Leadership Simplified: Doug Van Dyke

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Measure Results, Not Time

Peter Drucker once implored: “You can only manage what you measure.” This is sage advice for leaders to consider. Many leaders, however, get caught in a retail mindset whereby they measure results via the measure of time. In a certain way, this makes sense since many leaders compensate their team members by the number of hours they work. Time does not necessarily serve as the best measure of productivity. Just because a team member is onsite does not mean that they are being wildly productive. As such, seek to have a deeper measure of productivity. Developing meaningful measures sometimes takes time and creativity. In the end though, a meaningful measure provides a barometer as to the contributions that team members deliver to the organization. 

 

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Please do so, as long as you do not alter the content or embedded links. Also, please include the following information: Doug Van Dyke is a leadership and collaboration consultant, executive coach, and strategic planner. Doug’s book, Leadership Simplified, as well as audios and videos are available at www.leadershipsimplified.com. To learn more about coaching and training services, contact Doug today at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

 

© 2011 DVD Consulting Incorporated, all rights reserved.

Posted by Doug Van Dyke on 2011-12-30 at 08:47 AM
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E-Leadership

The electronic leader. When many people ponder the topic of leading virtual teams, they envision far-away leaders using tools such as the telephone, video-conferencing, and email as they connect with team members. With the meteoric rise in email usage, however, many leaders manage electronically even when their people are 10 feet away. In other words, there is an epidemic of leadership from afar, despite the leader being within easy walking distance of the people they are supposedly leading.

 

There is nothing wrong with leaders taking advantage of the ease and speed of email. Furthermore, the preferred communication method of many workers is email. However, it is the leader’s responsibility to take stock of the needs of their team members and the goals of the organization, and to make certain that he/she is leading in an appropriate, interpersonal manner. The electronic leader can be valuable and effective. Just do not sacrifice the many benefits of the personal touch in an effort to save time.      

 

Do you want to use this blog post in print or online? 

Please do so, as long as you do not alter the content or embedded links. Also, please include the following information: Doug Van Dyke is a leadership and collaboration consultant, executive coach, and strategic planner. Doug’s book, Leadership Simplified, as well as audios and videos are available at www.leadershipsimplified.com. To learn more about coaching and training services, contact Doug today at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

 

© 2011 DVD Consulting Incorporated, all rights reserved.

Posted by Doug Van Dyke on 2011-12-28 at 08:31 AM
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Boundaries for Leadership: Guard Rails, Not Rules

A wise leader recently shared his management mantra with me. He said, “Guard rails, not rules that’s how I like to manage.” He went on to share three components of his leadership philosophy:

  1. Give your people the flexibility to meet the needs of their market
  2. Give your people the means to have the kind of price, product, and placement they need to be successful
  3. Get the heck out of their way and do not be an impediment to their success!

Meaningful words from a wise and successful leader.

 

Do you want to use this blog post in print or online? 

Please do so, as long as you do not alter the content or embedded links. Also, please include the following information: Doug Van Dyke is a leadership and collaboration consultant, executive coach, and strategic planner. Doug’s book, Leadership Simplified, as well as audios and videos are available at www.leadershipsimplified.com. To learn more about coaching and training services, contact Doug today at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

 

© 2011 DVD Consulting Incorporated, all rights reserved.

Posted by Doug Van Dyke on 2011-12-27 at 10:21 AM
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Get Out of the Weeds – Go Aerial

Last year I published an article which detailed three types of leaders: Foot-Soldier, Aerial, and Satellite. The foot-soldiers are the leaders that are physically positioned where the rubber meets the road. As such, they are in the weeds by design and work shoulder-to-shoulder with worker bees. Foot-soldier leaders do and tell. By contrast, the aerial leaders maintain a bird’s eye view of processes, operations, and the delivery of goods and services, and become involved with team members on an as-needed basis. Aerial leaders ask a lot of great questions and delegate tasks effectively. Satellite leaders set the vision for the organization and provide the means for team members to accomplish goals. They see the entire organization and think of it in its entirety. Satellite leaders rarely get stuck in the weeds.

 

Many leaders who should be aerial find themselves getting stuck in the weeds. Odds are likely that these leaders came from the weeds, so it makes sense that in times of stress they would gravitate back to where they are most comfortable – production (i.e., the weeds). This trap, however, does not serve the leader or the organization very well. Typically aerial leaders are charged with completing higher tasks, and when they get mired in the weeds they are, in essence, abandoning their core responsibilities. A leader who is not supposed to be in the weeds needs to develop the kind of delegation skills, prioritization skills, time management skills, and coaching skills that will maximize the production of their team. Certainly this is easier said than done, but getting things done is the leader’s job nonetheless. While rolling up your sleeves and doing the work yourself has a time and a place, it is usually not the most effective means for aerial leaders to drive a team to world-class results. 

 

For a detailed description of the preferred competencies associated with each one of these leaders, read an article I published entitled Competencies of Leadership. And remember: During the upcoming year seek to get out of the weeds by striving to become aerial.

 

Do you want to use this blog post in print or online? 

Please do so, as long as you do not alter the content or embedded links. Also, please include the following information: Doug Van Dyke is a leadership and collaboration consultant, executive coach, and strategic planner. Doug’s book, Leadership Simplified, as well as audios and videos are available at www.leadershipsimplified.com. To learn more about coaching and training services, contact Doug today at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

 

© 2011 DVD Consulting Incorporated, all rights reserved.

Posted by Doug Van Dyke on 2011-12-26 at 10:08 AM
coaching and consulting • (0) CommentsPermalink
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