations will be even stronger. And practice storytelling. This may be the most powerful tool in any speaker’s repertoire. Many of the ideas we want to get across in our presentations are best illustrated by using real-life examples in the form of stories or short anecdotes, and audiences tend to love them.

“How am I supposed to give clear direction to my team when the people above me don’t know what the heck they want?” Most of us have heard this complaint in one way or another. And, most leaders have worked in a situation where the direction from above was vague, contradictory or prone to change. So what do you do?

 

One of the traits I most admire in mid-level and junior leaders is the ability to establish a vision for their team when those above them lack a clear direction. Most supervisors and managers faced with this dilemma sit around complaining. They take the position that they will be able to give their team clear focus when senior management gets its act together. It does sound logical that organizations should have top down direction, but there are two big reasons why it doesn’t always work that way. First, there is such a thing as mediocre or poor leadership. The people above you may never do a good job in this area, and sitting around waiting for them to undergo a fundamental personality change won’t help you and your team. And second, organizations need leaders at all levels. The folks up top need you to work out the things they can’t get to.

 

Smart leaders facing this problem establish the best team direction they can in the circumstances. Every team is looking for certainty. They want to know why they exist, and how they can do a good job. A strong leader doesn’t abandon his or her responsibility to provide these answers just because the air above them is foggy. Their team will have a vision even if others don’t. So they do their best to determine what the senior leaders see as priorities, even if those priorities aren’t being voiced clearly. Then they work with their team to build a picture of how the team can contribute and excel and find satisfaction in their sometimes foggy organization.

One of my first discoveries as a leadership coach was that many leaders can’t tell you what they believe about leadership. This is sometimes true of even very senior executives.

Imagine asking an engineer who designs bridges “So what are the main principles you have to adhere to as you design a bridge?” and discovering that they don’t know the answer. How disturbing would that be the next time you are suspended over a river surrounded by the massive weight of four lanes of cars, trucks and buses. And yet time and time again, I’ve seen leaders in business stumble over the same question applied to leadership. You ask “What are the main principles you adhere to in order to give your team, unit or company strong leadership?” and they stumble around gradually pulling their ideas together.

So here’s the challenge. Right now take out a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left half of the page, write down the CHARACTERISTICS great leaders tend to have. Think about their character, their personality traits and their values. This is what you believe about the kind of person a strong leader needs to be. For example, you might say they have to have integrity or be trustworthy. On the right side of the page, right down what you believe about the ABILITIES strong leaders should possess. Think about both high level skills (e.g. being able to see the big picture and think strategically), and very down to earth practical skills (e.g. being able to listen).

It might take a few days to ponder this challenge, and maybe talk it over with someone else. You might need to go to a few books or websites on leadership to fill in your lists. When you get it done to your satisfaction, you will have discovered what you really believe about the attributes of strong leaders and the principles that guide them. This can shape your own development as a leader, and help you see the kind of leader you want to be and need to be. It is your personal foundation for your leadership.

 

My last entry on this site was titled “Your Relationship with Your Boss”, but it actually focused on how good bosses shape and build the supervisor/employee relationship. My thoughts on how good leaders build relationships provoked a couple of interesting comments that focused on the question “So what do you do when your boss doesn’t initiate a good relationship with you, and is actually hard to work with?”

 

The reasons a relationship with a supervisor can be rocky are many and varied. And unfortunately, they are also very common. A lot of people wish that they had better two-way communication with the person who is all important to their happiness at work. For example, the boss may have what appears to be a “my way or the highway” attitude. Or the boss is never around. Or they keep changing their mind on what they want. Or they rarely take the time to give feedback or have a “good” discussion. Or they are introverted and don’t like to talk much. Or they are a micromanager. Or they are flat out a real jerk!

 

A number of my coaching clients have had to deal with this type of situation, and as is usually the case, I’ve learned a lot from them. They would tell you that if your supervisor isn’t a great communicator, you have to take the steps that will build the relationship you need to succeed and be happy at work. That means getting up the courage to have a series of private conversations with the boss where you very respectfully talk about how the two of you need to work together to create a good working relationship. Ask him/her about the kind of communication they need, and share your thoughts on what you need. Talk about how often you need to talk, what you need to talk about, how you can support each other, how you prefer to work on assignments, how you can introduce innovative ideas, and how you will discuss things when you disagree. Time and time again, I’ve seen the supervisor respond well to these kinds of discussions. Most people want to be a good leader, and they understand immediately how this kind of discussion can help. So while many people worry about initiating such a discussion, the risk is low. And if you are really unfortunate and have a boss who is inconsiderate, self-centered or rude when you broach these topics, it may be time to ask for a transfer or seek a new job. Life is too short to put up with a manager who isn’t open to improving things.

I was talking with a group of very experienced executive coaches recently when I mentioned that the majority of the leaders I work with are unhappy with the relationship they have with their boss. The rest of the coaches confirmed that they see the same thing all the time. I’m not just talking about first time managers who are afraid to speak up to a grizzly old veteran manager. This includes people at all levels right up to and including executive vice presidents who struggle to get along with the CEO.

 

The bottom line is that going to work is a lot more stressful and unpleasant when you don’t have a relationship with your boss characterized by mutual respect and the ability to talk seriously about the important issues of your workplace and your own performance. Bosses and the people who report to them need to come together regularly to talk about the things that matter. Otherwise the boss is getting isolated from the experience and collective intelligence of their team, and they desperately need that to make the best possible decisions. And, there is abundant evidence that good people leave when they can’t find a comfortable way to make the relationship with their supervisor work.

 

Some of the best leaders I’ve see anticipate this problem and know that their reports often won’t be comfortable coming to them. They take the initiative in every new relationship with a direct report. They sit down and say “Let’s talk about the best way for us to work together.” They discuss how often they need to talk, how they should deal with disagreements, what they need to share, how they will challenge each others thinking, and all kinds of other things relevant to a strong working partnership. And then they don’t take it for granted. They renew the discussion and get feedback frequently. And perhaps most importantly, they commit to becoming masterful listeners, so that they constantly demonstrate that they want to be connected to the people around them.

There are probably thousands of books written about how to be a great public speaker. I’ve read at least 50, and most are way too focused on things like how to use your voice, hands and posture to look and sound good. If you stop and think about great speakers you’ve seen over the years, you’ll discover that even those who seem to break all of the rules can still be terrific because they say things that are important, speak with passion, and get their ideas across simply and clearly. So here are 10 things that really are worth doing to prepare for your next presentation.

 

1. If you actually don’t think the topic is important, try to avoid the presentation all together. If you are not moved by the topic, your audience certainly won’t be.
2. Write down 3 reasons this topic really matters to you.
3. Write down 3 ways you can connect this topic to something that really matters to your audience.
4. Stop and think about why the audience may not care about what you care about, or may even resist your message. Plan how to deal with misconceptions, and how to connect to what matters to the audience to win them over.
5. Over a few days, brainstorm all kinds of examples, stories, visuals, questions, etc. that make your points simply and powerfully show how your topic matters to you, and matters to your audience.
6. Avoid the temptation to either write a document you will read to the audience, or make a slide presentation that is just point after point after point. This guarantees mediocrity. After you have chosen all of the elements your presentation will use, make simple notes that you can follow as you go, or practice to speak with no notes at all if you are comfortable.
7. Develop a strong opening and a strong close. Your opening will use one of your stories or examples or a powerful insight to grab your audience in the first 90 seconds. Get momentum fast, and show people that you have something important to say. Your strong close will use another attention grabbing technique and a simple summary to make sure your key message sticks.
8. Keep your presentation simple. Use your best stories, examples, visuals, etc. to get across a small number of key messages that really do matter. Avoid the temptation to bury people in detail that only you think is important.
9. Focus on bridging what matters to you and what matters to the audience. If you can show your audience that your message is relevant in their day to day lives, they will be listening to you and not playing with their Blackberrys.
10. Don’t assume that being competent and professional means being unemotional. People want to see where you stand and why you care. If you don’t care, why on earth should they? Pick stories and examples that allow you to express your enthusiasm or concern, and talk directly about why you believe the issue at hand deserves attention.

Even the most senior executives sometimes struggle with the question “Who am I supposed to be when I walk into the office in the morning?” So it is not surprising that first time leaders, and leaders at all other levels of experience, have the same challenge.

Are you supposed to be nice and supportive? How about professional and aloof? Or maybe today is the day to be a real “hard ass” to make a point to your team. Many times when I’m working as someone’s executive coach, they will lay out a problem that involves other people, and then throw their hands up in the air and say “I’m really confused about how to handle this”. The curious thing, however, is that many of these people actually do know what to do when they slow down and look at questions like “What would a wise leader do in a situation like this?”, or “Who do you know who is really good at handling this kind of situation, & what would they do?”

The problem is that most leaders run too fast, and spend too little time reflecting on their own beliefs about good leadership. So when they confront a specific problem, they feel lost until they slow down, think about good leadership, and get in touch with what they personally want to model. Every once in awhile, it pays to put your feet up and tap into your own leadership wisdom. It is also a great idea to book coffee or lunch with others leaders you respect just to share your leadership insights.

Question: It seems that coaching just sprung up out of nowhere. Where did it actually come from? Who invented it?

Answer: We’ve had football coaches, voice coaches, track coaches and acting coaches for ages, but it seems like just yesterday that life coaches, business coaches and executive coaches started springing up everywhere. What the heck happened? And why is there now something totally separate from sport and the arts called the International Coach Federation with over 14,000 members in more than 80 countries? The emergence and growth of coaching has been amazing.

Most people are surprised to learn that coaching actually began about 30 years ago with people in different fields starting to build what has become a new profession. Efforts on a number of fronts have come together in the approaches and skills that we now call coaching. All of this effort addressed one major question. What is the best way to help intelligent and capable people achieve their goals faster?

 

On one hand, new perspectives in sport coaching were seen to have great potential for enhancing performance in other fields including organizational leadership. In another arena, a small network of consultants began to use the term coaching for an equally innovative approach to helping their clients reach personal and professional objectives. These two arms of coaching came together forming a distinctly new model for helping people work, live and lead more effectively. Professionals from fields like psychology and leadership development joined the effort to refine and expand coaching methods.

 

 

Not surprisingly, there have been a few notable leaders in the field who wrote the first books, shared their ideas, and started the process of setting standards for training and accreditation. Anyone who has ever experienced working with a good coach has these “pioneers” to thank. And frankly, so do I. Executive coaching is constantly interesting and meaningful work.

 

Where will it go next? The profession still has a lot of maturing to do, but we are already seeing a number of universities jumping on board to offer certificate programs and even Masters degrees in coaching. My guess is that we will see higher training standards, and greater specialization with areas like leadership and business coaching being clearly distinguished from personal and career coaching.

The Question: Is there research evidence to show that leadership coaching really works?

The Answer: People who know research understand that it can take decades to replicate studies and do enough research to draw firm conclusions. So what do we know so far from the research on the emerging profession of coaching, and what is still inconclusive?    

First, we know that when leaders have coaches they like (i.e., enjoy, respect and value), they are very positive about the coaching experience and tend to stay with their coach for 6 months to a year or longer. This is a critical observation because no other form of leadership development consistently keeps leaders engaged in learning for long periods of time.       

Secondly, there is now a clear pattern of positive coaching outcomes in the research. Studies report a) improved leadership skill based on self-assessment and assessment by other employees, b) improved individual and team performance, c) significant financial return on the investment in coaching services.

 What is still unclear is a lot of the important detail. Questions that have not yet had enough research attention to draw solid conclusions include the following. What types of clients will benefit most? What are the characteristics of the best and worst coaches?  How many clients have poor coaching relationships and drop out, and why? What are the specific coaching approaches that lead to certain types of individual or team development, or business results?