If you’re not appearing, you’re disappearing…

~ Art Blakey, Legendary Jazz Musician

 In order for you to increase your chances of success, people need to know about you and what you have to offer. They need to meet you, see you… hear from you. If you want people to talk about the remarkable things you do, then you need to give them the opportunity to experience you. This doesn’t need to be a sleazy car salesman pitch (no offense to any reputable car salesmen!), but it does mean you need to get out there and have the capability to produce  clearly choreographed 30, 60, and 90 second “elevator” speeches that will serve as an introduction to Brand YOU.

Once you know how you will introduce your brand, start attending networking meetings (both social and professional) and getting involved in external organizations in your field. However, one of the best (and least recognized) opportunities you have to communicate Brand YOU is to expand your involvement to organizations not in your industry or field of expertise. Some of your best contacts may come from quite unexpected places, but you will never know unless you get out there and share your brand.

In addition to physically sharing your brand at select events, there are many ways to capitalize on Brand YOU that will facilitate both the growth of your brand and your intellectual growth:

1. Become an expert in a specific field and make yourself available to media companies, corporations, and other organizations looking for expert commentators, public speakers, or consultants. Let people know through your social media connections, networking activities, and web site that you are available to speak or consult – for free or for a fee. Many experts initially speak for free to become known, but eventually command thousands of dollars for a single keynote address.
2. Develop a website or blog using your full name.
 A wide variety of sources use search engines to search for expert sources, connect with you and/or potentially either do business with you or interview you. By creating a website or a blog under your name, you are far more likely to generate the first result for your name on the main search engines. Once you establish your domain name, add your picture, a bio, your e-mail address and links to all of your online presence outlets (i.e. Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter) – and of course, clearly state your areas of expertise and how you can be of service. This will not only help people to reach you using their media of choice, but also to better understand Brand YOU and what you have to offer.
3. Make the effort to discover your audiences preferred media outlets – what they read and listen to, as well as what they watch. Research the content provided and locate specific gatekeepers you can pitch your expertise to. E-mail journalists, editors and producers in response to one of their articles or media content, with a note that you are available to comment on future articles. When you are contacted for an interview, respond straight away because they are typically on deadline. Answer questions thoroughly, while making sure that you communicate exactly what you need to. When you are interviewed, promote yourself and/or your company through your byline, which will help build brand on both accounts. Once the interview is complete, send a follow-up e-mail asking if they have any more questions, including your bio and your picture.
4. Leverage your social networks – Connect. Social networking is one of the best ways to become known. By forming online relationships with those within your target audience, you will develop the capacity to form long-term bonds.  Because networking is such a big aspect of communicating your brand, here are some rules of networking that you should keep in mind as you promote your brand:

No matter what, listen carefully to what people are saying in order to understand what they really think about Brand YOU. If your audience sees you from a different perspective than what you intend, you need to reassess your brand and analyze why the message you are trying to bring across is having a different effect than what you desire. If you can honestly evaluate yourself and understand where the miscommunication of your brand may have occurred, you can begin to close the gaps and revitalize Brand YOU.

The world wants to hear what you have to say. If you aren’t communicating your brand, all of your other branding efforts are in vain. If you want to succeed, develop your brand, package your brand… and communicate your brand!

How can you better communicate Brand YOU?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you communicate your brand. Always feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders, when we will discuss how to communicate Brand YOU.

 This week, I would like to take the opportunity to ask for your help. I always love the lively discussions and insightful questions that emerge from the different leadership challenges we cover, but this week I would especially appreciate your insights and opinions.

When I was working in the corporate world, I was always searching for information. The challenge rapidly became finding applicable, value-add information – there was (and is) so much information on the internet that it seemed overwhelming and  time intensive to get to what I actually needed.  It always seemed like 95% percent of the information out there was irrelevant for my specific needs. As I continue to work with leaders from around the world, it seems little has changed…

As a result, I have decided to do something about this challenge and have created a website that is designed to be a single source resource for leaders across boundaries & borders. I have identified many categories and sources of information and consolidated everything under a new website – The GlobaLABB. As a leader immersed in today’s global marketplace, you are incredibly important. As such, I would like to request your input.  If you will be so kind as to offer your personal insight into this project, I will be very grateful. Please consider the below questions and add anything I may have missed:

• What would you value having access to on such a site?

• What would be the most important information we could provide for you?

• Would you visit frequently if there was a wealth of information available, with new content being added on a monthly basis?

• Would you use this tool to connect with leaders throughout the world to discuss common themes and challenges?

• Would you appreciate a single location to identify relevant conferences and leadership development sources from around the world?

• How about the opportunity to mentor, or be mentored, by someone outside your organization, from anywhere in the world?

• Would you appreciate being able to go to a single source when preparing to travel or work on a project that offers currency conversion rates, Worldclock, meeting planners, or basic translation capabilities?

• Would you access relevant webinars and podcasts?

• Would you be interested in knowing about workshops and seminars around the world?

• Would you appreciate a recommended reading list with brief content summaries?

• Would you value personal development tools and assessments?

• Would you leverage the opportunity for virtual executive coaching?

• Are ideas for teambuilding and social responsibility useful?

• Is Global Business information – access to relevant articles, etc. – valuable to you?

• Are knowledge tools (such as international call information, time zone converters, world maps, world news, country briefs and global holidays) useful to you?

• Are communications, project management, strategy, virtual networking and teambuilding tools something you would use?

• Would you find availability across multiple languages useful?

This is a real passion for me and my sincere hope is that you will find a single location for business leadership resources extremely useful.  My overarching goal is to create something that is truly exciting and value-add for you – today’s leader who works across boundaries and borders.  Thank you in advance for your participation and input  - I am so excited to hear from you!

Knowledge and experience are gifts.

Have you ever stopped to think about what you have been given and how you can make the best use of it?  We acquire knowledge and experience on a daily basis as we go through life, but I have met very few people (and I have a very large network on a worldwide basis) that actually leverage what they know. Whether it’s a natural talent or acquired knowledge, very few of us actually take the time to stop and consider how we can best use the “Gifts” we have been given.

Organizations realize how important it is to “know what they know” and consistently try to maximize their collective intelligence – shouldn’t you? In a world where the only certainty is uncertainty, your only real source of sustainable competitive advantage is your own knowledge and experience – and how you leverage them. Your success in this increasingly competitive world depends wholly on how you qualitatively and effectively manage those gifts.

You probably don’t consistently think about all the knowledge you have gained through the years, but as the holidays are upon us, perhaps it is a good time to pause and reflect on what you do actually know…

You have knowledge and experience that is very specific and unique to you. Despite the vast amount of information you carry around in your head,  you most likely don’t stop to actually think back over what you have done in the past and consider how you can convert it into useful knowledge for today. Reflecting back over all you have accomplished over the years will prepare you for that which you are not even yet aware of.

This holiday season, I would like to challenge you to…

STOP. THINK. REVIEW. EVALUATE. LEVERAGE.

Thoughtfully consider your gifts. Unwrap each one, carefully unpack it, assess it and think about it’s inherent value.  Evaluate how well you use what you have been given. Take the time to think back over what you have acquired through your years of service and you may suddenly begin to understand how that knowledge can serve you now and help you to prepare for the future.

May each and everyone of you have a wonderful holiday season that is full of “Gifts” you can share to make your world a better place!

What are your gifts?

I would love for you to engage the discussion and let us know how you will reflect upon your gifts this holiday season. Please feel free to contact me at  Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

This week, I am going to ask you to really think about Courage – it is an important concept that seems to be falling by the wayside. Aristotle referred to courage as the first virtue because it makes all of the other virtues possible. Aside being the most important human virtue, it is also the most important business virtue.

Think about it…

• Leadership requires making bold and often unpopular decisions…
• Innovation requires conceiving radical, unconventional ideas…
• Sales requires being repeatedly rejected and still going back to attempt to close the deal…

Leadership, Innovation and Sales all require Courage. Without courage all of our core business concepts (including leadership, innovation and sales) suddenly lose their potency… withering in obscurity. So why do we put so little emphasis and value on courage in the workplace?

Despite the fact that courage often seems to have vanished in the midst of day to day operations, the truth is that you do have the capacity to be courageous: however, it is up to you whether or not you leverage this virtue.

Let’s face it, everyone wins when you arrive each day with more courage.  As those you lead see you act with less fear and more courage, they will be willing to take on more, manage change better and speak up more willingly about important issues.

As a leader, your job is to demonstrate courage that will motivate others — encouraging them to emulate your example. It is a known fact that leaders who demonstrate courage consistently stand head and shoulders above the masses –  doing the right thing in the face of tremendous controversy is the stuff great leaders are made of.  Courage amounts to having the strength of conviction to do the right thing when it would just be easier to do things right.

An easy breakdown of the components of courage are as follows:

The Courage To Try:

Think initiative and action — be the first to propose/ implement change, pursue innovative breakthroughs and step up to the plate when others need your support and/or guidance…

The Courage To Trust:

Think faith in others — focus on what people can do (not what they can’t), have confidence in people and expect you will be recognized through your employees accomplishments.

The Courage To Tell:

Think challenge — question the status quo, raise the tough issues, provide difficult feedback and share your opinions (even when unpopular)…

In short, your courage will inspire others to try harder, trust more and tell more – in all of these you are serving others first by setting the standard for them to follow. Simple, but not easy – courage is the choice you make to put others before yourself.

More likely than not, you just haven’t discovered a big enough “Why” to put in the effort, take the risk and make the sacrifices involved to serve others before yourself.  If you are willing to commit yourself to making a difference – standing your ground, persevering and taking intelligent risks – you will leave a legacy as a courageous leader long after you have gone. Don’t you owe it to yourself to pause, reflect and ask where it is that you need to dig a little deeper to find the courage to live a life that truly matters – not just because of what you did, but because of who you became by doing it?

Courage will change your life, but more importantly, it will change the lives of those you lead. Our world needs great leaders now more than ever. We need courageous leaders who will see into the future and set the course for others to follow. Make it your mission to continuously reach deep down within yourself and act with courage. Those who follow you will be glad you did!

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the absence of self…

How will you demonstrate courage this week?

Please engage the discussion and let us know your “Why”? as you demonstrate Courage. Feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

Recently I was at the World Business Forum. As I listened to what some of the world’s top business leaders considered our most significant leadership challenges, one sentiment stood out for me above all others – Jack Welch made the statement that, “the rhythm of business hasn’t changed in 40 years.” That’s profound… and true.

Ladies and gentlemen, that was not a compliment! Worse, it was not the first (or second) time I’ve heard that commentary from a top business leader… What is actually so depressing about that statement is the fact that little is actually ever done about it. People love to tell us what our problems are… and even share high-level academic theories and pointless observations – but where is the down and dirty “how” to make things better?

In my 25+ years in global business, the one thing I have consistently required of both my staff and my clients is to never bring a problem forward that they have not at least provisionally thought about potential solutions for. It is one thing to spout off the problems of your organization, your country or this world… if you have potential ideas and solutions to make things better. However, it is unfair, unjustified and unconscionable to suggest that something needs to change and then fail to suggest potential solutions as to how to do so.

To Mr. Welch’s credit, he is out there doing the opposite. He is not just talking about it – he is creating exciting change in the business world! He saw a major flaw – a chasm actually – and addressed it. Today’s professors teach from ancient lesson plans instead of throwing out those lesson plans and teaching students from what is actually going on in the world of business. The world is moving too fast and Faculty is institutionalized and moves too slow – lacking a mindset of continuous learning. Jack Welch’s solution – he started his own Management Institute to begin to teach students how to truly evolve as sustainable leaders.

He took a chance. He took action. He’s making a difference. Through People.

True, Mr. Welch has unlimited resources from which to draw from and do good with. But do you know why? Because for years he stood for something – he built a purpose driven business – he built a business that was as much about people as it was about products. He understood, as great leaders do, that if people win, the company wins: employees have better lives and people with better lives contribute more to the world… that companies that have better, happier people are more successful and can give more back to the world as well. Doing well, facilitating positive change, is what allows us all to do good in the world.

That is why the rhythm of business must change – because great companies are made from great people, not the other way around.  Problems without solutions… I think not! We have the capacity to actively choose positive solutions at any time…

What will the new rhythm of your company sound like?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you plan to change the rhythm in your organization. Feel free to contact me at  Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back soon for the next post on Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

This week, after challenging a client to take a different perspective on organizational change, I was reflecting on a commentary I heard from Gary Hamel on how Leadership has not fundamentally changed in over 100 years.  In short, he is absolutely right. We may move things around, make them look a little different, or phrase them in a different way – but there has been little actual innovation in leadership theory and practice in a very long time. Think about it. When was the last time you did something truly innovative for your business?

It occurs to me how critical it is that, we, as leaders, begin to think and act  differently. We have the capacity, as leaders, to see business from a completely different perspective, yet we are often hesitant to really leverage the inherent power that is within us to influence meaningful change.  The reality is that in order to move forward, we have to start – we must begin to take steps forward in the right direction. One absolutely essential way that we can move toward bringing innovation back to the forefront is to actively engage the sources that are available to us in order to facilitate new ideas and concepts coming to fruition.

BUT I feel I must warn you – we have a very real and present danger among us: The Innovation Inhibitor.

There is currently an invisible villain that is stealing our not only our ability to innovate, but our opportunity to partner with a valuable resource that could get the flow of leadership innovation moving once again! The Innovation Inhibitor’s power is rooted in the lack of communication and partnership that exists between business and academia – it is currently devouring our potential for innovation. Many years of experience has shown me that business struggles to transform leadership and management theory into reality, and academia struggles in the area of understanding how to develop, at an experiential level, anything new or innovative that can actually be implemented to positively impact business.

The idea that business and academia would actively partner to create an environment where powerful new ideas are created, high academia struggles in the area of understanding how to develop, at an experiential level, anything new or innovative that can actually be implemented to positively impact business.

The idea that business and academia would actively partner to create an environment where powerful new ideas are created, high potential theories are tested and exciting new thoughts are pushed to their limits is an exciting, uncharted placed to be – yet in today’s workplace it seems to be a novel (and often unwelcome) idea. We must, as leaders, push to disavow the Innovation Inhibitor and bring a new sense of innovation and change to the global business environment.

Because I am absolutely passionate about the need for the integration of theory and practice resulting in innovation (as well as destroying the Innovation Inhibitor once and for all), I would like to introduce you to a concept that I am extremely confident will bring innovation back to the forefront in business. This concept is not new, but it is new to business. I would like to introduce you to Translational – or Bench – Science.

This particular concept comes from medicine, however we need to bring it to business. The term is currently used mainly in the health sciences and refers to translating clinical practice from the medical lab to real people. In essence, the same principles apply to business. We need to translate the management and leadership theories that are developed in academia and apply them to what we know and understand to be real in global business in order to realize innovation. It seems an easy concept, but most people have difficulty in translating theory into application.  However, by employing our relationship skills, along with our inherent understanding of what needs to get done and the determination to see it through – we, as leaders, can develop partnerships with the folks out there developing the theories and turn theory into innovative reality within the context of what we do – global business. The potential theories are tested and exciting new thoughts are pushed to their limits is an exciting, uncharted placed to be – yet in today’s workplace it seems to be a novel (and often unwelcome) idea. We must, as leaders, push to disavow the Innovation Inhibitor and bring a new sense of innovation and change to the global business environment.

Because I am absolutely passionate about the need for the integration of theory and practice resulting in innovation (as well as destroying the Innovation Inhibitor once and for all), I would like to introduce you to a concept that I am extremely confident will bring innovation back to the forefront in business. This concept is not new, but it is new to business. I would like to introduce you to Translational – or Bench – Science.

This particular concept comes from medicine, however we need to bring it to business. The term is currently used mainly in the health sciences and refers to translating clinical practice from the medical lab to real people. In essence, the same principles apply to business. We need to translate the management and leadership theories that are developed in academia and apply them to what we know and understand to be real in global business in order to realize innovation. It seems an easy concept, but most people have difficulty in translating theory into application.  However, by employing our relationship skills, along with our inherent understanding of what needs to get done and the determination to see it through – we, as leaders, can develop partnerships with the folks out there developing the theories and turn theory into innovative reality within the context of what we do – global business. The challenge is to leverage these partnerships to apply the research findings within the context of our business environments – thus making the valuable research that is done in academia applicable to real-world business.

If we are to evolve, we need to integrate ourselves as a critical component within the structure of Translational Science in global business. Translational Science is scientific research that is motivated by the need for practical application. Who is more practical than ourselves? We, as leaders, are the Superheroes in this story!

So, are you ready to annihilate the Innovation Inhibitor?

We have got to find ways to bring academia and business together to leverage the best in both for the betterment of the whole. If we don’t, we will never actually move forward. Please engage the discussion and let us how you will engage the challenge of bringing translational science to the business world for the improvement of your organization and the business world. Feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com, by visiting my blog at www.SheriMackey.com or stopping by our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com.

I think, as business leaders, we often have a Superman complex.  We rarely seek advice because we believe we should be able to do everything, know everything, and be everything to everyone at all times.  I, too, suffer from this illusion more often than not.

Despite this, I have found that to truly harness success, we really do have to buckle up, get out there and explore the resources that are available to us. We all need outside perspectives to stay balanced and develop a holistic view of our world, whatever that may encompass. More importantly, we need to ensure we are sharing our knowledge and perspectives with those around us… especially with those who are following us.

Over the last few decades, the business world has changed. It seems to be “every man for himself”. As a result, lacking guidance, many would-be successful business leaders feel discouraged about how far up to the corporate mountain they’ll be able to climb without anyone to help them navigate the treacherous peaks and valleys that can be the corporate landscape. It’s up to us, as successful business leaders, to make ourselves available to help them navigate. One critical way we can do that is through mentoring.

What is interesting is that the terrain has changed – and most people don’t even realize it yet!

Mentoring has never been too effective, for a variety of reasons. It is a word that is bantered around without too much gravity. It traditionally has taken place within the four walls of the organization, between a senior person and a junior person within the same division, perhaps even the same business unit. They are assigned by Human Resources and one (or both) parties really have little interest in the partnership. The Mentor really has no idea what s/he is supposed to do or say and the Mentee feels awkward and more than a little intimidated by the Mentor s/he has been assigned to. A situation set up for success to be sure…

Why should mentoring be such a rote, limiting activity? How much can be learned within such close quarters from someone so similar to yourself? Can sustainable learning really take place within and environment of disinterest and intimidation?

There is certainly value in learning from someone with more experience than yourself, but there is so much more to growth and development available if we look further into the horizon! What about learning from people from other industries? Other companies? Other functions? Other countries? Other cultures? What if we could take that knowledge and apply it back into our companies for increased competitive advantage? What if we could leverage those insights into our lives for a lifetime of enrichment?

What if we could, as business leaders, leverage each other to learn and grow in such new and different ways that we really could make a sustainable difference in the world?

Will You Leverage Mentoring As An All Terrain Vehicle To Traverse The Challenges Of The Global Marketplace?

I invite you to engage the discussion and let us know how you will leverage mentoring to help yourself and others. Please feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

Over the past several weeks, I have communicated to you what I believe are some of the most challenging aspects of leadership today.  These are the facets of business, that because we do not do them well, we repeatedly see decreased motivation and loyalty, less than competent leaders and, ultimately, poor business results.  I began to think seriously about these challenges long ago – perhaps fifteen years ago!  For twenty years, I was a leader in global business and now, two decades later, I am still hearing of the exact same challenges from my clients as an Executive Coach, International Speaker and Author. Do you think we have a problem?

 Over the past several weeks, I have communicated to you what I believe are some of the most challenging aspects of leadership today.  These are the facets of business, that because we do not do them well, we repeatedly see decreased motivation and loyalty, less than competent leaders and, ultimately, poor business results.  I began to think seriously about these challenges long ago – perhaps fifteen years ago!  For twenty years, I was a leader in global business and now, two decades later, I am still hearing of the exact same challenges from my clients as an Executive Coach, International Speaker and Author. Do you think we have a problem?

So what to do? I thought long and hard before I decided on what, I believe, is the best course of action. After much reflection and consideration as to the enormity of the task I was taking on, I decided it was critical that someone find a way to provide leaders worldwide with the tools and resources they need to succeed. After being in the marketplace and feeling the frustration of not being able to find the education and information I need for both myself and my teams around the world (and hearing clients echo the exact same sentiments decades later), not to mention the connections that could truly impact my perspective and career advancement, it became very clear to me that not a lot has changed in business over the past 26+ years and that someone really needed to do something to change the dismal statistics that represent global business today:

• 70% of international joint ventures FAIL
• 55% of global leaders FAIL
• The cost to replace just one FAILED executive = $250,000 – $1,250,000 USD

These statistics demonstrate that we are not doing something right – we are failing our organizations and our people by simply doing nothing. The cost of not “doing things right” is astronomical, yet we blindly stumble down the same paths again and again. Do you remember the definition of insanity?… doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Sound about right for your company?

We, as leaders, are FAILING our workforce and getting exactly the returns we have earned!  Although you would think that it would be in everyone’s best interest to do things BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER, the reality is very different and hasn’t changed in over two decades!

The answer: We must provide our most strategic assets, our people, with the CONNECTION, EDUCATION & INFORMATION they need to be successful.

Although many companies have great Leadership Development professionals and offer some very well-rounded internal education programs, I have consistently found that they lack a comprehensive framework from which to provide the three most critical components of success:  CONNECTION, EDUCATION & INFORMATION.  Until these components are woven into the fabric of our organizations, nothing will change…

As a result, I developed The Global LABB as a comprehensive resource for both organizations and individuals.  Within The LABB (Leaders Across Boundaries & Borders), we built the framework that is consistently missing amongst organizations. We created a comprehensive platform that provides the best tools and resources for leaders that represent the three pillars of success: CONNECTION, EDUCATION & INFORMATION. We developed the framework that can turn those dismal statistics on their head and provide leaders with everything they need to succeed to today’s rapidly evolving corporate environment.

The current challenges and deficiencies in Leadership are evident. If we, as leaders, do not take the initiative to address the below areas in our organizations, we will never see substantial progress:

• The Chasm: Business & Education
• The Coaching Paradigm
• Effective Mentoring
• Networking Is Not Nonsense
• Building A Lasting Legacy
• The Criticality Of Cultural Integration
• CSR As Competitive Advantage

This list is by no means exhaustive… just a way to get the conversation started.  I think we can all agree that, as business leaders, our commitment to changing the way we equip our people for success is no longer an option, but a critical component to our own success.

Supporting and lobbying for the development of critical leadership competencies produces real business results – innovation and growth within the business, more effective work cultures, better service, efficient operations, improved sales, increased profits … just to name a few of the many impacts successful leadership development brings to the company and the economy. But how we, as leaders, look at and leverage those opportunities makes all the difference.

As global leaders, we have more challenges than most in rising to the top in complex business environments.  However, those of us who choose to overcome the roadblocks and help our companies to build diverse global leadership development programs, as well as continue to develop ourselves, will stand the best chance of maximizing returns on our leadership development investments and making a real difference. The Global LABB didn’t exist for many years and as a result leaders have not grown and developed to their greatest potential. The Global LABB was created just for you… as a way to provide CONNECTION, EDUCATION & INFORMATION that will alleviate many pain points for you and your organization.  I invite you now to take a tour of The Global LABB… then answer this question:

Are You A Leader Or A Laggard In Your Organization?

Please engage the discussion and let us know strategies you employ to help develop leaders instead of laggards in your organization. Feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com,  stop by our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com or visit The Global LABB, The resource for leaders across boundaries & borders.

Innovation is the catalyst to growth. Innovation means doing something different, smarter or better that will make a positive difference.  Innovation applies to every aspect of your business – you can be innovative with products, services, methods or business processes.   Innovation is free and unlimited – if you actively tap into it as a leader.

Click graphic for more information

Incorporating innovation into your business can help you save time and money, and give you the competitive advantage to grow and adapt your business in the marketplace.  Because innovation refers to making things better, it can significantly increase the likelihood of your business succeeding. Research (and real life examples) have shown that businesses that innovate create more efficient work processes and have better motivation, productivity and performance overall.

As a leader in a global environment, it is essential for you to set the example and create communities where people unite around a common purpose and values.  Working collaboratively to accomplish a shared vision that makes a powerful and positive impact on the global business is absolutely vital to your success!

Can true collaboration occur in cross-cultural and virtual environments? Absolutely, IF you, as a leader, are intentional about building collaborative environments, modeling collaborative leadership practices, and creating opportunities to bring people together for both organizational and personal benefit.

Your job, as a leader, is to champion the global vision, provide resources across the board and remove the roadblocks that working across boundaries and borders unavoidably incurs. But how can you possibly do all this? Think about the recommendations below as if they were the pieces to a global puzzle and you will see how a pattern emerges that is quite different from traditional co-located leaders.

As A Global, Collaborative Leader, You Must…

1. Create Networks & Connections:

Flatten the traditional hierarchy to create interconnected systems that promote open communication and the sharing of resources worldwide – even when it is not the easy thing to do.

2. Encourage Informal Leadership:

Despite common myth, you do not need to be in control all the time – it is okay for leaders within the team to emerge as the nature of the work shifts. Encourage informal cross-cultural, cross-functional leadership to develop within the group according to what is required for a specific aspect of the work being done.

3. Know Your Business & The Broader Landscape:

Keep abreast of what is going on in your area and in the broader organization. However, also track global events and ideas from outside of your area of expertise in order to see trends, possibilities and the potential for global innovation amongst your teams.

4. Embrace The Bigger Picture:

Consider the bigger picture along with the long-term implications of your global goals and objectives. Ask relentless questions of your teams that open up possibilities and encourage collaborative communities. Seek information from diverse viewpoints and sources… and encourage your teams to do the same. Most teams focus internally, however successful teams embrace the “bigger picture” and consider it’s implications o their work… and vice versa.

5. Leverage Your Talent:

Recognize the cross-functional, cross-cultural expertise you have at your disposal. Know your limitations and realize you have a “world” of talent available if you leverage global collaboration to fuel growth and development.

6. Respect Begets Respect:

Earn global respect and trust through the integrity of your character and your work ethic. Hold yourself accountable for overall results and be willing to take a stand to make tough decisions. At the same time, always remember that respect and trust beget the same in return. The more you connect and collaborate with people at a personal level, regardless of the role they play in the organization, the more they will come to know you and feel comfortable with exactly where you stand.

7. Create A Reliable Global Infrastructure:
Require an open flow of information and communication between regions, functions and divisions – as well as the distribution of power and decision-making. Make use of all your resources to open global channels, leveraging creative uses of technology to engage in virtual conversations and information sharing with those across boundaries & borders.

8. Facilitate Global Dialogue:

Bring people together across cultures to engage in meaningful discussions around mutual goals and objectives. Identify commonalities long before your point out differences or points of contention. Provide opportunities to develop global collaboration, insisting people develop the skills and are enabled to engage in productive, collaborative talk that promotes innovative problem solving.

9. Expect Creative Solutions:

Equip your global teams with the tools and techniques to seek creative solutions that embrace cross-cultural, cross-functional collaboration that is aligned with a global vision that benefits the organization as a whole, rather than the individual.

10. Value Diversity:

Leverage differences and use diversity as a strategic advantage. Facilitate innovation through your global workforce and bring people with diverse perspectives and unique insights together to collaborate to find creative solutions.

11. Inspire Global Collaboration:

Set the standard and collaborate across functions, cultures and the organization as a whole. Partner with customers and partners, even competitors – freely sharing information while maintaining clear signs of continuing independence for all. In other words, you trust and respect other communities (even when competing) and see them as a part of the bigger picture – part of an expanded global community.

Collaborative leadership in a global context is based on respect, trust and the wise use of the power you have been given. Create opportunities for people to think together, emphasizing your team’s ability to see value in each other’s perspectives and contributions. In order for innovation to emerge,
 people at all levels must learn to collaborate effectively. Help your teams to understand that collaboration isn’t magic – it’s a mind-set and a skill-set… both of which can be leveraged to make a huge difference to your bottom line.

Being consistent in the design, application, and assessment of collaborative work ensures that your teams have a clear understanding, not only as to what they are to accomplish, but how… greatly increasing your potential for success.

Collaboration Is Not An Option – It’s An Imperative.

How Will You Enable Global Collaboration Across Your Organization?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you will enable successful collaboration in your organization. Do you need an expert to help you leverage global collaboration in your organization? Contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

GLABB – a term that defines who I am professionally to a large extent. If you have followed my posts on this topic so far, you know where I stand on the term Global… as well as Leadership.  Today, let’s talk about what it means to work Across Boundaries…. because the reality is that it can mean many things to many people.

In my world, working across boundaries is about lateral thinking… really comprehending that you are a single piece of a much larger puzzle and that your piece has a significant impact on the larger whole. It also means having the capacity to move across those boundaries to absorb knowledge from one context or discipline and apply it back into your area of expertise to create a free-flow of information - increasing your knowledge and the potential to “create a better mousetrap”. Think Leonardo DaVinci:

Working across boundaries, more than anything else, means working together to solve problems that cannot be solved ~ or easily solved ~ by a single person, department or business unit.  It is critical that you, as a leader, consider the overall system and expect every person across every department to work together to figure out how you can improve the overall experience for customers both internally and externally – the rest will naturally follow. The reality (whether you want to acknowledge it or not) is that you are part of a system… a network… an interconnected structure involving many people and multiple linkages.  Without each component part of the whole, there is little to offer the customer… or the market.

Despite the necessity of collaboration,  organizations are complex – engaging across boundaries can present several challenges. Because Networks are inter-organizational, cross-departmental and interpersonal, different stakeholders across that network have differing:

• Points of view (by default)
• objectives and missions
• micro-cultures and perspectives
• methods of operation – purpose, policies, procedures and systems.
• financial models (i.e. cost centers versus profit centers)
• degrees of power
• challenges/opportunities
• decision-making capacities
• Sources of conflict within network and with the customer

Despite the challenges, continually improving organizational performance is what matters and that can only happen with collaboration across both horizontal and vertical boundaries. It is critical for your company to get everyone working together. We all know how important it is to work effectively across organizational boundaries, however multi-functional, multi-cultural, multi-level teamwork is unnatural. The innate tendency of organizations is to optimize locally within a business unit or department – rather than optimizing for the global customer experience or enterprise acceleration. Too often, the sum of the parts doesn’t create a high-performing whole. Getting people to collaborate across boundaries typically requires a crisis… or aggressive edicts from organizational leadership (which can also backfire if not delivered appropriately).

Suppose for a moment you are the Chief Operations Officer of a multinational company and you want to improve the experience of customers worldwide, while also reducing the cost of overall operations. Who do you need to involve in improving the process?

Product Development creates the product…

Operations produces it…

Sales sells it…

Legal reviews it and creates the contracts…

Implementation Management implements it…

Customer Relations maintains the relationship after the sale…

Finance invoices and tracks financial progress…

BUT the customer will ultimately pay for the product and decide if you are a good partner overall.

In a typical scenario, each department is a separate business with its own objectives, business practices, culture, and information systems.  However, without all the component parts coming together to deliver the product or service, there is nothing to offer the market.  As a leader facilitating people working effectively across boundaries you need to understand, accommodate and help people understand that:

• Departments and their people have ongoing, critical interdependencies that require cross-boundary interactions on a regular basis
• It is natural that every department or business unit will have both common and competing goals – they must find common ground and “third best ways” of operating for organizational and customer benefit
• As part of a global workplace, your people work in an elastic environment – groups will expand and contract as needed
• Members need to be both participative and authoritative, depending on the circumstance
• People need to see both the forest and the trees – understanding the system as a whole is critical, but they also must consider the people and components within the system in order to be successful
• They must balance advocacy and inquiry, again depending on circumstance

If your organization truly wants to maximize shareholder value (and be around in another 10 years), continually working across boundaries to improve organizational results and the customer experience is the answer – which will drive competitive advantage, revenue and contract viability.

With the inherent challenges  (and opportunities) that come with working across boundaries:

How can you, as a leader,  leverage a multi-functional, multi-level, multi-cultural network of people to optimize overall operations… rather than optimizing each business units objectives?

How can you create an environment that embraces  the objective of cost reduction, while at the same time “thrilling” the customer?

And how do you do this when changes to the system may create winners and losers – internally and externally?

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”

~Leonardo da Vinci

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you view working across boundaries.

Stay tuned later this week – we will discuss the answers to these questions!

Do you need an expert to help you in your global organization? Contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com.

Globalization and rapidly changing technology continue to sweep the world. All organizations work across boundaries and  borders of one type or another and face significant challenges as they seek to reach and maintain market leadership.  Inherent in those challenges are often unrealized opportunities. One such opportunity, teams, offer a wealth of leverage to the discerning  leader. Our research repeatedly identifies the following advantages when teams are leveraged effectively:

–       Economies of scale and scope are realized

–       Effective learning & knowledge transfer takes place

–       Strategic capabilities are enhanced

–       More innovative products and services are developed

–       Better understanding of customers is achieved

–       Strong cultural intelligence fostering competitive advantage is accomplished

In today’s complex marketplace, success depends on a company’s ability to work effectively across different functions and cultures in order to drive innovation and capture market share. As a leader, you must go beyond motivating people from very different cultural backgrounds, experience and leadership styles – you need to  create an environment that facilitates team collaboration  across boundaries and borders. There is simply no better better way to understand and strategically exploit the marketplace.

Multi-cultural, multi-functional teams are, at the same time, the most challenging teams to elevate to high performance and the highest performing teams available when properly developed. Indeed, diverse teams can be considerably more complex than homogeneous teams, but also far more creative and effective… but only when they are built and managed with in-depth understanding and expertise. This requires you, as a leader, to consciously and intentionally develop multi-functional, multi-cultural groups of people to drive the best results for the organization and its clients.

Despite the layers of complexity inherent in developing teams with varied capabilities, worldviews and expertise, such groups offer their companies distinct advantages. They provide diversity of thought and perspective that leads to ongoing innovation, which ultimately drives better business results. The philosophy and uniqueness of assorted worldviews and functions brings richness to problem-solving. The different methodologies used in product and service development (and an openness to diverse methods) leads to better products and services,  leveraging differences for innovation, collaboration, and ultimately, organizational success.

As a responsible leader, what then is your responsibility?

It’s simple, but not easy: You must create and develop diverse groups of people as strategic assets – leverage them to gain competitive advantage. Invest in innovation and diversification through your people to create blue ocean strategies instead of continuing to fight in overcrowded seas for small pieces of market share. Strategically use the unique knowledge that is inherent in your organization. For you and your organization to succeed, you must continually find ways to maximize the contributions of your entire workforce. Diverse teams are the seldom leveraged keys to unimaginable success, because diverse people are truly the only sustainable competitive advantage in today’s complex, global economy. The effectively leveraged team will certainly add up to more than the sum of its parts, revealing the keys to your success just waiting to be discovered and appreciated.

You can contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next Wednesday for the next installation on Global Leadership Across Boundaries & Borders.

Becoming a great leader is more than just a title – it is hard work.  It requires unprecedented levels of innovation and a commitment to the organization and its constituents, as well as the ability to continually inspire and motivate others to succeed. One key way to achieve ongoing innovation and sustainable results is through the creation of an execution culture.

You, as a leader, have an opportunity to accelerate progress in your organization through the deployment of Rapid Result Initiatives (RRI’s), which can be used to:

• Increase current performance
• Strengthen collaboration
• Facilitate innovation
• Demonstrate success in the process of executing your long term vision and mission

RRI’s are small, high-leverage, short-term projects that generate immediate impact and measurable results, while tapping into hidden capacity and building momentum to drive large-scale change – usually in 100 days or less.

Exceptional leaders understand they must calculate their steps and fully understand what they have and how to use it most effectively to continually move forward. One very beneficial way to do this is to structure your organization as a portfolio of RRI’s leading to the achievement of ultimate vision. This approach creates the opportunity to pursue strategically critical goals that deliver real impact, while  linking directly to the long term plans and objectives of the organization. Each RRI becomes a vehicle for achievement, learning, and the advancement of long term goals.

The core of Rapid Results Initiatives involves working with your teams to set and achieve small, but aggressive, goals in one or more key areas of performance. From this perspective, they are compelled to tap into hidden reserves of capacity and energy to get the job done, taking action and testing assumptions to determine how to best achieve the desired objective on a compressed timeline. Through a succession of fast-paced, results focused initiatives, you can make remarkable gains toward major goals and objectives.

Because Rapid Results Initiatives maximize existing knowledge and resources, they are not only fast, but cost-effective. Internal teams execute projects within the context of structured coaching from their leaders along the way, allowing teams to build new capabilities through the achievement of measurable outcomes. Ultimately, Rapid Result Initiatives generate both the momentum and the expertise to accelerate and sustain growth in any organization.

Sun Tzu, a great Chinese military general, was very insightful when he once said, “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” – Genius!

It is your role as a leader to provide a framework that enables the multiplication of opportunities, creating a culture of execution that drives unity of purpose, alignment of commitments, coordinated action and the ability for the team to lead creatively in their problem-solving capability. Having a clear methodology for breakthrough performance enables the team to produce results that not only represent substantial wins, but that are critical to seizing the opportunities that lead toward both collective and independent triumph.

As a leader, leverage opportunities to create Rapid Result Initiatives in which functionally or culturally disparate team members can successfully step outside their familiar work structures to create a culture of execution. In doing so, team members gain the freedom to think in new ways and forge a new culture based on common goals and values. As they begin to understand success as a consolidated unit, they begin to believe and see an amazing future that is entirely possible – they are suddenly vested in winning… with you!

How game-changing futures come to be, and the challenges the leaders of these innovations face, create valuable lessons for the leader willing to listen and learn. If astute, you will continually re-think what is possible in your ever-changing, evolving environment. In so doing, the capability to deliver powerful, execution-driven teams will emerge. People aligned around the accomplishment of unified futures, as well as achieving specific breakthrough business results through RRI’s, are teams destined for unimaginable success. After all, exceptional leaders develop in the process of creating exceptional results!

Are you creating an environment that facilitates Rapid Results?

You can contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installation  of Leadership Across Boundaries & Borders.

We go to business school to learn all the right skills, but are we actually taught the right skills? Are young people coming to us from University adequately equipped to work in our world? Of course we all need to know the fundamentals of basic business management, but what about  those critical, but less obvious, competencies that leaders (formal and informal) must know in order to succeed? What are those essential skills not taught in business school that often cause high potential leaders to derail and never achieve their potential?

I was listening to Condoleeza Rice at an event this morning and she had some very interesting points regarding education (in addition to being a past Secretary of State, she has also been a University Provost and is currently a Professor at Stanford). She recognized the need to tighten the relationships between academia and business to better prepare people for the workforce they are entering… while also recognizing the enormity of such a lofty agenda. In my humble opinion, here are a few important aspects of leadership that are not taught in business school, but could definitely benefit from integration:

1) How To Create A Vision:

“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizon are limited by obvious realities. We need men and women who can dream of things that never were.”   ~ John F. Kennedy

The problem with this statement is that many leaders do not know how to create a vision, do not realize how very vital it is to the success of their organization, nor what to do with the vision once they have finally figured it out. Here are a few simple tips:

1. Work backward from your imagination, rather than forward from your past –  the old adage, “What got you here, will not get you there” is an absolute truth.
2. Remember that whatever you can imagine, you can accomplish – make a bet on a bigger future.
3. Ask yourself some revealing questions as you develop your vision:
   • What is an enormous strategic opportunity within your domain/organization/industry?
   • What would change your business and your clients business… forever?
   • What is missing that would truly revolutionize the products/services/processes/etc. that you represent? (Think Apple, Netflix, Facebook…)
   • What will take your company/domain from status quo to breakthrough?
   • What are you so passionate about that you would be willing to transform not only your company, but yourself?
4. Think through and understand what it is going to require of you and the organization to realize the vision: Realistically ensure the benefits outweigh the costs.
5. Document and publish an explicit, living, breathing, step by step plan that senior leaders, peers and staff can buy into and share ownership.

2) How to Execute With A Results Orientation

They don’t teach the dogged determination that creates the ability to execute in business school, but this quality is more important in making people successful and in executing in business than any other. However, if that is all it takes to execute, why do so many executives lack this ability? Because there is no system, formula, strategy, or tactical plan behind the vision – there is a weak results orientation and a lack of process knowledge to support forward movement (aside from a few additional factors we will cover next week). Naturally, it is important to begin with the end in mind, but many executives are so focused on the end, they end up chasing their tails and accomplishing little. Here are some straight forward ways for executives to facilitate their ability to execute:

• Again, understand first and foremost that “what got you here, will not get you there”! We live in a society of rapid change (wherever you are) and you must be prepared not only to do things differently, but to innovate to find increasingly effective mechanisms to accomplish your goals.
• Focus on the process, not the prize – concentrate on what will produce the results, rather than the results themselves.
• Get and stay connected – identify key strategic partners that can help you get where you want to go and consistently engage.
• Have both a tactical and a strategic plan.
• Execute one step at a time – by the inch it’s a cinch, by the yard it will be hard.
• Consistently engage ALL key players across boundaries & borders – without the buy-in and commitment of critical resources you will never succeed.
• Listen, don’t just hear – listen to what your subject matter experts are telling you and remain flexible in your game plan.
• Incorporate strict accountability measures – if no one is openly accountable, little will get done.

3) How To Network For Success

There is great power in knowing you can reach out to your network whenever you have a problem to solve, to be able to reach key influencers at conferences and meetings, to make an impression on audiences, to project confidence and trustworthiness, and to make friends with other successful people. The ability to connect on many levels is essential to success in business – in fact many top executives say networking is one of the top reasons for their success. Surrounding yourself with successful and intelligent people will  allow you to consistently think smarter, as well as having access to brilliant people that will support your objectives and provide valuable insights. Networking presents opportunities to interact on a personal level and to develop profitable relationships. Most people have a reluctance to connect with strangers, however in business talking to strangers is essential and the only effective way to generate interest and support for what you do. It is so easy to stay within your controlled environment, however if you only talk to people you already know, you will miss significant opportunities to make new connections, create value and position yourself for success.

The greatest people in business have certain attributes in common. Some are natural gifts, others are learned attributes.  Beyond those natural gifts –

Can we prevent the derailment of high potential leaders through the acquisition of critical skills not taught in business school?

Please feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for Part 2 of “School of Hard Knocks”

Innovation.   Integration.   Motivation.

Three simple words… however, implementation is extremely complex and rarely executed.

In today’s challenging environment, leadership has never been more complex.  As leaders, we are the Commanders of our troops and have a responsibility to ensure we are consistently pushing forward to ensure victory. While the obvious route is to cut costs, limit availability of resources, manage cash efficiently and hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive – this is merely defensive maneuvering.  It is absolutely essential that we, as leaders, recognize that we cannot win the war of sustainable competitive advantage without going on the offensive to courageously engage people as a competitive weapon to ensure we are victorious.

In order to win the war for global domination, we must engage both our colleagues and our employees on three key battlefields: Innovation, Integration and Motivation. This week, we will address the first of these combat zones: Innovation.

Sadly, leadership has not fundamentally changed in over 100 years. We may move things around, make them look a little different or change up the phraseology – but there has been little actual innovation in leadership theory and practice in a very long time. Think about it. When was the last time you did something truly innovative for your business?

We, as leaders, must begin to think and act differently. We have the capacity to see the world from a completely different angle. Yet, when push comes to shove, we are often hesitant to really leverage the inherent power that is within us to influence meaningful change.  The reality is that in order to move forward, we have to start – one foot in front of the other. We have to be willing to leverage our unique influence as leaders to move our organizations forward. One absolutely essential way that we can move toward bringing innovation back to the forefront is to actively engage the resources that are available to us in order to facilitate new ideas and concepts coming to fruition.

There is currently an invisible enemy on the Innovation battlefield. It is stealing not only our ability to innovate, but also our opportunity to partner with valuable resources that would enable innovation to move forward once again! The innovation adversary’s power is rooted in the lack of communication and partnership that exists between and across our businesses… not to mention within our partnerships and strategic alliances. Our inability to leverage innovative opportunities from all viable corners of the battlefield is currently devouring our potential to create sustainable competitive advantage. Many years of experience has shown that business (as a whole) struggles to transform all available resources into viable competitive weapons – most organizations struggle to even understand the value of the resources within their own encampment! Those companies that successfully translate their ability to understand and develop, at an experiential level, new or innovative ideas that can be implemented to positively impact business are those that win the war… every time.

There is a two part critical path to successfully gaining the upper hand on the Innovation Battlefield:

1. The development and implementation of technical and strategic programs:

a.  Technical Advisory Councils: Internal, cross-unit, cross-functional innovation think tanks enabling employees to bring their (often hidden) knowledge, expertise and ideas to the company on a cross-unit, cross-functional scale for further evaluation and development.

b.  Strategic Advisory Councils: Innovative think tanks bringing strategic alliances, partners and customers together to contribute their perspectives, knowledge, expertise and ideas to your company for further evaluation and development.

I have personally implemented and seen these in action on many occasions – THEY WORK!

2. The development and implementation of Bench Science: There is a real and present need for the integration of theory and practice resulting in innovation. Despite the complexity and confusion that exists on every battlefield, Translational – or Bench – Science is a way to create victory from the jaws of defeat. This particular concept comes from medicine, however we need to bring it to our organizations and leverage it as a worthy weapon to defeat our invisible enemy. The term currently refers to translating clinical trials from the medical lab to real people. In essence, the same principles apply to business. We need to translate the ideas and concepts that are developed in the think tanks and apply/adapt them to what we know and understand to be real in business… and then deploy them in the real world in order to realize innovation. It seems an easy concept, but most people have difficulty in translating theory into application.

By employing our relationship skills, along with our inherent understanding of what needs to get done and the determination to see it through – we, as leaders, can develop multi-functional “active think tanks” within the battlefield to turn concepts into innovative reality within the context of what we do – global business. The opportunity for potential theories to be developed, tested and pushed to their limits is an exciting, different way to fight for competitive advantage in a very real way. We must, as leaders, push to disavow the Innovation Enemy and bring a new sense of invention and change to our joint battleground.

The idea that business entities would actively partner to create a battleground where powerful new ideas are created, high potential theories are tested and exciting new thoughts are pushed to their limits is an exciting, uncharted placed to be – yet in today’s environment it seems to be a novel idea. We must, as leaders, push to disavow the enemies of innovation and create a new sense of partnership and change in an environment that enables joint forces.

If we are to evolve, we need to integrate ourselves as a critical component within the structure of programmic think tanks and Translational Science in global business. TAC and SAC Programs together with Translational Science facilitate innovation that is motivated by the need for practical application. Who is more practical than ourselves? We, as leaders, are the Commanders leading our troops into battle in this story – the model of practicality!

Ultimately, there is always an opportunity gap between what makes an institution successful today and what is required on tomorrow’s battlefield. Leadership, technology and environment are all constantly evolving to produce new and innovative opportunities to advance your troops and defeat your opponents. The concept is simple, but it is not easy. The future is now. It is about what we are doing now to prepare ourselves, our colleagues and our employees for future battles – not what we will do to defend and protect ourselves. There is a paradoxical tension between making a difference today and engaging the future. However if we, as Commanders, do not have the ability to focus on today’s challenges, while simultaneously engaging the war to ensure strategic innovation, our ability to move forward in victory is surely at risk.

Are you prepared to fight the Innovation battle in order to win the war?

Please feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for Part 2 of “Winning The War”.

In today’s demanding business environment (cost pressures, flatter organizations, more direct reports, “speed to market” as a competitive advantage, etc.) you have limited opportunity to devote time and energy to your own development. Most leaders struggle to meet all of the responsibilities of their positions and are too busy and too stressed to step back and learn from their experiences – or to implement changes that establish best practices. The one thing that is in no one’s best interest is for you, as a leader, to forsake your own learning and development – no matter what level you may be. In the current environment, Executive Coaching is one sure-fire way you can continue to develop your executive-level skills, as well as address your developmental and growth needs (which impacts the entire organization), while continuing to run your organization on a day to day basis.

Full disclosure – I am an Executive Coach. However, if you have been reading my articles for any time at all, you know I am not one to peddle my wares. I run a referral based business and have been extremely successful leveraging that model. However, as I meet people around the world, I have discovered that there is a fundamental lapse of understanding as to what exactly an Executive Coach can do for leaders at all levels… and the impact they have on career development/ advancement, team building and organizational improvement – as well as personal effectiveness in all areas of life. So today, I am going to talk to you a bit about what an Executive Coach can do for you… and why you (and your direct reports) desperately need one.

Coaching comes in a variety of flavors, but the overarching goal is to help you be the very best version of yourself as a leader, executive… and whole person. The experience feels like a blend of forward-focused therapy, board discussion, consulting… and Olympic cross-training. The focus is on your advancement (as you define it) – a definition that evolves over time. Given the right circumstances, one-on-one interaction with an objective third party, who is not tied to the organization or other executive or company influence, can provide a focus that other forms of organizational support cannot. Coaching develops you, the leader, in “real time” within the context of your current role… while allowing you to maintain your day-to-day responsibilities.

Without a doubt, many of the most successful people in the world today attribute much of their success to having engaged an Executive Coach. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says the best advice he ever got was to get a coach. Bill Gates emphatically said everyone should have a coach. Venture capitalist Fred Wilson advocates coaching too, especially for executives. If you want to be the very best executive you can be – with all the perks – your best bet is to engage an Executive Coach!

Here are some of the reasons executive coaching will make you successful:

Clarity:

Your coach will ensure your goals are crystal clear and specific. You will be challenged over and over again to be specific and eliminate any haziness. Left to your own devices you may be heavily inclined to be vague in your goals. I have never seen anyone who has not benefited from being challenged to clarify their goals. Clarity is critical – you have a far better chance of achieving a clear goal than a vague one!

Accountability:

Procrastination and lack of follow-through is the greatest threat to any goal. A coach will make you accountable to taking the necessary actions to move your goal down the road toward achievement. Left to your own devices, you are likely to adapt the “I’ll do it tomorrow” approach – an Executive Coach will keep you on track and accountable to your own success.

Objective Measurement:

 A coach will ensure that you have agreed milestones to measure your progress… and will be the objective assessor of that progress. This ensures you stay on track and do what needs to be done to deliver your goals on time. Your coach exerts an external, objective pressure that you need to be wildly successful.

Remove Limitations:

Your coach will drive you to achieve what you are capable of and to break through your limiting beliefs – and you do have limiting beliefs that determine how far you will go. It is the job of your coach to push you to go further than you think possible. It is all about your growth, and you need that additional voice of challenge to push you forward.

Hold Your Feet To The Fire:

Your Coach will motivate, inspire, entice and challenge you in ways that will always keep you moving toward (and exceeding) your goals. Let’s be honest, we all need this. The greatest performers in all walks of life have coaches – performance coaching exists in sport, business, the arts… and just about everywhere else. Coaching is for the driven, successful people of this world!

Build Your Capacity For Success:

Success is a result of what you do. If you are continually moving towards your goals, you are developing muscles that will serve you well into the future. Success is born of winning, and habitually doing the right things to win builds the muscles you need to continually succeed.

Focus On Your Success:

Coaching will ensure that you keep the focus on what matters – your achievement (in this context). Left to your own devices you will be inclined to focus on the problems, or the things that get in the way. A coach will banish the habit of accommodating negative thoughts, ensure you learn to focus on positive outcomes and teach you to celebrate every win.

Everyone, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e, has blind spots. There are just things we can’t see… or never think to ask ourselves. We all know we’re not perfect – even when we’re at the top of our game – but we seldom ask ourselves how what we can’t see is keeping us from getting to the next level. And yes, there is always – a-l-w-a-y-s – a next level. If you are not yet convinced, here are some more critical reasons to engage an Executive Coach:

• Consistently improve business results: greater productivity, faster promotions, bigger profits
• Allow deeper understanding about yourself, how you’re perceived and where you can improve
• Facilitate better outcomes and advance faster… with greater precision
• Obtain unique perspectives from a trusted, strategic advisor – an unbiased third party – to talk through challenges and opportunities…
• Enable cultural awareness (organizational, political and geographical): gain perspective on beliefs and attitudes that may be holding you back
• Discover and create clarity on your personal vs. professional values, leading to greater focus and conviction
• Form an awareness and action plan around personal and professional “blind spots”
• Gain emotional support, empathy, and encouragement – feel less lonely
• Ascertain the hard truths others won’t tell you
• Enable an environment of support for skill development – communication, delegation, conflict management, team building, persuasion, etc.

These are incredible leverage points for your personal and professional growth… without ever leaving your office – leverage points you simply cannot achieve on your own.

Executive coaching is different from other forms of coaching. You, as a leader, deal with your business as a whole every day. You have to consistently perceive and understand how everything in the business links together and if it is functioning optimally. From your position, you should be able to see further ahead and guide the business along the right route. But what is the right route? You have a lot of power to make decisions about which route you want the company (or your area of responsibility at the very least) to choose. And as we all know, a lot of decisions are not made on a purely rational basis, but on your intuition and experience. You often influence the decisions for the company as much as the outside world.  So, as a top leader you need a set of cognitive skills not always required of others – skills that are not learned in a classroom. Those skills need to reflect objectively on the way you do things and make decisions, since your own experiences and motivations have such a great influence on the success or failure of the business. A coach will help you to develop perspective on the organization… and on your world. A coach will help you to not only see and perceive the landscape differently, but provide you with the tools and skills to consistently choose the right route.

Here are some critical characteristics of Executive Coaching that will greatly benefit you, as a leader:

1) Individualized

As a leader you have your own unique work environment, personal history, capabilities, values and personality –  an Executive Coach can accommodate your individual needs and preferences.

2) Work – And Learn At The Same Time – On Actual Issues

Executive Coaching is based on actual issues relevant to YOU. The core focus is your business and how you affect it. In practice, the role of Coach and Consultant are often intertwined.

3) Flexible In Time And Place

With a bit of give and take between you and your Executive Coach, times and locations for coaching can be arranged to suit your schedule.

4) Objective

Your coach is an outsider to your business. S/he will come to know your business in due course, but doesn’t have a role inside the company and is not affected by all the politics. An Executive Coach from outside the company can be more objective. Often, because s/he works for other clients, your coach also can bring in an outside view to help you to benchmark yourself more accurately and establish best practices.

5) Confidential

An Executive Coach, like professional therapists or consultants, will always agree to a confidentiality clause in their contract.

6) Professional Knowledge

A professional Executive Coach, with significant work experience at a high level in business, will often be qualified with a reputable coaching diploma and perhaps a master’s level business qualification. A good coach will be experienced and will also know the theory of business, so that when s/he offers ideas you can be sure they are based on experience and knowledge.

7) Holistic

You have gotten to where you are because of your knowledge, skills and drive … but also despite your deficiencies. The old saying, “What got you here, will not get you there” could not be more accurate. An Executive Coach will not only help you to grow your skills, s/he will also help identify gaps and provide the opportunity for you to fill them. Often, gaps have complex and deep personal causes that only in-depth 1:1 Executive Coaching can address.

8) Unlearning

You go to school to learn – to add building blocks of knowledge and skills. One challenge you may have is that a lot of those building blocks have actually not served you well and have manifested in bad habits. So, in the craziness of daily life, a lot of poor practices get integrated along with good, useful education and experience. Before you add more knowledge and skill to your personal repertoire, often bad habits and bad thinking need to be unlearned. Your coach will help you to question and challenge the way you normally do things and the way you think – encouraging you to look at your world from different perspectives – making it possible to create something even better than you imagined.

9) Empowerment

Executive Coaching has a core aim to empower YOU, the individual leader. It gives you time and space to think. It helps you to think objectively and holistically. It provides a strategic partner to debate and discuss critical decisions with. It generates solutions.  All these are skills that you can continue to use when dealing with new challenges and opportunities in the future.

10) Cost Effective

Executive Coaching is a cost effective way to create and maintain superior leaders. Real problems get solved. It often leads to ‘breakthrough’ thinking, where roadblocks that have been there for years get blown away. It is often immediate, as it deals with the here and now.

My advice to every leader out there – find yourself an amazing Executive Coach. It will change your life.

The reality:  YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE.

What Have You Done For Yourself Lately?

Please feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com.