StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 40a – An Interview with Frank McIntosh, author of The Relational Leader, part 1 of 2

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 40a – An Interview with Frank McIntosh, author of The Relational Leader, part 1 of 2 examines how a people-centered relational leadership approach breaks down organizational barriers and engages and motivates employees for achievement of truly superior results. During our discussion, Frank McIntosh, author of The Relational Leader: A Revolutionary Framework to Engage Your Team, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • the difference between management and leadership and what it means to be a Relational Leader
  • the tangible benefits Relational Leaders realize over those who lead with a more traditional, hierarchical style
  • the core elements of Relational Leadership, Fidelity, Appreciation, and Value
  • the behaviors Relational Leaders exhibit

Additional Information

In addition to the invaluable insights Frank shares in The Relational Leader, and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.FJMcIntosh.com.   Frank’s book, The Relational Leader published by Course Technology PTR – a part of Cengage Learning, can be purchased by clicking here.

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About the Author

Frank McIntosh is author of The Relational Leader. During his 36 year career, Frank has worked with many of the most recognized companies and executives in the world. He has provided consulting services for peers across the country and helped initiate Junior Achievement programs in Ireland, the Ivory Coast, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Uzbekistan. Frank was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame in October 2008, one of 38 individuals so honored and the first not-for-profit executive to receive this distinction in Delaware’s 300 year business history. To read Frank’s complete biography, click here.

Leadership and Conflict: For Better or for Worse

There is no doubt that leaders of organizations have enormous influence on how often, how intense, and what impact conflict has on their business. Organizations can not avoid conflict: how it occurs is the question. There is constructive and destructive conflict that can occur. Constructive conflict allows the participants to disagree, perhaps argue, without losing sight of organizational goals. Destructive conflict occurs when the conflict is personal, thus causing individual goals to override those of the organization. Destructive conflict stops the open flow of communication, and ultimately affects the bottom line.

Leaders are human, so some leaders are comfortable with conflict, while others are not. Some leaders enjoy conflict, and actually set coworkers against each other to see who comes out on top. For those leaders that are not comfortable with conflict, their organizations usually have cultures that reflect their discomfort – difficult messages are not delivered, thus lowering the quality of communication and productivity. Disputants speak about their conflict with everyone else, but not the person they are in conflict with!

Managers that are comfortable with conflict usually allow it to occur and encourage creative problem-solving. They know that conflict will occur: they also know it needs to be resolved in order to have a healthy organization.

Think of your favorite retail establishment. Why do you like it? Are you treated well, is there a positive interaction with salespeople? That goes directly to the manager and how he/she treats conflict, among other things. Amiable, disciplined managers know how to have an emotionally intelligent team that is creative, collaborative, and communicative.

Leaders who lead through intimidation or autocratic rule usually have organizations that incorporate shouting matches, blaming, and responsibility avoidance. Internal competition becomes so intense that it hurts overall organization results. Very few leaders like to admit that is their style, but if your organization has these symptoms, you really need to take a look at how you are leading.

What can be done to ensure that the relationship between leadership and conflict results in more collaborative problem-solving? Here are a few suggestions:


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About the Author

Dr. Diane Katz has worked with organizations, professionals for over 40 years. With a Masters Degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution from Union Institute, she has applied her education to organizations large and small.

Diane has spoken to groups across the United States in over 20 cities, reaching thousands of professionals. She has spoken about decision-making, conflict resolution, organization development, and professional development. She thoroughly engages her audiences with intelligence and wit.

Dr. Katz started her consulting company, The Working Circle, in 1995. The Working Circle provides organizational development, human resources, teambuilding, training and coaching to organizations of all sizes, having served over 150 organizations. Some of her company’s clients have included Pricewaterhouse Coopers, The University of Arizona, Raytheon Missile Systems, U.S. Border Patrol, Westin La Paloma Resort, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, DR Horton Homebuilders, YWCA of Southern Arizona, and the Pima County Attorney.

Performance Appraisals – Can They Really Be ‘Stress-Free’?

Performance appraisals are one of the most important responsibilities of a supervisor… and one of the most dreaded!

Why?

Perhaps the better question is – What can we do to remove the ‘dread factor?’

One way is to identify the five most important tips and make sure all your managers get a copy.

Tip #1 – Take time to prepare

Start by familiarizing yourself with the form and the ratings. Think about the goals each employee has been working on, the employee’s strengths and areas for development. Pull out all the examples and observations you’ve collected throughout the review period and add them to the appraisal form to support your ratings.

Plan your discussion in detail – not just compliments, but also areas for improvement.

Then, schedule the meeting and plan enough time for a thorough discussion. Select a time when you and the employee are not under pressure.


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About the Author

Sharon Armstrong, author of The Essential Performance Review Handbook and The Essential HR Handbook, is the Founder of Sharon Armstrong and Associates. Sharon has served as director of human resources at a law firm and several other organizations in Washington, DC. Since launching her own consulting business in 1998, she has provided training and completed HR projects dealing with performance management design and implementation for a wide variety of clients. To read Sharon’s complete biography, click here.

The Ladder of Commitment

Are you going to achieve your most important targets for the coming year?

Your answer to that question can reveal a lot about where you are on what I call “the Ladder of Commitment “, and is generally highly predictive of how far you’ll go in your pursuit of success.

Here’s a quick look at that ladder from the bottom up, along with what may be a surprising conclusion about what it really takes to reach your targets, in business and in life…

1. Helplessness

Years ago, scientists did an experiment on lab rats that involved dividing a metal cage into four sections and placing electrical current underneath each section. When a section of the cage was filled with live current, the rat would receive a small shock if stepping into that part of the cage. Quickly, the rat would learn to avoid that section.

Over time, each section of the cage was electrified in turn, leaving only one quadrant of the cage as a ‘safe haven’ for our experimental rat.

What happened?


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About the Author

Michael Neill is an internationally renowned transformative coach and the author of the new book, Supercoach: 10 Secrets to Transform Anyone’s Life. For the past 20 years, he has been a coach, adviser, mentor, and creative spark plug to celebrities, CEOs, royalty and people who want to get more out of their lives. He hosts a weekly talk show on HayHouseRadio.com, and his daily and weekly coaching columns can be read on his website www.geniuscatalyst.com.

StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 31 – How to Better Engage Employees

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Episode 31 – How to Better Engage Employees explores the actions executives and managers can take to better engage their employees; revealing how to improve employee satisfaction, productivity, retention, and ultimately the bottom line. During our discussion, Michael Lee Stallard, author of Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity, and Productivity and co-Founder and President of E Pluribus Partners, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • the benefits leaders realize as a result of better engaging their employees
  • the most significant driver of employee engagement and why is this factor so important
  • actions executives, managers, and supervisors should take to foster an engaging workplace environment
  • what a Connection Culture is and why it is so powerful at engaging employees
  • how to create a Connection Culture
  • actions executives and managers should take when someone within their organization does not buy-in or embrace the organization’s Connection Culture
  • the impact of ‘hard’ factors, such as HR policies and benefits, on workforce engagement

Additional Information

In addition to the incredible insights Michael shares in Fired Up or Burned Out and this edition of the StrategyDriven Podcast are the resources accessible from his websites, www.FiredUpOrBurnedOut.com and www.EPluribusPartners.com. Michael’s Connection Culture Manifesto can be downloaded for free by clicking here. His book, Fired Up or Burned Out, can be purchased by clicking here.

A special gift for StrategyDriven readers…

We are pleased to announce that Michael has made the electronic version of his book, Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity, and Productivity, available for download at no cost to our readers. Simply click on the link above to download your copy of this remarkable book on how to better engage employees; igniting their creativity, imagination, and spirits to the success of the organization.

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Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!


About the Author

Michael Lee Stallard, author of Fired Up or Burned Out, is co-Founder and President of E Pluribus Partners, a consulting firm specializing in helping leaders create ‘Connection Cultures’ to form strong bonds among the management, employees, and customers of an organization. Michael’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Leader to Leader, Human Resource Executive, and Fox Business Now. He has spoken at conferences organized by The Conference Board, GE, Google, NASA, Johnson & Johnson and Yale-New Haven Hospital. To read Michael’s full biography, click here.