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Is Your Leadership Team Out of Alignment? — Image Credit: Shutterstock

What’s happened to your leadership team? You have carefully chosen each member and empowered them to do great things. Yet, you aren’t getting the results you want.

Could it be that your team is out of alignment?

Telltale signs can include subpar performance, poor decision-making, executives at odds with each other, units working at cross purposes, and a rise in conflict.

How can you fix this?

Because if you don’t, your organization will reflect this at every level. Productivity, revenues, reputation – the list goes on.

First, understand that you must look at two kinds of alignment: strategic and cultural.

Strategic Alignment

Strategic alignment is what is necessary for a team to operate well together in their goals and actions so that the organization’s agreed purpose and vision are met. I can tell if a leadership team is out of strategic alignment by having each member list out their internal and external initiatives and comparing these with the organizational vision and goals. If the team member’s initiatives don’t support the larger vision and goals, this means it is time to review and redirect. If this seems like your team’s challenge, it is an opportunity for teambuilding through conducting some actionable strategic realignment sessions.

Cultural Alignment

Cultural alignment is met through team members’ commitment to shared attitudes, behaviors, and actions so that the organization’s values and principles are reinforced. When I work with leadership teams and detect unspoken conversations, silos, turf wars, and a hesitancy to make tough decisions in order to move forward, I know it’s time to revisit their mission, values, and team charter (their team values “in action,” or “group norms”). Most leadership teams have not taken the time to define their team charter so that they can enjoy a dynamic, shared culture. When I work with them to develop this, the positive cultural outcomes ripple throughout the entire organization.

Where do you detect that your leadership team may be out of alignment?

The rest of your enterprise is watching and will do likewise.

The Clockwork of Excellent Leadership: 3 Essential Gears

What makes up excellent leadership? The essential components that go into leadership must all work together, or they begin to wear on one another and bring things to a stop. Learn how to keep them running like clockwork. Sign up to receive the complimentary infographic.

© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

Are You Sure You Want to Be a Leader? — Image Credit: Shutterstock

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Commit

What do you need in order to become a leader? And are you sure you really want to be one?

If you are reading this, I imagine you’ve already weighed the pros and cons, and the argument for at least considering the possibility has won.

As an executive coach, I work with decision-makers who lead. These people quite often have substantial areas of responsibility, and they work with me to become even more effective as they seek to do great things.

As we begin our work, I explain to my clients that our work will be 3-pronged. In other words, there are three things we need work with in order to accomplish their goals. You see, the human being is an intricate system, and the major parts of this system must work together closely to accomplish any significant change.

So, if you and I were having coffee together right now, and you told me that your goal was to become a leader, or a more effective one, I would tell you that we are going to assess the following three parts of you to identify what you need to shift in order to get there:

Your mindset
Your actions
Your behaviors

Allow me to set the stage by giving an definition of these three, even though they appear self-explanatory (thanks for indulging me!).

Mindset is not how your physical brain works – it’s how you use your brain to formulate thoughts, synthesize information, define your beliefs, your attitude, and thus, your approach to the world. Mindset drives your desires, your motivation, and your picture of “what’s possible.”

Example: Sonni has managed people for many years, and she believes she can lead the company. She desires to do so, and decides to take the steps necessary to move up this career path. She has weighed her desire against her safety and decided that she won’t get fired or other disastrous consequences. So far, so good. Sonni has asked herself, “What’s possible?”

Actions are those movements, that energetic activity you undertake, once decide to “do something.” These are driven by your desires and your motivation. Your actions are confined to what you believe is possible, what is comfortable, and what is safe (thus dictated by mindset). Even if your mindset says that something is possible, your behaviors may thwart the success of your actions.

Example: Back to Sonni…because of her desire to move up into leadership, she decides to take the action of asking her CEO to be considered for the leadership succession plan. It has taken a lot of courage to get to this point, but her mindset has opened the gate for her to ask. So far, so good. Sonni has taken the action she needs in order to register her desire and be considered.

Behaviors are how you react to internal or external stimuli in various circumstances. These behaviors are exhibited after your mind assesses your desires versus your safety. Safety always wins.

Example: Sonni’s CEO tells her she has a lot of work to do if she wants to be considered for the leadership succession plan. Frankly, her CEO shares, Sonni isn’t seen as CEO material and this comment comes as a surprise. The CEO explains that Sonni doesn’t show the kinds of behaviors needed for leadership – collaboration, building trust, strong presence, influence. And a few other things. Sonni retreats to her desk. She now has a choice – to tell herself she really doesn’t have what it takes (that dastardly doubt that mindset brings when negative emotions threaten its safety) – or to ask herself “What’s possible?” while remaining safe, to shift the necessary behaviors in order to be considered for higher leadership in the company’s succession planning.

Now back to you, and those three questions to ask yourself before you commit.

Does your mindset need to explore what else is possible, or to strengthen belief in your own abilities and potential?
Do your actions tell the world that you are actually showing up as a leader?
Do your behaviors reflect who you want to become?

Which of these three areas do you need to shift in order to become a leader – or a better one?

What impact are you having in life and business?
Click below to take the complimentary Impact Assessment.

http://inspireinfluenceimpactquiz.com/

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.