by: Joyce Friel, Peak Performance Consulting
In my career as a leadership strategist and organizational consultant, I have often been asked to conduct organizational assessments. I get this request for a variety of reasons, but often it is to discover what the obstacles are within an organization that may be preventing it from achieving its goals or breaking through to the next level. What I find is always instructive for the organizational leadership and generally serves as the foundation for future change initiatives.
The toughest situations are those times when the primary obstacle is the leader himself/herself. When this is the case, there is very little win/win in the organization currently. Organizational performance is sub-optimized, employees are usually frustrated, the leader is not as effective as they could be and the messenger runs the risk of being shot. In these cases, everyone says they want improvement, but very frequently the leader is not made aware of the dynamics and impact of his/her actions. So what do you do to make this a win/win situation? Here are some positive steps to consider:
As an employee you can…
- Be the example you want others to be
- Provide honest input when asked through an employee survey or a 360 assessment process
- Realize you can only control you own behaviors – you do not own the actions of others
As a management peer/friend you can…
- Help the leader see how much the organization cares about and depends on their continued ability to be a strong leader
- Encourage the use of a 360 assessment process if it is not currently used so the leader gets honest, anonymous input from multiple perspectives
- Ask the leader to mentor you so that as a protégé you have the opportunity to show them a mirror image of what you wish they were and are in a position to discuss a wide variety of situations with them privately
As a consultant you can …
- Help the leadership team see the value of using 360 assessment processes including providing coaching for the participants
- Have the courage to be honest with the leader in a tactful, kind, caring manner
- Use a variety of instruments and/or processes to help not only the leader, but also the leadership team deal with the challenges of effective leadership
- Develop a coaching rather than a consulting relationship with the leader and/or the whole leadership team
As the leader being confronted you can…
- Recognize you have both a personal and an enterprise responsibility to be a strong leader; and now that you are aware of the responsibility you are accountable to lead change
- Realize your management peer/friends, many of your employees and your consultant are allies in your effort
- Initiate a leadership development and growth process for the entire leadership team
- Demonstrate the courage it takes to confront change both personally and as the primary change leader for the enterprise
http://www.peakperformancecorp.com
http://www.joycefriel.blogspot.com
