Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Mary Ila Ward

  • What’s Your Leadership Mindset on Empathy & Expectations?

    What’s Your Leadership Mindset on Empathy & Expectations?

    Having high expectations of people. Being empathetic. I’ve written about this balancing act before. Are they in conflict with each other, or are they actually complementary? When they seem to be in conflict with each other, which way should we lean?

    No greater example illustrates this than something I’ve been struggling with lately. In three particular instances (two recent, one a few years ago) I’ve had someone tell me and/or a family member that they are going to do something or take care of something. Not one of these things has been followed through on. Being that one of my first premises of leadership (following a close second to putting others first) is DWYSYWD- Do What You Say You Will Do, I’ve written this leader in title off as something far from a leader.

    When you don’t do what you say you will do, especially when you show a pattern of not DWYSYWD, these are the reflections I have about that person and their leadership ability:

    1) You’re incompetent. You say you will do something, but then you don’t have the wherewithal to follow through. This may seem pretty bad, but the second reflection is worse:

    2) You’re a flat-out liar. You had no intentions of doing what you said you would do, you just told me what I wanted to hear. I would rather you not say you will do anything, even if I expect you should, than to tell me you will then not do it.

    In reflecting, well let me be honest, in stewing over this for the last few days, I came across this nugget of insight from one of my favorite blogs, Fistful of Talent:

    In discussing the importance of curiosity for leadership, the author says,

    “Belief in the rationality of others – I once heard one of my heroes (Doug Stone) say that everyone is typically acting in rational ways that makes sense in their minds. If you don’t understand their behavior, ask questions to better understand them instead of writing them off as irrational. A slightly more famous leader (Abraham Lincoln) was also quoted as saying “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” If you chalk up the behavior of others being “mad or bad,” then you miss out on an opportunity to learn from them. If instead you get curious, you just might change your mind, or at least understand better how to relate to them.”

    Whereas I haven’t written this person off as irrational, I’ve written then off as maybe worse- an incompetent liar. So, rather than stewing, should I be asking the person questions? And what should my questions be? When someone doesn’t DWTSTWD are he or she acting rationally?

    Although I still hold true to the importance of DWYSYWD to establish creditability as a leader, my judgment isn’t reflecting too highly on my leadership mindset either. First, I should act in empathy- because lets face it, if I’m honest with myself there are times when I have said I would do something only not to do it. And I always had some “rational” excuse for not doing so.I assume people will understand, and asking questions and making sense of the situation(s) is the right thing to do.

    Then maybe acting in empathy, especially if a pattern of DWYSYWD is present, requires calling them on this behavior in an empathetic, non-judgmental in a way that leads it to stopping. But first I must look in the mirror and call myself on similar behaviors before doing so. And now I’m back to my first rule of leadership- people first.Thank you Fistful of Talent for helping me come full-circle J

    When have you struggled with someone who didn’t do what they say they would do? How did you respond?

    If you like this post, you may also like:

    Balancing Empathy and Expectations as a Leader

  • Paying for College – What are the options?

    Paying for College – What are the options?

    The average cost of college is $23,000 per year and rising annually. This is intimidating for both students and parents alike. However, there are tons of scholarships and financial aid tools out there. Just knowing where to go for information is worth reading this article.

    So, let’s get started. First, you should become familiar with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Completing this application is essential for high school students who will be applying for scholarships. Many scholarships require the FAFSA application be completed prior to completing their application. Here is a link to the website and online application: Federal Student Aid.

    In addition to applying for scholarships through your school of choice, ask your high school counselor for a comprehensive list of scholarships. You can also register and apply for scholarships with FastWeb.

     

    Types of Federal Student Aid” Video

    Check out this video to learn about grants, loans, and work-study jobs and how they can help fund your education. (Captioning available in English and Spanish; just start the video and click on the CC symbol at the bottom.)

     

    Grants and scholarships are other alternatives to paying for college. According to StudentAid.Gov:

    Grants and scholarships are often called “gift aid” because they are free money—financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. Grants are often need-based, while scholarships are usually merit-based. Grants and scholarships can come from the federal government, your state government, your college or career school, or a private or nonprofit organization. Do your research, apply for any grants or scholarships you might be eligible for, and be sure to meet application deadlines!

    Student loans are another way to pay for school. Unlike grants, loans are borrowed funds and must be repaid. In addition to Federal Student Loans, private loans are also readily available and may have higher interest rates.

    For more insight on paying for college, check out How to Nail Down a Great College Financial Aid Package fromForbes.com.

  • 3 STEPS TO BETTER LEADERSHIP

    3 STEPS TO BETTER LEADERSHIP

    Leaders make more leaders. You aren’t a leader if you don’t. But how do you go about making more leaders? By acting as a career agent, you can successfully combat disengagement and serve the role that a leader is meant to serve- growing others.

    But how do you play the role of career agent? Here are three easy steps:

     

    1. ASK & ASSESS: Asking simply involves deploying the question, “What do you want out of your career?” in individual meetings with your subordinates. You may want to break this down into what they want 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years from now. This is a simple but powerful question that begins to frame how you can begin to act as a career agent by knowing first hand what outcomes a person is seeking.

    Once you have asked this question, you need to assess where people are in their path to the outcomes they want. This includes an honest assessment on your part and on their part about their strengths and areas for development. You can do this in a casual way through one-on-one conversations, or deploy self-assessment and/or 360° evaluation tools.

     

    2. GAME PLAN: The direction a person seeks and the results of the assessment phase then give you the opportunity to develop a game plan for maximizing that person towards their goals with the organization’s needs in mind. This game plan should accomplish three things:

    • Address areas of strength and weakness in assessment phase
    • Lead to more engagement from the employee
    • Meet business needs

    The game plan should include both:

    • WORK ASSIGNMENTS: These assignments should contribute directly to what the organization needs and should be opportunities for growth for the person. For example, you may have a pressing business need to map out all of your organization’s processes to streamline and create efficiency. Utilizing someone on your team who has this strength OR has never done something like this before (depending on the situation is who you would assign) can help the organization meet the need and help the person grow a strength or develop in an uncharted area.
    • PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES: These activities are things that the person should take responsibility for accomplishing on their own time through their own initiative and effort. For example, it may be attending an accounting class, reading articles on certain topics, or taking on or pursuing a mentoring relationship.

     

    3. EXPOSURE: The final step of the process actually involves following through on your end of the deal as a leader when the person follows through on their gameplan. As we described in a previous article on this topic in Alabama HR Magazine, beginning on page 14, make people aware of opportunities that arise, even if they are outside your organization.

    This may mean letting them go to another organization. If you’re having career agent conversations with people, they are going to be more productive and you probably don’t want to loose this type of employee.

    This may seem counter intuitive to an employee retention strategy, however, making employees aware of outside opportunities that are a fit for their career plans, and helping facilitate those opportunities even if they are outside your organization, is a good move in the long run.

    They become walking and talking recruitment ads for you and your organization, which is hard to come by for free. It leads to a bigger picture recruitment and retention strategy. And who knows, their career path may lead them back to your organization more valuable than when they left.”

     

    The leaders as career agent process can be one that replaces your performance evaluation/appraisal system if done correctly. Consider it as a new paradigm in how you evaluate, develop and grow people within your organization.

    Help Leaders become Career Agents with a helpful tool found here.

    Want to teach people to be career agents? Check out our Leaders as Career Agents course outline.

  • Resumes – A Must for High School Students

    Resumes – A Must for High School Students

    A resume is essential for college or career bound high school students. Applying for colleges is competitive, as is applying for a job. An easy to read, well-developed resume that sets you apart from others can help put you in a favorable position.

    So, how do you get started? First, you should make a comprehensive list of your academic achievements and extracurricular activities. Be sure to include all activities, honors, jobs, internships, volunteer hours, and so on. Ask others for input. Teachers, counselors, parents and friends can be helpful in creating your list.

    Next, you can begin to build your resume. It is important to keep your resume to one page if possible. Here are a few key items to include:

    • A header with basic information including your name, address, phone number and email address.
    • Overview (optional): Can be used for a specific purpose such as consideration for a scholarship or intended major
    • Key Stats: Class rank, GPA, SAT and/or ACT score
    • Education: High schools attended. (Optional: Senior year classes & AP or impressive courses taken prior to senior year)
    • School Activities: List activities and grade including clubs, class activities, sports, etc. Include leadership roles and special recognition.
    • Community Activities: List activities, leadership roles and grades during which you participated.
    • Enrichment Activities: Include relevant programs, special projects, travel experiences, hobbies, musical accomplishments
    • Work Experience: Starting with the most recent, list each work experience, including job title, business name and location, dates of your employment. Include anything else that would be impressive (e.g. specific duties, recognition).
    • Volunteer roles

    As you are working on building an amazing resume, consider using action verbs. Quintessential Careers has a good list to get you started.

    For sample resumes, check out these links:

    College Basics

    Basic Sample Resume

    Adventures in Education

    Finally, don’t forget that your resume is an opportunity to market yourself! Essentially, it showcases your strengths and abilities. Allow your talents, passions and values to shine and you will set yourself apart from the crowd!

  • How to Write a Killer College Application and/or Scholarship Essay

    How to Write a Killer College Application and/or Scholarship Essay

    Writing essays for college or scholarship applications can be intimidating. Just getting started can be a daunting task. Here are easy to follow steps for writing a killer essay:

    1. Follow the instructions. This is a very important step. Read and re-read the instructions and make sure you follow them accordingly.

    2. Make your essay personal. The reader should feel like they know you. Share your talents, passions and values. Include why you want to go to college and why you should be awarded the scholarship. Share information about why you’re interested in the field and any extracurricular activities, volunteer hours or internship/job shadowing experiences that are relevant.

    3. Use standard essay format and quality white paper.

    4. Ask someone to proofread your essay. A parent, counselor or teacher are all good choices.

    5. Ask for letters of recommendations from those who know you well. As a courtesy, give those writing recommendations a few weeks to provide the letter and always write a thank you note.

    6. Include your resume with your essay and/or application.

    For more ideas including a sample essay, check out Scholarship Tips and Advice.