R.E.A.C.H. NEW LEVELS OF INFLUENCE
Leadership is about one thing: Influence. John Maxwell has been saying it for years and for years we’ve all been trying to figure out how to put it into practice. But, to our frustration, we’ve missed the other side of the concept. Influence only tells half the story.
Many leaders have been trying to influence their people to accomplish tasks, reach goals, and carry out organizational processes. Influence has been reduced to a transactional relationship where my input is leadership and I expect the output to be productivity.
But these transactional leaders have shown they have a low IQ… a low Influence Quotient. What you’re about to learn is how to change your leadership from transactional to transformational. Transformational leaders do not go into autopilot or settle into predictable patterns, but instead, they understand the dynamic ways needed to truly REACH those they lead. You’re about to learn five steps that will act as a roadmap for you to understand how R.E.A.C.H leadership will help your Influence Quotient reach new levels.
Relationships
Organizations are transformed by people;not policies, processes, and procedures. Policies, processes, and procedures are certainly tools we can and should use to manage the daily operations for our organization, however, if we want to transform our organization, we must influence the transformation of our people.
In order to bring transformation to those that we lead, we must move beyond our positional power to motivate and inspire change within them.
You most likely have heard the phrase, “people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care”. We have to value our people for who they are in addition to what they do. This requires us to demonstrate that we care about them as people AND what they contribute to the organization. Employees must be more than a means to an end.
Relationships are not something we can ever check off of our To Do list. We must continually cultivate them. This includes or involves developing, maintaining, and repairing relationships. Ask yourself these questions today:
- DEVELOP: Who do I need to spend some time with to initiate a relationship?
- MAINTAIN: Who is someone with whom I have a good relationship, but haven’t connected with recently?
- REPAIR: Who are the folks that I have a strained relationship with? What are some steps I can take to repair those relationships? Do I need to apologize or ask forgiveness for something? Do I need to admit a mistake?
Engagement
Transformation requires engagement. Those we wish to influence must be engaged in the work that they do. They must own it. Engaged employees are excited about their work, and drive performance and innovation that move the organization forward.
Engagement begins with knowing what’s expected at work. We often assume that employees can read our mind and know exactly what we expect of them. This is not the case. We must clearly and consistently communicate our expectations. We must connect the expectations to the vision and mission of the organization. “Because I said so” will not motivate and inspire people toward transformation.
We must also encourage our employees when they are meeting or exceeding our expectations. Behavior that is acknowledged is likely to be repeated. We must create systems to regularly acknowledge those who are living out the vision and mission. This cannot be a random “atta-boy” or thumbs up every couple of months.
We must equip those we seek to engage. Do they have the resources and skills to do what is expected of them? This question can be answered in developmental conversations that we have on an ongoing basis. Employees today are motivated by coaching and development more than annual performance evaluations. We should schedule developmental conversations at least three to four times a year. Annual evaluations are like autopsies. They tell us what went wrong, but by the time you have the conversation you can’t change anything. Regular coaching conversations can be transformative. They can change the present and future for the employee and the organization.
Accessibility
We need to ensure we are accessible to those we lead. We must create opportunities for connection through meaningful conversations. The best way to do this is by scheduling 1:1 meetings on a weekly basis. These meetings should be prioritized and become a part of the culture of your organization and the basis for your transformative leadership relationships. Gallup research reveals that 80% of employees who report receiving meaningful feedback in the past week are engaged in their work. Sadly, only 16% of those asked report that their last conversation was meaningful. What does a meaningful conversation look like? A meaningful conversation has four components:
- Provides recognition and appreciation for recent work
- Focuses on collaboration and relationship building
- Clarifies goals and priorities
- Identifies barriers to performance and creates strategies to mitigate them
- Connects work assignments to the strengths of the employee
Calibration
Much like the wheels of our car must be aligned on a regular basis so we stay in our lane on the highway, employees require regular calibration to stay on track with priorities and goals.
Effective calibration occurs through critical conversation, not criticism. Criticism is about blame, shame, and finding fault. Critical conversations are about analysis of current projects. Questions relevant to this conversation include:
- Is the employee honoring commitments and meeting expectations?
- If not, find out why.
- Do commitments or expectations need to be modified or restated?
- Is the employee demonstrating competencies with the necessary skills for current work?
Calibration also entails correction. Based on the answers to the questions above, there may need to be informal (e.g letter of expectation or letter of concern) or formal (e.g. written warning, letter of reprimand, etc) discipline. Correction may also need to occur if there are policy or procedure violations. Corrective action should be documented (regardless of whether there is informal action or formal disciplinary action, and the documentation should include the following pieces of information:
- Details about violation of policy and procedure. (What, when, how)
- What happened as a result of the violation.(e.g. Safety issues, production failure, customer dissatisfaction)
- What the expectations are for the future.
- What will happen if violations occur in the future.
Humility
Transformational leaders who seek to influence those around them have the emotional maturity to display humility. Leaders must allow other voices to be at the table and others to be the expert. The leader shouldn’t always have be the smartest person in the room. Leaders must acknowledge that they need other people to achieve success. They can’t do it alone.
Finally, leaders must be willing to admit mistakes. When they mess up, they must fess up. Notice that I said “when”. It’s a fact that leaders make mistakes and at times demonstrate poor judgment.
Vulnerability helps to build trust. Trust is a must for authentic relationships.
Relationships are the key that unlocks influence!.
This kind of R.E.A.C.H. leadership will put the focus of your leadership on the growth and transformation of your people. When your people transform your organization will transform. Getting this right will create the kind of culture and environment that policies and procedures alone can’t produce.