Welcome to Lisa's blog!

I finished an executive coaching engagement with a client today. He is new in his position, and our work focused on the transition into his new leadership role, in particular his managerial effectiveness.

As we wrapped up today, I asked him if there was anything more he wanted to discuss. He responded that all he wanted was leadership support, open communication and feedback from his senior leaders.

Given the workload and demands placed on everyone today, we expect our new leaders to “get it quickly” and step into their roles with the managerial savvy that comes with seasoning. Experienced leaders sometimes need a not-so-gentle reminder of the importance of mentoring new leaders.

This is a great time to cultivate new business relationships, even though there may not be immediate opportunities to work together.

Take a genuine interest in the people you meet now. Be curious and thoughtful of how they’re responding to current challenges. They’re experiencing the same pain that you’ve seen in your own companies and with your clients.

Give them a reason to open up to you, and you’ll open the door for a future alliance.

A friend is struggling with a big decision about his professional future. He believes that even without the recession, his firm is existing hand to mouth and has a limited future. The CEO doesn’t have great business savvy, and ineffective decisions made over the years are coming home to roost now.

In spite of this, he has great loyalty to this company, and especially to the CEO.

Every word out of my friend’s mouth suggests that the best thing for him to do is to find another job where there is a better professional fit. And yet, he is paralyzed in the decision process, because he is living in his comfort zone.

Both my friend and the CEO of his company are making bad decisions. The CEO in the past, and my friend in the present, are making decisions based on emotions, not on what’s in his or the firm’s best interests.

A challenging environment requires crisp, objective decision making. Hoping for the best is a shaky strategy in the best of circumstances, let alone now.

Today I spoke with a leader of a mid-sized company, who shared that the owners of his firm had their heads in the sand (my words, not his). They’ve taken perfunctory measures to deal with a meaningful drop in revenue: they’ve laid off people; they’ve reduced salaries; they’ve given the pep talks.

But what they aren’t doing is looking to the future and thinking strategically about how to get out of the hole that they’re in. This particular leader is enormously frustrated because he has spoken up and recommended several strong ideas, and is basically being ignored.

I think the owners are avoiding the ideas of this leader because they’re terrified of going out of business, and the course of “no action” is the most comfortable.

Inertia can feel comfortable, but it’s a disaster when revenue is down, cash flow has dried up, and key senior staff members offer help but aren’t being heard. Action always trumps inertia. If you’re in a situation like this, doing something is always better than doing nothing.

A lot of companies have made the decision to avoid downsizing through a reduction in employee salaries or realignment of responsibilities. These situations can be just as difficult as downsizing, because the employees worry about the next shoe dropping.

Leaders can do several things to manage these situations:

• Be transparent. For example, telling your staff that revenue is too low will help everyone understand the justification for salary furloughs. They may be upset, but they’re likely to be more grateful about having jobs.
• Be honest. If the cuts aren’t over, don’t say that they are. Tell your people that for now things have stabilized, but xyz needs to happen in order to turn the tide.
• Be sensitive. When certain jobs are realigned and de facto demotions occur, do what you can to reassure these employees. These people are hurt and embarassed, and as the leader, you set the tone for dignity and respect.

In our office, we get a little crazy setting goals. One of the things that we’ve learned is to set realistic goals, as opposed to overly aspirational, out-of-sight goals. We post and track our goals. In fact, every time we achieve one, it’s cause for a little victory celebration.

I know a lot of business owners and executives whose goals are “in their heads.” They may be able to achieve them without the posting and tracking, but they’re missing the celebratory moments that the team shares from the ongoing recognition of accomplishments.

Last night I moderated a panel entitled, Your Next Career Move – How to Market Yourself, to a sold-out audience of New York area Penn alumni  who are in job/career transition. Our panelists, Michael Melcher, Rebecca Hornstein Doede, Alan Cutter and Dinah Day, contributed great content.

Some of the key take-away points included:

• Imagine the conversation you’d like people to have about you after you leave the room.
• Understand who you are and what your achievements have been. Have clarity about your key competencies and skills.
• Make sure that your skill set matches the job that you’re interviewing for.
• Thinking of ourselves as “just the job” is limiting; instead, think about the values that reflect who you are.
• Informational interviews are the best way to find out about particular companies. Be clear on what it is that you want from the interviewer!

When you attend an event such as this one, come prepared with what you want to take away as a result of being in the audience. The more clarity you have about what you want, the more likely you are to get it.

The New York area was hit by a big snow storm on Monday, and it was interesting to observe people’s reactions around the workplace.

I spoke with a number of people who felt virtuous because they had actually come into work. Imagine!

When I came to the office, the streets were passable and most of the sidewalks had been cleared. But schools were closed, and I think many adults felt slighted. Why couldn’t they have a snow day too?

When people feel good about the work they do, they don’t let a little snow get in their way. Allowing snow – or any other temporary obstacle – to have power over you isn’t saying much for how you value your work.

Whether it’s a sense of purpose, a feeling of satisfaction, or a feeling of accomplishment – your attitude about your work permeates into other areas of your life.

Take control of it, instead of letting “the weather” take control of you.