Finding leaders from within the organisation

Within every organization there is the opportunity for leadership.  Most businesses find that finding leadership from within is easier than attracting new leaders.  However, sometimes finding someone from inside to lead can be difficult.

Any business that is thriving is doing so because of strong leadership and if it is not it is usually due to poor leadership.  A strong leader can create a standard of achievement through what they do, how they work with others and how they develop their departments.

Unfortunately, too many businesses find that they are dealing with mediocre management instead of stellar people.  A question that comes to mind is, “Can we change poor managers into effective ones?” The answer to this question is that it depends on whether the individual is open to change.

Some experts say that leadership is intrinsic in most people and it can be brought out and honed as needed.  Others say that leadership can be learned if you take the people with potential and expose them to the right training.  The debate is still on; however, leadership potential is easy to spot if you know what to look for in your people.

Leadership Skills

When you are looking for leaders within your organization, it is important to think about what you see as a strong leader.  For instance, if you think about people you have admired as leaders, you will probably find teachers, colleagues or coaches.  What was it about these people that struck you and made them memorable?  What skills did these people possess that made you feel they were leaders?

Listen to what others are saying about the leaders in your business. Here are some things to think about:

• Who in your business is also active in their community? Are they in leadership positions in the community?
• When you ask others in their department about their performance, would you find them dependable? Is this a person that is asked for direction in situations?
• Who in your business works as part of a team and individually? Who brings you ideas that are feasible?
• Who is showing a degree of independence and seems motivated from within?

When you find all of these questions in one person, you may have what you need in a developing leader.

Another area that you want to know more about is the individuals leadership style. What style would be the best for your business?  Generally you will find leadership styles that are dictatorial or collaborative; in most organizations a collaborative style may work best.

Whatever is your leadership style, you will want to make sure that it complements your business style.

When you find the individual that meets your criteria it is time to nurture them into a leadership opportunity. These are the types of employees who will leave a business to find another opportunity if they are bored. By recognizing their skill inside the organization, you can be sure they will stay with you longer.

Finding leaders within an organization is also more cost effective than attracting those from outside.

The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey – well we’re all on one, although we usually call it life.  Yet within our life we have multiple chapters or mini hero’s journey’s.  And for that matter so does an organisation.

Who am I and why am I here, are two questions we are in a permanent dance with.

Who are we and why are we here, are the two questions any team or organisation is in a permanent dance with.

Our sense of ‘Identity’ is fundamental to achieving what we want.  Without knowing what fulfils us or gives us a sense of meaning we are empty / frustrated, living a life of stress that was never meant to be.

To quote Joseph Campbell “when you follow your bliss doors will open that could only open for you.”

In other words when you are being true to yourself and doing what you’re really meant to do, then true wealth and success will be yours.

On the 4^th June I’ll share with you the hero’s journey and the 12 keys to success.  Best of all, it’s all on a complimentary one-time teleseminar that’s my gift to you, and one that’s also a content-rich preview to my upcoming Archetypal Leadership Event.

Each and every one of us is on our own unique hero’s journey
And most of us are doing it totally blind.

I can honestly say that once I learnt about the Hero’s Journey and Archetypes my current circumstances suddenly made a whole lot of sense.  Rather like a game of Ker Plunk, a lot of marbles dropped at once.

This is material I share with my private coaching clients, and amongst other things it helps them with their decision making.

In this 75 minute teleseminar you will learn:-

-         What the hero’s journey is.

-         What are the 4 phases, and which one are you in right now.

-         What are the 12 keys.

-         How the hero’s journey inter-twines with successful goal achievement.

-         How understanding the hero’s journey brings a sense of stability even in times of chaos or uncertainty.

If you’ve been looking to create more success in your life this call is for you.

To register for the Hero’s Journey tele-seminar click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Who experiences the highest level of job satisfaction?

Do you think that the co-worker who’s usually smiling is a happier employee than the one who seems distant or neutral?  You might just be wrong if you chose the smiling employee.

Job satisfaction measures more than outward appearances.  One employee may be better at hiding distress than another, so what you see doesn’t ring true with how satisfied that employee is in his or her career.  Maybe the smile is daydreaming about the next job interview!

According to the National Opinion Center at the University of Chicago, 86 % of Americans surveyed were satisfied with their jobs (2006).  If you think younger workers are the most enthusiastic and nearly retired workers are ready to ditch the 9-5 routine, think again.  Older workers are happier at work, with job satisfaction peaking at age 65 and over.

In the United Kingdom, slightly fewer or about 75% of workers were satisfied with their jobs, reports the Work Foundations’ 2006 Study of Good Work.  As in the US, older workers in the UK have the highest job satisfaction, with the over 55 workers arriving at work with much better attitudes than the 16-34 year olds.

As for job duties, it’s no surprise that workers in US and UK whose jobs are in menial labor (including unskilled occupations) are far less satisfied than workers in positions with the highest pay, status and education levels.

In the US, the level of job satisfaction among higher status workers was also influenced by geographic location. Managerial and professional level workers in Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas had the highest level of satisfaction with their jobs.

Regardless of pay scale, half of the survey respondents in the UK see their jobs as “a means to an end” yet only 9% thought of their work as “meaningless.” So while there may be the Monday morning temptation to hit the snooze alarm, once they get to work, their outlook seems to improve.

What does it take for an employer to create job satisfaction at work?  The answer to that question varies by job type and work environment.  One employee group might feel a renewed dedication to work if they only had a working kitchen in the break room to prepare lunch.  For workers in manufacturing plants, their needs might be more serious safety concerns or more frequent breaks from long hours of repetitive motion work.

Perhaps the best way to determine job satisfaction is to simply ask the workers in a given environment.  The old “suggestion box” can be a bit tired.  A more effective way to get this information is to post an online survey so that each worker has enough privacy and anonymity to give a candid response.

At all job levels, workers tend to be more satisfied when they are heard and their needs given genuine consideration. Making even a few changes based on employee recommendations sends a wave of confidence that shows the employer is response to workers and that makes a notable increase in job satisfaction on both sides of the “big pond.”

Building a values based organisation

Jim Green CEO of Kemps Inc was recently talking to MBA students about the importance of building a values based organisation.   ….”He also encouraged the listeners in their levels of leadership. “Every one of us is a leader at some level of impact,” he said.  Leaders need to “spread the values-based organization as a positive virus in your daily world.  Reject the failed leadership model of greed and excess.”…. you can get the full article here.

Self Belief + Talent = Success

I haven’t avidly been watching Britain’s Got Talent, but I catch the odd episode and over the last couple of years I’ve noticed a theme.  Talented person comes on but lacks self confidence.  Simon Cowell goes through a few facial expressions, Amanda perhaps sheds a few tears and then we get the review at the end.  At this point they invariably comment on the talent and then Simon highlights the gap between being this talented and not yet having the success they desire and indeed deserve; it’s always down to lacking self confidence – or as Simon tells them – it’s about believing in yourself.  Their key instruction between then and the next stage is to work on their self belief, not go and practice your talent.

What are your talents, gifts and if you’re really not sure you have any of them, what are your strengths?

Do you acknowledge these in yourself and to yourself?

To what extent do you believe in yourself?

Most of us do fail to recognise our talents enough and then if we do we act modestly about them.  Actually the classic sign of lacking self belief is when someone compliments you and you reject it “oh no I’m not really that good / well it was alright but I didn’t do a/b/c”.  When did you last accept the compliment and just say “thank you”.  You don’t even have to bask in the feel good factor of a compliment if you don’t want.  Just stop yourself from slapping the giver in the face (metaphorically speaking) and telling them their judgement is not up to much.  Plus every time you do this you re-enforce out loud the fact you don’t believe in yourself and if you don’t why should anyone else.  Fortunately they often do, but after a while if you persist then they’ll stop, or at least stop re-enforcing their belief in you and the possibility to achieve more success than you perhaps first thought possible.

Don’t let your talent go to waste.