‘ Birkman Method ’ Category

One area that challenges people in becoming great leaders is conflict management and resolution. Some of us thrive and seek out conflict and others will avoid it all costs (The Birkman assessment tells us which category you’re in!). For those, and I am one of them, that don’t like conflict, a lot happens internally to our biology when conflict arrives or even is anticipated.

Here’s a true story as an example of the last statement. I was working out the other day and had my new heart rate monitor bluetoothed to my iphone app. I was drifting along at a heart rate between 118 and 122. Then I began to play a conversation in my mind that I needed to have with a friend–one of those “crucial conversations (Patterson, et al).”  I continued to play that conversation over in my mind, thinking of ways I might deliver a tough message, but still maintain a valued friendship. I was totally focused on my internal mind conversation when my iphone app beeped. I looked down to find my heart rate had suddenly gone to 132 and was climbing. I had done nothing different with my workout and had stayed at the same pace. The heart rate climb was all about the internal conversation I was having. I immediately began to self-regulate, focused on my breathing, and stopped thinking about that challenging conversation. In less than 2 minutes, my heart rate was back to 120.

Here’s the point: without FEEDBACK I would have continued the internal dialogue, and who knows where my heart rate would have ended up!

What’s the application for leaders who want to elevate their game?

• Feedback is crucial for anyone wanting to go to the next level of leadership.
• It must be feedback that is non-threatening, credible and from a trusted source.
• You should receive feedback on a regular basis as you practice, practice, practice implementing new habits and skills.

In my role as an executive coach, I often sit in on meetings and participate in off-sites with the leadership teams to watch and observe what is going on.  As a hired coach, in most situations, I am that safe, trusted advisor, and my feedback is meaningful. A business or executive coach can be a way to jump start your growth as a leader!

Much research is being done with regard to “neural leadership,” too much to cover in this quick blog.  However, we’ve known for a long time the concept of “feedback” as it relates to athletic performance, the performing arts or any skill or habit that is enhanced by having an expert or outside observer watch or listen to what we’re doing and give us advice and tips (feedback) on how to take our skill to the next level.

It’s time to add feedback to your growth plan as a leader, but make sure you get it from a trusted, expert source!

Onward & Upward!

 Ed

I recently did a Birkman consult. We were talking about how the output showed that this person really wants and needs affirmation from people he respects and values. In fact, the “reading” is what we call “intense,” which means it’s very important to him. When I described what it meant, he commented, “But isn’t everyone like that?”

This is why we at Human Capital Initiative are big believers in the Birkman assessment, and we use it extensively in our coaching and consulting work. What I explained after that comment is that we all have needs that, if met, will allow us to perform at our best. Our usual style of leadership and our needs shape our perception of others and the world.  It’s very easy to believe that everyone is like us. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with that, but it points out how challenging it is to be an UnCommon Leader. It is so easy to make mistakes when you’re a leader by believing “isn’t everyone like that?” If it’s important to me, then why shouldn’t it be important to everyone?

Most all of us have heard of the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have done unto you. With the Birkman information, we change that paradigm to the Platinum rule: do unto others as they want to have done unto them.

Here are the major points for you to consider:

• How you see the world and your personal values color how you see others.
• How you see someone act is not necessarily how that person wants to be treated intrinsically.
• There is absolutely no correlation between someone’s external behavior  and his true intrinsic needs and motivators.

All of these points are important, but the last one is one of the key issues that will challenge all of us when we try to figure out how to lead others. Sometimes things just don’t add up, and you can’t figure out where they are coming from! Someone just shouted, “Exactly!”

Who and what is challenging you in your leadership role?

Onward & Upward!
Ed