Blog Entry
Too often, I hear clients announce that they’re going to “hold someone accountable,” but what they’re really doing is angrily venting their frustration. Though the leader might feel justified by “coming down hard,” the impact is rarely positive, and often has nothing to do with accountability. Worse, the boss may leave feeling better once they’ve unloaded, but are often oblivious to their actual impact in terms of erosion of trust and decreased motivation.
As a facilitator of leadership training programs, I’m sobered by research that ranks the impact of training programs as pretty low on the developmental experience scale. At the top of the list: challenging life experiences and adversities. I even see this in my own growth as a professional. The strategy I now use as a coach when working with executives “in crisis”was significantly influenced by a series of difficult events near the end of my father’s life.
Executive influence is a result of many elements including competence, judgment, approachability, and trustworthiness. But one secret source of influence often goes unrecognized: To be influential, one must also be willing to be influenced. For Becky, as for many others, an untapped source of influence lies in a willingness to reach out and solicit support and advice from others.
When one institutionalizes something special, it becomes routine. Corporate recognition programs are great examples of well-intended attempts to “automate” what should be meaningful interactions between colleagues. In my opinion, the ability of a leader to affirm others authentically is one of the most profound skills of effective leadership and one of the least mastered.
Collaboration requires time, patience, and at times, the discipline to listen for the music behind the words. Most executives I know have precious little time for anything that won’t produce a tangible result, quickly. Efficiency and urgency are key. Consequently, busy executives rely too heavily on their immediate judgments and the “certainty of knowing” derived from past experiences.
