– Bring Out the Best in Others

Today’s fast and furious work pace often comes with challenging side effects. Increased stress levels, overwhelm, and constant multi-tasking often brings out the worst in people. Managing the wide variety of situations and personalities that exist can be a very daunting task.

Every workplace has its whiners, know-it-alls, liars, and people that drive everyone crazy! As a leader, it’s up to you to properly assess and navigate everyday conflict without fanning the flames. More importantly, what can you do to help coach others to do the same?

Sue Bethanis, Founder/CEO of Mariposa Leadership, Inc., states that “Leadership is about being able to bring out the best in people, no matter what the situation. Truly effective leaders can quickly and accurately get to the root of an issue.” She offers three suggestions to help you bring out the best in your employees.

  • Be Proactive – It’s easy to overlook petty squabbles and irritants in favor of maintaining short term peace. But these may be smoke signals flagging a deeper, more complex issue.
     
  • Read between the Lines – Much of leadership is about asking the right questions. Listen to what’s being said, but pay special attention to what’s left unspoken. Often the real issue at hand is hiding just beneath the surface.
     
  • Don’t Fuel the Fire – If you find your own temper flaring, step back, take a deep breath, and give yourself a chance to respond from a position of clarity. It’s better to put the situation on “temporary hold” than to jump in when you’re fired up.

Leadership today is all about bringing out the best in people – even when faced with the worst. Conflict, challenging personalities, and tough situations in the workplace are inevitable. How you choose to handle these issues will ultimately define your businesses survival or demise.

2 comments so far

  1. Sue Bethanis on November 21, 2007

    Leaders are tasked with the job of bringing out the best in others in their organizations, but how do you actually do this?

    To bring out the best of others in your organization, many people can and do coach as part of their job. In this sense, we at Mariposa Leadership, Inc. coach the coaches. We teach all of our clients the basic principles of In-the-Moment Coaching™ , which teaches three basic principles:

    (1) Rapport

    In order to set the framework for a coaching conversation to take place, you must establish quick rapport by matching body language and finding common ground.

    (2) Assess

    Active listening and asking clarifying questions is the most critical piece: you should spend 80 percent or more of any coaching conversation in assessment.

    (3) Re-frame

    In order to move from conversation to action, you need to provide a new way of thinking about things, or help your client or employee come up with a new way of thinking about things. Affecting change individually can then spread like a helpful virus through the rest of the corporation, re-energizing and mobilizing even the most “stuck” organizations into new ground and continued forward momentum.

    How do you bring out the best in others in your organization?

  2. Sue Bethanis on November 21, 2007

    New styles of management encompass and go beyond appreciative inquiry, a way of recognizing and building on an individual’s and/or an organization’s strengths. The “tired and typical” buzzwords for leadership used to revolve around being the best “manager,” “talking nice” “giving feedback,” and “providing structure,” all which were supposed to lead to better management and “talent retention.”

    The newest buzzwords, what I call, “Superwired and Next,” are light-years ahead. Instead of being merely a manager or even a mentor, re-invent yourself as a corporate sage (see my book Leadership Chronicles of a Corporate Sage). Instead of talking nice or talking “straight,” learn to talk wise (see our Wise Talk Forums). Instead of giving feedback or “teaching someone to fish,” learn to coach in-the-moment (see our article on In-the-Moment Coaching™). Instead of trying to provide “structure” or top-down “strategy,” create a culture that infuses itself with positive, creative energy (See my article, “Creating a Culture People Want to Work In.”)

    All of this, instead of leading to mere “talent retention,” will go beyond “talent loyalty” to what we call “talent legacy.” By bringing out the best in others, your pool of talent will begin to replenish and perpetuate itself, leaving a lasting legacy not only for your personal leadership realm but for the effects your organization will have on generations to come.

    TIRED & TYPICAL
    1. Manager
    2. Nice Talk
    3. Give Feedback
    4. Structure
    5. Talent Retention

    WIRED & NEW
    1. Mentor
    2. Straight Talk
    3. Teach someone to fish
    4. Strategy
    5. Talent Loyalty

    SUPERWIRED & NEXT
    1. Sage
    2. Wise Talk
    3. Coach in-the-moment (ITM™)
    4. Culture
    5. Talent Legacy


Leave a reply