Uncertainties in the economy always seem to result in more work with fewer resources.  There is less hiring and sometimes even personnel cutbacks, as well as fewer financial resources to do the same work that needs to be completed.  How do leaders and managers deal with these facts most effectively while maintaining and even increasing business and reputation, all while keeping staff motivated and performing at their peak?

Before you can identify the specific solutions in how to effectively manage more with less, it’s important to take some time to assess your situation.  This may involve getting team members or peers together to discuss in order to determine where the biggest needs are occurring.  Enlisting feedback from your team and/or peers communicates that you are aware of the problem and that you are serious about taking the best actions to improve the situation.  It also helps motivate your team by keeping them actively involved in identifying the issues and later knowing that they will be part of identifying the solutions. 

Typically, the most common high level areas that need addressed in effectively managing with fewer human and financial resources are:

1. Managing time and priorities efficiently
2. Managing human capital needs
3. Managing client/Board of Director/Board of Trustee expectations

Over the next few weeks I’ll be looking at each of these categories more closely and sharing ideas that you can use that may help you and your team keep on top of the day-to-day needs within the organization and with your clients.

In the meantime, be proactive and get your team and/or peers together to assess the situation by identifying the greatest and most pressing issues. 

As leaders rise in the hierarchy of their organization they typically will get less direct feedback on how their performance is perceived.  Feedback is important to help validate self-perceptions and tests ones own understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.  Asking for feedback from colleagues verbally or through a formal multi-rater assessment tool provides a step forward that most leaders need in their continued advancement, motivation, and effectiveness. 

So how do you respond to feedback about your performance as a leader?  First, it all starts with attitude.  Are you appreciative?  Do you view feedback as a gift?  Remember, feedback isn’t always easy to give others especially leaders that have an important position in the organization.  With that said take an attitude of gratitude when receiving feedback and try to glean the real messages about what is important about your performance.  Additionally, feedback doesn’t have to be feared or a blow to the ego.  Accepting and incorporating feedback can be a rewarding experience if handled correctly.  On a cautionary note, if you miss this first step of appreciation when receiving feedback your analysis and subsequent actions are likely to be skewed. More...

We’ve all been getting feedback since we were youngsters and usually it’s given for us to be our best; however, it seems it still doesn’t get any easier to receive feedback.  Wouldn’t you think that as a skilled professional, maybe even at the height of your career, you wouldn’t need feedback anymore in how to improve, especially when it seems you are doing just fine, everything’s under control, profits are rising, and employees are fairly happy?

In my experience, those at the top of their game know how to not only ask for feedback, but they receive feedback well and make visible improvements based on sound feedback.  You would be surprised at how much you can learn about yourself when you solicit feedback on the state of your performance, the state of the organization, and anything else under the sun for that matter!

Typically, as a seasoned manager, your technical skills are mastered.  The difficult part comes when working with others in a team environment, running a department or business unit, navigating the corporate environment, and a variety of other operational and employee and customer-facing issues that inundate us.  These areas are typically more difficult for leaders than the technical aspects of the job and if we are in any management capacity at all, it is crucial to have exceptional ability in these and other leadership areas.  This is where feedback can be very valuable to us and our success.

I know I’ve only skimmed the surface on receiving feedback, so stay tuned for Part 2 on the best ways to receive feedback.

Most leaders deal with time management issues.  There is much to do and limited time to accomplish everything.  Here are four recommendations that may help you get a grip on the limited time you have to do your work.

Set aside 20 to 30 minutes of quiet time in the beginning of the week to review your schedule and prioritize your tasks.

1. Focus on the most important tasks.  Resist the urge to do the easy tasks to get them out of the way.  Often, when we do this we get to the important and more difficult tasks too late and the time pressure affects the quality of the work.
2. Build time into your schedule to plan ahead, catch up on research or projects that are pending, and take care of yourself.
3. Have an agenda for meetings and stick to it.  Just because you have allotted an hour for a meeting does not mean that you must fill the hour. Identify decisions that need to be made and ensure that they are made during the meeting. 

Self-Initiated Development: Now More Than Ever! (the title of our new book), leaders and those aspiring to be leaders must take responsibility for their own development. We have been working with leaders and managers for over 20 years and have developed the Self-Initiated Development model for those who want to improve their leadership and management skills.

Combined with our leadership competency model, we provide the tools that leaders and managers need to improve. In today's economy everyone must prove their value to the organization and seek to improve in those areas that they are weakest. In the past you may have relied on your company to provide training or development activities. However, for most people those options are no longer available.

Take responsibility for your own development! In the postings to this blog we will discuss each of the 30 leadership competencies and how they can be applied to the self-initiated development model. We hope you will return often to get tips on how to improve your leadership and management skills.

There are many characteristics that make up an authentic leader.  Two are perhaps the most critical to attaining maximum effectiveness: leading through relationship and leading by example.  Any clever individual can manipulate circumstances and people to accomplish tasks for a time.  However, we can all think of leaders who have a reputation for being shallow, conniving, and untrustworthy.  These individuals have severely damaged their capacity to influence and motivate others.

Consider leaders who have a natural magnetism; those who are admired and followed because of the respect that they have earned.  A renowned military leader and the first U.S. president, George Washington, immediately comes to mind.  This is a man who literally changed the course of a war, and a nation. More...

Leaders occasionally struggle alone at the top or with a few close peers, sometimes feeling distanced from those down line.  This struggle is due in part to the nature of being a leader and being at the helm of the business.  Leadership also requires a level of distance because of sensitive information that may not be appropriate for direct reports and others in the organization at certain times.  Because of your unique position in the organization, how do you balance the privacy need and at the same time develop a team environment for your department and organization to succeed?

First of all you have to realize that to be a successful leader you need to have unity with your team because you cannot lead a business without them.  With this realized it then takes planning to incorporate strategic parts of your time to devote to your team.  This time can come in the form of developing individuals, providing direction, giving encouragement and motivation, and reinforcing the vision and direction of the business. 

Most of all, however, it takes modeling and communicating the behaviors that you want your team to embrace and since leaders set the tone of the organization, that tone will be what is followed by others. 

Finally, be genuine with your team and others in the organization because followers can always "smell" when something isn't right.  If you cannot disclose certain facts that your team inquires about, be honest and let them know you are not in a position at this time to discuss but will as soon as possible.  Then, stay connected!  After all, it is a cohesive team led by a competent and authentic leader that will help the organization succeed.

For coaching to be successful there must be a strong level of trust between the coach and the coachee.  Coaches must be as confidential as doctors or lawyers.  It is expected by coachees and this trust is not to be broken. 

Assessment results and conversations between the coach and coachee are considered very confidential.  The coach should make this very clear up front and demonstrate confidentiality throughout the engagement.

However, coaches need to keep in mind that their confidentiality may be tested.  Often, a person is being coached on the recommendation of a supervior or someone in leadership.  They may expect that you report progress to them about the coaching engagement.  Although this may be expected, the coach must be very careful and describe the progress (or lack thereof) in general terms.  The sponsor may ask probing questions, but the coach must be prepared to state that specific information cannot be provided.  Again, the parameters of confidentiality must be made clear with the sponsor up front.

We often don't think about the coachee keeping the engagement particulars confidential.  But, we have had situations where a coachee will tell a colleague specifics or state something like, "My coach told me to..."  Make it clear to the coachee that confidentiality is a two-way street.  The coachee's comments can damage the relationship as well, particularly if the person misunderstood something the coach has said or misapplied a principle that was being discussed.

The foundation of any coaching relationship is confidentiality.  It should be the overriding principle for every coach.

ISSUE:

Many organizations have difficulty developing effective customer relationships and winning proposals because of organizational impacts.  The effects of a sub-optimal proposal organization include:

•   Lack of communication regarding customer needs and issues between customer-facing teams (such as account managers) and proposal management  and development team.  Result  a proposal that does not address the customers key issues
•   Lack of an effective proposal review process
•   Lack of discipline in organizing and scheduling proposal activities

This brief paper looks at best practices to solve this issue.

BEST PRACTICES

The first step in determining the depth of the problem for an organization is to conduct a Business Development Audit.  This audit examines the process that is currently used to develop business, including proposal activities.  The audit compares the current process with the actual process used; these are often quite different.  Through extensive interviews of all parties participating in business development, proposal management, and customer relationship management, the audit will reveal the impact that the current processes have on win rate.

Two strong teams are needed for effective, customer-focused business development  account management and proposal management and development.  Effective organizations take proactive steps to ensure that communications are complete and continuous throughout the proposal process.

The Proposal Manager is responsible for developing a relationship with account managers that enable effective communication between account teams and proposal development teams.  The Proposal Manager is also responsible for:

•   Ensuring that the business development process is effective and working
•   Ensuring that communication between the account teams and proposal development teams is complete and continuous
•   Scheduling proposal activities to ensure that time is allowed for effective red team reviews
•   Managing information to ensure that the proposal includes all information to address customer key issues
•   Tracking all proposal activities to ensure that the proposal schedule is met

Essentially, account managers and the proposal manager become a TEAM that ensure that the best possible proposal is produced.  The best proposal is a winning proposal and a winning proposal is one that is focused on addressing the customers key issues.

The Bottom Line

Increase win rate by:

•      Managing communications between the Account Teams and Proposal Team
•      Assessing that the current proposal process and modify as necessary to ensure effectiveness
•      Holding the Proposal Manager accountable for the proposal development process, proposal reviews, and scheduling

Developing relationships in business development is a key to success.  We have all seen the business development person who has a database of hundreds or even thousands of contacts and knows everyone on their list.  This person can also call most of the people on their list and ask for a favor if needed (or an audience if they have a new product or service). 

How do they develop such lasting relationships with customers and colleagues?  Yes, they may be a good "sales person" and likeable.  But, what clearly differentiates them is that they take a sincere interest in the people they come in contact with and show genuine concern.  They listen to customers (and potential customers) as people.  They learn about them and they remember things about them.  They look for openings to learn about common interests and historical linkages (perhaps they both went to the same college or both were in Europe at the same time).  These commonalities strengthen relationships and help people remember a good experience with someone.

Early in my career I was tagging along with a V.P. of Business Development at a tradeshow.  He talked to a lot of people, but rarely talked business with them, and he certainly didn't put on his "salesman hat."  I commented to him later that I didn't understand why he wasn't selling.  He laughed and said, "I can sell anytime, my purpose here is to make new friends and to strengthen my relationship with old friends.  Later, when they have a need, they will call me.  Or, if I perceive they have a need I can contact them and talk to them about the benefits we can provide them."  He also explained to me that he learns as much as he can about people and send them information that can help them personally and professionally.

Think about how you can build relationships instead of sales!  Build the relationships and the sales will follow.