“Mastering Leadership” by Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams
Mastering Leadership is one of the most comprehensive, and well-researched leadership books that I’ve read in years. Both Anderson and Adams do an amazing job of presenting their Universal Leadership Model, and then outlining leadership principles and practices that will increase a leaders’ effectiveness. I would highly recommend this book; however it’s not bedtime reading! It requires some focus thinking, highlighting, and notes in the margin.
“Your Brain at Work” by David Rock
![9780061771293_p0_v1_s118x184[1]](https://starquestgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/9780061771293_p0_v1_s118x1841.jpg)
David Rock’s book had been recommended a couple of years ago, and so I had a chance to finally pull it off my bookshelf and delve into his work. David outlines some fascinating research, does an outstanding job of taking hard science and applying it to the workplace through great storytelling. If you’re interested in learning more about how the brain works, I’d recommend this book.
An often forgotten best practice: “Starting with Why”
As organizations finalize their new year strategic planning, many are now shifting toward communicating and socializing their strategic direction so that their constituents not only “get it”, but are engaged, energized and inspired to take action.
Having worked with many clients in the practice area of change management, we have learned that many organizations miss the compelling “WHY” component. In other words, organizations launch into what we’re going to do and what we’re going to achieve, but do not include as part of the communication process why we’re asking you to change, why it’s important to be engaged, why we need you as part of the process, etc.
I recently came across a great book that reminded me of the importance of the WHY. Start with Why, by Simon Sinek, argues that we all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way – and it’s the complete opposite of what we all do. He refers to this powerful concept as The Golden Circle – and it provides a framework for building organizations, executing initiatives, and inspiring people to take action.
Any organization can explain what they do and how they do it. However, few are able to articulate why they exist. It is not about profit targets (those are results), or how we’re going to achieve our goals (those are strategies). The WHY is about communicating why your organization exists, why you do the things you do, why customers buy your products, and why your employees are loyal and proud to be associated with your organization. It seems intuitive which perhaps is why it’s often overlooked!
Starting with WHY works in big business and small business, in the nonprofit world and in politics. Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And the people who follow them do so because they want to, not because they have to.
Check out Sinek’s book. A great read over the holidays.
“Drive: The Surprising Trust About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink
![419tQKzU2jL._AC_US160_[1]](https://starquestgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/419tQKzU2jL._AC_US160_1.jpg)
This summer I had an opportunity to read a great book entitled, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. Pink’s book explores and debunks several myths about what drives human behavior, and hebuilds a strong case for why we as leaders and managers need to better understand what motivates people and not just rely on economic motivators.
For example one commonly held belief is that ifwe provide larger extrinsic incentives, then people will perform better. This belief turns out to be true for simple, mechanical tasks. However, itis not true when motivating people aroundcomplex tasks that demand more conceptual reasoning. His researchindicates thatperformance andoutcomes are largely driven byproviding people with autonomy, enabling them to be experts, and creating a sense of purpose. In other words, when thinking about motivating others we as leaders should ask ourselves 1)have we created an environment where people have autonomy; 2) are we enabling peopleto develop and master their skills; and 3)have we communicated a strong sense of purpose –or why we are doing what we’re doing.Pink’s findingsare simple, and powerful.
Learning to love your inbox
Take a look at your inbox right now. How many unread or unanswered emails are in there? If your answer leaves you feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone. But, your inbox holds more importance than you may think.
Experts say that in the next year, we will spend 30 to 40% of our workday addressing emails, and that today’s business professional receives and/or sends about 115 emails each day. No doubt that’s a lot to keep up with.
Let’s do the math: If each email takes on average about two minutes to either create or respond to, that turns out to be 230 minutes a day, or about four hours.
What we’ve heard from our clients is they’re working in their inboxes early in the morning, during lunch, before dinner, and right before bed. Some have said emails are like coffee – they’re both addictive! (For the record, we find coffee much more satisfying!)
There is some hope to the inbox inefficiency madness. Before you let your inbox start to manage you, learn how you can manage it.
Strategies for email efficiency
1. Empty your inbox daily – This has actually been the most challenging for me to implement because I like having everything in one searchable box. I think I know where everything is, but do I really? The problem is that this method increases the likelihood for missing an email that is important. I’ve adopted the two-minute rule that was discussed in David Allen’s book ‘Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.’
Allen suggests that the first thing you do is evaluate whether the email is actionable or not actionable. If the email is actionable, determine whether you can do it in two minutes or less. If so, do it immediately. If the action can be delegated to someone who can do it better, delegate it. If you anticipate it will take more than two minutes, move it to a processed inbox and come back to your emails later when you have time to process them.
If the email is not actionable, delete it or put it into a reference folder or folders. Although not recommended, I do have multiple “reference” folders created that include admin, clients, projects, etc. It’s a matter of preference and what will work for you.
2. Less is more – Be intentional about sending less, and receiving less emails. In the book ‘The Hamster Revolution: How to Manage Your Email Before it Manages You,’ authors Tim Burress and Ken Blanchard talk about how to deliberately pause before pushing the ‘reply all’ button and ask if the email needs to be sent to everyone on the original distribution list.
We continue to see a proliferation of “reply all” emails going out, and the interesting thing is that Burress’ research says that almost 80% of people say that others send too many ‘reply all’ emails, but when asked if they send too many only 13% fessed up to overusing the ‘reply all’ button. People don’t like doing it, but don’t think they’re guilty.
If you’re trying to send less with the goal of receiving less emails, think about who you’re sending the email to before you push the ‘reply all’ button.
3. Quality over quantity – Ever get those emails that ramble on and it takes two minutes to identify the reason for the email? With emails, being concise is key. People have short attention spans, so get to the point in the first paragraph. Another suggestion is to use the subject line to effectively communicate the purpose of the email. Connecting the subject line closely with the content/purpose of the email will make it more searchable should you have to go back into your process inboxes and/or reference folders.
There are a lot of best practices out there to work smarter. If you have any email management ideas that have worked well for you, we’d like to hear from you!