We recently conducted a webinar with Stephen Miles, the Vice Chairman of Heidrick & Struggle, where he revealed how you can become a high performance manager by using a few simple techniques daily. Stephen is a coach to approximately 10 CEO/COOs around the world. He has built the practice’s coaching expertise by focusing on high-performance leadership competencies with a heavy emphasis on the business and cultural context.
Your Career is a Game
According to Stephen, your career is a game. There is a defined field of play, specific players that affect the play and rules that may need to be followed. The field of play should be obvious – your workplace. We then need to ask ourselves: “Who are the players?” The players are your immediate supervisor, peers and subordinates. Once we figure out who the important players are, take time to understand what their motives and moves could be.
There are four main types of moves:
- Incidental moves really have no meaning to your career.
- Instrumental moves are the ones that change your trajectory. Could be a moderate change or a drastic change.
- Uniquely qualified moves are okay to make in or outside of your company. It is safe to do so because you are an expert for the job you are taking, wherever it may be.
- Uniquely unqualified moves are more challenging. Making a uniquely unqualified move is safe to do inside of your organization, but not outside. This occurs when someone changes a position into a role where it becomes 20% old and 80% new information to learn. It is safe to make this move intracompany because you have already created strong relationships with those who want you to develop new skills.
The 4 Critical Moves to Make
1. What is your competitive advantage?
- Become known for something early in your career.
- Try not to jump to new roles all of the time, but not to get pigeon holed, where you become irreplaceable.
- Become the executive that does more than just the job.
2. Make moves that matter
- Build you capability and transform your career.
3. Strengthen your weak ties
- Get involved with other social networks, not just your “regular” ones.
- If you strengthen you weak ties outside of your norm., you can be noticed by broader companies and get on their radar.
4. Manage your mentoring
- You need to have mentors also! This is important if you want to be successful.
3 Different Types of Mentors
Yoda is somebody who understands the success factor of the company. This person is very valuable to you because he or she can show you the ropes of the organization when you first come in. Find Yoda!
Rising Star once you are ready for another mentor, don’t choose someone who is one or two positions above you, aim for someone four or five positions above you. You don’t want to choose someone who you could be competing against within a year.
The Truth Teller is what you make it, they are usually someone on the outside of the company who has no bias. This person wants you to succeed in and outside of your job, but there is no prejudice because he or she doesn’t work with you.
Observed Qualities of Highly Successful Leaders
- Micro-leadership is the most important, he says, the very best leaders lead with detail. They differentiate themselves from micro-managers– they are on top of the detail, they understand their business or organization and don’t need and entourage to explain it. Stephen tell us to ask ourselves; “Who in your career have you learned the most from?”
- Socratic approach. He states that women have an advantage at this already (power to the women out there!). This is very helpful in a work environment, asking the fourth, fifth and sixth questions – not just the easy ones.
- Prioritizing is essential – failure happens because people try to do too much too fast. It may seem obvious but establish the three or four things that you are going to focus on before the rest.
- Take a formal management process, delegate and assign work to someone but assure you follow up and inspect their work. Most people don’t know how to formally lead – take minutes of meetings, write goals and important information – don’t just have continuous meetings on meetings.
- Team leadership allows you to be a good leader, form your team with the right people; meaning, a few people who are masters of their roles and some who have potential to develop in a new field.
- Listening! Finally, Stephen tells us, nine and a half out of ten people don’t listen. Listening makes you a better leader and respected by others.
He finishes by explaining that being a good leader is not as complicated as it is made to be, its all about the simple things and doing them in a very disciplined, organized way.
Tags: career, Coaching, game theory, heidrick, high performance, Leadership, management, manager, stephen miles, struggles, techniques, tools
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