Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Amacom (of the American Management Association) has just released the sixth edition of the best-selling book, The First-Time Manager -- originally published in 1981. The book covers eight core responsibilities of a new manager , including: Hiring Communicating Planning Organizing Training Monitoring Evaluating Firing Expert advice is additionally provided regarding: Using Your New Authority Managing Your Mood Building Trust One of my favorite sections of the book is the one about class in a manager : Class is treating people with dignity. Class does not have to be the center of attention. Class does not lose its cool. Class does not rationalize mistakes. Class is good manners. Class means loyalty to one's staff. Class recognizes the best way to build oneself is to first build others. Class leads by example. Class does not taken action when angry. Class is authentic and works hard at making actions consistent with words. The First-Time Ma...

Information sharing practices that rest on a leader's sense of honor, practice of inclusion, and respect for followership distinguish the greater success of Trustworthy Leaders from those leaders who simply stop at doing what is practical, like sending out lots of email or posting and abundance of company notices. From Amy Lyman's new book, The Trustworthy Leader Leveraging the Power of Trust to Transform Your Organization

One of my favorite books about leadership asks its readers five powerful questions , putting aspiring leaders to the ultimate test of what it takes to be a true leader. The best thing about this book is that if you pass the test you can skip reading many of the mountains of other leadership books on the market today. The book is Timothy R. Clark's The Leadership Test and it forces you to do some valuable soul searching. Don't be fooled by the book's conversational writing style and story-telling approach, or by its compact 100-page size that you'll read through in less than an hour. Because, the message is powerful and the test is revealing .  That test, which comes at the end of the book, consists of five questions, each important -- and successfully passing each becomes a collective must to ensure leadership success. Once taken, the test is your personalized assessment that you can use to chart your course for becoming a better leader.   Clark told me that ove...

This list of 70 ways to be a more effective leader is one I like to review every couple weeks: 1. Don't micromanage 2. Don't be a bottleneck 3. Focus on outcomes, not minutiae 4. Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes 5. Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times 6. Conduct annual risk reviews 7. Be courageous, quick and fair 8. Talk more about values more than rules 9. Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance 10. Constantly challenge your team to do better 11. Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own 12. Err on the side of taking action 13. Communicate clearly and often 14. Be visible 15. Eliminate the cause of a mistake 16. View every problem as an opportunity to grow 17. Summarize group consensus after each decision point during a meeting 18. Praise when compliments are earned 19. Be decisive 20. Say "thank you" and sincerely mean it 21. Send writ...

Picture this. You call an employee into your office for a meeting. As your employee is explaining something to you, you turn to your computer monitor to check e-mail. Or, you answer your phone. Or, you look at your mobile device. Or, you engage in a conversation with someone who enters your doorway. Do any of these once and your employee will likely forgive you. Do any of these actions regularly and you'll quickly lose the respect of your employee! Rarely is there a reason not to give your employee your full, undivided attention during a meeting/conversation. You can only be a good listener if you are maintaining eye contact with your employee and not multi-tasking.

You can't lead if your employees, team or followers don't trust you.  Building trust takes energy, effort and constant attention to how you act.  To help build trust, follow these 16 tips , recommended by author Susan H. Shearouse: Be honest Keep commitments and keep your word Avoid surprises Be consistent with your mood Be your best Demonstrate respect Listen Communicate Speak with a positive intent Admit mistakes Be willing to hear feedback Maintain confidences Get to know others Practice empathy Seek input from others Say "thank you"

I was recently asked, "What five most important traits must a leader have to be effective?"  I could reply fairly quickly, but I did take a moment to remember that when I asked a similar question in a LinkedIn group discussion, group members offered up nearly 100 different adjectives to describe an effective leader. But, for me, I contend the five most important traits are : Good communicator . That means effectively communicating timely and consistent messages during good and bad times. And, knowing how and when to be a good listener. Communicating is critical. Employees must hear from their leaders. And, hearing from their leaders in person versus e-mail and written memos is even more effective. Being a servant leader . Put your employees and your company first. A top manager who makes decisions that are self-serving will lack followers and will bring the company down. Adaptable . Today, more than ever, a leader needs to adapt. That means adapting to competi...

“Leaders need to communicate often, regularly and consistently,” says Margaret Reynolds of Reynolds Consulting, LLC in Lees’ Summit, MO. “Leaders should share their vision at least seven to 10 times with their employees, and to make it clear to employees what is specifically expected of them to do each day to help achieve the collective mission,” she added. She adds that it’s not that leaders don’t communicate, but that they don’t beat the drum regularly enough. “In terms of how to communicate so people get it, it is pretty widely accepted that story telling is the most effective; to be able to paint a vision where people see it often, and then following up with success stories or early wins reinforces it,” said Reynolds. Reynolds recently shared with me more of her expert advice: •   “Most leaders’ visions fail, not due to a leader’s inadequacies, but due to the leader’s lack of communication.” •  To become an effective leader, one should follow these three s...

A manager who can't make a decision or who can't make a timely decision will frustrate his/her employees. Equally bad, a lack of decision will impede the progress of the manager's team. Some managers make endless requests for data as a way to postpone their having to make a decision. Employees end up spinning in circles, slicing and dicing the information far beyond what is truly needed for the manager to make a decision. Some managers are simply afraid to make a decision in fear of making a "wrong" decision. These managers don't necessarily request needless data, but simply just never decide. Successful managers gather the data from their employees, make any truly necessary follow-up requests (probing beyond what their employee may have researched/gathered on their own), and then make their decision...knowing that in virtually all cases most decisions are not black and white "right or "wrong," but are the best decisions made at that ti...

If you don't have time to read a book about how to improve your leadership skills, tackle a handful of these tips, complied from the works of many authors: Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Talk about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize group consensus after each decision point during a meeting Praise when compliments are earned Be decisive Say "thank you" and sincerely mean it Send written thank you notes Listen carefully and don't multi-task while l...

One of my favorite lessons from the book, The DNA of Leadership , is the importance of being a developing leader. Developing leaders: Create the next generation of leaders Are great listeners Grow talent by challenging others to take on more than what they think they can do Are open, honest and direct Model the behavior they want to mentor for others If you haven't read Judith E. Glaser's book, The DNA of Leadership , give it a read.  You won't be disappointed.

Fortune magazine published its annual list of " 100 Best Companies " list earlier this month.  Here are some of the things the companies on that list are doing to attract and retain employees.  Many of these programs and activities take little to no investment.  But, they all can only happen when there's strong leadership at the company's helm. Try some of these in your workplace this year: Mentoring programs, especially for new employees Volunteer opportunities/days Lunches with the CEO or president On-site wellness fairs Pep rallies Telecommuting programs Summer picnics for employees and their families Retention bonuses Lending libraries Unlimited sick days Employee team sports after hours, such as bowling and baseball On-site child care services Awarding vacation time in exchange for community volunteering time Employee pot-luck breakfasts Monthly birthday parties On-site fitness equipment Frequent town hall meetings with upper ma...

My favorite book about leadership is " The Leadership Test " by Timothy R. Clark.  You can read it in an hour and its message will guide you through your entire career. Here are some important points from the book that are particularly powerful: Leadership is the process of influencing volunteers to accomplish good things. The spectrum of influence ranges from manipulation to persuasion to coercion. Only persuasion is leadership.  Manipulation exploits.  Coercion controls.  Neither manipulation nor coercion can produce lasting results or consistent good results. Leadership is based on the influence-through-persuasion at the front end, combined with accountability at the back end. Clark further points out that: Leaders qualify themselves based on the manner of their influence and the nature of their intent. If you haven't read this gem of a book, pick up at copy today.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Leigh Branham the other day.  He's the author of the popular book called " The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave ," and he's the owner of the Overland Park, KS-based business called Keeping The People . He said that in research that he has done about the leaders of companies that have won "Best-Place-To-Work" competitions in 45 U.S. cities, that there are six things these effective leaders do that don't cost money.  They do, however, cost time and effort.  But, that is time and effort that can pay big dividends. Here are the six things you can do: Make the commitment to create a great place to work. Inspire employee confidence in decisions and clear business direction Work to build trust based on honesty and integrity Practice open, two-way communication, especially in times of uncertainty Look out for the organization before you look out for yourself Believe employees should be developed a...

According to the 2009 Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations Report, 55% of employees plan to change jobs, careers or industries "when the economy recovers." That's an alarming statistic and one that all workplace leaders should take to heart. Leigh Branham, founder and CEO of the Overland Park, KS company Keeping The People , says employees leave for seven main reasons, and money isn't among the seven. Instead, workers leave because: The job or workplace was not as expected Mismatch between job and person Too little coaching and feedback Too few growth and advancement opportunities Feeling devalued and unrecognized Stress from overwork and work-life balance Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders Fortunately, even now when budgets are tight, workloads are hefty, and companies have depressed top and bottom lines, you, as a leader, can at a minimum address reasons #3, #5 and #7 without spending money. If you tackle those you can likely...

If you want to be a leader who can get things done, be sure you: Engender trust. Instill confidence. Earn respect.

Here are some handy tips for how to run a better meeting: Limit attendance . Include only decision makers and key implementers. Use an agenda . Give each topic a time limit. Ask your staff to help set the agenda so they'll know the meeting will be relevant. Make sure attendees know at the meeting's beginning the benefit of why they are in the meeting . Create a not-on-the agenda list of topics that will be tabled for after the meeting or for another meeting. Set immediate deadlines for carrying out all decisions that are made during the meeting. If you follow these simple five tips you can prove to your team that meetings can be used to get things done! You can learn more about how to host an effective meeting by reading the booklet, " Best Life: Tips for 2009 ."

You've surely heard it before, but whatever you do in your manager and leader role, don't micromanage. You are likely micromanaging if you answer "Yes" to the following four questions: Do you fear having your employee's mistakes attributed to you? Do you require subordinates to report on everything? Do you think I could do it better? Do you believe you are indispensable but find yourself stuck in a rut? And remember, Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae You can learn more about how not to micromanage in the booklet Best Life: Tips for 2009.

The power of meeting with your team members face-to-face cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, in today's world of email and electronic communications, meeting with someone face-to-face, or for that matter even speaking with him/her over the phone, has become something that doesn't happen nearly enough. Resist the temptation to email or phone an employee or team member when you can meet in-person with him/her. The best way to build rapport, respect, an open line of communication and a team, can-do spirit, is to have face-to-face interaction as often as possible.

Another month has gone by, which means it's time to post my favorite post -- the one about leading by setting a good example. So, as a reminder, here are 15 things you can do to be an effective and successful leader: 1. Praise when compliments are earned. 2. Be decisive. 3. Say "Thank You" and sincerely mean it. 4. Communicate clearly. 5. Listen carefully. 6. Teach something new to your team members. 7. Word hard and lend a hand when deadlines are tight. 8. Show respect for everyone on your team. 9. Follow through when you promise to do something. 10. Allow learning to happen when mistakes are made. 11. Allow prudent autonomy. 12. Respond to questions quickly and fully. 13. Return e-mail and phone calls promptly. 14. Take an interest in your employees and their important personal milestone events. 15. Give credit where credit is due. And, last but not least, be humble!