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Content of this Newsletter 0. Opinion 1. Leadership Coaching 2. Sales Management Coaching 3. Change Management Coaching 4. Career Coaching FURTHER NEWS * For upcoming seminars & events please visit: http://www.progressu.com.hk/ * For recent articles on Coaching please visit: http://www.progressu.com.hk/ * For recent articles on Leadership please visit: http://www.progressu.com.hk/ * For recent articles on Sales Management please visit: http://www.progressu.com.hk/ * For recent articles on Change Management please visit: http://www.progressu.com.hk/
Subscribe now to "Progress!" and get informed about the latest trends in Leadership, Change Management, Career Transition and Sales Management. To receive "Progress!", simply send a blank email to subscribe@progressu.com.hk
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Home > Resources > Progress! Newsletter > "Progress!" Issue No8 / September 04 "Progress!" (Progress-U Leadership & Coaching) - Issue No8 / September 04 Dear Progress! Reader, Recently I came across a very succinct definition of leadership:
To me, this quote from Dwight Eisenhower says exactly what good leadership is all about. Of course, it's much easier said than done. Ever since I was assigned to my first professional leadership position some 10 years ago when I became the head of a rather small export department, I have been trying to figure out how to be a good and successful leader. Like most other people who find themselves in their first leadership position, I had no formal training, and the only assistance available to me at that time came from my new boss, the director of the sales division. Even though I had a trustful relationship with this experienced manager, I was reluctant to frequently ask for his advise, probably because I was afraid of appearing incompetent. Hence, I tried to learn by trial and error-a painful and inefficient process. I did, however, learn from every mistake I made, but looking back, I must admit that the 'cost' was way too high. Over the years, with more of my own experiences and by extensive learning from other leaders and studying relevant literature, I managed to continuously improve my leadership skills. However, until a few weeks ago, I never fully understood why certain approaches seemed to work while others didn't. It was a bit like knowing that a radio requires electricity of a certain voltage but not knowing exactly how it works. I stumbled upon a valuable insight from a book that I started to read for completely different reasons. In fact, the book had almost nothing to do with leadership. "The Nurture Assumption" by Judith Rich Harris was written to question, well, the nurture assumption, or the assumption that the rearing style of parents (or other caretakers) greatly affects how children later turn out. Harris proves that this generally accepted belief could not be scientifically proven despite huge efforts during the past 50 years or so. She offers instead a theory she calls the 'group socialization theory' to explain what really influences children. She goes to great lengths to explain the importance of so-called 'groupness' and how it is created, how groups develop and how they can be influenced. Even though she focuses mostly on children groups, it is easy to see that the same principles can apply to adult groups as well. Once I understood these principles, I suddenly understood how and why good leadership works. In my upcoming newsletters you will read more about these principles and how they work in real situations. If you need the information earlier, contact me at Charlie.Lang@progressu.com.hk and we can discuss how I can help you to establish first-class leadership in your position or, even better, in all levels of your company. Yours sincerely, Charlie Lang
1. Leadership Coaching Part I Leadership can be found in many aspects of life. In families, when the mother leads the household; in clubs, when someone is ready to accept responsibility for a certain project; in groups of friends, when someone is able to unite the group towards a common target; in politics, when a party leader moves their members towards a paradigm shift; in sports, when a team coach supports his team to win a great title; and, of course, in corporations, when the department head manages to lead a team successfully through rough waters. This list is in no way complete, it only intends to highlight that leadership can make a difference in almost any aspect of life. Progress-U's mission is to help any organization open to positive change in reaching First-Class Leadership on all levels. To provide First-Class Leadership is a responsibility for any person ready to accept the responsibility to lead.
Overview of the Top 10 Leadership Competencies
Watch out for the 2nd part in our next issue of "Progress!" For more information related to Progress-U Leadership Coaching please visit http://www.progressu.com.hk/leadership.htm.
2. Sales Management
Coaching In my last sales seminar 2 weeks ago, I asked the audience to rate the image of sales people. The results were as expected. Without exception, the rating was way below average of other professions even though all seminar participants were sales managers or sales directors. In that vein, you can ask almost any CEO or business owner about the most important function in their company and you will probably get the answer 'sales', which is understandable because most companies could not exist if they didn't sell anything, be it a product or a service. Imagine that: one of the most important functions in a company has a low reputation in our society. And this is not specific to Hong Kong; the same image can be found almost everywhere. Why is that so? The answers to this question boil down to one point: lack of integrity. The common notion is that sales people, to be successful, try to trick potential buyers by not telling the whole truth, by exaggerating their positive points and by playing down potential problems. Unfortunately, this is true in many cases. Talking to sales people, you sometimes hear statements like "I would really like to be truthful to our potential buyers but being honest is penalized with losing the sale because the competition also does not tell the truth." That seems to make sense from the common perspective of the traditional sales approach. However, Progress-U's proven Innovative Sales Approach allows-no, requires-the sales person to be 100% honest and truthful. It is based on full integrity and leads to a true and unique partnership between buyers and sellers, whether the sales people are selling mobile phones or financial services. Progress-U teaches this new approach in 1- to 2-day public and in-house seminars and focuses on a shift in the belief system of the sales people. This approach is based on trustful relationships between vendors and buyers. Once basic trust is established (which can be achieved in a very short time, even in a few minutes), the seller coaches the buyer through his buying decision by asking the right questions in a structured manner. The most difficult part of this approach is for the seller to drop his own agenda during this buyer coaching process, i.e., to follow the NATO, or Not Attached To Outcome concept. As this concept is totally counter-intuitive and absolutely opposite to the traditional sales approach, intensive training with follow-up coaching of the sales persons is necessary. Also, because it would be too expensive to hire a coach for the follow-up
coaching of all sales team members, Progress-U focuses on a high-impact
coaching training of the sales management.
For more information related to the Progress-U Innovative Sales Management Program please visit http://www.progressu.com.hk/SalesDP.htm NOTE: Progress-U offers the Innovative Sales Management Program also as a tailor-made in-house package consisting of an initial 2-day training combined with executive assessments and follow-up coaching of the sales management. If you are interested in a presentation of this program, please contact us at innovative-sales-program@progressu.com.hk.
3. Change Management Coaching Part I: Introduction & The Group Establishment Process Introduction Top managers, entrepreneurs and other leaders are often faced with the fact that the organization they lead is - to put it mildly - not operating at its best possible performance. Analysis of the situation usually reveals that there are problems with motivation and morale, which decrease the performance. What are common approaches to fix this problem?
These measures may result in a slight improvement of the overall performance. However, these solutions only work on the symptoms and don't treat the root cause of the problem. 1. The Group Establishment Process It is important to understand how social groups are established and function. Every organization is a social group, often consisting of a number of social subgroups. A social subgroup is not necessarily identical with an organizational group (e.g., the accounting department). Social subgroups are established when a group of people (consisting of at least 3 persons) figure out that they have something in common that is important enough for them to keep in touch with each other. For example: Peter, an HR manager, and Tom and Cathleen, staff members of the accounting department next to Peter's office, play badminton in the same club. Tom is the Vice President at the badminton club. Almost naturally, these three people will create a group due to their common denominators: company and club. Of course, groups can be also created with a common denominator such as 'member of service department.' Depending on the size of the group and the binding forces between its group members, a split to smaller subgroups is possible. Research reveals that groups bigger than approximately 15 people are almost always subdivided into two or more informal subgroups. One of the most important lessons for every leader to learn is that a formal manager of a group is never (!) an actual member of the social group. This is based on the group members' perception of leaders and members. No matter how friendly you are with your team members, from their perspective you will always be separate from them due to your different rank and title in the organization. However, that does not mean that you have no influence on the group. In fact, a leader can perfectly influence a group to which she or he does not belong. For instance, a skillful teacher can greatly influence a school class (a social group) even though she is not a pupil.
NOTE: Progress-U Ltd. offers the Win Through Change! Program to assist corporations in their change process. For details visit http://www.progressu.com.hk/ChangeMP.htm
4. Career Coaching Coaches are an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to improve their performance. When an athlete feels he simply cannot run any faster, a coach will help to break through the barriers and lead the athlete on to even greater success. Similarly, when someone reaches a career impasse, a career coach can help move the person to a new level. Coaching is about helping people learn to excel. "Being a coach is like being a carriage, helping a person move from one place to another, faster than if the person walked by themselves," said executive coach and trainer Charlie Lang, a founding member of the Hong Kong Coaching Community. "Clients come to me because they want to get promoted or find a new job. Others feel stuck in the wrong career and want to consider other options. They all want to know what the best next step is," Mr Lang said. Career coaches work in partnership with their clients on these career issues, helping them to build enhanced self-awareness and direction, clarity of career and job-search goals and enhanced career management skills The first priority is often to work on defining career goals. Some coaches do this through discussion of an individual's work preferences, personality traits, interests and strengths. However Mr Lang prefers to use psychometric assessments. "These assessments are cost effective and they provide speedy results. It is important to help clients move forward quickly," he said. With goals in place, a coach will work with a client to develop an action plan, helping them to break large targets into manageable chunks. If the client is considering a career change, the action might include researching potential employers, enhancing interview skills, or exploring resources such as headhunters. Not all clients want to change careers. Some are simply struggling to move forward in their chosen field. In this case, a coach might explore ways of improving performance and satisfaction. "A sales person who finds it difficult to build rapport with customers is unlikely to perform well. But if he makes some small behavioral changes he will significantly improve his success and satisfaction," Mr Lang said. Another key role which coaches play is developing self-awareness by offering objective feedback. "When a client is self-aware, they can make choices about what action to take," Mr Lang said. He recently worked with a senior expatriate who got lots of interviews but was never offered a job. Through some careful probing, Mr Lang found the root cause of the problem. "She had a very direct style which was quite intimidating for the interviewers, who were male and Chinese. I was able to give her this feedback, enabling her to practice a softer style at interview." The efficacy of feedback depends on trust between coach and client, so choosing the right coach is vital. Those considering a coach should ask for referrals or select someone who is linked with a professional organization such as the Hong Kong Coaching Community. But there are no guarantees and what works for one client may not work for another. "Coaching is very personal; you need the right chemistry", Mr Lang said. Potential clients should also ensure a coach has the relevant background. "If the coach has never worked as a manager or recruiter, it is unlikely that he will fully understand the way recruiters think and be able to help their client effectively," Mr Lang said. When talking to a coach for the first time, clients should not be afraid to ask in-depth questions. "Ask them to describe the process and methods they will use to help you reach your goals. You should also ask for a free coaching session to see if you feel okay with their style." To obtain a successful outcome, clients must be willing to invest time and energy in the process. However they can negotiate the degree of input at the start. "Some clients can take on a lot; others have very little time to do extra work at home. I try to reach a compromise," Mr Lang said. Hourly rates can seem high, so a client should evaluate what they
want to achieve and what they are willing to invest to achieve this.
"Prices are relative and you may have to pay more for a really
good coach. But in the long run this can be the most cost-effective
strategy. You could use a cheap coach but you might never achieve
the results you want." For more information related to Progress-U's Career Coaching Programs, please visit http://www.progressu.com.hk/Career.htm.
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