Category: HR / Talent Management | Page 4

February 19, 2013 / Ask Mariposa / Coaching Skills / HR / Talent Management

Ask Mariposa: Team Listening Skills

Drew asked:

The CFO of our company is technically fantastic at her job, yet I am hearing from her team that morale is down because she is not that open minded and doesn’t listen well. What are some things she can do?

Barbara Baill, Senior Leadership Consultant responded:

Drew,

It’s great that your CFO has the technical component of the job down. Next, she needs to understand that the leadership components of her role are equally important. This is a common challenge for many who come to a leadership role through their technical expertise. Daniel Goleman, famous for his research in emotional intelligence, has identified that emotional intelligence is critical to effective leadership (refer to HBR, “What Makes A Leader”, Daniel Goleman, November-December 1998). He has identified five components for emotional intelligence for effective leaders: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. It sounds like your CFO could benefit from developing the capacity to show more empathy and build more rapport (social skills) with her people through active listening.

Your coaching of her will be key to her continued growth as a leader. Specifically, first give her straight and compassionate feedback. Appreciate the value of her technical expertise to the business. Second, explain her next opportunity for growth is as a leader of her team. As part of this, she will need to spend more team listening to her team in a way that they feel heard and appreciated. “Expert” executives often feel that their job is to have all the answers. You will need to coach her that her job as a leader is broader than that. It begins by having an engaged and empowered team. The first step in that process is listening to the team, building rapport, and only then, will she be able to motivate them towards a common goal. Through your coaching, you will be increasing her self-awareness as you help her to develop the leadership part of her role.

This is a great opportunity for the two of you to work together to enhance her contributions to the overall business and become an more effective leader.

For more resources on developing leadership skills, refer to previous Ask Mariposa blogs.

MORE

February 19th, 2013|Categories: Ask Mariposa, Coaching Skills, HR / Talent Management|Tags: ask mariposa, Barbara Baill, coaching, communication, Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence, empathy, HBR, HR Leade, listening skills, rapport|

February 12, 2013 / Ask Mariposa / HR / Talent Management

Ask Mariposa: Creating an Employee Recognition Program

Kristine asked:

I’ve been tasked with creating an employee recognition program, whatever that is. Help!

Tawny Lees, COO responded:

Hi Kristine,

How fun! What’s better than helping people recognize and appreciate each other more regularly? Right, now for the hard part – finding a way to create a program so that people will actually participate and value it. First off, you need a plan. At a high level it will probably look something like:

Assess/Scope
Design
Launch
Maintain

During “assess/scope” you will need to get some questions answered to map out the rest of the plan effectively. What’s the impetus for this program? What’s the objective? What’s the budget? Who are the key stakeholders and decision makers? Any time expectations? During “design” you will certainly want to spend time with many employees across the organization to get in their shoes, research, generate ideas, try a prototype and get feedback until you come up with a final program design and approval. See the many resources here on our blog and site about Design Thinking. Within “launch” you’ll want to identify champions in addition to a communication strategy. And then once everything is in place, clear ownership around on-going program maintenance and tweaking is critical. Without on-going ownership, the program will fizzle and could have negative ramifications instead of the positive outcomes you desire. Good luck and have fun with it!

Share your thoughts on this response in the comments section below.

MORE

February 12th, 2013|Categories: Ask Mariposa, HR / Talent Management|Tags: ask mariposa, design thinking, HR Leade|

January 31, 2013 / HR / Talent Management / Strategy / Wise Talk

Q&A with Cynthia Montgomery on Being The Strategist Your Business Needs

Last week’s Wise Talk with Cynthia Montgomery launched our 2013 leadership theme of Strategy. She talked with Mariposa CEO Sue Bethanis on the different aspects of strategy and how they directly relate to business management.

Cynthia is a Harvard Business Strategy professor and author of the book The Strategist. Check out these snippets of their conversation to gain a deeper understanding of the topic.

In this first snippet, Cynthia talks about the most necessary element behind strategy – purpose:

In this next snippet, she talks about the strategy behind capturing value:

In this final snippet, Sue asks Cynthia what she sees as the most common mistake executive make when it comes to strategy. Listen to her response here:

Click here to access Mariposa Leadership’s Wise Talk archives, and click on “Are you a strategist?” for the full audio of this session.

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.

MORE

January 31st, 2013|Categories: HR / Talent Management, Strategy, Wise Talk|Tags: HR Leadership|

January 29, 2013 / Articles We Like / Ask Mariposa / HR / Talent Management

Ask Mariposa: Sending Late-Night Emails to Your Team?

Rob asked:

My team is complaining about the late-night emails I send to them. I tell them that the company policy says they can wait to answer until the morning, so what’s the big deal?

Anne Loehr, Senior Leadership Consultant responded:

The big deal is that according to a recent New York Times article, “Being constantly on actually undermines productivity,” says Leslie Perlow a professor of leadership at Harvard Business School. While you may not expect your team to reply to your emails in ‘off-hours’, the employee may still be “on” by thinking about the emails, which can undermine productivity.

Daimler, a German automaker, has taken several steps to address similar issues for the sake of their employees and their organization’s future success. One step was developing a set of guidelines for managers to help employees create balance.

While you don’t have to create management guidelines, I’d encourage you to consider some simple steps like only sending emails between 7am-7pm on weekdays (you can always queue your emails in your draft folder) and only sending urgent emails after hours. This will help you and your team be more balanced, focused and productive. Now that IS a big deal!

Share your thoughts on this response in the comments section below.

MORE

January 29th, 2013|Categories: Articles We Like, Ask Mariposa, HR / Talent Management|Tags: HR Leadership|

January 17, 2013 / Ask Mariposa / HR / Talent Management / Influencing Skills

Ask Mariposa: Introvert vs. Extrovert

Carrie asked:

My CEO is a major introvert; I’m a strong extrovert. I thought we could manage these differences but it’s becoming a wedge between us. What do you recommend?

Sue Bethanis, CEO responded:

Great question, Carrie. Here are a few points to consider:

· Typically, introverts need time to reflect. Whether you’re online, in person, in a meeting, or in a group, all parties should create a space for reflection; even if it’s just a 30 seconds for you and him/her to gather one’s thoughts.

· It’s really important that you pace your CEO. In terms of how you speak to him/her — how fast or slow, loud or soft -– matching their pace makes a big difference in terms of meeting them where they’re at. You may want to slow down or speed up but it’s important to think about matching.

· Another thing to note is that it’s really important to have a “process conversation” with your boss and find the best way to communicate with each other. When should you email each other? When is meeting better?

· Susan Cain is an author and speaker and a great resource for how to find the balance between introverts and extroverts. Here’s an inspiring TED talk from her I hope you will enjoy: http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.

MORE

January 17th, 2013|Categories: Ask Mariposa, HR / Talent Management, Influencing Skills|Tags: ask mariposa, communication, executive coaching, Extroverts, HR Leadership, Introverts, leadership, sue bethanis, Susan Cain|

January 15, 2013 / HR / Talent Management / News / Strategy / Wise Talk

The Passion Behind Your Business Strategy

There are several key factors that go into a winning business – a great idea, a great team, great passion, and great leadership. All are important, but great passion can be the fire that helps fuel the success. Consequently, it can also destroy the business when it is misguided.

Like all fires, passion can spark other flames and become contagious, igniting the passion of investors, business partners, and customers, as well as employees. If left uncontrolled, passion can consume, destroy, and leave a business with an empty dream. However, when controlled, directed, and focused, it can boost a business’ chance for success.

Here at Mariposa, we’re fired up about strategy! It being our leadership theme for 2013, we’re excited to start off this year by peeking into one of the more popular classes at Harvard Business School, a strategy course taught by professor Cynthia Montgomery. This class is also the basis of Montgomery’s book, The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs. In it, Montgomery identifies that an effective purpose and the passion behind it are what initiate value creation and capture.

Join us Thursday, January 24th at 1pm PT, on Wise Talk as Mariposa Leadership, Inc. CEO Sue Bethanis talks with HBS professor Cynthia Montgomery on how to transform sparks into strategic fire!

Topics for the interactive discussion will include:

• What’s your definition of a strategist?

• How do strategists keep a competitive edge?

• What is a common mistake you have seen executives make when it comes to strategy?

We welcome you to join Wise Talk, our free monthly teleconference and submit your own questions for discussion. Sign up and be entered to win a copy of this month’s leadership resource, The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs.
One winning listener will be announced at the end of the talk!

MORE

January 15th, 2013|Categories: HR / Talent Management, News, Strategy, Wise Talk|Tags: Cynthia Montgomery, HR Leadership, leaders, leadership, Passion, Strategy, sue bethanis, Value Creation, wise talk|

January 10, 2013 / Ask Mariposa / Coaching Skills / HR / Talent Management / Strategy

Ask Mariposa: How to Be More Strategic

Anne-Lise asked:

I’ve received feedback that I need to be more strategic but I’m not sure how to even begin working on this. Help?

Tawny Lees, COO responded:

Hi Anne-Lise,

First off, please know that you are not alone in getting this feedback and feeling a bit lost! This is a common growth edge for many leaders, especially those who have had more execution-focused roles and are now becoming more senior in their organizations.

Being “more strategic” is a combination of developing a new mindset as well as behaviors. Strategic thinkers take a broad, longer-range approach to problem solving and anticipating the future. They think systemically – identifying the implications of their decisions on other parts of the organization, customers, partners, etc. Strategic leaders also embed strategic behaviors into their routine – taking regular time alone and with team members to think ahead, ask tough questions, review the competitive environment, ponder the future, and plan.

I’d suggest looking at articles and/or books on both strategic thinking and the process of strategic planning to see what resonates with you. From those resources, pick a couple of things to try, and enlist the help of your boss or a colleague to support you with feedback and accountability. Our Mariposa Leadership theme this year is strategy, so you can also sign up to listen in on the free monthly Wise Talk teleconferences for added insight. You could also identify someone in your org whom you feel is very strategic and pay close attention to how they think and operate. Perhaps ask for some mentoring from them.

Developing in this area is a journey – glad you are embarking, it is critical to great leadership!

Share your thoughts on this response in the comments section below, and ask us anything here: http://blog.mariposaleadership.com/ask-mariposa/

MORE

January 10th, 2013|Categories: Ask Mariposa, Coaching Skills, HR / Talent Management, Strategy|Tags: ask mariposa, executive coaching, HR Leadership, leadership, resources, Strategy, Tawny Lees|

January 8, 2013 / Blog / Book Reviews / HR / Talent Management / Strategy / Wise Talk

Book Review: The Strategist

The Strategist:
Be The Leader Your Business Needs
By: Cynthia Montgomery

Head: (4.5 of 5)
Heart: (3.5 of 5)
Leadership Applicability: (4.5 of 5)

The Strategist is more like attending a month long Harvard Business Strategy course than a book. Cynthia Montgomery really takes you inside one of her legendary courses (complete with slides), giving insights into several different company’s success’ and failures, igniting in her readers the passion and purpose behind what it takes to be a strategic business leader.

Strategy begins with purpose and The Strategist reminds us that an effective purpose is one that stems from a desire to create meaning, to be unique, and to inspire. But above all, an effective purpose initiates value creation and capture. Your purpose must be so powerful that it not only generates positive economic outcome, but it does so because your customers feel like they are part of something bigger just by using your products or services. Montgomery goes into ways you can make a difference in your company, how you can create and capture lasting value, and how to do so while strengthening your bottom line.

Like a business course, The Strategist offers a variety of tools and practices throughout the text, using graphs and other visual stimuli to illustrate the objectives. You are challenged to define and then redefine your purpose, develop your system of value creation, create your own strategy wheel, and then pull it all into perspective to set you on a forward path. Then, when you least expect it, Montgomery turns the tables, disrupts your thinking, and lights a fire under you in order to push your edges and inspire you to come up with even more ideas.

In addition to all of the applicable tools, one of the great values of this book is the extensive frequently asked questions section in the back. It’s like you’re sitting in class and questions come up that were not covered in the material or you’re missing applicability to your personal situation and as if you raise your hand to ask a question, Professor Montgomery is there to answer.

So, are you ready to become a strategist? Are you ready to step into a strategic leadership role with confidence and purpose? If you are ready to energize your leadership skills, this Harvard Business Strategy course in a book is for you.

Click here to learn more or join our January Wise Talk with author Cynthia Montgomery and submit your questions.

After sign up, you will receive the call in information and be entered to win a copy of this month’s leadership resource, The Strategist. One lucky listener will be announced at the end of the talk!

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.

MORE

January 8th, 2013|Categories: Blog, Book Reviews, HR / Talent Management, Strategy, Wise Talk|Tags: Cynthia Montgomery, HR Leadership, Mariposa Leadership, Strategy|

January 3, 2013 / Articles We Like / HR / Talent Management / Strategy / Wise Talk

The Value of Strategic Leadership

Every year Mariposa Leadership aims to engage you in a new leadership theme. Last year it was Design Thinking and we feel very fortunate to have shared the wisdom and resources of several well known innovators via our free monthly teleconference Wise Talk. Our 2012 guests included Roger Martin, Bill Burnett, Teresa Amabile, Saul Kaplan, and Jeanne Liedtka, just to name a few…

In 2013, our Mariposa Leadership theme is Strategy, and we look forward to sharing Wise Talk discussions with you and some of the finest strategic leaders and authors in the business!

This month we focus on introducing you to yourself as a strategist. Whether you run a global enterprise or a small business, we wish to present to you the strategic tools to not only outwit your competitors but offer you, as a leader, the means to shape your organization decisively.

Combining the best of ideas about strategy and leadership and giving you the tools and confidence to step into the role, our January Wise Talk guest and author of The Strategist, Cynthia Montgomery, will not only help you reinvent yourself but also your business and the world around you.

In her July 2012 McKinsey Quarterly article, Montgomery explains how strategists lead. Central to her case is a simple observation: it is the strategist who must make the necessary choices that determine a company’s identity. It is the strategic leader who says, “This is our purpose, not that. This is who we will be. This is why our customers and clients will prefer a world with us rather than one without us.” She defines the strategist as meaning maker, as voice of reason, as operator, and expands on these giving examples of each, concluding that maintaining strategic momentum is a never ending task, however profoundly rewarding.

We are very excited to welcome Cynthia Montgomery on this month’s Wise Talk. Join her and Mariposa Leadership’s CEO Sue Bethanis on Thursday, January 24th from 1-2pm PT as they discuss how to be the strategist your company needs.

To sign up for our free monthly teleconference Wise Talk and submit your questions for discussion, please visit:

https://mariposaleadership.com/resources/teleconference_wise-talk

After sign up, you will receive the call in information and be entered to win a copy of this month’s leadership resource, The Strategist. One lucky listener will be announced at the end of the talk!

MORE

January 3rd, 2013|Categories: Articles We Like, HR / Talent Management, Strategy, Wise Talk|Tags: Cynthia Montgomery, HR Leadership, leadership, Mariposa Leadership, Strategy, sue bethanis, wise talk, women in business|

December 18, 2012 / Articles We Like / HR / Talent Management / News

Sue's Top Three Reads of 2012

Happy Holidays everyone!

I thought you’d be interested in my Top Three Reads of 2012 – the leadership content that has been the most compelling for me this year: Designing for Growth; “The Power of Small Wins”; and “Why Men Fail”.

I scour Twitter every morning and love retweeting interesting articles and emailing colleagues, clients, and friends the latest-and-greatest resources.

So why these three? Here are some strands of “interestingness”:

1) Designing for Growth: book by November WiseTalk guest, Jeanne Liedtka (@DesignAtDarden)

I delved into much of the design thinking world this year to complement my own work and by offering a variety of authors, professors and consultants on WiseTalk. I think Jeanne’s approach and her book are simply the most practical of any I have come across. She translates her four questions (What is? What if? What wows? What works?) into 10 ready-made tools. I especially like the Journey Mapping tool!

2) “The Power of Small Wins”: HBR article by February WiseTalk guest, Teresa Amabile (@TeresaAmabile)

Teresa’s research approach is simply unparalleled. It’s easy to say that mood affects performance, and even the smallest of rewards and/or incentives leads to more productivity. The way she demonstrated this in her study is awesome. You’ll want to check this out!

3) “Why Men Fail”: New York Times column by David Brooks (@nytdavidbrooks)

Before you get ruffled under the collar about the title, David Brooks’ column is not about men. It’s about “being strangers in a strange land.” Whether you’re in a different country or a new company, we must be more agile and flexible.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions!

– Sue

Sue Bethanis is the Founder and CEO of Mariposa Leadership, Inc., a 15-person San Francisco based firm, which provides leadership coaching and consulting to the high-tech, bio-tech, and financial services industries. For more on Sue, view her complete bio.

MORE

December 18th, 2012|Categories: Articles We Like, HR / Talent Management, News|Tags: Best of 2012, David Brooks, design thinking, designing for growth, HBR, HR Leadership, Jeanne Liedtka, NY Times, reading list, sue bethanis, Teresa Amabile, why men fail, why women still can't have it all, wise talk|