Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Supporting the Evolution of Careers, Leaders,

& Climate Consciousness

A Solid First-Step Up the Ladder

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Managers and leaders make a gigantic difference to an organization’s success and their development needs to begin early on. Support for new supervisors is usually intended but often seems to slip through the cracks. Those new to the role typically want to do well but can quickly become overwhelmed by everything they suddenly need to do.

That’s why I was pleased to discover an excellent resource for new supervisors – the Transitioning into Leadership Series from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). The first installment – “It’s Not About Me. It’s Me & You.” How Being Dumped Can Help First-Time Managers – is now available. This whitepaper by CCL’s Bill Gentry examines mindset and includes tips for addressing skills gaps in four key leadership competencies: communication, influence, leading team achievement, and coaching & developing others.

CCL’s mission is To advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide and is a great place to find cutting edge leadership research, development ideas, and practices. This new series for first time supervisors promises more of the same. For leadership development on the go, get the CCL app on itunes.

Would love to know what you think about developing new supervisors. Please comment below.

My goal is to write 30 blog posts in 30 days the month of September.

#30in30

Celebrating Labor

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Labor DayOn this Labor Day 2014, check out the story that aired yesterday on CBS Sunday Morning about companies that value their employees and the difference it makes. The culture and practices at Whole Foods Market and Radio Flyer were highlighted and the conclusion to the fascinating saga of Market Basket and Artie T was reported.

That employees walked out and even customers boycotted Market Basket in support of the ousted CEO reminded me of the assignment for my MOOC on how great leaders make employees feel. I thought about it awhile and what I know about the best leaders I’ve worked with is this:

  • These leaders were positive and encouraging in their words and actions; they modeled the behaviors they wanted us to exhibit; they were experts in the work or subject matter at hand and were continuous learners; they helped, supported, and encouraged me to develop.
  • When I think of these different experiences, what is shared is that all these leaders got me very excited about the work at hand so that I woke up anticipating the day and ready to get at it. They all inspired me to work extra hard and go above and beyond.

How have great leaders made you feel?

Labor Day’s history is rooted in the American labor movement and is a day to celebrate the contributions of workers to our nation’s prosperity. Union activity and membership has been declining for years because many of the benefits and protections unions fought for have become the norm. The success of unions has in many cases removed the need for unions.

Unfortunately, not even unions can ensure that every culture is positive and supportive and that all managers are good. This is reflected in statistics from Gallup’s State of the American Workplace study referenced in the CBS story which found seven out of ten workers are not engaged or are actively disengaged – meaning they are probably not inspired to work extra hard or go above and beyond.

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Here’s to better managers.

And thanks to my good friend B who texted me early yesterday about this story on CBS Sunday Morning.

Would love to know your experience with great managers. Please comment below.

My goal is to write 30 blog posts in 30 days the month of September and it starts today!

#30in30

 

Getting MOOC-ie*

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back to schoolSo many people I work with want to develop – as leaders or in their career or sometimes both. But the reality for many is a jam-packed schedule and limited resources making traditional development options like earning another degree at the local university unfeasible.  

If you are in this situation, say hello to MOOCs. Massive Online Open Courses or MOOCs are (from wikepedia): online courses aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build community.

Because I’ve been recommending them to clients (and other random people) for awhile now, I decided to register for and experience a MOOC firsthand. My course started last week and I am one of tens of thousands of students from around the world registered for Inspiring Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence through MOOC provider Coursera. 

The course is offered at no cost. However, I registered for the signature track which does cost $39. I did that to keep me accountable and also because I may try to use the course for continuing ed credit. Not sure if that will fly. 

So far it’s pretty cool – awesome content on a topic I love. I’ve viewed all the Module 1 videos, posted in the online forum (along with people around the globe – literally). Haven’t done the personal learning assignment yet but the deadline is still a few days away. It happens on my schedule and at my desk or wherever I am with my ipad. 

The Coursera blog has some great MOOC success stories. In one, a student credits his MOOC learrning with getting him a Google internship. Not bad for free courses. 

Check out many MOOC options here and the 12 most popular MOOCS for professionals here. Seems like whatever your interest, there’s a MOOC. It may be just the kind of development to fit your current needs. 

Are you in development mode? Have you participated in a MOOC?  Share your thoughts on this one in the comments.

*The urban dictionary defines mookie as: To be soft towards someone or something that you care about. Show yourself you care and find a MOOC that will inspire, excite, and help you grow.

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Energy and Leadership

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Andrew Deutscher of The Energy Project spoke at today’s Baton Rouge Area Chamber meeting. As a longtime fan of Tony Schwartz, founder of The Energy Project and author of the book, Be Excellent at Anything (previously titled The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working), it was a thrill to attend.

Lots of great wisdom was shared at this event and of course, I want to pass some on: 

Luke Kissam, CEO of Albemarle Corporation introduced the speaker. Kissam is leading the initiative to change Albemarle’s culture to one that values energy renewal via tools and ideas from The Energy Project. He shared a really important kernel of truth re: organizational change that many well-intentioned change agents often disregard or don’t understand which is commitment to culture change starts at the top. Org change is extremely difficult and without commitment from the top, it is exponentially harder and in some cases may not be possible.

Here are a couple of ideas from Deutscher that really struck a chord:

1. Too often companies are focused on developing skills/talent in their people rather than the capacity (energy) of their people to perform. I see and hear this need for skills/talent a lot but rarely see leaders address the burnout causing a superstar to contribute less and less as long as that person is working more and more.  
2. Time is an external resource that is limited. Energy is an internal resource that we can manage. 
3. What should be important is not the number of hours worked but the energy (capacity) we bring to the hours worked. 

Did these give you some aha moments? 

Finally, Deutscher said that if leaders model the behavior they want, it’s not even necessary for them to tell people what to do. That is the power of behavior modelling and why commitment to culture change must start at the top. (I totally agree with this one and have written about behavior modeling in the past.)

How is your energy? What techniques do you use to stay energized and working at full capacity? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. 

And thanks for reading!

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