Watching political leaders wrangle for position, launch smear campaigns and talk trash about each other sure fires up the leadership coach in me. Grown adults identified as so-called “leaders” who choose bully tactics, intimidation and demeaning others as their campaign strategy gets to me every. single. time!
 
The Canadian province where I live is currently embroiled in a smear-filled provincial election fraught with insults and put-downs; it is such a miserable and appalling ‘gong show’ - wish I could bong the gong to put an end to this conduct! 
 
I am not naïve enough to think anyone could simply fix what seems to be wrong with such political behaviour overnight but I hope I live long enough to witness a group of leaders stand and face the masses, clearly state their position, demonstrate what they believe in (without being wishy-washy) and then once elected, set a concrete plan working to get it done in a professional “principled” fashion.
 
In my books, everyone in a leadership position, regardless if they’re running for office or managing a team of 2-20,000 people can be a better leader by leading with principles.
 
My Kind of Principled Leadership

• Set vision with values - Develop a longer term and lofty end goal, big picture wise. Be clear about what success looks like when the goal(s) is reached. Clarify the code of behaviour you expect people to demonstrate.  Model and reinforce those values in everything YOU do so that people on your team see you act appropriately as a part of normal course of business, showing that values are not just words on a page.

• Treat your people right – From the moment you meet them until the day either you or they leave the company, give people your attention, be considerate, show thankfulness and give them the right guidance for their role (or level) with enough space and autonomy to get their work done well.

• Seek feedback and act on it – In my experience many people leaders think they seek feedback; they ask their people in general terms 'how's it going'; they tell everyone they have an ‘open door’ - just come talk to me; they may even ask directly for feedback how they are doing as a leader. These are all good but frequently these methods miss the mark for obtaining really candid and honest, actionable feedback.  Many leaders aren't prepared to accept candour or how to acknowledge or act on it when they actually hear something they don’t like or agree with.  The result – they live in a naive happy little, yet precarious bubble with potential to burst when good people leave their team.

 
Note: Seeking, receiving and acting on feedback are skills many of us need to develop further. If you have yet to receive constructive criticism from your people about YOU, it is a good sign you have room to grow. If you have received it, consider it a great gift! Now, how did you address it?

• Be a legacy builder – to me, building a legacy involves planning how to replace YOU while doing impactful work. Whether you’re a corporate leader or an entrepreneur, build succession into your business mindset. It is a critical failure point for a thriving small business if someone can’t pick up the reigns when you’re not around. In a corporate environment, absence of developing succession talent can be a good reason to ‘kick-you-to-the-curb’. Great leaders build other leaders, not just workers. Most businesses I’ve worked with in the past have gone out of their way to source, recruit and cultivate leaders who could build other leaders.  It is simply best practice.

 
The Core Principles in Action
One senior level corporate leader I worked with (Katrina McGee….yah, not her real name) truly exemplified the core principles I look for as a Principled Leader.
 
Such a pleasure to work with. I recall one time we were working on a very sensitive and difficult message about a pending reorganization (sadly, one of many). It was a very stress filled period for her. She painstakingly agonized about every change to the department and fretted over each and every word choice because she personally felt the impact of the tough decisions being made – people truly mattered to her. 
 
We were working in her office around 9pm at night, long after others had gone home, when we heard the cleaner in the outer office area singing quite passionately to himself with headphones on. He passed by her door a couple of times - clearly he hadn’t noticed us but we did him. Instead of getting annoyed at the “I hope he buys you flowers” being belted out, she asked if we could take a quick break.
 
She collected up the garbage from around her room and grabbed a fresh bottle of water from her sideboard and went to the outer office. She startled him as she emptied her bin into his cart and then took a moment to chat, giving him the bottle of water and acknowledged his singing prowess. It was obvious they had spoken before as they shared a little chuckle before she returned to the office.
 
You see, she treated everyone with that level of respect and consideration - from the cleaner to every member of her global team to her C-suite colleagues. So genuine was her care for everyone that I can honestly say anybody who ever had the opportunity to work with her would go to the end of the earth to support her agenda.  A master at Principled Leadership I would say!
 
I know most of you want to be that kind of leader too. Here are some of the core principles that make all the difference to the teams who look to you as a leader:
 
People Matter
Principled Leaders put the interests of people first.  Their every action sends a message that everyone is equal and their ideas and opinions matter.  It doesn’t mean they will do everything people want, but they ensure their teams feel heard and acknowledged.
 
Respect is Earned
Principled Leaders operate with respect for others in everything they do – there is no put down, no intimidation or bullying. They gain the respect of others by treating others fairly and with respect, regardless of their position.
 
Attitude Counts
Principled Leaders have a positive attitude. They act in a positive, genuine manner, even during some of the toughest times, ensuring everyone remains calm and productive.
 
Consistency is the Key
Principled Leaders are who they are regardless of the situation. Whether riding the elevator, walking through the office or sitting in a board meeting, their every move is consistent and in-line with their good character.
 
Curiosity is a Game Changer
Principled Leaders love learning and knowing but will acknowledge openly they actually don’t know everything. They ask a million questions of people – how does that work, why does that happen, why can’t we do that, how can we make it happen. This inquisitiveness comes in handy, seldom are they duped and inevitably they know exactly who to go to if help is needed because they understand the roles/process in their team as well as other groups.
 
Delivering is their Jam
Principled Leaders are obsessed with getting done what they set out to do. They are doggedly determined. They make sure all of their team understand the mission and remain steadfast in overcoming whatever obstacles are in the way to deliver on their promises.
 
Can you measure up to being a Principled Leader? Of course you can! You’re likely well on your way if you took time out to read this article and thought about what you currently do!
 
Keep Dots Leadership Solutions in mind as you determine your own development needs and plans for improvement. I’d like to be your personal and confidential leadership development guide. My coaching clients will tell you I hold them accountable to deliver against any goals they set passing along many tips and tactics to help them be a Principled Leader.

​My style is direct (don't worry, I won't bong the gong on you), yet highly supportive and I bring 25+ years of experience working with leaders from many different industries both big and small – give me a call or drop me an email when you’re ready.

Ever work with someone whose style drove you crazy? Perhaps they talked too slow or fast for you, were overly demanding or passive, very logical or maybe they talked so much about feelings and relationships to the point it made it difficult to get down to business? The list of bugaboos vary because what bugs one person, may not bother another to the same degree.

We each have a unique combination of behaviours and priorities; they show up as our style to others. When you work with someone whose blend is quite different to yours, they will likely strike a nerve - when you're not well-armed to understand where they are coming from.

Assess for Your Own ‘Ah Ha!’ Moment
One way to ease this kind of discord is to conduct an assessment that decodes both you and your team’s behavioural styles. A tool to understand clear preferences and what they prioritize compared to you. 

My tool of choice is a DiSC® model behavioural assessment tool – Everything DiSC®Workplace by Wiley Brand.  It's simple, yet uncovers ‘pinch points’ quickly with leaders and/or their teams so they can adjust immediately. This tool works for building better cohesion in a team, improving communication, reducing tensions, but also offers self-awareness for leaders I coach, most of whom have a few ‘ah ha’ moments as a result!

Over the next series I highlight each one of the four dimensions of DiSC® characterized by people I’ve worked with (names changed, of course) quick links below:

• Disc Style 'I'
• DiSC Style 'S'
• DiSC Style 'C'

DiSC®Background
Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston created the theory of DISC® in the 1920’s, illustrating that people exhibited emotions through four ‘Normal’ behaviours of Dominance, Inducement, Steadiness, or Compliance – aka DISC® In the 1950’s an industrial psychologist named Walter Clarke went on to create the first assessment using the DISC behaviours Marston founded. Over the years the assessment has been improved and updated but the principles remain the same. Today we use the terms: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientious in the assessment.

First lets start with the profile of “D” – Dominance.

Meet Belinda (not her real name)
Belinda is a Vice President in a Customer Service group (Canada) of a large multi national company. She moved up through the ranks fairly fast. Here are some of her traits and behaviours that demonstrate a strong “D” profile:

• Belinda is known as a leader who takes charge and for some she is seen as aggressive and rather pushy.  To others she is the ‘go-to’ for getting some of the most difficult issues resolved, counted on to deliver time and again.
• She makes decisions quickly and decisively. She has been acknowledged for a long list of accomplishments. Her expectations of people are to act rather than study or ponder options, often asking why things aren’t done yet. She can push others quite hard, seemingly unaware of their needs, yet quick to delegate to those who are keen.  
• People who share her interest in accomplishment do well working with her. Anyone working with her can expect her to be very direct; they always know where they stand, it is no secret with Belinda. 
• She is outcome focused and sees the bigger picture rather than all the details it will take to get something done. In any customer-related crisis, Belinda knows exactly what to do.  She is able to provide her people context for how what they do will affect the customer and the overall business.
• Depending on the person she reports to she may nudge (shove, go around or annoy) them to pull rank and push others in other groups to get things done if she isn’t seeing results fast enough. She worked best with leaders who gave her high autonomy yet would become highly frustrated with bosses who questioned or blocked her ideas.
• Belinda always has goals and is determined to become the Country General Manager.
• From a development perspective she’s been told that people perceive her as a poor listener and a bully.  She knows she pushes people but that is what she thinks it takes to make work happen. She knows the steps to listen more actively, though finds it is a challenge, as she just wants to get things done. She is working on consensus building with others affected by her decisions. 
• She also received feedback that her tone and body language show displeasure when she is frustrated.  She has difficulty holding back her views on most subjects.

Do you know someone like Belinda?  Or can you see a little of yourself in her profile?  She is a good representative of a strong “D” behavioural style.  Most of us have behavioural styles with varying degrees of each of the 4 DiSC® dimensions so certain circumstances may bring your “D” more to the forefront.  

For Belinda to be considered for future, more senior level roles she must make an effort to develop work relationships by recognizing the opinions, feelings and ideas from others. Taking time to get to know people versus putting them to work.

Without some coaching, guidance and support from others, Belinda’s trajectory in a large multinational company will surely be hampered. Much of her advancement will depend on whom she reports to and whether she reigns in her power punches!

Can you see the benefit to you to better understand your own DiSC® style and how you may impact others?  Or to decode your team members so you can find the right way to communicate with them?

Get Your DiSC® Assessment!
Email or call me to take advantage of the eye-opening perspective of Everything DiSC® Workplace assessment or to arrange a session with your whole team. This assessment will surely provide a clearer understanding of how you affect others and decode how best to communicate for your own success.

Not only will you receive a detailed report but you will also have a confidential debrief with me where we will delve into your personal profile and/or team dynamic.

Call or email me when you’re ready to learn more about yourself and discuss potential career/leadership de-railers so you know how to head them off!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked, “should I promote from within or hire externally?” And while I wish there was a quick way to answer this question, there simply isn’t.
 
When this conflicting decision arises, there are several factors I look at, and recommend my clients consider, to help decide and prepare accordingly. 
 
For the most part, hiring from within is seen as a very positive practice. However, if you promote the wrong person, missing the right skills and attitude, you will have upheaval as a result.
 
Likewise, introducing an external hire into the team can bring forth new ideas, fresh thinking and objective perspective. But if the rationale for going external is not understood by the team, and people feel overlooked the person can be rejected pretty quickly–particularly in a tight knit group with an aversion to change.
 
Either way, hiring the wrong fit for the role or the team may lead to:

• negative workplace chatter
• in-fighting or rising anger
• an increase in sick days
• poor productivity, or even worse,
• resignations

 
Taking time to consider the right type of people you need, who fit your environment, share the same values as the team and have the right skill set, is the key to determining whether to promote from within or hire externally.
 
To prevent bad feelings, it is very important to consider internal staff first in your selection process before going outside of the business.
 
To help you learn from other’s experience, I’ve highlighted some scenarios that underscore the pitfalls of in-house promotion vs. external hire.
 
Scenario #1 – Internal Hire
Meet Tony Saildude. Tony was a National Sales Director in an ever-changing, fast-paced company that was trying to acquire market share in a highly competitive industry. After his Sales Manager, Joyce Leadcraft left the company to stay at home with her 4 young children, Tony suddenly had an opening in their small business sales division.
 
Over several years, Joyce built the team from the ground up and was always there to ensure deals made it through in a timely manner. She continuously answered policy and process questions and effectively stickhandled internal conflict with both Marketing and Operations. 
 
Acting quickly, Tony decided to select his best salesperson, Ron Sharp, for the role. Ron was well liked by the team and senior leadership, always upbeat, a great relationship builder and had been in his role for 4 years, frequently attaining the pinnacle of CEO Sales Club annually. 
 
Ron was delighted with the promotion. He received a handsome increase, a parking spot and the coveted ‘inside office’. But shortly after he was promoted, the complaints began rolling up to Tony from the team.
 
Ron wasn’t available like Joyce had been and he didn’t take the time to solve internal issues. He usually took long lunches or breaks and frequently was seen socializing with people in Marketing. Ron was also bossy to the team, barking out deadlines and often raised his voice before closing himself in his office. And when they had internal issues with other groups, he would say things like “suck it up buttercup” leaving them frustrated and resentful.
 
Ron’s greatest strength had always been building rapport with customers, but in his new role, he was stuck in the office all day, forced to stick-handle a myriad of questions and expected to answer to Tony–it was not a good fit for Ron.
 
What Tony really needed was someone who could run interference internally, communicate clear direction, hold others accountable and also be readily available to resolve issues. These were skills and strengths Ron just did not have.
 
The Learning: Questions When Promoting Internally 

1. Assess the current state of the team. What leadership will be required going forward based on the needs of the team?
2. If there was someone in the role previously, review what his or her strengths and weaknesses were. What do you need and want in the next person?
3. Understand the core skills and success profile of the ‘role’ and measure your internal candidates against those skills. Are there any good matches?
4. When promoting an individual contributor to management, ensure you develop the core skills before you promote them. For instance, give them some initiatives to lead so you can help them develop and understand the nuances of leadership. What skills are needed to develop? When will they be ready?
5. Make sure you understand the style of any potential internal candidate to validate how they will fit at the next level. Anticipate how the team will work with them. What style clashes may occur, with whom? How can you avoid this?
6. Head off possible conflicts by setting the stage with the team about your hiring decision and garner their feedback. What issues do your team point out and how might you help fix?

 
Scenario #2 – External Hire
Meet Mary Newhere. Mary was the new Senior Vice President, Human Resources for a financial services company. The department was built on a foundation of promotions from within the company, so much so that many of the existing HR department did not have HR experience, which was why they hired Mary.
 
Seeing that the business was about to go through quite a bit of change, Mary wanted to hire a successor who could navigate the impending transformation, so she decided to hire externally. She hired Laura Right.
 
Laura had a 25+year HR career from different industries and was highly recommended through Mary’s network. Soon after she joined, Laura realized how tight the current team was and while they really liked her, she found that they rejected any new ideas or suggestions, even though Mary was always supportive.
 
Two months after Laura was hired, Mary was moved to another position and Laura’s new boss became Lester Oldschool–a financial services ‘lifer’ who navigated several departments over his 30 years and was a sceptic about new ideas that may impact the culture.
 
Laura’s peers adored Lester, complaining to him that Laura was hired too quickly and that none of them were even considered for the role. They weren’t happy that she wanted to make change to ‘tried and true’ practices.
 
It wasn’t long before Laura became discouraged and frustrated. She had no other sponsor or support once Mary left. Although her business clients thought she was refreshing, she was unable to affect change in HR and constantly faced a battle.
 
Laura left before her 2-year anniversary after being snapped up by another company.
 
The Learning: Questions When Hiring Externally 

1. Assess the current state of the team. What ‘fit’ will be needed moving forward? Who may be sceptical of newcomers and how might you help shift their perspective?
2. Understand the baseline or core skills and success profile of the role and measure your internal candidates to those skills before looking externally. What are the right skills, for this role, at this time?
3. Assess the history and culture of the group before making external hiring decisions to anticipate potential pitfalls or issues. List what challenges you may encounter? How will you ease them?
4. Have one or two team members, or peers to be a part of the interview process. Who from the team will be objective to interview candidates and provide useful insights about their fit to the team and company?
5. Build a platform for change before bringing someone new in. Encourage current team members to brainstorm new ideas to old problems, explain your hiring process to the team as well as what you’re looking for and why. How will you create ‘buy-in’ from your team?
6. Build senior level support internally for newcomers so its not just you. Find ‘sponsors’ who will help them navigate issues and understand the long-standing team culture. Who will be a strong ‘go to’ sponsor who the team will respect and demonstrate to others how to embrace change?
7. Give detailed candid feedback to any internal candidates who are considered but not selected. Provide them with specific examples about the gaps they have to the role and guidance for how to develop for future consideration. What were their gaps? What development will be required for them to be considered in the future?
8. Create a sharing culture. Select internal peers to ‘buddy up’ and learn from the newcomers’ external experience. This will develop a bond with the newcomer as well as develop as coworkers. Who should be a peer buddy highly respected by others, who will be interested in learning new perspectives?

 
Trying to decide between promoting internally versus hiring externally can be a challenge. To avoid creating an unhappy environment, remember to consider your internal staff first, measuring them appropriately against the requirements of the role, before going outside of the business.
 
Hiring the right person and ensuring that they’re successful in their role requires careful consideration and planning. If you need assistance or guidance in this area, contact us to help you assess your environment and needs.
 
Dots Leadership Solutions also offer pre-screening or second interview support, custom recruitment frameworks and custom tool kits to assist leaders in making the right hiring decision.

Building a kick-ass team is one of the most rewarding experiences for any leader. To see the team YOU established succeed and thrive creates a sense of pride and satisfaction like no other.
 
Do you remember how it felt to be a part of an awesome team? You were in sync, you had fun, and you were an unstoppable machine. Everyone was connected and continuously driving in the same direction to get stuff done.
 
This blog marks the beginning of a series of posts that will walk you through the full cycle of not only building a team, but also supercharging it!  Today, we start from the beginning, which involves creating your vision, crafting roles and selecting the right members. Over the course of the next few months, I will address other topics such as the settling in period, navigating through difficult times, celebrating successes and preparing for transformative windups.
 
The “Kick-Ass Team Building From the Ground Up” series will also include tons of practical tips and tricks for boosting your own leadership capabilities, so please follow along for full access to an abundance of insight and advice. 
 
Without further ado, welcome to part one of our series – The Start Up Phase!
 
There are countless reasons why you may be forming a new team right now. It may be the beginning of a new project or initiative, or there may be an important new business direction underway and you have to pull a group together.  Regardless of the reason behind the new team formation, here are your steps to get started:  
 
1. White-Boarding
Let me preface by stressing one thing – do not skip this step! Even if you’ve been handed a group of pre-selected individuals to begin with, I encourage all of my clients to start with a blank slate. Before you go sticking boxes on an org chart, ensure you are crystal clear on your own vision. Grab a whiteboard and consider these key questions:

• What is the primary accountability of the unit?
• What are long term/short term goals that need to be attained?
• What output will this team specifically be responsible for?
• What may have changed from before, and/or what problem(s) need solving?
• What are the timeframes, challenges, known issues, potential pitfalls?
• Who are the stakeholders the team will need buy-in from or interface with?
• What does success look like with this team and how will you measure it?
• How will this team differ from others?

 
Having this information readily available will assist you in figuring out which roles are required on the team and what work you’ll be in charge of overall.  It will also provide a basis to review the team’s progress once set up.
 
2. Suss Out The Work
When beginning to build a team, it’s common for leaders to immediately think about managers – how many they need, who they will be etc. But there is a major drawback to this approach. What tends to happen is teams end up with too many people trying to lead without clear and distinct accountabilities – and you know what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen!
 
Instead of beginning with management, do a bottom-up build. Consider the day-to-day work of your team and allow your structure to fall into place according to what actually needs to get done.
 
In order to ensure you stack your structure with the right number and level of roles, consider these questions first:

• What work is routine or repetitive?
• How much creativity/problem solving will be needed?
• Is the work time bound?
• What information will need to be communicated? Frequency?
• How detailed is the work?
• What processes will be followed? Systems used?
• How much subject matter expertise is necessary?
• What decisions will be made by which roles? (Decision rights)
• How much autonomy will there be?
• What work processes go together? Need to be separate?

 
Your answers to the questions above should start to create a picture of how many people you really need to DO the day-to-day work?  And in contrast, how many managers are required to manage the people doing the day-to-day. 
 
If you can, quantify the output that will be delivered – you may have to make a few assumptions at this point – and think about the ROI (return on investment) of your resources.  You tend to get bigger return with ‘doers’ than with ‘managers’.
 
Here are some common pitfalls that many leaders face during this step of a new team formation:

• Not having a clear picture of the work that needs to be done day-to-day – this leads to confusion and poor productivity at the outset, which doesn’t make for a good start
• Planning for too many resources before the work is available. Consider spacing out the ramp up of your team or you’ll have people twiddling their thumbs at the beginning
• Assuming all the people you have can do whatever you throw at them. Most people prefer some structure and clear expectations

 
3. Map Your Structure
This is when you get to move the boxes around.  When creating an organizational structure, I prefer using an accountability-based approach – that is establishing a hierarchy with clarity so everyone will know who is on the hook for what. 
 
Clear accountability is a critical success factor for a smooth running team. Also vital, yet sadly overlooked, is ensuring that each Manager fully understands that their responsibility includes the development of their team members, not just direct reports. This includes formalized succession planning for managers to have replacement plans for their own roles – setting this up in the beginning will make your job a whole lot easier. 
 
Now layout a future focused org structure identifying how each role reports.  Every role on the org chart needs a unique and clearly defined accountability in order to reduce confusion and improve self-sufficiency. Notice we haven’t talked about the people yet?  This is done on purpose. 
 
Million Dollar Tip: Never design your structure around your people.  Big mistake! (Send me a message if you want to know why)
 
Here is an example of how you might divide work initially in order to support your longer-term structure to ramp up staffing over time:  

Org structures evolve due to many variables over time, but having a plan to begin with a ‘target’ operating model (future structure) will help as you begin the hiring/selection process. Look for talent who can grow and be developed over time into expanded roles.
 
4. Spec Your Jobs
I know this may seem tedious, but believe me, this is worth the investment! Not only will this step get you thinking about what work is needed to be done and the talent you will need, but also the document you create will serve multiple purposes over the life cycle of the team (e.g. sourcing people, evaluating compensation, performance management). 
 
Each role needs its own spec - a profile. Consider all the elements similar to a job posting you would need, which details the skills necessary, the type of characteristics required to be successful and the education or knowledge you feel is a must or nice to have in each job.
 
If you’ve never done this before, you can cheat by ‘Googling’ similar jobs and reviewing postings for relevant content.  They will give you a clue for the type of jobs in the market (no one I know ever got into trouble for using another job posting for inspiration).  Just ensure your job spec thoroughly outlines the work duties, tasks, and responsibilities so that a potential employee has an idea of what they’ll be signing up for!
 
5. Pick Your Talent
Finally, it’s time to talk about people. I could write a whole blog on just this step – I love selecting talent – but I’ll save that for another time! For the sake of moving along, I’ll keep this section brief.  
 
If you already have a pool of people to select from, resist the temptation to simply slot in people you know in the boxes.  Do yourself a favour and review them against the job spec for ‘fit’, and ask yourself if they are the right people to do the job.  If not, you may need to post the role.
 
This is the step where it really pays to have objective help in screening candidates and conducting interviews.  Having someone to whittle the list of candidates down to a choice few will save you time – they can also be your point person to field follow up calls and emails. 
 
I highly recommend involving several people that you trust in the interview stage to help you screen for ‘fit’. It’s important that anyone new joining the team or business matches both the style and organizational culture of the company. If you have management roles, start with those first and perhaps have them join you in future interviews as you build out the team.
 
Prepare a series of questions that will help you probe and qualify the candidates until you find the right people to fill your roles. I also recommend considering the use of a comprehensive assessment tool that can give yet another dimension about fit to the team and clues for how best to manage and communicate moving forward. 
 
Dots Leadership Solutions can assist you with crafting your structure, developing job specs, preparing your selection strategy and even screening, assessing and interviewing candidates – it’s kind of our ‘thing’. Give us a call today and let’s chat about the next team you’re building.
 
Stay tuned for our next blog in the 'Building a Kick-Ass Team' series Part 2 – Team Identity