webtechs, Author at Saletta Leadership, LLC

Regular Post

Written by webtechs

9 December 2020

How To Develop Leadership Skills In The Workplace

A huge part of career development is learning how to interact with others in the workplace, and eventually take on a leadership role. But, how does one go about developing these skills throughout their career? If you are searching online with the inquiry of “how to develop leadership skills in the workplace,” then this post is for you!

Qualities Of A Good Leader

Not all of us are natural born leaders, but with practice, research and character development it is possible to grow into a leader. Whether you are just beginning your professional career, starting a new management position or even a seasoned boss, there are several strategies to implement as you transition into the best leader for your workplace.

A leader needs to show a willingness to take on as many projects as possible. Co-workers will always follow someone who leads by example. Reach out to your bosses or manager to see if there is any extra work or an additional project that you can take part in. This is not to recommend taking on more than you can currently handle; make sure you can handle your workload first. Instead, this is a recommendation to go above and beyond your job description. This is a great way to grow, professionally and personally.

A great leader needs to know how to listen to others. To lead, one must first be in the role of follower. Leadership includes the ability to yield power when appropriate. If someone is more of a creative thinker for a situation that calls for creativity, then let that person have the floor. Yielding power to best use your personnel shows true leadership and maturity.

Stepping back and letting a co-worker take control relates directly to empowering teammates. View your employees as teammates at all times, empowering them when the time is right. Empowering tends to inspire others. All good leaders must be able to inspire others in the workplace. Last but not least, always keep your eyes open and ears peeled. A key to leadership development is to always look for opportunities to grow. Never stop learning, even when you’ve reached the pinnacle of your career.

Leadership Skills List

Here is a quick list of qualities that aspiring leaders should possess:

Commitment
Inspiration
Communication Skills
Influence

Commitment

Managers or bosses simply in their current roles to move on and up in a short period of time will do little to inspire the confidence of their employees. Great leaders stick around for the long term, through good times and bad. Commitment never goes unnoticed by fellow employees or workers. Good managers are committed to making their current role as meaningful as possible. By committing time and effort over a long period of time, good leaders are demonstrating their worth simply by their body of work.

Inspiration

Explaining a task or goal to your team, then just leaving it up to them is okay, but there is certainly a better way to get your team excited on the job. A good leader will leave no doubt that you understand the objectives set in place. Walk your team through a project step-by-step, fielding any questions along the way. Passion is a building block towards success, and passion can definitely become contagious when the right culture is developed.

Communication Skills

All of these tips and skills are rendered moot if the manager is not a good communicator. Good communication skills are possibly the first attribute a good leader must acquire. Knowing how to speak with employees of all different levels and needs is crucial for success. Goals and objectives are the easy parts. Effectively guiding your employees to the goals is where the real work begins.

Influence

Bosses command and leaders influence is a common belief. Many believe a leader’s authority stems directly from his or her ability to influence others. A boss offers rules, while a leader encourages workers to think for themselves and utilized creativity when possible. Good leaders tend to grow their influence by practicing encouragement, optimism, and of course, honing some exceptional communication skills.

To read more about necessary leadership skills in the workplace click here.

Leadership Training By Saletta Leadership, LLC

Michael Saletta is known as the “Master Facilitator” in guiding companies to drive their sales and business strategy. He is the founder and CEO of Saletta Leadership, LLC and Leadership Partners, LLC, consulting companies dedicated to developing leaders, growing sales, and aligning team performance. Change your business by contacting Saletta Leadership today!

Leadership

Leadership, Leadership Skills, Strategy

Regular Post

Written by webtechs

22 April 2013

Ego In The Workplace

Ego gets in the way of progress, creativity and growth.

I am not talking about confidence – I am referring to the person that operates with an inflated opinion of oneself; and the person that deep down masks their fears with thoughts of “I know best”, “don’t tell me”, or “everyone else is wrong”.

This attitude destroys trust, undermines culture, and stifles progress.

High Ego

Over the years I have coached and trained hundreds of executives that lack the necessary self-awareness of ego. Many cross their arms, lift their chin, and send the message, “go ahead, see if you can teach me…” These same executives criticize their own employees for not wanting to change. So who’s to blame? The executive or the employee?

Surprisingly, our brains are largely to blame. We are wired with a mindset that both safeguards and reinforces our Status. Status refers to the relative importance of ourselves as compared to others.

Everyone’s brain is designed to protect our own well being, while simultaneously responding to the reward of feeling more important than others.

Keeping Your Ego In Check

Dr. David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, coined the term SCARF (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness) to illustrate the drivers of social behavior. Status can be activated by giving someone feedback – ‘feedback for improvement’ stimulates an individual’s threat response, and ‘positive feedback’ stimulates a person’s reward response.

Becoming aware that we are all predisposed to react to Status influences is the first step in keeping our egos in check. Every time ego leads the way, it adversely impacts one’s ability to learn new skills, share information, enhance team collaboration, and accept feedback.

Make a conscious effort to check your ego at the door. Change depends on it.

Interrogate Business, Strategy

Direction, Interrogate Business, Leadership, Michael Saletta, Mission, Saletta Leadership, Strategy, Vision

Regular Post

Written by webtechs

27 March 2013

Communication Is Key

Imagine a football team attempting to score a touchdown blindfolded. Or driving from L.A. to N.Y. with no map, compass, or GPS. You may eventually end up in the right place… but not without added chaos and inefficiency.

I dare you to ask 10 people in your business what your company’s top goals and business priorities are. You will most likely get 10 different answers.

Now ask several individuals, what your company’s core strategy is. I’m sure most will look dazed and confused. So how can you expect high performance when everyone is unclear of the goals and clueless about strategy? Well frankly, you can’t!

Effective Communication

It’s common practice for management to point the finger at an employee, or even an entire department, for not communicating. It’s also tempting to scold team members for their lack of accountability. Step back. Take a look at the big picture. Where must communication and accountability begin?

Whether you have 2 employees or 10,000… you must start with providing the fundamental direction of your business. You can help employees prioritize their time, execute their roles, and follow through on responsibilities, by providing the “what’s, how’s and why’s” of business. Take the time to ensure everyone is aware of, and aligned with, your company’s goals. Define your business strategy and give all team members a clear map to follow. The truth is, a clear, focused direction will profoundly impact performance. Good leadership begins with opening everyone’s eyes.

Saletta Leadership, LLC

Communication

Direction, Interrogate Business, Leadership, Michael Saletta, Mission, Saletta Leadership, Strategy, Vision

Regular Post

Written by webtechs

27 March 2013

Definition Of Leadership

Before we begin down this rabbit hole, let’s look at why we define things in the first place.

We define words to help create a common understanding of their meaning so we can apply the definition in our language and in our life. With the word ‘LEADERSHIP’ – we must find the rightmeaning, so we can shape our language and our lives. If ‘leadership’ is defined poorly or even limited in scope, then few of us apply its power to our own lives.

What Is The Definition Of Leadership?

When defined poorly, we use ‘leadership’ to describe anyone who has followers regardless of his or her direction. When the direction is wrong, as is the case with ineffective politicians or inhumane dictators, then ‘leadership’ loses its power in the definition, and in its application.

When ‘leadership’ is defined with a limited scope, as it is used to define a person’s position and title, i.e. CEO, President, Director, and Manager; then once again we miss out on a huge opportunity to use the value of leadership at all levels in an organization. Not only that, a title or position in no way implies you have earned the right to be viewed as a leader.

What Is Your Definition Of Leadership?

Consider my definition: “Leadership is the responsibility to positively influence self, others, and outcomes.”

Let’s break it down…

“Leadership is a responsibility” – Leadership begins by owning your choices and decisions. Stop looking outside of yourself to ‘find’ the leader; instead look inside to your inner compass.
“to positively influence” – Leadership needs to guide and direct people in the ‘right’ direction, and therefore leaders must always consider the impact of their actions.
“self” – Your choices, habits, goals, purpose, and direction determine how you live your own life. Every thought, action, and inaction establishes “self- leadership.”
“others” – Your impact on others is inevitable, and the more conscious you are of your intentional and unintentional impact, the better leader you will become.
“and outcomes.” – Leaders produce results, achieve goals, improve situations, and drive change. Consider how your leadership will influence the outcome.

This simple and direct definition provides a much-needed focus to define the essence of ‘leadership’.

Saletta Leadership, LLC

Leadership

Change, Influence, Interrogate Business, Leadership, Michael Saletta, Responsibility, Saletta Leadership

Regular Post

Written by webtechs

27 March 2013

Evaluation Of Business

The word interrogate conjures images of windowless rooms with two way mirrors, detectives playing good cop/bad cop, or prosecutors tricking the guilty into expressing too much emotion on the stand. The approach can be strong and attacking, or empathetic and reassuring. Regardless, interrogations have one thing in common- a relentless pursuit of the truth. Each answer leads to a new question, a new path to follow in order to uncover solid facts.

The goal of this blog is not to pound on business. Instead, I want to help you closely examine all aspects of your business. My objective is to dig deeper and ask the tough questions.

What are the important questions that you should ask of your own organization? Together we will examine what makes business tick including:

What makes certain employees give their heart, body and soul to the company’s mission
How to determine the underlying problems with accountability
What lies at the root of morale issues that frequently get ignored
What resides inside the mind of your most loyal customers

I will explore my curiosity for human performance and investigate the limitless dynamics of leadership, sales and strategy.

Together, let’s “Interrogate Business” in search for the truth.

What tough questions do you need to ask of your business? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments or email me and I will include your thoughts in future posts.

Saletta Leadership, LLC

Business Evaluation

Accountability, Business, Interrogate Business, Leadership, Michael Saletta, Mission, Sales, Saletta Leadership, Strategy, Vision