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Bay Area Executive Leadership Coach Services. We help HR Leadership improve CEO and team communication, culture, productivity, innovation, and revenue.

April 2, 2015 / Leadership / Mariposa Articles

The Communication Toolbox

We all grow up with our own unique communication style. Some people by nature are very direct. They come right to the point. They tell it like it is. They don’t mince words. Other people are more diplomatic, more indirect, more subtle in their communication. Indeed, there are a variety of communication styles—quiet, loud, forceful, caring, showy, authentic, and many more.

One metaphor I have found helpful in working with leaders to develop their communication skills is what I call “The Communication Toolbox.” The idea is that we each have a communication style that is most natural and comfortable for us.  Usually, it’s a style we began to develop early in our lives or careers, and that somehow has served us well.  But no one communication style is going to be right for all situations, and leaders encounter a tremendous diversity of people and contexts.  Part of being a well-rounded leader means having more than just one tool.  The further up you go in an organization, the more important it is to have a broader set of tools in your communication toolbox.To read the entire article, visit the Sierra Leadership blog.

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March 3, 2015 / Articles We Like / HR / Talent Management

On “5 Unconventional Ways To Keep Your Most Talented Employees From Leaving”

In Silicon Valley and beyond, many companies are engaged in a battle for talent. Winning is not just about hiring the very best; companies need to change the way they think about keeping their superstars. Superstars can go anywhere, they have options, so why not innovate to keep them engaged with your company?

The Fast Company article, 5 Unconventional Ways to Keep Your Most Talented Employees From Leaving, by Chris Ostoich, highlights five creative tips to retain your top people.  From identifying the informal network, how things get done and integrating new employees into it, to embracing self-formed, self-managed teams to give employees ownership and leadership, the content in this article will stimulate your thinking.

What interesting, creative ideas do you have for engaging your best talent?

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April 28, 2014 / Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation / HR / Talent Management

Ask Mariposa | Understanding Customers’ Needs

John asks:  Recently there seems to be a widening gap between product development and our understanding of customers’ needs. The products aren’t hitting home like they used to. Obviously, there are many changes we need to make – where do we start?

Sue Bethanis, CEO of Mariposa, responds:

Well, there are many facets to the this question, and believe me, you’re not the only one feeling it; so many people we talk with are zeroing in on this dilemma.  Here’s one idea that may hit home: START with customer empathy, and put on your anthropologist hat. GO see how your customers are using the products on their turf.  You know, Steve Jobs was famous for not conducting Focus Groups, but he still knew Apple’s customers REALLY well.  He was seen regularly hanging out at the Palo Alto Apple store, and checking out how customers were using Apple’s products.

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January 29, 2014 / Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation / HR / Talent Management

How Design Thinking Changes the Way HR Implements Programs

Most HR professionals understand the pitfalls of implementing an HR program. To circumvent failure, HR professionals often conduct a needs assessment to inform direction, maybe conduct a pilot program, and then move to implement when given a “thumb’s up.”

A design thinking mentality shifts that. Whether designing a product, service or experience, the core principle behind the success of design thinking is “fail fast.” For HR professionals, this changes how “buttoned up” your program will be before piloting, or even before rolling it out.  The point is to test the program and via observation and feedback, gather data on an ongoing basis to continue to improve.  Why do this?  Because “customer-driven” programs are the most successful.

To innovate the way you implement HR and Talent Management programs, join us in our new Using Design Thinking in HR & Talent Management workshop

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December 11, 2013 / Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation / HR / Talent Management

2 Ways Empathy Can Help HR Drive Innovation

In most companies today, innovation is expected from all areas of an organization – including groups not traditionally known for driving innovation agendas, such as Human Resources. Success for HR and Talent Management leaders lies in opening up to new approaches for developing fresh ideas for difficult issues. Here are 2 ways that empathy – a key element of design thinking and one facet of our Breakthrough! model – can help HR & Talent Management leaders go from idea-to-innovation more quickly.

  • Empathy provides context for solutions. Too often, leaders of all types come up with an idea for a product, service or experience in isolation, then implement it. This approach fails to lead to innovation. Developing empathy through various methods of observation and interviewing puts HR leaders in their customer’s shoes, experiencing what they do and how they feel. Thus, HR leaders stand a better chance of developing solutions that work for the customer.
  • Empathy develops T-shaped HR leaders. HR leaders who develop an ability to empathize with their customers have both the vertical skills in human resources and are able to broaden their horizontal perspectives, leading to an ability to look at a problem from multiple dimensions.

For more information on empathy, download our Executive Guide to Design Thinking or join us at our NEW Using Design Thinking in HR & Talent Management workshop.

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April 29, 2013 / Blog / HR / Talent Management

Five Lessons from a CEO on HR

hr-jigsawIn a unique turn of roles Les Hayman “retired” from a long tenure as a CEO to leading Global HR for SAP. In a recent guest blog post, Les summarizes five key lessons that he dubbed: “What I Wish I Knew as a CEO That I Learned Later in HR.”  The five lessons were:

1. Spend more time on making recruitment a core competency in the entire organization. I especially agree with his point that hiring for attitude is more important than hiring mainly for skills. The costs of weak hiring practices are enormous, and while HR should lead the way – it is every leader’s responsibility to be good at recruiting.

2. A large number of people who move into management are not comfortable when they get there and should be given the opportunity to move back out without being penalized, or better still, can stay in a professional role rather than being pushed into management. Les was surprised at the number of reluctant managers he came across, and advocates for valid vocational career paths for professionals. I agree with him wholeheartedly, AND I believe that sometimes these reluctant managers can become highly passionate and effective managers given the right coaching.

3. There are no such things as HR problems, only business problems that HR needs to help resolve. Couldn’t agree with this one more – HR leaders need to see themselves as business leaders before others will.

4. Spend more time on underperformers. While I agree with this, I also believe the right recruitment has to be in place first. And that the “move them up or move them out” approach does not have to be a lengthy, painful process.

5. Put less value on formal performance reviews and more on managing behavior as a moment by moment way of business life. Hallelujah on this one, and the ITM Coaching approach is a great skill for leaders to enable this moment-by-moment way of business life!

 

To check out the full article: http://seapointcenter.com/what-i-wish-i-knew-as-a-ceo-that-i-learned-later-in-hr/

To check out other writings by Les Hayman: http://leshayman.wordpress.com/

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April 4, 2013 / Ask Mariposa / HR / Talent Management / Influencing Skills

Ask Mariposa: 3 Tips for Developing Leadership Influence

ask-mariposa1

Andrea asks: I am not in a formal position of power but lead several cross-functional projects and collaboration is critical to our goals.  How can I develop more leadership influence?

Susan Bethanis, CEO of Mariposa responded:

You are smart to be thinking about developing leadership influence skills, even as an informal leader.  Cross-functional initiatives, flatter management structures and virtual teams which sometimes include third parties have become the norm in business today.  Understanding how to influence others is a skill that when honed, serves company goals and your career.

Here are 3 tips:

  • Consult and Pre-Sell.   Meet with stakeholders to share your ideas on achieving a desired outcome.  Solicit their reactions and ideas as well.  By inviting input and balancing it with advocacy, resistance can be minimized while gaining buy-in.
  • Know Your Audience, Tailor the Message.   Develop clear and compelling messages rooted in short and long-term requirements.  Research your stakeholders’ needs and tailor the message based on their interests.
  • Establish Behavioral Rapport.  Match the pace and volume of your speech with that of your stakeholder.  Avoid matching negative emotional states.  Be conscious of your body language, including posture and facial expressions, as unintended non-verbal cues can undermine effective communication of your message.

Want more?

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

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

strategy-airplane

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.

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

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

Ask Mariposa: Introvert vs. Extrovert

Ask Mariposa

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.

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