Listening is not the lost skill of leadership, but it tends to take a back seat to getting work done when things are moving fast. A recent speech by a brain expert reminded me how little listening doctors do in the course of diagnosing certain medical conditions. Leadership and getting most out of the talent of a team (talent management) is, in part, about listening.
Leadership is important, but being able to be an effective manager is also important. Talent management (getting the most out of your people) does not happen without engaging people one on one, getting to know them, listening to what they need, and helping them. Here are 3 habits for any leader to help this to happen.
Being a leader versus being a manager. It is a great topic and a key discussion to have as you challenge seasoned managers and directors to take make a shift that the organization needs them to make. But many of the relational needs people have are best done by managers – and even the CEO needs to wear that hat on occassion.
Learning takes energy. Here are the numbers any leader or follower should think about before they start asking for or embarking on personal change. Talent management is about all of these AND the conversation that follows. Your next talent management strategy or leadership development key note address should probably include all of these numbers.
Why were you selected for a new leadership role? Simple question, and yet critical in aligning the right people with a situation and creating an effective transition plan. Based on David Baker’s book, Managing Right – For The First Time, this is a question all leaders should ask, when hiring or being hired. Talent Management is about great conversations, and this question is a cornerstone of a great talent management conversation.
Here is a quick learning activity for a leadership team. Tony Schwartz talked about myths that live in organizations that are destructive. Leadership development is about awareness first, and these points help leaders examine some myths that might be getting in their way. Use this at your next leadership team meeting, or around an examination of talent management.
David Baker wrote a book to help new managers make their transition successful. As I read Managing Right For The First Time in preparation for writing a review, I will share things that make me go Hmmmm. Some thoughts are around leadership development, while some are just about self awareness or individual development. This is about starting your development before you lead.
Most learning is free. The challenge is slowing down long enough to recognize it or to be purposeful about finding a friend to help process it and make the new knowledge a habit. Here are some tips about talent management of ourselves as leaders. Included is a Talent Scorecard to help you see where your own habits as a leader need to be built.
Truth and trust are the two areas that all leaders need to focus all of the time. Here are 5 Habits to build a Trust Savings Account (aka: Emergency Fund). The Birkman Method is a great tool for helping to understand the individual needs of your people. This is s cornerstone of both leadership development and the development of the culture of your team.
Leadership and team development involves looking in the mirror on occassion. The Birkman Method is a great tool for creating self Awareness for the team and for the leaders. The Birkman Method helps see the natural style, the stress style, and the needs that have to be met in order to help the natural style of the leader be present more often.
Leadership and accountability is a double edged sword. Accountability is too often used around revolutionary or punitive rhetoric. Be careful, because it is a powerful word and it can result in some very distructive actions. Talent management has to have accountabiity to work, but it starts with a great conversation and a strong relationship.
When people are under lots of stress because of life/work, they start action ‘strange’. When I hear labels, I automatically think of the Birkman Method and what it captures and shares. A cornerstone of leadership development is self awareness of what is normal behavior, what our needs are, and how to deal with stress.