Quality 4 of a Great Leader

Change is not a destination,

just as hope is not a strategy.

(Rudy Giuliani)

Let's now examine the fourth quality required by a great leader, as extracted from an article by Business Link.

Quality 4 - A great leader ensures the vision connects with Business Strategy and Operations.

Firstly, let's clarify what we mean by strategy - this is a master plan for achieving a major goal and operations are an organised action involving a number of people to deliver the strategy.

Senior management in any company need to have regular, probably monthly, meetings that focus only on strategy. While it is important to discuss short-term operational issues, strategy meetings should occur separately. In that way, each meeting has its own frequency, agenda, information system and participation.

If at all possible it would be advisable to have an administrator or "Strategy Officer" to coordinate these strategy meetings. They would not create strategy or operational tactics and have no authority or accountability for its execution. However, they would schedule the meetings, ensure the appropriate people show up at the meetings, they would attend and take notes at the meetings to ensure that the actions decided upon are carried out with the ultimate aim of coordinating strategy execution.

Strong leadership is both necessary and sufficient for successful strategy execution. No organisation can successfully execute strategy without proactive leadership overseeing its implementation.

Build on strong leadership with a systematic approach

Quality management systems could further support strategy execution. Set up systems which define and develop business processes and activities in order to meet the strategic objectives. Ensure that key processes and activities are effective and efficient, and that responsibilities for managing, evaluating and improving processes are clear. The involvement of people, ensure that employees understand their individual roles, and how they contribute to the strategy and ensure constraints such as skills gaps are plugged through development, training and knowledge sharing.

If you find this easier to achieve by working with me, then please get in touch with me through Nicholl Consultancy.

Until next time - be a successful leader!

Sharon

Leadership - Quality 3 - Vision

Let's now examine the third quality required by a great leader, as extracted from an article by Business Link.

People with sight see things as they are.

People with insight see things as they could be.

(Joseph P. Martino)

Quality 3 - A great leader defines a clear Vision for the business, and focuses the attention of everyone on it.

Establishing a clear company vision helps to ensure your business goes in the direction you want it to. It gives focus to management, employees, suppliers, collaborators and even customers. In essence, it defines a roadmap for where your business and its people are heading.

So how can you begin to define a vision? Strong awareness helps. It pays to know what's going on inside and outside your organisation, and have access to strong information and intelligence. This means using management, employees and other sources to inform and guide your thinking. But while others can inform and guide, they should not direct or dictate your vision. As a leader it is your job to look into the unknown and set a direction for the future as you see it.

Upon sound intelligence you can build an educated view of the future. According to leadership expert Warren Bennis, a vision needs to provide people with a "bridge to the future". In the first instance this means defining where you want to be one, three, five or ten years from now. From these points, leaders must 'reverse engineer' to provide specific, practical and achievable plans which detail the key steps required to realise the vision. Sometimes referred to as 'futurecasting'., the process of visualising and road-mapping the future is an important leadership role.

Warren Bennis stresses the importance of 'giving meaning' to a vision 'through communication'. There should be four components to a vision: "A compelling story, an image, it must be achievable and it has to be forward-looking". A vision could be described as part story, part plan. The story must be clear, compelling and easy to communicate, while the plan provides the specifics required to make it happen.

You might begin with impassioned speeches that articulate your vision, but be sure to follow up with practical steps which turn vision into reality; steps such as building specific goals into management, employee or supplier responsibilities or conducting regular management meetings and monitoring to ensure your vision is rigorously pursued.

More generally, look for opportunities to constantly 'give meaning' to your vision through strong communication and management. Tell your story of the future, then inspire, compel and enable others to follow your lead.

If you feel this would be easier for you to achieve whilst working with me, then please get in touch with Nicholl Consultancy, we would love to hear from you.

Until next time - be a visionary!

Sharon

Quality 2 required for great Leadership

Whenever you see a successful business,

somebody has made a courageous decision.

(Peter Drucker)

Today, we shall look at Quality 2 required for Leadership, which has been extracted from an article produced by Business Link which set out the qualities you need to be a great Leader.

Quality 2 - A great Leader makes quick but considered Decisions that balance facts, instinct and the opinions of others.

Decision-making should be quick, flexible and informal, says Martin Sorrell, CE at advertising firm WPP. "This is not to say the process shouldn't be rigorous: run the analyses, suck up all the data, and include some formal process as well". "The only way to avoid making mistakes is to avoid making decisions", adds Sorrell; "Instead, learn from mistakes and listen to feedback."

Randy Komisar, partner at Investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers suggests creating a balance sheet, "where everybody around the table is asked to list points on both sides". Rather than giving judgements, contributors first outline the good and bad points relating to a decision. Once done, participants share their opinions and discuss the decision based on objective insights and personal judgements. "By assembling everyone's insights rather than their conclusions, the discussion can focus on the biases and assumptions that lead to the opinions." Komisar adds: "Listen to the little voice ... it's great to see a leader who will echo the little voice in the back of the room that has a different point of view - and thereby change the complexion of the discussion".

Instinct is also important, "but only when four tests are met" says McKinsey of McKinsey & Company. The familiarity test asks whether we have the experience in similar situations, because: "If we have plenty of appropriate memories to scan, our judgement is likely to be sound". The feedback test, questions the availability of reliable feedback in past situations, and whether the right lessons were learnt. The measured-emotions test asks if a decision evokes highly charged emotions which can unbalance judgement. And the independence test asks if we are "likely to be influenced by any inappropriate personal interest or attachments?". "If a situation fails even one of these four tests, we need to strengthen the decision process", argues McKinsey.

If you would like to work with me to help you find the 'Great Leader' within you, then please contact me at Nicholl Consultancy.

Until next time - be successful!

Sharon

Leadership - The 7 Qualities you Need

Effective Leadership is not about making speeches or being liked;

Leadership is defined by results not attributes

(Peter Draper)

The following information has been extracted from an article produced by Business Link which I felt was well worth sharing.

A Great Leader .....

1. Has strong Awareness of what's going on, and uses good Judgement to determine what's important;

2. makes quick but considered Decisions that balance facts, instinct and the opinions of others;

3. defines a clear Vision for the business, and focuses the attention of everyone on it;

4. ensures the vision connects with business Strategy and Operations;

5. pursues, encourages and supports Innovation and positive change;

6. shows People why they are important to realising the company vision, enables people to achieve goals in providing support, training and freedom, and establishes trust;

7. pays attention to Improving oneself as a leader.

This article will give more depth to Quality 1, and during the coming months, we shall look into the other qualities.

Quality 1 - A great leader has strong Awareness of what's going on, and uses good Judgement to determine what's important.

Leaders make better decisions and define clearer visions if they have knowledge or perception of the pertinent situations or facts in a business context.

Situational awareness involves accessing knowledge on what's happening inside and outside of the organisation; from what's happening on the ground, to the opportunities and challenges that exist for management; and moreover, to the external opportunities and threats that are present in the marketplace such as economic conditions.

Leaders may not have time to study all these things and so must capitalise on strong and open lines of communication to inform them.

The task of improving awareness should be seen as an opportunity, not a chore. Being self-aware and accepting that you do not know everything is a vital admission for leaders to accept.

Good judgement is often said to be instinctive. Sometimes this is true but great leaders are likely to admit that over and above instinct, good judgement is a product of strong awareness, information and knowledge.

Importantly, this means that anyone - not just so-called natural leaders - can learn to improve their judgement and become a better leader. When it comes to decision-making or defining your vision, let your awareness inform your judgement.

Strong judgement is also independent rather than based on bias or emotion, so communication is again important; by consulting others you can build objective perspectives and form well-rounded conclusions.

You need to be confident in your own personal judgement, but also be aware of and value the perspectives and knowledge of others.

If you want to improve your Leadership Qualities, and would like to work with me alongside you, then please contact me at Nicholl Consultancy.

Until next time - enjoy great success!

Sharon

Marketing Meeting Checklist

"The sole purpose of marketing is to sell more to more people,

more often and at higher prices.

There is no other reason to do it."

Do you get nervous as the time draws close to having a marketing meeting with a potential client?

Do you worry that you will forget the most relevant points that could make the difference between success and failure?

Do you wish you had a template to hand, for how to conduct the marketing meeting?

Well, if the answer to any of these questions is 'yes' then read on...

Firstly, start with the end in mind - what exactly do you want to achieve from this meeting?

Once you have pre-planned your desired outcome ensure that everything you do or say within the meeting is leading you towards that outcome.

The best way to start your marketing pitch after the usual pleasantries, is to ask a few questions:

• What is their issue?
• What are their requirements?
• What are the implications for them if things don't change?

Then make a note of their answers, so you can refer back to it during the meeting. Particularly at the end when they are deciding whether to buy what you are offering or offer you the contact - eg; you mentioned earlier that the implications for you would be .......... if you don't make changes, what will those cost you on a daily basis?

One of the basic errors made, when people go into a marketing meeting is to assume they are the answer to your prayers and launch into what they are going to do for you, rather than asking what your issue is first - don't make that mistake.

I have always found the SCOTSMAN model very helpful - maybe because I am also married to one!

S = Solution

• Do we have a good solution to their problems? Obviously you do otherwise you wouldn't be having the meeting.

C = Competition

• What competition are we up against?
• Do they have a preferred supplier?
• What do they like about them x 3?
• What we do over and above that is ....

O = Originality

• Do we have anything unique that they need or that we can persuade them that they need?

T = Timescales

• For the decision
• For the implementation

S = Size

• Is the size of the sale big enough/too big?
• Does it demand too much effort for its size?
• Do we have the resources?

M = Money

• Is there a budget?
• Is it realistic?

A = Authority

• Are you talking to the decision makers?
• Do the decision-makers know there is a decision to be made?

N = Need

• Is there a real need for this project?
• Are they serious?
• Are they actually going to make a decision?

Then after you proved to them why you should be the one they offer the business to, don't forget to actually ask for the business. Say something like "I have really enjoyed our time together today and would really like to work with you in the future - when will you be making your decision?"

If however, you don't manage to persuade them to do business with you this time, then do ask for feedback as to why you weren't successful, because you will be able to incorporate the comments into your next pitch and each time you will be improving which is a good outcome in itself.

If you would like some coaching to help you prepare for your next marketing pitch or anything else to help you grow your business then do please get in touch with me at Nicholl Consultancy

I look forward to hearing from you!

Unti next time, I wish you success

Sharon

Your Personal Brand: It's all about Image

You can't judge a book by its cover

I read this article by Dr Joanna Martin of Shift Speaker Training and felt it was well worth sharing with you - I hope you agree.

When it comes to speaking, we like to think that what we say and how we say it is more important than what we look like and how people see us. . .

But the truth is that people do judge us by our appearance and by our offstage behaviour.

When you are portraying an image that fits in with your brand, you will have the audience in a place where they’re going to be very receptive to what it is that you’re talking about.

Your Brand: What Everything You Do Says About You

The most important thing in terms of making the right first impression is brand. How do you decide what your personal brand is going to be? Well, it takes a bit of research and it takes a bit of digging.

But here are some simple things that you can do first:

Personal Research

Research the brands that you are attracted to is the first step in recognizing your brand. What brands do you like, what brands do you resonate with? What brands will accurately represent the image that you want to have?

When you start to get clearer in that, you can get some clarity around how you’re going to position yourself.

Magazine Research

Grab all different kinds of magazines: lifestyle, beauty, business. Go through and tear out images that speak to your values and your brand. Create a “Brand Board” around what look and feel you want to project into the marketplace based on images. Then create a list of value words around those images.

Words that Define Your Brand

So for us, that is Shift Lifestyle, and the words that define our brand are fun, anything is possible, looking for the bigger pie, contribution, lifestyle, freedom, and a myriad of other words. And around these words that’s the brand we created.

Your Dress and Image

What you wear is going to be influenced by your brand. You rarely see Richard Branson wearing anything other than a sweater, a pullover, a jumper and looking unshaven with unkempt hair. He’s got that relaxed look around him at all times. That’s his style.

On the flip side, you never see the royal family, for instance, wearing anything other than expensive tailored suits. There’s a certain look and feel to what you wear if you’re a royal.

It’s the same for a speaker. When you start your speaking career you need to choose your brand. And then everything you wear onstage and off needs to reflect your brand. So you need to get really clear about that.

Your clothes = Your Brand

Get Stylish!

So, have a think about your personal brand. Who is it you would like to model? Create a ‘brand board’ and look at the words which describe your brand. Also look at what it is you are wearing onstage and make sure that your clothing backs up your brand. And remember, have fun!

After reading this article, you decide that you want to create or update your brand, but would like to work on it with somebody unbiased, then you can contact me at Nicholl Consultancy and I would be delighted to have a chat with you.

Until next time - Be Successful!

Sharon

4 Ways to Handle Rejection in Business

“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear

to wake me up and get me going,

rather than retreat.”

(Sylvester Stallone)

This article was written by Rieva Lesonsky CEO/President of Growbiz Media

As business owners, we face rejection in many ways. Whether we’re trying to get financing, land a new client or negotiate a deal with a potential partner, it’s inevitable that we’ll hear “no” at least some—if not most—of the time.
But successful entrepreneurs don’t let rejection get them down. Instead, they learn from it and use it to grow their businesses.

Do the maths

If you take every rejection personally, you’ll struggle to grow your business. Try taking the personal out of the rejection equation. One technique many salespeople use: Track how many contacts, cold calls or sales calls you have to make before you get to “yes.” It is possible to quantify the average number of attempts it takes to get a sale. If you do this, you can look at every “no” as one step closer to that “yes.” Instead of getting defeated by rejection, you’ll grow to see it as just one step on the path to your ultimate goal.

Ask questions and listen to the answers

When a prospect doesn’t buy or a potential partner doesn’t follow through with the deal, ask them their reason for saying no—and listen carefully to their answer. Your goal is not to try and change their mind (although that may be the ultimate outcome) but simply to learn. Urge them to be completely honest—and don’t get defensive. Simply listen to their reasons, ask more questions if you need to, and then thank them for their honesty. Their reasons for saying no may surprise you.

Assess the problem

Once you know why the other person rejected your offer, you can evaluate whether the problem lies with your business, or whether this particular relationship simply isn’t a good fit. For example, do you regularly hear from prospects that your prices are too high or is it just this particular person who feels that way? If the reason for rejection lies with the other party, and not with your offer, it may be best to just move on to your next prospect.

Make changes when warranted

If you’ve heard the same “complaint” from several prospects or if your efforts to form strategic partnerships with other businesses are regularly rejected due to concerns about your business’s ability to deliver, it’s time to make some changes. Smart entrepreneurs don’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Adjust your approach as needed. If you keep fine-tuning your approach, you’ll likely find that you get fewer “no’s” and more “yeses.”

Rejection will never disappear from your business life. And, given the lessons it can teach, you shouldn’t want it to. Facing rejection doesn’t make you a failure—but failing to learn from it just might.

If you would like to work with me to explore how to increase your business success the contact me at Nicholl Consultancy.

Until next time - enjoy the summer!


Sharon