Rebel Success for Leaders

11/22/2022

Leaders that influence!

That's something that everyone wants. For ourselves. For our teams and the leaders in our organization.

Skilled influencers can open doors, get support for new ideas, and network to find solutions. Sometimes it seems like they have a magic wand and get whatever they want!

How important is the ability to be a strong influencer?

In early 2022 Forbes published that ‘business leaders across the globe will need to showcase their ability to be adaptable, agile, innovative, collaborative and customer-centric if they want to be successful.” (May 2022)

Influence is one of the skills that’s required to hit those abilities mentioned. And, it’s influencing in new ways post pandemic.

The central underpinning of all….being good at change. Adaptable, innovative, collaborative, agile are all about change.

So, to be good at change you need to be good at influence.

According to that same Forbes article, there’s a global shortage of talent who have a proven ability to lead change, with demonstrated ability to be adaptable, agile and innovative.

Hiring for it will be a long and expensive process. As a leader, it’s about investing in the development of your talent to be better at influencing.

Do I need a Degree in People?

You might be a leader who feels your team needs to up their ability to influence but you also have a team of deep experts. Those in a field.

Experts are wonderful in their vertical, or area of expertise. As a leader cultivating and nurturing that depth of expertise is critical to your business success.

Influencing skills for these deep vertical experts can be frustrating. It feels like just another thing.

More importantly, one they weren’t trained for. And something they aren’t good at. For experts, it’s hard to not be good at something.

The development conversation that ensues is often too ambiguous for either person to feel like there's a clear path forward. As much as we all like challenges, business is more efficient if we are clear on where we're going.

I recently spoke at the Business Development and Management division of the Americal Chemical Society on how to have greater impact.

Here are some simple strategies to get started. A comprehensive approach is best if you are interested in making a big impact with your team in a focused period of time. These are ways to get moving now!

Influencing starts with a relationship.

A real genuine relationship is the place to start.
Not one that is short term and only for the purposes of the project at hand and then forgotten.

Not like in high school when someone is only my friend because I have a car. Once the car goes away, so does the friend.

Leaders who take the time to listen and care are key.

Connection and belonging are some of the top needs in today’s workplace. It’s often the difference between whether people stay or leave.

Experts will need time to spend away from their labs, computer, equipment, or flow charts in order to work on building strong influencing skills.

A shift of approach can make all the difference in impact.

The saying 'Proudly Borrowed!" is one of my favorites.

Let's borrow an example from the customer service industry who use the approach that everyone is their customer.

A team of technical experts is probably not well versed in customer service or sales. They are really good at their industry expertise and are expected to share that expertise.

Ask that group to make the shift in perspective and begin to think of everyone as their customer.

Every single person they interact with.

The conversation moves from "I’m the expert and let me share my expertise' to ‘that person is my customer in some way, how should we interact’.

I used to tell my team that everyone was their customer. They were an R&D team of industry experts, not customer service or sales. But that slight shift of approach made all the difference.

The relationship was at the forefront and how the interaction is led.

Ask your team to try this perspective shift out for a month. Reinforce it in your conversations with them.

Their influence and impact will grow!

Work to L.E.A.R.N.

Projects that create change in the organization are great opportunities to elevate your team’s influence skills. It gives them something to work on that directly connects to their goals.

All too often a project implementation follows these lines.

Change initiative is prioritized and the timeline is created. It’s aggressive given the priority.

When the project is pushed through, there are a lot of problems. People in the organization feel as though they expected to do something they aren’t prepared for, not trained.

Turmoil runs within the company and extends to what the customer or client is experiencing.
So, to be good at the change you need to be good at influence. adaptable, innovative, collaborative, and agile are all about change. endemic.act.pertise and are expected to share that expertise.ned. d. .
One of the techniques you can use follows the LEARN acronym.
L = Listen to where the other person is coming from and their perspective. How they do their work best.
E = Empathize with what their experiencing.
A = Authentic conversations. Non-scripted with a programmed answer for everyone. It’s not complicated, just be human.
R = React if you can. Take a follow up. And follow through on it. Raise the issue if it needs to be.
N = Nurture the relationship with this person. Check back with them. Identify collaboration opportunities for future projects.

Leaders that influence well have unlimited potential!

09/22/2022

Where are the Weeds in Your Organization?

I really dislike pulling weeds. Especially when they’ve overgrown.

They are very tenacious and strategically grab whatever resources they can for survival. Weeds also hide unpleasant surprises.

Ignoring them is easy. If you’re like me, you have more pressing priorities. Things you love to do and people you prefer to spend time with.

Removing weeds once they’ve overgrown is hot, sweaty, buggy, dirty, itchy, and….endless.

There’s one section of our yard I’ve been working on…a really long time…. that got out of hand.

Tackling a bit each day has given me time to think.

About how cleansing it is to get rid of them and what I’m going to do next when it’s finished.

How to go forward with less baggage.

This process has made me think about the parallels between organizations and their systems and processes.

At some point in your leadership journey, you’ll be faced with outdated and ineffective systems and processes, if you haven’t already been there.

These systems and processes are the backbones of your organization. They are how you and your team get work done.

Your processes are intertwined across different parts of the organization.

Your teams are comfortable with them, even if they dislike them.

Changing out a long-standing system is about as much fun as pulling weeds.

Outdated systems and processes drain your resources, limit your creativity, and drain your collaborative juices.

Leaders who intentionally focus on getting rid of their weeds, almost always uncover unpleasant surprises. Internal workarounds, policy deviations, and unpleasant behaviors.

Bold leaders face these outdated processes methodically
1. Awareness about the problem (seeing the weeds) and the intention to change it (pull the weeds)
2. Bravely uncover all the surprises to get the full picture (briars, critters)
3. Ground yourself and your team in the vision (what do I want and expect my yard to look like)
4. Collaboratively engage the team in the new process (new plan for the yard that results in fewer weeds)

Engaging those stakeholders and cross-functional partners with your team will result in a better solution going forward.

One of my clients is going live this week with a transformational process more than a year in the making.

Along the way, surprises were uncovered along with organizational baggage that hung around from the prior change.

Focus and intentionality around the pillars of collaboration, engagement, and change champions have made a ton of difference.

Their successes are theirs to enjoy this week as they move forward nimble and efficient.

And with stronger internal relationships.

The good part about weeding?

The satisfaction when it’s finished.

Please reach out if you’d like support on your process transformation journey.

09/13/2022

History shows us that inventors and creators passionately follow their unique vision to bring their ideas into the world.

Scientists and engineers stretch our thinking of what’s possible. Data and digital experts design solutions in the palms of our hands that crunch and consolidate massive amounts of information.

If you are in a predominately field, you dream about how your unique solution will change the world.

Dreams that often start as children and guide career trajectories.

But then as the career progresses, something changes.

When STEM subject matter experts are asked to lead teams.

People, not stuff.

The courage and passion to lead with ideas sometimes get lost in the transition to leading people.

The additional impact of greater scope is rewarding for you.

You are one of the best at relating to your team and understanding the work they do.

As a leader of a team or an organization, standing out and driving your team's vision is hard. It’s not your comfort zone, despite the growth and development you’ve made.

Relying on what you know – the data, numbers, diagrams, and models – is natural.
Making the full pivot to empowering and developing your team takes courage.

Courage to stand out in an uncomfortable space, where you don’t feel like the expert.

The to be vulnerable and not the expert can be hard to find.
It’s the shift from working on stuff to working through people.

Your team is craving a leader who is invested in who they are and supportive of them as whole individuals.

Not just interested in their work performance.

The best predictor of your team’s engagement and satisfaction is your relationship with them.

The successful leaders who transform how they show up for their teams do two common things once they’ve reset their perspective.
· Use the individual they have with each team member to align the team member’s work and personal passions.
· Model habits visibly to the team to drive . Habits drive excellence and when the team sees the leader shift, they shift.

It takes courage to be the leader you know you want to be. Especially in an environment where there aren’t a lot of examples.

That leadership courage will drive your team to greater levels of success.

You have what it takes.

It’s drawing on all those skills that made you a great leader up to this point.

If you’ve been leading your team a while and think you have room to shift your perspective, there’s still time. Habits can start at any time

I have confidence in you. Please reach out if you’d like support on this journey.
Oh, and if you are planning to attend the ACS meeting in Chicago in August, I’ll be there in person. Let’s connect live.


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Thanks for reading and subscribing! I’d love to hear your feedback and future topics you’d like me to feature.
To find out more about the work I do, visit https://rebelsuccessforleaders.com/. Message me here on LinkedIn if you're curious about the work I do with STEM teams and how I take them from frustrated and stuck to communicating seamlessly across boundaries, influencing for success with unique ideas, and confidently driving change with ease.

07/19/2022

Do you have excellent Transformation Habits?

Transformation buzz seems to be everywhere. Searches turned up ~500 million results each for personal and business transformation.

It’s clearly a thing.

Historically, buzzword trends come with a bold vision and the need to do something different, that’s the good news.

They also tend to come with more examples of failed ex*****on than successful ones.

The gap, you may ask.

Habits. New ones.

Getting really good at that new thing requires the creation and practice of new habits.

The kind of habit that you no longer have to think about, schedule, or make time for. The automatic kind of habit.

The enviable .

Experts who are successful at have not only successfully completed many transformations but they climb to excellence with each new opportunity.

As a leader, you set the path for your teams. You have a finite amount of time to work with.

How much time do you allocate to the ex*****on of the work product?

Successful leaders who transform with excellence prioritize time for their team to get really good at transformations.

Developing team habits that extend their bandwidth and .

To learn from experts with over 50 years of combined experience with transformation habits join one of the LEAP Transform with Purpose free webinars.

To register for the next free webinar Tomorrow July 20, https://bit.ly/3yYQvrB

Dr. Kasthuri Henry

07/02/2022

Is your Change Initiative Making Lemonade from Lemons?

You may find yourself asking this question...
Is my team executing change projects flawlessly and with excellence?

So much training goes into change.

The new technology or the new system for starters. Changing the process is daunting enough for an organization. Many implement new processes to manage the change initiative.

But then it sinks in, change touches just about every aspect of the organization in ways that weren’t anticipated.

Through the 25+ years of leading change in business at a variety of different levels, I tried a slew of paths that were hugely informative and shaped how I approach successful change.

These approaches transform an organization from just gutting it out, to embracing and championing change.

From the wall of resistance to seeing your squeakiest wheel become the leading advocate.

Why can’t we use the latest change model that our newly certified lead has been trained on?

Models and processes are great! Those of us in STEM fields rely on them to provide structure and order in the midst of chaos.

Technical people are really good at this. Some of us love a great Model – the simplicity and elegance.

Models don't have the messy complications that are often brought in with human nature.
That’s right, people complicate things.

Personalities and opinions are one thing, but when you toss in professional credibility battles, that can really muddy the water.

Your technical people, the STEM folks, are supposed to be experts.

So why don’t solutions that strictly follow technology or science succeed? Why does change continue to fail?

As a leader, you probably lose sleep over the amount of money spent on initiatives that have started and were put on hold.

Or those projects that went through only to be ignored by the organization. The number of backdoor workarounds proliferating.

You see your team either giving you strong feedback objecting to the change or stopping the feedback altogether.

The logical rationale for change is sound. Making it happen seems to snag…..a lot!

Getting your organization to move through and with change successfully shouldn’t be elusive.

Organizational change requires habits and behaviors beyond the processes and models.

Once these are known and established you too can enjoy the benefits of successful, flawless change.

“This is the only project we’ve done in the past 2 years which is on time and on budget”

“It’s great to see the excitement about this project and to really feel how I’m a part of making it successful”

“This is some of the best training we’ve had…on any topic. Everyone should go through it”

“We need to figure out why this is working. And then do more of it. It’s a gamechanger for our business”

So if you’re settling for mediocre success, the 3 steps forward with 2 steps backward approach, why not go for what you really want.

Get your team ready to embrace organizational change and then get them really good at it. Best in class, even.

With collaborative, co-creative behaviors that enable you to excel every time.

If you’re intrigued by this opportunity or jumping at the chance to make this happen now, I’d love to talk to you. Send me a message or dive in and leave me a comment.

Oh, and if you are planning to attend either the IFT meeting in July or the ACS meeting in August, I’ll be there in person. Let’s connect live. Both platforms offer the opportunity to schedule meetings at the meeting.

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To find out more about the work I do, visit https://rebelsuccessforleaders.com/. Message me here if you're curious about the work I do with STEM teams and how I take them from frustrated and stuck to communicating seamlessly across boundaries, influencing for success with unique ideas, and confidently driving change with ease.

06/24/2022

Just in time for summer reading !!!

Grab a copy of the #1 International Bestsellers on Audible.

Leverage your unique self for greater success in Rebel Success for Leaders - Lead Grow and Sell Fearlessly. https://amzn.to/39NEtZi

Hear the lessons and experiences of 17 experts to step powerfully into your gifts, talents, and abilities in Step into Your Brilliant Purpose. https://amzn.to/3ychRtV

06/22/2022

Change is constant, that's true.

What about intentional, deliberate change? The kind that takes advantage of the circumstances to accelerate forward.

There's no need to wait for something to happen. You can make it happen now.

The courage to step forward into what's new for you can be daunting.

When that step combines a link between your personal and professional ambitions, it can be unclear.

So, I'm super excited to be launching a collaborative new program with a colleague, Dr. Kasthuri Henry, PhD, CTP, Six Sigma Black Belt called LEAP Transform with Purpose.

Join us today in the first of our informational webinars!

It's for those of you who truly want to combine your personal uniqueness, your purpose, with how you deliver in your professional space.

You bring your professional transformation challenge to the program. The power of collaboration guides us as we move forward together.

Sign up for one of the free informational LinkedIn webinars:
June 22: https://lnkd.in/gsRzV4eA
June 23 https://lnkd.in/gGTf8hqc

We'd love to see you, answer your questions, and talk more about this exciting program to fully show up and be fully engaged.

06/21/2022

Check this out: https://networkingrx.libsyn.com/want-business-success-get-out-of-the-numbers-and-into-the-people-eps-487 ! On this episode of the Networking Rx podcast, I share with Frank Agin, founder and president of AmSpirit Business Connections, how organizations improve the bottom line by becoming people-centered . Give it a listen.

06/08/2022

Can you express your Uniqueness always?

Your uniqueness is just that...uniquely you. Only you can express it in the world

Being uniquely you in a business setting is challenging for many with the norms that are placed in a business environment.

Companies have focused on dress code, items in the work space and appropriateness of topics for discussion.

What if the focus was on your unique purpose, your gift in the world and how to bring that forward within your business contribution?

That aligns your uniqueness with your Purpose with your work contriution.

Allowing you to fully show up and be fully engaged.

It was my pleasure to talk with Maureen Ryan Blake of the Rising Star Book Club about bring forward everyone's uniqueness.

You can hear more about LEAP Transform with Purpose in one of the free informational webinars:
June 22: https://lnkd.in/gsRzV4eA
June 23 https://lnkd.in/gGTf8hqc

https://youtube.com/shorts/A4vc0F1TkCs?feature=share

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: LEAP Transform with Purpose. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

06/07/2022

Keep Personal and Professional Separate!

How many of you struggle with hearing that in your corporate environment? You know you aren’t a divided person, you are one whole person.

But you also struggle with how to show up in the work world as your unique self and still do well?

And then on the other side of that leaders in companies struggle with this, too. You know employee engagement matters. It means that folks stay because they're invested in the mission of the organization.

Leaders in companies who've figured out this alignment of personal and professional, are not talking about how many personal items can be on the desk or about how many half days each person gets every month to pursue personal interest?

Who’s figured this out?

Leaders who are really leveraging the unique power of the people on their teams and how they can deliver that uniqueness.

In my words that Rebel.

Combining the personal and professional is a challenge. In my opinion, not something done well in a business environment

So, I'm super excited to be launching a new program with a colleague, Dr. Kasthuri Henry, called Leap Transform with Purpose.

It's for those of you who truly want to combine your personal uniqueness, your purpose, with how you deliver in your professional space.

You bring your professional transformation challenge to the program. The power of collaboration guides us as we move forward together.

Sign up for one of the free informational webinars:
June 22: https://lnkd.in/gsRzV4eA
June 23 https://lnkd.in/gGTf8hqc

We'd love to see you, answer your questions, and talk more about this exciting program to fully show up and be fully engaged.

I look forward to seeing you then.

06/01/2022

Does your team transform with ease?

Perhaps you’ve experienced a time when a challenge surfaces that’s so big your organization needs to take a leap to the next level.

Or, when the environment shifts so dramatically the way forward isn’t clear.

The swirl of indecision and uncertainty kicks up so much dust that visibility drops. Without clarity, team effectiveness drops.

Or, when the skills of the team need to take a leap to be relevant and to keep pace.

The expertise that got you there isn’t the expertise that will propel you forward.

A transformation is needed, and now!

Your vision of success? A team that grows as individuals while simultaneously growing as a team. A team that’s ready, adaptable and focused.

Alignment between the zone of genius of each individual and the organizational purpose is strong.
Engagement soars!

What’s needed? Comfort and familiarity with the unknown and uncertain. And a personal toolbox to guide the path.

Athletes would call this muscle memory. When your body knows the routine without your mind needing to think about it.

Transformation with ease is the next skill set to master.

It’s not a soft skill. It’s a game changing foundational skill.

Those that prioritize and invest organizational effort will leap ahead.

Those that learn, experience, and apply simultaneously form habits that stick.

Those that walk with guidance and support avoid pitfalls and arrive at the destination quicker.

I’m pleased and honored to collaborate with another expert in the STEM field offer

LEAP Transform with Purpose.

The transformational leadership program that guides you on the journey to personal and professional transformation with ease.

Join us for a Free introductory webinar either June 22 or June 23 to learn more about how to ready your team for transformation.

#1 international Best-Selling Authors and Leading Industry Practitioners, Dr. Charlotte Allen and Dr. Kasthuri Henry have teamed up to bring their combined 50+ years of transformational leadership experience and insights to guide your Purposeful Transformation mindfully and intentionally in a four-step process:

Understand and become centered on your PURPOSE
Keep RELEVANCE in focus to live your Purpose
Dare to EVOLVE and drive your success
TRANSFORM with authenticity to Lead with Influence

Sign up for June 22 https://lnkd.in/gsRzV4eA or June 23 https://lnkd.in/gGTf8hqc.

Henry

05/26/2022

The Balancing Act that will Transform Your Team.

Hello Transformational Leader.

I’m Charlotte Allen from Rebel Success for Leaders.

World’s Top STEM Leaders.
Who are those leaders we’re talking about?

Why should you care?

At Rebel Success for Leaders we tend to work with leaders in STEM fields.

Leaders like you and your teams who identify as experts in your field. For example: Finance, Engineering, Science, Technology, Manufacturing, Healthcare, to name a few.

If you are this leader, you are at the cutting edge for your organization. The leader who is leading change and driving innovative thinking.

Everyone else in your organization is turning out the widgets they’ve perfected, building the brand, and taking out incremental costs. All really important stuff we’ll leave to them.

You, on the other hand, are leading the charge to get your company to work in a different way, a better way.
Cumbersome processes and inefficiencies that drag you down are moving out with the garage sale items and donation pile.

Your customers, consumers, clients are experiencing new products and services that WOW them.

Unfortunately, the data shows a rough road ahead for those on the cutting edge. And, data drives decisions, right?

More that 70% of organizational change fails. And that percent climbs to over 90% for failed innovations.

Your team frequently makes an amazing case for change and they are passionate about their ideas.

You are probably in the typical position where the pile of discarded ideas heaps over the successful ones. The discards were not ready or probably ahead of their time.

When failure grows large, organizations tend to become more and more resistant to trying new things, even when they know they have to.

STEM folks want to passionately make a difference. And they uniquely have a vision for the how.

So, if you and your team are tasked with changing the world, or at least your part of it, this newsletter is for you. If you want to have that success with top employee engagement scores and a team that can both influence and champion the vision of the future, this is the place for you.

Over and over, the way we change our client’s success rate is by figuring out how to match up stellar solution development – the expertise collaboration – with world class influence – the people collaboration.

No one on your team ever asked for the standard HR training meeting or the rah, rah offsite.

And we don’t do those either.

We rally their passions, show them the path, and aim their collective efforts.
Our most successful clients spend less time pushing the boulder up the change mountain and more time taking calls from people who what to join their team to be a part of the energy of success.

Everyone wants to be on the train going someplace fun with great people!

By balancing expertise and influence these clients are excited about making a difference and doing it with confidence and ease.

If any of this resonates with you, connect or message me for more information.

If you think you or your team are the kind of folks I’m talking about, I’d prefer you ask to connect – with a short personal note.
I want to inspire you to the possibilities of how to bring your unique transformation into the world. Don’t rely solely on your STEM expertise. Balance it with an equally strong depth of influence.
Success is waiting for you!