Receiving Online Feedback

As a leader, how do you handle online feedback to your school/organization? 

Whether you're a small or large school/organization, feedback matters from those you serve. But it can be tough to navigate online feedback.  Consider the following when dealing with the negative feedback:

• Seek a solution. Post a response and offer a way to turn the situation around. Always extend an olive branch if you can.
• Don't treat all comments equally. Anonymous comments should never receive the same attention as authored comments.  In fact, you may wish not to respond to anonymous comments. 
• Invite comments. If you're open to hearing input, you're more likely to hear positive things. Create forums for discussions about the service you provide.  Allow people to 'have their say' by posting testimonials and keeping social media lines open for their comments.

Adapted from "What Angie's List Knows About Customer Reviews" by Angie Hicks.

Being Strategic - The Easy Way

As a leader, are your planning sessions strategic or haphazard? 

Planning fails when it has unclear objectives, too many people, a rushed schedule, and is not strategic. When your school/organization faces uncertainty and needs to develop a strategy fast, do it the right way:

• Define the challenge. Your team can't settle on a path forward unless everyone agrees on the problem you're trying to solve. Once you are aligned, focus on core questions and avoid meandering discussions.
• Identify the destination. Define the future state and how to get there. Don't try to please everyone; make the hard choices that lead to a clear strategy.
• Develop options. Changes in the workplace or broader environment are inevitable. Come up with alternative approaches that will help you to respond to uncertain events.

Adapted from "Six Strategy Insights RIM's New CEO Can Use" by Steve Wunker.

Handling Harsh Criticism

As a leader, how do you handle harsh criticism of you or your work?

Whether it's a workplace rival or a well-intended colleague, someone will likely say something punitive or hurtful to you at some point in your career. When it happens, remember:

• Don't respond right away. Resist the temptation to snap back. There is no use in getting angry or creating a nasty paper trail. Take time to cool off, consider your response, and then reply cordially.
• Determine if you're overreacting. Ask yourself whether the comment was really that bad. Sometimes a thoughtful offer to help or a comment about something you've done can seem like an insult.
• Forgive, but remember. Don't hold a grudge, but keep in mind that this person has done this to you.  Might they do it to others?  Forgive, but remember that this person has this potential to hurt and those you lead may not handle it as well as you do. 

Adapted from "How to Deal with Critics" by Dorie Clark.

Listening - Your Default Behaviour

As a leader, is your default response listening......or.....???

It might be tempting as a leader to talk - initiating conversations, responding with directions or explanations, or verbally 'taking charge' of situations.  This is quite commonplace and people have often come to accept it as the behaviour of a boss.  However, it's not the behaviour of a leader.  Leaders listen.....and then listen more.  Leaders listen for a number of reasons....in order to understand.....to get the whole picture......to get a range of perspectives......to collect valuable insights or ideas.  Leaders also paraphrase - not 'parrot' - what they hear in order to be sure they understand and to send the message that they are listening and value the thoughts of others. 

If you're not already doing so, make listening your default behaviour.  You just might be surprised how much more effective you - and your school/organization - can be when you talk less!

When 'It All Becomes Too Much'

As a leader, do you know what to do when 'it all becomes too much'?

As leaders, we are subject to many demands, responsibilities and stresses in our roles.  From time to time, things can start to feel overwhelming and it feels as if the demands on us are 'too much'.  At times like this, it's too late to figure out what your response will be.  It's when you're feeling good about yourself and your work that you need to figure out your plan for how to respond when the demands and the stresses become overwhelming. 

Here are a few questions to guide your thinking about developing a response to challenging times:

• With whom can I safely share my worries/concerns/frustrations?
• Who might I call on to lend a hand with the work that needs to get done?
• Can I delegate some of my work to trusted others?
• Do I alert people now that I may need to call on them from time to time to lend a hand?
• What is urgent and must be attended to now?
• What is less urgent and can reasonably be put aside for a few hours, days, or even weeks?
• How will I communicate - and to whom - that some work was not completed as first hoped?
• Do I have a supervisor who needs to know?
• Do I need to share - or hide - this state from those I lead?

Equally important to developing a response to times when work seems overwhelming is the need to reflect on the situation.  If you don't reflect, you run the risk of allowing times like this to become cyclically repeating.  Some questions to guide your reflections:

• Is there anything I might have done differently that would have prevented this overwhelming state to develop?
• How do I manage 'work flow' - for myself and for those I lead?
• Do I need to bring others into a discussion about 'work flow' at our site?
• What have I learned about myself and how I react to stressful times?
• What do I need to learn in order to be ready for stressful times?
• What did I learn from my last experience with stressful times?  Was there something actionable?

Knowing what to do when you don't know what to do

As a leader, do you know what to do when you don't know what to do?

As leaders, we have a significant role to play in leading our organizations especially when challenging situations emerge.  People look to you for direction, for comfort, for reassurance, and for strength.  This can be incredibly difficult if you aren't feeling completely in control of the situation or if you feel you might not have the skills you need to navigate something really challenging.  Nonetheless, your staff are watching you and what they are seeing is important. 

We don't usually get warning about challenging situations in the workplace.  Things happen.  As leaders, we need to be able to respond to the 'things' that happen.  A great phrase to keep in mind is: I know what to do when I don't know what to do. In other words, when these challenging situations arise, I know that I need to develop a response.  I know I need to communicate with everyone affected.  I know I may need to seek help or support from others.  Your staff will watch you especially closely in such situations.  Knowing what to do when you don't know what do - that is, developing a response, communicating, and drawing on outside knowledge and skill - will demonstrate that you are managing the situation in the best way possible.  This is reassuring to your staff.  They can't attend to their work if they're worried about what's going on.  By being prepared to handle challenging situations at a moment's notice, you ensure that your staff can keep their focus on the important work they do and not channel their energies into a focus on what's going wrong.