How to Make Good Decisions in Bad Times

By: Nick Tasler

From Detroit to Wall Street to Silicon Valley, it seems that bad executive decisions have become the rule instead of the exception in today's corner offices. Shareholders, employees, politicians and even managers themselves are asking - if not begging - to know why. What is the cause of all these bad decisions, and how can we start making good decisions again?

Bad managerial decisions do not stem from low intelligence. Bad decisions are not rooted in flawed logic, deficient math skills, a poor understanding of business trends or any other of the usual suspects. Bad decisions result from emotional ignorance.

At TalentSmart, we surveyed over 6,000 board members, colleagues and employees from a cross-section of industries that ran the gamut from hospitals to tobacco companies, churches to casinos and everything in between. The key stakeholders of these organizations rated managers on 22 separate leadership skills, including such stalwarts as strategic thinking, focus on results, character and the ability to communicate and articulate vision. When we compared scores on all 22 skills to managers' ability to make good decisions, one in particular stood out: emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence ratings tell us how well managers understand their emotions and regulate their impulses. As it turns out, nearly 70 percent of leaders ranked highly in emotional intelligence were also among the most highly skilled decision makers. Overwhelmingly, it's the managers who are most adept at understanding how others influence their own emotional state; take responsibility for their part in difficult situations; and make the most of bad situations, that are capable of making sound decisions in a timely manner.

In contrast, guess how many of those with a poor grasp of their own emotions ranked among the most skilled decision makers? Zero. In fact, 69 percent of emotionally ignorant leaders ranked among the bottom 15 percent in decision-making skill. Those who fail to handle conflect effectively; refuse to shoulder responsibility for their actions; and remain unaware of their own fear, anger or excitement are dreadfully inept at making decisions.

If emotional intelligence is so critical to a manager's ability to make good decisions, the next logicl question is how emotionally intelligent are most managers?

This is where the story takes a dark turn. In another study a few years ago, we measured the emotional intelligence of hundreds of thousands of workers from janitors to CEOs. We found that emotional intelligence rises steadily as people get promoted up the ranks into middle management. From there, however, emotional intelligence declines precipitously with every rung up the corporate ladder, finally bottoming out with CEOs. It seems that the people least equipped to make good decisions are those we trust to make the most profound decisions. Perhaps this sheds some light on how so many of our businesses have ended up where they are today.

The good news is that emotional ignorance is curable. It doesn't happen overnight, but it can be learned in a couple of months with just a little focused effort. Here's how to get started.

1. Understand Your Emotions as They Happen
Take note of what you are feeling and doing as a situation unfolds so you can learn to harness your emotions in difficult situations. Remember that ignoring emotions doesn't make them magically disappear. Only now after the Wall Street crash are we finally hearing people talk about fear and panic. A year ago, nobody wanted to talk about anything except fed policies and interest rates.

2. Step Away from the Emotional Situation
Keep your finger on the pulse of your emotions and know when to allow yourself the opportunity to step back from the situation. Once you get food at sniffing out your emotions as you feel them, evaluate them objectively. Try picturing the current situation in your head as if it were happening to someone else. What would you recommend that "someone else" to do in order to create the best results?

3. Prepare Yourself for Feelings of Uncertainty
Be definition, every choice you make depends on your estimation of uncertain outcomes. For nearly everyone, that uncertainty feels uncomfortable so expect some anxiety to accompany decisions. Anticipate it and prepare yourself for it by talking through your thoughts and feelings with a third party who may ot be as closely involved with the situation. Then, accept the fact that you may not have complete control over the outcome, but you can control your reaction to it.

Remind yourself to practice these steps everyday for one month each, starting with step one. Set a reminder on your Outlook calendar or jot it down on a sticky note and post it on your bathroom mirror. At the end of the first 30 days, switch the reminder to say, "Step Away From the Emotional Situation," followed by step three in the third month.

About the author: Nick Tasler is the award-winning author of The Impulse Factor: How to harness your impulses and start making better decisions, and is the former director of R&D at global think-tank and consultancy, TalentSmart.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow: Avoid being black-balled while giving out pink slips

By: Sarah Sladek

I recently gave a presentation on the importance of recruiting and retaining younger generations in the workforce when someone in the audience raised his hand in vehement protest.

He assured me that concerns regarding younger generations in the workforce were no longer relevant. "All bets are off", he said, because the economy is in dire straights and younger generations will have to go back to kissing up and climbing corporate ladders.

Not so fast! For starters, the economic mess we've found ourselves in is not a permanent situation. And it certainly isn't going to stop people from aging.

Forty percent of our workforce will be eligible to retire in 2010. Whether all 40% retire at once, or stagger their retirements throughout the next several years, that percentage will continue to increase with each passing year.

Meanwhile, more Ys will enter the workforce. In fact, by 2011 Ys will likely outnumber the Boomers, and we know Ys will support the Xers in their quest for leadership and change.

The economy might be in the toilet, but all bets are certainly not off.

Further food for thought: whether it happens sooner or later, the exodus of the Boomers from the workforce will leave a talent gap in their wake. Yes, Generation Y is the largest generation but they span ages 26-14. It's going to be a while until those 14 year olds can catch up and take the reigns vacated by Boomers.

Even now it's critical that employers start preparing for the talent gap, realizing that in the not-too-distant future they will need to compete for talent. How your company handles its hiring processes and layoffs when times are tough, can influence its position when times are prosperous.

The once-private process of giving pink slips is becoming increasingly public, whether a firm likes it or not. Know that layoffs will be blogged about, live-tweeted, Facebook'ed - ever more the reason to make sure your communication is sharp. Consider this:

Jerry Yang, founder and CEO of Yahoo!, sent out a memo (all in lowercase letters) about the company's mass layoffs of 1,500 employees. The event made news because employees Twittered about their experience. One employee posted a series of roughly 20 'tweets' detailing his laying-off experience.

Shortly thereafter, the board fired Yang. Some critics assume that Yang's casual approach to the cutbacks, which received widespread negative attention, spurred the board's decision to eliminate Yang.

One of the first things Zappos.com's chief executive did when he laid off 125 people was Twitter and blog about it. Likewise, the VP of HR at Thomas Nelson blogged about a job cut of 50 people, first to explain the situation, and then to address rumors related to the cuts.

Each of these tales show we're in a new era of transparency and outreach because of technology. Be ready. All bets are not off, so don't stop thinking about tomorrow. It--they--will soon be here.

The Art of Leadership

By: Gina Kellogg-Gardner, MAOL

Art is infinite. An artist never reaches a point of complete mastery. The skill of an artist is in constant development; evolving and transforming, adapting to the moment and becoming fluently versatile in order to experience or achieve a brilliantly authentic outcome.

Leadership is art. Leadership, like all arts, takes patience, practice and persistence. The art of leadership is exhibited by modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, fostering an environment of innovation, guiding others toward their own excellence and encouraging the celebration of success. To new leaders these artful behaviors can seem daunting and vague. However, the art of leadership can be taught to new leaders by helping them build five key fundamental skills early in their careers that will allow them to successfully adapt and become versatile amongst any given challenge. Take time now to teach new leaders foundational skills, and watch them achieve and succeed beyond unthinkable limits.

Five Foundational Leadership Skills:

1. Determine values: Help new leaders identify what they stand for personally and professionally. Facilitate them through a discussion that will guide them toward articulating their top three values. New leaders need to first understand who they are, and what they personal stand for, before they can effectively model the way.
   
   
2. Articulate vision: Teach new leaders how to describe the future. A new leader needs to learn first how to identify where they are headed, and secondly be able to describe their vision clearly and with conviction in
   order to inspire other
   
   
3. Seek ways to foster personal growth: Encourage new leaders to seek out ways to personally grow. Hold them accountable to following through on continuous learning opportunities. Advancing their education or reading the latest leadership books, choices are limitless.
   
   
4. Learn to partner: Teach new leaders how to identify the strengths of others, and how to align themselves with those who have talents they themselves may not have. Learning to partner fosters collaboration and respect, and diminishes the desire for silos.
   
   
5. Share wins: Ask new leaders to frequently share their successes with others. Meetings, emails or networking sites are great avenues new leaders can use to communicate personal or team wins. Professionally sharing wins helps to highlight the strengths of new leaders and builds confidence!

Industry News - Keeping up with it

By: Karen Rulifson

I just wanted to share a FREE and easy way to stay in touch with industry news and trends...SmartBrief.com. It's a resource that I came across about a year ago that I really appreciate! Based on my preferences, I receive regular emails that provide me with the latest articles and topics of my industry. It takes away the time and hassle of me having to google for articles, instead it comes right to my inbox. I know...it may sound like I'm getting paid to advertise for SmartBrief. I'm not. As SmartBrief states on its website: "SmartBrief publishes industry-specific email newsletters in partnership with leading trade associations, professional societies and corporations. It summarizes from the days most important industry headlines, handpicked from hundreds of newspapers and trade publications - straight to your email inbox as industry newsletters." The industries you can choose from span from healthcare to advertising, business, non-profit, retail, technology and many others. I registered for three newsletters: 1) National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), 2) Leadership and 3) Workforce. If one of your goals this year is to increase your knowledge about what's happening in your industry, SmartBrief will be a win for you. The website to sign up is: www.smartbrief.com/signup/index.jsp

Tips for Today's Leaders

A new year. A recession and a new set of workplace challenges. Anxious employees. Needed is a new set of behaviors from leaders.

Out are the days of leading from the top and ordering the team to follow your ideas. Today's employees need and value collaboration, diverse ideas, providing input and inspiring and challenging assignments. In a recent Harvard Business Publishing article, "10 Mantras for Emerging Leaders in '09," Vineet Nayar lists guidelines for leaders. What especially resonated with me are the following:

• Accountability - Now more than ever, leaders need to model the way and walk the talk. They need to say what they mean, be transparent and follow through. This builds trust amongst the team.
  
• Lead from the front line - Know what's going on, understand the pain points of the employees and customers. This will help you make better decisions.
  
• Collaborate and ask questions - Utilize the talented team you have, gain additional ideas and insight, challenge processes. This will lead to innovation.
  
• Be nimble - Now more than ever, change is a constant. To be and stay competitive, one must adapt and be a leader of change.
  
• Be positive - People look to you for inspiration and motivation. Be the positive force that keeps them excited about the vision and purpose of what they do everyday.

Read the entire article by clicking here.

Karen Rulifson

Announcing Monarch Leadership's Exclusive Partnership with Limelight Generations

Monarch Leadership is proud to announce our exclusive partnership with Limelight Generations, one of the only generational companies in the United States focused on recruiting, retaining, and marketing to generations X, Y, and Z.

Sarah Sladek founded Limelight Generations in 2002. As an Xer herself, Sarah started researching the absence of younger generations in membership associations and businesses. She gives presentations and provides training and consulting on the topic to organizations nationwide.

Sarah is also the author of two X, Y and Z generational books --Rock Stars Incorporated: Hiring the High-Performance, High-Maintenance Hotshots Half Your Age (2008) and The New Recruit: What Your Association Needs to Know About X, Y, & Z (2007).

In 2009 Monarch Leadership will be partnering closely with Sarah in Limelight Generations' launch of XYZ University, the first web-based learning and networking community for membership associations focused on the generational topic, as well as RockStars@Work, the first generation-themed business conference and awards program in the United States.

Gina Kellogg-Gardner

Can you teach passion?

I was recently asked by a business colleague if I believe passion can be taught. I responded with a confident Yes. I believe we all have passion. Our passion may look different, feel different and transpire into the world differently; but I do believe someone can learn how to tap into their passion. It's not passion that's being taught, it's teaching people how to tap into their passion...

United States businesses have been built on an autocratic system that attempts to mold people to fit into the needs of the business. Based on this approach, we have grown up hearing about all the things we need to "improve" on, which of our "opportunity areas" are getting in our way of being successful and which of our "behaviors" need to be addressed in order for us to live the values of our workplace. A great percentage of people in our country feel as though their passion is growing further and further away from their day-to-day work activity. They feel their passion is being shadowed by the expectations of their employers. Ironically, employers then question why their customer service satisfaction is low, why quality is struggling or why revenue goals are not being met. Teach employees how to unleash their passion and watch the business sore!

Leaders can teach passion by helping their employees discover what their passion is. Teaching is simply about helping others discover something new. How? Leaders need to ask their employees what's important to them, what part of the work do they find most satisfying, what are their personal goals and values, what is their vision? Begin designing jobs that incorporate each person's passion, or simply let employees take on tasks that allow them to use their passion. Move the business forward by teaching employees how to discover their passion, and by supporting their ideas on how to actively live their passion in the workplace. It's a win win!

Gina Kellogg-Gardner