COACHES CORNER
Coaches Corner:
The “How-to” Of Leadership Skill
Development
H
ow does one develop
new leadership skills or
behaviours? Let’s assume
you’ve figured out (see
page 12) or been told what
leadership skills to work on. Here are
six tips to follow to master these new
skills:
1.
ASK
FOR
FEEDBACK-
FEEDFORWARD SUGGESTIONS
Don’t ask people “How did I do when I
ran that meeting?” Framing the question
this way “pre-suades” people to look
for gaps or deficiencies in something
that’s already finished. Instead, ask
for suggestions for the future: “If I was
running that same meeting next week,
could you give me two suggestions to
improve?”
and unappreciative.
3. AND KEEP ASKING
Research has found that the key
to improving is regularly seeking
feedback-feedforward
suggestions
on how you’re doing. I recommend
you ask for suggestions at least once
a week from two different people you
work with. Why is this important? It
forces you to take ownership of your
own development. Secondly and
more importantly, it advertises you’re
trying and forces coworkers to notice
your efforts. Since your leadership
improvement is measured by their
perceptions, not yours, getting people
to notice is important.
2. JUST SAY THANK YOU 4. IT’S OFTEN ADVISABLE TO
START BY APOLOGISING FOR PAST
SINS AND/OR OMISSIONS
When you get a suggestion, don’t
debate, discuss, or analyse it. Just say
Thank You. This person has just invested
their time and energy into helping yo u
out. Repay them by appreciating them.
Resist the urge to respond otherwise as
you’ll seem argumentative, defensive, While this may feel unnecessary, it
can serve to help coworkers let go
of the past and prepare them to help
you move forward. Apologies are like
hitting a “relationship reset button.” A
simple example might look like, “I’m
sorry I sometimes forget to encourage
Richard (Rick) Holbrook is a Trainer
and Certified Coach with Gazelles
International. He works with CEO’s to
help them create an executable growth
strategy that everyone in their company
understands and is aligned with.
Rick has worked with more than 70
companies in Western Canada since
leaving the corporate world in 2004.
others’ ideas and participation. Moving
forward I’ll try to remember to do this.”
The formula for apologizing is: Say
you’re sorry, Say you’ll try to do better,
and then say nothing!
5. BE THICK SKINNED
Even though you’ll be asking for
“feedback-feedforward” suggestions,
some of what you receive might seem
negative and critical. Remember,
people often ignore the 90 percent
that’s working to focus on the 10 percent
gap. Do your best to turn all comments
into a future focused action you’ll take
to improve. When receiving negative
feedback, if you feel your defensive
hackles start to rise, ask yourself,
“What 1 percent that they’re saying is
probably true?” This simple technique
diverts you from making an emotional
response and puts your thinking self
back in control.
6. COMMIT TO THE PROCESS
Like learning any new skill (think
improving your golf swing or learning
a language), it can be a challenge and
progress will come in fits and starts. It’s
important to be persistent. u
SPRING 2018
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