Eight qualities of a good leader during a recession

When money is tight, employee layoffs loom and spirits are dwindling during a recession, CIOs and other IT executives must take the qualities of a good leader to another level.

These eight qualities of a leader, culled from CIOs and leadership experts, will guide you through good times and bad -- yet are especially pertinent today to keep your staff engaged and ensure that IT meets changing expectations in uncertain times.

The ability to inspire. 

"In times where fear and instability raise their heads, people need someone they can rally around and feel confident in," said Bruce Barnes, president of Dublin, Ohio-based consulting firm Bold Vision LLC and formerly a CIO at Nationwide Financial Services Inc. "Part of that is making yourself out to be that safe haven where people can go and feel better about what they're doing and contributing. Be the one that people want to follow. People want leaders, so give them one."

Jason Jennings, an author, speaker and consultant who has studied more than 100,000 companies in writing a series of books, including Hit the Ground Running: A Manual for New Leaders, agrees.

"Workers are looking for some degree of reassurance that things are, at some point in time, going to be OK," Jennings said. "What becomes the responsibility of a leader or manager during both good times and bad is that a great leader or manager helps provide a roadmap for how the worker can achieve a better tomorrow than today."

Communication skills (including listening). 

"You have to be a consistent, effective, frequent communicator, but it goes the other way, too -- you have to be a consummate listener," Barnes said. "Ask good questions, absorb what's being said and appreciate the issue that's being passed to you with the same level of passion and concern as that of the people doing the passing."

Jane Landon, CIO and deputy commissioner of finance for the city of New York, oversees 250 IT employees, as well as consultants. Her division has seen budget cuts this year of up to 15%, she said.

While it's a difficult time, it's also an opportunity to find short-term benefits to help the organization. CIOs need to communicate with their entire leadership team, Landon said, ensuring that those directives are passed down to the rest of the organization in a clear and concise manner.

"Your leadership team needs to be very involved in decisions so there's buy-in," Landon said. "We're asking everybody to do more with less."

Operational credibility in driving results. 

As the leader, the CIO must tell the truth, set expectations and execute on promises. "No one is going to take you seriously unless you can show you can perform," Barnes said.

This means striving to deliver results on projects more quickly than you may have been accustomed to in the past. "You cannot have two- and three-year projects in these recessive times," Barnes said. "The impact on the bottom line has to be shown within 12 months in order for that credibility to exist today."

The ability to prioritize. 

Leadership in a recession requires strong prioritization skills. "Right now, you have to be looking at the expense and capital side and prioritizing what can get done," Landon said. "Look at the organization as a whole and what will deliver the shortest-term results."

Examine your IT portfolio and determine which 20% of investments give 80% of the benefit, Landon said. Perhaps CIOs won't achieve the perfect results for which they often strive, "but you can still drive short-term benefits to help the organization," she said.

Creativity and flexibility (aka, the ability to embrace change). 

"Hopefully, in these recessive times, there better be a whole bag full of innovative activity," said Barnes -- and in many cases that means finding ways to cut expenses without layoffs. Landon said she can't simply let people go when the financial pictures gets murky, due to unionization, "so you have to be extra creative in how you deal with trimming your budget."

Jennings advocates creative scheduling and cutting executives' perks and pay before contemplating employee layoffs. The most productive companies, he said, are completely opposed to layoffs.

"They believe that layoffs are the worst things you could possibly do, and the last tool in the arsenal to pull out," he said. "If a company begins laying people off, the rest of the people stop worrying about their work and start worrying about themselves and their future." That leads to a noted drop in productivity in those who remain with the company.

In past recessions, Jennings said he has observed a pattern whereby companies lay off workers to please Wall Street, but when the economy rebounds, "the costs of recruiting and training the new hires is more than the savings that were realized in the layoffs," he said. They also lose the "tribal knowledge" of how things are done in the organization.

Flexibility is also key. "I consider myself an agent for change," Landon said. "My first exposure as a CIO to really hard times was in the early 2000s. I was amazed at myself at how I could use my creativity, which I used in the past to grow the business, and focus it on helping make the economic conditions easier on the business."

Especially in a recession, fighting change could lead to a "very short career," Landon said. "In these times, you almost have to embrace change, either positive or negative."

The ability to be a "fish out of water" leader. 

Jennings identifies several traits that set conventional leaders apart from great leaders, whom he terms "fish out of water."

Conventional leaders cast themselves as larger than life and sure in their stances. They are secretive and avoid signs of weakness.

A fish-out-of-water leader, meanwhile, is humble and expresses self-doubt when appropriate. He is honest, and admits fault when necessary.

Unfortunately, many "conventional" business executives have made news in the past several months as corporate scandals and mammoth bailouts have grabbed headlines, Jennings said. And that's why leaders should aim for something different.

"'Fish out of water' is a good way to describe people who buck conventional wisdom and don't just go along," Jennings said.

The ability to position one's organization as a mecca for talent. 

"You can't go looking for people -- they have to come find you," Barnes said. "You need to have the ability to attract, develop and retain top talent."

Develop a world-class network of your top peers from the CIO sphere, as well as providers and others you've encountered in your business dealings. "Get the most out of the resources pool that surrounds you, whether it's your team, a potential hire, a CIO or the technology community," Barnes said.

"You're all in this mess together, and you're going to get out of it together," he said. "Getting out of this mess means understanding that the resources at our disposal are far bigger than we ever let ourselves imagine."

Consistency. 

Jennings said there is no imaginary toolbox labeled recession, but good techniques for good times and bad. "Why wait until the fire alarm is going off to do things differently?" he said.

What to Say When Someone Loses Their Job

Let the tiptoeing begin. As of July, American companies had already shed more than 1.1 million jobs this year, and with Wall Street’s recent financial woes, that figure is sure to grow. Chances are, someone you know will meet this unpleasant fate in coming months; while outright avoidance may work when it’s junior’s Little League coach, handling a relationship with a friend or coworker who’s recently suffered such a blow needs a delicate touch. To help, TIME’s Kathleen Kingsbury sought the advice of Anne Baber, co-author of How to Fireproof Your Career, based on interviews with several hundred laid-off employees. Below, an edited version of Baber’s ins and outs of lay-off etiquette.

If the person is…

Your colleague:
Baber: Let’s assume this is a person you know has done a great job, because, as we all know, the axe falls on the worthy and the unworthy. At the very moment, say “I’m going to stay in touch with you.” Then what you can say is, “Sit down with me, go through your resume with me” and, as a co-worker, point out your successes as a team or projects that person has excelled at. The key thing you can offer is to introduce your coworker to the people you know, because you can bring to your coworker circles of people your coworker will never be able to enter except through you. So you have a great gift to give.

Bob from down the block:
Baber: Again, two-thirds to three-quarters of white-collar jobs are found through networking. For a neighbor, you can introduce him to different people and get his resume to different companies that he would have never had a chance to find on his own. Ask about what he’s done in the past and about what kind of jobs he’s interested in, so you can go through your Rolodex and see if there are contacts that he might benefit from meeting. Also, if you’ve ever lost a job, tell him. Misery loves company. Remind him that it happens to a lot of good people.

Your spouse or another family member:
Baber: You hear all the time about the people who put the suit on and go to the office because they can’t stand the idea of trying to talk to their spouse about losing a job. So never say “You should have” or any of the blaming stuff. It’s over and you can’t change anything, so you have to say “I’m upset and I’m worried, but we’re going to move forward.” And take the time to talk.

You:
Baber: Do not race around to contact people. Take 20 days before you start to job hunt again. Eat healthy, exercise and take the time to reassure your significant other. Getting laid off can lead to a series of emotions not unlike mourning, and spouses feel that, too. You have to get through the emotional reaction. This is advice based on research of people who took 20 days and wrote daily about their feelings. By doing that, you can get rid of the toxic stuff that will leach out in your conversations with other people. You can fulminate or say “why didn’t I” or call your boss names, anything you want. And then at the end of the 20 days, burn what you wrote. And you’re ready to get on with your new life.

Source: http://www.time.com

Selling is an ATTITUDE! Especiallly in Difficult Times!

Asheville, NC is a haven for retirees. And the city is hurting right now because of the market crash. Retirees are just not spending money–so stores are closing.

Sad, but that’s reality. But there is always a ray of hope at the end of the dark tunnel!
Here’s what one guy, who had lost half his assets ($500,000), said: “At first we were depressed. We sat around and sulked for a month. But now as we look at it, we are invigorated. We are going to get back to doing something about it–something that pays the bills and that begins to ‘grow our nest egg’ again.”

By George, I think he’s got it!!! You’ve got to move into “Growth Mode” not “Protect and Defend” mode. A great sports team plays to win–they don’t ‘Play Not To Lose.’ How many times have you seen a team up by 15 points with 5 minutes to go–and they go into “prevention mode”? Doesn’t work, does it?

And it won’t work for you as sales professional either. You must invest in yourself–in your business–in your talent–in your marketing. Getting furious? Get into ‘growth mode’ and watch the recession fade away.

How do we sell SMART during such times? Consider the following:

Prepare For The Sales Call: Make sure you are totally aware of your customers and their needs at all times, but more so at such testing times!

Provide More Than You Promised: You give your customers value for your goods and services; during tough times you should give them more. You should show them that you care about their organization and will provide far more than they purchased

Just Make More Sales Contacts: You are going to get more "no's" during bad times. What you have to do is to develop a mind set that you will have to make more sales contacts in order to be successful. Look for more leads, contacts and relationships that will get you through the bad times and they will increase your bottom line during good times

As a sales manager you have to show your leadership during tough times (your boss will notice you!) You must have an ATTITUDE of positive approach and be able to provide the guidance and support that your salespeople need.

Work Together As A Team: Some people will be successful and others will find selling difficult. You have to generate a team spirit during these tough times. Build your team up!

When organizations are not succeeding, they tend to blame their sales staff. Make sure everyone realizes that the entire organization helps to sell. The customer service person, accountant, and receptionist - they all help to please and satisfy the customer. One department doesn't create a failure - or a success.

You can succeed only as a TEAM.

Motivate Your People: You are the leader and you set the stage for success. You should help your salespeople motivate themselves by paying attention to them, giving them guidance and support and being their coach during tough times.

Selling and managing in tough times can be successful. It is an effort that will test your leadership skills and abilities. Be a positive leader and you will help both your sales team and organization survive and thrive.

Portfolio of leadership abilities

Organisations need to go beyond individual leadership capabilities to look at the portfolio of leadership abilities.

Tim Berners-Lee was the inventor of the World Wide Web and unlike so many of the inventions that have moved the world, this one truly was the work of one man. Thomas Edison got credit for the light bulb, but he had dozens of people in his lab working on it. William Shockley may have fathered the transistor, but two of his research scientists actually built it. This in many ways points out the difference between teams that do things and the human need to identify one face or one person behind important achievements.

So it is in corporate leadership, Companies believe they need superheroes, or saviors, who will lead them out of crises or will spearhead growth. The general public looks out for that one name they can latch on to for praise or blame.

Teams can be a critical differentiator for companies. Waiting for a superhero is dangerous and advocating of the portfolio concept of leadership is more practical. No one can be perfect at everything. Organisations need to go beyond individual leadership capabilities to look at the portfolio of leadership abilities that can help them collectively meet their strategic imperatives and deal with diverse situations: crisis, transition, growth and stable state.

This concept is perhaps even more relevant in a downturn. At this time, both individual leaders, as well as organisations as a whole, need to navigate ambiguity. Building this collective skill and helping the organisation become more agile and adaptable requires collective leadership even more strongly than at other times.

The qualities of authenticity and resilience become even more critical. Some leadership competencies that are necessary at this time include the ability to communicate and counsel employees, to engage employees even when they are anxious or insecure; to innovate, to truly understand the levers of the business so as to be to balance short term revenue and profitability with building long term strategic muscle; to relentlessly focus on operational excellence and to leverage relationships. These skills are certainly relevant in all situations, but we argue that they become critical in a situation of adversity.

As the saying goes, good companies grow in good times but great companies grow in difficult times. The ability to learn, grow and profit from adversity has served to differentiate great companies over time and this downturn will be no different.

How does an organisation build a portfolio of leaders? Through leadership development initiatives and it could be found that there is a need to focus as much on teams as they do on individuals. A simple “3 A” model, based on Alignment, Action learning and Appreciative enquiry, that helps build this portfolio by working through teams.
Alignment with the organisation’s vision is the key which allows the portfolio of leaders to be aligned as well. When supported by action-learning that helps to achieve business outcomes and appreciative enquiry that facilitates reflection, leaders will take their learning forward and build further alignment. Again this is neither new nor applicable only in a downturn rather, it is a re-emphasis on what is important and makes a difference.

Alignment starts with understanding the nature of leadership required to achieve the strategic business objectives of the organisation in the context of its values and vision. It requires a deep appreciation of the kinds of situations leaders may face and specific outcomes that they need to deliver. Alignment is the pre-requisite that separates effective teams from dysfunctional teams.

The Key to Corporate Survival: Adaptability

By Steve Tobak

Most successful companies don’t end up the way they began. They evolve. Business success is a process of trial and error, learning and adapting. It’s no coincidence that human development and the scientific method work pretty much the same way.

Adaptability is the key to survival, not just in nature, but in the corporate world, too.

Sometimes adaptation is a one-shot deal, a major mutation based on changing environmental conditions. IBM’s repositioning from a computer giant to an integrated IT services company, for example.

Other times, adaptation is a component of corporate culture. Products or technologies envisioned for one application are adapted to another. Serial entrepreneurs bring lessons learned from one company to the next.

In all cases, learning and adaptation is the key mechanism at play. Here are a few examples of how this sort of thing works in the real world:

Apple

Apple is, at its core, a computer company. That’s how it began and that’s still its biggest business. But CEO Steve Jobs’s move into smartphones was a reaction to wireless phones increasingly becoming multi-use devices with built-in MP3 and web browsing capabilities, threatening Apple’s core iMac and iPod / iTunes businesses.

Not surprisingly, the iPhone’s revolutionary multi-touch display was originally developed for a touchscreen PC, and its operating system is based on the Mac’s OS X.

Sound ID

Sound ID has some of the best Bluetooth headsets on the market. Not surprisingly, founder Rodney Perkins is a Stanford Otologist (ear specialist) who previously founded a successful hearing aid company, ReSound. Of course it seems like an obvious move to leverage hearing aid technology for use in personal communications, after the fact.

Texas Instruments

TI’s founders initially developed seismic exploration technology for the petroleum industry; the military adapted it for tracking German U-boats in World War II, among other things. In addition to developing the first Silicon transistor and integrated circuit, TI later delved into calculators, defense electronics, computers, digital watches, and speech synthesis products.

But TI’s core product today - the vaulted TMS320 DSP used in most of the world’s wireless phones - was originally developed for a defense program.

OLED Technology

I was just reading about OLED technology – originally invented for display applications – being developed as a source for diffused, low-voltage lighting at GE and other companies. The panels are so thin and versatile, they can be adapted to virtually any form-factor. Something to keep an eye on.

I can go on and on with examples: from Intel to Microsoft, from Sony to Samsung, from Motorola to Qualcomm.

Is it any wonder that “speed, flexibility, and adaptability to change” jumped into the top five concerns among executives, as measured by the Conference Board in response to the current economic crisis?

Well, it’s one thing to be concerned, but creating a culture of adaptability is another thing entirely. That’s the real challenge. Is adaptability part of your corporate culture? If not, how do you get there from here?

How to Identify Your Transferrable Skills

This "finding a career" thing is tricky business.

You go to college and major in one thing -- but find yourself in a job opposite from what you spent four years studying. Or, you land a job that's exactly in line with your college major -- but discover it's not what you had in mind. Or even still, you score a gig doing what you love and are content for many years -- until you get bored and want to make a switch.

So what happens to the experience you've gained from your current job and those before it? What about the hours, years and dollars spent studying this vocation in school? Do you really have to start at square one if you decide to drastically switch careers?

Not at all. Your experience turns into transferable skills; you just have to learn to recognize and sell them to employers.

Need help? Here's everything you need to know about identifying, applying and marketing your transferable skills.

What are transferable skills?

Transferable skills are talents you've acquired that can help an employer but that aren't immediately relevant to the job you seek, says Kevin Donlin, resume writer and creator of TheSimpleJobSearch.com. Experiences like volunteer work, hobbies, sports, previous jobs, college coursework or even life happenings can lead you to find these skills.

Any skill is transferable; the trick is showing employers how it applies and is useful to them.

Identify transferable skills

With so much experience - in work and otherwise - the thought of sifting through it to recognize your applicable skills might sound scary. But, it's not as hard as you think.

Asking yourself questions like, "What are my three favorite accomplishments?" or "What activities make me the happiest?" will help you find your transferable skills easily, says Dawn Clare, a career and life coach.

"Evaluate your whole life, not just professional experiences," she says. "The point is to determine skill strengths. Use a framework of school, job, personal and organizational activities to determine your relevant accomplishments."

Start with the job you seek and identify the three most important abilities you'll need to do that job well, Donlin says. Then look over your experience and describe what you've done before in terms of what you want to do next. The best way to do this is through customized resumes and cover letters.

Apply transferable skills to your resume

We've told you before and we'll tell you again: You have to create a resume and cover letter specific to each job you apply for.

"Many times resumes fall short because one resume applying for a variety of positions loses HR interest and job opportunities," says Jamie Yasko-Mangum, a self-image and training consultant and owner of Successful Style & Image Inc.

Organize your resume by skill area or accomplishments rather than chronologically or functionally. Categorize all applicable skills, highlights and experiences and group them in categories such as "professional highlights," "skills summary" and "professional experience" and place them at the top of your resume, Yasko-Mangum says.

"This will not pigeonhole you into a closed career option," she says, but will "showcase all your abilities for many career options."

For example, Andrew Best had six years of experience in customer service, but wanted to transition into sales. Donlin, the professional resume writer, helped Best rework his resume by including a profile at the top that showcased his transferable skills.

"We talked about the sales-related things Andrew did in customer service, like convincing customers to try new services, which we described in sales language like up-selling and cross-selling," Donlin says. "We talked about how he had ranked at or near the top for training and productivity, because sales are a competitive sport."

Shel Horowitz, marketing consultant and founder of FrugalMarketing.com, remembers Carol, who had been out of the work force for 10 years as a homemaker. With an extensive volunteer history that Horowitz emphasized in her resume, Carol landed a job as a director of a human service agency - a position she held for 12 years.

"I stressed her administrative, fundraising and public contact skills," Horowitz says. He put a summary of her background in volunteering at the top of the resume, followed by specific experiences to showcase her skills.

Sell your skills to an employer

Most marketable skills can be grouped into broad categories and broken down further based on the job you're applying for. For example, communication is a general skill area, which can be broken down into such skills as speaking effectively, writing concisely or negotiation.

"You must do all the thinking for the person reading your resume," Donlin says. "Never expect anyone to figure out your relevant skills or how valuable they are."

To add credibility, Donlin suggests adding a quote to your resume from past managers or clients to emphasize your transferable skills. For example, John, a client of Donlin's, made the transition from retail management to real-estate sales. His resume included a quote from a real-estate agent praising John's character and sales skills, both of which are necessary in real estate.

"A third party endorsement of you is many times more credible and interesting than anything you could say about yourself," Donlin says.

Examples of applicable skills

Still need help selling your skills? Here are three examples of career transitions and how our experts suggest you could apply your transferable skills.
# Server to entry-level marketing

Transferable skills: Communication, client retention, sales and marketing, multitasking.

How to sell it: "During peak periods, I had to prioritize and handle multiple orders, market menu items, answer questions quickly, communicate clearly, up sell additional selections and ensure repeat business. My daily tip totals provided highly efficient feedback, as they were based on personal productivity and customer satisfaction."

# Nanny to human resources specialist

Transferable skills: Human relations, teaching, development, time management, patience.

How to sell it: "As a former caregiver to five children, I learned to identify with each child and learn his/her individual strengths, weaknesses and interests. I've also learned the importance of good time management, which would be an essential skill in the human resource department."

# College student to software engineering

Transferable skills: Computer science degree, team player, work ethic, trainable.

How to sell it: "I have a strong background in computer science, with both a degree and extensive training in the field. An accomplished team player, I've worked with a database management group at XYZ University, created an online multimedia store and used CGI scripts written in C+++ to track customer satisfaction."

Article Author: Rachel Zupek is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

Deciding Adaptively

Source: http://www.citeman.com/4583-deciding-adaptively

Rational decision making proceeds on the belief that managers can transform a complicated web of facts, assumptions, objectives, and educated guesses into a clear decision that people at the organization can act on. There is a strong faith in all this that the world can be influenced through manager’s mental capabilities. Decision making, then is an effort to exercise control over the organization’s destiny. This has been a distinctive management belief for more than a century.

This faith has been challenged in recent years. More and more, an adaptive approach to decision making has emerged as a way to think about what managers can and cannot expect to accomplish. This adaptive approach turns on the assumption that the link between an organizational action (the result of a decision) and the consequences of that action is far messier and far more unpredictable than rational decision makers believe. According to adaptive thinking, the results of a decision action are jointly produced by what your organization does and what other organizations are doing at the same time.

A classic example of a jointly-produced outcome has been occurring in recent years in the U.S. passenger airline industry. Airlines often fly relatively empty planes. Yet airline companies have to pay for expensive jet aircraft and for large numbers of highly-trained employees whether flights are full or not. So for any one airline, it might make rational sense to cut air fares to induce more passengers to fly on that airline. What happened in the spring of 1992, however, is that managers at several leading airlines-including American, United, Delta, and Northwest-all decided to cut fares at the same time. But there was not sufficient growth in the total number of passengers flying to make up for the forgone revenue from lower airfares. The jointly-produced result of these separate, rationally-derived decisions at each individual company was a so-called “price war” in which every airline suffered financial losses.

Two versions of the adaptive approach to decision making are game theory and chaos theory. Game theory is the study of people making interdependent choices. A game is a situation involving at least two people in which each person makes choices based, in part, on what he or she expects the other to do. Game theory highlights the explicit role of human relationships and interactions in decisions.

Games were first used in planning nuclear armament build-ups after World War II. Currently, game theory is used in such business decisions as competitive pricing. We experience games all the time. Two people must “play” a game when they meet at a revolving door at the same time, or when one is driving on a freeway and another attempts to enter the flow of traffic. For our understanding of decision making, the key point is that in a game the outcome is jointly produced. We make it through the revolving door, or we get delayed, because you do something and I do something.

Hence, a game theory perspective requires that we view decision making as a process of two decision makers adapting to each other’s presence at the same time. Each can decide rationally but also adaptively. This is what we were just describing about the modern U.S. airlines industry.

Chaos theory is the study of dynamic patterns in large social systems. Chaos theory thus is a descendant of systems theory. Chaos theorists pay close attention to the turbulence of a system. Under conditions of turbulence, not only is the future completely unpredictable, but present circumstances are likely unstable, too. In this way, turbulence differs from certainty, risk, and uncertainty, which are comparatively stable conditions under which managers can at least choose an attainable objective.

Chaos is a pattern of three states: equilibrium, disequilibrium, and bounded instability. The task of decision makers is to keep the organization in the third state because that is where organizations can innovate. Decision making becomes a continual process of adaptation to forces largely beyond a decision maker’s control.