Anthony Sulmonte

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Why Decisiveness is Essential for Purposeful Leaders

How comfortable are you with making decisions? What about recognizing that a decision you made wasn’t a good one and pivoting to a solution that works?

Leaders and executives must cultivate a series of essential skills to be successful, purposeful leaders who achieve results. In working with hundreds of leaders over the years, I subscribe to four areas of leadership competencies that most affect a leader’s ability to achieve results. These four leadership competencies, based on the Leadership Circle 360 Leadership Assessment in the Achieving Dimension, are as follows:  

  1. Strategic Focus –  how well you translate strategic thinking into rigorous and thoroughly developed business strategies to ensure that the organization will thrive in the near and long-term. 
  1. Purposeful & Visionary –  the extent to which you clearly communicate and model commitment to personal purpose and vision. 
  1. Achieves Results – the degree to which you are goal directed and have a track record of goal achievement and high performance. 
  1. Decisiveness – your ability to make decisions on time, and the extent to which you are comfortable moving forward in uncertainty. 

In today’s article we’ll explore decisiveness more thoroughly. This is a key skill in the toolbox of successful leaders and one that is frequently misunderstood. Many individuals believe that decisiveness, like leadership skills, is a personality trait—something you either have or don’t.  

Can Decisiveness Be Taught?

“‘Leaders are born, not made.’ That expression could not be further from the truth. While it’s true that some people are more natural leaders, most people develop their leadership skills by learning, observing and growing.” This quote, from the article, “5 Leadership Myths That Could be Holding You Back,” via Keap, hits the nail on the head.  

The same came be said about decisiveness. Decisiveness is most often a learned skill, one that comes from reading and applying knowledge in professional situations, working with a skilled leadership coach, or gaining on-the-job-training in this area.  

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt 

What Does Decisiveness Look Like for Purposeful Leaders?

How do you know if you’re decisive in your leadership? Here are six key traits to look for:  

  1. Decisive leaders remain that way under pressure 
  1. They move forward even with incomplete information when appropriate 
  1. Decisive leaders focus in quickly on key issues and ignore non-key issues 
  1. They make efficient use of data to arrive at decisions 
  1. Decisive leaders are willing to trust their gut instinct 
  1. They can make tough decisions when required, even if unsure of the outcome 

The Role of Decisiveness in Leadership Success

Decisive leaders aren’t superhuman. Like every other leader, they struggle and strain at times to understand what the right choice is. Yet, unlike indecisive leaders, they are more concerned with forward momentum than making perfect decisions.  

This knowledge that some decisions will fail while others succeed allows decisive leaders to continue going even when the going is murky and the way ahead unclear. Leadership techniques like decisiveness can be learned. Proactive professionals make the decision to strengthen this essential skill in their leadership role.  

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Do you struggle to be decisive in your decision-making? Strengthen this core leadership skill by getting in touch with Anthony now. 

Trust and Relationship Building as Purposeful Leader

Sam and Joanne are both leaders in their respective companies. Both are decisive go-getters who thrive in stress-filled environments, and each wants to further build upon their leadership skills. How they go about that is significantly different.

Sam presents his goals to his team with confidence. He is direct and works to motivate his employees. Unfortunately, Sam tends to micromanage his team. He constantly corrects his team on how they are going about their tasks. He states that he wants them to take ownership of their work and grow their skills but can’t seem to let go.

Joanne’s approach is quite different. She is transparent and upfront. She reveals her real motives, desired outcomes, thoughts, and feelings to the team before the project begins. Joanne is clear about the significant milestones and how success is measured. She is frequently in contact with the team and updated on their progress and the status of their outcomes. She sees herself as a resource who is in it with them and is consistently candid in her feedback. Joanne works with her team cooperatively, building trust and creating successful results.

The main difference in these two leaders’ approaches is that Sam is a one-dimensional leader and is hyper-focused on how the team should be doing things. Joanne, however, is a multi-dimensional leader focusing on both outcomes, results, and relationship building.

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Building Blocks for Building Trust The Leadership Circle – Building Relationships 

  1. Competent: I know what I am doing. 
  1. Believable: I tell the truth (“I say what I mean”) and that I’m open (“I share relevant information”) 
  1. Reliable: I follow through. My words and actions consistently match (“I mean what I say”). 
  1. Connected: I am on their side (“Belong to the same tribe”). 
  1. Vulnerable: I trust others.  

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Trust building is a challenge. In the Harvard Business Review article, “The Decision to Trust,” writer Robert F. Hurley shared the following findings: Out of 450 executives from 30 companies around the world, half of all those surveyed said that they did not trust their leaders.  

“Leadership is an achievement of trust.” Peter F. Drucker, management consultant  

None of this growth happens overnight, successful leaders see the ROI of strengthening their trust-building and relational skills and focus time and energy there. Working with a leadership coach helps with accountability and growth-tracking in these areas.  

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How would team members describe your relationship skills? Would the word “trust” come up if asked to sum up your leadership in a few words? If you want to strengthen these essential leadership skills, contact Anthony. 

Challenging Conversations & Conflict Resolution as a Leader

Bob walks into your office. His face is red, and his posture is rigid. You invite him to take a seat, finishing up a phone call while your mind races ahead. Is this about the fact that he didn’t get the promotion? Or is he having issues, again, with Sue on the new project? Dread fills your gut.

Challenging conversations and resolving conflict as a leader is no walk in the park. But there are ways to make these inevitable stressors less painful, strengthening your leadership skills at the same time.

How to Lead Challenging Conversations

One of the most important steps in preparing for a challenging conversation is to be prepared. Working from a place of calmness and strength is essential. Take time to reflect on your “why”, to meditate, or to exercise. All will help you during the tricky moments that lie ahead.

Here are some other ways in which to lead a challenging conversation in the workplace.

  • Be Active   You’ve likely heard of the practice of active listening. Counselors use it to make sure that they understand what their clients are telling them. Successful therapists repeat back—in their own words—what they believed they heard.    
  • Get the Facts  If at all possible get the information you need from all parties involved before a meeting. If an employee seeks you out spur-of-the-moment, try to schedule a time soon to meet, leaving yourself time to better prepare.
  • Reflect  Spend a little time digging into your feelings before you get involved in the conversation. If Bob’s complaining—yet again—about the unfair treatment he receives brings up those old sibling issues from your past, processing your own emotions first is essential. A trusted mentor, coach, or counselor can help if you need extra support.
  • Problem-Solve  Problem–solving is perhaps the best part of the situation. It allows you and the individual or group to work together as a team to come up with solutions. It’s usually ineffective, however, if the first steps aren’t taken first.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein, physicist

Resolving Conflict: An Ongoing Process

Most conflict isn’t a “one-and-done” type situation. Rather, it often takes many steps, meetings, and new methods to resolve. Difficult conversations and conflict resolution are some of the most dreaded and challenging tasks for leaders to manage. If you’re struggling in these areas, you’re certainly in good company.

However, just as communicating your compelling vision as a leader is essential, so too, are learning the skills in this area. Purposeful leadership—the challenges and the benefits—are well worth the effort involved. Strengthening yourself and your skills in all these two areas will make you a more well-rounded, high-performing leader.

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Do you avoid challenging conversations? Is mediating conflict in the workplace something you dread? If so, get in touch with Anthony today for 1:1 leadership coaching support. While much can be learned through books, courses, and online resources, nothing replaces partnering with someone who has been in the trenches and can answer your specific questions.   

Courageously Authentic: Being Yourself in Business

Imagine learning authenticity along with history, science, and Algebra in school. How might our lives—and our culture—be different? Being authentic is more important today than perhaps ever before, particularly for business leaders.

CEOs, executives, and others in upper management walk a fine line balancing between surety and vulnerability. How much sharing and honesty is too much when interacting with employees? Others in leadership? And how can one remain courageously authentic in the face of apathy or even distrust in the workplace?

Purposeful Leadership Requires a New Brand of Authenticity

If you’ve felt that you’re struggling uphill against a growing weight of distrust among your team you’re not alone. A cultural switch toward distrust has grown significantly in recent years. One example: a Pew Research Study found that approximately half of Americans distrust both the government and social media sites with their private data.

This sense of distrust is explored in the article, “America is Having a Moral Convulsion” published in The Atlantic. It refers to Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist who observed that every 60 years or so brings upheaval in the societal norms in our country. Could this be one of those times in the U.S.?

Feeling that you’re slogging uphill in your trek toward being a purposeful leader who is also courageously authentic makes sense. It’s a challenge to build trust and authenticity in today’s culture. Communicating your vision is an important part of that process as is building authenticity into your life—professional and personal. Relating to others is another important piece of the puzzle. Leadership development plans frequently include a support aspect, too. Partnering with a trusted mentor or coach will help lift the burden from your shoulders.

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you’ll be criticized anyway.”-Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady

Cultivating Authenticity as a Leader

Remaining who you are at your core is an integral part of becoming an authentic leader. Think of your work with team members as being a film and you as the editor. Editors know what parts of a production are essential and focus their time and attention on building those up. Show employees the raw, uncut footage and they could quickly get confused, become bored, or worse, leave the theater.

Instead, you carefully edit what is seen and what’s not. That doesn’t mean that you’re of two minds or that you’re being insincere. Rather, that you’re bringing the most valuable, most powerful parts of yourself to the production. Effective leaders know what to show and what to leave on the cutting room floor.

Signs of Courageous Authenticity

Looking for key elements that signify you’re being courageously authentic? Reflect on the following questions.

  1. Are you consistent? Do you show up when you say you will? Are you listening closely to team members’ issues and making progress to support them? Do employees and others in management know they can count on you, time and time again, to act according to your values?
  2. Are you being yourself? You’re not Jeff Bezos, Ariana Huffington, or Sundar Pichai. Trying to be only detract from the unique gifts and talents you have to offer the world. Is there someone in your life—a mentor, a coach, a friend—who will hold you accountable for your actions in this area?
  3. Are you scared? Contrary to popular belief, fear isn’t a sign something is wrong. In many cases, it’s a sign that you’re doing the exact thing you need to do. Lacking skills and doubting your abilities but doing the work anyway is a great way to launch yourself forward in your career and personal life. The trick is to get the support you need to thrive.

Being courageously authentic isn’t something that will happen overnight. There are no courses, books, or gurus who can make you authentic. Instead, it’s like a muscle, built over time as you use it. Strengthening that muscle and building your authenticity is a lifelong venture, one that will serve you—and all those in your circle—well.

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Do you struggle to be authentic in the face of so much daily noise? Get in touch today to learn more about how Anthony can support you in this area.  

Building Trust: An Essential Leadership Skill for Long-Term Success

“If you tell the truth, you don’t need a good memory,” Mark Twain once famously said. Honesty is a necessity to build trust. And in a world that feels very upside down and changes regularly, trust is more important than ever before.

Besides honesty, what other key leadership skills are required to create and maintain trust? Effective leaders in the workplace know not only what these are but also how to hone them and build stronger and more resilient teams.

Essential Behaviors for Business Leaders to Build Trust

In the article, “How Leaders Build Trust,” by Harvard Business Review, it’s noted that three essentials must be in place for leaders to build trust with their teams, or to regain trust after it’s been broken.

These three behaviors are:

  1. Creating positive relationships within teams—whether this is helping mediate in conflicts, assisting team members to rely on each other’s strengths, or making sure everyone’s voice is heard, the creation of a solid team relationship can’t be overstated.
  2. Demonstrating expertise and good judgement–There’s little more frustrating to employees than having a direct supervisor who has no idea what they do or how they do it. Showing your employees that you value their work starts with you being familiar with the tasks and challenges they face daily. Likewise, using wise judgement further builds on that bond of trust with team members.
  3. Doing what you say you will—One of the fastest ways to tear down trust is to say you’ll do something and not get around to it. Consistency is key as you build trust in your team. If you don’t feel that you have the technical, managerial, or other skills needed, get support. Don’t ever say you’ll do something though, and not follow through.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” -Warren Buffett, investment tycoon

Start with Clear Outcomes to Build Trust

Another leadership improvement area to build trust with your team members: start with a clear goal. By defining the expected outcome, you’re more likely to keep open, clear communication with your employees. In turn, they are more likely to produce the results you want.

You would never show up at the airport and go to the ticketing agent with your passport but no idea of where you’re flying. The same is true in your business: communicating and achieving expected outcomes begins with clarity from leadership.

Remember the “Why” When Building Trust

Creating an effective business requires you, as the leader, to have a firm grip on the “why” behind everything you do. Don’t forget to reiterate this mission often to employees. Also, great leaders make sure that team members not only tap into the broad “why” but also form their own motivation.

It’s integral that everyone in each stage of the process clearly recognizes the five W’s—the who, what, when, where, and why—of everything they do, as an individual and a team. Equally important is the “how”—dedicated employees must know what goals they’re aiming at if they’re expected to arrive there.

Building trust isn’t impossible, even in today’s ever-changing marketplace. In fact, savvy leaders recognize that it’s more important than ever before.

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Has it been a struggle to build or renew trust in your organization in the past few months? Leadership coaching can strengthen your skills, open new avenues of communication, and create better teams in your organization. Get in touch today for a complimentary consultation.

Part II of Purposeful Leadership: Communicating Your Compelling Vision

Imagine sitting down with a book—an action-adventure story—where there is only one character. Without anyone to save or an ideal to defend, would you care about the outcome? 

Chances are the answer is no. 

Having a compelling vision means focusing outside of yourself, as the leader. It requires dedication to others and leading from a place of service. 

In Part I of this series, we talked about purposeful leadership and the key elements it requires. Now, we’re looking at how to communicate that compelling vision outward—to your staff, your partners, perhaps even to shareholders, and others invested in your company. 

3 Key Elements to Clearly Communicate Your Compelling Vision

There are 3 key elements in successfully communicating your organization’s compelling vision. If these go unmet or worse, if leadership doesn’t recognize their importance, there will be greater challenges ahead. 

  1. First, there must be alignment. This essential step begins by creating a group vision with those you lead through dialogue that yields a high level of commitment. Don’t expect it to happen in a single meeting or within a week. Alternately, don’t wait until every employee understands all the details of the greater plan. 

    In the article, “Why Visionary Leadership Fails,” in the Harvard Business Review, it’s noted, “Employees of misaligned visionary managers indicated that their managers created confusion and uncertainty about what the company strategy entailed.” 
  2. Secondly, remain close to your core vision. Tap into your deep sense of purpose. Any fog in the leader’s office will engulf everyone else in the organization. Clarity and focus and the ability to weed out distractions and side issues are essential. The rewards are great for the leader who can do this consistently. Working from that deep sense of purpose comes through in your optimism, enthusiasm, and passion. 
  3. Thirdly, communicate that compelling vision of the future clearly to team members and other leaders. This encourages everyone in the organization to have their vision while also working together toward the greater one. 

Leadership in the workplace requires that these elements be used in conjunction. By doing so, you’ll clearly communicate your business’s compelling vision to members of your organization at every level.   

This blog post, “7 Steps to Communicate and Achieve Expected Outcomes,” offers hands-on tools to facilitate clear outcomes. The planning and communicating effective outcomes steps are particularly important when it comes to communicating a compelling vision in your business. 

“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Being Clear About Your Compelling Vision

How do you know if your vision is compelling…or confusing? Here is a simple test: when people meet with you, they get your vision. They may not understand every nuance and conceivable outcome, but they understand clearly what the vision is and how you intend to bring it to life. 

Research on leadership skills suggests that this is an essential element in the success of you and your organization. This article in Forbes, notes “Having a brilliant vision and strategy doesn’t make a difference if you can’t get your leaders and employees to buy into that vision.” And how can they buy into it if they don’t understand it clearly? 

Being a strong leader requires you to create a vision and translate that vision into strategies, goals, and actions that achieve results.  

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Are you struggling to communicate your compelling vision? With more than 30 years of coaching and mentoring, I’ve worked alongside business leaders to improve and accelerate performance at all levels. Please reach out for a complimentary consultation today.