Greetings from Rising Sun Consultants
Welcome to the October issue of Rise & Shine –
Your Leadership Solutions and Resource Newsletter!
Bright Lights (Tips/Solutions) The 10 Keys of Effective Supervision™:
- Support Growth
- Unite With Your Team
- Praise Others
- Expect Excellence
- Require Accountability
- Verify Potential
- Instill Independence
- Share Continuously
- Optimize Ownership
- Reinforce Relationships
This month’s focus on the second Key – Unite With Your Team:
According to the Rising Sun model, “Unite With Your Team” is defined as: “Being available/accessible to employees.”
Traditionally, when business leaders talk about “supervision,” they are usually referring to the managerial or leadership function of overseeing the productivity and progress of employees – typically those employees who report directly to the supervisor. However, stemming from our experiences in providing both training and supervision to employees, Rising Sun’s approach to supervision takes a very different perspective – defining supervision more from a coaching and mentoring perspective than from a managerial perspective.
All too often, employees are promoted to the role of supervisor because of their strong technical expertise. However, an effective supervisory relationship requires that the supervisor not only be a content expert, but that they also accept the enormous responsibility of mentorship. The primary role/responsibility of the supervisor is to create a safe environment in which employees can work through developmental issues/concerns and grow both personally and professionally.
To many of our readers, this may sound crazy or just plain obvious. We wish it were so obvious. The more we with both organizations and people the more we realize that it is only a small number of individuals who truly understand how to care for people, how to treat people, how to motivate people through pure and honest service to others.
Many leaders today still do not understand that in order to be successful, in order to inspire and motivate people it takes more than being told what to do and given a paycheck. The days of employees being grateful to their bosses because they were given a job and then be willing to be underappreciated or ignored are over. There is a new age of leadership emerging which focuses on caring for and serving others.
Effective leaders need to not only understand this, but to put it into practice. One way this can be accomplished is through effective communication and listening skills. This can also be accomplished through conflict resolution and crisis management skills. These are not new concepts.
However, there is even an even more important way in which we need to lead - we need to lead with our hearts. True strength, power and control come through showing our vulnerabilities. They come through our weaknesses – our ability to be human.
It is exactly this style of leadership that people are asking for. Leaders who care for people and hold high standards for behavior, performance, and attitudes. These leaders are seen taking risks and reaching out to people. They are the leaders who see something in others that most refuse to see. These leaders allow room for mistakes and risks; they provide support and resources along with positive coaching and strong feedback that builds people up.
Businesses and organizations need to consider the long term benefits of placing a high degree of emphasis on taking care of their employees. This is not only about salary, retirement plans, and medical benefits. One way to accomplish this is to invite staff to share their thoughts and ideas and to take risks through innovative ideas. These types of behaviors can only occur when employees feel safe and cared for. This is truly the greatest gift that a leader can give to their employees.
Shining Stars (Best Practices)
This month's Organization of Excellence is C.S. Davidson, Inc. This civil engineering firm has been in business for 83 years, and is well known for its community minded, values centered approach to business. Being a family business led by three generations of Davidsons, one of their primary values is to ensure a family environment for their employees, even as the company has grown to over 100 employees and three different offices located in Central Pennsylvania. Although a small firm by industry standards, their size is actually an advantage as they are able to provide one-on-one, customized services to their clients. This company has won several awards for their organizational culture and services, and the employees are proud to work for this organization. Here are a few ways they have achieved these accomplishments:
- A leadership that intentionally reinforces positive relationships with and between employees.
- Values that focus on people and stewardship rather than merely profit.
- An employee ownership structure (ESOP) that connects them directly with the success of the company and builds a culture of responsibility.
- Profit sharing and financial transparency as an employee engagement / motivation strategy.
- An environment that encourages participation in the strategic planning process.
- Commitment to community service in which they do business, including the development of a trust fund from which the interest will be donated to local non-profits each year.
With employees that feel like they work in an extended family – not just a business, it is no wonder that this company has succeeded for so many years. We thank David Davidson, Jr., President, and Greg Myers, Director of Human Resources, for meeting with us to talk about their organization. More information about C.S. Davidson, Inc. can be found at their website, www.csdavidson.com.
World Views (In the News)
The “Enspirational” Leader
"Second star to the left and straight on 'til morning."
- Peter Pan enspiring Wendy to go to Neverland
One key difference between lousy leaders and good ones is the ability to motivate or inspire people. But these days, that ability, rare as it is, simply isn't enough. Given the skeptical and cynical times we live in people often respond with reluctance or opposition.
To motivate is to pump people up (or from a cynical point of view, puff people up). It aims people toward a goal (usually the CEO's) and then fires them toward it like a rifle shot. Too often, the people listening do not have the courage (or compensation package) of the leader who is doing the pumping and aiming. When the pump's away, the people deflate.
More people need to be lifted up than pumped up. This is what inspiration does. Whereas motivation seeks to mobilize you by telling you to take action, inspiration accounts for the notion that if you are too wounded you may need some compassion and healing before you get back on your feet. That compassion is not wasted. It feels good to be understood--to have others know that sometimes you're not being lazy; sometimes you are too hurt to do anything other than lick your wounds. But as with motivation, inspiration, although more satisfying to the spirit, can also fall short. Too often, inspiration lifts you up but doesn't give you specific steps to take. So you are left feeling better, but still just as lost about what to do next.
If trying to motivate or even to inspire falls short - enspire people.
To enlarge is to make larger; to enable is to make able; to ennoble is to make noble. To enspire is to both lift up and direct. Enspiration makes something happen. It gives people the will to find the way and also the way to sustain the will.
To enspire as a leader takes several steps:
- Step 1: Determine where people are coming from vs. only focusing on where you want them to go.
- Step 2: Communicate to them that you get "it" so that they feel understood and connected with, from their position not yours.
- Step 3: Pause before you throw the "bum's rush" at them; allow them to exhale and feel the relief of finally being heard and understood.
- Step 4: Having exhaled and released their distress, they are now open to listening to your call to action and are now ready to "inhale" their new marching orders.
- Step 5: And this is very important and where mere inspiration falls short. They need to see your goal for the company very clearly, understand it fully, and be given the chance to enroll in it rather than have it forced down their throat. To do this, they don't get to pick the goal, but they do get to choose with you the best way to reach the goal. When they participate in the decision making about how to get there, they will participate in the implementation.
Enspirational leadership is an idea whose time has come. The enspirational leader knows that when you get where people are coming from, they'll let you take them where you want them to go.
(Adapted from Mark Goulston, FastCompany.Com, 10/03/06)
Rays of Hope (Stories/Parables)
Confucius Said
"To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper seasons."
Lun Yu [Analects] Chap. 1
Confucius |
New Horizons (Meetings/Events)
Fall Workshops
“The 10 Key of Effective Supervision™”
The purpose of this two-hour workshop is to provide participants with the applied skills needed to build a strong organizational culture which focuses equally on both people and productivity.
October 5, 2006 (Complimentary)
Gettysburg, PA
Best Western Gettysburg Hotel
October 11, 2006 (Complimentary)
Summerdale, PA
Central Penn College Conference Center
October 25, 2006 (Complimentary)
York, PA
Junior Achievement Office
To register, contact Lynn Lehman @ 717-512-7531
Thank You
On behalf of all of us at Rising Sun Consultants, we want to thank you for reviewing the October edition of our Rise & Shine Newsletter. As always, we invite you to visit our website (www.risingsunconsultants.com) and to enjoy our latest book review and white paper.
Until next month: Always Keep Your Eyes on the New Horizon! |
