SLA Conference 2012 Transitioning to Leadership & Management Rebecca Jones Dysart & Jones Associates [email protected] 905.731.5836 SLA Annual Conference 2012
Jan 12, 2015
ì
SLA Conference 2012
Transitioning to Leadership & Management
Rebecca Jones Dysart & Jones Associates [email protected] 905.731.5836
SLA Annual Conference 2012
Focus for today
Transi'oning Role
Tendencies Planning Mo'va'ng Environment
What you will be tomorrow, you are becoming today.
Jim Clemmer
ì Form follows func'on
ì Roles dictate the skills required
ì Skills can only be learned through prac'ce
ì We will discuss skills
ì You will learn these on the job
New managers need to know:
ì How to assert themselves as leaders today when they were colleagues yesterday.
ì How to determine priori'es.
ì How to manage “up”.
ì That people come first…if staff isn’t on board, you will never succeed.
ì How to get the point across – now.
ì That the world will not end if they delegate.
ì That poli'cs are all about rela'onship building.
ì That balancing needs and expecta'ons with realis'c budgets can only be learned on the job.
ì That doing too much will ul'mately become too much.
From CEO’s & managers in a variety of settings.
Transition ToolKit
Managing & Leading
Role
Commun- ication
Motivating Environment
Learning
Planning
Politics
Some favourite sources:
u Harvard Business Review blog www.hbr.org
u Hill, Linda. Becoming a Manager. Harvard, 2003
u Sheldon, Brooke. Interpersonal Skills, Theory & PracQce
u Mintzberg & Gosling, “Five Minds of a Manager” HBR Nov 2003
u Managers Toolkit: The 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed.
Harvard, 2004.
u Watkins, Michael. The First 90 Days: CriQcal Success Strategies for
New Leaders. Harvard, 2003
u Ury, William. Power of a PosiQve No: How to say NO and SQll get to
YES
ì Role
Mintzberg on Managers’ Role
Self
Relationships
Organization Contexts
Change
ì
Role
Contexts
Rela'onships Tendencies
The First 90 Days
ì Personal disciplines: ì Plan to plan ì Defer commitment ì Schedule 'me for priority goals ì Go to the balcony to review
situa'on ì Use transparent processes ì Reflect on how you’re doing ì Take breaks ì Build & maintain rela'onships
Research by Michael Watkins
Furious ac*vity is no subs*tute
for understanding.
H.H Williams
Establish, impart & implement a vision & strategies that make your organiza'on indispensable
Create & maintain a produc've &
mo'va'ng work environment
Embrace ambiguity
Critical Skills
There -‐ simple enough?
As management
ì Your current role incorporates leadership, management & supervision
ì You do things with people, not to people
ì You work up, down, across & beyond the organiza'on
ì You are responsible for strategies, ini'a'ves & implementa'on
“Leaders do not sit in the stands and watch…….or subs*tute for the players. Leaders coach. They demonstrate what is important by how they spend their *me, by the priori*es on their agenda, by the ques*ons they ask, by the people they see, the places they go, and the behaviors and results that they recognize & reward.”
The Leadership Challenge
Kouzes & Posner
When new leaders falter it’s usually because they “concentrate on doing more of what they have done to succeed…they typically spend too little time cultivating
important relationships, especially with their bosses.”
Almost Ready: How Leaders Move Up, Harvard Business Review, January 2005
Your boss role?
Manage the management relationship
Don’t blame predecessors or the past No surprises for superiors Nego'ate – expecta'ons, 'me l i n e s , a p p r o a c h e s , resources
Regular, effec've interac'ons to understand their: ▫ Percep'on of the situa'on ▫ Style & strengths ▫ Preferred communica'on mode
Draa a situa'on analysis within first 3 weeks as discussion framework for goals & sebng expecta'ons
Tendencies
ì Understand how you see the world, and how the world tends to see you
ì Myers-‐Briggs ì Keirsey ì DISC ì Birkman ì Strengths-‐Finder
Context
To “lead” means to take a library, a unit, a program, a service or a project from where it is today to where it needs to be in the future to be or con'nue to be successful
The library or unit’s context is what is doing today, what is happening around it in its community & beyond, and what it wants to do tomorrow
• Be clear on where you are • Be clear on where you are headed • Be clear on the ‘influencing factors’ for the library & the unit • Keep the context in front of everyone
Establish the context
To “lead” means you want to go forward: ì decide where ì draa the framework ì determine the “givens” ì describe it in simple terms ì Involve the team -‐ their input, ideas & details ì make it real
Clarify:
ì What does your manager expect? ì What do they expect you to
“deliver” in 3 months? ì 6 months? 12 months?
ì How will they define success for you? What will success look like from their view point?
ì Planning
ì To plan anything effec'vely you must know: ì What you want ì What you’ve got ì Barriers and accelera'on points that may impact your journey
between the two states
ì Formally & consciously let go of what you were doing and the professional or func'onal exper'se you relied on
ì “Promote yourself”
ì Mentally move yourself from colleague or individual contributor to agenda seger
ì Develop or re-‐develop rela'onships with boss(es), colleagues and staff
Successful moves are
planned
Start by clarifying your role
1. Iden'fy the differences between your old and new posi'ons:
2. Iden'fy the similari'es between your old and new posi'ons:
And how you will fulfill & succeed in that role
3. What strengths and skills have made you successful in the past?
4. Which of these strengths and skills can you con'nue to draw on?
5. What skills do you need to develop?
Your individual plan
What do you need to
stop doing? What do you need to
continue?
What do you need to start doing?
Smart plans rely on smart goals
SMART goals: ì Specific ì Measurable ì Acceptable ì Realis'c ì Timed
Must be written
Establishing Goals: be smart
“By July 20th, iden*fy the 4 cri*cal issues impac*ng the group that need to be addressed before year end.”
“By August, develop a plan for implemen*ng group collabora*on tools in business development”
“By November, 100% of staff will have received training in the collabora*on tools”
Focus on the goal
ì Most common error of new leaders is failure to focus
ì Focus on 2 or 3 cri'cal areas
ì Iden'fy wins that: ì Enable you to learn about the
func'on or group ì Build credibility for both you and
the group ì Mager to management ì Are doable in the culture
Goals are decisions
Discipline means choices. Every *me you say yes to a goal or objec*ve, you say no to many more.
Sybil Stanton
Establishing goals
ì What are your goals for the next 6 – 12 months? ì Refer back to worksheet #1; if there are skills you need to develop,
include them in your goal-‐sebng
Goal
What will be in place then, that isn’t in place
today?
Measures What will success look
like?
Target Date Steps
ì Politics
"The art of bringing people together to get the right things done.”
Donna Scheeder, Deputy CIO Congressional Research Service, former Director of Congressional Law Library, former Director of Congressional Research and Past-President of SLA
Successful politicking
ì Understand the process by which decisions are made and strategize appropriately.
Successful politics
ì Consider that political alliances are really coalitions
ì What coalitions does your boss have?
ì Identify the “sources of power” for and in the library: ì Expertise? ì Status? ì Control of resources? ($?
Rewards?)
Politicking
1. How well do you understand the politics of your parent organization (how decisions are made, how things “get done”)?
Politicking
2. Use the chart below to identify the key stakeholders for you and your organization (the organization for which you are responsible), and your current relationship with them
Name Don’t know them Know, but have never conversed
Know well and can approach at
any time
Politicking
4. What are the first 2 steps you can take to better understand and manage within your organization’s politics?
ì Motivating Environments
Start at the beginning
ì Most problems within organiza'ons are the result of people:
ì not understanding where they are going ì how their job fits ì what’s expected of them
ì Forget the 3 R’s; concentrate on the 3 C’s:
ì Context ì Communica'on ì Clarity
85/15 Rule
Context, Communication, Clarity
To link people & what they do to the {library} business strategy & vision requires connec*ng the dots for people. It means making sure that people understand how they can contribute, that they are able to contribute, that they have the right informa*on when they need it so they can contribute& that they’ll benefit from the results they produce.
The Leadership SoluQon, Jim Shaffer
Keep the windshield clean
Create a positive pull within the context
Your context sebng should address 4 things for your team: 1. Why they should want to be in your
organiza*on 2. Why customers should want to do
business with you 3. Why this is the most exci*ng
organiza*on to be connected with 4. What it “looks” like -‐ the details, as you
see them
Establish goals with team
ì Within your organiza'onal structure, work with staff to establish expecta'ons and their goals
ì Ensure their goals “support” achievement of your goals
ì Ensure your goals “support” achievement of the organiza'on’s goals (your manager’s goals)
Motivating environments rely on communication
What you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear a word you are saying. Samuel Johnson
What gets in the way?
ì History
ì Human nature ì Tendency is to try to understand the mo'ves, values & interpreta'ons
of those people we like
ì What happens if we don’t like the person?
ì Ask yourself: What must it be like for “x”, with their character & perspec*ves, to work
with or report to someone like me, with my character, drives & s*muli? “How to Mo*vate Your Problem People,”
by Nigel Nicholson in HBR January 2003, pp 57+
Motivating environments
Start with you
What are your strengths or energizers?
How does your job capitalize on these strengths?
What rewards are meaningful for you?
What’s the best way to coach you or provide you with feedback?
Motivating environments
Now talk with those you for whom you are responsible:
What are their strengths, talents & energizers?
How does – or how can their job capitalize on these?
What rewards are meaningful for them?
What’s the best way to coach them or provide them with feedback?
ì Delegating
Why aren’t we delegating?
Power
Training
Growth
Why delegate?
Reviewing your tasks & 'me allotment for the past 5 days:
1. Are there areas where you need to delegate more?
2. Are there areas where you need to involve others more?
Delegation: the process 1. What are you going to delegate?
ì What’s the “deliverable”? ì What’s it include/not include? ì What’s the authority level? ì What are the expecta'ons? Your expecta'ons? ì What skills & knowledge are required?
3. Based on skills & knowledge required, who will you delegate this to? Why?
Delegation: the process
3. How will you discuss the assignment with the individual, and why you are assigning it to them?
4. Develop an outline of the assignment together (use the framework ques'ons 1 – 2); use your ac've listening and paraphrasing skills – checking for understanding of the end result, parameters, authority.
5. Agree to check-‐in points at which you will coach the employee. Emphasize that the employee can come to you or others for help. Express confidence.
6. Inform others that the individual will be learning the assignment & responsible from here on in.
Transition ToolKit
Managing & Leading
Role
Commun- ication
Motivating Environment
Learning
Planning
Politics
Managing yourself
When a you make a decision or take a key ac'on, write down what you expect will happen (what success will look like), and keep going back to it – in 3, 6, 9 months – to measure where you are
ì Adapted from Peter Drucker, “Managing Oneself” Harvard Business Review, January 2005, p 102
ì
Keep a Red Sheet and a Green Sheet
Know your preferences, motivational needs, stressors & values
★
NOT URGENT URGENT
IMP
OR
TAN
T N
OT
IMP
OR
TAN
T Priori'es
Moving forward
1. What will success look like for me in 12 months?
2. What personal disciplines or skills do I need to develop to ensure I do what I can to work towards that success?
You are all leaders
The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.
Peter Drucker, 1993
You are people who know how to ask, and how to learn.
You are the leaders of the future.
Rebecca Jones
Let me know how you are doing!
Rebecca Jones Dysart & Jones Associates 32 Apple Orchard Path
Thornhill, Ontario, CA L3T 3B6 905/731-‐5836 Fax: 905/731-‐5411