Why Change Is Feared?

Most people fear change because they do not feel in control of the situation. They fear the unknown that would come with the change. They fear the negative outcomes of such change. When companies introduce changes, they fear that such changes would not suit their career growth plans, inconvenience their style of work, or worse it would mean loss of their jobs.

Change is normally perceived as a negative, one that would create trouble rather than help. People most of all fear they lack competence to face the changed environment.

How Good Leadership Skills Can Help?

A leader would need to be sensitive to the fear and acknowledge it as normal. Ignoring it, undermining it or ridiculing it would not help; it would make it worse. It takes enormous skill to take your employees along with you when change is required.  Some of the critical steps that facilitate this process are:

Reality check about the company/ business – if you want your team to respond to change with the same fervor as you do, they need to understand why it is necessary. Good leadership skills require you to translate the ground reality to the whole team. They should know and internalize the fact that unless change is introduced, the company’s growth will be hampered.

Participatory approach to change – the overall vision for the direction of change would come from the management of the company in most cases and because of this often employees feel left out and out of control. A good leader would ensure that there is a considerable amount of participatory interaction takes place before change is introduced whenever possible.

One to one counseling – before change in introduced a good leader would try to counsel people who would bear the greater brunt of the change. Where the company is very large, the managers or team leaders would first be counseled.  They would then feel empowered enough to counsel those who work under their command.

Good Leadership Is the Best Role Model Of Change

Change is inevitable in the growth of a company. When the economic conditions are volatile change may become the best tool for survival. Hence, good leadership skills are of utmost importance to ensure that employees stop fearing change and focus on taking the business forward.

Leaders are constantly dealing with problems inside and outside the company as well. When it comes to internal problems there are 5 critical problems that all leaders have to face at one time or other during their lifetime all tied to good communication skills in the workplace. Their ability to overcome these challenges is what separates ‘leaders’ from ‘great leaders’.

Leaders are constantly dealing with problems inside and outside the company as well. When it comes to internal problems there are 5 critical problems that all leaders have to face at one time or other during their lifetime all tied to good communication skills in the workplace. Their ability to overcome these challenges is what separates ‘leaders’ from ‘great leaders’.

• Managing a diversely skilled team – no matter how good the recruiting system is, a leader will always face the challenge of managing a diverse team. A poor leader  may get overwhelmed if the diversity is too wide. On the other hand, a great leader will have communication skills designed especially to bind every worker and understand how to manage this diverse team.

• Binding and facilitating team work – one of the greatest challenges with leaders today is coordinating work with teams. People prefer to work on an individual basis and not share the credit for success with anyone else, leaving team members not bound as a team but as individual contributors.  A great leader, with good communication skills would be able to guide and inspire them to work as a team.

• Inertia towards change – technology today demands that you change continuously if you want to stay in the leading position. You need to not only change to keep pace with the ever evolving technology, but also you need to anticipate it. Unless the leader is able to fight the inertia of his team with good communication skills the company will die a slow but sure death. A good leader is able to inspire his team to want to achieve more, to do more, to welcome and face change with enthusiasm.

• Connecting the employees with the vision of the company – in most companies the production level goes down over time because the employees move away from the vision and mission of the company. As the leader with good communication skills, you should be able to keep the vision and mission alive in the minds of the employees through participatory management and decision making.

Promoting a culture of trust and transparency – A culture of trust, mutual respect and transparency are some of the key factors that can be achieved with good communication skills in the workplace. In most companies, with time the culture becomes vitiated with mistrust and craftiness to promote individual interests.

What do you say about Donald Trump? Or Bill Gates? Or Oprah Winfrey? Or Warren Buffet? Or Steve Jobs? Or Mahatma Gandhi? Or Mother Theresa? They each have a brand of their own. When you speak their name aloud, you draw a definite picture in the mind of the listener; a picture that describes that person’s strengths, charisma, gifts, and beliefs.

This is what leadership in business really means. First of all, a leader worth his salt will build his own personal and very unique brand. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Why Building A Personal Brand Is Important?

When you build a personal brand as a leader, you are broadcasting a larger than life message – this message is, “I know  who I am”. This is one of the most powerful beliefs that all leaders project. This is what attracts followers to these leaders; the inspire trust and dependability.

This is the real acid test for leadership is are able to translate their beliefs into actions with the full conviction that they can do whatever they put their mind to. The benefits of developing a personal unique brand are many, but the top three are:

1. You attract the best possible platforms for work – businesses are always looking for people who can lead. What better proof that you have mastered leadership in business than projecting your own unique brand image?

1. You can attract best talent to work with you – when you are recognized as an outstanding leader, high talented people would make it their privilege to work with you. You can have your pick from among the best brains in your field.

1. Your innovations/ products would enjoy a head start - whatever you do would be considered good quality unless proved otherwise. The rule of the market is to consider a product or service with doubt until it earns its place in the market. When your brand is recognized the market is more eager to embrace you and you gain a huge advantage over your competition.

Since the proof of the pudding is in eating it, it is worth the time to build your brand. If you want successful leadership in business you have to build your unique brand, for without it what leader are you?

When you are faced with the task of keeping your business profitable in challenging economic conditions, the first and last thing you need to do in think out of the box. Leadership in business means you think and behave as a leader. Others should look up to you for their survival and growth.

Here are a few things that would not only keep you afloat, but also ensure you make profits where others stagnate or close down.

1. Be a Path Breaker – following the crowd will not help you at this time, most business leaders panic and go into hibernation mode. Hence you should provide leadership through innovation and calculated risk taking plans. Innovative thinking does not mean spending more, but spending wisely.
2. Retain and Tempt the Best Brains/ Hands in the Industry – recessions may be terrible for most; but not for you. Leadership in business means you see opportunity in every difficulty. Here, you can seize the opportunity to tempt into your employment some of the best talent available. When other companies fire their employees to stay afloat, you use the opportunity to get the best talent on board.
3. Connect With And Reassure Your Customers – your customers will be confused and worried. They are seeing business going under every day. Let them know that you are as strong as ever and that you are counting on them as they count on you. Do not stop communicating with your customer through any and all possible means you have. Leadership in business means knowing what your priorities are – and connection with your customers should be one of your top priorities.
4. Develop a Unique Approach – this may not be the right time for launching new products or services, but this is the best time for developing unique and innovative approaches in delivery and promotion of your products/ services. Leadership in business means a high and innate ability to adapt. Just like evolution helps survival of life forms, adaptation helps business survive and even grow in tough economic conditions.
5. Make coalitions/ build strategic partnerships – it is true that there is strength in numbers. Leadership in business means that you know when to build your strength with new partnerships or coalitions. Seek out business that complement yours and work out arrangements that will ensure growth for both.

1. Change the internal culture – a good leader will know that when things go wrong in a company, the first thing consideration is to change the internal culture. Stop people from saying ‘This is the way we do things around here’ and get them to ask, ‘Okay; we understand there is a problem. What needs to be done to bring about a solution?’

2. Leadership as a tool for participatory approach – a good leader will use his best communication skills to temper the sense of urgency with that of hope and guide the employees to seek solutions and face realty without aggravating the crisis.

3. Neutralize the denial and resistance to change – one of the most challenging tasks of good leadership skills, which will control the decline of a company, is to neutralize the internal denial about how bad things are in reality. Unless this is combated employees would tend to look away rather than look out for solutions. Out of fear and anxiety they will avoid the realty and refuse efforts to ameliorate the situation.

4. Help people gain a realistic assessment of their strengths and weaknesses – at times when the company is sliding, employees will be afraid to submit to appraisal or self-appraisals. They likely will be afraid to accept they have any (professional) weaknesses lest that would invite the ‘pink slip’. With good leadership skills, the leader would be able to encourage this self-assessment not as a fault finder, but as a tool for identifying areas where additional inputs would strengthen the company’s human resource assets.

5. Highlight the positive but do not underplay the negative – paint the correct picture to the employees and team members without causing panic and anxiety. This requires excellent communication skills to charge the employees to move towards positive change while at the same being aware of the weaknesses they have.

6. Empowers and encourages the employees –A good leader would find ways to motivate his team and empower them to deliver at their best of their ability.

7. Show empathy – a good leader does not demand change; he shows empathy. This does not mean they would accept complacency; it means that they understand how difficult it is to face the challenge of change and help them to overcome their fears and shortcomings.

Good leadership skills, hence does not mean only superlative communication skills, but also the ability of charting a new course while using the same crew to navigate the ship through it.

1. Be accessible – your company should have a phone number or customer service counter where your customer can talk to a person from your company. It is not enough to have a toll-free number on your product, or an email where ‘our customer service team will get in touch with you shortly’. Your customer has the right to talk with you, in person. Good leadership skills demand that you are accessible.

2. Be courteous – no matter how unreasonable the customer sounds, you need to be courteous. Good leadership skills will have you be courteous no matter what; the angry customer will remember the courtesy extended after the anger is gone, and will return to you.

3. Act now – never tell the customer you cannot do anything about it. You always have to reassure the customer that his satisfaction is paramount for you. Take immediate action on the complaint received; ask what he wants from you. Very often the customer is quite reasonable in his demand.

4. Be helpful – often the customer’s complaints is about small things, such as a broken pin, a tiny flaw, a malfunction. Go out of your way to comply with the requirement of your customer. Very often, the customer realizes that you are doing your best and will be grateful for it. This is what good customer service and leadership is all about.

5. Go the extra mile – it is always a great feeling when you go with a complaint and you come with a valuable freebie in the form of a product or service. Your customer will always remember and recommend you when you take the trouble to go the extra mile.

6. Listen when you customer complains – the common trend is that you try to convince the customer that you are right; or worse that you have nothing to do with the problem on hand. Don’t! Stop. Good leadership skills demand that you listen to what the customer says. Let him tell you what brought about the dissatisfaction about the product/ service. Try and understand his point of view and do your best to see him satisfied.

1.  Are You A Master in Your Field? Good communication skills in the workplace and elsewhere can happen only when you know what you have to offer like the back of your hand. Without  a complete grasp on the subject you will not be able to talk in depth and hence cannot win the respect of your employees or customers. To be a leader, you need to be master in your field; a total expert.
2.  .Are You Leading By Example? Let us say the company suffers a set-back. What do you do? Reduce your workforce, or take a pay-cut and demand that others do the same until the company weathers out the storm? Leading by example is one of the best ways to win the respect of your employees and even outside world.  A good leader is always an example to his employees and partners.
3.  A good leader makes few promises; but when he does, he keeps them. Rule number one to build good communication is trust. Without trust good communication cannot exist; and without good communication, the business cannot exist. This is also a key trait of business leadership; especially when negotiating with other companies and customers.
4.  A good leader values people more than profits. It does not matter if you have good communication skills or not; if you put profits before people, you will soon have nothing to boast about. On the other hand, when you put people before profits, success will just pour in. One of the key traits of leadership is the ability to put people above all; especially above profits.
5.  A good leader manages time for his family and ensures that every employee does that too – good communication skills in the workplace does not mean you convince your employees to work, work, and more work. On the contrary, a good leader would ensure that he spends enough time with the family; and that each employee under his command does the same as well. Unless work and family matters are balanced, no company can really succeed.

© 2011 Incedo Group, LLC

How Do You Build Trust With Your Boss?

1.  Do not lie about anything – while a white lie is forgivable here and there; you should never lie about serious matters.  It is always better to own up to a mistake than cover up for it; for no matter how much you try, the lie will be exposed sooner than later and when this happens, your boss will never trust you again; neither will your co-workers.
2.    Be loyal to your company – if you are a valuable employee, you will definitely attract invitations to join other companies; other companies may approach you to find out about things in your company. If you feel you need to leave to promote your career, by all means do so. But good leadership skills demand that you never bad mouth your company or your boss in this process. These types of things get around and you will be branded as an untrustworthy person.
3. Be dependable – your boss should be able to depend on you for any given task. He should be able to count on you to bring any given task to its logical end. Dependability is one of the key good leadership skills that you need to develop.
4. Ability to admit mistakes – you should be able to admit your failures. Your boss will appreciate, respect and definitely trust you if he knows that you are a person who owns up when he commits a blunder. Good leadership skills demands that you honest.
5. Are completely transparent in your work dealings –be completely transparent in your work dealings with team members, those you manage, customers and superiors. Transparency and a willingness to share information is seen as a positive attribute that enhances the feeling of trust at work place.
6.  Are accountable – when you take a task, you take full responsibility for its success or failure. You do not skirt the issues, blame obstacles or quote problems; neither will you pass on the buck. Good leadership skills means you know what your duty is, and you never play down your responsibility.
7. Show respect – good leadership skills will have you show respect not only to your superiors, but also your team members and those you manage. Showing respect to all – and not only to those from whom you expect something – indicates strength of character and earns everyone’s trust and respect.

A good manager never behaves as a dictator – leadership in business requires that there is mutual respect between the boss and employees. No employee worth his salt would like to work in an office where the boss just barks orders around. In such a scenario, the good ones will leave the company and he will retain only those who have nowhere to go.

A good manager never runs down his employees in public – no matter what the provocation is, a good manager will never berate an employee in public. This is the fastest way to alienate your team; besides, it is suicidal for the leader for the employees end up despising him.

A good manager never encourages ‘yes’ men – while leadership is likely to bring in a certain amount of cohesiveness and assent on various matters, it is important that the manager creates and maintains an atmosphere where people can voice disagreement without fear. If he has only ‘yes men’ around, he is doomed, and so is the company.

A good manager never loses sight of the fact that the company exists for the customer – just because you are the boss, does not mean that everything should be about you. It is actually about the customer and this is where the focus should always be. When he forgets  this very important fact he fails in the most basic skills of leadership in business.

A good manager is an example to his employees – leadership in business is all about doing things right; leading by example. The end does not excuse the means, as it is often believed. A good manager will always respect the law and ensure that others do the same. Whether it is marketing or customer relations, a good manager shows integrity and by doing so expects it from each and every employee under his command.

A good manager would not allow their egos to rule – leadership in business demands a certain amount of self-assurance and even a whiff of arrogance for you are aiming to be at the top of ladder; the pinnacle of your niche. But if egos take over, that would be the end of the story.

What Happens When Trust Is Not There?

Nothing positive happens. No amount of charisma or communication skills can coax an optimal performance out of the work team. Without trust they will perform in various degrees of competency, depending upon what motivates them – fear for job loss, monetary rewards, etc.

Without trust there would be no innovations, no going out the extra mile, no working without strict supervision. In such cases, personal gain supersedes organizational gain and integrity is often compromised. The mistrust culture can be deeply de-motivate employee performance resulting is chaos, low productivity and loss.

Without trust everyone is on his own, and this means there would be no team work, no compensating for colleagues short-comings, no volunteering assistance, no success.

Trust Can Lead An Organization To Dizzying Heights Of Glory

Good leadership would ensure that you promote and enhance four aspects that are based solely on trust, i.e. integrity, intention, capability and result.

When we talk about integrity, you start by example. Communication skills  are nothing unless they are backed up by delivery on promises. If you value integrity, you build a culture of integrity and mutual trust; one where value are upheld and promoted.

By intention, it means that whenever you propose a deal you offer a win-win equation. This is the basis of achieving heights of leadership in business – the belief that behind every push towards success you as a leader are fighting for your own goals as much as for each team member’s.

Trust can enhance employee’s capabilities. When a leader says and shows trust on the employee’s capabilities, he will be motivated to go that extra mile so his leader would not suffer for the trust he placed on him. By making it a habit of going the extra mile, the leader through his trust, keeps motivating employee performance to the next level.

When all the above are put together, of course the results would be good. In the end that is what good leadership skills is all about. Hence, trust is indeed a leadership skill – one of the most vital.