Wise words: Indira Gandhi on not being a glory hog

It stings when someone takes credit for work you produced or an idea you came up with. It’s especially painful when your boss takes credit for the hard work you’ve put in.

As a new—or tenured—manager, you want to make a great impression on your boss. You want to prove that you deserve to be in a management position. However, if you get your boss’s attention by hogging all the credit from your employees, you will destroy your chances of ever leading a successful team.

Why? Because your employees will stop trusting you. They will tire of you stealing their ideas and taking credit for their achievements, and they may stop offering up new ideas altogether. Or they may even send their ideas to people above you to ensure that they get the credit they deserve. In extreme cases, they may become so resentful that try to sabotage you.

Regardless their reaction, instead of looking like a super star, you will look like a poor leader or an incompetent manager who has lost control of the team.

Glory Hogs:

• Are sneaky and dishonest.

• Take credit for their employees’ work but …

• Never are willing to accept blame when their employees fall short.

• Stifle subordinates out of fear that those people are smarter than they are.

• Focus on moving themselves ahead, usually at the cost of employees.

Even if you are saying to yourself “That’s totally not me,” ensure that you aren’t showing any glory hog tendencies by following two basic rules:

1. Give credit when it’s due. Never accept an employee’s idea as your own. Always recognize the hard work of your staff. Never accept praise without acknowledging the help you received along the way.

2. Accept blame for your staff. That is a little harder to do. But the quickest way to gain respect from your staff is to stand up and be accountable when something goes wrong. Don’t place blame. Instead, focus on overcoming the issue.

Discover how to avoid other toxic manager behaviors in The Cure for Toxic-Boss Syndrome: Avoid the Blunders That Disrupt Teams.

[Image Source: Note to Self]

Wise words: Jessye Norman on finding balance

I’ve been thinking about work/life balance a lot lately, so when I ran across this quote from American opera singer Jessye Norman, I knew I wanted to share it with you:

Finding balance can be difficult for anyone, but it’s harder when you’re responsible for many people. If you manage a team of five, you can easily be pulled in seven different directions: five for those employees, one for your boss and one for yourself. And that’s just at work.

Often, it’s easiest to put your needs last. Then, at least, you don’t have to worry about someone coming to your office to complain. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from those mom makeover shows (you know the ones I’m talking about, with the women who’ve worn the same hairstyle and jeans since 1985 because they’re too busy taking care of their families to take care of themselves), it’s that you can’t put yourself last day after day. Not only is it exhausting, but it makes you resentful. And you can’t be a good manager (or mom) if you’re overtired and bitter.

That’s not to say that you can’t be generous with your time and energy.  The best leaders are. But they’re also generous to themselves. They make time to ensure that their needs are met too.

If you’ve been struggling with your work/life balance lately, I encourage you to check out the free Focus On section at CommunicationBriefings.com. The work/life balance tips will be up through the remainder of May.

What’s your favorite inspirational quote? Share it in the Comments section, and we might turn it into a “Wise words” post.

Embrace your inner leader this summer

 

If you’re ready to reach your potential as a manager—and even more importantly, as a leader—we have three great training camps for you this summer:

1. First, there’s this blog’s namesake, the Bud to Boss Training Camp, featuring trainers from the Kevin Eikenberry Group. That workshop is designed specifically for first-time supervisors, giving participants confidence in their new roles by teaching important leadership skills such as mediating conflict, hiring, firing and dealing with HR issues. In June we’ll be in the following cities:

• June 4-5: St. Louis
• June 6-7: Orlando, Fla.
• June 7-8: Memphis, Tenn.
• June 19-20: Minneapolis
• June 25-26: Seattle

If your June calendar is already packed, check out the other Bud to Boss sessions scheduled for later this summer.

2. If you’re not brand new to management—or if you’ve already attended Bud to Boss—the Leadership Training Camp would be a good fit for you. Kevin Eikenberry brings out the “remarkable leader” in each of his workshop participants.  June will include both an Advanced course and an Original course:

• June 19-20: Chicago—Advanced Course (Hurry! The early bird registration discount expires Friday, May 18!)
• June 27-28: Seattle—Original Course (Hurry! The early bird registration discount expires Sunday, May 27!)

3. The next session of the Coaching Training Camp won’t happen until August, but it should be on your radar now, because summer will be over before you know it. That workshop, also led by Eikenberry, teaches leaders how to bring out the best in their team members. Sign up now for that session:
   

• Aug. 28-29: Orlando, Fla. (The early bird registration discount expires Monday, July 30!)

Have you attended one of our training camps? Let us know what you learned!

Wise words: Edwin Bliss on what’s worth pursuing

 

My name is Catherine, and I am a perfectionist. It’s been about a year and a half since my last debilitating bout of perfectionism, but I know that it could rear its ugly head at any moment if I’m not careful.

OK, I’m being a bit facetious, but perfectionism really was a big problem for me, and I do have to be conscious of not slipping back into those bad habits. This quote from productivity author Edwin Bliss is an important reminder for people like me: Striving for perfection is a waste of time. It wastes your own time, and it wastes your organization’s time.

On the other hand, striving for excellence—as an individual, as an employee and as a manager—is always worth the effort. Go for it!

If you enjoy our Wise Words series, follow us on Pinterest, where we share lots of great quotes that don’t make it to the blog—and plenty of other work-related pins too!

Image Source, found via Pinterest.

Wise words: Margaret Thatcher on leadership

With this year’s movie award season in full swing and Meryl Streep generating a lot of hype for Iron Lady, I’ve been intrigued by the controversial—but unquestionably strong—Margaret Thatcher. Regardless of what you think about Britain’s first female prime minister, you have to admit she threw out witty and insightful one-liners like the best of them.

Here are some of my favorites: 

 

Do you have a favorite Margaret Thatcher quote?

Wise words: Ruth J. Simmons on amiable leadership

A colleague recently sent me an interview with Brown University’s president, Ruth J. Simmons, in The New York Times. I hadn’t heard of her before—despite numerous accolades she’s received—but I was instantly hooked by the article. She is an intelligent, reflective and articulate leader, and I found her stories inspiring and relevant, even though my life experiences have been quite different than hers.

I suggest you click through to read the full interview, but I thought this quote served as a good takeaway for our “Wise words” series:

 

That’s certainly the kind of boss that most people would be thrilled to work for and probably one of the reasons Time named her “America’s best college president” in 2001.

However, I think it’s worth mentioning that Simmons is not at all meek. Just because she doesn’t embarrass people by pointing out their deficiencies publically, doesn’t mean that she ignores those deficiencies. Toward the end of the interview, she explained that one of the most important qualities she looks for in new hires is the ability to be critical:

I look for people who are strong enough to be critical of things that are not very good. And more than being critical of things that are not very good, they have to have the capacity to tell people that. Because many people are critical, but they can’t sit in a room and look someone in the eye and say, ‘This idea is not very good.’ In senior positions, you have to be able to do that.

The leadership suggested by Simmons’ interview—of balancing amiable strength and support with constructive criticism—is what we should all strive for.

What qualities do you think are most important in a leader?

Wise words: Thomas Jefferson on composure

Today’s quote from Thomas Jefferson is one that all managers should keep in view.

Things can—and will—go wrong in every job, but when you’re responsible for the success of others, the opportunity for problems rises significantly. It’s not avoiding problems that makes you an excellent manager, but rather how you respond to the glitches, delays and disasters.

Managers who keep their composure when things go bad, who remain calm under pressure, who don’t lash out at their team—those managers thrive. They earn the respect of their superiors as well as their employees. They garner trust and loyalty. The become great leaders.

Do you know a remarkable new leader? Be sure to nominate that person for a 2011 Bud to Boss Award!

[Original Image Source]

Wise words: Thomas Edison on rule breaking

Today’s wise words come from the great American innovator Thomas Edison.
   
I used to think that inventors and innovators must have been born with a special gene—something that allowed them to see what everyone else missed. I’ve since realized that’s not the case. Those people who awe us with their creativity are just very persistent and willing to work outside the rules, whereas most others give up too early and allow themselves to be constrained by the way things have always been done.

What “rules” are you willing to ignore in order to accomplish big things?

[Original Image Source]

Wise words: Chuck Close on inspiration

Today I want to share a quote from Andrew Zuckerman’s book Wisdom, a beautiful collection of portraits of and insights from all sorts of brilliant people over the age of 65. There are a plethora of good quotes in the book, but this sage advice from photographer and artist Chuck Close is speaking to me loudest right now:

I needed this reminder! Too often I make excuses for not writing (a big chunk of my job) because nothing’s coming to me or I’m tired and uninspired. “I’ll catch up tomorrow,” I tell myself. And that is never a good plan.

The next time I start to make an excuse to avoid work, I’m going to reread this quote and jump right in.

How do you avoid procrastinating?

Wise words: Steve Jobs on living

Steve Jobs has the place of honor as the head of the table at my fantasy dinner party. (And yes, I do keep a running list of “guests.”) I was more than a little saddened by Wednesday’s news that he is stepping down as Apple’s CEO and by the rumors that this might be due to his health.   

Today’s “wise words” are from Jobs’ inspiring commencement speech at Stanford in 2005, which I used to carry around in my purse—it’s that good. These words came to mind as I read the speculation that his pancreatic cancer had taken a turn for the worse:

I think it’s safe to say that Jobs followed the advice he gave to those Stanford graduates. Steve Jobs can die—hopefully a long time from now—knowing that he never wasted time living anyone else’s life. He followed his heart and his intuition, and, boy, did they take him far.

Bravo, Steve Jobs. Even though you’re no longer Apple’s CEO, you’re still welcome at my house for dinner anytime.

Which leaders would be on the guest list for your fantasy dinner party?