What's in a leader?
Gerri King, Ph.D.

The dictionary says that "to lead means to show the way." If that's the case, every one of us is a leader.

Take, for example, a parent showing his or her child how to ride a bike, a factory worker showing a new employee how to do a job, a teacher helping students understand math, a child pulling another child by the hand to a secret spot on the beach, or your attempt to convince a friend to go to your favorite restaurant.

As we all have so much practical experience, leading ought to be easy.

But we are finding that it isn't. At least that's the word we get from our consultants in the field. Training leaders is big business these days; as a matter of fact, weÕve set up leadership courses in some the newer corporate universities. "Leadership for the New Century" has always been a hot topic in my speaking engagements, and I see leadership discussed on the internet and in business magazines several times a day.

I believe that being a leader requires having a vision (the ability to anticipate or have foresight). The parent wants her or his child to know how to ride that bike because it means freedom and an ability to go places and see new things. It gives the child a way to socialize and to feel part of a mobile society. It means building confidence and experiencing a sense of accomplishment.

If s/he feels strongly enough about the vision, and is able to clearly articulate it, the child will not only learn how to ride the bike, but will also know what it is to work hard and reach a goal.

What's so different about having a vision regarding your work environment, or about where your team is headed, or about the way your company or organization provides its products or services?

Being a leader doesn't necessarily mean you're "in charge" of a group. But I do think it means that you’re willing to work hard to clearly articulate a vision for yourself that gives you purpose within that group, that motivates you to work toward that vision, and that helps create conditions that energize and inspire those around you.

Chances are, if your vision is clear and appealing, you may find others willingly following your lead.

Your client responds to your critique of her/his idea with
yet another logical, but in your mind incorrect explanation.

You want to straighten things out ... still without creating
hard feelings. What do you do?

Try this. "Oh... I see where you are coming from." What this does is acknowledge the logic coming from the other
person and then allows you to further explain why there is a higher or over-riding logic.

Tip: Goodwill is critical to ongoing relations. And so easy to lose with seemingly (unintentional) harsh criticism.

Be sensitive.

Recognize:

a) the other party may be right, and

b) no one likes to be criticized in a way that might feel personal.

Tough. But the thinking consultant knows and understands that above all tact and constructive analysis of the FACTs is was will convey your overall point. Do whatever is necessary to keep personal attacts or harsh critiques out of any business conversation.

Learn how to approach personal issues with clients that may be an issue to client success by scheduling to attend an Entrepenuers Training course sponsored by the GBBCC.

This phrase... "I may be missing something," can save you
from creating ill will with a client or prospect.

Here's how it works. Your client makes a recommendation you disagree with. You explain why you disagree. Now that's
likely (depending on your client's personality) to cause more disagreement, and possibly ill will.

Tip: Simply end your explanation with "I may be missing something." and you will find your client will either:

a) rethink their position and gives a new recommendation, or

b) help you understand their way of thinking or

c) engage you in helping to create a new idea and recommendation

and with no hard feelings.

We, as consultants, should most often be right... but certainly not always. By showing others our willingness to accept being wrong, we open up clients to accepting (or realizing) that they may be wrong or not well informed. More importantly, we must always create a forum for open, knowledgable, respectful and clear dialog with our clients.

More on right and wrong (the perception, that is) in future tips.

Five Tips for Running Effective Meetings

Long, unproductive meetings can result in lost revenue for your business, setbacks in project schedules, or can simply ruin your day by putting you off your schedule.

If you are responsible for facilitating a meeting, whether it be a small staff meeting, a committee meeting, or a meeting of a very large group, there are several strategies you can use to ensure your meeting will be productive and run smoothly.

1. Have a set agenda: The most important component of running an effective meeting is having a set agenda. “A set agenda allows attendees to stay focused and stay on purpose. “In order for the meeting to be productive, you have to start on time, play by the structured guidelines and end on time”

An agenda sets the goals of the meeting and can also be used to set the pace of the meeting and how much time is allotted for each item. It can be used as a tool to cut off discussion when it is time to move on to a new topic. Request agenda items and prioritize the agenda items prior to the meeting.

Most importantly, though, an agenda forces you to think about and prepare for the meeting in advance. “Don’t just wing it. “Your attendees can tell when you’ve come in unprepared, and being unprepared and disorganized fuels the potential for having an unproductive meeting.”

2. Know who is attending the meeting: The more familiar you are with who is attending the meeting and why they are attending, the better prepared you will be to facilitate the meeting and keep it moving forward. “Knowing their names can help you address them directly, either to involve them in conversation or to keep the conversation moving along. “Knowing why they are attending can alert you to what their concerns are and what items they are likely to be most interested in or passionate about.”

Encouraging your attendees to state why they are present at the start of a meeting is a good way to make introductions and to involve all attendees from the beginning. It should also be made clear that all attendees have the opportunity to participate.

3. Keep the conversation moving forward: In addition to adhering to a schedule set by an agenda, there are techniques that can be used to keep a conversation moving forward.

Whoever introduced the agenda item should speak first. “Starting clockwise left of the speaker each attendee can speak on the item or ‘pass.’ Opportunity for response, rebuttal or questions could happen on the next turn around the table.”

4. Prevent one person from dominating the conversation and involve those who are not contributing: There are several strategies that can be used* to keep the conversation from being dominated by one person. How you handle the situation will depend on your own style and comfort level.

You can be very direct and informal if you’re comfortable with that. Using people’s names and making eye contact can help hint to them that it’s time to move on, is one way. You can also use several techniques that involve just moving around the room. If someone is dominating the conversation and seems to have made their point, you can simply place a hand on their shoulder to indicate that it’s time for someone else to talk.

Other strategies include putting a time limit on participants’ comments or having attendees agree to abide to guidelines before the meeting.

“Introduce the written structured guidelines of DIM-WYT, Don’t Interrupt Me – Wait Your Turn”. “People interrupt for a variety of reasons. Whether they are impolite, disrespectful or merely enthusiastic, the results are the same: frustration abounds and the purpose of the meeting is sidetracked if not entirely derailed. Wait Your Turn indicates that everyone will have a chance to speak – in fact, everyone at the meeting is encouraged to participate. People who are normally reticent can have their say and everyone will stay focused on the issue under discussion.”

5. Make your enthusiasm contagious: Employees are often required to attend meetings they are not necessarily enthusiastic about. “The easiest way to get enthusiasm from your attendees, is to show your enthusiasm as the facilitator. You have to make your own excitement contagious.  Getting your participants excited about the meeting topic can help generate more ideas and results from your meeting.

Tips for More Successful Networking

Building relationships can be the key to boosting your company’s success to a new level. A strong networking strategy can maximize the value of your relationships and lead to new opportunities.

Professional business coach Karyne Henry said networking and forming connections is essential to a business’ success and should be approached strategically.

“Networking events are not about going and getting 30 business cards and putting them in your database. You should be strategic about your networking, aim to form lasting relationships, find out how you can help others achieve their goals, its not always just about the sale.”

Karyne says there are some key points to having a successful networking experience:

Form a strategy: Think ahead about your strategy before attending a networking event. If it is group networking, identify your target audience and determine how many people you would like to meet. Find out if there are any attendees you’d like to meet and identify people you know who could make an introduction. Karyne says aiming to meet five to six quality contacts/people at an event is a good goal, or possibly more, depending on the event, time and your personal business goals.

Build relationships: Utilize the networking event to try to get to know other people and understand if they are a good contact for you. Establish a relationship and ask permission to set up a follow-up appointment. “Be sure that you have a strong and succinct USP (unique selling proposition). When someone asks, ‘What do you do?’ keep your answer brief and to the point and then ask them questions. Go to networking events to build relationships not to sell.

Listen: The most important thing you can do while networking is to listen to the other person. “That’s the biggest gift you can give someone, to listen to them. I have an acronym that I give people: WAIT-Why Am I Talking.  Way too often, people think networking events are sales situations and they really aren’t. “If people would see that it’s more about listening to the other person rather than worrying about themselves so much, they would see opportunities to help each other. When you’re networking, sometimes the people you meet become your clients and sometimes they become links to other people. The more you take the time to understand how you can help somebody else, the more they’re going to want to help you as well.”

Help Others: Karyne says being genuinely interested in helping others when attending a networking event will present more opportunities for you. “My strategy is to clear my mind before I go in the room and tell myself that I am there to help other people, not to serve myself. I never have as good of results when I go in with the mindset of advancing my own business rather than the mindset of helping others”. “Everything that happens in your business is related to your mindset. If you go in with the idea that you’re out there to meet people, listen to them, learn about them and figure out whom to follow up with, it will serve you well.”

MEMBER QUESTION: I charge $3000 for a first time diagnostic one-day consultation visit to a client but I don't seem to get enough assignments and I get a lot of resistance when I say I charge $3000/day.  Any advice?

Sure. Let's "reposition" this completely.

First, don't quote these kinds of assignments, i.e. first-time visits to the client by the day. Look at what you most likely do (or should) for this "one-day" visit:

1. Talk to the client over the phone in advance to determine what the problems/issues are.

2. Then have the client send you information a couple of days/weeks in advance which you review and likely pose questions and request additional information.

3. Digest the acquired information and prepare some preliminary thoughts, recommendations and additional questions to present to the client (and possibly key staff).

4. As a result of your first visit and discussion you may need additional information, pose some new questions, re-prioritize, sort out client/staff reactions, come away with a wealth of new material, have ongoing e-mail phone contact and within a week or so present a formal report with recommendations.

5. Then make yourself available by e-mail/phone for follow-up questions for clarification.

6. Then you and the client can discuss whether you should go on monthly retainer... now that the client has seen the depth of your knowledge, your ability to deal with people and problems, and the likely results for the organization. It's the same "one-day assignment" with just a little on each side and probably what you were planning on doing anyway.

Note: Try packaging/including the expenses in your pricing vs. saying PLUS expenses (which is kind of scary to a first-time client... too open ended). Just say "There will be no charge for expenses for travel, materials, phone calls, or anything else."

Note: This is just one way to go on pricing services and we hope it will stimulate you.

If you wear many different hats – as we all do and have from time to time, tailor your communications (even your pictures) for the audience you are serving.  You can shortcut this a bit with "versions" and "cut and pasting"... with the key points, goals, education and strengths left in place while our coaching, training, speaking highlight, etc., paragraphs are inserted accordingly. This indicates Consistency with a catalog of Versatility. 

And above all…KNOW YOUR BUSINESS!!! I coach so many new clients and businesses that can not (when informally or formally asked) concisely summarize and project the purpose of their business (within 20 – 35 words). Then they wonder why people don’t have confidence in their abilities as a consultant or business owner. Memorize, digest and mantra your life and business mission, goals and result standards so when asked they are second nature. You will project with confidence and people will believe in you and the business that you stand for.