Leadership Solutions Newsletter Jan 2010

Chambers Consulting Group, Ltd.

Leadership Solutions eZine

Volume 3 Issue 4

March 2010

Deborah Chambers Chima

Being Open to Being Vulnerable

Dear Friend,

It can be intimidating when you don't know what is going to happen from one day to the next. In today's era of turbulent and constant change, this feeling of not being in control is very real to many people. You show up to work wondering if you will be on the chopping block with the next group of job cuts. Or you may be struggling with the frustration of not understanding what your boss wants from you since the message keeps changing. You might be a business owner barely hanging on to all you have worked so hard for. If I am describing your deepest thoughts, I would like to encourage you to shift your thinking about the situation.

Here is a reality check: When times get tough, leaders understand that in order to ensure they thrive and not just survive the current turbulence, you must learn to become comfortable being a little vulnerable. Wait; don't panic. I did not say just stand still and let whatever happens, just happen. Being open to being vulnerable means recognizing that you only have control over a few things during times of change.

Your reality is that you can only control two things. You control your thoughts and your response to any given situation or person. That's it. You are vulnerable to everything else. You simply don't have control over it. Learn to become comfortable with this shift and you will be amazed at how your results will improve. How? Placing a laser focus on what you can control will catapult you to the top. So what are you waiting for? Get back to work with a sense of purpose. There is still time to get in control of your destiny!

If you would like to have a 30 minute complimentary call to discuss your next plan of action, please contact me.

Leadership Solutions - Coaching

Leadership Solutions Coaching Corner

Each month we will ask a relevant question and provide coaching tips you can consider to solve the featured challenge.

Let's explore Part II of the need for leaders to always have a keen "Awareness of Self & Others" as one of the key elements of the Leadership Solutions A-C-Sｩ Coaching Model.

The Leadership Solutions A-C-S Coaching Modelｩ consists of three main components and their subsets which are:

Awareness - Understanding yourself and others and the environment to effectively solve business challenges

Awareness of Self & Others (Behaviors)
Awareness of the Environment

Communication - Developing the skills needed to create greater collaboration

Communication Skills that Invite Collaboration
Communication of Your Vision

Support - Learning to build a support base that is focused on your career and business success

Support Framework for Career and Business Success
Support Strategies to Embrace Change

Question of the Month

Why is it important to determine how your leadership brand is being perceived?

First let's define the term "leadership brand". Your leadership brand is what people think of when they think of your impact to the team, department, committee or organization. Through your brand, you are either viewed as a strategic partner who contributes to the success of everyone, or you are viewed as the type of leader that is "all about me" as you seek opportunities to make yourself look good. Note that in both cases you can still be viewed as a leader. The question now becomes what type of leader are you?

The best leadership brand perception others can have of you is as someone who understands how to provide "just in time" value to others.

Coaching Moment:

Gaining awareness of how you are perceived is the insight you need to take your leadership brand to the next level of engagement. You will never know what is missing from your leadership message, if you never take the time to find out how effective your current brand is.

Here is the Challenge:

It often seems so much easier to keep doing what you are doing and never take the time to determine how effective you really are. After all, you must be doing something right because people keep bringing you their problems and asking for your help. If you fall into this mindset, you are only operating at the first level of leadership. Today's reality requires leaders who can go beyond basic problem solving. The leader of choice for the future also needs to be known as having the skills to help others avoid or minimize the problem in the future. Can you see a problem coming and through your leadership skills prevent it from occurring or minimize the impact?

The more awareness you have of the gap between how you are currently perceived, and how you need to be perceived as a leader during these challenging times, is worth the effort.

As business challenges become more difficult to stay ahead of, you have an opportunity to truly stand out in the crowd.

Awareness of your leadership brand is a necessary element you must quickly master in order to get to your next level of performance. If you desire to learn more about this dynamic, contact me to set up a complimentary 30-minute coaching consultation by phone.

Next month we will explore Part III of "Awareness of Self & Others" (Behaviors) Leadership Solutions A-C-Sｩ Coaching Model, so stay tuned.

Call to Action

What steps will you take to improve awareness of your non-productive behaviors in the next 30 days?

Remember, the goal is to determine any gaps in the way you want to be perceived as a leader. Feel free to contact me for a complimentary conversation on how you can show up stronger in this area.

In This Issue

A Note from Deborah Chambers Chima, CMP

Leadership Solutions Coaching Corner

Mastering Collaboration: The Art of Inviting Others In

Mastering Collaboration: The Art of Inviting Others In

"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet."

‾ Theodore M. Hesburgh

Striving to be more collaborative is hard work. What makes it so difficult is the requirement to involve others in order for an environment of collaboration to exist. When you work alone, you only have yourself to blame if things don't go as planned. You also get to shine in all the glory when things go well.

A leader who desires to be collaborative understands you must be open to letting others speak their mind about your vision, your ideas, and your thoughts. A collaborative leader must be willing to lay their vision down on the chopping block and allow others to thoroughly inspect it, rearrange it, and sometimes completely redo it. Collaborative leaders must be open to the reality that you don't have all the answers.

By being open to allowing others in for the purpose of collaboration, you now have an even greater opportunity to bring forth the best idea, concept, or product. As a result, you now have a greater opportunity to make a big impact within the desired environment. So how good are you at inviting others to the table of collaboration with you?