Helping You Cut Through Complexity

Understand Your Leadership Style.

If you want to build trust, start with learning about yourself. Self-reflection tells you what you stand for, what you value, and what drives you. And, it is the very foundation of authenticity and accountability. When you want people to stick with you through the hard, and trust you to get them to the other side, you need to know who you are so you can let others know you.

I used many tools over the years to examine my leadership style and values, always keeping a piece of paper that I edited and amended for more than 25 years on who I am as a leader. When someone requested a more structured way to think about this, I developed this A-B-C framework. If you would like an examine your own leadership style, feel free to use this tool to ask yourself:

• What are my ALWAYS goals?

• Who and how do I pledge to BE as a leader?

• What is my CODE of conduct?

The first page is the model, the second is an example, and the third is yours to fill out as you'd like. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please contact me with any questions at jennifer.n.youngblood@gmail.com.

Talking Past an Employee?

Do you have that one employee who leaves you wondering why they just don’t get it? Here’s the thing… it’s probably you. Yes, I know you are trying hard, and you probably feel like you’ve tried everything, but the odds are that you actually haven’t. Each of us thinks a little differently, learns a little differently, and processes a little differently. At some point, you are going to cross paths with an employee or a manager who thinks, learns, and processes in the exact opposite that you do. Both of you will wonder (with that little inside voice), “What is wrong with this person?” The manager will try to explain something again. The employee tries asking questions again. By the third time this happens, our brains tell us there’s a pattern here, and we start expecting to talk past each other and looking for signs that we have. That doesn’t mean you give up. It means you find a different way. If you are ready to have this kind of conversation, please download my tip sheet on what to do when you are Talking Past an Employee.

Just genuinely holding this conversation may provide most of the reset you need as it puts you both on track to listening to each other again. And perhaps you both develop an inner voice that says, “Let me try this a different way.” I’d love to see your thoughts in comments and would be happy to help you game this out if this post reached you at just the right time. Please contact me with any questions at jennifer.n.youngblood@gmail.com.