A Message from Ujima Donalson
Assistant Vice President,
Total Talent Management
This spring, due to a variety of circumstances, I have been away from the office to an unusual degree. Although my mind is rarely far from my work, the distance imposed by this absence has provided a fresh perspective on my leadership style as well as the challenges of leadership today.
In POD, we regularly hear from leaders and administrators across the University. You all are our stakeholders, and through The Leading Edge we strive to connect you with pertinent resources, keep you up-to-date on management trends, and share tools and strategies for individual and organizational excellence. To that end, for this issue we have curated content from the last several years to bring you articles that are not just insightful but still highly relevant. Whether you’re new to a leadership position here at the UW, missed the article the first time around, or simply have a few moments now to stop and take stock, I hope these articles will prove useful. Read More
The Crux of Core Strengths Accountability
Linda Callecod, Senior Consultant, Professional & Organizational Development
The title of the Core Strengths Accountability workshop is deceiving. At first, I assumed it would be similar to Marcus Buckingham’s StrengthsFinder Profile, through which you’re encouraged to identify and then capitalize upon your strengths. Although Core Strengths does use an assessment, I discovered it is not like Buckingham’s work at all. Then I thought it must be like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which is designed to help individuals better understand their preferences and how differently they and others perceive the world and approach decision-making. But, no, Core Strengths is not like that either. Finally, I wondered if there was any relation to Pilates or other exercise programs that encourage us to develop a strong core. Thankfully, I can assure you that Core Strengths is not that!
What Core Strengths is actually about is transforming from a culture of compliance to a culture of accountability, in which individuals choose to take both ownership and initiative. Although the other things mentioned above are worthwhile in their own right, Core Strengths is unique and is, I believe, of immense value to leaders. Read More
Engaging Your Employees
Lynn D. Hagerman, MPH, CHIC; Lynn Hagerman Associates, LLC
Leaders intuitively know that when teams and employees are fully engaged, things seem to flow more smoothly, the work feels lighter, and outcomes are better. Employee engagement can make the difference between a ho-hum environment with good-enough results and a working environment that truly excels.
Why Engagement is Essential
As leaders, we want a high level of engagement at all times but it becomes truly essential at times of change. When employees are genuinely involved in creating or contributing to new initiatives, they become more committed to positive outcomes and finding ways to meet stretch goals. They're more creative and invested in problem-solving. They're also more successful, and then, so is the organization. Read more
Ask an Expert: Increasing Focus
Pierre Khawand, Founder and Principal, People-OnTheGo
Q. How can my team members and I become more focused and less distracted?
Increasing focus and decreasing distractions are two sides of a very elusive coin. Due to email, the Internet, smart phones, and other products of the digital revolution, our lives have become a series of frequent interruptions intermingled with small flurries of work.
Our efforts are like waves pounding on a shore. Sometimes we get lucky and the tide comes in, but typically we move forward, then backward, and then forward again. For our efforts to amount to something substantial, we need focused work sessions—periods of sustained, uninterrupted activity. I know that kind of time can be hard to come by, but the truth is you can create an environment of focus, fulfillment, and accomplishment in three steps: eliminate external distractions, plan for productivity, and capture the Killer Bs (our internal interrupters). Read more
Ask an Expert: The Development Side of Training
Amy Hawkins, Executive Director, Total Benefits
We all wish our employees could intuit exactly what is expected of them. That we could clearly convey expectations or disapproval via an arched brow or plaintive sigh. That our soft-pedaled suggestions could be interpreted as loud and clear calls to action. Unfortunately for us, most humans are not mind-readers (and our faculty and staff here at the UW, though gifted, are no exception).
Performance management is key for organizational success, and in my work I’ve found that many leaders—supervisors, administrators, directors, deans, and chairs alike—are only really comfortable when managing stellar performance. When there are issues or concerns, people get a little squeamish. Leaders sometimes reach for coaching or training for their employees to solve performance problems, but these tools may fall flat, or even backfire, if used indiscriminately or punitively. Read more
Making Meetings Work: Tips for Productive, Participatory Meetings
Guila Muir, M.Ed., Guila Muir and Associates LLC
If you feel a slight chill of dread at the prospect of leading a meeting, you are not alone. Meetings have a bad reputation, for good reason. According to a Harvard Business Review survey, 71% of senior managers say meetings are unproductive and inefficient. Another study shows that the more meetings we attend, the worse we feel about ourselves and our jobs.
Why? Because most professionals haven’t learned the behaviors and skills of effective meeting facilitation and instead simply duplicate what they have seen other meeting leaders do. As a result, meeting members often feel bored, frustrated, and disengaged. Even if your own experience has been more positive, no doubt you have sat through meetings that accomplished little other than wasting your time.
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