Your People Skills Will Make The Difference
Your People Skills Will Make The Difference
In firms that are less than progressive I see and hear leaders constantly invoke the “that’s just the way I am” excuse for NOT taking the time to develop themselves as inspirational leaders. Please don’t confuse inspirational business leadership with charisma and great orators. There is a ton of research at this point that tells us that we can inspire people on a daily basis without all the hype. As a matter of fact you can even be “a nice guy” or the “quiet type” and have people working their tails off for you. We recognize that there are different styles of leaders and lots of varying personalities that make it to the top, but the principles that make for great leaders remain constant.
In a November article in Fast Company Magazine, Leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith writes “Nice Guys Can Finish First”
Goldsmith says “Imagine a world where technical skills, educational pedigrees, even professional achievements and track records no longer matter”. He goes on to ask that, if this were the case in your world, how would you hire people? Who would get promoted and who would be cast aside? Goldsmith states “Chances are you would start paying very close attention to how people behave- how they treat colleagues and clients, how they speak and listen in meetings, how well they extend the minor courtesies that either lubricate daily work life or create friction. Welcome to the real world at the higher levels of organizational life. We apply these behavioral criteria to almost any successful person, but sometimes we forget to apply them to ourselves. In turn, we forget that our behavior may be holding us back. All other things being equal, your people skills, or lack of them, become more pronounced the higher up you go. Goldsmith asks “Who would you rather have as a CFO? A moderately good accountant who is great with people and skilled at managing very smart people or a brilliant accountant who’s inept with outsiders and alienates all the smart people under her?” The CFO with great people skills will hire people smarter than themselves about money and will be able to LEAD them.
The idea is that it’s not enough to have a high I.Q. You have to be smart - and something else. That something else is really “Emotional Intelligence” ( EI ). If you’re not a believer in Emotional Intelligence then I suggest you check out the research. For example: The US Air Force used EQ to select recruiters and found they increased their ability to predict successful recruiters by nearly threefold. In another case, experienced partners in a multinational consulting firm were assessed on EI competencies and it was found that the partners who scored above the median delivered $1.2 million more profit from their accounts than did other partners- a 139 percent gain ( Boyatzis, 1999). Does that get your attention!! It should. It certainly gets mine.
The good news is that these behaviors can be taught and learned. As a result, you can get better at employing them. If employed correctly, these behaviors should equal incrementally better profits in the long run. If you want to find out more and or get some training in this arena give me a call.
Your People Skills Will Make The Difference - To learn more about this author, visit Allen Hatton's Website.
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Despite the fact that I am in the business of providing people oriented business solutions, I can’t say that I have always been the best or most motivating and inspiring leader. However, let’s just say I view myself a work in progress and teaching the things I teach brings it all to the forefront for me. You can do the same thing in your organization by learning the people skills and teaching them as you go along. To really learn people skills you must take an interest. To take an interest you need to identify the need and that is usually the problem. The best way to identify a need is to ask others where you need improvement. You can do that in a number of ways with a broad array of assessment tools designed to help you to better see yourself. Please remember that as the boss you (metaphorically) carry a badge as well as a gun. The badge is your mantle of authority while the gun equals “You’re Fired”. No matter how nice of a person you may be, you still carry a “gun” and many folks out there are just not going to risk being on the receiving end of that gun. So, publicly asking those who report directly to you to identify where you need help is probably not the best way to get accurate answers. Of course you can work up to that, but not right out of the gate.
In firms that are less than progressive I see and hear leaders constantly invoke the “that’s just the way I am” excuse for NOT taking the time to develop themselves as inspirational leaders. Please don’t confuse inspirational business leadership with charisma and great orators. There is a ton of research at this point that tells us that we can inspire people on a daily basis without all the hype. As a matter of fact you can even be “a nice guy” or the “quiet type” and have people working their tails off for you. We recognize that there are different styles of leaders and lots of varying personalities that make it to the top, but the principles that make for great leaders remain constant.
In a November article in Fast Company Magazine, Leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith writes “Nice Guys Can Finish First”
Goldsmith says “Imagine a world where technical skills, educational pedigrees, even professional achievements and track records no longer matter”. He goes on to ask that, if this were the case in your world, how would you hire people? Who would get promoted and who would be cast aside? Goldsmith states “Chances are you would start paying very close attention to how people behave- how they treat colleagues and clients, how they speak and listen in meetings, how well they extend the minor courtesies that either lubricate daily work life or create friction. Welcome to the real world at the higher levels of organizational life. We apply these behavioral criteria to almost any successful person, but sometimes we forget to apply them to ourselves. In turn, we forget that our behavior may be holding us back. All other things being equal, your people skills, or lack of them, become more pronounced the higher up you go. Goldsmith asks “Who would you rather have as a CFO? A moderately good accountant who is great with people and skilled at managing very smart people or a brilliant accountant who’s inept with outsiders and alienates all the smart people under her?” The CFO with great people skills will hire people smarter than themselves about money and will be able to LEAD them.
The idea is that it’s not enough to have a high I.Q. You have to be smart - and something else. That something else is really “Emotional Intelligence” ( EI ). If you’re not a believer in Emotional Intelligence then I suggest you check out the research. For example: The US Air Force used EQ to select recruiters and found they increased their ability to predict successful recruiters by nearly threefold. In another case, experienced partners in a multinational consulting firm were assessed on EI competencies and it was found that the partners who scored above the median delivered $1.2 million more profit from their accounts than did other partners- a 139 percent gain ( Boyatzis, 1999). Does that get your attention!! It should. It certainly gets mine.
The good news is that these behaviors can be taught and learned. As a result, you can get better at employing them. If employed correctly, these behaviors should equal incrementally better profits in the long run. If you want to find out more and or get some training in this arena give me a call.
Your People Skills Will Make The Difference - To learn more about this author, visit Allen Hatton's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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