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In Warren Bennis' seminal book, On becoming a Leader, he says, “ A leader need not possess all the individual skills of the group members. What he/she must have is a vision, the ability to rally others, and integrity. Such leaders need curatorial and coaching skills, an eye for talent, the ability to recognize correct choices, contagious optimism, a gift for bringing out the best in others, the ability to facilitate communication and mediate conflict, a sense of fairness, and, as always the kind of authenticity and integrity that creates trust." Whew, is that all…. As often is the case, recognizing the reasonableness of an idea and implementing it are two different things.
Here is the good news. If you are receiving this tip you already enjoy the rarified air of someone who is more than just competent in most of these areas. In this, our 7th coaching tip will address some ideas for getting to the “ability to rally," ” bring out the best," and “facilitate communication, trust and authenticity."
One of the simplest ways to create, recreate or further develop trust is by using the power of the personal connection. In other words, can you have a sit down with key members of your team and check in? It doesn’t really matter that it seems a little “forced." Forced effort is better than no effort. In fact, for those of us who are not normally comfortable with the “soft skills” of leadership, “forced” can be downright charming for the recipient--(Authenticity).
To help these personal discussions, Insight Strategies, Inc. (ISI) has developed a series of questions that we call the ISI Interview. During an ISI Interview a leader is purposely, and to the person being interviewed, publicly stating a desire to know them. The questions asked are designed to create dialog-- (facilitate communication). This dialog nearly always leads the employee to a feeling of being understood, appreciated and as a consequence recognized as bringing value to the team. This communication and recognition in turn leads to a marked increase in a leader’s ability to rally his/her people when needed, understand how to best motivate them and thus bring out their best efforts.
This type of Leader understands the difference between “managing activities” and “leading people.”
After an employee experiences the ISI Interview, it is often said that rarely has a manager (leader) taken the time to understand their needs, goals, wishes, desires to this degree. Never mind what gets uncovered…this process, alone, of getting to know them instills a sense of loyalty and trust. SOMEONE CARES. As a leader, you will become better equipped to coach, lead, support and guide your people to their fullest potential.
Insight Strategies agrees with and applies these principals in its Leadership Training.
Try this: Choose a half dozen of your key personnel. Invite each one individually to lunch (coffee something informal and away from the office). Let them know you are inviting them specifically because their work matters to the organization and to you personally. Let them know that you want to get to know them as people. Tell them you are going to “interview” them but it is unlike any they have done before.
Possible questions:
1) Are you aligned with what you wanted to be growing up?
2) Where did you grow up? What did you like to do as a young person? Have those things you enjoyed stuck with you? How?
3) How can I help you gain what you want from your career?
4) In what areas do others seek you out for assistance? Where do you turn to others for assistance? (Answers could uncover core/unknown talent)
5) What do you believe to be the most pressing issues at (your company)? How do you think you are expected to contribute to resolution? Does that suit your capabilities and interests? (This will allow for alignment and assess their understanding of broader company issues and thus more strategic thinking)
The astute leader must then be willing to make immediate use of this information, and do something with it. By asking the questions you facilitate communication, gain insight, buy in and trust. It is an implied agreement between the leader and the interviewee to use the information to some action.
There are many more questions that may better fit you and your interviewee. For a full list of ISI Interview questions email us back and we will be happy to send you the question matrix.
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