Ignite the Third Factor. Peter Jensen
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Название: Ignite the Third Factor
Автор: Peter Jensen
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Экономика
isbn: 9780887628351
isbn:
Performance Expectations
Simply put, last year’s numbers won’t do this year. The competitive climate often requires departments and individuals to hit ever-higher targets with smaller budgets and fewer resources. The reality is that the only sustainable way to accomplish this is to focus on making the people you rely on produce better results.
The “Hallmarks of Leadership Success” report by the Corporate Leadership Council stressed that “above all else, top-tier leadership organizations are distinguished by their cultures of development. Central to these cultures are senior executives and managers who believe in employee development and act on these beliefs.”
An article entitled “Executive Coaching as a Tool: Effects on Productivity in a Public Agency,” published in Public Personnel Management, showed that training increases performance by 22 percent, but training combined with coaching increases performance by 88 percent.
Constant Change
Change is accelerating. With time-to-market shrinking, and many products being beaten to market by their own knockoffs, the ability to respond quickly and decisively to changes in the competitive landscape and to competitors’ moves is widely acknowledged as a critical organizational competency. The only way to build this capability at an organizational level is to deal more effectively with change at the individual level. That means less “foot-dragging” and being on board sooner. And yet, this ability to adapt to change isn’t something that can be accomplished by sending everyone to a workshop, seminar or conference; it needs to be built up slowly and thoughtfully through a one-to-one relationship between aware managers and their people.
Your Own Third Factor as Coach, Leader or Parent
So far, we’ve been focused on the “other person,” but what about you and your Third Factor? In reality this book is all about my trying to ignite your Third Factor, about getting you interested in developing or expanding your developmental bias. What’s in that for you? I am always surprised in our workshops at how focused the managers are on their organization and on their people. It is rare that leaders mention what’s in it for them. I like to emphasize how satisfying it is for leaders to take on a developmental bias. It is much more fulfilling to develop people than to manage or supervise them. You are, in effect, leaving a legacy.
The Bottom Line
Improving your people will result in payoffs in the five areas above, as well as directly to your organization’s bottom line. According to the McKinsey report “War for Talent 2000,” “A-level performers deliver a 50 to 100 percent advantage over average performers in productivity, quality and revenue.”
Join the “A” Team
There are leaders with a strong developmental bias everywhere, identifiable by their demonstrated belief in developing others and engaging with them, not managing them, supervising them or controlling them. They recognize that each individual is in charge of himself or herself, and that their job is to create an environment where each performer will focus on that personal commitment and grow. They make a significant difference in the lives of others and, by extension, the significant others in that other person’s life.
Editor: Okay. I’m a bit clearer on the whole concept of developmental bias, its connection to the Third Factor, and its applicability to the world of work. When do we get to the “how to do it” stuff?
Author: Soon. The next chapter covers the communication skills that are essential in coaching others. Then we’ll cover the five areas and finish with a summary. In Appendix B we’ll outline the difficult task of confronting when things aren’t going well.
Editor: I thought confronting was part of communication.
Author: It is, but it requires attention all on its own. I put it at the end in an appendix because it’s instructional and contains a lot of information, and not everyone will be interested in it. I called that section When All Else Fails.
Editor: I sometimes open with confrontation. It gets people’s attention and keeps them on their toes.
Author: I can feel myself rising as we speak. Let’s move on to talk about communication skills.
Editor: Let me see if I’ve got this: this chapter will cover all the communication skills our readers will need if they’re going to develop others—that is, ignite the Third Factor in their charges. These are important skills for parents, teachers, managers, coaches, or leaders of any type.
Author: The last sentence is accurate. These skills are like the laws of physics— they apply everywhere. The sentence before it is a bit misleading, though, in that this is not meant to be the complete primer on effective communication. Some excellent books have already been written on this topic, and I’ll be referring to a few of them as the chapter unfolds. What we are going to cover here are three basic communication skills central to effectively coaching anyone in any environment.
Editor: Don’t you think communication is critical in developing others? Shouldn’t we be spending a bit more time on this?
Author: It is important, but we have to pick and choose, and because others have done an excellent job in this realm we’re going to cover three key skills: asking effective questions, listening actively, and giving competent, relevant feedback.
Most of us don’t need the same skill level as, for example, a counselor or therapist. It may sound corny, but first and foremost your heart needs to be in the right place; in other words, you need a strong developmental bias, because the person you’re coaching needs to know that you care and are profoundly interested in developing them. If that assurance is present, if they know you are in their corner, then being able to employ some basic communication skills will more than suffice.
Editor: Okay . . . that’s somewhat nebulous, but let’s proceed and see what comes out of this. I am a bit of a perfectionist and don’t like attempting things until I have all the information or am fairly good at it.
Author: You’re not alone in that regard. I’ve caught myself waiting until I’m pretty good at something before I get started. Now, I’m not suggesting you blindly dive into things, but if you wait until you’re perfect at something before you start doing it, you’ll never start because you will never be perfect! I’m all for learning the basics and then getting things underway. In the past this has led me to further development once I understand the problems I encounter and for which I’ll need to find solutions. СКАЧАТЬ