This admonition  has to do with encouraging the development of others.  It has to do with humility.  It has to do with those who follow.  Because, without followers (the people), are you really leading?

So how do you make it about about them?

Stretch Opportunities: Look for portfolio assignments that stretch and grow those around you.  Let them take on part of what you are responsible for.  Give them responsibility for part of your budget.

Presentations: Whenever possible, allow individuals to make presentations to the team, to your boss and to other leaders.  The experience will be invaluable and the exposure to other leaders will give them visibility.

Recognition: Give them credit for their work.  Elevate your team by giving them credit where and when it is due.  One of the quickest ways to lose a good employee or an entire team is to take credit for their work.  And it’s also a derailer for you.  Your boss knows what YOU can do.

Coach: As part of your development, practice coaching.  Coach your team collectively and individually.  This sets a great example, gives you practice and helps develop your team.  Coaching is a great way to increase the skills and knowledge of others.

Practice humility in all things you do.  Being humble is an endearing quality of a great leader.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “Coach?”  What images do you see?  For some, they see their high school basketball coach barking instructions.  For others, they think of wind sprints or drills.  So what is coaching?  Simply put, coaching is helping and individual improve performance to reach an ultimate goal.

In the business world, coaching is used to give feedback, instruct, improve performance and to advise/counsel.  Business coaching, much like athletic coaching, is a tool used to help individuals improve performance, which ultimately improves the business.  We wouldn’t let a team compete on the field or on the court without some form of coaching and yet we expect employees to perform at a high level with little or no coaching for performance improvement.  Would many professional athletes be where they are today without some form of coaching along the way?

Leaders don’t coach, or don’t coach very well, for a variety of reasons.  One of the reasons I hear is that they don’t know what to say to an employee, therefore, they avoid talking to them.  And what do employees say is a top reason they leave a company?  Anyone?  It’s because their manager didn’t talk to them.  They felt their manager didn’t care about them.  Imagine the reduction in turnover if only you would give feedback to your employees.

Using a coaching model like G.R.O.W., or any other coaching model, can greatly enhance the conversation and improve performance.  I like the G.R.O.W. model because it’s simple and easy to remember.  Following is a breakdown of the model.

G – Goal: This is what you and the coachee want to get out of the session.  It’s your objective for the conversation.  If you establish a goal up front, you have something to work toward and can see measurable progress.  A coaching session goal might be to help your coachee gain experience and confidence giving a performance review to one of his or her direct reports.

R – Reality: Reality is about using questioning techniques to help the coachee and you understand the present situation and how they got there.  Asking Who, What, Where and When questions help frame the situation for both of you.

O – Options: Once both of you have a clear picture of the current reality, help the coachee identify some actions.  Brainstorm with them to come up with actions they can take to move them forward to achieve their ultimate goal.  Guide the coachee but don’t tell them what to do.  They need to own the actions.

W – Will Do: This step in the conversation is the time to lay out one or two of the actions you brainstormed in the previous step.  Have your coachee identify at least one action he or she will take to get them closer to their goal.  And set a timeline or milestone for completing the action(s).  This step is also about holding them accountable.  If there is no follow-up and accountability, then you just have had a nice conversation.  You are looking for change and improvement toward a pre-determined goal.

Coaching is a skill that must be practiced over and over.  You won’t start out a great coach.  With time and practice, however, you CAN be a great coach.  The main thing I want you to take away is that you need to talk to your employees.  Give them feedback on things they do well and on areas where they could improve.  You want a winning team not a losing one.  Be a coach…be a leader.

How many of you have given feedback to someone via a 360 assessment?  A 360 is a great tool for leaders to learn how others see them.  It’s not always easy to get such honest feedback from your boss, peers and direct reports.  Their feedback is based on how they see you.  It’s their perception of you.  When you get the feedback report, you have a couple of options.  One, you can discount what others say as sour grapes, or two, you can reflect on what their feedback is saying to you.  Hopefully, you’ll select number two.

How many 360s have you had in your career?  How often do you get to participate in a 360 for yourself?  Provided you are open to feedback, the more times you can get feedback, the better you are able to calibrate your leadership.  If you are not offered a 360 every 18-24 months, ask for one.  You could even conduct your own Pulse Survey.  These are mini surveys that allow you to get informal feedback from those around you.

It’s not easy to read or hear honest feedback about how others view you and your ability.  But to grow, you have to open your mind and be willing to change or adapt based on the feedback.  Great leaders must be willing to swallow their pride and admit that they need to do something to change the perception of others.

As a leader, you have to put your consultant hat on when you encounter a performance problem with one of your direct reports.  And you have to step back and look at the problem from three angles.

1. Does the employee know what’s expected?  Surprisingly, many people are not sure what you want from them.  They aren’t always clear on goals and expectations.  If this is the issue, clarify the goals and lay out expectations.  And ensure the employee understands them.
2. If it’s not an expectation issue, look at their skills and knowledge.  They know the expectations, but do they have the skills to perform?  Can they perform?  If the answer is NO, train them.
3. If the employee knows what’s expected and knows how to do it, but still isn’t performing, look at their motivation.  Are they willing / motivated to perform.  If this is the issue, you have to decide how best to coach the employee.  Motiviation issues can be the most difficult to address and correct.  Often this type of performance issue has to be dealt with using a performance improvement plan.

Addressing poor performance isn’t the most pleasant thing for anyone to deal with, but you need to address it sooner rather than later to get it back on track.  With your consultant hat on, you need to be able to ask the right questions, observe behavior and coach for performance improvement.  It takes time, but it’s better to spend the time on the front end diagnosing rather than on the back end dealing with a potential legal issue.

Below are five ways to derail your career.

1. Making it all about YOU.  It’s not about you, it’s about them.  Putting your team and others first is the sign of a good leader.  Putting yourself first is not.  A selfish attitude will not be looked upon favorably by your boss, peers and direct reports.
2. Treating others poorly.  This goes along with number 1 above.  Avoid being abrasive in dealing with others.  You are the captain of the ship.  You may bring the ship in safely, but if the crew is dead, you haven’t accomplished much.  Be more of a servant leader and you will avoid treating others poorly.  Remember, it’s about them.
3. No follow-through.  Lack of attention to detail makes you look disorganized.  You may be the nicest person in the world, but if you don’t follow through on tasks or jobs, you may be looked upon as untrustworthy.
4. Not developing your team.  Selecting, hiring and developing a staff is critical to good leadership.  You need to be able to assess talent and develop a top-notch team.  You need to develop your successor as your continue your own development.
5. Lack of adaptability.  In today’s business environment, adaptability and flexibility are critical.  You have to be willing to take on tough challenges, take on a new role that may be outside your comfort zone and willing to flex to meet the demands of the boss, team, company or economy.

Lack of emotional intelligence can also be a derailer, but I’ll leave that one for another time.  If you focus on avoiding and are aware of these five derailers, you have some of the ingredients to be a successful leader.

ABC stands for Antecedent, Behavior and Consequences.  If you use these to assess behavior, you may uncover the reasons why people continue to do the things they do or don’t do.

Antecedent is a person, place, thing or event coming before behavior that encourages you to perform that behavior.  Examples of business antecedents are policies job descriptions, rules, procedures, standards, objectives, etc.  These are the things that communicate what you are supposed to do.  They serve as the cue for behavior and always come before the behavior they influence.

Behavior is any observable and measurable act.  It’s what we do or see people do.

Consequences, or behavioral consequences,  are the events that follow behavior and influence or change the probability that they will recur in the future.  Consequences are the single most effective tool managers have to increase employee performance and morale.  Behavior is affected by the consequences that follow it.  And consequences either strengthen or weaken behavior.

In his book, Performance Management, Aubrey C. Daniels describes the ABC model and walks you through how to use it to analyze performance problems.  An ABC analysis is a problem-solving process.  If you want to know why your employees do or don’t do what you want them to do, conduct an ABC analysis.  If you want good performance/behavior to continue, learn what you need to do to make that happen.  If you want bad behavior to stop, learn what’s causing it and how to extinguish it or reduce the behavior.

Daniels has also authored Bringing Out the Best in People.  It’s a book about how to apply the power of positive reinforcement.  Both books are worth checking out.

The ABCs may not explain all the reasons why people do the things they do, but it’s a good start.  There are many other factors that come into play with human behavior, but an ABC analysis of performance will tell you a lot about behavior.

Not only is he a disgrace to his sport, but he also misled people.  He was the spokesperson for Livestrong.  He raised money for his foundation as a Tour de France winner.  And for some, he was their hero.  Seven Tour de France titles and he beat cancer.  What was not to like about him?  Should we be shocked?  Maybe.  Of course, when it comes to professional athletes, nothing shocks me anymore.

What is it in a person’s past, upbringing, psyche, values system, etc., that would cause them to cheat like this?  Was winning at all costs more important than integrity?  Leaders should show integrity in all situations, even if it means losing every now and then.  There is nothing wrong with being competitive and wanting to win, but winning should not come at the expense of your integrity or at the expense of others.

Some who cheat have been doing it so long that they have convinced themselves that what they are doing is OK.  I have known people who justified cheating.  They cheated on tests because they needed the grade to get a scholarship.  They cheated because others are doing it and if they don’t do it they will never win.  I contend that maintaining integrity in all situations (win or lose) IS winning.  Athletes aren’t the only ones who cheat, but because they are “celebrities” (laughable), we hear and see more of their lives than we probably want.

Cheating is cheating, plain and simple.  Leaders who cheat will eventually get caught.  But, if people lead from a position of integrity in all things, they ARE winners.  They are the ones who can go to sleep each night with a clear conscience.  Did Lance Armstrong go to bed each night knowing that he was living a lie?

In all situations, lead with integrity.  Do what’s right even if it means you “lose” or even if it’s not popular.  In the end, you will be a winner.

If you are coaching your employees as you should, you will spot poor performance and be able to coach the employees to better performance.  When coaching isn’t working and performance keeps slipping, follow the 5 steps below to address and improve poor performance.

1. Focus on the behavior, issue or situation.  Don’t make it personal.  By focusing on the behavior, issue or situation, you are creating a more positive climate to address the problem.
2. State what you have observed.  Don’t focus on what you think or what others have told you.  Focus on what you have observed.
3. Ask the employee to respond.  You want to ensure you have all the information so that you can get performance back on track.  Listen to the employee and only ask questions for clarification.
4. Clear any misunderstandings between what you observed and what the employee tells you.  By focusing on the facts and what you observed, the employee is less likely to argue with you.  They may try to argue, but stick to the facts…what you observed.
5. Work together to come up with improvements and solutions to get performance back on track.  You may need to re-visit the goals of the employee.  Involving the employee in coming up with solutions, you not only show respect for them, they are more likely to buy in to the solutions.  Schedule regular follow-up sessions to ensure performance is improving.  Hold your employee accountable for improved performance.

Addressing poor performance early, before it snowballs into a huge problem, will save you time and headaches.  And, your employee relations group will thank you.

Young people have been expressing themselves for years.  I get that.  In the ’80s I had spiked hair, which seems rather tame compared to baggy pants and exposed underwear.  To me, the baggy, sloppy look communicates a lack of self-respect.  Right or wrong, that’s my impression.  And if they don’t respect themselves, do they respect others?  Do they know and understand what respect is?

What are leaders communicating to those around them?  What does their demeanor, style of dress, speech and the way they handle situations communicate about THEM?  Do these things communicate respect or disrespect for self and others?

As you move up the leadership chain, more and more people are watching you.  Consider yourself always on stage.  Think about what you say BEFORE you say it.  Think about your actions BEFORE acting and ask yourself this question.  “Would I want what I’m about to say or do splattered across the internet as the lead story on Google, Yahoo, etc. or would I want it printed in the local paper, national magazine or company newsletter?”  Right or wrong, your actions communicate who you are.  Think about what you want to communicate to the world…and pull up your pants!

The first mental function, called the Perceiving function, is used for gathering information.  It includes Sensing (S) and Intuition (N).  You prefer either Sensing or Intuition.  The second mental function, called the Judging function (not judgmental), is used for organizing information and making decisions.  It includes Thinking (T) and Feeling (F).  You prefer either Thinking or Feeling.

If you use only your preferred mental functions to make decisions, you are missing out on a well-rounded decision.  If you are leading a team in the decision making process and you use only your preferred functions, you are discounting those in your group who have your opposite preferences.

Sounds complicated, doesn’t it?  It’s actually quite easy once you understand what is involved in each of the mental functions.  Below are the four mental functions and a way to use them to make the best decision while honoring everyone in the group.  Use them in the order given below to brainstorm and gather data and then to make a well-informed decsion based on the data.

1. Sensing (S) - deals with perceptions of details and current realities.  Gather as much factual data as possible related to the issue or question before the group.  Focus on the facts.  Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.
2. Intuition (N) - deals with patterns and future possibilities.  Look for meanings and patterns in the situation.  Think about what is possible and new, with an eye to the future.
3. Thinking (T) - deals with decisions that are based on principles and logical consequences.  Generate solutions based on logical analysis of cause and effect, but don’t stop there.
4. Feeling (F) - deals with decisions that are based on values and consequences for people.  Generate and evaluate solutions based on how they will affect individuals, teams and the organization.  Feeling decisions are based on what people care about and not just impersonal logic.

Follow the steps above as you begin the decision making process.  If you follow this process, you will not only honor all Types, you will also make very sound decisions.  In addition to following the four steps above, there are a number of decision making tools and techniques that you can use in the process that will help facilitate the four steps.  An internet search of decision making tools will yield a multitude of sites dedicated to the topic of decision making.

Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them.  Honor and acknowledge them in the decision making process.