How To Get Promoted

How To Get Promoted – are you doing well in your present role but feel ready for the next step up? Even in this tough economic climate some people are still managing to get promotion. But how do you make yourself part of that élite group?  Today over on our sister site we have a two post series on how to get that precious promtion.  Here is a link to Part 1 – link

Wendy Smith is a career consultant, life coach and business coach with depth of experience in organisational development, management, coaching and personal development. That experience means she is equally at home helping clients find a new career direction, starting-up new businesses or dealing with life’s more challenging personal issues. You can contact her at wendy@wisewolfcoaching.com Wendy has written a little eBook on how to get on with your boss and a book on job search - you can find all her books on Amazon at this link          

What Is Leadership?

What Is Leadership?

This is an extract from a good piece from Kevin Kruse on the Forbes website

"Such a simple question, and yet it continues to vex popular consultants and lay people alike. I’ve now written several books on leadership for employee engagement, and yet it occurred to me that I never actually paused to define leadership. Let’s start with what leadership is not…"

You can read the rest at this link http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/
Wendy Mason  is a Career Coach and Life Coach helping you to solve difficult problems at work and at home
wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com 
http://wisewolfcoaching.com
UK: +44 (0) 2081239146
US: +1 262 317 9016
Mobile: +44 (0) 7867681439 IM: wendymason14 (Skype)

Leadership Quotes for Tuesday

Leadership Quotes for Tuesday

• I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. —Ralph Nader
• Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes. —Peter Drucker
• Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. —Publilius Syrus
• A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together. —Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
• The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. —Theodore Roosevelt
• Leadership is influence. —John C. Maxwell
• You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case. —Ken Kesey
• When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out. —Napoleon Bonaparte
• Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. —Harry S. Truman
• People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. —John Maxwell
• So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work. —Peter Drucker
• The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes. —Tony Blair
• The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet. —Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

Wendy Mason  is a Career Coach and Life Coach helping you to solve difficult problems at work and at home
wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com 
http://wisewolfcoaching.com
UK: +44 (0) 2081239146
US: +1 262 317 9016
Mobile: +44 (0) 7867681439 IM: wendymason14 (Skype)

The Leadership Cartoon - Something To Think About

The Leadership Cartoon - Something To Think About

Wendy Mason  is a Career Coach and Life Coach helping you to solve difficult problems at work and at home
wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com 
http://wisewolfcoaching.com
UK: +44 (0) 2081239146
US: +1 262 317 9016
Mobile: +44 (0) 7867681439 IM: wendymason14 (Skype)

When you are “over-qualified” for the job

I have a new post over on WiseWolf Talking with advice for those who are making a decision to apply for work at a different level. This can be a career choice or simply a response to a long term job search. Whatever the reason there is a right way to do it. Find advice at the link below.
If you are thinking about coaching, and we coaches really can add value to your job search, I would love to talk to you.

Warm regards

Wendy
wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com
http://wisewolfcoaching.com
UK: +44 (0) 2081239146
US: +1 262 317 9016
Mobile: +44 (0) 7867681439 IM: wendymason14 (Skype)

When you are "over-qualified" for the job http://wisewolftalking.com/2014/05/19/when-you-are-over-qualified-for-the-job/

Motivational Leadership by Example | Switch and Shift

Motivational Leadership by Example | Switch and Shift

A useful post from the Switch and Shift website

"Would you consider yourself a leader, manager, or both?  In most cases, managers consider themselves leaders, but do you think your team members would agree with you?  Pat Owings, the Co-Founder of Inbound Marketing Agents, advises managers to challenge their current perspective on leadership skills by asking themselves, “If you asked your team to take the hill, would they because it is the right thing to do or because you are the boss and they want to keep their job?” The key to being a successful leader is leading by example and motivating your employees at the same time, inspiring them to follow.... 

You can read the rest of the post at this link Motivational Leadership by Example | Switch and Shift

Job Search:Time To Be Passionate

On WiseWolf Talking, the WiseWolf Coaching blog, today; a post about the importance of passion in job search.

"Having and showing passion and the energy associated with it is attractive. It makes you more interesting to employers and to the world at large."

You can read more at this link http://wisewolftalking.com/2014/05/09/job-searchtime-to-be-passionate/

Wendy Mason  is a Career Coach and Life Coach helping you to solve difficult problems at work and at home
wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com 
http://wisewolfcoaching.com

Leadership: Finding The Vision

We know that a leader is someone with vision, as well as the drive, determination and commitment to achieve that vision.

So, in order to lead, the leader needs a vision.  The leader has to perceive that something needs to be fixed or a goal needs to be reached. That “something” may not be recognized by others or it may be so challenging that no one else has the courage and confidence to tackle it. But it becomes the focus of the leader’s attention. The leader can imagine what the world will be like when the goal is reached or the problem solved. The leader can see it in bright colors.  That means they can set out on the path towards it with eyes clearly focused on the goal.  

The clear vision in bright colors in the leader’s mind is key to success. But the vision does not have to be one with all the detail filled in. Generally good leaders are not focused on details. What the leader needs is the ability to see the big picture. Leaders have open minds and feel comfortable asking open questions about that bigger picture. They know the detail will be filled in on the way.

Leadership and developing a vision requires creativity. And creativity is there somewhere inside each one of us. You may have to work quite hard to find it, of course. But it is there. If you don’t think you are creative, then go out of your way to do something new, go to new places and meet new people. You may be surprised by the new ides that spring up in your mind as a result.

Remember, it is finding the vision which stirs the passion, the inner sense of drive and the commitment that is required to be a leader.  

Wendy Mason  is a Career Coach and Life Coach helping you to solve difficult problems at work and at home
wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com 
http://wisewolfcoaching.com

Top Cat is Away – Will the Mice Play?

 

 “I always find going on holiday an incredibly stressful experience. Not the trip itself, but finding the right time to go. There’s always something going on at work that you feel like you ought to be there for, or you worry about someone else being away at the same time, or… Well, ok, some of them are probably just feeble excuses for the fact that you just don’t want to leave your baby all on its own. But it is hard to find a good time.”

Do you recognise these words? Spoken or unspoken is this how you feel each year?

Most families take a holiday of some kind during the summer. But I’ve known leaders who don’t really join in.

Yes, the body is there but where is the mind? Oh yes, they leave the office for a week or so. They may even visit their villa abroad or a nice five star hotelsomewhere. But access to a phone service and good wifi are a priority and, back at base, they know to expect a call from the boss at least twice a day.

I wonder if these “supermen” (it does tend to be men) know how silly the blackberry and the laptop look when used on a sun bed. But, of course, they are much too senior for anyone to tell them. Do you know the fable of the emperor’s new clothes?

I’m not talking here about the poor middle manager whose boss only agreed to a break, if they agreed to stay in touch. I’m taking about senior people who don’t feel they have a place in the world unless their work needs them.

In this day and age, it is a dangerous way to think, even if you are at the top of the tree. It is dangerous for you in an age of uncertainty and it throws up questions about your leadership style.

Flexible organisations that can cope with a changing economic climate require distributed leadership. If a change happens locally, you need your local managers to feel empowered to lead a response from where they are without reference to you; you need them to take quick, clever action!

Have you have established a meaningful vision and a broad strategy to achieve it? Do your people feel empowered to make good decisions?   Have you treated them decently? So, shouldn’t you be able to trust them to make good decisions on your behalf?

If you have pointed the ship in the right direction, shouldn’t they know how to keep it going?  Certainly over a one or two week break. Of course you need to be available for a real emergency.

That just leaves you with the problem of how to impress your fellow holiday makers round the pool, of course. But I’ll leave you to meditate on that one.

I am Wendy Mason. I work as a Personal Development Coach,

 Consultant and Writer.I have worked with many different kinds of people going through all kinds of personal and career change, particularly those

• looking for promotion or newly promoted,
• moving between Public and Private Sectors
• moving into retirement.

I am very good at helping you sort out what you want, overcome obstacles and handle change. I offer face to face, telephone and on-line coaching by email or Skype

Find out more at   http://personaldevelopmentcoaching.net/

Email me at wendymason@wisewolfconsulting.com or ring ++44(0)2084610114 or ++44(0)7867681439 to find out more. 

Related articles

• Five Myths of Leadership (thinkup.waldenu.edu)
• What kind of boss do you have? (techwag.com)

What is Personal Development?

    

What is personal development?

Personal development is a way that you can develop yourself; sometimes alone, sometimes with support from others.

Personal development can help you identity and develop your talents and potential.

You can improve your career opportunities, enhance the quality of your life and contribute to the realization of your dreams and aspirations.

What is Personal Development? Personal development includes;

• understanding yourself as an individual
• building your self-image and self-esteem
• developing strengths or talents
• improving your opportunities in the job market – your career
• identifying or improving your potential
• enhancing your quality of life and relationships
• improving health and social abilities
• fulfilling aspirations and dreams
• developing and carrying out personal development plans

What is Personal Development? Personal development enables you to;

• expect to succeed
• take risks and set challenging goals
• keep trying, if at first you don’t succeed
• manage emotions and fears when the going gets rough

Develop the Personal Development Mindset – find out more at this link

Putting a framework round leadership in the NHS

I’ve been looking at the NHS Leadership Website .  It is a very interesting site!

It includes the NHS Leadership Framework   which was announced on the 29^thJune 2011 having been commissioned apparently by the NHS Leadership Council. The framework has the rather super logo shown above.

Development has been informed by analysis of existing NHS leadership data and a review of contemporary leadership literature and best practice.   (I thought most of us stopped using the term “best practice” a while ago opting instead for the more realistic “good practice”. But apparently the NHS is still creating hostages to fortune in flagging up “best practice”.)

The framework sets out a remarkable model for distributed/shared leadership.   It  is made up of seven domains – “demonstrating personal qualities”, “working with others” etc. Within each domain there are four categories called elements.  For “demonstrating personal qualities”, for example, these are

•  Developing Self Awareness
• Managing Yourself
• Continuing Personal Development
• Acting with Integrity

Each of these elements is further divided into four descriptors. The descriptors are statements that describe the leadership behaviours, knowledge, skills or attitudes expected for each element.

In the example above “Developing Self Awareness” has these descriptors

• Recognise and articulate their own values and principles, understanding how these may differ from those of other individuals and groups
• Identify their own strengths and limitations, the impact of their behaviour on others, and the effect of stress on their own behaviour
• Identify their own emotions and prejudices and understand how these can affect their judgment and behaviour
• Obtain, analyse and act on feedback from a variety of sources.

The framework recognises that the opportunity to demonstrate leadership will differ depending on level and discipline.  The context in which competence can be achieved will become more complex and demanding with career progression.

So there are four stages demonstrated to help staff understand their progression and development as a leaders;  from local team to whole organization.

The NHS Leadership Framework is designed to enable staff to understand their progression as a leader and to support the NHS to foster and develop talent.   It is innovative and, as far as I know, original!  It deserves much wider recognition.

The framework has lots and lots of good things about it but, sadly, and probably,  very realistically, it does seem to have a clear political flavour.   As you read through it you cannot miss the emphasis on managing the NHS’s reputational risk.

For example, I looked at Leadership for Commissioning in which I have an interest and right up there was a course in handling the media with an emphasis on safeguarding the reputation of the NHS.   Sadly, I am sure this reflects the times and something of a siege mentality among NHS top managers.

For all that,  the framework includes lots good stuff too, for example,  it includes the following statement

“Competent leaders:

• Listen to others and recognise different perspectives
• Empathise and take into account the needs and feelings of others
• Communicate effectively with individuals and groups, and act as a positive role model
• Gain and maintain the trust and support of colleagues!”

This may be a bit of an aspiration, but isn’t this what we want really, not just for the NHS, but for all our leaders?

Anyway follow the links above and have a look at the framework for yourselves.  It would be very good to know what you think.

I am Wendy Mason. I work as a Personal Development Coach, Consultant and Writer.I have worked with many different kinds of people going through all kinds personal and career change, particularly those

• looking for promotion or newly promoted,
• moving between Public and Private Sectors
• moving into retirement.

I am very good at helping you sort out what you want, overcome obstacles and handle change and I would like to work with you! I offer face to face, telephone and on-line coaching by email or Skype Email me at wendymason@wisewolfconsulting.com or ring ++44(0)2084610114 or ++44(0)7867681439 to find out more or go to wendy-mason.com

 Related articles

• Becoming a Leader – Managing Your Own Energy (wisewolftalking.com)
• Are you a good leader? Time for a Mini- Stocktake! (wisewolftalking.com)
• Becoming a Leader Today – Manifesto for a Servant Leader(wisewolftalking.com)