Different industries require subtle differences in style and how leaders impact their teams and results. As part of our occasional series chatting with industry leaders, we recently spoke with engineer and senior leader, Wes Davis. His story is an interesting one, with Wes focusing much of his time and development on the topic of leadership within engineering, rather than simply learning and applying the technical aspects.
In today’s fast-paced business world, effective prioritisation and time management skills are crucial for success. One area where these skills play a significant role is email management. With the sheer volume of emails we receive daily, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose precious time. The good news is that there are many things you can do to write effective emails.
As an effective leader, one of the key skills to develop is the ability to ask questions. More specifically, to ask the right question at the right time. The key benefits of mastering this skillset are the additional perspective gained and the reduction in assumptions. This has power within leadership as it ensures you take into account other people’s perspective as well as your own.
To lead is to influence. To influence, understand…to understand, ask.
There is a connection between gaining perspective and displaying empathy, one of the cornerstone leadership traits. When you understand what someone else values; why they have said or done what they have; and/or their background, there is a likelihood of greater influence. This stems from less negative judgment and a willingness to see a situation beyond your own lens or perspective. In other words, stepping into someone else’s shoes and looking back at you…empathy. The risk of a lack of perspective and making assumptions are many.
Primarily when you attempt to influence solely from your own beliefs and views, in its extreme, is coercion.
This is damaging and unsustainable, both relationally and practically. Few people will willingly follow you when you are more concerned about your own perspective and values, without taking into account theirs.
Related: Life Choices – The Decision Tree
Removing assumptions through improved understanding provides a more solid basis for strength in your relationships. Many people will respect the fact that you are bothering to consider their views. Taking it a step further and doing something with this information, adds to the potential for aligning values and building depth in your relationships. This is connecting at a different level.
For me, there’s great value in recognizing different perspectives in conversations because these enable us to hear and react to things very differently.
One of my close friends often says: “Change how a situation occurs to you, change how you will respond to the situation.” What is the distinction between perspective and reality? There are a lot of fun expressions around this topic. The easiest one is “my perspective is my reality,” but is this really true? Or is there a difference between the two?
Perspective is the way individuals see the world. It comes from their personal point of view and is shaped by life experiences, values, their current state of mind, the assumptions they bring into a situation, and a whole lot of other things. Reality can be different things. We can easily say that my perspective is my reality. There is truth to that statement. When we look at the shared reality of an event, though, the more perspectives you get, the closer to reality you get. As a leader, do you consider your own perspective as reality? (1)
The other aspect of perspective, is how we respond to situations. We have developed a process that has assisted many of our coachees and clients to gain perspective and a better balance regarding their own reactions.
The Perspective Scaling Process is a very useful tool and mindset to assist in finding an appropriate balance between immediate emotional responses and logical reactions.
To use this resource effectively, you need to establish a scale based on your own judgments first. Once established and with practice, all situations and moments can be quickly assessed against your initial scaling. Rarely is the situation actually as significant as your first emotional response would assume. That is how the process works. It finds a balance between your initial emotional response and places a sense of practical, logical thought to the moment. Let me explain the process.
The Perspective Scaling Process works on a 1 – 100 set of values, where 1 represents a very small incident or situation with next to no lasting impact. An example could be a paper-cut. A 100 would be the most damaging and worst outcome or scenario you could think of. Most people consider losing all of their family members in an accident as an extreme, yet relevant example.
Once you have set scale situations at either end relevant to you, work backwards by roughly 10 point increments and consider what situations would apply for each number.
A 90 may be losing an individual family member; an 80 a reasonably major car accident with lasting injuries; a 70 could be a divorce; a 60 based on being made redundant at work etc. Once you reach 20 your scale should be reflective of those things that occur more commonly and with a lesser impact. Single-figure circumstances should be things that have no lasting impact at all, possibly more frustrating than serious.
Now that you have established a ‘baseline’ it is important to keep referring back to the scale throughout the day, as situations occur. This is where the process comes into it own.
We quite regularly immediately respond to a moment or event in an overly emotional manner.
The challenge with primarily emotional responses, particularly when considering relationships is that it generally inflames a situation. It is out of proportion and is weighted too heavily to emotions, lesser to logic and pragmatism. An emotional response is quite normal and is part of being human. What may feel immediately is a ’50 or 60′, is quickly re-identified by applying the perspective scale as a lower number, commonly at a ’20’ or below. This ‘self-check’ then allows us to respond more appropriately and effectively.
Recognise that every emotion has a place. Having emotions is normal and expected. However, being overly-emotional on a consistent basis can be detrimental to your credibility, perception and effectiveness.
Learning to take control of immediate emotional responses is an important aspect of being emotionally intelligent. Through use of the perspective tool, you will strike a balance between the initial emotion-laden reaction and the purposeful logic that enables a balanced conversation and approach. With practice, you will be able to apply the Perspective Scaling Process within seconds. In fact, it is a great opportunity to pause and take a breath prior to responding.
Related: Relationships – Understand Your Team to Lead Effectively
Perspective is gained through understanding. That is, understanding of self and others. The most effective and simple way to improve understanding is to ask key questions. Positioning these questions in a way that makes it more about understanding and less about challenging perceptions take some of the heat out of the moment. It also demonstrates that you are listening to what has been said.
Depth in this skill come from paraphrasing and delving into the answers provided. This is what I call ‘layer 2 and 3 questioning’. Accepting the first response from someone generally provides little opportunity to truly understand. Without understanding, our assumptions commonly lead us to make incorrect decisions; see things only or primarily from our perspective or value-set; and similar, less effective responses.
When we see things primarily from our own perspective, it is difficult to genuinely influence others. Seeking understanding and caring about those closest to you, at work or home, builds trust, relationships and ability to influence.
How you demonstrate this care is up to you. However, taking the time to consider all views; seek understanding of what matters to you and others; providing appropriate context; and developing appropriate questioning skills are all ways to more meaningfully influence.
We show we care through our actions. What could you practice and do differently to more effectively influence those around you?
Don’t hesitate to contact CoachStation if you wish to discuss the Personal Values learning process or any other aspect of your development as a leader and person. We are always happy to meet new people and assist to improve capability and satisfaction.
Resources:
(1) Why Understanding Other Perspectives Is A Key Leadership Skill – Forbes
The leader and employee in today’s environment must possess a credible and trusted brand, much like a company does.
This is sometimes also referred to as a personal and/or professional reputation. Either way, people see you a certain way based on your behaviours, words and actions. Being aware of this helps you to take control of your brand.
Like culture, it exists whether we influence it or not. Why then, wouldn’t you want to take control of this as much as possible? The benefits of modern technology make this easier than in the past. It also provides potential pitfalls and risk.
However, your personal brand and the perception you create is more than your Social Media profiles and habits. Your ‘real life’ actions and behaviours shape the perception others have of you. After all, those closest to you are the people who you should be most interested in influencing. Rarely is the depth of relationships online as strong as in person. Sadly, the lines are becoming blurred for many people.
Your Brand Is the Experience People Have of You
One useful way to think about personal brand is this: your brand is what people have come to expect from you.
It is not simply what you say you value, what appears on your LinkedIn profile or how professionally you present yourself. It is the accumulated experience people have when they work with you, speak with you, rely on you, disagree with you or need something from you.
Do people experience you as calm under pressure?
Clear and direct? Approachable? Reliable? Commercial? Curious? Decisive? Supportive? Difficult to read? Slow to act? Someone who follows through?
Importantly, these perceptions develop whether you consciously manage them or not. This creates an important distinction between your intended brand and your experienced brand. You may want to be seen as empowering, for example, while members of your team experience you as controlling. You may believe you are considered decisive, while others experience you as impatient. Equally, you may significantly underestimate positive qualities that others already associate with you.
The opportunity is not to manufacture a different version of yourself. It is to better understand the experience you currently create and deliberately strengthen the parts that reflect the leader and person you want to be.
Brand Requires Evidence
A credible personal brand needs evidence.
If you want to be known as someone who develops people, there should be people who are better because they worked with you. If you want to be regarded as dependable, people should be able to point to occasions when you followed through, particularly when doing so was difficult. If you value honesty, it should be visible in the conversations you are prepared to have.
This is where personal brand moves beyond image.
Your reputation is built through repeated moments, not occasional statements.
People notice how you behave when pressure increases, when somebody disagrees with you, when mistakes occur, when there is no obvious answer and when doing the right thing is inconvenient. Those moments often shape your reputation more powerfully than the periods when everything is running smoothly.
For leaders particularly, consistency matters. People should not need to guess which version of you will arrive today.
Conduct a Personal Brand Audit
A useful exercise is to stop thinking initially about what you want your brand to be and examine the evidence that already exists. Consider these questions:
- What three words would I like people to use when describing me professionally?
- What three words would the people who work most closely with me probably use today?
- What do people consistently come to me for? This often reveals strengths and value that you may take for granted.
- What behaviour of mine could be creating a perception I do not intend?
- Where is there a gap between what I say matters to me and what people actually see me doing?
- Whose perception matters most? Your brand does not need to mean exactly the same thing to everybody, but the people you lead, work alongside and serve should experience a recognisable core.
- What is one behaviour I could practice more consistently over the next 30 days that would strengthen the reputation I want to build?
You can take this further by asking several trusted people a simple question:
“When I am at my best, what do you think I bring that is particularly valuable, and what is one thing I could do differently to have greater impact?”
Do not ask purely for reassurance. Look for patterns.
Personal branding is about making a full-time commitment to the journey of defining yourself as a leader and how this will shape the manner in which you will serve others. (1)
Personal Brand Is Not a Destination
Your personal brand will change as your responsibilities, experience and priorities change.
A new manager may initially need to establish credibility and reliability. An experienced leader may need to become known less for having the answers and more for developing the judgement of others. Someone moving into a broader organisational role may need to strengthen their ability to influence beyond their immediate team.
The question therefore is not simply, “What is my personal brand?”
A more useful question is: “What do I want people to be able to consistently rely on me for at this stage of my career, and does my behaviour provide enough evidence for them to believe it?”
That question makes personal brand practical. It connects reputation with behaviour, contribution and impact rather than promotion or image. Ultimately, you do not build a strong personal brand by talking more about yourself.
You build it by becoming increasingly deliberate about what you stand for, how you behave and the value people consistently experience from having you involved.
It takes time and effort to develop your reputation built on genuine results, behaviours, skills and qualities that others identify as strengths and positive attributes. This is important for all of us, but is most critical for leaders.
Many leaders are already performing well in their roles and have much to offer. Whether people recognise and acknowledge this is another question. Having the knowledge and tools to promote yourself effectively without appearing to be ‘big-noting’ is a challenge for some. I look at this differently. It is not about being a self-promoter. It is more about being comfortable enough in who you are and your achievements so that you can comfortably talk about it. This comfort stems from strength in self-esteem and self-acceptance, amongst other attributes.
Overlooked for promotion; receiving little recognition; difficulty in explaining beliefs, passions or roles, along with other skills are often difficult challenges, but can be overcome. Creating a strong brand can only be achieved through consistent practice and application. This takes effort and accountability. The CoachStation REOWM Accountability Model highlights the importance of expectations and taking accountability.
Perceptions about self and what we think others believe about us influences much of who we are and what we do.
Building a Brand Based on Substance
Each person has their own beliefs and needs and are at various stages of acceptance of their situation, financial requirements and employability. Being clear about what you want from life, including as an employee, helps you to make appropriate decisions. Decisions based on want, values and need and not simply situation and opportunity. Even when current roles appear stable, understanding of yourself and focusing energies on the next steps or options is a worthwhile exercise.
This is the same when promoting products, services or people. People see through this kind of facade very quickly, even when we think they haven’t.
What is presented to the world via your online presence is becoming more and more critical to how other people view who you are and what you stand for. It is a wonder to me how many people still struggle with this concept. As important as this is, meaning and substance matters more than merely presenting yourself professionally online. It is how you communicate, manage perceptions, behave, respond, learn about and apply emotional intelligence. A solid social media presence is one aspect, but your brand is more than that.
It also relates to your ability to develop relationships, foster an ability to connect with others and various similar core skills that help you to influence people.
Taking control of and developing your reputation is essential for the advancement of your career and development as a leader. Unfortunately, personal branding has become a “commoditized” term that has lost its intention as people have irresponsibly used social media as a platform to build their personal brand and increase their relevancy. They believe social media can immediately increase their market value for their personal brand rather than recognising that the process of developing their personal brand is a much bigger responsibility; a never-ending journey that extends well beyond social media.
This doesn’t mean self-promotion – that you should be creating awareness for your brand by showcasing your achievements and success stories. Managing your personal brand requires you to be a great role model, mentor, and/or a voice that others can depend upon. (1)
This is not only relevant and important when you are looking for a new role. Essentially, having a strong brand always matters. I work with people in various industries at all levels of management, yet the branding elements remain surprisingly consistent.
The issues that exist and skills required in modern workplaces are as applicable for entry-level employees as they are for supervisors and executive level leaders. View your personal brand as a trademark; an asset that you must protect while continuously moulding and shaping it.
Your personal brand is an asset that must be managed with the intention of helping others benefit from having a relationship with you and/or by being associated with your work and the industry you serve. (1)
The need to develop your brand and reputation is more relevant today than ever. If you don’t take control of your brand it will continue to evolve but not in a way that will add value to yourself and those you care about.
Have you defined your own brand? If so, do you live and breathe it consistently every day?
Think about what your brand looks like from the perspective of others. Take action to be accountable in shaping your brand to greatest effect. As always, the opportunity is yours.
Resources:
(1) Personal Branding is a Leadership Requirement, Not a Self-Promotion Campaign: Forbes
(2) How To Create a Standout Personal Brand: Entrepreneur.com