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Today at a Glance:

• Perspective is everything

• Go to the source when you hear about a problem

• She thinks like a boss

• Leaders eat last

• Negotiation by Chris Voss

Perspective is everything.

Where you’re sitting as a leader is not always the correct viewpoint.

You need other’s perspectives and insights.

When a message is repeated by several people and you hear it 4th or 5th hand, the message has been diluted heavily.

It’s probably nothing like the original and it almost certainly will be missing the context.

A big thank you to this week’s partner, forests over trees. Be sure to show them some love.

Forests over trees (link)
Forests Over Trees. Read a weekly tech strategy breakdown alongside 1,300 leaders from Meta, Apple, Google, and more. Don't miss the forest for the trees. 

At Apple many years ago, it was often common for a front-line analyst to return to their cube from lunch to find Steve Jobs sitting at their desk.

What on earth was the CEO of the company doing coming down to the frontline?

Why didn't he just go via the chain of command?

Because Steve understood the value of feedback directly from the source.

He wanted to speak to the person closest to the problem, to get the truth and understand the actual impact.

We all know what happens when facts are passed around too many times.

Steve recognised that the passing down of information through the various layers of leadership might have blurred the problem or feedback, which would have impacted the decision he needed to make.

Avoid misunderstanding the impact or problem.

Do this instead:

1/ Speak to individuals closest to the problem - when you hear about a problem, go to the source. That might involve picking up the phone to a customer or even speaking to employees in your organisation closest to the problem.

2/ Multiple sources - don’t accept a single data point, source or point of view as the whole truth. It may have a bias or be incorrect. Evaluate multiple sources to ensure you’re getting a good representation of the problem and impact.

3/ Be aware of recency bias - this is a cognitive bias that favours recent events over historic ones, giving greater importance to the most recent event. This can blur the feedback you’re receiving, so evaluate if the problem is a repeating theme or just a 1 off issue that feels worse because it’s happened a lot recently.

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Welcome to this week’s House of Leadership Newsletter!

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Building your team is probably one of the most important things you can do as a Leader.

Bringing in people who complement the company’s values, purpose and direction is really going to provide you with a competitive advantage.

Cohesive teams who trust one another achieve great results, whereas individuals who join and are not rowing in the same direction hinder results.

An ineffective team’s output is usually less than the sum of the individuals, whereas an effective team’s output is far greater than the sum of the individual contributions.

So this is by no means a definitive list and you need to find people with the right behaviours that complement your team, but it should give you some good ideas to improve your hiring strategy.

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7 Behaviours to Focus on When Hiring

1/ Growth Mindset - do they have a Growth Mindset? Do they see challenges and setbacks as part of the journey? Will they get back up again when they make mistakes and try again? Are they open to learning continuously and making things better? Fixed Minded people don’t like change, they don’t like being wrong or seeing other people succeed. Hire Growth-Minded people.

2/ Integrity - this is where people do the right thing even when no one is looking. It’s about people wanting to do something to the best of their ability because they care and they want to do a good job. It’s about following through on what you say you’re going to do and telling the truth. You need people you can trust and that feel trusted. Integrity shouldn’t be a value, it’s an expectation.

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3/ Energy - look for people with positive energy. There is nothing worst than having someone who is negative and leaving people feeling like “I never want to work with that person again”. Someone like this is never going to help the team. Look for people who are positively charged, want the team to succeed, and are open to new things.

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Today’s Newsletter Suggestion:

Coaching is a critical competency as a leader.

It’s essential in developing your team and nurturing their potential. It’s also not just about them, if you want to be more effective yourself and be a better coach then you need to develop a deeper level of self-awareness yourself.

This Leadership Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the growth, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Quick reminder, what is coaching and why is it important?

The best way to describe coaching I find is with this old proverb:

‘Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’

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This means rather than providing solutions or answers to your team for an immediate problem, ask them questions and focus on leading them towards solutions which they discover themselves.

It may be quicker and easier to give them solutions yourself but you’re not developing their self-awareness or critical thinking which are the tools required to solve problems when you’re not around.

Coaching entails posing insightful questions and questioning entrenched beliefs that might hinder a team member's progress or impede action.

It's crucial to steer clear of "Why" questions and opt instead for open-ended inquiries beginning with "What, Who, When, or How" to sustain curiosity.

The GROW model serves as a beneficial framework for navigating goals or challenges alongside team members.

A key takeaway is to concentrate on coaching the individual rather than fixating solely on the problem.

What does GROW look like in a Coaching Session?

Goal - Identify a specific Goal. Must be SMART so it’s measurable.

• What do you want to use our session for today?

• What does that look like?

• How will you know when you have achieved this?

Reality - Identity what the current reality is, and where are they in relation to the Goal.

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As a leader, one of your paramount responsibilities is assembling a team that not only embodies the values and goals of your organization but also propels it towards success.

The essence of a cohesive team lies not just in individual talent but in shared vision and synergy.

In this pursuit, identifying and cultivating certain key behaviours becomes imperative.

Let's delve into seven essential behaviours to prioritize when building your dream team.

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1. Growth Mindset: Seek individuals who embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. A growth mindset fosters resilience, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of improvement. These individuals not only bounce back from setbacks but also view them as stepping stones to success. Embrace those who thrive in dynamic environments, as they will drive innovation and progress within your team.

2. Integrity: Integrity is the cornerstone of trust within a team. Look for candidates who uphold ethical principles even when no one is watching. Their commitment to doing the right thing, coupled with consistency in actions and words, forms the bedrock of a reliable and trustworthy team member. Remember, integrity isn't just a desirable trait—it's a non-negotiable expectation.

3. Positive Energy: Positivity is infectious and can transform the dynamics of a team. Surround yourself with individuals who radiate optimism, enthusiasm, and a can-do attitude. Their positive energy not only fosters a supportive work environment but also fuels collaboration and creativity. Avoid the toxicity of negativity by prioritizing candidates who uplift and inspire those around them.

   

4. Intelligence: Assess candidates not just for their qualifications but also for their intellectual capacity and aptitude for the role. Whether through assessments or targeted questioning, gauge their ability to apply knowledge effectively. Hiring individuals who possess the requisite intellect ensures a smoother onboarding process and sets the stage for long-term success in their roles.

   

5. Culture Fit: Alignment with organizational values is pivotal for sustained harmony and cohesion within a team. Look for candidates whose values resonate with those of your company. Delve into their past experiences to ascertain their commitment to values such as courage, empathy, and collaboration. A strong culture fit ensures that every team member contributes positively to the collective ethos of the organization.

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Celebrating your team and recognising their good work should be an intentional daily or weekly activity for all leaders.

Reflecting back on the earlier stages when I began working in IT I was never told I was doing a good job.

Self-doubt begins to creep in if you’re filling the gaps on how you’re doing yourself.

Let’s change that!

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5 Great Ways to Celebrate Your Team

1) Customer Surveys - send surveys to your customers and ask them for feedback on your team’s interactions or service.

What you do:

• Share the feedback comments with the team member and ask if they’re comfortable with you sharing with the team? If so, you’re good to go.

• Share in the team channel!

2) Personal Video - use Loom, it’s free. I love this one! It adds heart and meaning to the words rather than just sending a message or Slack.

What you do:

• Record and send them a 1-3 minute video using Loom.

• Thank them and recognise some good work they have done.

• Share your screen with some data during the recording to add more weight to the recognition.

  • “You really make a difference to our customer experience, thank you.”

  • “The work you’re doing is adding so much value to our customers, thank you”

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Last week’s edition: Coaching to Behaviours Not Numbers

A lesson on my mistakes list to help you avoid doing the same during a period of turbulence.

Losing control of the narrative can cause you a big headache as a leader.

Speculation, gossip and even armchair detectives will not help anyone.

Crisis management might be a strong word but if you treat it with that level of importance then it will avoid you potentially having a crisis on your hands.

Where I fell short here on managing comms was for a previous tech company where one of our top senior engineers decided to leave the business.

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This was a big blow because we had just got to a place of stability and this individual was highly liked by the team and extremely competent.

The sort of person you can throw in at the dead end and he’ll figure it out and get the job done.

He came to me and let me know he had decided to move on.

He had been offered a wonderful opportunity at a larger tech company with a 50% pay increase and additional scope to his role.

He couldn’t turn it down.

I was genuinely happy for him while also thinking, they are some big shoes to fill.

Reminder: When someone decides to leave don’t be hard on them. Support them and use the opportunity to learn. Some leaders see it as a bad thing, but it’s really not.

I asked him a few things:

“Thank you for letting me know and I am happy for you as you seem very excited, no hard feelings at all. Is there anything we can do to keep you?”

“Doesn’t sound like I can talk you down, so in light of your departure I would love to learn more about your true feelings for your time here, I am open to any feedback to learn more about your experience. Just give me the real talk and you won’t be burning any bridges, what can you tell me?”.

Their progress is more important than their decision.

Sometimes the grass might not be greener and they may decide to come back.

They certainly won’t come running to you if you’ve not supported them or been professional during their offboarding.

Once I had digested the news I began to approach things in the wrong way.

I felt this urge to tell the team immediately as I was mindful of them finding out before I told them, and that’s never a good thing.

So I informed our team of the news without consultation from our Managing Director or other leaders.

Messaging to the team went something like:

“X will be leaving the business as they have decided to take a new opportunity, we wish them well”.

Average messaging at best and definitely has some room for improvement.

2 Lessons learnt here:

1. Don’t handle crisis communication on your own, senior leaders will want to evaluate and sign the messaging off.

2. Regardless of how much autonomy and trust you have in your current role. When unexpected stuff comes up that you’ve never seen before or relates to people handling, always bring it to the attention of your leader for discussion.

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Last week’s edition: Difference in roles: Supervisor, Manager, Senior Manager, Director + VP.

Numbers are just the indicator, if you want to get the most out of your team and unlock their potential, focus on the behaviours.

Let’s look at one example. Customer experience.

Your team member is falling short on their customer satisfaction score.

Your goal is 95% and they’re behind at 85%.

This is how you DON’T address this problem.

“Philip your customer satisfaction score is at 85%, you know the goal is 95%. I need you to correct this. When will you get to 95% by?”

Ooof

I bet Philip feels very inspired to do his best work now.

With that type of conversation, he’ll be at 95% before you know it.

But probably for another team with better support and leadership…

You’ve not observed his work.

You’ve not identified where the gap is.

You’ve not supported him to understand if something is going on in his home life.

You’ve not had a meaningful conversation and encouraged him to reflect.

You’ve told him to fix the number.

A better way…..

5 key steps to get Philip back to satisfying his customers!

• Identify the gap

• Do some analysis and observations

• Coaching

• Build out a plan with a cause, goal and steps to address

• Accountability to plan

Step 1/ Identifying the gap

• What’s the challenge or problem you’re trying to solve?

• How is the person falling short of your expectations?

• Do you have a success measurement to know for sure?

• Success measurement should be quantitative.

Step 2/ Data and observation

• Don’t assume you know what the problem is.

• Validate the problem with data and observations.

• I identify a behaviour that Philip is adopting which is resulting in him being behind on his outcome.

• Measurable behaviours (actions) are the drivers behind the outcomes.

• Behaviour is important because it’s visible, you can see it.

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Step 3/ Coaching conversation

• They should know what their success measurements are.

• Explain the problem and what you have seen.

• Bring up data so they understand it.

• Coach them

  • What do you think might be slowing you down?

  • How could you approach this differently?

  • What action could you take to address the challenge here?

  • What can I do to support you?

• Ask them good questions to challenge their blockers and limiting beliefs.

• Be tough on the specific behaviour and kind to the person.

• Identify the root cause, what behaviour is it they are displaying and why.

Example of getting to the root cause behaviour without using the 5 Whys

Pro Tip:

Why, can be a little too direct and trigger defensiveness leaving the employee feeling uncomfortable, when the goal of the conversation is to evoke self-awareness.

Instead of why, try: How, What, Who, When

It gets you to the same place, just a better path.

Customers are not satisfied with Philip’s handling

Why? (What do you think might be the reason?)

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Last week’s edition: I can do Hard Things

I’ve been working in tech for over 15 years, 10 of those years as a leader.

When I started as a Manager, I had no idea what the differences in the various leadership roles were or how to get to the next level.

I remember joining my current company in 2017 as a Manager and I had some serious limiting beliefs.

The hiring Manager at the time was a Director and I thought to myself I would never have the chops to do his role. It scared me having that responsibility.

I just didn’t think it would be possible and I couldn’t make the mental jump to see myself being there.

The purpose of this newsletter is to share powerful insights from my daily experience as a tech leader. This newsletter will help you to be more effective within your role, unlock your full potential and ignite inspiration within your team.

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Fast forward 4 years to 2021 and I moved from a Senior Manager position into a Director role.

It’s surprising what you can achieve with intentional and small steps over a consistent period.

When you’re working on your craft every day, you’re slowly closing the gap between where you are now and where you’re attempting to get to.

In today’s Newsletter, I am breaking down the core responsibilities of these different roles to give you a better understanding of what the purview looks like and what competencies are on show.

The roles shared are common in tech companies but will vary depending on size and structure. Smaller companies of course may not have all of the roles and the scope within some of these roles will be larger, especially in start-ups.

Supervisor:

• This is generally your first people manager gig. Where you have no experience in managing people and you’re trying it for the first time.

• You will be responsible for overseeing a small team of individual contributors or junior employees.

• Tasks may include assigning work, providing guidance and mentorship, and evaluating performance.

• The focus is on day-to-day operations and ensuring tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.

• This first year is challenging, so buckle in for a steep learning curve. Helping people to be successful in their roles is not easy.

• Some competencies I would expect to see on show: Driving for results, receptive to feedback, communicating effectively and time management.

Manager:

• You’re hired into this role with at least 2 years of experience managing people.

  • This is where I started in my current company leading a team of Tier 1 and Tier 2 analysts.

• You may be responsible for overseeing a larger team or multiple teams within a specific department or area.

• More experienced Managers in larger companies may lead other leaders such as having Supervisors underneath them.

• You’ll be responsible for hiring and firing, and root causing problems within your team.

• Other tasks include setting goals, developing strategies, and managing resources to achieve objectives.

• Some competencies I would expect to see on show: Coaching, performance management, basic root causing, proficiency with challenging conversations and making well-rounded decisions.

Senior Manager:

• You will have 5+ years of Leadership experience with a proven track record of developing people.

  • When I was in this role, I had three Supervisors and two Team Leads reporting to me directly, and around 35 indirect reports.

• Similar to a Manager role but with greater responsibility and broader oversight. May involve managing larger teams, multiple departments, or complex projects.

• You should be a lot more strategic now and focused on prevention and risk mitigation rather than solving problems and being reactive. You’ll achieve this through road map planning, inspecting and root cause analysis.

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In a nutshell, self-efficacy is the belief in your own ability to achieve a certain outcome.

“I can do hard things”.

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Leaders need high levels of self-efficacy. They must believe it can be done.

Levels of self-efficacy can also predict how disciplined you are with your habits and even how well you perform in your career.

Affirmations and positive self-talk are encouraged but they rarely have a lasting impact.

Your mind sees through that and calls you out with a less compelling story.

So how do we build out self-efficacy muscles?

1/ Action - the biggest one by far is being intentional with your action. You have to put yourself out there and gain more experience.

Take action.

Being action-biased means you move forward first.

If you’re stuck in a rut, stressed or lacking inspiration, action should be your tool.

Take the first step.

Make sure you turn up.

2/ Hard stuff - I am by no means a great presenter or public speaker but I was asked to present on a topic to 50+ people.

This caused me a lot of discomfort and nerves.

My negative self-talk was strong.

I was well out of my comfort zone and had never done something like this before.

I stepped up and executed.

The presentation went very well, and it formed a watershed moment for me.

My confidence in presenting and public speaking rocketed after that.

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Influence, the ability to sway others without direct control, is your secret weapon.

Influence isn't manipulation; it's about building trust and inspiring action. Here's how:

• Become an expert: Dee…

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But what does that mean, and why is it crucial?

EQ is your ability to understand and manage your own emotions, while also perceiving and influencing the emotions of others. It's the secret sauce that fuels:

• Stronger relationships: You build trust and rapport by listening empathetically and communicating effectively.

• Motivated teams: You tap into individual needs and aspirations, fostering engagement and ownership.

• Resilient workplace: You navigate conflict constructively, turning challenges into opportunities for growth.

  

Ready to boost your EQ leadership?

Let’s get into today’s challenge.

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Here's how:

Understand Your Boss's Priorities: What are their goals and objectives? What metrics do they care about? Aligning your work with their priorities shows initiative and strengthens your position.

Communicate Proactively: Don't wait for problems to arise. Regularly update your boss on progress, anticipate roadblocks, and offer solutions. This builds trust and demonstrates your ability to take ownership.

Seek Clarity, Not Approval: Don't just ask for permission; frame your requests with clear objectives, potential solutions, and anticipated outcomes. This empowers your boss and positions you as a thought leader.

When you’re ready, let’s get into today’s challenge.

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That's where mentorship comes in, unlocking the hidden potential within your team.

Mentorship isn't just about doling out advice; it's about creating a supportive space for growth. Imagine: a mentee feels empowered to voice their ideas, experiment without fear, and gain valuable insights from your experience.

But how do you make it work? Start by identifying high-potential individuals who crave guidance.

Then, create a safe space for open communication and trust. Be a sounding board, not a dictator, offering constructive feedback and celebrating successes.

When you’re ready, lets get into today’s challenge.

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The fixed mindset breeds fear of failure, stifles innovation, and discourages risk-taking. Imagine your team hesitant to share ideas, fearing judgment instead of embracing challenges.

The growth mindset fosters resilience, welcomes feedback, and encourages experimentation. Picture your team energized, bouncing back from setbacks and pushing boundaries together.

Let’s get into today’s challenge.

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As leaders, recognizing the signs and offering support is crucial. But how do we navigate these sensitive situations effectively?

Start with open communication. Build a safe space where your team feels comfortable sharing their struggles.

Normalize conversations about mental health by showing understanding and empathy. Remember, you don't need to be a therapist, but being a supportive listener goes a long way.

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As a leader, your role is to guide them back on track, not judge them.

Here's how you can turn stumbles into strides:

Focus on understanding, not blame.

Schedule a one-on-one meeting to discuss their performance openly and honestly.

Actively listen to their perspective, and avoid accusations.

Is it a skill gap? Lack of clarity about expectations? Personal obstacles?

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The journey from supervisor to manager can feel like stepping from a familiar path into uncharted territory.

You've mastered the technical skills, but now, leadership takes center stage.

As a supervisor, you focused on tasks and individual performance.

As a manager, your scope broadens. You're now responsible for the team's collective success, fostering collaboration, and driving shared goals. Embrace this strategic perspective, and watch your team flourish under your guidance.

Here's how to make the transition seamless and impactful:

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Executive presence isn't just about charisma or confidence.

It's a potent blend of communication, composure, and leadership that inspires trust and commands respect.

It's the ability to walk into a room and instantly capture attention, not through theatrics, but through sheer gravitas.

So, how can you cultivate this elusive quality?

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