What makes Self-Initiated Development stick?  Having a development plan is great.  But unless you have the incentive and motivation behind it you will quickly set it aside and continue on your merry way without receiving any benefits from what you started.  This is where long-term goals and their benefits come in.  It’s like answering the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” and putting the answer to that question in front of yourself every day.

Think about your long-term goals?  What do you need to do to achieve them?  Think about them every day.  But, what are the benefits of the goals?  The answer to this question provides the motivation for you to work hard to achieve them. 

I know a young lady I can use as an example.  She was homeschooled and worked very hard at it.  She graduated high school at 14.  She graduated college at 16 and received her Master’s degree in psychology at 19.  Very impressive.  But, what drove her?  It was her desire to become a psychologist and to help people.  That is what she thought about every day.  She didn’t think about it in terms of what she could achieve, rather what would be the results.  But, she was flexible.  During a missions trip to India she realized that her calling was really to work in an orphanage in Mumbai.  Of course she would be able to use her education in her work, but more importantly, she was able to achieve her long-term goal of helping people.

Think about where you want to be in five years, ten years, twenty years.  Can you write down your goals for each time frame?  Don’t be afraid to change your goals as you go along.  But, think of the benefits to your goals and let these benefits be the driving force in your development. 

In the previous two blog entries, Sid discussed Receiving Feedback.  I want to look at the other side of the topic of feedback and present a new concept related to giving feedback.

I was reading some articles by Marshall Goldsmith the other day and his concept of “Feedforward” was very intriguing and a concept that all coaches should consider.  Most leaders have difficulty giving feedback and we work with them to improve this skill.  Fewer, however, provide their teams with feedforward. 

Feedforward is the approach of offering suggestions to the individual on what they can do in the future to be more in alignment with your expectations and those of your organization.  Feedforward should be linked to behavioral changes that the person can make.  It does not preclude using examples from the past to illustrate incorrect behaviors, but the focus is on the future.  The person should be given clear guidance on what they can do in the future to make positive behavior changes.

It can be more productive to help people be “right” than to focus on proving they are “wrong;” which is typically what happens when feedback is provided.  Rather than approaching the situation with optimism and hope for the future, in many feedback situations the person becomes defensive and argumentative.  This precludes both parties from talking about the future, something that can be changed.  Rather, they are stuck in the past, arguing about perceptions of a situation that cannot be changed.

Commit today that you will use the Feedforward process the next time you need to coach someone on your team!

Many people take leadership assessments to learn what others think of their performance.  They then either bask in the high scores they recieve or get angry because they scored lower than they anticipated.  In either case, typically, the person being assessed takes no action to improve.

The best reason to take a leadership or management assessment is to learn about the areas in which you need to develop - either by "strengthening your strengths" or mitigating your weaknesses.  An assessment is often enlightening because our perceptions are sometimes different than those of others.  When this happens it is a clear indicator of an area to work on.

The second reason for taking an assessment is to get developmental recommendations.  Scores are nice.  Scores make us feel good (or bad).  But, scores don't give us much help in where to go to improve performance.  A good assessment report goes beyond the numbers and provides specific developmental recommendations. 

Developmental recommendations can consist of suggested steps to improve behavior, readings, web sites to visit, or courses or seminars to consider.  Be sure, if you are considering an assessment, that the report you receive will provide detailed developmental recommendations.

In conclusion, take a leadership or management assessment for the right reasons.  It is much more important to understand how others view your behaviors and to receive specific developmental recommendations than to simply understand your scores.

We came up with the self-initiated development model a few years ago when it became apparent to us that those who take responsibility for their own development have more success. In a nutshell, SID™ consists of six steps:

1. Determine your future goals. Think about where you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years in your career. Try to clearly define your goals.

2. Identify the competencies required for your current and desired position. (more on the competencies in our next blog).

3. Assess your current state. Using either a self assessment (from our book) or a 360 degree leadership assessment, identify those competencies that are your strongest and weakest.

4. Develop Objectives to achieve your goals. Using the information from your assessment and your goals, develop objectives that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (scheduled).

5. Create a Developmental Action Plan. What steps do you need to take to achieve your objectives? List the steps and the resources you require. More on action planning in a later blog.

6. Implement your Action Plan. Monitor your progress each week. Set aside time dedicated to completing the steps in your Action Plan.

For complete details on the Self-Initiated Development (SID) Model™, get a free copy of our white paper describing each step in detail. Simply e-mail me at ben@benchmarkli.com.

Sometimes events occur that bring life and it's challenges into perspective.  Two weeks ago I was prepared to cancel a much-needed vacation to visit a client instead.  The day before I planned to cancel I had a minor "cardiac event" and had to spend some time at our local hospital.  I was telling the cardiologist about my plan to cancel the vacation and she warned me not to do that - the vacation was much more important than the client visit. 

I've given a lot of thought to my "event" over the past two weeks and it struck me that most leaders do not take care of their own needs, especially their health needs.  I looked at it this way, if I were to die or become incapacitated, my clients would go on (yes, they would miss my sage advice!).  But, my children would not have a father to share their special events with or to give them guidance and advice as they struggled with their own challenges.  My wife would not have her companion and best friend to enjoy life with.  My friends would also have a big hole in their life as well.  And, who would pay the bills!

Seriously, leaders need to take the time (and it is all about time!) to take care of their health, their family, and their own mental and spiritual needs.  Leaders who are well rested, centered, and enjoying life are much more effective than overworked and stressed leaders.  There is a lot of validity to the statement, "stop and smell the roses."  Whatever your rose is, stop and smell it - you will be renewed.

Loyalty is a key attribute of an effective leader.  When we normally think of a leader's loyalty we think of the leader's allegiance to the organization and its mission.  But, loyalty is more complex for the effective leader.

An effective leader is loyal to his or her staff.  The leader demonstrates loyalty by empowering their staff, taking the time to get to know them individually, and trusting them.  A leader also represents the interests of the team when working with other leaders or senior management. 

This doesn't mean that an effective leader is always nice or always believes the staff member.  Sometimes leaders must take developmental or disciplinary steps.  In some ways, even these acts are a demonstration of loyalty.  When discipline is administered effectively the staff member's performance will typically improve and the leader should acknowledge this and give the person a "fresh start."  Of course, discipline does not always turn out good and the person continues their poor behavior.  In that case, the leader must be prepared to take further steps.

Loyalty also includes knowing when staff members need coaching or conversations regarding their performance.  Leaders also should "walk the floor" to know what each staff member's job is, what problems they face, and how the leader can help them do a better job.

An hour a week simply talking with staff members goes a long way toward developing an effective staff and also toward developing staff loyalty to the leader and the organization.

To begin this blog I want to focus on a series exploring components that constitute effective leadership. 

I was talking with someone this morning about leadership and I made the comment, "Effective leadership is when someone is being led and they don't know or feel that they are being led." In other words, an effective leader leads others toward a goal without forcing them to follow, coercing them to follow, or even rewarding them to follow.  People follow an effective leader because they WANT to follow that person.

In thinking this a bit further, I do believe that the principle is situational.  Sometimes, when a goal is vague or nebulous to people a leader must use some coercion or reward tactics.  Sometimes, such as in battle, there are negative consequences for not following the leader and the leader may not be able to be specific about the goal and its benefits (for security reasons).

But, for the most part, I still feel that an effective leader uses personal magnetism, honesty and motivation to instill in others the desire to follow.  Have you ever heard anyone say, "I would follow (name) anywhere?" 

That is the case with effective leaders; people would follow them anywhere.

In todays economic environment, we tell ourselves we must work harder and harder to gain a competitive edge.  I know  that is my self-talk as well.  But, we need to slow down.  I recommend, to many executives that I coach, something called sacred time.  This is time spent a couple times a week in a quiet place with no technology and no distractions.  At a minimum, I recommend two 20-minute periods.  It is uncomfortable at first, but most people come to cherish it as time well spent.  What happens during sacred time?  Well, after a few sessions we begin to listen  to that inner voice of calm and reason.  We prioritize better.  We think about what is important and what isnt quite so pressing.  We become better at what we do.

But, in times like these the tendency is to forget things like sacred time  and that is when we become disoriented and frazzled; because, there are few things on your schedule more important than the sacred time.  Also, remember that your family and loved ones feel your stress as well.  Take time for them and dont forget what is most important in your life.  Sacred time will help you focus on what is most important  try it  you need it now, more than ever.