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Leading from the Middle

Leading from the Middle. 3/28/14 Janet Bickel Career and Leadership Development Coach. Top. Middle. Bottom. Constituents. Constituents. Please Assess Yourself:. Do I make effective use of meetings? Is my understanding of my institution becoming more sophisticated?

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Leading from the Middle

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  1. Leading from the Middle 3/28/14 Janet Bickel Career and Leadership Development Coach

  2. Top Middle Bottom Constituents Constituents

  3. Please Assess Yourself: • Do I make effective use of meetings? • Is my understanding of my institution becoming more sophisticated? • Am I expanding my circle of colleagues? • Am I increasing my capacity for handling conflicts? *Am I increasing my capacity for communicating with individuals very different from myself? *What am I doing to develop a more accurate sense of my strengths and weaknesses?

  4. Leading from the Middle *Study how people interpret their roles *Try to see your assumptions and ask more questions *Differentiate between what you can and cannot influence *Discover and build on shared commitments *Limit indulgence in righteous indignation *Reflect on and learn from surprises and feedback *Expand your comfort with uncertainty *Improve your relational communication skills

  5. Please reflect then discuss in Pairs *Which of these skill areas are most important for you to be improving? *What steps can you begin taking?

  6. Why is Leading often harder for Women and Minorities? • Under-estimate their own abilities • Need to please, make others comfortable • Less likely to be effectively mentored • Less “social capital” • Fewer role models IN PAIRS: What are your observations about this question?

  7. Organizational POLI - TICS (many) (blood sucking parasites)

  8. What does Power mean to you? What are your assumptions about power? ------------------------------------------------------------ Categories of power: *positional *expertise/competency *relationships with stakeholders and connectors *strong connection • with a deep purpose

  9. “Influence” Self-Assessment 1) How effectively do you? • Inspire innovations • Listen to unfamiliar as well as familiar voices • Encourage collaborations, connect people • Notice and recognize others' contributions • Bridge all kinds of differences 2) How might you expand your influence in the directions of greatest meaning to you?

  10. How do we become more skilled at handling conflict? *reframe “conflict” as “differing interests” *see disagreement as opportunities to learn *question your own assumptions and storylines *recognize tendencies to overemphasize interpersonal dimensions and underestimate organizational factors *become more versatile

  11. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES R E L A T I O N A L C O N C E R N Collaborate Accommodate Compromise Avoid Compete Concern for self-interest Source: Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument

  12. How do you relate to authority figures? • idealize? • resent? • avoid? • over-depend on? • automatically defer to? • superhuman effort to please? • compete with? • persuasively stand up to when necessary? • effectively partner with?

  13. “Managing Up” * Develop a pattern of interaction with your boss that produces desirable results * No whining Seek to understand her: Goals, priorities, pressures Limitations and blindspots Preferences re communications NB: You don’t need to like your boss

  14. From your boss’s point of view: • What will you do for me tomorrow? • Do you communicate effectively? • Do you keep the boss informed? • Use boss’s time well? • Do you express appreciation? • Solicit and use feedback? • Bring solutions to problems? • How do you handle disagreements?

  15. Relational Communications Skills • Self-monitoring - Notice when you're over-reacting - Pause and discern what hooked you? • Inquiry and Listening - Ask questions that encourage the other to go deeper - Listen “generatively” • Expressing Views/Advocating • Explain your reasoning and intent [eg “This is why I’m raising this and how I arrived at this conclusion”]

  16. Generative Listening • What could make that possible? • What could that allow us to do? • What goals could that idea advance? • What do you see that I don’t? • Say more Automatic Listening • Right/Wrong • Win/Lose • Agree/Disagree • Good/Bad • Either/Or

  17. Ask trustworthy colleagues for feedback *In what areas do I tend to over- or under-function? • Any observations on how well I listen? • Do I present ideas in an effective manner and invite discussion? • How well do I handle challenges to my ideas? *Do I communicate about problems in ways that facilitate engagement? *Do I relate better to some kinds of people than others? See: What got you here won’t get you there by Marshall Goldsmith

  18. APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY What we pay attention to grows and we tend to find what we look for AI taps into issues people care most deeply about and surfaces possibilities Ask: *what’s going well? *what is working and how can we do/have more of it? *how can we have more effective meetings?

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