Fyi for Your Improvement A Guide for Development and Coaching for Learners, Managers, Mentors, and Feedback Givers

Who is this book for? We designed this book of development tips to support any motivated person with a need and to serve as a guide for managers, mentors, and feedback givers. It is a versatile resource intended for all levels of organizations, for problems at work or in one's personal life. We know that anyone who has not yet recognized and accepted a need or limitation or weakness or developmental opportunity will not be helped by what's in this book. If you are still in denial, rationalizing, confused, or being defensive about having any needs, seek additional feedback and counsel before using this book. We also find that people who do take personal responsibikty for a need but lack motivation, drive, urgency, or energy to do anything about it won't be helped by what's in this book. If you don't think your need matters, talk to your mentor or someone higher up in the organization and ask them why this need is important for your development. See how the need plays out for you and any consequences that are unacceptable to you. This book provides you with strategies to improve, substitute, or work around a need so that you can be as effective as possible. There are thousands of tips in this book that will help anyone who recognizes specific needs and is motivated to do something about them. If that's you, read on. What is in this book? Where did it come from? The content in this book covers three broad areas: 8 Competencies m Stallers and Stoppers m Global Focus Areas 67 Competencies: These are the measurable characteristics of a person that are related to success at work. A competency may be a behavioral skill, a technical skill, an attribute (such as intelligence), or an attitude (such as optimism). The 67 Competencies are part of the Lominger Leadership Architect® and are grouped into 6 Factors and 21 Clusters. The competencies come from a content analysis of many sources: the major and continuing studies at the Center for Creative Leadership; long-term studies at AT&T and Sears; studies by Harry Levinson, Daniel Levinson, John Kotter, John Gabarro, Elliott Jaques, James Kouzes and Barry Posner, Warren Bennis, Noel Tichy, and Bernard Bass's Handbook of Leadership—a compendium of empirical studies.

Career Stallers and Stoppers: These are the negative character: or out factors that can derail a person's career. The career stallers nd come prmarly from three sources: the continuing work of the Cen Creative Leadership, the work of Jon Bentz while he was at Sears, andfo executive development work and experiences of the authors, 7 Global Focus Areas: These are additional characteristics required for successful in the global setting. After scanning the international | erat we found that for companies doing business globally, the competenc es basically the same. But there are some special skill sets that probably d emphasis. They are offered here to help those who need some focused assistance in the global setting. These 7 Global Focus Areas come from research of Morgan McCall and George Hollenbeck, research done by Center for Creative Leadership, and the work of John Fulkerson, who ass sted ìn writing the seven chapters. Over time, as more research is available, th s will likely change. Research with Lominger's VOICES®, a 360° feedback instrument us ng the competencies and stallers and stoppers, indicates they can be measuredre ably and all are significantly related to current and long-term job performance. Additionally, many competencies and stallers have been related to proft, turnover reduction, bonus, stock options, potential for promotion, and actual promotion. What's new for the 5th Edition? While maintaining the integrity of the book, we're introducing new content to make it easier for you to identify the right needs to work on and create an effective development plan: Questions and Action Statements in each chapter make it easy to create your own action plan. Hundreds of remedy titles have been rewritten as diagnostic questions and action statements so you can easily identify a need and transfer a remedy directly onto your development plan. Develop-in-Place Assignments are job tasks that require application of certa.n competencies. Research shows that 70% of development happens on the ob, and jobs differ in development power and in the competencies they address. You can't always change jobs for development reasons alone, but there is almost always a develop-in-place assignment that you can select in you current job to address your development need. Other Causes show how stallers and stoppers can result from having too much or too little of certain competencies. Determine the direction of yo development plan with these direct links back to the competencies that need to be improved or toned down.

Updated Quotes provide food for thought and inspiration. Updated Suggested Readings were selected from expert reviews, best-seller b sts, and reputable publishers based on their relevance, global perspective, and ROI. We selected readings that were current, available, organized well, and full of suggestions and examples. Plenty for you to choose from!

Competency Connect ons in Appendix A highlight how a development need or a career goal may be comprised of a few key competencies. For example, many learners are skilled in Drive for Results (53) but fail to make tough calls on people.

This need can be addressed by developing skill in Conflict Management (12) and Confronting Direct Reports (13) to complement skill in Drive for Results.

On the flip stde, if you aspire to be someone who can convince people to take developmental assignments, you need to be skilled at Motivating Others (36) and complement that by also being skilled at Developing Direct Reports and

Others (19) and Sizing Up People (56).

Developmental Difficulty Matrix in Appendix B shows on a 5-point scale how difhcult it would be for a typical professional person to develop any of the 67 Competencies. It also shows the average skill rating of the general population for each competency. This information lets you know what you're up against so you can adjust your development plan, remedies, and time line accordingly. Development Plan in Appendix C has a new format which allows you to organize your plan on an easy-to-use two-page layout. Three examples illustrate ways to maximize the plan's effectiveness when you are addressing unskilled, overused, or staller/stopper development needs. An Index has been added to make this edition as user-friendly as possible and to help you cross-reference competencies, stallers/stoppers, and global focus areas as you determine your needs and create your development plan.

How do I use this book?

FIRST, DETERMINE THE NEED

The key to using this book is to identify the right development need. Try to determine what your real need is. Many times you may have to select a few that together equal your real need. Try to find the true underlying need, not just what's showing up on the surface. If you think you have a problem getting

Results (53), ask yourself why. Maybe the real problem is lack of Composure (11) or Standing Alone (57) or Delegation (18). Perhaps you only have trouble with results when one of these is demanded. Also, look for a possible overused competency that's creating a weakness. If you get feedback that you lack Caring (7) and aren't listening (33) to others for advice and counsel, perhaps it's because you're too