Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

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Virtual Success: The Charter & Mission Statement

April 15, 2012

While a vision develops a picture of where the team is going and creates a shared sense of going somewhere specific together, your team charter will help you to more effectively collaborate across boundaries and borders, set expectations, design performance management systems and provide a mechanism for evaluating your virtual teams. However, the charter is not the end of the process. The charter is the launch point for creating useful dialogue that will ultimately facilitate the team creating it’s mission statement – the coming together of the virtual team’s vision and charter.

The vision, charter and mission are critical for all teams, however when leading virtual teams they become vital to your success. Because you work with teams that do not work in a shared physical environment with cues acquired through daily interactions, it is critical that your charter provide explicit guidance on overall expectations.

The formation of a charter is the most effective when developed by the team, creating a joint focus and buy-in to the overall contents of the charter.  Work diligently with your virtual teams to develop each area of the charter. Similar to how the vision provides a desired destination in living color for your virtual teams, the charter will provide a clear road map to guide them toward that final destination. In addition, by working through the components of the charter together, the team will be focused on their joint objectives and common path. It provides a significant opportunity for you, as their leader, to help your dispersed teams come to a common purpose, ensuring everyone has a shared understanding of where they are going and how they will get there as a team.

The formation of the charter creates a graphic, detailed picture of the vision – clarifying roles, boundaries and communications processes.  The most important aspects of the charter are:

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Posted in alignment, Communication, Cross-cultural, Global, Multicultural Teams, Virtual Teams | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

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Virtual Success: Leading Well

March 29, 2012

In order for virtual teams to succeed, organizational leadership must establish a culture that values teamwork, communication, learning and capitalizing on geographical and functional diversity. The key to developing an organizational culture that supports virtual teams is that everyone across the organization is encouraged and enabled to embrace change and be open to virtual teams right from the start.  This starts with senior leadership support and sponsorship – without it,  virtual teams are DOA (Dead on Arrival). It is critical that virtual teams are positioned at the highest levels as vital, value-add resources that provide sustainable competitive advantage for the corporation.

From an organizational perspective, you need to encourage four aspects of leadership that are known to positively impact virtual team performance:

  1. Facilitating open communications
  2. Establishing clear expectations
  3. Allocating resources
  4. Leveraging cultural diversity

Not so different from co-located teams, but considerably more complex in virtual environments. In order to be successful, you will need to enable virtual leaders with the autonomy to get things done and the authority to impact organizational change.

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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Global Leadership, Leadership, Multicultural Teams, Strategic Planning, Value Creation, Virtual Teams | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Virtual Success: Teams and People Policies

March 26, 2012

Human Resource policies have a critical impact on virtual team success. They need to support geographically dispersed teams by integrating and aligning them to recognize, support and reward the people who lead and work in virtual environments. Here are a few ideas to think about when preparing to shift your organizational culture to support virtual teams:

Securing Systems Support

When a virtual team is formed, you, as a virtual leader, and HR (along with IT) need to partner to consider the technologies teams will need to be successful. Options must be assessed, justified, approved by HR and made available to all virtual team members. Coordinate with Human Resources to ensure training on how and when to use these communication technologies is provided to every team member.

One of the most important things you can do for your virtual teams is to ensure that they have the technical support they need for working remotely.  Never forget that IT should be supporting the business – not the other way around. HR policies should dictate that every team member has equal and immediate access to systems, technologies, training and support. As the leader of geographically dispersed teams, you need to partner with HR and IT to make sure formal standards are set for technology, ensuring everyone has the same access to hardware and software applications, as well as intranet and internet connections. If there are tools and technologies that your teams need to be successful, but HR policy doesn’t support what you need, inquire into the business justification for the omission. Build your business case and/or identify alternatives. Do the research to find out how to alter HR policies and initiate meetings with HR and IT to discuss how to get your teams what they need.

Once you have established what you need and have developed the formal standards and budgets necessary, make sure you negotiate the full support of your Information Systems Group. It is essential that they are fully prepared and equipped to support your teams as they work across boundaries and borders.

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Posted in alignment, Communication, Cross-cultural, Development, Education, Leadership, Virtual Teams | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Virtual Success

March 21, 2012

Today, in many organizations, a significant amount of work is done virtually. Even in the most provincial and domestic firms, it is rare to find all team members in a single location. Companies frequently choose people from across various global locations to work virtually in an effort to save both time and money.

The business justification for you to create virtual teams is strong: they leverage expertise and vertical integration across the organization to make resources readily available, as well as increase the overall speed and agility of the organization. In addition, virtual teams draw talent quickly from various functions, locations and cultures. They reduce the disruption to people’s lives because travel becomes less of a necessity and team members can both broaden and deepen their perspectives (and their careers) by working across boundaries and borders on a variety of projects and tasks.

As a leader of virtual teams, your main goal should be to leverage your human capital to its utmost – as quickly as possible.  Beware: How you choose to manage this process may be the difference between success and failure.

Despite the potential advantages of creating virtual teams, a dispersed environment will fundamentally change how your teams operate and adds to the overall complexity of the environment. Virtual teams are more complex than traditional teams for two key reasons:

  1. They cross boundaries related to time, distance (geography), culture and/or function
  2. They communicate and collaborate using technology

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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Global Leadership, Multicultural Teams, Strategy, Virtual Teams | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Communicating Brand YOU

March 10, 2012

If you’re not appearing, you’re disappearing…

~ Art Blakey, Legendary Jazz Musician

 In order for you to increase your chances of success, people need to know about you and what you have to offer. They need to meet you, see you… hear from you. If you want people to talk about the remarkable things you do, then you need to give them the opportunity to experience you. This doesn’t need to be a sleazy car salesman pitch (no offense to any reputable car salesmen!), but it does mean you need to get out there and have the capability to produce  clearly choreographed 30, 60, and 90 second “elevator” speeches that will serve as an introduction to Brand YOU.

Once you know how you will introduce your brand, start attending networking meetings (both social and professional) and getting involved in external organizations in your field. However, one of the best (and least recognized) opportunities you have to communicate Brand YOU is to expand your involvement to organizations not in your industry or field of expertise. Some of your best contacts may come from quite unexpected places, but you will never know unless you get out there and share your brand.

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Posted in alignment, Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Innovation, Networking, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Packaging Brand YOU

March 5, 2012

Companies spend a lot of money to define and package the goods and services they want to sell. Superficial or not, people make judgments based, in part, on appearances. As most us have been told – You never have a second chance to make a first impression. Your “packaging” has to attract, inform, and persuade … However, the packaging of Brand YOU consists of much more than what is explicitly visible.

So then, what makes your brand not only attractive as a first impression, but memorable for the value and content you bring to the wider landscape? The marketplace is crowded and more competitive than ever. To establish yourself and rise above the noise, you need to have a clear idea what you are about, what you have to offer and to whom.

Here are some ideas of things you may want to consider when developing your Brand portfolio:

Appearance: Obviously, you need to make sure you are representing on the outside the value that you want people to perceive on the inside. Do you look and behave in a way consistent with how you would like others to perceive you?

Content: 
It’s critical to give your audience something that interests them and leaves them wanting more. The idea is to create content that makes people want to become what Seth Godin calls raving fans… of you. If you’re passionate about your brand, your enthusiasm will come across in everything you do – and that’s the most important thing you can communicate to anyone.

Messaging: How do you demonstrate what makes you different? Is Brand YOU a brand of substance? How will you communicate that substance? What do you have to offer that is demonstrably better, faster, or stronger than other brands? Dig deep inside yourself and search for answers to these questions – they are very important and will impact multiple areas of your life. Once you have an idea of what you would like to promote, develop a clear and concise message that promotes how you would like to show your audience what you are all about and how you can be of service.

Once you have put everything together, double check yourself and make sure you are accurately reflecting what you hope to achieve.  Contemplate the following aspects of your packaging:

  • Your space: Does it reflect who you are?
  • Your business card: Does it indicate your expertise or area of specialty?
  • Your personal style: Does it align to what you want people to perceive about you?
  • Your communication style: Does it really reveal what you want to communicate?
  • Your presentation style (including your visuals): Do your presentations represent you well?
  • Your (social) media presence: Are you conscientious about how you present your packaging in all forums?

I know this is a lot to think about… and even more to execute on. However, the results of going through this in- depth exercise in self-discovery will pay off BIG – it will become your competitive advantage. Not only will you know yourself infinitely better, but people will see and understand your packaging in exactly the way you would like them to.

Does your packaging say what you want it to?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how your packaging has affected you. Always feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders, when we will discuss how to communicate Brand YOU.

Posted in alignment, Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Leadership, Planning, Potential, Sales, Self Development, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Defining BrandYOU

February 25, 2012

The word “branding” began simply as a way to tell one rancher’s cattle from another by means of hot iron stamp. The meaning has actually not changed too much at all – while not typically a physical marking, your “brand” identifies you and defines who you are as unique from anyone else…

By taking the time to develop a good brand, you will:

  • Deliver your message clearly
  • Confirm your credibility
  • Connect your audience to you emotionally
  • Motivate your audience to respond
  • Deliver long-term loyalty

A strong brand is invaluable as the marketplace continues to intensify. To succeed in branding yourself, you need to understand the needs and wants of those people you most want to influence – but more importantly, you need to understand yourself. The most important outcome of personal branding should be a clear, deep, and insightful understanding of who you are and what you stand for, just as much as what you want to be known for.

It is not enough to be known for what you do — you must be known for what you do differently, or better, than anyone else. You want people to perceive that you are the ONLY solution…

There are three critical areas you should focus on when creating “BrandYou”:

(1) Developing your brand

(2) Packaging your brand

(3) Communicating your brand

This week we will focus on developing Brand YOU, with subsequent weeks examining what it means to  package and communicate your brand.

The development stage of your brand-building strategy is the most important. This is where you determine who you are and what you stand for. As the CMO of Brand You, you need to ensure that you have the passion, persistence, experience and background to expertly show the world who you are. However, you also need a solid foundation and a strong framework that illustrates your overall identity.

The foundation of every reputable brand is authenticity, consistency, and clarity. These foundational pieces will guide you as you develop your brand. By embarking on a journey of self-discovery throughout this process and working hard to define who you are and what you stand for, your brand will become both authentic and clear – consistency will come from  repeated use of the brand and always presenting yourself in the same light. Brand You will become clear to others because it is the authentic you and will clearly demonstrate who you are. Every good marketer knows that a clear message is a message people can trust.

In order to gain clarity and authenticity, you need to leverage your background and experience to shape a perception that targets your specific audience. If your brand is not built on a solid foundation with a strong framework, no one will understand the value that you bring.

To expand on last week and help you along on your journey of self-discovery, ask yourself some important questions:

  • What are your values?
  • What do you love?
  • What are you insanely great at doing?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What do you most want to be?
  • What is important and valuable to you?
  • What do you most want to be known for?

These may seem like basic, fundamental questions, but often these are the most difficult to answer. However, it is critical to your brand that you do answer them honestly and in depth.

As you formulate your brand, realize that it will serve as the basis for everything that connects people to you – logically and emotionally. Your image is important, but an image is just a reflection of your brand and your core values.

Brand management should aim to build into the minds of your target audience a set of perceptions and attitudes relating to what you want people to perceive, leading to your desired outcomes. To achieve this goal, you must know a great deal about those you wish to influence. It’s important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your brand with the end in mind. After all, your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. It is the foundational piece to your marketing communications – and one you do not want to neglect.

Once you are explicitly clear on what your brand is and how it should look, it is your job to ensure your brand resides within the hearts and minds of those you most want to influence. It must become the sum total of their experience and perception of you, molding their thoughts and feelings to determine that YOU have what they are looking for. The power of your brand can only be measured by its effect on those you seek to influence. Your brand should be strong enough to convey a message and a feeling in an instant. And thats where packaging and communication come into play…

How Will You Define Brand YOU?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you will develop your brand. Always feel free to contact me atSheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

Posted in alignment, Communication, Development, Innovation, Leadership, Planning, Potential, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Brand YOU

February 16, 2012

Corporate entities understand the importance of branding. Surprisingly, most people do not recognize the importance of branding themselves. In today’s competitive environment, it is important to create your own brand. It is a critical component to your success.  If done well, it will open doors for you and create lasting impressions on those you come into contact with.

Always remember: If you don’t brand yourself, someone else will brand you… and the outcome might not be what you would like it to be.

You can be sure that not everyone knows who you are or what you do.  Worse, it is highly likely that people may have already formed their own perceptions of who you are without your direct input. By developing your own specific brand, you establish that you are unique in your own right, as well as gaining control over alternate perceptions.

Take a lesson from the big brands – Apple, Nike, Starbucks (you get the picture…) – a lesson that’s true and relevant for anyone who is interested in standing above and prospering in today’s ever-evolving business environment: It doesn’t matter how old you are, what your position is, or which business you happen to be in – you need to understand the importance of branding. Without branding, there is nothing to set you apart from the rest – perceptions of mediocrity are likely to infiltrate.  Appropriate branding ensures you are perceived as an important asset.

YOU are the product. Everything you do affects your brand. Defining yourself as a valuable asset will add value to your position. It will ensure your business revolves around you – making you irreplaceable. You will be recognized for who you are, but more importantly, what you do.

Through personal branding, you define who you want to be, grow in the direction you want to grow and have the opportunity to improve your overall standings in the rankings. To be successful in business today, your most important job is to be the CMO for the brand called YOU. Are you a brand worthy of comment?

So, what does building your brand look like? This may seem simple, but it is not always easy…

First of all – start thinking differently! You do not belong to any company and your main affiliation is not to any function. You are not defined by your job title or confined by your position description – You are Brand YOU!  In order to start thinking of yourself as your own CMO, ask yourself the same question that top brand managers at major corporations ask themselves:

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Posted in Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Innovation, Leadership, Potential, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments »

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Leadership Lessons From Istanbul

September 22, 2011

As those of you who read my posts frequently know, I travel internationally a lot! This past summer I had the opportunity to return to Turkey to speak at a conference and meet with clients in Istanbul. I returned to a city with an ever-evolving modern character that is still, at its core, bound by tradition. As I was observing the frenzy of activity going on around me in the only city in the world that resides on two continents,  I began to think (once again) about how there are unique leadership lessons inherent in every environment. If  we pay close attention, there is also learning inherent in each of these environments. It is easy to overlook the reminders that abound and think to yourself, “what can I learn from a country that has been riddled with unrest, struggles with human rights issues and is in a constant state of flux?” Yes, these things are true… but it does not negate the fact that there are some important reminders (lessons) that impact how we interact with people as leaders and how our views, as leaders, affect those around us. I have found that often, a change in scenery offers a valuable change in perspective.  Here are just a few of the things that came to my mind as I experienced one of the most amazing cities in the world:

  1. Business and personal relationships do not have to be mutually exclusive…

Living and visiting countries all over the world on a regular basis throughout most of my life, I remain very aware of how unique one location is from another. However, it also reminds me that despite the differences, there are some core foundations that we could all stand to remember. In our western culture, we tend to believe that work and life are separate. However in Istanbul, where East meets West, business and personal relationships are heavily intertwined.  The diversity and complexity of individuals is shaped not only by their culture, but through relationships that are consistently valued and continually evolve throughout a lifetime. As I attended client meetings that were focused solely on getting know one another, I was reminded how Turkish people usually only do business with people they know, like and respect.  In Turkey, business will only materialize if effective personal relationships are built. This is not only important in the moment, but throughout a lifetime. Later, as I made a visit to the world famous Spice Bazaar, I was reminded once again how relationships can thread through our lives-  as both people and leaders – as I stopped to chat with a shopkeeper and was invited in not just for a sale, but to build a relationship. We chatted for twenty minutes, shared some delicious apple tea (a hospitality must in Turkey), and exchanged contact information. On my next visit will I stop in and purchase from Iskandar? Of course, but I will also recommend this particular shopkeeper to anyone I know visiting Istanbul!  As leaders, it seems to me that we could be infinitely more effective if we slowed down (both in our personal and professional lives), borrowed a card from the Turkish playbook, and took the time to get to know our colleagues on a more personal level – facilitating an extensive and priceless network of not only colleagues, but friends, that will benefit us for a lifetime.

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Posted in Communication, Cross-cultural, Culture, Education, Global, International, Leadership, Leadership Lessons From Istanbul, Lessons From Abroad Series, Mentoring, Networking, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Global Culture: Who’s The Barbarian?

September 16, 2011

Both the ancient Romans and Greeks called all foreigners “Barbarians”. The North Africans call their mountain people “Berbers”, Arabic for Barbar. The Europeans, until the late 19th century, called everything in North Africa “Barbaria”. The word “barbarian” refers to the uncultured, or those with unrefined communication skills – both explicit and implicit. The way we express ourselves is predetermined by our differing cultures (even if we often do speak the same language). How we communicate ultimately determines how we are viewed as global leaders. Damaging miscommunications can (and do) happen frequently when working across cultures, but they can be avoided if we apply some cultural intelligence to our diverse interactions – in particular, understanding the differences between high and low context communications and leveraging both for personal and organizational gain.

High Context cultures communicate meaning not only with words, but with voice, tone, body language, facial expressions, eye contact, speech patterns, and the use of silence. Words play a relatively small part in the overall meaning of the communication, and the context conveys the bulk of the information. People in high-context cultures, such as Asia and South America, tend to take time getting to know one another, providing for an understanding of the broader context of a conversation. This results in knowledge of what to expect, what signals to look for, and how to interpret subtle signs or expressions – fewer words need to be said.

Low Context cultures are expecting explicit communications. People want detailed background information before making a decision, however they are generally unaware of subtle nonverbal signals going on around them. Documents and contracts are not taken seriously unless written or signed – details must be provided. For example, in the United States and Germany (both low-context cultures), contracts with numerous explicit clauses are a normal way to conduct business and the written word is taken quite literally. In low-context cultures, expect detailed documentation – thorough job descriptions, detailed accounting, and lengthy business planning documents. The devil is in the detail.

When communications become challenging, it can be tempting to access your “barbarian-reflex”, especially when messaging becomes unclear. But, as you can imagine, it is completely ineffective to view your colleagues, staff, or even clients as “foreign” or “unrefined” simply because they do not communicate as you do. If you are motivated to communicate effectively on a global, multi-cultural level, you will need to invest in building trust – the more you come to know someone, the less you tend to look upon him or her as a “barbarian”.

If your purpose is to ensure your colleagues and staff reliably implement to your specifications across the globe, the strategy you choose will vary depending on the cultural orientations you are working across. In those high-context cultures, your strategy will need to be relationship and trust based and may not be explicit – more soft-skills based and time intensive.  In low-context cultures the purpose of communication is to transfer information and your strategy will need to be explicit, efficient, and detailed in order to ensure the correct implementation. A sound strategic approach that is rooted in cultural orientation will be imperative to your overall success in the global organization.

As a global leader, everything you do conveys a message. Leveraging high-context and low-context cultures means relying on both implicit and explicit communication – carefully ensuring that what you say (low-context) is always mirrored by what you do (high-context). When there is alignment, you automatically build trust across all cultures  and your strategic approach becomes less diverse by nature – your message becomes stronger, and you can more readily achieve your global organizational goals, exceeding everyone’s expectations.

Please feel free to contact me at Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website atwww.LuminosityGlobal.com. Be sure and check in next Thursday as we begin a series on Leadership Lessons From Around The World!

Posted in alignment, Communication, Cross-cultural, Culture, Global, Global Culture Series, Global Leadership, International, Leadership, Multicultural Teams, Multinational, Strategy, Team Building, Value Creation, Who's The Barbarian? | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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