Andre J. Vonk MBA

SIX TIPS TO BUILD YOUR PRODUCTIVE &

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE

PREAMBLE

You’re the boss. You have the title. You have the pay. You

have the office. You have the staff. You have the

responsibility of taking your team in the right direction in

the best interest of the company. And you take the heat

when it doesn’t. All of this comes with the daily challenge

of keeping your staff on board with the agenda you’ve set.

PREAMBLE “continued”

Another reality that belongs to you, is that you

will always have people who report to you that don’t agree

with all of your decisions. Some will have the courage to

voice their disagreements. And whether they do it in the

right way or the wrong way, it’s your responsibility to listen

to what they have to say. How do you do this in a

productive way? Here are some thoughts:

Here are :

SIX TIPS TO BUILD YOUR PRODUCTIVE & EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE

No: 1

Regardless of your title, the size of your pay check, or the square

footage of your office, you aren’t always right. Weak bosses cling to

power through creating the illusion of being unquestionably right

about everything.

Good bosses are in touch with the reality of their own weaknesses and

draw on the strengths of those who report to them to create a

successful team. Get over yourself. Sometimes you’re wrong. And if

you’re lucky, you have people reporting to you who are smart enough

to recognize when you’re wrong, courageous enough to discuss it with

you, and have the character to do it in the right way.

Check your ego at the door.

No: 2 Listen.

When one of your reports takes the time to talk with you about one of

your decisions or agenda points with which they disagree, listen to

what they have to say. Turn off the music. Close the door (if

appropriate). Don’t answer the phone. Even better, put your smart

phone on “silent” and set it out of reach.

You can check your Twitter feed when the conversation is over. Make

eye contact. Write down all of the points you discuss. Engage in the

conversation with clarifying questions, respectful and appropriate

challenges, and an open mind. You might actually be wrong. They

might actually be right.

No: 3 Let them know how much you appreciate their actions.

The person who comes to their boss in a productive, respectful way

with a well-thought-out disagreement has demonstrated a great deal of

courage. Thank them for this.

Let them know that you appreciate the concern they’ve shown for the

well-being of the company and/or for their own personal well-being

as someone who reports to you. And assure them that they have been

heard and you will speak with them again about the matter after

you’ve had some time to process the conversation.

No: 4 Take time to process the conversation.

Let some time pass, and then come back to the notes you took during

the conversation. Review what was said. Think carefully about the

points he or she made to you.

A bad boss will simply usher the person out of their office, be glad the

conversation is over, sulk a bit, and then forget it ever happened. A

strong leader will revisit the conversation, weigh all that was said, and

then decide if any course-corrections are needed.

No: 5 Have a second conversation.

After you’ve processed the disagreement, schedule another meeting

with your employee. Share with him or her how you processed all that

they said.

If you’ve concluded that they were correct, be open and appreciative

about it and let them know what you’re going to do with that

epiphany.

If you’ve concluded that they were wrong, respectfully explain why

and do all you can to make sure they understand why you disagree

with their disagreement.

No: 6 Publicly give him or her credit for the course correction.

After discovering that your employee was right and you were wrong,

you’ll likely make a course correction. Let everyone on your team

know that he or she brought their concern to you, was right, and you

are making adjustments at their recommendation.

Write a commendation to put in your employee’s file. This final step

will make a huge deposit of integrity into your “leadership bank” in

the minds of those who report to you, those to whom you report, and

other’s throughout the company.

Andre J. Vonk MBA

AFTERWORD

Repeating all six steps as often as necessary will generate the kind of

gossip you want, and set you apart as a boss for whom everyone

wants to work and no company wants to lose.

“In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people… they no longer can lead solely based on

positional power.”