Patti Cotton

Executive Coach & Career Strategist

people in business

How a Silent Marauder Might Be Threatening Your Business Future

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How a Silent Marauder Might Be Threatening Your Business Future
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Sandra was a first-generation business owner. She worked hard for more than 25 years to build a solid company that served customers well.

This was a business that would provide for her family financially, both now and in future.

Or so she thought.

But a business marauder suddenly appeared in the form of new technology that threatened to put Sandra’s company out of business.

Her hard work and her future could be wiped out in the next 36 months unless she took some quick and powerful action.

Sandra was frozen. Her ways of leading and doing were solid – but they were limited, confined to running the business the way she knew how, to what had worked up to this point.

Unless Sandra acquired agility in her leadership, she would not be able to move forward. She could become part of the 90% of executives who currently find themselves and their business obsolete.

If you are an executive or business owner, I can guarantee that technology and other marketplace changes will affect how you lead. You may have a shelf life of just up to approximately 36 months if you don’t have the agility required to work with change. This is about how long it takes before we experience the spiral that results from not shifting with change.

And this happens a lot with excellent leadership.

You are successful for a period of many years, and then suddenly, changes emerge that demand an agility from you and a way of operating that are foreign to your context. These changes and challenges leave you bewildered. You become frozen and overwhelmed, or you dig in your heels and insist on leading in the same way you always have.

You can’t tough this one out. Change is not going to go away.

Sandra had led well. Her company had been a solid contender in the marketplace.

But she was in trouble now. She called me because she couldn’t seem to move forward as she faced this new development.

Having shown herself smart, capable, and competent during her entire tenure, she agreed that the competition was real, but she couldn’t seem to muster the higher gear required to begin wrestling with new structures and processes. She hoped her company product would still be greatly loved by her loyal clients, and wondered if the business simply accelerated some tried-and-true strategies with more sales staff, if she could help the company remain viable.

She couldn’t. The changes Sandra would need to make in order to remain viable demanded a new approach – and an agility to make it happen.

When we met, Sandra pulled out a drawer and showed me several unused strategic plans. She admitted that she had never been able to take the time to figure out how to practically apply any of them. It seemed like there was never enough time, and fulfilling customer orders took precedent over all else. She said that this had served well enough in the past, but she now knew that she needed to take some sort of action fast, in order to save the business from crumbling.

Sandra exhibited what I see in a lot of seasoned leaders.

When one has led for many years, she can become accustomed to focusing on what is working well, and forget to check the horizon for what is coming ahead.

Changing conditions in the marketplace, in the economy, in politics, and in disruptive technology (and more!) can dictate that a leader pay attention. Many, however, just dig their heels in to work harder at doing the same thing, rather than to evaluate strategies and approaches that will best support these changes. This can quickly result in trouble spotted too late.

Sandra was certainly in trouble, admitting that she might need to do differently, but that she didn’t know where to start. It was clear that she not only needed a quick medium-term plan to respond to the looming competition, but that she would also need to develop more behavioral agility in order to flex and adapt to needed transitions and change.

Sandra asked if I wanted to see the strategic plans stored in her office. The latest one was dated two years prior.

“That’s too old,” I said. “These days, you want to revisit and update your strategic plan every year. Changes are coming too rapidly for an older plan to support the future.”

We got busy and went through a quick strategic planning process to accommodate the next 36 months. This plan would need to be clear, concise, and it would need to be actionable. I didn’t want this one to sit in a drawer.

Once we had the 36-month plan in place, Sandra and I worked on a medium-term action plan designed to meet the impending competition.

We were on a tight timeline to stay out in front. With coaching, Sandra was able to develop the necessary agility to execute the plan well.

Those in charge find they operate best if they have someone to help them with this. Tackling a new plan requires not only focus and buy-in from all involved, it also often demands that we operate in new and novel ways to support the future.

This is agility – the one thing that will keep us current in our leadership.

Leadership agility is “the ability to take effective action in complex, rapidly changing conditions. Only 10% have mastered the level of agility needed for consistent effectiveness in our turbulent era of global competition.” (Joiner and Josephs, Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change).

It follows that agility is necessary in company teams and in the entire enterprise, as well.

Acquiring agility demands not only new or improved direction and actions, it also asks that we develop the necessary mental and emotional capacity to implement these actions.

This is why 90% of those in leadership fail. As rapid change and complexity continues to emerge, a lot of very fine business owners and other executives fold. It isn’t from a lack of desire – it’s from a lack of understanding how to meet change effectively and to make the personal leadership shifts necessary to do so.

Back to Sandra: I’m happy to report that after we rolled up our sleeves and quickly got going, she was feeling confident about her direction, her company’s future, and her ability to meet it successfully. We hit some bumps as she expanded her agility, but we laughed a lot and she grew exponentially, setting up the company to meet the future successfully.

Sandra noted that not only was the process rewarding and energizing, she also enjoyed less stress – a great bonus. She decided to invite me to help coach her team and other key players in agility, at that point, as part of her succession planning.

How strong is your leadership agility? Are you able to survey the landscape, identify potential threats and opportunities, come up with a strong plan of action, and effectuate this well?

How to Instantly Influence Others and Make a Difference

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How to Instantly Influence Others and Make a Difference
Image Credit: Shutterstock

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~ Gandhi

Recently, I worked with a group of new managers to help them make change at their company. Eager to learn and grow, people of all ages and backgrounds filled the room.

It was heartwarming to be with them and witness lot of candor, laughter, and strengthening bonds as they shared. These people were committed.

Here is one thing I never heard: a disparaging remark. I didn’t hear about a lack of resources or time. I never heard things like, “Oh, those Millennials/Boomers/Leadership/Others – I don’t know how to work with them.”

What I heard, instead, was a desire to make change. “How can I be at my very best? How can I grow in my leadership so I can make a bigger difference?”

Now, that’s a room full of people that anyone would be privileged to work with!

Here are the three questions I asked them in return. I shared that the answers to these questions are what would make or break their ability to influence and make a difference.

How are you doing in these three areas?

  1. Are you walking your talk?

Are there places in your leadership where you are preaching, but not practicing?

Maybe you are asking others to go the extra mile, produce more without overtime pay, take better care of themselves, produce top quality work on time – fill in the blank!

But you yourself secretly lack being able to meet success in that area. This is not uncommon – the very thing we want to see in ourselves is what we ask others to do well. If this is you, you are responsible for course-correcting this so that you are the change you want to see.

  1. Are you modeling to others by taking the first step?

Are you great at delegating work to others, but not as good at jumping in to roll up your own sleeves in times of stress?

I remember delegating very well during a huge event, and walking around at a tense moment to see how things were progressing. I looked across the room to see the company president unloading boxes with one of my reports. That was a humbling moment that shifted my understanding of true leadership.

  1. Are you taking ownership of how you contribute?

When was the last time you sat down with a colleague or report and asked the question, “How am I doing?”

This should be a regular conversation. “What can I do more of or less of, in order to do a better job of working with you?”

My clients report that this conversation has brought forward valuable information they might never have uncovered otherwise. “It has shifted the way I am able to work with others,” said one business owner. “We are a team now – not just a group of people in a room.” That’s a change!

As you look at these three areas, which one speaks most to you? What is the one shift you are committing to make so that you can influence others to a larger extent and make a greater difference?

Why Do 60 Percent of New Managers Fail?

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Why Do 60 Percent of New Managers Fail?

How Do You Help Yours Succeed?

Why do rising stars perform well in one role, only to fail in the next?

If you are in charge of overseeing talent in your area of responsibility, you probably already know this by experience. You promote a promising star, only to be disappointed by her inability to perform in the new role.

You’ve wasted valuable time and energy on this person’s potential. And the company has just lost money. In fact, you can count on losing about 6 to 9 months of that person’s salary. This means that for a new manager making $40,000 annually, the company has taken a $20,000 – 30,000 hit in recruiting and training expenses for the promotion (not to mention other costs to the entire team!).

Since high performance in one role is no guarantee of high performance in the next, do you just flip a coin? How do you save yourself headache, and get ahead?

Becoming a manager requires new skillsets. So if you are thinking of promoting an employee to manager status, here are just some of the shifts this person needs to make:

1. A new manager must learn to move from “doing” to supervising and guiding the team.

Remember that a new manager has been focused on managing their own tasks and responsibilities. Now, suddenly, they must focus on helping their team manage and complete their assignments.

2. A new manager can set a powerfully negative first impression.

Some new managers will sit back and observe, unwilling to make a decision or come across with an opinion. Others may come in “gang-busters” sharing about how they are going to change everything and make it better, now that they are on deck. It’s hard to choose between having a new manager with analysis-paralysis or one who operates as an obnoxious know-it-all. Neither is good.

3. A new manager must learn to grasp the larger picture.

Because they have been previously task-oriented to complete their own assignments, they must now develop their ability to become goal-focused, with a sense of the various pieces that make up the larger departmental picture.

4. A new manager must target early wins.

The problem with most new managers is that they don’t know how to look at the larger picture and reverse-engineer to identify early wins. Without accomplishing some early wins, the boss will wonder if the new manager knows what they are doing. In the absence of seeing forward motion in the right direction, doubts about a new manager’s ability may replace the initial confidence the boss had in their protégée.

5. A new manager needs to develop their authentic leadership style.

Many a new manager looks around to other managers to see how to lead – how to communicate, delegate, execute, and more. The problem is that copycats miss out on operating from their own top strengths…and they come across as insincere.

6. A new manager must learn how to be respected.

It can be awkward for a new manager when their employees have been their friends. How to shift from being buddies with the team to being well-liked and respected is challenging, but necessary. If not, holding people accountable and managing expectations will be poorly handled. Confronting those difficult situations will be painful and sometimes not addressed.

7. A new manager must be careful not to over-promise.

Many new managers have thought they could. They promised to deliver, but failed because they did not know the work involved in delivering those results. By the same token, to be non-committal is to create doubts about ability. A new manager should not be embarrassed to say, “Let me investigate what that would take and get back to you.”

Learning to make these shifts will be helpful if you discuss with your new manager the departmental goals, the roles of the team members, and your expectations. Offer to help put together a 90-day plan that will support the larger picture and identify early wins. Talk about the network your new manager will need to develop to get buy-in from the enterprise. And keep your door open for questions. You’ll help your manager to hit the ground running much more successfully.

What difficulties have you encountered with new managers?

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

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Patti Cotton helps executives optimize their effectiveness in leading self, others, and the enterprise. Her areas of focus include confidence, leadership style, executive presence, effective communication, succession planning, and masterful execution. With over 25 years of leadership experience, both stateside and abroad, Patti works with individuals, teams, and organizations across industries, providing executive coaching, leadership development, succession planning, change, and conflict management. She is also a Fortune 500 speaker. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

How to Navigate Office Politics

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How to Navigate Office Politics

Are you a victim or perpetrator of bad office politics?

Sooner or later, you will find that you play both roles – unless you know how to navigate the waters.

What are office politics, and why are they hated?

Office politics get a bad rap, when they actually should be embraced as part of business expertise.

The problem arises when we don’t know how to work with office politics, or worse, we use them to seek advantage at the expense of others or the greater good. This is when things can turn ugly, personal, and damaging.

If you think you can simply avoid becoming involved, think again. When two or more people are gathered together, there will be politics. Politics are strategies people use in order to gain advantage. As human beings, we do this naturally, in order to get what we want, or to advocate for a larger cause.

At best, we call it “influence.”  And since reputations, relationships, and careers are made or broken because of office politics, we should learn to master them so that results turn out to be “win-win.”

We often find it difficult to deal with office politics effectively because we don’t know how to approach them. Because of this, we may unwittingly be promoting them, despite our insistence that we don’t play.

When we realize that office politics are here to stay, we can come out on top and make them work for us.

How?

By following these 3 rules:

1. Strengthen your own circle of influence.

Instead of approaching office politics as damage control, see them as useful dynamics to help everyone get ahead. Focus on the positive by strengthening key relationships on a continual basis to expand your influence. When things get hot, you will be well-positioned to emerge victorious. On the other hand, if you are someone who doesn’t have the advantage of guidance or a support network, and you are constantly trying to prove yourself, you are in a vulnerable position and can be shot down easily, whether you are in the room or not.

2. Avoid dysfunctional patterns.

Don’t take sides. When you do this, you polarize people and cloud the issues. Ask yourself – and others – what the issues are, and avoid disparaging remarks about personalities. Make sure that if things get personal, you are the one who pulls the conversation back to the issues. Don’t climb into the pit with others who want to hurt or discredit.

3. Shift the larger culture.

Select a few key colleagues of integrity, and agree that you will be positive PR for each other. I have worked with many groups of professionals, both in the business world and in international government relations. This one strategy has worked to turn entire company cultures around. Are you in the room when an absent colleague is being discussed? Put in a good word for this colleague. Talk about their latest success with a project, initiative, or the way they approach their work.

I challenge you to see office politics as a way to influence a win-win situation!

Patti Cotton helps executives optimize their effectiveness in leading self, others, and the enterprise. Her areas of focus include confidence, leadership style, executive presence, effective communication, succession planning, and masterful execution. With over 25 years of leadership experience, both stateside and abroad, Patti works with individuals, teams, and organizations across industries, providing executive coaching, leadership development, succession planning, change, and conflict management. She is also a Fortune 500 speaker. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.