Tech Leader Tips (new feature)
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Hey Reader, I've got a new leadership resource for you to share with people. I've recently been writing a whole bunch of leadership tips for technical leaders and posting them on LinkedIn. Usually, this is once per weekday, but sometimes twice. Each tip comes from a specific behavior and success factor on the Technical Leadership Scorecard. They are action-oriented, work-relevant, and "bite-sized" so a person can put the tip into practice right away and build the skill over a week or a month. There are (currently) 80 tips in all. Back at Personnel Decisions International (PDI) we used to call these "Development Suggestions." The intent is to offer some action-oriented advice and give folks an opportunity to contact me for more detail and help with any of these areas. Check these out on LinkedIn or let me know to send you a copy of the full set. Example:
Tech Leader Tip #25: Provide Constructive Feedback. Get good at giving both confirming and corrective feedback. Regularly use Positive Intelligence techniques to make this easier.
📌 Providing constructive feedback with grace builds trust and helps you Develop Talent, which is part of the Team Leadership success factor.
You need to make sure that you have the right people with the right talents and skills on your team. You also need to help them understand how to align their efforts with the team's direction.
They need feedback--lots of it!--to know how they are doing.
Spend just 5-10 minutes a day dedicated to giving team members feedback.
Recognize and appreciate what they are doing well. If it feels difficult, make the commitment to put specific behaviors and results into words as your first step. Then, say the words aloud. Speaking the words is different from just thinking them.
Get some training and insight on how to do this well and then make it a habit. Look for positives at a 3:1 ratio to anything negative or corrective.
Go easy on yourself and approach this with the desire to be humble and helpful. Give the other person information they may not have had. Without that information, they might not know what you appreciate or what they need to do differently.
Use the Positive Intelligence® mental operating system to help you relax and approach this with empathy and curiosity.
➜ To learn more about the PQ mental operating system for technical professionals, get the Technical Rock Star Leader Guide here: https://stevesemler.kit.com/rockstarguide
Using the Technical Leadership Scorecard as a diagnostic, you could prioritize development for yourself or your team, then use the Tips as content for insight and practice. Going through this material could easily make up a whole year's worth of leadership development activities! I'm happy to help implement that, if you like. Either way, check it out! All the best, |