Tag Archives: Human Resources

The importance of humility in leadership

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By Cheryl Williamson

Rick Warren once said, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” In leadership, it can be tempting to become enamored with status. However, it is crucial that leaders focus on their staff more than they focus on themselves.

I have learned that the best leaders are selfless and more concerned with the well-being of their team than with their personal titles. You cannot be an effective leader if you feel that you are better than your subordinates. Furthermore, teams under said type of leadership become hostile and experience low productivity and high turnover.

I have worked with my team for many years and am grateful for their loyalty. My team never ceases to amaze me, and I feel like they go out of their way to make my days run smoothly. When I sat down to ask them why they work so hard and remain loyal to me, they had lots to say.

From their responses, I created some helpful hints for others who are seeking to lead with humility:

  • Be willing to get in the trenches. Your team needs to know that you are willing to work together with them. They cannot feel as if you aren’t willing to work for and with them. A true leader supports his or her team in any and every way. If your secretary is out sick, be willing to answer the phones for the day. There is no job beneath your pay grade when you lead with humility. If your team knows that you are willing to work side by side with them, there is nothing they won’t do for you. They will be fiercely loyal, and their appreciation will be evident in their productivity.
  • Think like a leader, not a manager. A wise person once said, “When I talk to a manager, I get the feeling that they are important. When I talk to a leader, I get the feeling that I am important.” This quote is the perfect example of what it means to lead with humility. Each person on your team should walk away from a one-on-one with you feeling empowered, valued, important and appreciated. A team member who feels this way will undoubtedly be a strong player on your team. A leader views his or her team members as human beings. A manager views his or team members as a means to an end. Know the difference and lead your team accordingly.
  • Remove your ego from the equation. When faced with a challenging decision or difficult personality, this can be a hard rule to follow. Maintaining objective judgment is one of the biggest ways you can show humility as a leader. If your team can count on you to check your ego at the door and make decisions that will be for the equal benefit of your entire team, they will have a great deal of respect for you. On the other hand, if they feel that you do what is best for yourself as opposed to what is good for everyone, they will have a hard time trusting you. People don’t want to work for someone they can’t trust. One good way to remove your ego from the decision-making process is to get a trusted colleague’s opinion. Hearing a neutral party’s perspective will help you to see the situation clearly.
  • Be the change. We have all heard the famous quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” As it relates to your team’s culture, this means to lead by example. As leaders, we must remember that our team looks to us to set the standard. Make sure they see a good standard when they look at your own personal work habits. For example, you can’t be upset about tardiness if you tell your team that your office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. but you stroll in at 10:00 a.m. I challenge you to take a few moments and examine the changes you would like to see on your team. Next, find ways that you can lead and inspire your team to make a change by seeing you in action.

When you decide to lead with humility, your team will immediately see a difference. As a result, you will also immediately see a difference. Not only will leading with humility impact your business, it will also impact you personally. You will feel better about yourself, your work and your team. Needless to say, it will have a positive impact on your bottom line.

Keeping humility as a priority in my leadership style has greatly impacted my business and my brand. I am excited for you to experience the same great results in your business.

 

Source: Forbes

Global Service Delivery Director

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Our client is a leader in global financial BPO services with a strong international network comprising hubs in the USA, Brazil, India, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore and Germany.

Summary

The successful candidate will have responsibility for managing the delivery of services to maximize contribution to the success of a major global client. Services include Electronic Payment Services and other Order to Cash operations which include Credit, AR and Collections management, Cash Applications, Billing, and back office finance processing and customer services. Continue reading →

5 leadership mistakes even the best bosses make

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MarcelSchwantesauthorphoto_79607By Marcel Schwantes

If you think your boss is some freak of nature and you’re the luckiest person alive, I’ll break it to you gently: He or she is human and will make mistakes.

The great ones rise up from their errors by A) acknowledging they made a mistake and correcting a behavior (think humility), or B) acknowledging a blind spot that needs to be addressed, then doing something about it.

Lets dive into a few prevalent leadership mistakes that even the best and smartest leaders tend to make.

1. The mistake of not giving employees a listening ear.
I recently wrote about the powerful business practice of “stay interviews.” Unlike the exit interview, this concept is predicated on listening to employees’ feedback to get fresh insight into improving the work environment that will help retain those valued employees today–not after they have emotionally disconnected and turned in their resignations. Leaders who check hubris at the door and listen authentically in this manner build trust, but even the smartest of leaders have this blind spot where they don’t leverage active listening skills to build and support culture. The message coming across to employees is that they’re not seen as important and part of the family — a critical mistake even for the brightest leaders. Continue reading →

Changing workplaces call for a new type of leader

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Lisa-Sterling_jpgBy Lisa Sterling

Developing effective and empowered leaders is one of the most important things an organization can do to ensure the successful accomplishment of its goals, whatever they may be.

That’s because leadership influences nearly all aspects of a business, such as the selection, engagement, and retention of talent, customer loyalty, and overall brand perception and influence. Yet despite its importance, many companies seem to struggle with leadership development.

Perhaps the biggest reason for that struggle is the new and varied set of behaviors and skills today’s leaders need to be effective. One of the worst mistakes any organization can make is to base its promotions or leadership decisions on tenure. Simply being a long-serving veteran of the organization or a star individual performer does not automatically make someone a candidate for leadership or demonstrate they have the necessary commitment to the role, the team or the company.

In today’s ever-evolving and increasingly complex environment, effective leaders must be able to guide staff through moments of uncertainty, be a trusted source for honest and open communication, and encourage and inspire their teams to take risks without fear of failure. As Deloitte notes in its 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report, leadership is increasingly about the challenges leaders face rather than the “art” of leadership. And those challenges are many. Continue reading →

Organisational Politics Can Be an Asset to Strategy Execution

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michael_jarrettby Michael Jarrett

Identifying the types of political behaviour in your organisation is the first step to using it for positive change.

Dysfunctional politics can sink an organisation, but it can also be a force for good. This makes many executives frown, but the reality is that politics is normal – and too often a hidden barrier to effective strategy execution. In fact, without it, some strategic changes may not be possible.

Political behaviour allows differences to be shared and methods to be employed in strategy execution that go beyond the rules and norms of the organisation. Thus it’s important for leaders to understand the forms it can take and how they can harness it.

While we would be naive to ignore the potentially destructive nature of politics, when deployed effectively it can actually help the company meet its strategic goals and live up to its values, especially during change efforts.

Defining politics

Organisational politics refers to a variety of activities associated with the use of tactics to influence or improve personal or organisational interests.

Studies have shown that those with political skills do tend to outperform their politically naive counterparts. However, political behaviour is relative. It is implicit in many cases. For example, it may be the case that a manager or leader needs to exert a large amount of pressure on a team to get something done by using the power of their position over others. It is also occasionally necessary for employees to work behind the scenes to build coalitions of believers in a new vision. Politics is driven by the conditions of scarce resources, social and structural inequalities and individual personal motivations.

Thus, the first step to using politics requires executives to map their organisation’s political landscape and understand the sources of political capital they have.

 

The political terrain

Most organisational maps are characterised by four metaphoric domains; the weeds, the rocks, the high ground and the woods. Each has a different set of rules for skilful navigation.

Continue reading →