• Evaluate how you view people who disagree with you. Do you try to understand the basis for their views? Do you ask questions respectfully? Do you work toward mutual understanding, or simply try to convince them that you are right?

 

• When you make a decision, get into the habit of considering the impact it will have on the people affected by it. Sometimes you may determine that a decision has a higher cost than it is worth, in terms of its impact on people. Other times, you may make the same decision, but you will know you need to reduce its negative impact.

 

• Recognize that timing is important. Your message might be the right one, but it won’t be well received if it is delivered at the wrong time. Before delivering your message ask yourself: “How will others feel if I say that?”

 

• As a leader, you have many opportunities to give people feedback. In addition to giving feedback, solicit feedback from your group members about how you can improve your own performance. Listen carefully to what was said, and thank people for taking the time to give you feedback.

 

Leadership always involves being sensitive to the needs of those who agree to be led. Respect your raters’ anonymity and make no effort to identify the individuals.

Make feedback part of your career development. Just consider it a nutritious way of helping you to become a more effective manager.

It’s no different for the practice of leadership development, and according to recent research more companies are investing in management training.

According to a recent poll by SMU Cox Executive Education, the four areas where respondents suggested spending will have the most impact are: leadership and executive development, management accountability, interpersonal and organizational business skills, and aligning leaders with the business strategy.

With a renewed focus and investment in leadership development, companies want to make sure its employees receive measurable value from its 360 feedback process. If the organization is going to invest time and money implementing a 360, it needs to be confident that the survey measures what it is intended to.

As a result, customization is playing a bigger part in the 360 process.

Customization is important because every company has its own unique culture. Capturing the essence of an organization’s leadership framework is a critical step in creating a superior solution, which ultimately leads to employee buy-in and engagement.

The customization process includes looking at the organization’s unique culture, competencies, and values. With multiple sets of competencies, participants’ receive feedback targeted to their job responsibilities, which makes results more meaningful. It is critical to focus on the right competencies and customize the process to what is important and valued at the company.

Good measurement is crucial to change initiatives, and this is why customized surveys need to maintain reliability. Customized assessments must meet these basic criteria:

·They must yield operational relevance. The dimensions must make sense to all participants, and executives concerned. They must also demonstrate practical validity, meaning that scores on the instruments must relate to performance.

Otherwise, if the instruments have face validity only – acceptable because they look right – but have not been shown to relate to measured performance, then you have a problem justifying investments in your programs. If you do not have good assessments of performance, you should use instruments whose validity can be demonstrated on comparable jobs.

·They must be sufficiently reliable over time to assess any change resulting from your programs. If the measures are less reliable than necessary, any change can be mistakenly interpreted. Change may appear to take place when in fact, it does not; or conversely, good change programs may be evaluated negatively because real differences are unreliably measured.

Customized surveys that preserve overall reliability helps participants receive feedback that directly applies to their jobs as well as the organization. It shows the participants the importance of the process because of its connection to the organization and to their individual success.

Here at TBC we offer expert survey customization while maintaining reliability of the competencies. In addition, we can host any customized survey on our TruScore survey hosting platform, which was built for multi-rater surveys.

All managers and leaders could learn something from those words about the art of delegation. However, it appears many don’t because some seem to think if they don’t do the work themselves, it won’t be done right. That kind of view about management is probably one of the biggest mistakes managers can make.

Some managers may be afraid to delegate because they believe it will take too long to train someone effectively, or if they delegate too much they won’t have any work to do themselves. In other words, it is hard for them to give up control. But when managers fail to delegate, they are disrespecting their direct reports, and that manager is most likely perceived as not trusting others to take responsibility for their work.

The managers that thrive on micromanaging, but also feel threatened by a loss of control are making the job a lot harder for themselves. If you abide by that philosophy, you’ll work more hours because you still need to perform your duties, but you are also taking on the work of your direct reports.

If you don’t want to spend your life at work, you have to learn to let go, and trust your direct reports to get the job done. The ability to delegate requires more than simply assigning responsibilities and tasks. You have to know the extent to which others can handle assignments. You also need to have a grasp on your tolerance for mistakes. You may require perfect work from yourself, but are those realistic expectations for your direct reports?

There are different aspects of delegation. Too much delegation to one person and you’ll risk alienating that individual along with receiving inadequate results. However, too little delegation keeps others dependant on you, and that can also be overdone. The key is to find a balance when you delegate, and we won’t leave you hanging; here are some tips to help you delegate more efficiently:

·When assigning responsibility, consider on which tasks you could serve as back-up instead of lead; which tasks could be assumed by a group member under your close direction; and whether there are other factors that prevent delegation.

·Delegate each task and describe the expected result (i.e., success, acceptable performance, unacceptable performance) to the person assigned. Then ask the assigned staff member to develop an action plan.

·Note the strengths, weaknesses and work preferences of your staff. Note the type of assignments best suited to each team member. Use this information when you delegate tasks.

·Consider your team members as collaborators rather than subordinates. Use each person’s skills to create a shared outcome. Make team members responsible to each other for performance.

·Delegate in ways that meet the needs, learning styles, and abilities of each person (for example, a newly hired employee will probably need more detailed instructions and background information than an experienced employee).

Do you have any tips for delegation that you’d like to share?

Lately, we have noticed debates on various blogs and forums centered on the question, “Should 360 feedback be used for development purposes or for performance appraisals?”

While the topic is not new in nature, it still is an interesting debate and we would like to put our two cents in the mix.

The nature of 360 feedback is to collect perceptions about a person’s behavior and the impact of that behavior from the person’s boss, direct reports, and colleagues. It measures leadership effectiveness such as decision-making skills, collaborative planning, conflict management, performance standards, and many others. The feedback is used for action planning, and to set goals.

The 360 feedback process is performed through anonymous feedback. Anonymity lends itself to more honest and open feedback from raters, and accurate feedback is key to a successful 360 process.

However, there is a growing trend to link appraisals to 360 data. As opposed to development programs, performance appraisals measure basic job requirements and are used for salary increases, promotions, bonuses, and even disciplinary action.

If this approach is required, we strongly suggest caution, full disclosure, and transparency for all involved before and after the project agreement. The process does lend itself to some negative unintended consequences, such as skewed data with the ‘halo’ or ‘horns’ effect, dips in participant morale, system gaming, etc.

A basic rule of thumb – if a company is not experienced with the 360 degree process, it should not use 360s for appraisal purposes.

When feedback is gathered and linked to development planning, goal setting, and organizational support, it can help improve individual performance. Contrasting self-evaluation results with feedback, enables individuals to integrate feedback into his or her self-image. Getting a clear picture can help identify weaknesses that can be improved, as well as strengths that can be leveraged.

Companies that turn to 360s must emphasize clear and frequent communication about the importance of development and implications for each member of the organization. The more people understand why 360 feedback is introduced to the organization and how the information is used, the more likely they are to support the effort.

In conclusion, utilizing 360 feedback for development purposes creates an atmosphere of trust. People can truly believe the data will not be held against them but will be used to help them.

One of my favorite shows on TV is Top Chef on Bravo. Each week, chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges in extremely high-pressure situations. Some chefs yell, flame out, and make rookie mistakes, and others maintain their cool and cook some fantastic meals full of creativity and inspiration.

Competing to win tons of cash and the title of ‘Top Chef’ can bring out the worst in certain chefs. Interviews with these chefs reveal their bad behaviors and pushy attitudes toward other contestants were due to the competitive atmosphere. However, it could just mean these chefs act like a jerk under pressure, and who wants to work with that?

The need to work well under pressure is not just reserved for kitchen competitions; it is a fact of life for many organizations. Working under pressure is tricky. Emotion, pressure, and passion, can easily be used to excess. Many leaders fail to understand how to apply pressure effectively, and often their efforts can undermine employee motivation.

Most work requires cooperation with other people so mistakes are bound to happen among teams. Leaders who push too much and are overly critical of mistakes might fall the risk of alienating people. On the flip side, leaders who are too easygoing or are overly tolerant of mistakes may be perceived as too forgiving of below average work.

The solution? Understand when to use push and pressure tactics in the workplace.

Pressure is an important tactical skill that should be used to communicate urgency, importance, and accountability. Effective leaders must push occasionally, and it is important they learn how to do that successfully.

Here are few tips:

· Pressure is a skill that should be used sparingly and strategically. Are you comfortable using pressure at strategic moments? Experiment using pressure and get feedback about its impact on your peers.

· Help peers maintain timelines for achieving goals so that extreme push is not needed as the deadline approaches.

· Monitor how others perceive you when you are excited or expressing passion about a particular idea or action. Sometimes passion becomes confused with excessive drive or aggressiveness.

· Look at your goal setting and planning processes to see where you can stress the importance of achieving goals.

· Study ways to critique work that are constructive rather than perceived to be destructive by others.

How do you lead under pressure?

The holiday season is upon us, and the exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the holiday. Gifts can be fun and all, but sometimes they are just plain bad and unnecessary. You could probably do without receiving a sweater with a picture of a poodle on it, or a giant hand back scratcher.

Still, there are certain gifts that can serve a long-term benefit. For leaders and managers, receiving feedback can be a gift that keeps on giving.

Yes, you read correctly – feedback is a gift. Before you start to groan and roll your eyes at this thought, hear me out. When done properly, feedback is a powerful professional development tool for leaders and managers.

After all, do you know there are actually two distinct perceptions of you? One is how you see yourself, and the second is how others see you. These views can influence your ability to lead, so it is crucial to find the blind spots between the two views.

For example, you may be great at holding people accountable but bad at setting clear expectations. Feedback gives you the information about your impact on others so that you don’t continue to operate with those pesky blind spots.

One way to gather feedback is through a 360 feedback assessment. Unlike traditional reviews and feedback, 360 feedback evaluates job performance based on confidential responses from managers, peers, direct reports, and other stakeholders. Since the opinions are voices anonymously, it encourages a higher level of honesty.

Let’s go back to our “gift” example. Receiving feedback is something you can’t give yourself – self-perception can only go so far. However, if people receive feedback from different sources, they can develop the tools necessary to improve weakness and capitalize on strengths. A person who gives you feedback, whether it is positive or negative, is giving you a gift; so make sure you acknowledge that gift.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind after you receive feedback.

· Try not to take the feedback personally. Be open to what you see and hear.

· Take the time to evaluate the information and consider specific actions for improvement.

· Use feedback to clarify goals and track progress toward goals.

· When you make a decision, get in the habit of considering the impact it will have on the people affected by it.

As you can see, unlike an ugly sweater, feedback is one gift that retains its value.

Here at TBC we like to keep abreast of industry news, so we read from a lot of different sources: blogs, websites, white papers, scholarly articles, research, etc. We know that not everyone likes to read scholarly research, so decided to make it easy for you by summarizing some important industry articles and putting them into less intimidating language.

One researcher we really enjoy following is Dr. Frank Shipper Ph.D., Professor of Management in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD. He has conducted many studies on using 360 Feedback to develop leadership and workplace skills, and has been awarded many accolades for his research.

One particularly interesting article is titled, “A cross-cultural exploratory study of the link between emotional intelligence and managerial effectiveness” (2003). In this article, Shipper explores the association between emotional intelligence, which is the ability to manage emotions and create motivation, and the effectiveness of employees in a managerial setting across three different cultures: The US, the UK, and Malaysia.

A quick background:

Emotional intelligence has garnered a large following over the past century, starting with Darwin’s work on emotional survival in the 1900s. As early as the year 1920, researcher E.L. Thorndike described “social intelligence” to describe the skill of managing and understanding other people. The first person attributed with using the term, “emotional intelligence” was Wayne Payne in his doctoral thesis, although there is proof that the term occurred in papers as early as 1966. EI became mainstream after the publication of Daniel Goleman’s best selling book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Since its publication, many theories on EI have developed and, inevitably, controversy has ensued. Wikipedia does a great job of summarizing information on EI and providing further links to different theories, ideas, and opinions on the worth validity EI.

According to Shipper, emotional intelligence (EI) is a “self-other argument” that can be gathered and tentatively measured by using 360 surveys. It is very complicated to measure EI, and there are many differing opinions on the best instrument for its collection and measurement. Shipper, however, decided that the most effective way to measure self-awareness, which is directly correlated with EI, was to use 360 surveys.

Through completing 360 feedback surveys of 3,785 managers from the U.S., the U.K., and Malaysia, Shipper proved his hypothesis that there is a relationship between self-awareness and managerial effectiveness, but determined that the link is more complicated than previously thought. He noted that the culture in which the survey was written and the content of the survey can affect the visible strength of this relationship. Shipper also noted that interpretation of 360 instruments should be done carefully in countries where the instrument was not developed, and that cross testing of 360 instruments must take place for accurate results.

Shipper’s article supports the idea that good managers are able to understand their emotions and interact with others in a way that encourages and inspires them. Developing EI skills are an essential step on the path to leadership development, and can make or break leadership in the workplace.

So you’ve decided to conduct a 360 survey within your business.  But how do you choose which service to utilize?  There are many different companies claiming to offer 360 feedback surveys and leadership coaching, but not all of them provide an important facet of the 360 evaluation process: validation.

But what exactly is survey validation, and why is it so important?

The American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education’s book titled Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing defines validity as “The degree to which evidence and theory support the interpretations of test scores entailed by the proposed used of tests.  Validity is therefore the most fundamental consideration in developing and evaluating tests” (1999).

But lets take this to the layman’s level.

Validation is defined by Dictionary.Com as “To establish the soundness of; corroborate.”  Their technology-specific definition says that validation is, “The stage in the software life-cycle at the end of the development process where software is evaluated to ensure that it complies with the requirements.”

At its core, survey validation is using analytical techniques to make sure the instrument is reliable and accurate in measuring the intended goal of the survey.

A validated survey instrument means that, based on that survey’s results, individuals and organizations can make reliable strategic decisions about where to focus their development efforts.  The organizations can have confidence that the survey is accurately measuring the things that it is supposed to measure, and that the results can indicate the direction the individual or organization should take.

How can you tell if the tool you are using is validated?  It’s simple: ask.  Look for a vendor that touts its validation (shameless plug to our own surveys).  If you can’t find anything about validation on the tool’s website, call and ask a customer service representative. Just make sure the data that you will be collecting actually means something, and isn’t off-the-mark.

If you use a validated tool, you’ll know that you are using a system that will be worth the money, time, and effort it takes to complete a 360 survey. Coaches will then be able to use this relevant information to create change in your company culture and produce better leaders, better management, and higher productivity.

So after exploring the importance of validation, do you see how vital it is for an effective evaluation and coaching program?  We do.  That’s why we’ve invested hours into making sure our surveys pass the test.  We believe in the essential role of validation in surveys—and  we hope you do, too.

When he died [earlier this summer], Robert Byrd, who was a frail 92, had represented West Virginia in the Senate for more than 50 years. Is it generally a good idea for top leaders in any sector to serve that long, or that late in life? Given the common instinct to hang on, should limits be imposed?

Thinking about this definitely creates a tough inner dialogue.  For some leaders, their lifetime of experience makes them worth their weight in gold.  They also deserve respect for the time they have dedicated to the organization and the insight they provide. Previously weathering an organization’s ups and downs offers reassurance to younger, less experienced workers who may doubt job security or who are unsure of the future.  Older and more experienced team members can also offer counseling in times of stress, direction when there is none, or reassurance that no matter what happens in the office, life will go on.

On the other hand, keeping a “lame duck” leader doesn’t benefit anyone.  Especially old or frail leaders may be easily manipulated, or they may be unable to handle the tasks assigned to them, leading to resentment and inner-office turmoil.  They may be unable to actually lead their subordinates, who may feel lost or forgotten by their superiors.  Without a leader, the organization will become less and less productive and innovative.

George Washington addressed this situation when he declined a third term in office, favoring new blood instead of a constant single leader.  Granted, most organizations are not under the sort of peril the young United States was during this time, but ushering in a new set of eyes, ideas, and talents can benefit an organization.  What would George say about the late Sen. Robert Byrd? Would he disapprove of such a long term, or would the circumstances call for a different evaluation where length could be beneficial?

The pros and cons of an “aging leader” leave us with one slightly uncomfortable option:  Leaders must be evaluated on an individual basis.  In this evaluation, they must be compared to the same standard as all other employees. This allows those still-functioning leaders to continue their work, while ensures that those who may be slipping in their duties are made aware of their weaknesses.

It takes a strong and dedicated leader to know when they should retire their post to the next generation.  It shouldn’t be difficult to pass the baton—everyone grows older, and age is something that we can’t escape.  Yet many leaders still hang on to their positions for too long, hurting their subordinates and coworkers.

So why don’t we all endeavor to become aware of our own strengths and weaknesses, and pledge to identify when we too have become “aged leaders?”  It’s going to happen; we just need to be able to identify it.  This ensures the best for our organization and for us, the guarantee of leaving on a high note, and best yet, possibly an earlier retirement.