Lessons on Leadership from Head Coach Jason Garrett

Last week, I had the privilege of facilitating a session with a group of leaders to teach them coaching skills. We kicked off our meeting with a surprise guest, Jason Garrett, the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He spent 45-minutes telling us story after story about what he’s learned and how he views coaching and leadership. So, I want to share a few nuggets that serve as good reminders for all of us.

1. Remember that it all starts with you

As a former quarterback, Jason started by talking about the importance of the huddle, those 12 valuable seconds that you have to motivate your team members to execute to the best of their abilities. He emphasized that in that huddle, it all starts with you. He said, “You have to bring positive energy to the team, and remember that YOU BELONG there as a leader.” Jason recalled how intimidating it was earlier in his career to be a quarterback surrounded by veteran players with so much more experience. He said, “You have to recognize that you deserve to be there and need to show confidence – even when you don’t fully feel it.”

2. Be a life long learner

Jason had story after story about what he has learned from other coaches and business leaders throughout his life. He consistently carves out time to seek out people from all walks of life to understand what has led to their success, and identify what he can learn from them. He is like a sponge, soaking it all in from everyone in his life.

3. Clarify what’s expected

Jason emphasized that as a leader and coach, you have to make sure that everyone understands that the team comes first - their results and performance. So, you have to clarify what you expect from the team as a whole and each team member. But each team member also needs to articulate what they expect of you as a leader, and of each other.

Jason also firmly believes in the value of empowering his team to create standards for how they will function (vs. rules that they have to comply with). He picked up this practice from another coach. As Jason recalled the conversation with that coach years ago, he smiled about the simplicity and power of the standards their team developed at the time:

• Look each other in the eye and tell the truth

• Be on time

• No excuses

4. Make sure your players are invested

Finally, to make sure your players are invested, figure out what makes them tick and adapt your communication style and approach accordingly. Jason laughed as he said that he knew which players he had to yell at (although he wouldn’t recommend that approach for us), and which ones would retreat into their shells for days if he did that. One size just doesn’t fit all.

I want to end today’s article with a call to action. Take a look at the four items above, choose one that you want to focus on, and identify one small step that you can implement in the next week. Remember small steps can lead to big results.

Executive Coaching – What’s All the Fuss About?

Executive coaching – what is it exactly, and why should you care? In this world of customization, think of coaching as a development solution tailored just for you. Today you can get personalized M&Ms, custom- made athletic shoes, and computers built to your specifications. So why not work with an executive coach who can help you design a targeted approach to achieve what’s important to YOU – whether that’s going for that next promotion, being a more effective leader, or getting more of what you want from your career? More and more companies are using coaching for high potentials and executives to help boost individual performance and productivity. So, it’s no wonder that this industry is experiencing explosive growth. Coaching may sound intriguing, but are you a good candidate for coaching? Well, here are a few questions to consider. Are you motivated to improve now? Do you have some idea of what you want to accomplish through coaching (e.g., building skills, working through a tough business situation, positioning yourself for the next level)? Are you willing to be honest and open about your strengths and development areas, and willing to hear feedback? Will you make time for coaching, and follow through on commitments? If you answered yes to many of these questions, coaching might be worth exploring.

Once you’ve determined that you are a good candidate for coaching, you need to choose a coach that “fits.” So how do you pick the right one? The AMA/Institute for Corporate Productivity Coaching Survey 2008 identified the five most common criteria by which coaches are selected:

• business experience (with 68% saying they use this criteria frequently or a great deal)

• recommendations from a trusted source (59%)

• interview with the prospective coach (54%)

• consulting experience (52%)

• validated client results (48%).

Interviewing a prospective coach to ensure that there’s a good match in terms of personality and expertise clearly has the strongest relationship to a successful coaching program. Although professional standards for the industry are becoming more established, anyone can hang out a shingle today and claim that they are a coach. So, be sure to ask about experience, formal training, and certifications.

So, what’s the bottom line? Partnering with an executive coach could be a powerful combination. Just remember that hiring a good coach isn’t enough. The other part of the equation is YOU – what you want to get out of it and how much you’re willing to put into it.

How Much Courage Do You Have?

I love what I do and am so excited that I launched my business three years ago - even though I did it right as the economy started to tank. Every day, I get to work with high performing men and women who have the courage to pursue what matters to them and strive for more. They are going places and making great things happen. So, today I want to share what I see them doing – specifically as it relates to courage – that makes a huge difference in their ability to achieve results. It boils down to three things.

1. They take a hard look at themselves

Taking a hard look at yourself requires investing time and energy to get clearer about your passion, priorities, strengths, and development areas. As part of my coaching process, I usually conduct 360-interviews where I solicit feedback from my clients’ direct reports, peers, and leaders. Talk about a gold mine of valuable information...if you can see it that way.

I have to say that it takes courage to “put yourself out there” like that, especially when the feedback isn’t what you want to hear or you disagree with it. But we all have choices - to take the feedback or leave it, to use the information to grow or not. I find that strong leaders usually have the courage to say, “Ok, the feedback is what it is. What do I need to do about it?”

2. They recognize what they should do more or less of

If you’re like most people, you may do some things really well and you may unknowingly get in the way of your own success at times. That’s where feedback from others can really help. Whether or not you are willing to ask others for their input, take the time to ask yourself, “What should I do more or less of to be more effective in my role?”

Identify 2-3 small steps you can take NOW and think through what makes these actions or changes so important (i.e., What will the impact be? On you? Others?). By taking time to think about the “so what,” it will increase your commitment to implementing them.

3. They consistently take action

The leaders I work with achieve amazing results because they are willing to hold the mirror up to themselves, ask for honest feedback, identify the steps they need to take, and take action time and again.

When my clients say they couldn’t have done it without me, I find myself pointing out that our coaching sessions could have merely been a series of conversations. What made it more was their willingness to take risks and try something new. And when things didn’t play out exactly as they hoped, they made adjustments and tried again. Their commitment to consistently take action, to the point that they formed new habits, is what will help them continue to achieve results well after our coaching is over.

So, I want to leave you with a call to action. This week, ask one to two trusted friends or colleagues what you should do more or less of to be more effective in your role. Before you ask them, think about how you want to “show up” in the conversation. Keep in mind that how you respond to their feedback will impact whether they will ever give it to you again!

What is Really Driving Your Success?

The Newberry Leadership System for High Performing Women helps leaders build critical skills to the point where they become second nature (i.e., to the point of unconscious competence) – to help them get results they couldn’t before. So, today I want to share one simple technique I use in this System to accelerate this process. No matter what your gender, this can help you clarify specific behaviors and skills that drive your success.

1. Notice your results

This may sound basic but I cannot tell you how many of my high performing clients just don’t notice their accomplishments. They often move from one thing to the next with little to no acknowledgement or celebration in between.

Let me give you an example. One of my new clients recently received a prestigious award that truly distinguishes her from other executives. In my first meeting with her, she shared how she just couldn’t understand why she got the award and felt very uncomfortable with the recognition. It wasn’t until a close friend rattled off the evidence (a LONG list of her successes and contributions) to her that she realized how much she had really done to deserve it.

So, if this sounds even remotely familiar, you too may have to force yourself to notice. You can do this by taking 5-10 minutes a week to make a list of what you accomplished that week and the “so what.” For some of you, it may take having an external mechanism to force you to track your accomplishments. For example, another one of my clients begins each of her staff meetings by asking each person to share an individual or team success. This practice also forces her to think about what she has accomplished because she has to share it with her staff. These are just two ideas to stimulate some thought. You need to develop an approach that will work for you.

2. Identify the 2-3 key practices you used to achieve those results

For each of your more notable accomplishments, think about what made the biggest difference in achieving them. I went through this exercise with a client last week. She lit up as she realized how much she has consciously focused on adapting her communication style and approach with each of her team members based on what she knows about them (e.g., what motivates them, what they care about, their goals, etc.). As a result, she has seen big shifts in how her team engages with her and how they view her as a leader.

With senior management, she has worked hard to consistently provide “strategic snapshots” of her performance (see my article on this topic if you missed it), and they view her as a much stronger leader today than they did a few months ago.

By talking through what helped her achieve the results, my client got much clearer about what she needed to keep doing. She also realized that she was more purposefully using strengths she already had and implementing some new practices.

3. Maintain consistent focus on your successful practices

Once you realize what works for you, you need to keep doing it. Remember that he ultimate goal is to consistently achieve strong results over time. So, your skills or practices need to become habits (i.e., reach a level of unconscious competence). But before this occurs, you may need some targeted strategies to keep your practices front and center.

For example, one of my clients blocks 30 minutes each week to review her upcoming meetings and identify at least one specific outcome or goal for each of them. This forces her to notice opportunities to implement the practices that work for her and be more intentional. This small change has helped her get results much faster because she is making the most of each opportunity in front of her.

Finally, in this step, keep in mind that you may need to adapt your practices for the specific situation at hand. When you recognize what’s at the heart of your practice, that’s much easier to do.

Let me leave you with one last thought. I see high performers achieve great results time and again, but the ones who have the most success over time realize what led to their success. Remember that it doesn’t take a huge investment of your time to go through the three steps above. So, get started today. You may be surprised at what you learn about yourself.

Get the Results You Want

It's that time again when we ask ourselves, "What do I want to accomplish this year?" Some of us write New Year's resolutions, many which never come to fruition. We may start out with a lot of energy and excitement, but don't recognize how we set ourselves up for failure. Read on for tips to help you get better results this year - in how you write goals and your approach to achieving them.

1. Unbundle and be specific

Let me take an example of Judy who sets a goal to get 20 new clients this year. We all know that she won't find all of these clients immediately and it may take a while to meet her goal. So, first she needs to unbundle her large goal into its component parts. For example, revising her goal to get 5 new clients by the end of each quarter will still allow Judy to meet her overall goal but breaks her goal into manageable pieces. She will also know when she's achieved her goal because it is measurable and time-bound with specific interim milestones.

2. Identify what makes it so important

Judy should also think about what makes this goal so important to her. Perhaps, it's about feeling good about herself, making more money, or getting promoted. Whatever it is, reminding herself of the underlying reason will motivate her - especially when she feels stuck. Often, having a visual reminder (e.g., a note in a visible place, a screensaver) or someone who periodically reminds Judy of the importance of her goal can be very powerful.

3. Think about what it will really take

Is Judy's goal realistic and attainable for her? What will it really take to meet her goal and what obstacles might get in her way? For example, does she need support from someone who is more skilled in developing new business? How should Judy prioritize her time and leverage her team so she can focus more on sales? Does she have the budget she needs? Answering these questions as she's formulating her goals and developing supporting strategies will help Judy be more successful.

4. Assess and Adjust

Periodically, Judy should assess what's working and what's not and make adjustments to her approach. For example, if she's not spending enough time on developing new business, what's getting in her way? What does she need to change about her strategy? She should schedule checkpoints often enough that she can make adjustments before it is too late to meet her goal.

So, I challenge you to try these tips in 2010. I have no doubt that you will get better results. Who knows, maybe this will be the first year you follow through on your resolutions!

Looking from the Outside In

I remember the first time I worked with an executive coach when I was a Director at Deloitte. It was truly eye-opening. People who know me well know that I'm a self-help book junkie and my own worst critic. However, when you're in the thick of the day-to- day pressures and demands there are some things that you just can't "see" on your own. It usually has nothing to do with your intelligence, but has more to do with whether you can find ways to "look at the situation from the outside in." Let me give you an example of a recent client, Suzy, a leader frustrated about an employee's subpar performance. She was convinced he had potential and was trying to figure out how to help him improve. I asked Suzy to explain in detail how she was working with this particular person. As we got deeper into the conversation, she shared that she was giving him recommendations, checking in with him daily, and personally investing a lot of her time. Nonetheless, she saw no notable change in his performance.

I asked whether she thought he had the intellectual horsepower and capacity to do the job, and Suzy immediately said, "Yes." Hearing this, I realized that Suzy may have some blind spots about the situation. So, I asked her a series of questions to help her "look at the situation from the outside in." These questions might come in handy the next time you find yourself in a perplexing situation:

1. What is your underlying intent in this situation?

"I want to keep this employee in the company. His technical skills and knowledge are valuable and hard to replace, and he has potential. I want to help him in any way that I can."

2. What is at stake?

"I'm relatively new in my role. If this fails, I will be viewed as a failure. It will take forever to find a good replacement. I have to make this work."

3. What messages are you sending through your words and actions, regardless of your intent?

Words - "I am willing to invest my time to help you improve. I am concerned about your performance but think you have potential. I want to keep you in this company."

Actions - "Daily meetings with him and sometimes his team, offering numerous recommendations, dedicating hours of my time to him each week despite other priorities."

Messages Conveyed by these Actions - "I don't trust you, so I need to look over your shoulder every day. I don't think you can do the job, so I'm going to do it for you. My way is the best way, so this is how you should do it."

4. If roles were reversed, how would you feel in this situation?

"Incompetent, embarrassed, like I'm about to be fired and should be looking for another job."

By answering these questions, Suzy realized the pressure she felt and how she was sabotaging her own efforts to improve her employee's performance. So, we took her insight and came up with a different approach - one that engaged her employee in the solution without micromanaging him. I'm pleased to say that she is finally seeing that potential turn into performance.

So, keep these four questions handy and find someone to help you objectively look at your situation "from the outside in."