Inspirational leaders have a vision, a plan and they motivate you to join their cause. But how do these leaders get to this point? Are they born this way or have they worked to get to this point?
The Frontline Management Institute Management Model identifies four key areas of management competency for inspirational and successful business leaders. Their effective leadership can play a significant part in the development of high performance and motivated teams that push the boundaries and give individuals, teams and organisations a competitive edge.
This article looks at the first of the four competencies: personal management.
Personal Management
My friend Adam came to me in mid-2011 complaining about his role as a team leader in a large corporation. He told me about how he had worked long hours on a range of projects and felt he wasn’t getting any recognition for his work. He was burnt out and was contemplating leaving his employer. He had just had a performance review and told me that it was a waste of his time. His manager had failed to give him sufficient feedback or recognition on his performance and in fact his manager spent most of the time telling him about a program they were about to launch which didn’t seem relevant Adam’s role.
When I asked him if he’d provided this feedback to his manager he said there was no point as his manager was incompetent and everyone just “put up” with management in his department. Adam told me that he wasn’t going to put as much effort into his work as he felt his energy was being wasted.
A year later and Adam was still employed at the same place and continued to complain about his situation. His manager had recently been transferred to another department and one of his colleagues had been promoted to the role as his manager. When I asked Adam if he would have liked that promotion he told me that he wasn’t interested in being a manager because being a manger would involve more work and more company bureaucracy.
When Adam had his next performance review he was shocked when his new manager gave him an honest and effective evaluation of his performance. His manager had spent time preparing for the performance review, speaking with colleagues and clients to get an overview of Adam’s performance over the last year and presented Adam with a report on his findings. His manager then asked him to reflect on what he had achieved in the past year, what challenges he had faced and think about what he would like to achieve in the future. Reluctantly Adam did this and from their conversation it became clear that Adam was great at coming up with innovative ideas about improvements for his department but he sometimes failed to get them off the ground due to lack of project management skills, motivation or clearly communicating the purpose of the project to his team. His decline in personal management and motivation over the past year was noted and Adam admitted it was because he felt there was a lack of support from the organisation.
He and his manager developed a professional development plan and discussed leave days and potential projects that Adam could work on in the following year. His manager followed through with promises of assistance and they met once a fortnight to discuss Adam’s progress and projects.
As it turns out Adam’s previous manager had been working on a professional development program for staff members. The program had come about from feedback from other team members who wanted professional development support from the organisation. The program was designed to provide support for career progression within the organisation and to identify future leaders in the organisation. His new manager had taken up the opportunity to be part of the program and had performed so well they had been offered the management role.
Last I spoke to Adam he had planned annual leave regularly to give him time to re-energise throughout the year. He has a range of professional development activities scheduled throughout the year and he now surrounds himself with a network of other people who motivate him and encourage him to think innovatively. He was selected for the management development program at his organisation and looks to be promoted to manager when his current manager leaves to take on a new role at another organisation.
So what are the lessons learned from this story?
1. Take responsibility for your own professional development. Organisations may have policies and procedures in place to help keep you on track and but at the end of the day you’re responsible for identifying what your limits are and what you want to achieve.
2. Plan change instead of complaining. If things aren’t working for you identify what is in your control to change and accept what you cannot. Organisations should have channels in place to receive feedback so if you want to make change try giving constructive feedback.
3. Be mindful of your impact on others. Your personal attitude may be inspiring or de-motivating others. Organisations shouldn’t wait for performance reviews to roll around to find out what’s happening – provide recognition for positive performance and encourage a culture of honesty and integrity.
4. Identify what motivates you so you can push yourself to perform better. Have the courage and persistence to keep at it. Organisations should be prepared to offer a range of reward and recognition services to employees.
5. Reflect and evaluate performance and lessons learned. Recognise your achievements and think about what you would do differently next time to avoid making the same mistakes. Organisations should encourage regular reflection and continuous improvement approaches and ensure this is supported by management.
The Frontline Management Institute works with individuals and organisations to set performance goals and provides learning and development services and resources to support personal performance improvement. Send an enquiry or phone us if you would like to discuss your needs.