Connecting Archives - Page 5 of 11

How is your alignment?

Yes, your alignment. I’m not referring to your golf swing or your tires on your car. I am talking about your people and their alignment with your goals, vision and mission. As leaders we can’t hope for alignment, we need assurance we have it. Below is what I have learned to be true when it comes to determining if we are in alignment in these critical areas: Always share what is going on (believe me, the good ones want to know). Help them understand the WHY. The WHY will engage them. Always ask for input— demonstrate your excellent listening skills by just listening. Let them know you heard them. Always seek commitment. You have a better opportunity to gain a [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-08-17T18:51:58+00:00August 17th, 2021|Coaching, Connecting, Leadership|0 Comments

Our people want to feel this.

Here is what I have learned to be true, deep down in our DNA as humans is the desire to feel connected and be known. Relationship coach Kyle Benson refers to attunement. That is the desire and willingness for someone to travel into your inner world to explore who you are and who you are becoming.... this connection cultivates trust. I found that over time every team member will have a challenging season in their life. How we respond as leaders is crucial. Ideally we would like our team members to leave their issues at home. Guess what, in most cases they can't, somehow their challenges find a way to impact behavior on their daily duties as well as others. [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-07-28T02:29:40+00:00July 28th, 2021|Coaching, Connecting, Leadership, Listening|0 Comments

Ask questions.

"The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions," Claude Levi-Strauss. In developing and coaching people, we must cultivate the habit of curiosity. At times this can be challenging, we are busy and want to get to the bottom line. Nurturing curiosity requires creativity and intentionality--this can take time. Questions are critical to curiosity. Asking questions keeps you informed, in touch, and aware. In reality, how many of us invest time in developing good questions prior to a one-on-one meeting? Here is an idea to consider: set aside ten minutes prior to your one-on-one's and jot down critical questions. Make sure they are open-ended to inspire dialogue. During your meeting STAY CURIOUS, ask more questions as [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-06-15T18:47:19+00:00June 15th, 2021|Connecting, Development, Leadership, Listening|0 Comments

The essentials of mentorship.

Building upon last week’s message of mentorship, I wanted to dive a little deeper. Fred Manske Jr. author of the Secrets of Effective Leadership nailed it when he said, “The ultimate leader is one who is willing to develop people to the point they surpass him or her in knowledge or ability.” There are several characteristics of an effective mentor. Wisdom: there is no substitution for experience. Your past successes and failures are your bank account for an effective mentor. Empathy: chances are you were mentored and can relate to the place the mentee is in. Patience: growing and developing people takes time. If you are not willing to invest the time needed, you simply cannot be effective at mentoring. [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-06-01T17:44:44+00:00June 2nd, 2021|Coaching, Connecting, Development, Leadership|0 Comments

Serve and lead — really?

As you may be aware, there are volumes written on the topic of being a servant leader. Perhaps one of the first works came from Robert Greenleaf's book "Servant Leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness." I must confess for quite a while when I thought about servanthood, I had a vision of an activity performed by a relatively low-skilled person. My "old school mindset" assumed that if we serve, people will have a lesser view of us. Over the years I have come to learn that couldn't be further from the truth. To prove the point, think about a mother. They naturally serve their family members. Mother's are typically the one person in our life [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-05-05T11:51:30+00:00May 5th, 2021|Connecting, Leadership|0 Comments