BCA

By Bill Peace in Leading Effectively, Center for Creative Leadership

In the mid-1990s, I found myself in a new town working in an entry-level position for a start-up telecommunications company. I saw endless growth possibilities within the organization. This was my chance to get in on the ground floor of a growing business and prove myself through hard work, dedication and a genuine spirit of wanting to help others.

I studied the business inside and out and made myself visible for important projects and tasks. I was often called upon to help the training department, even though that was not my title or job responsibility. When outside vendors presented their products, management asked my opinion.

Change was the order of the day

As with most start-up companies, change was the order of the day, and folks were quickly moving around to different departments and getting promoted. Soon, it was my turn. The call-center director pulled me aside one day and asked a favor. A team manager was being promoted to another department. I was needed to take over her 12-person team as “interim manager” with the clear possibility of moving into the role permanently.

I didn’t hesitate. I got to know the entire team, answered all their questions, stayed long past my shift, arrived much earlier than expected and quickly learned my new duties. It wasn’t long before I started receiving rave reviews from the team members — and even from other team managers. After one month, the position was posted. The call-center director strongly encouraged me to submit my application. Again, I did so without hesitation.

Lost my interim position

Two weeks later, I learned, along with everyone else, that two other entry-level employees were named as the new managers, one taking over my interim position.

I was crushed, though I ultimately knew the position was not promised to me. My initial reaction was confusion and hurt. What had I done wrong? Where were my shortcomings? Privately, I was distraught; publically, I supported the decision and graciously moved back to my original entry-level position.

But several close colleagues approached the director with anger over his decision. They didn’t know why I kept quiet. They wanted me to revolt, or lash out, or at least ask why I had been overlooked.

“How could they do this to you? Why don’t you leave this company? It’s obvious your hard work and talent won’t be appreciated here,” I heard. I held my head high and quietly dismissed the negativity. I stayed true to my values and principles, believing in my hard work, skill and taking the high road. My integrity won out.

My time had come

Soon after, I was approached by the company’s sales director, who pulled me aside and asked if I had an interest in helping him grow his department. He needed a manager to supervise the data-entry portion of the business unit. To my surprise, he offered twice my salary and a significant signing bonus. I said, “Yes.” My time had come.

On my first day, when we sat to review all the paperwork, I asked about his interest in me and his response has stayed with me to this day. “I observed your hard work with the other department’s team and I liked your approach,” he said. “I also wanted to seize an opportunity. I saw what happened to you. You were asked to fill an interim role and did a stellar job only to be overlooked for the promotion.”

“I figured if that department wasn’t going to capitalize on your talent and knowledge, I was,” he said. “And ultimately, I appreciated how you responded to not getting the job. You handled it with dignity and professionalism when everyone around you wanted you to act differently. I respect that.”

Sales was a great growth experience

Looking back, my time in sales was a great learning and growing experience. But it was that first job that taught me the importance of keeping my integrity. A negative experience opened the door to management, and I’ve been there ever since.

I often tell this story to young or new managers as they navigate through their first leadership roles. Keeping true to who you are and what you value is a leadership lesson worth learning — and you never know who might take notice.

Bill Peace is director, Training & Development, for Merck Sharp & Dohme Federal Credit Union in Chalfont, Pennsylvania.

From: Leading Effectively, Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)

Is being a leader worth the effort?

If you find yourself asking this question, you are not alone. Most of us have doubts about our choice to lead at some point in our lives. But if you find you are adrift — going through the motions but not moving forward — it’s time to make a change.

Many leaders have too few hours and too little energy to bring their best leadership to bear, according to Sara King, coauthor of Discovering the Leader in You: How to Realize Your Leadership Potential. “As a result, leaders have begun to question their abilities, the direction their life has taken and their hopes for future impact,” says King. “We call this the problem of drift.”

Leading by rote wastes good talent and energy

If you stay adrift for long, you find yourself making decisions by default rather than conscious choice. You may feel frustrated, conflicted or unhappy. It takes a toll on your enthusiasm, vision and energy – all characteristics needed to lead effectively. “Leading by rote wastes good talent and energy, dilutes the talent and energy that others muster to create results and creates drag on company resources,” coauthor David Altman explains.

To boost yourself out of leadership drift, first consider some fundamental questions:

• Are you currently in a leadership role? How did you get there?
• Do you see yourself as a leader? Are you a leader all the time?
• How comfortable are you with your identity as a leader?
• Did you choose to become a leader or did it somehow choose you?

Then, take time to explore five issues to understand why you may be adrift and provide insight into how to take action:

1. Current organizational realities. What’s your context? It can be as broad as the social, economic and global trends affecting leadership today. It might be more specific to your industry, your organization or your leadership role. The goal is to understand the broader circumstances that influence your current leadership situation.
2. Leadership vision. A vision for your life describes what you see as the overall purpose of your life: what dreams you want to achieve, what goals you want to accomplish, the people you want to be with, the kind of life you want to have. To specifically look at your leadership vision, you want to ask, “What is the role that leadership plays in my life?” Being purposeful about what you want in life is important to being purposeful about what you want in your leadership situation.
3. Leadership values. Values are the standards or principles that guide your beliefs, decision and actions. The ability to understand your values and leverage them as a foundational cornerstone of your leadership choices is a critical contributor to effective leadership.
4. Leadership profile. Your leadership profile is your personal leadership tool kit. What do you draw on to lead? Your answer might include many factors, such as competencies, styles and experiences. Through careful analysis of your profile, you can assess what you see as your strengths and developmental needs.
5. Current personal realities. You have a personal life that has an impact on your work life and a work life that has an impact on your personal life. How you integrate all aspects of your life with your responsibilities as a leader is one of the most challenging tasks you will face.

The book authors, who combined have nearly 100 years of experience assisting leaders in the development of their talents and careers, have written Discovering the Leader in You to guide people through the five issues in a practical, relevant way.

“The most effective leaders are those who commit themselves to getting better day by day and week by week and then apply their skills to improving the lives of other people in the organizations in which they work or their communities,” explains King. “Facing these issues will hopefully encourage you to make more conscious choices about why, when, how and where you lead.”

This article was adapted from Discovering the Leader in You: How to Realize Your Leadership Potential, by Sara N. King, David G. Altman & Robert J. Lee.

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

 Chief marketing officers representing some of the biggest US brands are staying in their jobs for increasingly long periods, according to new research.
Spencer Stuart, the executive search consulting organisation, has published its latest annual report assessing the tenure of America’s most senior communications staff.

It monitored the top 100 national advertisers as compiled by trade title AdAge, a list including firms like General Mills, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s and Unilever.

Overall, it reported the average chief marketing officer had occupied their position for 42 months by the close of 2010, an improvement from 34.7 months registered the previous year.

Speaking to Forbes, Greg Welch, a member of Spencer Stuart’s dedicated marketing practice, suggested the recession had exerted a major influence on this result.

Many executives decide to stay the course

“Typically we see that when the economy is shaky, many executives decide to stay the course and stick with their current company,” he said.

However, varying categories delivered divergent totals, with the communications and media segment yielding a normal tenure of just 22 months.

This figure rose to 25 months for the restaurant sector, hit 54 months discussing retail, and 53 months concerning financial services.

Industrial CMO’s  averaged 77 months

Industrial operators posted the strongest ratings on this metric, at 77 months, out-performing the typical score by more than 80%.

“Different sectors are at different points in their evolution,” said Welch.

“The restaurant business was under enormous pressure over the last year, and when comparable store sales decline for more than a few months in a row, chief executives start making changes to their teams.”

“In financial services, all the cmos are very senior professionals. They played an important role as their companies pulled out of the recession.”

Job modification could reduce volatility

More broadly, the reduced volatility revealed in the latest analysis could indicate a wider shift is underway, as perceptions regarding the exact function top-level marketers should fulfill undergoes a modification.

The long-term nature of the transition may be shown by the fact that for the first three years Spenser Stuart collated data, starting in 2004, totals came in at between 23 and 24 months.

“In my view, today’s top cmos are leaders first and marketers second,” Welch said.

“The really good ones are able to spend most of their time and energy setting the course and leading the team to prosperity.”

Good ones thrive in difficult times

“The survey supports this notion, as we have seen highly respected senior marketers like Bill McDonald of Capital One and Beth Comstock of General Electric continue to thrive even in difficult times.”

In further evidence of such a trend, the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, smartphones and other new media platforms have required creating innovative structural models and processes.

“Clearly the rules around digital, mobile and social media are changing every day,” said Welch.

“Obviously staying on top of the ever-changing market is challenging, and most great cmos rely on domain specialists to manage each of these areas.”

Recovery could reverse trend

Looking ahead, however, the contours of the market as the recovery strengthens could serve to reverse, at least in part, the typical employment period for leading marketers may begin to drop back.

“Obviously, this is difficult to predict, but given the flurry of search activity that we’ve seen recently, it would not surprise me to see a slight drop in the number in 2011,” Welch said.

Data sourced from Forbes; additional content by Warc staff, 26 May 2011

From: Leading Effectively, Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)

It’s tempting, isn’t it? Take credit when things go well, deflect blame when they don’t?

“It’s a natural human response,” says author and coach Ben Dattner. “But good leaders learn to avoid the temptation to blame others or hoard credit.”

“We all want to be recognized for our effort and accomplishments, and we resist being blamed when things don’t go right. This leads to habitual patterns of credit and blame at work,” explains Dattner, author of the new book The Blame Game. “The most successful leaders are able to see their role in the blame game, admit mistakes and focus on fixing rather than blaming.”

Blame game is a serious business

Most of us think that taking credit and blaming others are the side effects of the problems and personalities at work. But according to Dattner, the blame game is serious business — actually causing many of the problems you face at work.

“How you are credited and blamed — and how you as a leader deal with the dynamics of credit and blame around you – has enormous impact on the quality of your work and the success of the organization,” Dattner says.

Negative cycles of blame undermine problem-solving

The way credit and blame are handed out affects whether you learn and grow in your career or derail. Credit and blame help determine if team members compete for credit or scapegoat others. Negative cycles of blame and credit create organizational cultures that struggle with trust and collaboration – and undermine problem-solving, innovation and success.

What can you do to put the brakes on blaming and slow down the race for taking credit? Different strategies will work in different situations. Some of the suggestions from his book include:

• Take a step back. If you’re facing a “blame-thrower” or “credit-grabber” the first thing to do is pause. Dial down your own emotions and try to get some perspective on what is going on. It is all too easy to escalate and make the situation worse. Remind yourself that everyone has a natural tendency to cast blame; it is often a subconscious process; and the blame game might not be personal. What might be going on with the other person? What might be triggering your reaction?
• Be strategic. Even if you are working for a truly difficult boss or co-worker, you need to figure out productive responses. Fighting for credit and recognition could be self-defeating, while sharing credit may benefit you in the long run. If you push back too hard, you may be scapegoated or resented. A more subtle long-term approach may work better. You might reasonably share more credit that you think others deserve, opening the door to more sharing and less blaming over time.
• Articulate the issues. Put any emotionally charged experience into words. Talk to a friend outside of work, your partner or spouse, or a trusted colleague. This helps you gain perspective and distance and allows you to make more strategic decisions about your response.
• Develop your knowledge, skills and networks. The more high-functioning you are and the more indispensable your make yourself to your organization, the more likely it is that you will not be made the victim of undue blaming.
• Be a blame-savvy boss. If you are thoughtful, self-critical and fair in assigning credit and blame, you are likely to inspire deep appreciation and commitment from your staff. By setting the right example, you can instill in them an ethic of mutual support and collaborative problem-solving rather than one of defensiveness and finger-pointing.
• Focus on the future instead of the past. There is much to be learned from past events, but rehashing past actions or issues can be counterproductive if it focuses on assigning blame. Think about what needs to be done now and in the future. As a manager, peer or coach, be careful not to use feedback as a euphemism for blame.
• Get, and keep, people who don’t throw others under the bus. People with a balanced view of credit and blame make better leaders, teammates and subordinates. Hire people who seem self-aware, nuanced and open in discussing and evaluating their performance. If you manage managers, pay attention to how they attribute credit and blame to their staff. Consistently reinforce the message of shared accountability and collaboration.

“There is no question that the blame game can be painful for all of us at times — when we don’t receive the credit that we deserve, or when we are unfairly blamed for things that are clearly not our fault,” says Dattner. But we do have a choice in how we respond: “We can be stuck in a negative cycle of credit and blame, or change our approach so we can adapt, evolve and focus on the future.”

By Chris J. Anderson

From: Center on Responsive Politics

The Center for Responsive Politics and Remapping Debate have today released the first listings in an interactive tracking tool that allows the public to explore where outgoing senators and representatives from the 111th Congress are now employed.

Whether former members of Congress are now working for lobbying firms, law practices, public relations companies or other entities, this tracking tool will keep tabs.

“Powerful political leaders often are working one day on behalf of the public’s interest, and then in the next, they’re being paid handsomely to represent the goals of special interests. This warrants monitoring so that people understand how their former officials are now attempting to influence public discourse and legislation,” said Sheila Krumholz, the Center for Responsive Politics’ executive director.

Craig Gurian, the editor of Remapping Debate, added: “As important as it is to shed light on the revolving door between government and the lobbying world specifically, it is also critical to make more visible other connections of power and influence. This joint project, which looks broadly at all the interests that former members of Congress have decided to serve, will help increase public awareness of these varied connections.”

Senators may not legally become registered lobbyists for two years after they leave Congress, and House representatives are banned for one year after they leave.

But many of them have already taken steps in that direction, the Center for Responsive Politics and Remapping Debate find. So far, 13 of 19 outgoing senators from the 111th Congress have declared their post-Congress employment plans, and five of them are working in the government relations industry.

Implementation of the tracker can be found on the websites of each organization at RemappingDebate.org and OpenSecrets.org.

The tracker will be updated as more information becomes available about the outgoing members of the 111th Congress, and the Center for Responsive Politics and Remapping Debate invite colleagues and the public to help us make the tracker comprehensive.

From: Center for Creative Leadership, Leading Effectively

Job mobility isn’t what it used to be. You can’t count on the next new opportunity to show up and provide you the experiences you need the most. Today, you need to get clear on what you need to learn and what skills you need to improve — and then seek out assignments that will get you there.

“Not all assignments are created equal — some will have a greater effect on your development than others,” says Center for Creative Leadership”s ( CCL) Jean Leslie.

Leslie and her colleagues have mapped out activities to help leaders develop the 16 critical skills that are measured by Benchmarks^®, a 360-degree assessment that was recently updated by CCL.

“When managers receive data about their strengths and weaknesses from the Benchmarks assessment, they are usually eager to set goals and find ways to build their skills,” says Leslie. “We help them identify job assignments — or volunteer roles — that matter most for them.”

The following ideas for developmental job assignments address eight of the 16 critical leadership competencies and are adapted from CCL’s Benchmarks Development Planning Guide. The remaining eight competencies will be featured in next month’s issue of Leading Effectively.

Learn more: Developmental Assignments: Creating Learning Experiences without Changing Jobs, by Cynthia D. McCauley

By Kevin B. Murphy

BUYING A FRANCHISE VERSUS STARTING AN INDEPENDENT BUSINESS
As a franchise attorney who has owned and operated a successful franchise, I can say buying a franchise represents a different approach to starting a business. Millions of people dream about owning their own business. Having the independence that being your own boss brings, the security that no one can fire you, hopefully enjoying a good income – and for the most successful – the accumulation of wealth and prosperity.

Unfortunately, the cards are stacked against a new small business making it big – or making it at all. An endless stream of problems makes competition from large, sophisticated chains just too intense. Most new start-ups end as failures.

Buying a franchise business opportunity may help level the playing field. The U.S. Department of Commerce claims a opportunity is “…the best chance to compete with giant companies that dominate the marketplace.” Some statistics are impressive: it is said over 40% of all U.S. retail sales are through franchised establishments. Giants like McDonalds, KFC, 7-Eleven, H&R Block and Radio Shack are familiar, household FDD names that people think about, and franchises are available in a wide range of industries.

A CHANCE TO GET RICH, BUT ALSO A CHANGE TO GET STUNG
Just as franchising represents a chance to get rich, it’s also a chance to get stung. Everyone knows the big blue-chip names like McDonalds, KFC, Radio Shack, etc. But they’re the exception and not the rule. Many lawyers owner wannabes sign on with far smaller, lesser-known or unknown names that may not have a clue about helping operators make money.

Regrettably too many over-eager, first-time buyers leap into buying a franchise without using a franchise attorney who understands the in’s and out’s of relationships, the viability of the industry or company under consideration, and the long-term legal consequences of the contract they are signing.

FRANCHISE DUE DILLIGENCE
Fortunately, with proper planning, research, investigation and sound Fr. advice, these risks can be minimized with the proper franchise due diligence and professional advice. Don’t wait until you’ve signed the contract to begin this process. By then, the window of fr. agreement negotiation has slammed shut and it’s usually too late to do anything.

Using a franchise lawyer early on is the proper starting point. But don’t use any FDD attorney – find one who also has an MBA and you’ve narrowed the field considerably. You can Google the search term MBA franchise attorney. Now you’re dealing with someone who understands both the legal and business issues in buying a franchise. Good job, but don’t stop here. You can narrow the field even more by finding a attorney, with an MBA, who has also owned a franchise before. Buying a franchise advice is incredibly more meaningful when it comes from a former, successful franchise owner – as opposed to someone who never operated a franchise before. Try finding another franchise attorney who has owned a successful franchise.

AVOID ILLEGAL DISGUISED FRANCHISES CALLED A LICENSE
An increasing number of unscrupulous companies that don’t fly straight or play by the rules are selling licenses that are really disguised, illegal franchises. Instead of providing a comprehensive FDD Franchise Disclosure Document that meets stringent federal and state legal requirements, these companies go a different route. They present a “license agreement” or a distributor agreement” with no disclosures, no audited financial statements, no background of the principals, no investment requirement details, etc. The franchise versus license situation is one that I often consult on as a franchise expert, after clients have lost their life savings, retirement accounts, etc. investing in a license or distributorship that is an illegal disguised franchise. Don’t go down this dangerous path.

DEVELOP A FRANCHISE EXIT STRATEGY Finally, and this applies to franchise investments as well as investing in any business venture, develop a plan to succeed but also an exit plan that minimizes financial risk in case things don’t work out. Both plans need to be developed before the investment is made and contracts are signed. Be sure your franchise negotiations reflect this planning aspect. Don’t wait until problems develop to begin thinking about a franchise exit strategy, like how can I cancel my franchise agreement or get out of my lease. By then it’s usually too little, too late.
——————————————————————————
Kevin B. Murphy, Mr. Franchise, is a franchise lawyer based in San Francisco with a 30-year practice devoted exclusively to franchise law. For 20-years he has been a testifying franchise expert witness in court and arbitration proceedings, giving him vast experience in knowing where the bullets come from in franchise litigation. For 17-years, Mr. Murphy has been an Approved MCLE (Minimum Continuing Legal Education) Provider by the State Bar of California, teaching franchise law, franchising vs. licensing (franchise vs. license), and intellectual property courses to California Franchise attorney. In 2002 -2003 he started, operated and sold a very successful franchise. Mr. Franchise holds degrees in business administration and law from the University of San Francisco and an MBA from San Francisco State University. He is the author of over 50 franchise publications, including 4 books on franchising and one book on trade secrets.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_B_Murphy

By Andrea Herran

Imagine you are hiring for a position in your company – pick a position it doesn’t matter which one. You have done interviews and have two candidates you are considering. One is experienced and brings a wealth of knowledge however the attitude they possess is not what you would consider acceptable. The other one is “green” in their experience and would require additional training however they have the “go get ‘em” attitude and is very pleasant – would fit right into the company.

Which one do you choose? Why?

While you may think the answer is obvious – skills first – many people select on personality. This is especially common with first time interviewers or those lacking confidence in their interviewing skills. I have to tell you that it may not be that straight forward. Honestly the answer is usually somewhere in between.

What can happen if you hire strictly on skills?

A poor attitude that infects everyone else at the office.
You have to constantly “put out fires” because of what this person says or does.
If they talk to your clients – look out! You may have client issues.
It will eventually get to the point where you don’t care what skills they have and you will have to get rid of them.

What happens if you hire strictly on attitude?
You later find out they can’t handle the stress of the position.
You spend all your time training them.
They give their best effort but still can’t pick up the job.
Each task takes longer so they are not completing all the requirements of the job.

Of course these are extreme examples as more likely you won’t ignore skill or attitude altogether. What does become difficult is finding that fine line between the two.

Things to think about…

So in my usual manner, I won’t answer but give you some things to think about.

Can the job be trained or are the skills learned at a school?
How much time does the position spend with a client (in person or over the phone)?
Do you have someone to train the person or would it be you?
How long would it take to train someone with less than ideal skills?
How much can the person’s attitude affect those around them?
How tolerant are you of various kinds of attitudes? (this is a big one)
Does the candidate have skills from another type of job that translate easily into your position? (don’t toss someone aside just because they had a different job title than the one you are looking for)

Answer these questions either before you start interviewing so you know what concessions you are willing to make or after you have the final candidates to put the answers in perspective. Either way it will make you more comfortable with your choice.

Hiring new people for your organization can be one of the most stressful things you do because these are the people who will be the face of your company. These are the people who will help you grow, give ideas, provide customer service and let you go on vacation. Take a thoughtful approach, understand your needs, what you consider acceptable and don’t compromise. It may take a little longer to find the right person thats ok since it is about quality.

Create your plan and determine your needs

To ensure you have the best hire – create your plan and determine your needs before you even write an ad or interview candidates. This will help reduce the stress of hiring your next team member.

Andrea Herran is the principal of Focus HR Consulting ( http://www.FocusHR.biz ), which provides full human resources support to small business, provides a membership service through My HR Helpline for those who want expertise just a phone call away, and provides webinars and public speaking on HR topics. Subscribe to her bi-weekly newsletter http://conta.cc/a98j1n

© 2010 Andrea Herran All Rights Reserved

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrea_Herran