Do Your Employees Know What is Expected of Them?

As a new manager, or someone jumping into a new role with direct reports, do those that now work for you know

• What to deliver to you to keep you up to date on what they are doing?
• When and how to raise issues to you?
• What they are measured on for performance feedback/raises/promotions?

Even if you have been leading your team for a long time, would each one of them be able to tell you that they know exactly what you expect of them? Probably not, and unfortunately, this is fairly common in business for a number of reasons, including:

• There is too much to do and you don't carve out time to set appropriate expectations
• The business goals or their role has changed, but expectations have not
• There aren't clear expectations at your level or higher that you can map back to your organization
• Annual performance reviews aren't the norm

To ensure your team is norming and performing in a direction you need to take them, setting expectations is key to getting the job done. Here are some tips to ensure you set clear, measurable expectations to make progress, versus, expectations to check off the to do list.

1. Have Report Take First Stab at Documenting Expectations
Let your team be in control of their destiny, and help you understand where your team is coming from, before laying down the goals you expect.

2. Map Corporate, Business Unit and Your Expectations to Your Reports
How do you plan to meet your expectations if your reports aren't in some form of alignment to help you meet your goals? Areas typically mapped include

• Quality
• Revenue/Amount Produced
• Cost Control
• Responsiveness

3. What Are Your Reports Expecting of You?
Make sure you know what they expect of you in case you need to change anything you do or convince them of something different.

4. Behaviour
Related to responsiveness, set expectations on returning emails and phone calls, being at meetings, and ettiquette on things like email.

5. Review Often
Sometimes once a year isn't enough if you are noticing issues early in the year. Have informal reviews when needed and "tweak" - expectations though a solid foundation for measuring a person's performance, can be modified through the year.

6. Set the Example
Do what you expect of your team. Otherwise you'll be the "pot calling the kettle black".

Surround Yourself with Connectors

No not technology, silly!

People who like to help connect others.

When was the last time someone at a networking event or meeting offered to connect you with someone?

When was the last time YOU offered to connect someone?

Find groups and venues where connectors thrive!

Does Character Mean More Than Experience in Obtaining a Leadership Role?

In sifting through my Google filter on leadership and public speaking postings today, a letter to the editor about our next great presidential race got me thinking

"What will help you reach a dream leadership role faster: your experience, or, your character?"

Having both helps to seal the deal. But, how do you get "there" when you don't have the experience?

For example, I've noticed that people hiring a new leader, say VP of some division, may not hire someone who was VP of that type of division at another company (maybe due to the price tag of hiring someone away from a great job), but instead a manager or director who is aspiring to be in that role and has the character to fill the VP shoes with a bit more elbow grease.

From this perspective, is your character at work and in your professional networks outside of the office positioning you for that next career move? Here are some things to think about to ensure your character glows so that you are ready to seize the next opportunity that comes by, so you don't miss it.

1. What Do You Mean By "Character"?
What is meant here are the characteristics you display to others that make who you are you from the perspective of leading others. You most likely have a number of wonderful characteristics and a few, you or others may perceive, as negative traits that make up your overall character.

Many have written about "what characteristics make up a great leader" and I boil these down to the following:

• Honesty
• Passion
• Discipline
• Courage
• Competence
• Creativity
• Visionary
• Inspriational

2. Are You In Touch With Your Positive and Negative Leadership Traits?
Out of the above set of leadership characteristics, which do you feel you are great at, and, which do you believe others see you being great at?

3. Are You Wearing Your Traits On Your Sleeve?
Even though you believe you are great at say 6 leadership characteristics, what if your colleagues only see you flex your muscle at 3 of them? Find opportunities to show how you glow in all areas - how others perceive you are as a leader is only via how they observe you.

4. Turn A Negative Into a Positive
Is there a trait you believe you are weak at? Find 2-3 things you could over the next month to improve that trait and show others you are good in that area. Weave it into your routine somewhere such that you get to show that trait to others once a month.

5. Keep A List of Leadership Traits With You At All Times
Many of us have little tools to remind us of things we should weave into our day - why not post a leadership character list next to your computer at the office as a conscienous reminder that your peers and team are always looking up to you?

Engineer to Leader Series: Does It Make Financial Sense?

In the last week I've had a number of people ask "who do you want to meet", and, in all honesty, I was very flattered to have others helping me in connecting with others I believe I can help in achieving their dreams. Of course that got me to think, out of a plethora of people reading my blog and know me, who is my target audience?

Engineers, who else! But not engineers who want to just be an engineer any more - those that strive to lead a group of engineers, or build the next Microsoft.

Hence, I introduce the "Engineer to Leader" series, which will soon be followed with a few offerings to coach and guide an engineer's first time being a manager or entrepreneur. Think of it as having an outside confidant you can go to when you don't know what to do, yet don't want those that work with you not know what you don't know.

So what do I mean by "does it make financial sense?" I've noticed with new managers who think they have the next best idea since sliced bread and jump into building the idea, or believe they should send the whole team to cutting edge training in Europe - did they think through their budget, priorities and business case before jumping in?

As a manager, here are the top 5 financial things you need to do or get access to to help you make better decisions for the people you lead in spending that next dollar or investing that next minute:

1. What's your spend budget for the year (outside of salary/benies for your team) and do you have to ask/justify using it to your boss before spending?

2. Are you a cost or profit center?

3. What are your financial goals for the year? (both your division's all the way up to corporate)

4. Is your budget restricted in any way - i.e. up to x% or $y can be used for overhead travel?

5. For opportunities to build a new product or gain a new skill, what is the business case for this investment (i.e. I spend X today but will generate Y revenue in 1,3,5 years?)

We'll talk more about determining what to "invest" in (because it is more than just spending money) in a future post.

So, are you on target to stay on budget for 2008?

Re-use, Re-use, Re-use - Did I Say Re-use?

I love to get infront of clients and help them understand the value and break down the complexity of my world of technology - which on the surface looks to be a bunch of hype, acronyms and other mumbo jumbo, but really does add value and make sense once someone breaks it down logically.

In doing this often, and I guess well, I have become a "go to" for the sales and business development teams to have me come in and speak in front of prospects as an SME on what we do and how my technology world fits into the bigger picture. Unfortunately, I am sometimes called in last minute for these presentations and only have 2-3 business days to prep.

So how do you ensure you aren't creating every presentation from scratch and scrambling to get an impactful presentation delivered in a way that keeps your credibility, and invitations to speak at more events, up?

Build a master, re-usable deck for your business/area of expertise. How? Read on for a few tips to make this reality.

Make it Professional
As I work with more and more colleagues, one word continues to be re-iterated to me on the delivery - "professional". What does that mean? First, it means I deliver a powerful message that quickly communicates

• Why Am I Here?
• What Do I/We Do That Would Be Of Interest To You?
• What Is The Value Of What I/We Deliver?
• Showing You How Others In Similar Situations Have Gained Value From What We Do
• Next Steps And/Or Closing Business Case

Second, it also means the presentation is polished and consistent. No grammatical errors. Text aligned. Polished graphics vs. clip art. Little to no bullets.

Intro Grabbers
Do you have one or more sets of slides that are "intro grabbers"? For example, I walk through a few slides that explains a "what if" - starting with the complex, chaotic world many of our clients are in today but then walk them through a "what if" we started from ground zero differently and how would that look to change their world.

I've also seen other intro grabbers like "what's in a number" to get people trying to guess what the "2" means on your slide, to many other tid bits and snippets to set up the conversation. These can often be entertaining, or, cause an emotion in the audience to want to listen to more of what you have to say.

If anything, your intro grabber needs to represent you, and is often your first, and only shot, to build instant credibility with a new audience in a matter of seconds.

Generic Agenda
If you think back through the last few presentations you have done, they have probably been similar in flow with some tweaks to the key messages and content for the audience you are talking to. Have it be your general agenda/framework you use for all your presentations and tweak along the way.

Get a Graphic Designer for Key Slides with Changeable Text
Don't use clip art. You most likely have some impactful messages you need to get across, and wouldn't you want the right image that fits your style and message? No matter if you are in a large, small or serve as an independent consultant, you should have a presentation style guide with a consistent font, background and color template to use such that if you need to get a new graphic designer to help they stay consistent within the bounds you already created. Ideally your presentations should have a similar look and feel to other marketing collateral, including your web site.

Testimonials & Case Studies
People already love what you have done for them, don't they? Capture all your testimonials and case studies as you complete projects, not months later in the 9th hour. You can always add new case studies and then select the 2-3 relevant ones to deliver during your next presentation.

Time to Customize - Do Your Homework
In your flow of slides and graphics, you should have slides that you can "customize" to who you are delivering to. So when your graphic designer leaves you their work, you should be able to modify and move around the graphics if needed so you aren't having to pay $$/hour for someone else to do what you can do (and again, what you are probably doing at midnight).

What should you look to customize?

• Information on your client's environment - in my case its the names of different applications they have inhouse. Or, it could be how their organization is structured.
• Facts and figures on your client and/or the city/state they are in - for example local laws, current news and other related local topics. One speaker notes that she goes to the U.S. Census Bureau Web site for demographic information to weave into her conversations.

You never know when you finally get that break to be in front of 5000+ people or be invited to a major executive level conversation to present. So, get your "master deck" together now so you aren't scrambling in the 9th hour when the opportunity arises to deliver.

Of course you can't do this alone - you need someone outside of yourself to test the messaging and most likely a graphic design to add some shine. I am fortunate at the day gig to have a wonderful marketing director who coaches me on the messaging. She has a graphic designer that then helps ensure the presentation is polished and professional graphicly.

Do you need assistance with your next presentation? Give me a shout if you do!

Top 10 Speaker Faux Pas to Avoid

In Lisa Braithwaite's recent blog post, Lisa highlight a few "no nos" for speakers. I've incorporated her list into my "Top 10 Speaker Faux Pas to Avoid":

1. Fidget

2. Reveal You Made a Mistake

3. Read the Slides

4. Deliver in Monotone

5. Mumble

6. "Like...like....um..um..like...um....."

7. Go Over Your Alloted Time

8. Lack Energy

9. Stare Off Into Space

10. Keep The Bluetooth IN Your Ear!

Leadership Program Examples from the World

After reading an article this morning on a wonderful leadership initiative in Namibia, Africa, I thought I'd do a quick review of some exiciting leadership programs and initiatives from around the world.

Namibia Provides Leadership Training to School Principals
It's a train the trainer program on vision, empowering and building strong teams with ways to build and improve the skills of teachers involved.

South Eastern Europe EU Leadership Programme
A "boot camp" of sorts to engage young professionals in being leaders in the South Eastern Europe region.

Asia Young Leaders in Governance Initiative
What I found interesting with this program is that it not only has a focus on building "leadership skills" (systems of thinking for transformational change, conflict resolution, negotiation, team building, cross-cultural communication), but also "leadership values" (gender, anti-corruption, people's rights).

Central America Leadership Initiative
Yet another great initiative, and again, with a focus on "value based leadership" in terms of how one would define a "good society" to live within. What is exciting about this program is that fellows leave with a project to tangibly impact the Central American region.

I hope these inspire you to think globally, create opportunities to build great leaders and to continue to look around the world for ideas.

Any concepts from these inspirational world examples you could apply to impact your ocean?