We regularly provide tips and advice about sales, management and coaching on our blog. How can you keep your customer satisfied? How do you get the most out of your team? You can contact us for such questions. Marshall Goldsmith, one of the world's best-known experts on leadership and... coaching, takes a different approach. We want to share his vision with you today.
Especially leaders must learn what they should NOT do.
Characteristic of Goldsmith is that he does not look for things you need to do to become successful as a leader. For example, he says: ''We spend a lot of time helping leaders learn what to do. We don't spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half of the leaders I have with don't need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.” In other words, Goldsmith suggests that we need to teach the leaders of the future what to stop doing, rather than emphasizing what to do. His tips can be found in an inspiring one presentation. We have developed our top 3 for you.
Always wanted to win
Managers and leaders want to win. This competitiveness is one of the reasons that make the difference between a great professional and an inspiring leader. So it is a strong feature, let there be no doubt about that. The conviction you need to win in discussions creates decisiveness, which is a positive development. Yet we often go too far. Many managers want to win anytime, anywhere. In every discussion, the conversation must go their way and ultimately there is little or no room for other opinions. The same applies to the commercial organization. There has to be a win. Every pitch, every conversation, every commercial opportunity. When this competitive drive is too great, it can have a paralyzing effect on the organization. Too much dominance of the leader also ensures that talented employees will not come out of their shell. Goldsmith's advice is: you should not always want to win. We must teach leaders to suppress their competitiveness from time to time.
Wanting to say something about everything
Leaders have the quality to make decisions. Crucial for every company. The importance of this quality is often underestimated in business. Fortunately or unfortunately, a decision provides clarity within an organization and creates room for development. Leaders make important decisions dozens of times a day. However, many managers and leaders are far too concerned with micro-management on a daily basis. They want to say something about everything. They want to, in well-known office jargon, 'do their pee on everything'. This regularly causes delays and delays in the business process in many companies. A leader should not be concerned with judging the color on the back of the business cards. This call applies to all leaders: stop micro-managing and reserve your decision-making skills for decisions that actually matter. Don't paralyze your organization by wanting to say something about everything.
Negativity
As a leader you often have an information advantage. You can estimate faster than your team members whether a particular project is possible or not. It is therefore tempting to quickly react negatively to initiatives or ideas within your organization. 'Let me explain why this isn't going to work', 'yes, but', these are well-known phrases and words in the vocabulary of many managers. And that's a shame. Although perhaps justified, such negativity is very demotivating for your team. Moreover, such words also indirectly say 'I am right and you are not'. Especially if this negative feedback is given when it was not actually asked for.
Which lessons from Goldsmith do you find most interesting? Or do you have your own lessons that you would like to share with us?