Posts Tagged ‘delegating effectively’
3 Steps to Scaling Your Leadership for Results March 29 2012 no responses
What are you holding on to that you need to let go of? That’s a question I ask a lot when I’m working with leaders who need to get different results. These days just about every leader needs to get different results on a continuous basis. When was the last time you even heard the phrase that “someone is resting on their laurels?” It’s an anachronism. In today’s world, the idea that a leader would rest on their laurels and still expect to be the leader is just silly. There is a constant expectation for new and better results.
To do this, leaders have to learn how to scale. You can’t scale if you’re holding on to things you need to let go of. To get the new results that are expected, you have to pick up on the things that only you can do as the leader. To create the bandwidth to do those things, you have to let go of a lot of the things you’ve been holding on to.
Here’s a simple, three step way to figure out what you need to pick up and what you need to let go of. It’s based on a Coachable Moment called “The 20/80 Analysis” from my book, “The Next Level.”
Is Being the “Go-To Person” Holding You Back? January 31 2012 no responses
A big part of my work as a coach involves working with high-potential leaders in workshops, keynotes and webinars. One of my favorite questions to ask these audiences is, “How many of you think of yourselves or have been referred to by others as the ‘go-to person?’ ” Usually, about every hand in the room goes up. I asked that question as a flash poll in a webinar recently, and 98% of the 400-plus managers and executives on the line affirmed that they are the go-to people.
It’s not surprising, really. Most people who end up in leadership roles have built a reputation for being go-to people.
So what’s wrong with that? Nothing at all when you’re on your way up. Being the person who’s known for getting stuff done is a great way to build your reputation and career. Chances are, though, that you’re eventually going to reach the point at which operating as the go-to person is simply no longer sustainable. The scope of work gets too broad and complex for one go-to person to take things over and heroically save the day.
To grow as a leader, you have to let go of being the go-to person and pick up the profile of being the person who builds a team of go-to people.
“I Wouldn’t Want to Be You” October 24 2011 no responses
Several months ago, I was in a coaching conversation with a “go to person” leader about the results of her 360 degree feedback from colleagues. Her highest rated behaviors were a strong mix of items that focus on getting results and items that focus on building relationships. In my experience, leaders who have high scores in both of those broad areas – results and relationships – are the ones who are very effective over the long run. They get stuff done without leaving a lot of damaged people in their wake.
So far, so good. Then we turned our attention to her lowest rated behaviors. As is the case with most “go to people”, her lowest rated behaviors were a combination of items related to pacing herself, balancing her priorities, giving her team space to execute and achieving results through others rather than by herself. When I asked her what her take was on the mix of results, she said something I hadn’t heard before.
She said, “I’m afraid that the people on my team are looking at me and saying, ‘I wouldn’t want to be you.’”
Scott Eblin is an executive coach, speaker and author of 
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