This is about the little things you can start or stop doing that can make a big difference on how you are perceived as a leader. I work with a lot of very successful leaders and aspiring leaders who set very ambitious improvement goals for themselves. They want to be more strategic, lead change, be more visionary, improve their presentation skills, learn marketing and finance, and improve their work-life balance. Yes, these are all important and impressive goals. However, they can be huge mountains to climb, and take years to master. I once heard of a parent that screamed at their teenager: "if you want to clean up the environment, why don't you start by cleaning your damn room!" Sounds like pretty good advice for leaders too. In addition to those BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals), why not set some little-bitty achievable goals (LBAGs) for yourself too? Here is a memo of things that require little investment but yields a lot of profit, with a nice ROI. Show up on time Imagine yourself in the following scenarios and respond with brutal honesty: 1. You're at a meeting that looks like it's going to run late. You check your blackberry and see your next meeting is with one of your employees. It's just a routine one on one. What would you do? 2. You have a meeting to get to in another area that starts in 20 minutes. On a good day you can make it there in 10 minutes. You're buried with emails. Do you knock off a few more emails, or leave now to give yourself a little cushion at the risk of arriving early? 3. You're in a very important meeting that's running late. Someone 3 levels down in the pecking order has an appointment with you and is waiting for you in your office. Does this bother you at all? Or should they understand, given your position and responsibilities? 4. You have a meeting with the CEO at 4:00pm. What time do you show up? Your responses to these scenarios will tell you a lot about how you manage your time. OK, so you might have a time management issue – big deal, right? However, they might also reveal some clues that you may be abusing your power as a leader and/or showing a lack of respect for others. You might be subconsciously prioritising who you are late for based on status, or self-inflated view of yourself. Does that sound overly harsh and judgmental? It may be. We're all human, and we're all late now and then. Stuff happens. Believe me, I'm not exactly Mr Perfect when it comes to being on time. However, at least I feel really bad about it when it happens. In fact, writing this article may serve as a reminder! Author Dan McCarthy says he didn't always understand this. He was one of those habitually late people. There were two events that woke him up. Here it in his own words: "A few years ago, I was waiting outside the big boss's office. This executive was different, and taught me a huge lesson I'll never forget. He came rushing up to me, shook my hand, and sincerely apologized for keeping me waiting. "He said it went against a strongly held personal value he had – that NO one, no matter who they were, had the right to abuse their power and keep someone else waiting. Wow. Heck, he was only five minutes late … but he really meant it. "He made me feel important – just as important as if he had kept the CEO waiting. I respected him so much for that, and always went out of my way to be an advocate for him. He was a role model for me, and while I haven't always lived up to that standard, I'll always remember the lesson and have strived to." "The second event involved a project team that I was a part of. Again, I was that person that always looked at showing up on time as "early". I figured nothing ever happens the first five minutes of a meeting, everybody else does it, and I was being productive by maximizing every minute of my precious time. "This project leader took me aside one day and explained to me the impact that being late to his meeting had on him. To him, it was a slap in the face as the leader of the team. I was telling him my time was more valuable than not only his, but the other 10 people in the room. It wasn't just a nuisance to him … it really bothered him, and he assessed performance based on this character flaw. "To him, it was career limiting. Fortunately, he cared enough about me and my development to give me this feedback and advice. I'll bet there were a lot of other managers where he didn't, and held it against them." Listen up I have bad news and good news for all of you leaders and aspiring leaders. You decide which you'd rather read first. Start with the good or jump to the bad and come back.The Good News: The ability to listen has been identified in study after study as one of the most important leadership skills -- if not THE most important -- than any other. When you listen, you're seen as a leader that is: trustworthy, patient, cares about others, respectful and compassionate. The ability to listen to employees, manager, peers, coworkers, and customers is a core, foundational skill for successful leaders. The ability to listen is key to: developing and maintaining relationships, making good decisions and solving problems.Now here's the good news: Listening is one of the EASIEST leadership skills to learn and apply! We were born with the ability to listen. It's a natural gift. Most people already know how to listen, and when they choose to, can do it very well. If you want to listen, but for some reason you really don't know how, no worries. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut. Then, listen like the CEO is talking to you. Or like you're on a first date! If that doesn't work for you, then there are plenty of books, videos, courses, and blog posts with excellent, proven tips. No need to repeat them all here (unless you want me to!). With a few tips and a lot of practice, you'll be astounded with the results. Talk about little things that will make a BIG difference – what other skill could give a little this kind of return on investment? Give it a try. Sit back and watch your relationships improve – at work and in your personal life. The bad news: Listening is one of the lowest rated leadership skills for executives. It's an average rated skill for individual contributors and managers, then takes a nose-dive for executives. It's one of the most common flaws you and I see on 360 assessments. It's the number one reason employees think their bosses are jerks! The bottom line: poor listening is a significant contributor to executive failure. When you fail to listen, you're perceived as someone who is insensitive to the needs of others, arrogant, impatient, or uninterested, dictatorial, makes others feel stupid or unintelligent and close-minded. Failure to listen can result in disastrous decisions, mistakes, bruised and unproductive relationships (both at work and home)…..and eventually, if not addressed -- you'll go down in flames. If you're seen as a bad listener, in most cases, it's because you're making a CHOICE not to listen. To be blunt, you've gotten so full of yourself (due to your success), that you don't have the interest or patience in what most people are saying. Final words: Being on time shows people you can manage your work and life, you're competent, you're responsible, and shows respect for others. As leaders, we're judged by our actions -- not our intentions. Ask the people in your life that matter to you how well you listen – and what it means to them when you don't. If this little scolding has already caused you to see the light, then go back to the good news. There's hope for you. Good luck!
