Great news! Infinite Has Just Been Nominated As One Of Chicago’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies To Work For!!
http://www.101bestandbrightest.com/home
Let’s see where we end up placing!
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Customer Experience Lessons From The Voice
5 Traits of Leaders Who Are Ready for Social Good
http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2012/12/09/5-traits-of-leaders-who-are-ready-for-social-good/
Meghan M. Biro, Contributor
‘Tis the season to do good. You might not believe it if you’ve just come from the Mall, but the spirit of good is out there. Perhaps unexpectedly, good deeds and real social change are coming from business leaders who understand that success carries with it the opportunity to exercise social responsibility without the burden of government mandate.
The path to becoming a socially-responsible leader is not as difficult as one might think. It’s a logical extension of the passionate leader’s journey. Not all leaders take it, of course; I could find no real good numbers as I researched this post but my instinct tells me less than 50 percent of successful business leaders go on to contribute to social good in a meaningful way. I’m hoping these numbers continue to increase.
Todd Warren, my fellow Forbes contributor, educator and thought-leader on startup culture, has proposed an awesome post about five attributes of entrepreneurial leaders: vision and dissatisfaction with the present, knowing and taking advantage of one’s unfair advantages, ability to recruit people to extend your vision, flexibility and ability to learn and adapt, and persistence and execution. These attributes are, in my view, the basic requirements for a socially-responsible leader – but wait, there’s more. Warren’s five attributes may make a good entrepreneur but they don’t go far enough to explain why some business success stories – for example Bill Gates – go beyond business success to become social activists and philanthropists. For every Bill Gates there are 20 or 30 Carl Ichans, Mark Cubans, even – and I am a fanboi – Steve Jobs, who achieved enormous personal success and wealth but have not contributed back significantly to society. So how does a business leader transcend personal success and extend his or her skills to the realm of the do-gooder?
I’d argue there are an additional five traits necessary to be a socially-responsible leader:
1) Heightened situational awareness. It’s one thing to be focused on being aware of the business landscape by staying open to ideas to extend and perfect your vision. It’s a different skill to be aware of the world around you. In the movie Scrooged, Bill Murray is completely unaware of his assistant’s life challenges until the ghosts visit him; once his awareness is engaged and the focus expanded from his wants and needs to encompass those of others, he is transformed into a socially-responsible, charitable soul. To become socially responsible, leaders must look beyond themselves to see what motivates, or holds back, those around him. Then he or she can see the need in others – in the world – and turn the intense focus of the entrepreneur to solving larger social problems.
2) Emotional intelligence. Yes, this is one of my favorite themes, for a reason. Until a leader opens
his or her heart and mind to others, turns what is undoubtedly prodigious intelligence and focus outward to understand the challenges of others, there can be no authentic social leadership. If you see an emotionally limited leader doing good works, look for a smart tax advisor standing in the wings.
3) Empathy. This isn’t the same as emotional intelligence. I know lots of emotionally intelligent people who are more cerebral than they are empathetic. They can understand why people behave a certain way, and adapt, but at some level it does not reach them. Empathetic people are open to the world of hurt that exists on the periphery of the world of things; they know not only why people have needs, but also why it is important to meet those needs.
4) Media savvy. This might not seem like an attribute but it is. Look at Bill Gates then look at Steve Ballmer. ‘Nuff said. The media savvy leader has an advantage when he turns his attention to social good. Bono, no stranger to the media or financial success, has done tremendous good because he knows how to work the media to advance his cause. And some media, notably HuffPo and Mashable, are making it much easier for socially-aware leaders to do good. HuffPo’s HuffPost Education Section is a media hub for all things relevant to the country’s failing education system. The brain child of Brian Sirgutz, SVP of Social Impact at The Huffington Post/AOL, HuffPo’s Education Section came about after the media channel’s executive leadership watched the movie Waiting for Superman. It’s a content channel devoted to charting what’s wrong – and what could make it right – in our education system. It may not meet your criteria for doing good, but when you’re a media channel, access is your gift and your gold. Then there’s Mashable’s Social Good content channel. The editors of Mashable, led by Meghan Peters, Community Manager for Mashable, scan the Interwebs for news and evidence of individuals, leaders and organizations dedicating resources to social good. Sometimes all it takes is a light shining on a good act, or a horror, to alert society (and leaders) to the opportunity for social good. PS: My #TChat World of Work Community will be featuring both the talented Meghan and talented Brian this week as we celebrate via social media channels.
5) Selflessness. This is the tough one. Some entrepreneurs and successful (wealthy, not merely well-off) people are not acquainted with selflessness. They do things because their personal calculus tells them there’s a benefit. Maybe it’s the unreconstructed Catholic in me but by my reckoning, you haven’t done a social good if you expect to deduct it on your taxes. You do a social good when you have no expectation of repayment of any kind – we’re not buying indulgences here.
Non-profit, for-profit, individual or business leader – we can all learn a lesson during the festival of light, the season of charity and goodness. Open your hearts and minds before you open your wallets. Charity doesn’t count if you don’t understand the motivation.
Mission Leadership: 4 Principles For Creating Corporate Commandos By Denis Wilson
http://www.fastcompany.com/3003397/mission-leadership-4-principles-creating-corporate-commandos
Much of the post-Petraeus talk has centered on the crisis of leadership in the military’s top echelons. But on the ground, innovation doesn’t spring from “command and control,” but from mission leadership, something commando-turned-consultant Damian McKinney can teach you a thing or two about.
There seems to be a misconception that the military operates strictly by way of a rigid hierarchy, as if every last move on the frontline is orchestrated from atop the chain of command and those in the thick of it wait for the orders to trickle down. Not so–especially in the post-9/11 era of uncertainty.
In fact, when Damian McKinney entered the private sector after serving 18 years in British Royal Marines, the commando-turned-consultant found the business world to be more rigid than the military and that in many cases, corporate soldiers were not empowered to carry out their missions.
Shake-ups like the financial crisis only served as a reason for leadership to tighten their grip. In the military, this top-down management system is referred to as “command and control.” You might call it micromanagement.
But the nature of conflict has changed significantly since the trench warfare of World War I and II. To reflect this, McKinney says a massive cultural shift took place among NATO forces during the 1980s.
“Suddenly you’ve got this guy called a terrorist appearing. And a terrorist doesn’t operate like a conventional soldier,” says McKinney. “So you’ve got a situation where an 18- or 19-year-old is faced with this guy standing in front of him and he does not have time to go through the normal chain of command and ask for permission to do something. So we had to turn the system on its head.”
Turning the system on its head meant transitioning from command and control to mission command. With mission command, everyone is closely aligned to the mission, trained to make appropriate decisions, and given the trust and support from leadership to follow through. The mission dictates what is to be done, but the how is, to a greater extent, in the hands of those tasked with execution.
Upon entering the private sector, McKinney quickly saw an opportunity to bring mission command principles to corporate leadership. In 1999, he founded management consulting firm, McKinney Rogers, which counts among its clients Walmart, Bacardi, and HBO. And this year, he published The Commando Way: Better Business Execution. In a nutshell, McKinney thinks that commando thinking is ideally suited to meet an unstable, uncertain business world. And so as to avoid the proscriptive connotations of the term “mission command,” he calls it mission leadership. Here are its fundamentals.
Mission Leadership Requires A Deal
McKinney recalls an anecdote from 1990 when a young major was explaining to a mixed audience of generals and young Marines why adopting mission command was a good idea. A general stood up and expressed his doubts that those with less experience and a lower rank could make the critical decisions that this empowerment calls for. “One of these young Marines stood up and said, ‘With all due respect, general, you’re asking me with this new doctrine to make these big decisions. How can I trust you to support me?’”
Empowerment is a two-way street. If leadership can provide a clear mission, reports should be trusted to carry out that mission with greater independence. “Essentially, it’s a deal. You’re gonna say, “Look, guys, I need to make sure we’re really clear that you all understand why we are doing what we’re doing, what we need you to do, and the boundaries within which you have to operate. You’re going to hold yourself accountable for that. But in exchange, I have to give you the freedom.”
And McKinney has all the confidence that given the opportunity to operate with more discretion, employees will thrive. “If you do that, it never ceases to amaze me how successful people can be and how innovative and creative they can be.” He suggests taking a lesson from the military, where everyone is expected to be able to operate at one or two levels above their rank, because if someone falls in battle, there’s no time to run off to management training while the enemy waits. “It has to happen there and then. So it allows you to be thinking and operating at a very different level. And so you get high levels of performance with smaller groups of people.”
Have a Vision for Success
When McKinney resigned from the military in 1997 and decided to go into business, he fully expected to leave the military mindset behind. But on morning one as a consultant, he was listening to a project presentation and at lunch asked someone to explain the “end state” of the project. “In other words, what does success look like and why are we doing it? The senior partner looked at me and said, ‘You’ve clearly been in the military too long. There is no such thing as an end state.’” McKinney was shocked: “For me it’s just an excuse–poor planning and poor understanding of what success looks like.’”
McKinney’s takeaway was that leaders should be less concerned with controlling every aspect of a project, and more concerned with outlining a clear outcome for a mission. “There’s a very simple human need here: Tell me where we’re going, tell me what part you’d like me to play–in other words, a plan–tell me the boundaries within which you want me to operate, and then just let me go.”
McKinney continues: “The one I use always because I just think it’s the best I’ve ever come across, is Kennedy’s 1961 vision. Where he stood and he essentially said, we’re going to put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade. It was powerful because it was really simple. You could listen to it and see a man standing on the moon and I can see him coming back. It was also time-bound. So I say to all these companies, everyone needs a destination. So the starting point is what is the vision for success.”
Also, Have a Purpose
What most companies call a mission statement is actually their purpose, says McKinney, and most of them are poor. A strong purpose is something you can always come back to. It’s the reason why a company exists. “Having a purpose is really important because it defines who you are,” says McKinney. “Your visions may change over the years, but your purpose should never change.”
McKinney has worked extensively with Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. In his work with Walmart, the company’s purpose consistently informs their strategy. Their purpose, “Saving people money so they can live better,” actually led to the company’s game-changing $4 generic drug program. “What we did is start off by saying, ‘What effect can we have on medical health care in the U.S. that actually drives costs down? Where do people pay a lot of money? They pay on their prescriptions, particularly old people. Well, then why don’t we try to drive the price of that dow
n?’ So we literally went from $20 to $4. A massive change. We did a whole vision and strategy over four days, we launched it a week later, we went right through the U.S. in four months, and we saved the average middle-aged patient $200 a month.”
Empowerment Leads to Innovation
The most basic tenet behind mission leadership that is once a mission is laid out to an individual or team with absolute clarity, they should be allowed to run with it. “An individual needs to know the what and the why–the mission, the boundaries within which they operate, and then frankly, you never tell somebody how to do their job. You should just let them go.”
McKinney cites Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Smirnoff, as one company that’s had success with mission leadership tactics. For example, as the tastes of vodka drinkers started to shift from Smirnoff to premium brands like Grey Goose, Diageo knew it needed to move into that space. At the time, Steve Wilson, was the global head of innovation with Diageo, (Wilson now serves as an advisor to the McKinney Rogers board), and he tasked his product development team to come up with a new brand.
The key to success was empowering the team to to be creative with their solution, says Wilson. “Empowerment where you actually tell people what you want them to do, but you don’t tell them how they’ve got to do it.” As a result, the company ended up with the very successful vodka brand, Ciroc, which is different from most vodkas in that it’s derived from grapes, rather than the more common grain alcohol.
Given the freedom, the team came up with the answer: “The answer was, ‘Let’s go do vodka that’s made from grapes.’ Why grapes? Quite simply, what is the most luxurious product that you can drink? It’s probably Champagne. So what about a vodka that’s made from Champagne grapes?”
Without telling the team exactly what to achieve, but sticking to the mission, Diageo ended up with a winning vodka. “You get a good mix of people,” says Wilson, “Tell them what it is you want them to do, tell them when you need it by, then you just give them the freedom. And they’ll make it happen.”
Five New Year’s Resolutions Every Leader Should Make
This article is by Nathan Bennett, a professor of management at the Robinson College of Business at George State University.
The time for resolutions is rapidly approaching. You should take deciding what to resolve seriously, so it’s not a bad idea to begin thinking now about what you might want to accomplish as a leader in 2013.
To help you focus your self-reflection, I conducted a strictly unscientific survey of my social network on Facebook and LinkedIn. I’ve been a professor for more than 20 years, so my networks are made up largely of former students. I’d guess the preponderance are working individuals between 27 and 47 years old who have MBAs. I suspect that makes them quite a bit like the teams you lead. I simply asked them what New Year’s Resolution they’d like to see their bosses make—and keep—during 2013. Here are their top five.
5. Resolve to be the kind of leader we want to follow.
Be consistent. We can tolerate even a poor leader if he isn’t channeling a different sort of poor leadership each day. Be real. Let us see how you as a leader effectively manage emotions and frustration at work. Show us what excites you about the challenges ahead. Help us celebrate when we overcome a perplexing challenge. Set an example. Everyone watches you—how you dress, how you treat others, when you come to work, and when you leave. Your behavior is the best argument for how you would like us to behave.
How To Pick And Stick To Career Goals Susan AdamsForbes Staff
Oops… Assumptions Can Make an Ass of You and Me! John BaldoniContributor
4. Resolve to help us understand how we can develop.
This helps us be better in many ways. It allows us to understand our future with the company; it gives us a way to structure our efforts to learn more about our jobs, our company, and our industry; and it shows that you have a personal interest, because you have made an effort to know our individual strengths and weaknesses.
3. Become a better listener.
We have ideas. They won’t all be great ideas, but if you listen to us you can coach us to develop our ability to better vet and sharpen the next one. Listening is one of the most considerate things one person can do for another. What better way to earn loyalty and respect than by being a genuinely interested listener?
2. Hold the micromanagement. Let’s talk trust.
Nothing is more frustrating than to be prevented from just doing the job you hired me to do. We understand that it can be uncomfortable to delegate work. We understand that in many cases it is your reputation on the line when our team fails to produce something to our standard. We get the risk to you. But when you micromanage, what you are saying is that you don’t trust me. Was I a hiring mistake? Did you get stuck with me on your team when you really wanted someone else? These are not thoughts that are going to help me become a better employee. Instead, let’s get the issues of risk and trust on the table. Let’s acknowledge what’s real and then work together to find a plan that allows me to make steps every day to earn your trust. And let’s make sure that plan gives me room to contribute and to grow.
1. Hold poor performers accountable. If they can’t improve, pay the price necessary to cut them loose.
What could be more damaging to the morale of the team than the struggle associated with carrying dead wood? We understand that you may not want to lose a position, that you may have some hope that you can magically restore someone’s motivation or suddenly implant some talent, or that politics may provide the poor performer with protection. We don’t care. Those are your problems, not ours. Our problem is that we see the ironic truth in the expression “addition by subtraction.” We would all be better with this person gone. The fact he or she remains does a lot to erode your credibility, and broadly, not just in regard to what you might consider an isolated situation.
These top five resolutions are not that surprising. They are frustrations I hear repeatedly in class and have heard for more than 20 years. So they are formidable challenges. But I don’t think they need to be destiny. Let’s make a start this year. I invite you to take some time during this last month of the year to think about the resolutions above. What would your team think if you were to announce that your goal for 2013 was to improve on one of them? How much might a real effort to improve make your life as a leader more enjoyable?
What will make your resolution work? We know that promises that are made publicly and negotiated with others involved are the most likely to be kept. You can talk with your team about the list above. There may be one item that will provoke smirks and chuckles around the table because it clearly is your Achilles heel. Or maybe your team would prefer you work on something else. Once you’ve identified your assignment, work with the team to agree on what success looks like. Make sure that process includes agreement on metrics and milestones. You all know how to manage a project. Make this a project. Your team will thank you, and I expect you will be surprised at how much easier they become to lead.
And, team members: This doesn’t have to begin with the leader. The conversation can begin with you. Make it one of your resolutions to share this article with a leader you’d like to see get better.
Effective Leadership Produces Enthusiastic Followers – By Michael Mink, For Investor’s Business Daily
The expression “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it” illustrates a key point: Effective leadership is proportional to inspiring willing and engaged followers. “As a leader, you’ll never accomplish anything big if you try to do it alone. Your role is to unleash the power of people working together,” David Novak, CEO of Yum Brands (YUM) and author of “Taking People With You,” told IBD.” Tips on doing just that:
• Share the outlook. Do your people know what success looks like for your business? So asks Erika Andersen, author of “Leading So People Will Follow.”
Tell your people about your vision of success, she said: “What will your business or group look, feel and act like two years from now, or three? What will you be focused on and accomplishing? People want leaders who can articulate and guide them toward a compelling and inclusive future.”
• Be resolute. No leader “ever accomplishes much by starting out with the ‘maybe’ attitude,” Novak said. “Successful leaders recognize the first responsibility is to define reality and create a shared vision.”
• Provide tools. Novak, whose firm oversees Pizza Hut and KFC, says leaders must back their plan by putting the right resources in place.
“This says to your team you really care about getting it done vs. giving it lip service,” he said.
• Be courageous. Ineffective leaders often evade or blame others rather than taking responsibility. “When you make a mistake, do you apologize?,” Andersen said. “The next time you stumble, say you’re sorry and what you’ll do differently going forward.” This creates loyalty and followers.
• Demonstrate generosity. Do it with more than money.
Try giving others credit for a job well done, Andersen said: “Reflect on how you handle those things, and think about specific ways you can share that wealth.”
• Show trust. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Andersen said. “Don’t talk about one employee to others. Don’t shade the truth. Remember that when you’re the leader, people are watching everything you do to see if it lines up with what you say.”
• Listen and act. Novak said hearing those you lead is “the most powerful way to motivate your people.” Take what they tell you seriously, or they will lack commitment.
• Know your people. By getting inside the heads of those you lead, “you’ll have the best chance of motivating them to help you achieve big things,” Novak said. “I always ask: ‘What perceptions, habits and beliefs do I need to change, build or reinforce to take people with me?'”
• Define your culture. People want to work in organizations that inspire them, Novak says. How a leader conducts himself greatly influences that.
He asked: “What sort of values are you projecting? What kind of atmosphere are you creating? Does it motivate your team to come to work every day feeling supported and appreciated?”
Novak said there’s a “tangible difference in results between people working toward a goal because they’re being paid to do it vs. working toward a goal because it is a rewarding experience.”
• Be complete. Human beings are wired from ancient times to look for certain qualities in leaders, Andersen said: “On an almost instinctive level, we still take that decision very seriously. We need to see those time-tested qualities in a leader before we’ll fully sign up.”
Doing that gives people the best chance of becoming the best leader they’re capable of being, she said, “the kind of leader people look to and say, ‘I’m with you — let’s go.'”
Four Characteristics Of Pivotal Leadership by Doug Dickerson
http://www.ibtimes.com/exnet/four-characteristics-pivotal-leadership-891102
Pivot — n; a person or thing upon which progress, success, etc. depends — World English Dictionary
A story is told about Charles Francis Adams, a 19th century political figure. He kept a diary and one day his entry read: “Went fishing with my son today — a day wasted.” His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary. His entry was far different than that of his father. His read: “Went fishing with my father — the most wonderful day of my life!” The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but the son saw it as an investment of time.
The illustration reminds us how our perceptions shape our reality. What the father perceived to be a waste of time was perceived in a totally different light by his son. It also reminds us of the importance of leadership. Leaders come in many stripes and styles and each possess their own unique approach. In short, leadership development is a work in progress.
In considering the qualities of exceptional leadership I turn to a word that is rarely used to define it –pivot. No, it’s probably not the word on the tip of your tongue in your leadership vocabulary. But in the context of the definition above, it might just grow on you. So what are some pivot points of exceptional leaders? Here are a few for your consideration.
A pivotal leader puts forth a clear vision. Success will only come to your business or organization if those in leadership have a clear vision for where it is going. Leaders who are directionally challenged by a lack of vision will not go far. “A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future,” leadership guru Denis Waitley said. “You must break out of your comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.” When a leader presents a clear vision he sets into motion the opportunity for success.
A pivotal leader shapes core values. Core values are the non-negotiable principles of how you operate. These values define who you are, who you hire, the way in which you treat your customers and your competitors, and how your reputation is measured. When decisions flow out of core values it elevates everyone to a higher standard.
A pivotal leader has a positive attitude. “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference,” Winston Churchill said. And he’s right. Pivotal leaders are acutely aware of the power of a positive attitude and the difference it can make in their organization. The challenges of leadership can be daunting but a positive attitude will defuse stress, keep the team focused, and build strong morale.
A pivotal leader shows grateful appreciation. One of the endearing attributes of any successful leader is that of gratitude. Smart leaders understand that their success is tied to the hard work and dedication of those around him. When leaders recognize the contributions of others they are exercising a degree of heart intelligence that is just as valuable as their business smarts. Tangible acts of appreciation go a long way in building team confidence and indicate that you recognize that it was a team effort.
Are you a pivotal leader?
Doug Dickerson is a nationally recognized leadership columnist and speaker. He is the author of the new book, “Great Leaders Wanted,” and is available to speak for your business. Visit his web site at http://www.dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com for more information.
Leadership, Influence & Relationships by Mike Myatt
http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2012/11/10/leadership-influence-relationships/
Have you ever wondered why some people have more influence than others? It’s because they invest more “in” others. Those with influence have built into others through some form of consistent direct or indirect contribution. Those with the greatest amount of influence almost always have the strongest relationships. My hypothesis is a rather simple one: If true leadership is about influence, then influence is about relationships, and relationships are about the investments made into people. In today’s post I’ll examine the ties between leadership, influence and relationships…
You cannot be an effective leader without influence. Let me make this as simple as I can – if you’re a leader, influence needs to be a competency. The key to developing influence is understanding contacts and relationships are not synonymous. Don’t confuse a database with a sphere of influence.
A database consists of information records, and a sphere of influence consists of meaningful relationships built upon a foundation of trust – a point of distinction lost upon many. Spammers and info-product sales people add contacts to a database, while savvy professionals interested in creating influence invest into people for the purpose of creating and sustaining high value relationships.
As business people nothing is more valuable than the quality of your relationships. Whether you realize it or not, your success in business (and in life) will largely be dependant upon your ability to not only establish key relationships, but in your ability to influence and add value to your relationships. We have all known professionals that have been smarter, more affable, better looking, possess a better CV, or are more talented than their peers, yet they never seem to rise to the top. These professionals who seem to have the whole package yet fail to grab the brass ring simply don’t understand the power of relationships – they’ve failed to invest in people. Again, leadership isn’t about any single person, but rather a complex ecosystem of meaningful relationships.
Lest you think I’m overly mercenary in my approach, and only view people as pawns in a chess game, let me introduce you to Myatt’s golden rule of building relationships: ”Give, give, give some more, give until it hurts, and then when you have nothing left to give, you guessed it…give even more.” The best relationships are not built on the backs of others, but rather they are built by helping others succeed. It is by building into others and through assisting others in reaching their goals and objectives that you will find success. Reflect back upon your own experience and contrast the responses you’ve received when you ask for help from someone that you’ve previously provided assistance to, versus asking the same favor from a casual acquaintance that you’ve never lifted a finger to help.
When you closely examine the core characteristics of what really makes for great leadership, it’s not power, title, authority or even technical competency that distinguishes truly great leaders. Rather it’s the ability to both earn and keep the loyalty and trust of those whom they lead that sets them apart. Put simply, Leadership is about relationships, and the trust, stewardship, care, concern, service, humility and understanding that need to occur in order to create and nurture them. If you build into those you lead, if you make them better, if you add value to their lives then you will have earned their trust and loyalty. This is the type of bond that will span positional and philosophical gaps, survive mistakes, challenges, downturns and other obstacles that will inevitably occur.
You don’t change mindsets by being right, you do it by showing you care. Logic and reason have their place, but they rarely will overcome a strong emotional or philosophical position. Trying to cram your positional logic down the throat of others will simply leave a very bad taste in their mouths. This is a very tough lesson for many to learn, but a critical one if you take your duties, obligations and responsibilities as a leader seriously. The best leaders are capable of aligning and unifying opposing interests for a greater good. You won’t ever become a truly successful leader until you understand a person’s need to be heard and understood is much more important than satisfying your need to impart wisdom I’m going to make this as simple as I can…leadership is all about relationships. It’s the people – nothing more & nothing less.
Being right isn’t the goal – accomplishing the mission is. If you can only lead those who agree with you then you will have a very small sphere of influence. Stop and think about this for a moment – history is littered with powerful leaders who have fallen, failed, or who have been replaced, usurped or betrayed. Fear doesn’t engender loyalty, respect or trust – it breeds resentment and malcontent. A leader not first and foremost accountable to their people will eventually be held accountable by their people.
Generally speaking there are two types of spheres of influence…those that just evolve over time by default, and those that are strategically engineered. While contacts are rarely purpose driven, relationships are highly intentional. People who are influential have spent years developing relationships spanning geographies, industries, and practice areas. They have invested both time and money developing these relationships to a high level of mutual benefit.
So why is it that most people aren’t as influential as they would like to be? The answer is that most professionals, even if they intellectually understand the benefits of what I’m espousing, just don’t do the work it takes to build an influential network. Great relationships take great amounts of effort, energy and commitment. Think of the most successful people you’ve ever known and they will always seem to know the right person to call on in any given situation to influence or decision the needed outcome. This type of influence doesn’t just happen, rather it has taken years of painstaking effort.
If you want to create a powerful sphere of influence start by taking the following ten steps:
1. Create a Vision: Take pause and examine where you are currently in your professional career as contrasted with where you want to go. Think about the people who could help you reach your destination more quickly and efficiently. Don’t put any artificial ceilings on your thinking – remember that almost anyone on the planet is only a few degrees of separation away from you. Be sure that your vision is based first and foremost on adding value to the lives and careers of others. Building a great relationship has little to do with what you get out of it, but everything to do with what you put into it…
2. Take an Inventory: Once you have a clear vision of where you want to go, take a personal inventory of your contacts and relationships. See who it is that you know, but also pay attention to who they know. Review in detail each and every relationship in your network and rank them on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being the contacts perceived to be of the greatest value to you. Make a detailed relationship plan for each of the people that rank 3 or higher. Take a personal inter
est in rekindling those relationships and finding out how you can help them succeed.
3. Participate in the Dialogue: Develop a strong core competency, and then give freely of your time and knowledge. Be visible and accessible, and don’t approach business solely based on a “what’s in it for me” attitude. Don’t be a joiner unless you can be a contributor. I belong to a number of organizations I will likely never see a paying client from, but it is through these groups I build relationships that will help me serve my clients. These relationships are only built because of the time I invest in them. Relationships don’t get built overnight, and are not built without active participation.
4. Value Your Network: It is critical you develop a keen understanding of the following point – your network is your business. The core value of your business is not actually steeped in the conventional thinking imparted to you in business school. The reality is the true intrinsic value of a business is in your network, which adds value to your products, services, brand, stakeholders etc. A strong network = sustainability. It’s your network that will provide you much needed resources, influence and leverage in both good times and bad.
5. Focus on the Positive: Don’t waste time with those who only see problems and flaws, but cannot ever seem to create solutions. The world is full of bitter people, small thinkers, naysayers and those who just get their kicks out of sniping from a safe distance. Remove these people from your network. Associate with energy gainers and not energy drainers. People do business with people they like, and avoid doing business with people they don’t like – it’s just that simple. Are you approachable, positive, affable, trustworthy, a person of character and integrity, or are you someone who is standoffish, pessimistic and generally not to be trusted? Those who fall into the camp of the former as opposed to the latter will find themselves having more influence and success. The key take away here is that being a jerk doesn’t lead to the creation of influence.
6. Quantity and Quality Both Matter: Successful networking requires an understanding there needs to be a balance between quantity and quality. Well built spheres of influence are both inclusive and exclusive, and while the emphasis should always error on the side of quality, this assumes you have sufficient numbers to create leverage and scale to your networking efforts. You want to avoid at all costs the appearance of simply being in it solely for the numbers, but it is also important not to be viewed as a networking snob who doesn’t reciprocate.
7. Influence is built upon a foundation of trust: If a person is not trusted there is a firm limit on their ability to create and use influence. People will rarely make a leap of faith for someone who hasn’t earned their trust. However most people will gladly take a blind leap of faith for someone whom they have come to trust. Trust matters.
8. Influence is built upon making others successful: This is often times referred to as the law of reciprocity. The theory is that if you invest yourself in making someone else successful, then they in turn will likely be predisposed to helping you become successful. While this principle will not always pan out, in my experience it has held true across the overwhelming majority of my interactions through the years. True influence is rarely built upon the backs of others, but rather by helping others achieve their goals.
9. Influence is most often possessed by those with authority: It is important to realize that there is a reason for the statement “the highest authority is that which is given, and rarely that which is taken.” Authority is most often given to those who display honesty, competency, empathy, expertise and wisdom. With authority comes credibility, and with credibility comes influence. While influence can be wielded by those without authority, it will be limited in both scope and scale. Those with the most authority will always have the most influence.
10. Value and scarcity drive influence: Understanding the value of your position, brand, authority, resources, access to people or knowledge and any number of other items as it relates to fulfilling the needs and desires of others creates influence. To the extent anything under your direct or indirect control is scarce or proprietary your ability to create influence will increase significantly.
Keep in mind the purpose of developing influence is not to manipulate for personal gain, but rather to facilitate for mutual benefit. Take a sincere interest in the success of others, work on your likability factor, become adept at gaining commitment, develop your authority, secure access to things of value and/or scarcity, and your influence with others will increase.
Bottom line – engineer a relationship development plan built upon service, trust, giving and adding value – then work the plan. Before you whine about how much time this will take, consider if you will the potential rewards at stake and ask yourself this question: Can I afford not to do this?
Inside the Successful Leader’s Mindset
As a business leader, you are mired in the everyday details of your company’s success. You’re worried about your bottom line, your sales goals, or your next board meeting. Amid the chaos, it’s easy to forget that intangibles — like your beliefs — play an important role in your success.
The most successful entrepreneurs share a set of core beliefs that help them persevere as they grow their businesses. These four tips will promote a positive mindset and increase your chances of success:
1. Trust that you’ll adapt to new challenges. Successful entrepreneurs approach uncertainty with confidence. When faced with an unfamiliar challenge, they think of similar situations they’ve handled before or skills sets that might apply. “Focus on the abilities you do have and apply your general knowledge to whatever comes your way,” says Matthew Della Porta, a positive psychologist and organizational consultant.
If you focus on your current skills and your ability to learn new ones, you’ll be less likely to feel overwhelmed. “Trust your ability to adapt,” Della Porta says.
2. Attribute your success to hard work, not luck. Successful leaders believe their achievements are due to hard work, not just lucky circumstance. “That’s a result of self-efficacy,” Della Porta says, meaning that people who believe they’ve worked hard trust their ability to master new or unfamiliar skills.
Leaders who are confident in their ability to learn are more likely to seek out and persevere through tough challenges, increasing their chances of success.
3. Believe that you are unique. Every great entrepreneur stands on the shoulders of giants, but successful leaders champion their individuality. In other words, they don’t try to become “the next Steve Jobs.” To be successful, learn from the people you admire but don’t try to emulate them.
“You need to focus on being the first you, not the next someone else,” Della Porta says. If you foster the unique strengths that you bring to the table, then you will be far more likely to stand out in a crowded industry.
4. Challenge your negative beliefs. If you want to succeed, stamp out negative beliefs that might be holding you back. “People have a tendency to self-handicap,” Della Porta says. For example, an executive who believes he won’t meet his sales goals is more likely to prioritize other tasks, giving him a preemptive excuse for a poor performance. His belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Notice the goals or tasks that you shy away from and articulate your beliefs about them. Challenge any negative thoughts by reminding yourself that you will succeed if you apply yourself. When your beliefs are confident and positive, your actions will promote success.
Employee Recognition of the Week
Congratulations to Alex, Jamie, and Christopher! for being nationally recognized in the top 20 most productive reps in the country. Great job, Keep up the good work!
Infinite Chicago 