How do leaders excel in the basics – Intro to this 10 video “Excel in the Basics” series… (video transcript)
written by Wayne Brown
Hello and welcome to our latest program. This time we’re launching a new video series, focusing on the coming changes through technology and the need for immediate adoption of the basic Leadership skills required in our elevator-escalator global tribe.
In my article titled “10 Essential Leadership Skills for ’2019-20 – Our final opportunity to get the basics locked-in”, we state;
“The age of Industry 4.0 is upon us and with it comes Big data, IoT, quantum computing, AI, Internet 3.0, 5G, Augmented reality and more.
Individually each of these breakthroughs will and are already changing our lives. With the convergence of these game changing technologies, they will completely re-design the way we live and work in the near future. “
Therefore, if leaders are to maintain their edge and to stay abreast of these immense changes with the way our people think, behave and perform, we must have at the very least, a set of basic leadership skills firmly embedded in our DNA. And without trying to over dramatize the situation …
“There isn’t a lot of time remaining for each of us to prepare for this gravitational shift – it’s a digital quantum leap as such!”
Many leading experts (predominantly those creating the changes) are predicting that in less than 5 years from now we will be living and working entirely different from our norms of today.
For this reason we plan to follow up immediately after this “excel in the basics” program with a series that deep dives into many of the 10 basics we cover here.
So with all that in mind, let’s introduce those basics which we’ll cover in this program.
How do leaders excel in the basics?
We kick start the 10 topics with the most fundamental – an understanding of our place in the broader team…
As a leader we are surrounded by key stakeholder groups. Each with varying expectations that we must manage and support.
At the same time we also must be able to communicate effectively where we have limitations or can’t meet those expectations. x
As well my little robotic friend here, is going to be playing an increasingly prominent role in this future stakeholder landscape, so be careful not to exclude him from your thinking and planning.
In video 1, we’ll look closer at each of these stakeholder groups.
Topic 2 – Motivating your future team…
The topic of motivating your team is again at a pivotal point in history, with the potential for having 4 separate generations working together and under our leadership. It’s important therefore that we have a sound understanding about each groups personalities and behaviors in order to successfully motivate them.
Consequently in video 2, we start by looking at various motivational theories, applying those which are most applicable to each of these generations.
It’s a critically important aspect of being able to have your team working harmoniously and functioning at peak efficiency.
Probably not surprising by now, but technology is also providing new insights in this area of motivation and we’ll explore the latest research & findings to ensure you are up to date with your approach.
Topic 3 – Creative delegation techniques…
Armed with this behavioural awareness and an understanding on how best to motivate the team, it’s time to get a little creative.
In the past, this next step was about getting the basics right and focusing merely on prioritizing tasks, before effectively delegating these.
And whilst this will still be the main action required, it’s important as your team expands with new staff from the Millennials and iGen groups, to incorporate more creativity into the mix by providing less rigor and freedom for individual thought and innovation.
Maybe even some form of free time to work on activities of their choice.
So in video 3 we will cover the basics, but then venture into how you can realize this all important team and employee empowerment technique across generations.
Topic 4 – SMART rule & reward goals…
How many gamers do we have out there watching this video and working as young leaders? Chances are if you’re from the baby boomer or generation X groups you’re not a gamer?
But for many Millennials and iGen employees they have grown up with this phenonium and we’ll therefore utilize some of those basic drivers which make gaming so popular, when we start setting objectives for those delegated tasks.
The rules of engagement and buy-in have changed and require us to understand what makes this gaming evolution so attractive to the younger generations.
How can we learn from and leverage this knowledge to be equally enticing for the other 2 earlier generations. You will find we take a slightly different approach and structure from the traditional practices used today.
Hence in video 4 we’ll take today’s SMART acronym and twist it a little to allow objective setting to be used across generations in our workforce.
Topic 5 – Feedback strategies…
By the time you reach the 5th topic – “Feedback strategies”, you will have already laid the ground work for success.
First through understanding the numerous stakeholder groups and how to manage their expectations. From there we zoomed into today’s workforce, concentrating on our team.
- recognizing that we have potentially 4 generations operating together and determining each groups’ specific motivators,
- before getting creative with our task delegation and objective setting.
Armed with all of this preparation we ‘re ready to launch into delivering feedback – it can be the risky part of the whole process and unravel all of our hard work, but with the right planning and consideration it can also be highly rewarding and fruitful for both employee and you as the leader.
Interestingly all 4 generations are open and even seeking feedback provided you learn “how to”.
Topic 6 – Achievement reviews…
We sneak in an extra topic here, because this feedback item is so very critical.
Traditionally through our global HR practices, companies adopt a performance based culture, which means periodically as a leader you’ll need to conduct “employee assessments”.
During video 6 we explore an alternative approach which we believe enables you to tick the box for this assessment requirement, whilst at the same time creates a much more empowering and positive impact – we call our approach “Achievement Reviews”.
This change is more than simple word smithing to our terminology.
It enables you to turn a negative connotation on its head by telling your team you want to focus on what they have succeeded in during the last period.
Can you see the difference from the norm where we usually take the stero-typical approach and start our conversation with the “well done but….” dialogue. Hopefully our employees are intelligent and therefore they most likely understand this process is really about highlighting their weaknesses.
Our suggestion is simple yet powerful and focusing on the successes adds to your strength as a trusted leader. In most cases the employees will know the areas they need to improve anyway.
Topic 7 – Problem solving situations…
Regardless of what has been covered so far, problems and challenging situations are a fact of life and exist for all of us whether leading or not – at home, socially and at work. Whether on a personal level, whether with work colleagues or our boss and almost certainly with-in your immediate team.
Therefore arming yourself with the necessary knowledge and skills for defusing, mitigating and solution finding are fundamental requirements of every leader.
In video 7 we tap into the reasons why conflict arises and why becoming a problem solver is so powerful, by utilising some best practices available in business today.
Topic 8 – The necessity for Change…
As we reach the final 3 videos, our attention turns to current world events and the impact these are causing for business, employees and leaders.
Easing into the process, we discuss the current state of change in our work life – change based around the fear of falling behind our competitors has become the constant which drives our daily initiatives.
But these almost routine change projects are starting to feel the impact of the technology explosion with multiple advances converging and threatening to re-write the way we think about and conduct business.
It’s a fascinating time to be a leader and certainly not a time for loosing focus.
Join us in video 8 as we explore these new dynamic times and the Change mindset they require to keep us winning.
Topic 9 – Pitching value based strategies…
As mentioned at the very beginning communication skills have always been a driver for successful leadership, but with the boom in AI and robotics seemingly set to invade and disrupt every corner of enterprise, it has become even more strategically important.
It has become the leaders edge provider. Particularly value based communications which demonstrate the human element of business to your team.
With complex functions and tasks – robotics, AI, machine learning are starting to dominate and prevail, placing at risk, even making redundant, previous highly sort after professions such in health, finance and data analytics.
– in fact the more complex the deeper the likelihood of invasion.
Leaders therefore need to re-evaluate and re-skill.
I’m sure you’ve heard that before. Fortunately one area which at least for the short to medium term which seems secure is your value based strategies.
Topic 10 – Running with your game plan…
And now to the final topic in this series. Based on the ground work performed, together with the knowledge and skills established through the past 9 videos, its time to deliver on that game plan.
For this we provide a template which will support you to consolidate the wealth of information and adopt a step by step guide for now and future reference, helping ensure that you lock in the correct sequence of actions.
There’s an expression that follows the lines of – even the best laid plans are of no avail if you can’t bring the plan to implementation.
So in this video we will include a few proven techniques to help provide you with the confidence which allows you to experience that moment of truth through execution and set you up for leadership success.
Well that brings us to the end of our intro video covering the basic but critical 10 team skills at the heart of every leaders arsenal”.
We hope this has given you sufficient insights to what is coming and the desire to join us for this important leadership program – if so, please click the subscribe button to be automatically notified with each release.
