Hou ldr nov12

Strategic Leadership

STC-Houston Leadership Workshop

10 November 2012Presented by Linda Oestreich

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Oestreich, (c) 27 Oct 2012

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Who am I?

STC Fellow Manager, Associate Fellows Committee Former board member at chapter and Society level

(President, STC, 2007-2008) Strategic and business analyst Technical communicator: manager, editor, writer,

mentor, executive, etc. Instructor, trainer, instructional designer

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Why Me? Manager, supervisor, writer/editor for science &

engineering Communications manager and editor for geophysical

software development company Policy and procedures writer/editor for corporate offices

of young software firm Executive of small communications consulting firm Editor for large software development firm Lots of experience in different roles—writer, editor, and

manager STC leader at community & Society level

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Who are you? Writers? Editors? Managers? Liberal arts? Science/tech/IT? Companies? What leadership roles do you have?

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Workshop Agenda

Objectives Leadership roles Defining a chapter ideal Strategy and leadership Working toward the ideal

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Objectives

To understand the concept of leadership To understand your role as a leader To understand what your chapter needs from its

leaders To prioritize your chapter’s leadership needs To give you ideas about how to apply leadership

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Defining Leadership

What is leadership? What isn’t leadership? What are the traits of a good leader?

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Leadership is…

. . . the ability to cause other people to act in desired ways for the benefit of the organization.

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As volunteers, most people

Follow you because… They believe it’s in their own best

interests!

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Leadership traits Capacity for passion

(“fire in the belly”)

Perspective(“step back & look”)

Creativity(“go a new direction”)

Organization skills(“share the vision”)

Teamwork(“engage, persuade, motivate”)

Persistence(“carried you through”)

Open-mindedness(“seeking new direction”)

Integrity(“be genuine and honest”)

“Leaders are People who leave their footprints in the areas of their passion”

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Leadership Roles

What are the differences between: Mentors and parents? Team leaders and team members? Entrepreneurs and manufacturing company

presidents? Grandmothers and mothers? Work supervisors and volunteer bosses?

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Evaluating your leadership

What are your leadership strengths? What are your weaknesses? What roles do you:

◦Play?◦Like to play?◦Want to play?

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Practice interest-based leadership

Seek to understand the interests of the people you lead.

Find ways to influence those interests. Act to satisfy those interests while achieving

goals.

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STC mission & visionSTC is an individual membership organization dedicated to

advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world.

Mission: STC advances the practice and theory of technical communications and promotes the value of technical communicators globally.

Vision: Technical communication is recognized globally as an essential part of every organization’s competitive strategy.

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Defining community leadership

What is community leadership? What isn’t community leadership? What are the traits of a healthy community?

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Evaluating your community’s needs

What are the core functions of an STC community?

What does your community do well?◦What makes this function a success?

What does your community need to do better?◦Why makes this function a struggle?

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Points for community leaders As a leader in your community,

◦ Find a mentor for yourself (we ALL need one)◦ Mentor and guide other council members◦ Support and troubleshoot◦ Set goals and objectives with your management team/admin council◦ Participate on committees but avoid getting into the details whenever

possible (nose in; fingers out) Develop a community charter that sets your goals & objectives. Define success for your community. Develop a communication plan.

◦ How you and your admin council communicate with one another◦ How community members communicate with you

Ask for feedback,listen to it, and act on it.

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Working strategically

What specific tasks can you do to move your chapter closer to the leadership ideal?◦How will it move your chapter to the ideal?◦How much effort will it take to get there?◦What resources do you have on hand?◦What resources you need to recruit?

Prioritize your tasks

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Leadership strategy cycle

Intent

Effect

Adjustment!

Behavior

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Stretch!

Take five

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Leading Strategically

Picking a destination Choosing the route Getting everyone on the same plane Moving the troupe

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Destination = Mission

Decide what attributes you want to cultivate Decide how you want to impact your environments Decide how you want others to see you

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Direction = Goals

Goals are measurable Goals are finite Goals are accomplishable

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Alignment

Develop a team Communicate constantly and openly Clarify mission and goals

◦Clarify them again– and again – and again – and again

Overcome objections Inspire commitment

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Motivation

Encourage and inspire Delegate and give responsibility Recognize, reward, and congratulate

Be:Timely

Responsive

Unconditional

Enthusiastic!

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Behavior

What is perceived is Perceptions are based on AVAILABLE

information In the absence of information, we assume Behavior, no matter how crazy, has a logical

basis

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Culture tips Respect Clarity Nose in/fingers out Remain objective No negativity or people bashing Look forward/stay positive Keep in alignment Under promise/over deliver

General Guidelines for Success

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3 keys to sustaining success

1. A reputation for value – this includes, but is not limited to, the portfolio of services and activities available to the member

2. An enjoyable culture – the basis for which is trust and communication The member thinks “these people are a lot like me” STC is good at this (once people become active)

3. A nimble infrastructure, so that the association can quickly seize opportunities and create value

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Communication decisions

Leadership is a relationship. Relationships are built with communication. You can choose from two types of leadership

communication:◦ Mass-produced ◦ Tailor-made

Which would you rather receive?

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The medium you choose Medium influences the message. Medium itself is a message. Choose the medium carefully…

◦ Email◦ Personal phone call◦ Group meeting◦ One-on-one meeting◦ Conference calls◦ Memos◦ Web conferences

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Outcome-based planning

Members are looking for Benefits that add value to their businesses or practices

Members are not looking for A basket of products and services

The way to confront the new reality: outcome-based planning

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Successful planning differentiates between◦ Features of the organization (the membership directory)◦ Benefits to the member (business contacts that result

from participation) Traditional strategic planning: feature-based and "how-to"

oriented Successful strategic planning: benefits-based and

outcome-oriented

"It's the new business opportunity, not themembership directory!"

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Mission: Statement of the value provided to members Goals: Major benefits needed to achieve your mission Objectives: Measurements of your goals (benefits) - how well

are you doing? Implementation: Specific ways we will achieve our goals

(benefits) such as timelines, budgets, and operations

How well do your current mission and goals statements align with this model?

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Determine work preferences

How to plan How to communicate How to resolve conflict How to make decisions

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Help is out there

Things to read (depending on commitment)◦ Intercom! How many read it?◦ AMA and HBR…join & surf & learn (Leader’s Edge from

AMA is free!)◦ Time-proven books to help you understand your own

decision-making and goals The Prince (Machiavelli) Federalist No. 10 (John Adams) Letter from a Birmingham jail (Dr. Martin L. King)

◦ The LCR page on stc.org◦ New leaders handout

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Find your own style Find your style, don’t imitate others. To create a leadership brand:

◦ Be clear about the results you want to achieve. ◦ Create metrics to measure ongoing results against goals. ◦ Identify your leadership strengths and attributes. ◦ Make certain that you do not “overplay” your strengths.◦ Ask for feedback on how you are perceived, and make

appropriate changes so that you’ll project your chosen image or brand.

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Leadership resources Adapted from “The Essence of Leadership” article by Jonathan

Byrnes,Harvard Business School Working Knowledge e-zine http://hbswk.hbs.edu/tools/print_item.jhtml?id=4983&t=strategy

Linda’s favorite leadership site! Big dog, little dog Leadership Training and Development: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadtrn.html

Shakespeare in Charge, Norman Augustine and Kenneth Adelman, Hyperion Press, 1999, New York. (an unusual, yet fun, look at leadership)

http://www.globalfuture.com/biblio-leadership.htm (an all-around great site to view dozens of leadership resources)

http://studentleadership.ucdavis.edu/bibliography/01_general.html (a more erudite site, but it has loads to choose from)

http://www.art-of-leadership.com/ (good portal) “Leading Leaders”, Leadership Forum, March 1, 2006, Jeswald Salacuse “Finding Your Own Leadership Style”, Donna Dennis, Ph.D. (http://

www.amanet.org/enewsletters/)

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Questions and wrap-up

Hou ldr nov12

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