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August,
2004 Welcome
to Leadership Hand™, a monthly e-newsletter To ensure receipt, please add our e-mail address "Info@" plus our domain name to your e-mail address book. 1. Stunned: When to Intervene I was driving a narrow, two-lane road in verdant Great Falls, Virginia, when I saw a neck sticking upright much too near the road--upright the way the lookout goose in a feeding flock holds his neck. This wasn't a goose. Its black and white striped head was topped in bright, fiery red. A pileated woodpecker! If you remember the Woody the Woodpecker cartoon you know what a pileated woodpecker is. With some maneuvering I was able to get back to the bird and find enough shoulder to pull off. It was alive! I walked on the traffic side not wanting to scare the bird into the cars. How heart wrenching to find this exquisite animal on the ground--one meant to fly, to bore holes for insects and bigger ones for nests. Do I intervene? Leave it to its fate? As I stood there, suddenly it came to with a "squawk, squawk." The bird's head cocked jerkily one way then the other, and then it rustled forward taking flight in a magnificent swoop up into the woods. I could see its large silhouette where it landed high up on a tree trunk. The ride home was glorious, some part of me having taken flight too. In life, in our businesses, we sometimes find someone whose miscalculation led to impact. He or she may be stunned into not moving. The bird came to… and flew away of its own accord. But, when something traumatic or challenging has happened to one of your leaders, what do you do? First, you must assess how imminent the danger--are the consequences severe, causing irreversible damage to the employee, your customers or your company? If so, you know to step in. When the consequences are not severe and you intervene out of habit or because it is expeditious, you deprive your leader of an opportunity for growth. Or, conversely, you may be so hands-off you barely acknowledge the event and assume, "Of course he knows I'm here for him. He'll tell me if he needs me." That assumption can leave your employee suffering needlessly without the benefit of your mentoring or support. Like most things
in leadership and life, it's a balance between two points. One of
the simplest ways is to acknowledge the event, tell him you trust
his ability to handle the situation, and that you are here if he
needs you. Wishing You
Graceful Interventions… Beth Hand © Copyright 2007, Beth Hand. Beth Hand, MBA helps leaders increase their effectiveness and satisfaction, now and for the future. She can be reached at (+1) 703.820.8074 or via her website www.leadershiphand.com. 2. Executives in Career Transition If you are an executive in career transition or considering one, come meet other executives from diverse industries, share tips and contacts to speed the transition process and increase your job search effectiveness. Hand Associates
is the host for Execunet executive networking meetings in alliance
with DBM (formerly Drake Beam Morin), a global provider of strategic
HR solutions. If you are living in or traveling to Richmond, Virginia,
check our web site for details www.leadershiphand.com/resources.
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© Copyright 2004, Hand Associates and Beth Hand • All Rights Reserved Hand
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