What's Wrong with Introverts? Nothing

In this age of constant and continuous communication from TV commentators, it is interesting how surprised they are that people in power are introverts. They are talking about the two folks running for the highest office in the land and comparing them to Bill Clinton, a true extrovert.

The assumption is that if you are a leader, you must be extroverted. That it takes a bubbly personality who enjoys the constant interaction with people to make a leader successful.  That being aloof, internally focused and more comfortable being alone will result in failure, or at least, less success.

So what does that do for the individuals who are introverted and have some difficulty being the social butterfly.This would include many people in the technology ,finance and engineering world, as well as scientists, doctors and many people in the C suite.In fact, introverts are everywhere in every occupation, yes even sales, and they not only succeed but often become the leader of the organization.

As an executive coach, I work with many individuals who are by nature introverts. (Including CIO and CTOs) As leaders , they are very successful who lead with confidence, determination and superb business acumen. These introverted leaders know that to be even more successful, they need to understand themselves and the external world better.They need to increase their social  and interpersonal skills so that their employees feel valued and listened to. To communicate a shared vision to an organization, the introverted leader must first learn how to communicate successfully and then to get others to executive upon that strategy, leaders must make others feel listened to and valued. 

To an extravert ,engaging a team and building consensus  seems so simple (like saying good morning or making eye contact) Yet for many introverted leaders, knowing what they should do and being comfortable doing it, are very separate and difficult things.

As a coach I work on all the aspects of Emotional intelligence. The technology individuals I coach are already successful They have a coach to help them become more outgoing. Knowing how to read a room, what it takes to engage an individual or group, and how to empathize with others, leads to better employee performance and an atmosphere of trust and success. These individuals are still introverted, it is their behavior that has changed.

To paraphrase Daniel Goleman from his seminal work on "What Makes a Leader"in the  Harvard Business Review,2004. People who can self regulate and self correct their emotional impulses are often seen as cold fish. For some reasons there is a belief that emotional outbursts and fiery temperaments are charismatic and evoke leadership. In fact, it is that exact behavior that often produces negative results. Successful leaders know who they are and have control of their emotions.

Yes you can change your behavior. You can still be who you are (authentic) and yet include behaviors that seem out of your comfort zone. You can be an introvert who ,in specific situations, behaves like an extrovert. Being self aware and learning what it takes to succeed, results in appropriate and successful behavior. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a leader allows you to hire in areas that compliment your style. Understanding interpersonal and social interactions, can be taught. It is the willingness to learn that is unique. The introverted leader who is eager and willing to learn how to be more socially adept, will be more successful. 

It takes self awareness and hard work but it can be done.  

Innovative Instruction for IT Auditors

As an executive coach skilled in navigating the business environment, the worlds of academics and of IT are somewhat foreign territory. What do my areas of expertise – soft skill training and interpersonal communication -- have to do with highly skilled technology and finance students? Turns out, they are a perfect match.

At Temple University’s Fox School Department of Management Information Systems (MIS), administrators hold the innovative idea that increasing social awareness, the ability to self-regulate impulses and enhancing communication skills, will produce better IT auditors. As a result, I am currently teaching a class in a newly formed IT Auditing Masters program.

Typically, I work with organizations that want to increase the success of their executives, and in turn, business revenue.  This usually involves developing emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills among business leaders.

The Magic of IT

I have always admired IT departments and tech businesses that are crammed with technical geniuses who, seem to make the impossible, not only possible, but actually quite ordinary.  Achievements like tablets or smart phones that play music, show movies and act as a TV, camera, encyclopedia, classroom, radio and a video camera, are truly magical. And now I am getting a closer look at these magicians.

I have learned that the Fox School of Business’s new MS program in IT Auditing and Cyber Security -- one of only three such programs in the country -- is based on ISACA, a global association of information systems professionals. Students are trained to complete the Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) exam at the end of their studies.

Based in Philadelphia, the Fox School of Business in general, and my class specifically, is an amazing place filled with students from all over the world who come here to study and learn. One of my goals was to culturally prepare and acclimate students for the business world, including the interpersonal skills an auditor needs to be successful. The classes include individual personality assessments and real-world feedback from the head of audit of a major financial institution about what makes a successful auditor. We also practice interviewing skills, what good negotiation looks like, and discuss how emotional intelligence plays a major role in working with clients and stakeholders.

Learning Subtle Skills

Obviously, the first measure of success as an IT auditor requires excellence in the technical side of the job. But to get business constituents who are being audited to change their behavior, involves much more subtle communication and negotiation. How we say what we say, how much we listen to the verbal and the nonverbal language around us, and how comfortable we are asking and disseminating difficult information, often determines the outcome of any meeting—and any career.

 

Students learn that an IT audit meeting, which often involves much nuance and potentially negative consequences, is difficult under any circumstances. Therefore, knowing how and what to communicate, adding value to the conversation, and trying to be as objective as possible, will also determine the success of the IT auditors’ outcomes.

Teaching this wonderful, dedicated group of students is a unique and fulfilling experience and it proves that executive or business skills coaching is valuable in every setting.

Should You Have A Coach

Should Every Executive Have a Coach?

You are at doing well in your career. You are dedicated, skilled, technically competent, a recognized leader in your company and a valued employee. Your performance reviews are excellent, and your manager has complete confidence in your abilities. So why would you want (or need) a coach?

In a recent article in the New Yorker Magazine, (Oct 27, 2011) a renowned surgeon talked about getting a (surgeon) coach who could give him feedback on how he performed in the surgical suite. Although his outcomes were good, his reputation was impeccable and his interpersonal skills were excellent, he felt himself too comfortable, and wondered how he really did in all aspects of his work  and what he could improve.

Knowing that he could not be objective about his own behavior, he decided that an outside set of eyes and ears, would provide a mirror to his actual behavior. He wanted to improve how he worked, so he hired a coach who in fact did help become a better physician.

The Yale Center for Parenting looks at different aspects of parenting. One aspect of their research is how parental behavior contributes to the continuation of tantrums in children. By changing behavior in the parents, and coaching them in new behaviors, both verbal and non-verbal, the behavior of their children changed, and the tantrums were diminished or eliminated. Even a different way of offering praise to already well behaved and smart children, produced better results in the kids. Parental coaching changes behavior, in both the adults and the child’s, resulting in better behaved children and more relaxed parents.

In his book "Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives", Nicholas Christakisn writes about how changes in medicine, technology or finance will not work effectively without the appropriate behavioral change in the user. You can give out millions of mosquito nets to prevent malaria, but if people do not use them, they are useless. Vaccines prevent illnesses, as long as people get vaccinated. He calls this phenomenon "bio social science" and thinks that in the 21st century, it will be bio social science that is key to changing behavior.

Behavioral change requires a change in how we perceive the world and a trusted way to learn the new behaviors. Coaching can do this. Having a coach to reflect and build on what you do well, is part of how extremely successful people stay at that uppermost level. Having a coach, who can assess your skills and work on nuanced behavior, may result in better outcomes for you and your team.

We become complacent in what we do, we stop striving for better outcomes when we are already successful, we assume we cannot change others behaviors and we think executive coaching is for the  new, problematic or dysfunctional individual.  Many organizations hire coaches for new employees to insure a successful transition into a new culture. Other organizations hire coaches for  the top employees to maintain the level of success already achieved does not diminish. In fact all of us could benefit from that outside perspective of our behavior that coaching provides.

If the best singers have singing coaches, if the most celebrated athletes continue working with coaches, even when they are regarded as the best in their sport, if the top CEOs have coaches to use as sounding boards and offer unique perspectives, shouldn't you have an executive coach as well?

Self Assurance and Listening - The Need for Balance

This wonderful article was written by my good friend, Bob Gillmett.

It is doubtful that anyone in their personal or professional lives will dispute that there comes a time when they need a little (or a lot) of guidance and advice.  In many cases it is not a matter of “if you do”, but rather one of “acceptance”.  Acceptance on two levels:  1) accepting the fact that someone else’s opinion or advice might be valuable and, 2) accepting the advice given.  To some extent we are all guided by what we see and hear and how we assimilate that information into our actions.  However the outcome of that assimilation can vary greatly by the degree to which we are willing to change based on what we see and hear and the extent to which we may seek further direction from others.

These dynamics shape our personalities, our actions and how we grow – ourselves and/or our business.  To become individuals and develop individual style, we need to listen to ourselves and act upon our instincts and intuition.  But from time to time we also need to listen to what others are telling us and adjust our actions accordingly.  This is a delicate balance – too much of either one can result in dysfunction that impacts the individual and those around him/her.

With the recent passing of Steve Jobs we’ve heard a lot about the fact that he trusted his gut and very rarely listened to others. To some extent that is true, to be sure, but in point of fact he was an ardent supporter of customer satisfaction feedback and he monitored customer experience in stores and on-line on a daily basis.  A key to garnering more customers is to get current customers to talk favorably about your product. Customer satisfaction and the attention paid to maintain and grow that satisfaction is critical to developing a successful business.  Jobs definitely listened.

Ira Waldbaum grew his family grocery store business from a “mom & pop” operation selling produce and grocery staples in a street corner location in Brooklyn, NY to a 2 billion dollar company with 140 stores employing over 7500 people in three states in 1986, when the company was sold to A&P.  He was known as a man who adhered to strict ideas of store management and worked on instinct.  But a brief excerpt from his obituary in 2002 paints a slightly different picture:  “When Brooklyn customers asked for cartons for moving, he asked where they were going. ‘When they mentioned Kew Gardens’, he said, ‘I decided to open a store there.’ “  Ira listened too.

Neither man gave up on their strong adherence to instinct and intuition.  However both men realized the needed to listen to others as well.

Achieving the proper balance of self assurance and guidance from others will equip you well for success.  Whether it’s in the digital world or the produce aisle, you will sell a lot of apples.

 

Leadership: Apple Style

The bulk of the work that I do as an executive coach involves leadership both development and enhancement. It doesn’t matter the type of organization, the level of the individual or the functions involved: it always is about leadership.  Often I am asked to coach a new leader to make sure she/he is successful quickly; or to increase emotional intelligence (EIQ) in very brilliant introverts, whose teams are not performing as well as they could, or high potential executives who need coaching to insure continued success. For the most part, executive coaching works to develop and enhance existing behaviors as well as adding new skills deemed necessary.

Often the major skills or behaviors I am asked to work on include impulse control or self-regulation, which is one of the internal EIQ subsets. At times I am retained to coach an executive who is brilliant but comes across to her/his team as manipulative, scary, narcissistic and highly volatile.  The organization wants those behaviors eliminated from the executive and new more collaborative behaviors instilled.

Yet it is exactly those “negative” behaviors that organizations deem inappropriate and harmful that Steve Jobs displayed as the leader of Apple. From what you read about him, it is exactly these traits plus his brilliance and passion that made Apple so successful. So, the question becomes, are we entering a new era of what leadership looks like and what motivates and drives a successful team? Are the countless surveys and studies that state that leadership based on collaboration, and more humanistic approaches outdated and ineffective now?  Or is Steven Jobs really more in touch with his EIQ than we think?

Steve Jobs was aware enough to know that his volatility and emotional outbursts would test the strength of his staff’s convictions, but he also knew that he needed someone to pick up the pieces of his destruction. The COO who is now his successor, is a compassionate, silent type who makes sure things work operationally.  Perhaps Steve Jobs did know what he was doing after all.

So maybe being as brilliant and forward thinking as Steve Jobs, coupled with self-awareness about what he can and cannot do, and whom he can intimidate and whom he needed to praise, is a possible way to lead.  Just make sure you are as brilliant and adventuresome as Mr. Jobs and are willing to accept the consequences.

The Future of Technology and Executive Coaching

The Future of Technology and Executive Coaching

As a non-technology individual and by that I mean I really don't understand how it all works (it feels like magic). I am a consistent user of all that keeps me informed and connected to the wider world. I can get information on any subject at any time in virtually any place. Recently Google reported that it had over a billion discrete hits on its sight. That is one in 7 people has used Google since its inception. The use of technology has revolutionized all aspects of our daily lives. Watson, the IBM built computer won on the game show Jeopardy. Computers now can beat the best chess champions in the world. Robotic arms and lasers are all digitally modulated to reach precise locations in our bodies. The use of technology has no boundaries and feels limitless.
So what does this all mean and where do we as leaders in organizations need to do to be ready for the next wave of personal technology.

The futurist Ray Kurzweil writes that in the not too distant future, technology will be part of the human body. Already we have cameras that patients swallow to see the inner working of the body (they are eliminated through the digestive system), and information chips that let us know where our animals are and to whom they belong. Kurzweil writes that these technological marvels will tell us everything we need to know about what is going on inside our bodies. He also writes "Intelligence will become increasingly non-biological and trillions of times more powerful than today".

What will not change is the human components, the emotional awareness, the ability to understand, all the aspects of our emotions that make great leaders today, will still be what makes great leaders in the future. No technology will take the place of human awareness. It is how the leader interacts with the individuals, influences decision-making, motivates and rewards the individuals, which will result in success outcomes.
It is the responsibility of the technology leaders to understand that the human component of behavior and emotional intelligence is always going to the most important factor in success. Emotional Intelligence is the cutting edge no computer will ever get and that sets true leaders apart. It is here that executive coaching can help leaders accelerate their success.

"The Good Boss", Google Style and Executive Coaching

As an executive coach, I have had many clients where the individual needing the coaching was not a good manager or a strong leader.  A poor manager impacts the team negatively which often leads to lower productivity and inadequate results.
I have also coached great leaders, adored by their teams who accomplish amazing results but cannot get along with a terrible boss.
In both cases I wonder, what is a "good boss" and why does coaching work to make them more successful?

A recent New York Times article, March 13, 2011, described the process that Google, (the mega giant of information) used in ascertaining what is a productive, successful leader as measured by their teams. The Google HR folks looked at several years worth of data, massaging the information into numerous categories in order to discover what made a "good" leader. After the complex process was completed, Google's HR folks came up with 8 significant traits.
What was so interesting about the ranking of these 8 traits was that coming in dead last - remember this is Google, the king of technology, the master of information - was "technical expertise'!

The two most vital traits for successful leadership as a boss was having a clear vision for the team and connecting with the team members in more social terms. In other words, good bosses know where they are going and make consistent, quality time for the individuals needed to get to the goal. The individual team members willingly followed bosses they trusted with the team's success.

It turns out that even at Google, leadership is not about the hard skills, but rather about the soft ones. People leave companies when they have a bad boss. They thrive when they feel involved, valued, communicated with, and trust their leader.
I am not sure that hundreds of pages of data was needed to prove that the leaders and bosses at Google have the same traits as the leaders elsewhere. Research has shown the same results over and over again. Yet, when Google did their analysis, the results were similar.

Executive Coaching enhances the social soft skills and eliminates behaviors that get in the way of success. So what does Google do for their less than good leaders, you guessed it. They get the individual a coach!!