Ruth Spellman suggests that with the right training opportunities the skills that make a great leader can be learnt.

Asked who they think is a good leader, most people tend to cite Richard Branson. Some also focus on sporting icons, with Andrew Strauss’ name coming to the fore since the England cricket team’s reversal of fortunes.

But bring the question closer to home and individuals tend to hold back. Very few people are willing to step forward and claim that they are the type of leader respected by others. It may be due to modesty. It may also be down to a fear that by claiming strong leadership skills, they may be setting themselves up for a fall.

Yet research suggests that there is a much deeper reason. A study conducted by Chartered Management Institute (CMI) reveals a startling lack of confidence amongst the UK’s management community. Just 7% think they are born to lead.

It’s an understandable perception given that business leaders have taken some huge knocks over the past two years, but it is worth remembering that Britain still has some good leaders at the helm of many organisations. They may not share the charisma of Branson or the natural aptitude associated with Andrew Strauss – but the best managers and leaders are those who work hard to acquire new skills and adapt to new situations throughout their careers.

It’s a message that the HR community has understood for a long time and now is the right time to ensure the business community accepts this message too.

Of course we need strong leaders to drive the UK’s economic recovery forward, but employers also have to realise that leadership is about taking a long-term view. If just 7% think that they are born to lead, the next logical step must be to appreciate that good leadership cannot be developed overnight.

The right training opportunities

The characteristics of a good leader, such as decision making and the ability to communicate an organisation’s vision, certainly take time to acquire but, with the right training opportunities, the skills that make a great leader can absolutely be learnt. At present, however, it would seem that too many UK managers are falling below par, suggesting the management community isn’t taking the time to continually develop skills in what is a constantly evolving business environment.

Recent CMI research found that more than half of the UK workforce thinks the dominant management style within their organisation is negative; the three most common management traits are authoritarian, bureaucratic and secretive. In light of this, managers need to carefully consider their leadership style and its impact on others. From an HR perspective, this means ensuring that the leaders at the top of your business must take a step back and develop their own skills.

It can seem a daunting prospect to ask an individual to analyse their own weaknesses as well as strengths, but a manager’s management style can make or break both their own career and their company’s prospects. There is no excuse for managers who fail to take personal development seriously. Just as importantly, there is no excuse for the HR community to fail to address this issue with their business leaders. Considering the current economic climate, a manager committed to improving their skills base is not only critical to success but a prerequisite for survival. Good leaders are passionate about learning new skills and will focus on their personal development in order to improve business performance and engagement. Good HR practitioners will be the ones who ensure business leaders take note.

Imagine you’ve recently started a new job as a team leader. At first, you’re completely overwhelmed with all there is to do. You’ve got to get to grips with the group’s objectives, assign tasks, keep everyone motivated, and adhere to a strict schedule. And that feels like just the tip of the iceberg!

You also know that, under your predecessor, several of the team members were struggling a little, so you devote a lot of your time to coaching these individuals. This seems to be working well, with the team members concerned growing in confidence as a result of your hard work. But after a few weeks, you start to realize that things are going badly wrong in other areas.

The group isn’t working cohesively as a whole, and an unpleasant blame culture has sprung up amongst several team members. And an important deadline is missed. You’ve been so busy coaching people that you didn’t see these things till it was too late.

Managing a team is very much like juggling several balls at once. Drop one ball, and it spoils the whole pattern.

Unfortunately, this is an easy mistake for managers to make, as they spend too much time on one responsibility at the expense of others that are just as important. This is where a management model like Action Centered Leadership helps you monitor the balance between the key areas for which you’re responsible, helping you avoid dropping any balls along the way.

In this article we’ll detail what Action Centered Leadership is, and how to use it with your team.

Action Centered Leadership

Action Centered Leadership (sometimes known as ACL) is a model that was first published in 1973 by leadership expert, John Adair.

It’s so-called because it highlights the key actions that leaders have to take when managing their teams. And it’s particularly helpful because it groups these responsibilities together under three key areas:

• Task: Achieving the team’s goal.
• Team: Developing and building your team, so that it’s ever more effective.
• Individual: Helping individuals develop their full potential in the workplace.

These areas are represented by the three interlocking circles, as shown in Figure 1 below.

The model states that leaders must balance the actions they take across all three key areas if they want their group to succeed. The areas are interdependent; if a leader focuses too much on one area and neglects the other two, then the group will experience problems.

The shaded areas in Figure 1 show where one element relies on one or both of the others for success.

Here is an example that illustrates this interdependency:

Imagine your team is working well together, and everyone has the skills to accomplish the final goal. However, there’s one team member who isn’t carrying his share of the load. He’s lacking motivation, and missing deadlines. The entire group’s morale starts to suffer because this one member is dragging down their productivity, and the team misses its deadline because he hasn’t finished his work.

Here, issues with the individual are negatively affecting the task as well as the team.

Alternatively, imagine what would happen if you didn’t articulate your team’s goal properly. Everyone may have great individual skills, and people may work really well together, but because no one is sure what they should be trying to achieve, progress isn’t being made towards your goal.

In this example, both the individual and the team needs are being met, but task needs are being ignored. Because the group isn’t sure how to accomplish their task, they’re headed towards failure.

How to Use the Tool:

Review the activities you’re carrying out for each of the three key leadership areas, and make sure that you’re dividing your time amongst all three appropriately.

Here’s a list of common tasks for each of the three management responsibilities. You can use these as a guideline; and tasks can be added or eliminated based on your specific situation.

Task

• Identify the purpose of the group, and communicate that purpose to all team members.
• Clearly state the final goal of the group.
• Make sure everyone understands the resources, people, and processes that they should be using.
• Establish deadlines for project tasks, and explain the quality standards you’re expecting.
• Create a detailed plan for how the group is going to reach their final goal.

Group

• Identify the style the group will be working in (very formal, relaxed, etc.)
• Make sure that everyone in the group has the skills and training to accomplish the final goal.
• If your team will be working in smaller groups, appoint a leader for each group, and make sure that he or she is effective and properly trained.
• Monitor group relationships, and resolve conflicts where necessary.
• Work on keeping the group motivated, and morale high.
• Give regular feedback on the group’s performance.

Individual

• Make sure that you spend some one on one time with each member of your group for assessment: identify their strengths and weaknesses, their needs, and any special skills they can bring to the group.
• Make sure each group member has the skills to perform his or her role successfully.
• Appropriately praise and reward individual team members for their contribution to the group.
• Help define each individual’s role within the group, and agree the tasks they’re responsible for.
• If any team members seem to be lagging behind, coach them until they’re back on track.

Key Points

Leaders have many responsibilities when it comes to managing their teams. And, it’s easy to get so focused on one area that the others slip by the wayside, leading to an unbalanced, poorly-functioning group.

Using a tool like Action Centered Leadership can help any leader stay on top of the most important responsibilities, and keep the group working efficiently, happily, and productively.

(ACL model from John Adair – Mind Tools)

When you market your product, you must not only appeal to the customer (and to each type of customer separately), but you must distinguish yourself from the competition. In fact, most products that compete directly against each other share many of the same benefits. No brand of ice cream tastes “unpleasant.” No infrared spectrometer talks about its “inaccuracy.” All the products in a given category are likely to make a large number of similar benefits claims. So why would a customer choose one over another? There can be many reasons, of course, especially convenience (it’s right in front of them). But often it’s the USP, the unique selling proposition. It’s the compelling benefit that shouts…no one else is like me!

What’s unique about your product? What makes it stand out from the competition? What gives the customer a good and irresistible reason to select your product rather than those other fine products? If you’re making ice cream, you can’t base your whole appeal to the customer by simply saying “it tastes better”–unless you have some credible objective documentation that this is

so. Perhaps you can claim your ingredients are uniquely fresh, or that the ice cream is handmade in some particular way, which makes it taste “better” or at least different than other ice creams. Look at Ben & Jerry’s: They don’t just market their ice cream; they market the structure of the company itself and its commitment to making charitable donations. This helps give them a unique profile in a crowded market.

Many companies base their selling pitch on what’s unique about them. For years, Ivory Soap based all its advertising on its claim of being 99 44/ 100 percent pure…so pure it floats! Domino’s and its two-for-the-price-of-one pizzas. The unique Volkswagen look, which, thinking small again, has returned.

Once you’ve established your product’s range of benefits and distinguished it from the competition, can you sum all this up in one phrase or brief sentence? Such as “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight,” “Nothing runs like a Deere,” “Better living through chemistry” or “Legendary engineering”?

If you can, then you are ready to take your case to the public. It’s time to persuade them to buy.

Selling to the Public: The Four Pillars of Marketing
An old marketing adage says that nothing happens until someone buys something–in short, sales drive every aspect of business. In every company, the salespeople are the front-line troops. In the rough-and-tumble of the marketplace, the slickest manufacturing processes, the shrewdest marketing, the brightest corporate reputations won’t make the sale without the face-to-face (at least usually) meeting of seller and buyer.

This is personal selling, and it’s the most important and direct aspect of the marketing process, but it is not the only way you appeal to the public and persuade them to buy. While marketing in the large sense involves every aspect of your company, the sales side of marketing is made up primarily of these four aspects:

Personal selling is face-to-face salesmanship, when you have the prospect in front of you. It includes retail sales, much professional service selling and a healthy percentage of business-to-business sales.
Advertising is paying for media space or time in which to sell your product at a distance.
Promotion is a short-term activity, directed at either the distributor or the purchaser, to boost sales for a limited time through special pricing or other offers. Of course, you hope the short-term increase also leads to an incremental gain. It can include advertising and personal selling.
Public relations is the unpaid (but, alas, not cost-free) marketing effort you undertake to expose your product to potential customers and other interested parties through the press, trade media and special media-related events.
Personal selling, advertising and most promotion efforts are direct activities: In a straightforward manner, you’re saying “Buy me!” Public relations is the soft sell, in which you take a visible role in the community and increase the public’s general awareness of you.

By Jack Ferrari

OK, so you love your product. You have been around this market for a while, and–quite honestly–you have never seen a product so useful, so inexpensive, so long-lived and so visually attractive. Unfortunately, you are suffering from a condition that affects many businesspeople. Its principal symptom is a blinding lack of objectivity. If left untreated, it can result in the disappearance of entire businesses…company, staff and product, which fade till they become mere ghosts in the annals of business history.

Your customers remain proudly self-centered. They don’t appreciate the glories of your product’s reputation, the immense practicality of its design or the cleverness of its name. No, they’re focused on their personal need. Maybe it’s a car that’s leaking oil. Or a child’s sweater that needs mending. Or a bookkeeping system gone haywire. Or an old coffee pot that’s died and gone to Colombia. What do they want? A solution to their problem, not a product. They want to be able to drive without dripping oil; they want something to keep their child warm; and they want an accurate financial report and a cup of java. You’ve got to present your product as the satisfaction to the need–the scratch to their itch. That, they can buy.

Features Vs. Benefits: The Key to Marketing
In the marketing “Hall of Big Ideas,” the distinction between product features and benefits sits on a raised marble pedestal in the center room under a ring of spotlights. This distinction separates marketers and everyone else in the business world just as sharply as the Berlin Wall divided Berlin into East and West. Many entrepreneurs talk about their product in terms of its features: its capacity, color, strength, durability and other technical capabilities. Marketers (that’s you) are different. They speak of the product, often as dramatically as possible, in terms of how it will benefit the customer. They describe the need the product will immediately fulfill, offering a vision of the wonderfully satisfied customer living his or her suddenly carefree life. Marketers make a living by wish fulfillment (or sometimes, so I’ve heard, by just the appearance of wish fulfillment).

Some companies think “benefit talk” is beneath them: “That’s for retail types,” they say. High-tech businesses, generally selling to technically sophisticated customers, sometimes feel a full-voiced recitation of cutting-edge product features is enough to make the sale. Not so. Every person responds most immediately to what they understand most easily–in this case, what the benefits of the features are. If you spell out the benefits to technical people, they don’t have to calculate them themselves. Why make them work? You don’t have to talk in baby talk. But be as obvious as you can. State your key competitive advantages as clearly as possible.

Some service businesses are also reluctant to think in terms of benefits–to their eventual calamity.

Manufacturers at least have the physical product to talk about. Service providers don’t, and they sometimes feel a deep-seated discomfort with the airy nature of what they offer. They often create esoteric jargon to glorify their “product” and make it appear more mysterious and complicated than it is. There’s nothing wrong with this, except that when the jargon becomes too murky, it obscures the genuine value. As long as the jargon is benefit-oriented, no one suffers.

Benefits are the satisfaction of a need or desire. Let’s take the example of a coffeemaker and study the difference between features and benefits.

What you’re doing is translating from a very accurate product description to the words your customer wants to hear. You’re quite literally translating from one language to another. A parched Parisian won’t respond to “Want some water?” but you’ll get his or her attention with “Voulez-vous de l’eau?” It’s the same thing when you market a product: Customers may see you talking, but they won’t become interested in what you’re saying until you speak their language.

Study your product or service with this in mind, and then train your entire organization to appreciate the sometimes subtle difference in perception. The hydraulics engineer will boast of how many gallons of water a western dam holds, but regional residents will only focus on self-serving goodies like cheaper water, more electricity, fewer floods and more opportunities to take the boat out for a spin. Whenever you list a product’s benefits, you’re answering the age-old question: “What’s in it for me?”

Once you master this distinction, you are halfway to becoming a marketing guru.

Compiling a Key Benefit Inventory
What are your products’ key benefits? You must first develop an exhaustive list of every feature for each of your products. Grill your product people until you’ve got everything. Now sit down with your sales manager (of course, this might be just you and a legal pad) and translate, one by one, each feature into a very short benefit statement. Some may not translate. If one isn’t “benefitable” after reasonable effort, just cross it off. But experience shows that 90 percent of product features can deliver benefits to some market.

Does each benefit apply equally to every market for a product? Lightweight all-weather jackets might pack an enormous appeal to a serious backpacker, but brilliant colors might clinch the sale to suburban teens. Categorize the benefits by the markets they appeal to most powerfully. Then rank them by importance within each market.

Once you have solidified this listing for each product by market, you have created the most powerful tool your sales force can carry. In every customer contact, your salespeople should deliver the full key benefit message. This works for retail sales just as well as business-to-business. Each carefully crafted benefit will appeal to various clients unequally–that’s life. Price may mean everything to one customer, while availability might be the deal-breaker to another. You often can’t know which issue might be driving a customer’s decision. That’s why it’s critical to deliver the entire key benefit inventory at every sales opportunity–in sales presentations, in company literature, in displays. If you can’t fit them all in (small ad, tight schedule or other reason), use the benefits by rank for the particular market you’re addressing.

Key Appeal, Market by Market
Once you have your features translated into benefits, you’ve got to make sure that you know how important given benefits are to each type of customer. There are some things for which almost all of us are customers: restaurants, clothing, vehicles, watches and so on. Sometimes these items can be mass marketed: The manufacturer can apply the same appeal across a large number of people and be reasonably assured of the results. But more often, you’re selling to several different people at once, and you must adjust your product’s presentation to appeal to each of these differentiated markets.

Many times, entrepreneurs have trouble understanding that the exact same product has different appeals, depending on the type of customer you are selling to. Small advertising agencies and freelance writers often get instructions when creating a brochure to make it speak to two audiences, such as to both doctor and patient, when promoting a given medical device. Though both doctor and patient are looking for the same final result, their perspectives are unique. You must appeal to them differently, using different language.

By Jack Ferrari
Editor’s note: This article was excerpted from Successful Sales & Marketing.

New speakers make the mistake of focusing all their creative efforts on the body of their talk, and maybe the opening. But guess what? The ‘close’ is just as important as the ‘opening’ of your talk.

In fact, your audience may remember you more from your close than from your opening. If you think about it, the close is probably even more important than the opening.

If your opening wasn’t the huge success you’d hoped for, you have the rest of your talk and your close to remedy the situation.

Think of your close as your last chance to make an impression. And while you’re working on creating the perfect close for your talk, realize that it is still possible to ruin your entire presentation by making this one little mistake… not knowing when to stop.

Many a well planned ‘close’ has been ruined by
a speaker who never knew when to shut up.

Like a CD playing with a loop, they go on and on and on and on. It’s as if they love the sound of their own voice. Naturally, they haven’t noticed people yawning in the audience. That’s because they’re too busy admiring how clever they are and how exhilarating their talk must be.

That being said, one of the worst things you can do as a speaker is talk for too long.

There comes a point in every great speech where thrilling and informative commentary turns into Charlie Brown’s teacher going “Blah-blah-blah” as people start to get bored and tune out.

They start to day dream about the trip home, dinner, their workload at the office tomorrow, their cat or their children or anything other than your talk.

You see, the sad truth is it doesn’t matter if your talk was the most amazing, amusing, informative speech in the history of amazing, amusing, informative speeches if you leave your audience thinking

“Good grief! When is he ever going to finish?”

When they leave, instead of remembering how brilliant and witty you were or how poignant and wise your talk was… they’ll leave remembering how you rambled on and on and on, never knowing when to quit. Rather than remembering you as entertaining… they’ll remember you as annoying.

Then the next time your name pops up as a speaker, they won’t look forward to your presentation with enthusiasm, they’ll be thinking, oh, no, not him again, and maybe make other plans that don’t include listening to you! Word spreads. Who needs that kind of word of mouth referral!?

So do know when to stop… but before you stop, make sure you leave them with a brilliant ‘close’ – something they will remember and talk positively about when they do leave.

Another truth is that the very last words you utter may well be the most remembered part of your presentation, and for this reason, you must really put some thought into the close.

It isn’t enough to have a great start and a brilliant middle and then taper off to a dull or awkward finish. Think about your close, and there is more than one way to close – what way would be most effective with your presentation and topic?

Your close doesn’t have to be humorous or even witty.

Depending on your topic, your close could be something inspirational or motivational, or even deep and meaningful.

You might move your audience from wiping tears of mirth from their eyes to wiping tears of heartfelt emotion from their eyes and moving their hands to their wallets to buy something or donate something.

Your close might reflect upon and summarize your presentation. Your close might be a combination of all these things… but one thing it should not be is too long or boring.

Remember, your parting words are most likely to have the most impact on your audience when they leave.
How do you want them to remember you and your talk? Being a comedian and humorist, naturally, I have a tendency to prefer closings that include humor.

That’s just me. That’s my style. Although, of course I pick my moments and subjects. Common sense must prevail at all times. However, when it is appropriate, I find closing with humor leaves a lasting and positive impression on my audience.

Actually, I am not the only speaker who uses humor who has found this to be true, which is probably why this is a popular speaking technique.

There are a couple of good reasons for this. The obvious one is an audience that you leave feeling good, laughing and applauding wildly while you take your bow, is an audience who is going to take those ‘feel good’ memories home with them, and talk about them with others.

This happy and rewarded audience is going to give you great feedback and help build your successful career. The other reason is I, like many other humorous speakers, or any entertainers for that matter, simply feel better leaving the stage amid laughter and enthusiastic applause. (As apposed to morose silence or the sound of polite clapping echoing around the walls.)

Remember: An enthusiastic ending signals success.

And apart from those topics that do not lend themselves to humor, a humorous ending is a great ‘high’ for everyone. It’s the perfect way to leave your audience feeling great.

Of course, it depends on the theme of your talk. Sometimes you want to leave your audience in a more sober, thoughtful state, especially if the subject matter is of a serious nature, in which case, any humor in the closing might be misunderstood and not appreciated.

Maybe then you could close with an appropriate anecdote, or a famous quotation to suit the mood and topic. In the words of that great dead philosopher…

You can even mix and match your presentation for a greater audience impact.

You can engross your audience in your talk using humor, having them eating out of your hand all the way, listening to your every word and laughing in all the right places, and then right at the end, finish on a sober, more serious note.

This contrast is a popular technique used to great advantage by speakers who want to engage their audience and entertain them, (but who have a serious agenda.)

It’s as if you’re saying, it’s okay to have fun while we talk about this, and I’m here to inform and entertain, but at the end of the day, the reality is this. You gave a very serious talk and I want you to think carefully about it and respond appropriately.

An example might be doing a talk that is aimed at those from whom your sponsors wish to receive donations for a good cause, such as building a new wing for the children’s hospital.

Speaking of which, don’t forget closings are also a perfect time to ask your audience to take action, that is, if you haven’t already asked them to do so at some point during your talk.

Whether you are asking for donations or you sell back of room product, maybe you might mention it earlier on in your talk, and then in the close is your opportunity to remind them… move them to take action… now!

By Peter “The Reinvention Guy” Fogel

Whether you’re a professional public speaker or someone occasionally called upon to speak at company meetings… or to prospective clients… you want to make sure your audience quickly “gets” your message.

The way to do it is to brand yourself. In other words, to sum up your message with a brief, slogan-like phrase — and build your presentation around that phrase. Sort of like the way Rodney Dangerfield built his act around the hook “I don’t get no respect.”

Surf the websites of successful marketers and you’ll see how they are branding themselves — and their messages — for their fans and customers.

Yes, big companies like Coke do it (Coke is it!)… but that doesn’t mean the little guy can’t do it too!

For instance, I’ve branded myself as The Reinvention Guy and my message as Business Success Through Reinvention.

My fellow author and speaker, Dr. Matthew Norton, has branded himself as America’s Holistic Doctor. My colleague Mark Mayfield uses the slogan Solid Business Wisdom, Brilliant Comedic Style.

The beauty of using tag lines/slogans in your speeches and marketing materials is that your targeted audience will retain more of your message. Best of all, they will remember you.

Simply put, effective branding allows you to get into their hearts and minds!

Okay, let’s say you’re not a professional speaker. Let’s say you’re a hardworking staff member in an information marketing company. You’re spearheading an important sales promotion. And TODAY, you’re presenting your ideas to your tough-as-nails CEO.

You know your boss is a no-nonsense guy who’s not easily impressed. You also know that if you can communicate your ideas effectively to your boss, that can open more doors for you at the company… especially if the sales promotion is a — CHA-CHING! — success.

You have only has few moments to make an impact on your boss before he heads off to a jujitsu class and punishes an unsuspecting soul into submission. That means you have to come up with a phrase that instantly gets your message across.

Here are seven ways to accomplish your mission:

1. Ask yourself “What’s the main point I want to make?”

Let’s say you’re trying to sell a copywriting program to people who don’t know anything about the copywriting profession. You want to make the point that good marketing copy is vital to a company’s success. So your slogan could be something like “Remember — when it comes to making sales… Copy Is King!

2. K.I.S.S. (not the rock band)

The best slogans use five words or less. Think of “Ahnold” saying “I’ll be back!” or Dirty Harry saying “C’mon, make my day!”

In other words, K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple, Stupid!

You might remember that when Bill Clinton campaigned against George Bush, he used a slogan that was roughly based on that K.I.S.S. acronym: I.T.E.S. — It’s the Economy, Stupid! And if you were, say, selling a marketing program, you might do something similar…

“If you want to exponentially grow your company year and year out, if you want a fail-safe method to accomplish this… you absolutely must adhere to the I.T.M.S principal — It’s the Marketing, Stupid!”

3. Use rhythm.

“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”

Slogans with a musical rhythm to them are easier to grasp, remember, and internalize. You know how easy it is to remember nursery rhymes — and how hard it is to get a favorite song out of your head. (“Everybody was kung-fu fighting!” Yes, I am aging myself now.) Same idea.

4. Create a slogan that fits your message — and only your message — like a glove.

Try not to use a slogan that’s been done to death — even if it is perfect for your message. Giving a speech on how to improve self-confidence in the competitive business world? How about “First Believe… Then Achieve”? Giving a speech on nutrition? How about “Look Before You Eat!”?

5. Play with words.

Reinforce your core message by expressing it in an unusual or fun way.

Words that begin and end with consonants, for example, seem to stick in the brain. One of my favorites: Wassssuuuuuuppp! Or Tony the Tiger’s: “They’re grrrrrrrrrrrrreat!”

Giving a speech on leadership to your local Chamber of Commerce? Try repetition: Be Accountable… Be Straightforward… Be Consistent!

Presenting a new dog re-training manual to the head of a pet store franchise? Try a branding line that brings a smile to his lips: Give Your Dog a Whole New Le

ash on Life!

Speaking of humor… for some reason, “k” sounds and “p” sounds are funny. “Ketchup” and “cantaloupe” are funny words. And God bless you if you can somehow incorporate them into your slogan.

6. Tell ‘em what you want ‘em to do.

Your speech should inspire BUT also have a call to action. You want to motivate your audience to take the action that will give them the results you’re talking about. So if you can, try incorporating a call to action in your slogan. Nike’s “Just Do It” is a great example.

Brainstorm with verbs like “seize,” “capture,” “conquer,” and “grasp” to come up with a slogan with a powerful call to action. (Now, YOU can Master the Art of Persuasive Public Speaking and Earn High Speaking Fees!)

7. Tell ‘em once and tell ‘em again.

You should incorporate your branding phrase about six times in a 60-minute presentation. Always begin with it — and definitely end with it.

Brand yourself, brand your message. Rinse and repeat for continued success.

Oh, and don’t be surprised if, at the end of your presentation, when you’re mingling with members of your audience, folks start approaching you, slapping you on the back, and repeating your phrase over and over again. That’s when you’ll know you’ve done your job!

By Peter “The Reinvention Guy” Fogel

Perhaps some people feel that this will no longer be their problem when they retire.

Many people assume that executives are born with leadership qualities. I don’t buy that premise.
Leaders tend to have different personalities. Look at Michael Jordan. He definitely had some natural talents, but he was the first guy in the gym and the last guy to go home—and that had a lot to do with what others viewed as a God-given gift.

Just about every article I’ve read on the topic of succession planning over the past few years has stated that there is a lack of qualified leaders to replace Baby Boomers as they set off into the sunset (that is, if our 401(k)s have enough wind in their sails!). What are we doing about that?

Perhaps some people feel that this will no longer be their problem when they retire. I say that true leaders know that developing other leaders is perhaps the most important responsibility they have. But how can we develop the next generation of leaders?

First of all, the CIOs of 2020 and beyond must possess a different focus and a changed set of skills from those the CIOs of 1990 had. The role will focus less on running a utility (although you’d better keep the lights on), and the operational piece of running IT will be assumed as table stakes.

The real role is to engage with your customers, executive-level peers and board members to help drive the strategy of your business—and to lead and influence business executives to carry out that strategy. Strategy without execution is a dream; it takes both sets of skills to be effective.

But there’s a problem: Most graduate schools don’t teach many of the skills CIOs need to succeed. And these experiences are often hard to come by in the day-to-day work of midlevel IT executives. Therefore, we need to make a conscious effort to provide opportunities for our future leaders to learn these skills and gain exposure to the situations they need to grow.

While there are many skills required for success at this level, I would highlight a few that I have found lacking in aspiring IT leaders. These skills include the ability to develop relationships at the board and executive level; marketing the efforts of your team to key stakeholders; capturing the attention and obtaining the funding required to drive strategic initiatives; managing partner relationships; truly viewing yourself as part of the business (not “aligning” with the business—I hate that expression); and recruiting, developing and retaining high-performance teams.

Most organizations have not instituted processes and support systems to develop these skills in their people. They don’t have mentors or coaches for their budding leaders. They assume leaderships will somehow evolve through osmosis. Good luck with that!

I believe passionately that you must work to coach and mentor people in the areas they need to develop before you throw them into a baptism of fire.

I am so passionate about the need for executive coaching at this level that I have started a practice to help new and aspiring IT executives develop these skills.

Does your organization have a plan in place to identify developmental areas for their upcoming leaders? For that matter, do you have a plan in place to address your own areas of development? (We all have them.)

If not, how do you expect to get from where you are to where you hope to be?

By Larry Bonfante
2010-03-01