Even though we have almost come to the end of the first two months in 2009, it’s never too late to ‘Create a Postive Impact.’ Bud Bilanich, Harvard trained success coach, tells us the top traits of sucessful people and gives advice on making an impact this year.  

Create a Postive Impact

BY Bud Bilanich Tue Jan 6, 2009

Excerpt from the Little Pink Book

 Viva Grace 

The top Latina at General Motors tells how she manages life in two countries and how she rose from engineer to president.

By Taylor Mallory

“We talk on the phone every night to stay connected and have periodic plans for travel between Mexico and the U.S. as well.” That’s how Grace Lieblein, the new president and managing director of General Motors de Mexico, manages her family life in the U.S. (where her husband and 17-year-old daughter still live) while she’s now working in Mexico. Balance has ebbed and flowed with her life, she explains. “When I had my daughter, 90 percent of my energy was spent on her, and my job took a backseat. Conversely, when I start a new assignment at work, I get very immersed in the job and spend a lot of time and energy on that. She’s in high school now. Her needs are different, so my balance has changed.”

Lieblein shares the success secrets that took her from engineer to president.

PINK: Can you recall a time in your career when you “failed”? How did you respond?
G.L.: I have definitely made my share of mistakes. Some have been strategy-related, some personnel-related. In one assignment, I felt one of my team members should be replaced. It was early, so I decided to wait a while and see if he would improve. I waited too long to move him out. I’ve learned to listen to my gut when assessing people, and after giving folks a chance to perform, I make the hard decisions to replace as needed.

PINK: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?
G.L.: Be confident about taking on new assignments, especially when they are out of your comfort zone. If you don’t believe in yourself, it’s hard to get others to believe in you.

PINK: You credit much of your success to having great mentors along the way. How did you cultivate those relationships?
G.L.: Some of my early mentors were direct supervisors, and others I sought out. My early career was spent in manufacturing, then I moved to product development – a very different experience. There was one other woman director in this group of directors. She was my peer. But I made sure to seek out her input and advice, and she showed me the ropes. Early in my career, there were not many women in leadership positions. Engineering tends to be male-dominated; about 18 to 20 percent [are women], depending on the company and industry. Back then there were fewer. I have a network of other women executives in engineering. But don’t limit yourself to just women mentors. I have a network of men I seek advice from as well, and it’s important to get both perspectives. 

Grace Lieblein’s Success Secrets:

1. Be clear about your goals. Not everyone wants to rise up high in an organization. Make sure your goals are congruent with your values. Some people might value spending time with family and not traveling. That may not be congruent with being president of the company. Someone else might value hands-on work with the vehicle. They might not want to be a director. All too often, organizationally and in society, we think the goal needs to be a place in a hierarchy.

2. Surround yourself with a network of mentors. A mentor is not only someone higher than you in the organization. Some of my best mentors are peers or even more junior people who can give me a perspective I don’t see.

3. Seek out assignments that take you out of your comfort zone – whether it’s a job you don’t have a lot of experience in, or one that requires moving to another city or country. That’s how you really grow. That’s how leadership tests your capability.

Check out great videos from top women in business discussing how mentoring had a hand in their success. Videos were produced by Pink Magazine 

Click here to see videos on Mentoring

A great lesson to success is being “coachable”at all times. Often we seek counsel but we are not ready to make the change or we have some idea of how we want our experience to look. Today, I had the pleasure of having lunch with two of my colleagues. They are what I term” women on the move”. We discussed that our best lessons, not always welcomed, have come from ”coached.” I shared with them that I called some of my unwelcomed coaching ”Karate Kid moments.” Why?

The movie teaches a great lesson about being “coachable” and realizing that obtaining BIG goals is about the “journey to full development (personal & professional)” not the destination.

Okay, I have tried my best to follow the “Golden Rule” which tells us to treat others the way you want to be treated.  However, at work this rule can find you confused and scratching your head. My colleagues and I spend time lamenting over how we”would have” handled a situation. 

With so many work style assessments like Myers-Briggs Type, Kiersey Temperament Sorter, Social Styles and DISC, we now have insight on different behaviors and work styles. This knowledge can be extremely effective when navigating the workplace. The icing on the cake is the learning and applying the “Platnium Rule”, treat others the way they want to be treated.  This rule will improve your Versatility, Emotional and Social Intelligence. Hey, you might even get a PROMOTION!

To learn more read the excerpt from Ridge Consultant on Golden vs. Platinum Rule

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Have you ever had meetings where you got off on the wrong foot? Perhaps the other person was chatty when you wanted to get down to business; or, the other person was overly formal when you were trying to be relaxed, personable, and fun. As people do what feels comfortable for themselves, they may unintentionally create discomfort in others.

Differing working styles create tension that can persist throughout a conversation and negatively affect its outcome. When trying to solve a problem, for example, you may push to move ahead when the other person wants more time to explore options. Or, you may hesitate to commit when the other person is saying clearly that it’s time to decide. In the end, regardless of the decision, everyone loses when style differences ambush the conversation.

The tension in these meetings is not only unpleasant but also unproductive. Differences in working style make it harder to communicate clearly, collaborate well, and engage in productive problem solving. To overcome differences in working style, it’s important to understand: – the limitations of the golden rule – and how to follow the Platinum Rule.

LIMITATIONS OF THE GOLDEN RULE
The golden rule of treating people as you wish to be treated will never go out of style, particularly when it comes to treating others with honesty, fairness and respect. However, that rule has its limits when applied to working styles. Here’s one familiar situation. A person who loves detail enthusiastically provides it to a colleague during a meeting. But that colleague just wants the big picture. He finds it mind-numbing to go through all those details, and tunes out. However, when he talks in big picture terms, looking at the same situation from 50,000 feet, the detailed person feels like there’s no substance to the ideas, and tunes out. The tension when different styles work together is like static on the radio, making it hard for people to listen and understand each other. The more style static, the less people can influence one another and the harder they’ll have to work to create trust and be productive.

FOLLOWING THE PLATINUM RULE
The Platinum Rule, though, will help you ease those tensions that result from different working styles. That Platinum Rule, coined by noted speaker and author Dr. Tony Alessandra, is: treat people not necessarily as you wish to be treated but as *they* wish to be treated. Imagine what would happen if the detailed person scaled back on the amount of information, or if the big picture person went down from an altitude of 50,000 feet to 20,000 feet when explaining ideas? If you can be a little more flexible in your working style, you can clear up a lot of the static in your conversations. When people hear your ideas without style static, your working relationship will be easier and more productive.

Start noticing how people want to be treated. How do they start and end their conversations with you? Follow their lead in setting the tone for your work together so that you get off on the right foot. For the person who likes to get down to business, stop chatting so much. For the person who is more relaxed and informal, take a minute to check in. If the other person seems to be moving slowly, slow down a little yourself. If the other person is speaking quickly, push yourself to pick up your pace.

During meetings and conversations, pay attention to others’ reactions as you’re talking.
- Are their eyes glazing over when you get into details? Move to the big picture.
- Do they seem confused? Slow down and check in.
- Do they seem hesitant or reluctant with what you’re proposing? Hear them out.
- Are they impatient with your indecision? Be more definitive and clear.

CONCLUSION
As you think about the people you work with, identify which relationships have style static. Don’t expect other people to change. Instead, think of some small ways you can change, being more flexible in your own behavior. That will start to ease the tension, turn down the static, and open the channel for influence, accomplishment and fun.

Changing your behavior may also help you see the other person in a new light. As you reduce others’ tension, you will draw out their strengths–strengths that complement your own. Instead of being frustrated with others’ behavior, you can appreciate their different and complementary perspectives. In the end, you can work smarter together than you ever could alone.

Ridge Insights by Ridge Consultants
November 21, 2008 
http://www.ridge.com