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Business Performance Assessment Program Warning Flag 7 – Content Without Context

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StrategyDriven Business Performance Assessment Program Warning Flag Article“Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill.”
Author Unknown

Because all things are relative, context is important. All too often, individuals react to a given set of circumstances or facts without considering the context within which those circumstances or facts exist. Consequently, the importance assigned to the circumstances or facts may exceed that which is warranted.

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Additional Information

StrategyDriven Advisors often find it is within the unique context of a situation that the most valuable insights are gained for the unlocking of substantial performance improvement. As such, we’ve captured practices to better help assessors understand situational context within the following articles:

Return to the Business Performance Assessment Program Forum

About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

Honoring Those Whose Sacrifice Gave Us Freedom

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Freedom is never free…

It is the SERVICE MEMBER, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the SERVICE MEMBER, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the SERVICE MEMBER, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the SERVICE MEMBER, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the SERVICE MEMBER who salutes the Flag.

It is the SERVICE MEMBER who serves under the Flag.

Never before have so many owed so much to so few. Let us remember and be thankful to all those men and women who currently serve, who have served, and who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure the freedom we all enjoy.

All the Best,
Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal
Nathan Ives
President and CEO
StrategyDriven

Communication Skills Can Increase Your Leadership Credibility

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals ArticleIn today’s global marketplace, leaders must possess strong communication skills. The sound of someone’s voice matters twice as much as the content of his or her message, according to recent findings as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Studies have shown that a person’s speech patterns, including the quality of their voice, strongly influences how others perceive him or her.

Last year, research published at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business revealed that the resonance of a male executives voice strongly correlated to their earning power. A smaller study of female business leaders suggested that this pattern did not hold true for women. The leading criteria for female leaders were the use of ‘vocal energy’ or variations in their volume. What many don’t realize is that you can change the way you sound. For those who speak too quickly or in a soft voice, the message can be lost.

Open and clear communication is a critical part of strong leadership. In today’s global marketplace, a successful professional must be able to deliver their message in a clear and concise manner and to use their speaking skills to lead and inspire others. The proper tone and the proper delivery will make the difference in an audience that listens to what is being said or chooses to remain fixed on the messages on their Smartphone. Public speaking and presentations are no longer just confined to the conference room and the PowerPoint slides.

The truth is, as Patricia Fripp recently stated, “public speaking is everything we do when we leave our home in the morning.” With that in mind, there are several steps one can take to improve their professional speaking skills and deliver every message like a leader. By practicing these techniques you will be able to transform your communication skills into those of a dynamic and engaging speaker. You will consistently be able to establish credibility as soon as you begin to speak, and you will be able to persuade your audience with powerful authority and clarity.

Here are three steps one can take to improve their professional speaking skills and deliver every message like a leader.

  1. Power up Your Voice: Speaking in a strong voice conveys confidence and leadership. Learning to project from the diaphragm will create a strong, confident and dynamic voice. Take a breath and feel the control.
  2. Master the Strategic Pause: Simply slowing down your rate of speech will add impact to your message and will significantly improve your speech quality and delivery. Speak in sound bites. It shows you are in control of what you are saying, and it gives the listener time to process what is being said.
  3. Communicate with Eloquence: Avoid using filler words such as “uh,” “um,” “like,” and “you know.” Even seasoned professionals often use these words more often than then realize. Make an effort to avoid any words, syllables and phrases that detract from your message and make you look unprofessional.

By practicing these techniques you will be able to transform your communication skills into those of a dynamic and engaging speaker, and you will be able to persuade your audience with powerful authority.

Lee Iacooca stated, “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” Mastering the communication skills of a leader is more important than ever.

There are more tips to follow in the next edition of this article from Jayne Latz, Founder and President of Corporate Speech Solutions.

In the meantime visit, www.corporatespeechsolutions.com, to learn more.

About the Author

Jayne LatzJayne Latz is an expert in communication and CEO of Corporate Speech Solutions, LLC. She has worked as a speech trainer, coach, professional speaker, and has co-authored two books titled, Talking Business: A Guide to Professional Communication and Talking Business: When English is Your Second Language. She was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal and on The TODAY Show.

Jayne can be reached by email at: [email protected]. Follow Jayne at: @JayneCSS.

‘Barrier Breakers’ for Women in Corporate America

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In taking on a more dominant role in Corporate America as more women confidently climb their career ladders and step into important roles and leadership positions, the experience in Corporate America is shifting and tilting the power balance in their direction. With more women in the U.S. workforce than men, this provides an opportunity to take a stand on some important issues that continue to impact women in their multiple roles as career woman, wife, and mother.

While the glass ceiling clearly has large cracks and even holes, there is more work to be done to truly leverage the earning potential and talent that can catapult Corporate America toward greater success and help women in the process.

Changing the Face of the American Workforce

Here are some tips for taking charge of these issues and helping to continue turning the tide on long-ingrained Corporate America barriers:

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About the Author

Michelle PattersonVisionary and lauded business accelerator Michelle Patterson is President of the Global Women Foundation and The California Women’s Conference – the largest women’s symposium in North America that has featured esteemed First Ladies, A-List Hollywood celebrities, and high caliber business influencers. Michelle is also the CEO of Women Network LLC, an online digital media platform dedicated to giving women a voice and a platform to share their message. Michelle may be reached at WomenNetwork.com.

The Advisor’s Corner – Can I Afford a Bad Hire?

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Can I Afford a Bad Hire?Question:

Can I Afford a Bad Hire?

StrategyDriven Response: (by Roxi Hewertson, StrategyDriven Principal Contributor)

Fact 1: No one can afford a bad hire!
Fact 2: Nationally, about 50 percent of hires, fail. Of those that succeed only about 20 percent are top performers.
Fact 3: 90 percent of failures are UNRELATED to brains and technical skills.
Fact 4: The cost of a bad hire is up to 2x the person’s annual salary and benefits… until you fire them or they leave. How much you lose depends on how awful they are and how much time, money, and productivity is flushed away in the meantime. Then… add another 2x to 2.5x their salary costs to replace them.
Fact 5: Turnover in any position costs you real money. Turnover of good people leaving because they don’t want to work with your bad hires, costs you even more.

Do I have your attention? This is not theory – it is fact. And yet… we hire most people and positions based on shiny new degrees and/or technical skills along with perceived or tested IQ. We now KNOW, for a fact, that EQ (Emotional Quotient/Intelligence) is far more important for success in most jobs, and definitely within leadership roles.

Still, we continue to hire and promote people, including leaders, largely for IQ and technical skill sets. “The best salesperson will surely be the best leader of other salespersons,” right? WRONG!

It just gets dumber and dumber. We keep getting the same lousy results and yet we have not substantively changed the hiring practices in most organizations. It is mind-boggling! I believe Albert Einstein had something clever to say about this phenomenon being related to insanity.

Whatever methods (legal and ethical of course) you use, you need to discover at least these SIX key things about your candidates BEFORE you hire.

A. Attitude: Is theirs one of abundance and can do, or scarcity and focused on obstacles?

B. Brains: Can they do the job or learn quickly how to do the job?

C. Character: What are their core personal values?

D. Drive: Are they self-motivated to achieve their goals and yours?

E. Experience: What have they done in the past that prepares them or makes them ready for what you want them to do now?

F. FIT: Will they truly FIT into your culture, your organizational values, help you accomplish your mission, and advance your vision?

If you said “NO” or “I Can’t Tell,” to even ONE of these questions about the candidate, do not hire that person. Seriously – don’t do it!

Trust the answers to your ABCDEF questions and trust your GUT. If the person doesn’t feel right to you or others, he/she probably isn’t right. In any case, it’s rarely, if ever, worth the risk to you and your team.

About the Author

Leadership authority Roxana (Roxi) Hewertson is a no-nonsense business veteran revered for her nuts-and-bolts, tell-it-like-it-is approach and practical, out-of-the-box insights that help both emerging and expert managers, executives and owners boost quantifiable job performance in various mission critical facets of business. Through AskRoxi.com, Roxi — “the Dear Abby of Leadership” — imparts invaluable free advice to managers and leaders at all levels, from the bullpen to the boardroom, to help them solve problems, become more effective and realize a higher measure of business and career success.

The StrategyDriven website was created to provide members of our community with insights to the actions that help create the shared vision, focus, and commitment needed to improve organizational alignment and accountability for the achievement of superior results. We look forward to answering your strategic planning and tactical business execution questions. Please email your questions to [email protected].