7 Relationships All Leaders Need
(And How to Build Them)
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As a business leader, relationships are critical to your current and future success. But, what sort of people should you surround yourself with? Here are seven people every leader needs in their life and ways you can start (or continue) building these relationships today.
1. The Peer Climber
- Who They Are: A peer in the same career path, organizational level, field, or industry.
- Why You Need Them: This person can help you understand current trends and demands in your business world. They’ll offer insight, ideas, and help when you need to talk to someone who just gets it.
- How to Build this Relationship: Spend time together outside of work to cultivate this relationship. Join a professional organization together, or set up regular lunch meetings with this individual. Consider having a peer-to-peer business book club together so you can share insights and issues as they come up.
2. The Trendsetter
- Who They Are: This lifelong learner is always on top of the trends. They are always ahead of the curve with innovative thinking and solutions in business and life. They’re not waiting to see what everyone else is doing. They’re too busy forging ahead and trailblazing what’s next.
- Why You Need Them: With today’s pressures of tighter budgets, limited personnel, and critical business goals, you need someone in your life to help you keep your eyes open to fresh and interesting ideas. They can help you keep up to date on trends that matter and point you to the people and resources you’ll need when it’s time to move beyond the status quo.
- How to Build this Relationship: The trendsetter will appreciate ideas and information, so ask them to share interesting articles they come across, and return the favor by opening up your resources and professional knowledge to them. Register to attend a conference or convention on an emerging trend with this individual to bond over a learning experience.
3. The Experienced Executive
- Who They Are: More seasoned in the business world than you are, they broker influence and garner respect within your industry and community, whether or not they have an executive title.
- Why You Need Them: Their insight and been-there-done-that knowledge will be a vital resource as you address the continual challenges leadership brings. No matter where you are in your career, they are always someone you can learn from.
- How to Build this Relationship: With a busy, seasoned professional, the main challenge to building a relationship will most likely be time. So, be direct and honest with this individual, letting them know you’d like them to serve as a mentor. Then, create a formal or informal time to meet so you can regularly learn from the experience they have to share, and find ways to lead up to make their time investment truly valuable.
4. The Honest Anchor
- Who They Are: This person ties you to reality and tells you things like they are. They may or may not be a member of your organization, industry, or even the work world. Regardless, they have the ability to listen first and then cut through the drama, politics, or emotion to help give you perspective to see any situation for what it really is.
- Why You Need Them: Their discernment and honesty will help you see the perspective of others, which you will need as you make the difficult decisions leadership requires.
- How to Build this Relationship: Don’t just go to this person when you have a problem. Spend time getting to know them so you can develop a close, trusting bond. True honesty only stems from a close relationship of mutual respect, so focus on ways you can build that valuable asset.
5. The Up-And-Comer
- Who They Are: An emerging professional with leadership potential who is eager to learn and ready to take on the challenges and rewards of leadership.
- Why You Need Them: Surrounding yourself only with people at your level or above can quickly get you out of sync with the realities of those you lead. The passion and drive of an outstanding new professional can energize you and help you stay in tune with the trends and needs of your workforce. Plus, investing time into mentoring someone less experienced than you is one of the greatest rewards of true leadership.
- How to Build this Relationship: Whether you develop a formal or informal mentoring relationship, make it a point to meet regularly just to chat and share information and insight. You may find yourself learning just as much as you are teaching.
6. The Community Connection
- Who They Are: The go-to guy or gal in your community, this person is involved, connected, and respected in your local market.
- Why You Need Them: More than simply a walking, talking Rolodex, they will be able to keep you up to date about community activities you should be involved in as a leader. They’ll have a good idea of what boards you should serve on, what projects to volunteer for, and what people you should get to know locally.
- How to Build this Relationship: This person will probably be very visible within the community, but they might be very busy as well. To become more than simply one of many acquaintances, develop a close relationship by finding a common passion and volunteer with this person to help an important cause or organization. Go beyond surface-level networking and build a friendship that adds value to both of your lives.
7. The Breath of Fresh Air
- Who They Are: Someone outside of your normal business pace. They may be retired, stay at home with children or family, or be a digital nomad and write their own rules for work.
- Why You Need Them: The different pace of life they lead will help you get a fresh look at the world away from work. They will help you set priorities for work and life that aren’t just focused on the here and now or the strategic business future. They’ll help you say “no” when you need to and help you prioritize for important things like family time, vacations, and leisure activities.
- How to Build this Relationship: Take an afternoon off every once in a while to experience life in their shoes during your normal workday. Read a book of fiction together, start a cooking club, or take your pets to the park. Spend time with this individual in a setting they’re comfortable in, and try to steer clear of business talk when they’re around. Then, use the inspiration you receive from them to approach work with fresh eyes. And remember that work’s not all there is to life.
Use Learning Goals to Provide Direction to Your Team
A Simple How-To Guide
The focus on performance in today’s workplace is understandably strong. With limited resources and personnel, organizations and the individuals who keep them running on a day-to-day basis are having to do more with less. With that in mind, it’s the time of year when individuals and organizations begin thinking about their goals for next year.
As you begin to measure progress on this year’s goals, you may notice something: most goals you and your employees have focus on the outcome rather than the process you will take to accomplish them. Learning goals, on the other hand, acknowledge from the beginning that every experience is a learning opportunity, and that research, training, and exploration are important parts of the work process.
So, in your goal-setting process for 2010, consider using a learning formula to help your employees establish their individual goals. Here’s a simple how-to guide.
Start with Employee Interest and Curiosity
Want to make sure your employees are truly motivated and interested in their work? Begin their goal-setting process with something they’re personally interested in or curious about in relation to their work. This creates the proper environment for innovation and creativity. And, if you’re asking your employees to make better use of their time, find solutions to improve processes, and do more than the status quo, this is the perfect place to start.
Before your next goal-setting meeting with your employees, consider having individual professional-interest meetings with each employee to discuss ideas, topics, problems, and issues they’d like to learn more about in the upcoming year. Then you’ll be prepared to find a way to tie their interests to the goals your organization wants to achieve.
Tie Learning Goals to Organization Goals
Each department’s goals should tie in with the overall organization goals, and each employee’s individual goals should contribute to the department’s goals. This ensures that every member of your team is contributing to the company’s overall objectives. To set department goals, consider a team brainstorming meeting, where you get together as a group and determine interesting and important ways to address challenges, projects, and opportunities in the coming year. Then, you’ll be ready to meet with employees to set their individual goals.
Write Goals in a Learning Formula
The typical goal focuses on outcomes: “Accomplish Y.” Popular goal-setting formulas, like the SMART model, specify that goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. The learning goal model uses this approach and adds another element – the learning objective. Essentially, the learning goal will state: “Learn X so I can accomplish Y.” By equipping your team to use this model for setting their individual work goals, you set them up not only to succeed, but to develop and grow as a professional as well.
Track the Learning Process
After you’ve set learning goals, make sure you also put into place a way to track employee’s progress – both in learning and achieving the goal. Some organizations utilize a learning log, where employees track their learning process, including specific things they’re learning, their progress toward their goals, and how the learning process is helping them achieve the goal.
Prioritize Learning Time and Opportunities
With learning goals, it’s important to set priorities for learning, including formal opportunities such as training events, seminars, conferences, webinars, and informal opportunities, such as reading articles, joining a professional organization, or meeting with peers to discuss the topic of the learning objective. As a leader, this may mean allocating funds, sharing about learning events, or setting aside time for each team member to learn on their own.
Enable Sharing Throughout the Year
Goals that are learning-based provide reasons to meet to check on goal updates. You may have regular one-on-one meetings with your team members to discuss what they’re learning and how they are progressing on their goals. Also, consider having team members share and report with the team on formal learning activities they’ve done, so they can share their knowledge and help others learn, too. Ongoing sharing is one of the most valuable parts of the learning-goal environment, because it gives a structured reason to meet and discuss performance and personal development throughout the year and not just at annual review time.
As you begin to set goals for the coming year, don’t miss out on the opportunity to engage and motivate your employees by creating meaningful individual goals with them. Set your people – and your organization – up for success by helping them create a path for professional development and achievable goals.
HR Tips
Busted! HR Mistakes Employers Make and How to Avoid Them
A product of the economic downturn and its grim unemployment rate has been a significant and alarming increase in employment-related litigation. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported a record-breaking number of discrimination claims filed in 2008, up more than 15 % from the previous year, with over $376 million in financial recompense awarded to discrimination victims.
With employment-related litigation claims and their associated costs expected to increase in 2009 and 2010, it’s imperative to avoid the HR pitfalls employers frequently encounter to protect you and your company from the financial liability of a lawsuit.
So, before you stumble into a black hole of never-ending legal action, here are three top HR violations you should avoid.
Wage and Hour Violations
Violations of wage and hour regulations outlined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are precarious liabilities for employers. Common violations include:
- Misclassifying an employee as “exempt”
- Failure to pay non-exempt employees overtime
- Illegal deduction of wages
- Ignoring required meal and rest breaks
- Overlooking state law requirements
To minimize liability of wage and hour violations, employers and their managers should understand and diligently observe the FLSA and state wage and hour laws. Performing an internal audit of the company’s wage and hour practices will help ensure correct classification of exempt and non-exempt employees. Employers should also keep accurate documentation of effective job descriptions and update them when changes occur. Non-exempt employees should clock in and out at the beginning and end of every workday and before and after unpaid lunch breaks. A non-exempt employee’s hours worked should be recorded and approved by both the employer and employee, break times should be taken, and all hours worked should be paid. To stay up to date on changing laws ask your local Express office about subscribing to the HR Hotline.
Employment Law Violations During the Interview Process
The interview process can be nerve wracking not only for the job seeker, but for the employer as well. Violations of employment laws during the interview process are sometimes inadvertent but can leave employers vulnerable to discrimination claims. Common violations include:
- Asking illegal and discriminatory interview questions
- Documenting inappropriate information
- Failing to conduct a reference or background check
- Having a blanket policy prohibiting the hiring of individuals who have committed a crime
Equal opportunity businesses should not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, so to comply, employers should avoid asking interview questions related to protected classes. Employers should be cautious of age-related questions in particular, since age discrimination claims are expected to rise as baby boomers exit the workforce. Employers should also avoid discrimination based on disability, pregnancy, or marital status. Asking the same standard questions to each candidate can help you avoid inappropriate interview questions. To protect against discrimination claims, employers and managers should understand and observe Federal Equal Employment Opportunity laws and tred carefully during the interview process.
Retaliation for Complaints
With employees feeling the pressure and frustration of the economy and its effects on businesses, many are filing complaints. Retaliating against an employee who files a complaint or even a claim is an absolute HR don’t. Retaliation is described by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as “an employer, employment agency, or labor organization taking an adverse action against a covered individual because he or she engaged in a protected activity.” Employers may not fire, harass, or demote individuals for filing charges or a complaint.
Understanding and complying with federal and state employment laws will help you navigate the often hazardous and rocky terrain of employment-related litigation. For more guidance on how you can avoid HR violations, contact Express today.
Exchange is a publication of Express Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2009.