Jennifer McClure`

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Written by Jennifer McClure

4 Traits of Teachable Leaders – And How You Can Demonstrate Them

The role of a Leader can be a tough gig – one that’s made even harder by some who feel that they’ve reached a point in their career where they no longer need to submit themselves to learning and leadership development opportunities.

As Leaders, it’s easy to think that we got to where we are because we’re the most capable – and as a result should be teaching those on our teams how it’s done based upon our experience having done it all before. But every living thing needs to be fed in order to survive and thrive – and as a Leader, you do too!

So how can we be more teachable as Leaders in an effort to learn and foster growth? It’s starts by putting ourselves in the frame of mind that we can (and must) learn more.  Best-selling author and leadership expert John Maxwell calls this a “teachable attitude”:

Teachability is not so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude. It is the desire to listen, learn, and apply. It is the hunger to discover and grow. It is the willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn. I love the way legendary basketball coach John Wooden states it: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

When I teach and mentor leaders, I remind them that if they stop learning, they stop leading. But if they remain teachable and keep learning, they will be able to keep making an impact as leaders. Whatever your talent happens to be – whether it’s leadership, craftsmanship, entrepreneurship, or something else – you will expand it if you keep expecting and striving to learn.

Assuming that you’ve got the orientation of a Teachable Leader, here are four traits to focus on:

Trait #1: Teachable Leaders are consistent and continuous Seekers. 

To avoid stagnation as a Leader, seek out opportunities to listen, learn and apply knowledge not only from like-minded, similarly situated colleagues, but also from those who can offer different perspectives and even contrary points of view. Read books, blogs and news from authors and websites that are both similar and opposite to your way of thinking. Effective Leaders need to be able to think through and justify their own decision-making to many different stakeholders, so actively seeking out alternative perspectives in advance is a great way to solidify – and improve – your ideas and plans.

Trait #2: Teachable Leaders are willing to be Receivers.

As someone who has worked with and coached many senior level executives, I can confirm that it’s rare for Leaders to get honest and direct feedback from those on their teams and in their organizations – positive, negative or constructive. Why? There’s still also an unwritten rule within much of the business world – “The Boss is always right”, but an even bigger reason is that it’s actually rare for a Leader to ask – and be willing to receive feedback other than agreement with their approach or idea. If the people on your teams aren’t willing to or used to providing you with feedback, teach them how. And most importantly, act upon the feedback that you’re given. Show your team that you have a hunger and desire to grow and improve as a Leader, and that they’re an important part of that journey!

Trait #3: Teachable Leaders understand the importance of being good Followers.

We often assign mentors to young professionals at work, to help them gain insights and encouragement from someone that they can model and learn from. Regardless of your longevity in your career or within your organization, as a Leader you need mentors and role-models too. Do you have someone in your network that you can go to for advice and counsel? Maybe that’s another CEO, a colleague from a professional networking group or an outside coach, but make sure that you have someone whom you admire and respect to offer you a safe place to work through problems and opportunities – and be willing to submit to their leadership. We get better by learning from others who have been there/done that – and got the t-shirt.

Trait #4: Teachable Leaders grow stronger when the are Producers. 

A great way to grow in character and competence as a Leader is to build into other Leaders. Are you mentoring others? Are you actively sharing what you’re learning as a Seeker, Receiver and Follower? Don’t keep all of the goodness to yourself. Invest in others to multiply the results of your continuous improvement efforts!

Question: What did I miss? What are some additional traits that you feel Teachable Leaders have? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of leadership development, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.

Categories: Blog, Leadership
Posted on November 5, 2013

Written by Jennifer McClure

Effective Presentation & Communications Skills for Business Leaders [slideshare]

Today, I’m sharing the slide deck from two recently completed workshops delivered for groups of senior executives who work for one of my corporate clients – Effective Presentation & Communications Skills for Business Leaders.

Effective Presentation & Communication Skills For Business Leaders from Jennifer McClure

Why is there a need for this type of program?

Effective communication and presentation skills are must-haves for Top Business Leaders and Executives in order to establish executive presence, build influence, gain buy-in and help their businesses to grow.

The good news is that these skills can be learned!

I always enjoy working with Leaders who want to develop and improve – and I hope you find some helpful tips to facilitate your own growth and development as a Leader in your organization.

What communication/presentation tips and tricks can you recommend? Share them as a Comment!

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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of people strategies, leadership development and career growth. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.

Categories: Blog, Effective Communication, Executive Presence, Leadership, Presentations, Speaking
Posted on September 19, 2013

Written by Jennifer McClure

What Do CEO’s Expect From Strategic HR Leaders?

Recently, Human Resource Executive Online (a great publication worth reading) republished a interesting checklist from Bloomberg Businessweek listing “What CEO’s Expect from CHRO’s”.

I’m kinda in love with this list, so if you’re HR, (even without the lofty title of CHRO), check it out. Ensuring that you’re focusing your time, energy and efforts on these activities is a great way to position yourself within your organization as an HR/Business Leader.

What CEO’s Expect From CHRO’s

  • Collaborating to design and communicate a Vision for the company.
  • Building a pipeline of qualified, energized people to fuel the company?s growth.
  • Selling the company to the “talent population”, in person, via traditional media and online.
  • Reinforcing a culture that emphasizes ingenuity over irrelevant, one-size-fits-all metrics.
  • Teaching all employees, starting with the CEO, to tell the truth at work.
  • Shifting the HR function away from a break/fix model to an embedded function in every business segment.
  • Installing just enough HR process to meet the company’s regulatory compliance needs but not so much that people are stymied or infantilized.
  • Building a culture of collaboration that fuels every important program at the company.
  • Asking team members every day for input on business activities, their own careers, and life in general — not via a sterile, once-a-year employee engagement survey.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
September 19, 2012

What would you add to this list?

Want to learn more about making the leap from HR Leader to Business Leader? I’ll be reprising my 2012 SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition mega session at the upcoming 2012 Nonprofit HR Conference on October 8th in DC and at the 2013 SHRM-Atlanta HR Conference April 29 – 30, 2013. Check out more upcoming events on my Speaking & Conference Schedule HERE!

Categories: Blog, Human Resources, Leadership
Posted on October 1, 2012

Written by Jennifer McClure

The Conference Board’s 2011 Future Leaders Conference (Discount Code)

If you’ve taken a look at my Speaking & Conference schedule for the next few months, you’ll see that I’ll be attending and/or speaking at several really great events. I’m excited about them all for a variety of reasons and each will provide its share of takeaways, new relationships and opportunities!

One upcoming event I’d like to highlight for you (and offer you a discount code) is the 2011 Future Leaders Conference in Chicago, Illinois September 14 – 15, 2011. The theme for the conference is – “Rethinking How We Attract, Identify, & Develop High Potential & Next Generation Leadership Talent” and this conference is put on by the good folks at The Conference Board.

At this conference, attendees will:

  • Explore best-in-class approaches to attract, identify, assess, and develop emerging leaders
  • Discuss leadership development strategies, methodologies, and tools used to meet the needs of high potential talent
  • Learn about unique challenges of next generation leadership development in emerging markets
  • Network with innovative leaders and discover new ideas to drive leadership development

Over the last couple of years, I’ve attended several Conference Board events and I can say with no hesitation that they are some of the highest quality, most well-run events around. Each of their conferences include great speakers (the majority of whom are practitioners) from leading companies sharing best practices and their experiences. The Future Leaders Conference will be no exception. Check out the lineup of some of the scheduled speakers:

Padma Thiruvengadam, former Vice President, Asia Pacific/Canada Operations – Oncology, Pfizer Inc.
Kirsten Aranda, Director – Talent Management, Boeing
Marc Wenzel, Vice President of Sales and Partnerships,ThinkWise Inc.
Melanie Tinto, Senior Director, Global Talent Management, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Maureen A Gillan-Myer, SVP Human Resources – Regional Head of Resourcing & Talent, HSBC North America
Bonnie Fetch, Director, People and Organizational Development, Human Services Division, Caterpillar Inc.
Tim Toterhi, Senior Director, Global Learning & Development, Quintiles
Brian Fishel, SVP Enterprise Leadership Development, Bank of America
Gary Ranker, Ph.D., The Global Senior Executive Coach
Donny Huang, Managing Partner, 4stones Cross Cultural Consulting Group
Susan B. Greer, Director, Leadership, Education and Delivery Services, IRS Human Capital Office
Sandy Mobley, Owner, The Learning Advantage
Carolon Donnally, Management and Program Analyst, Leadership, Education and Delivery Services, IRS Human Capital Office
Susan Rusconi, Head of Leadership Development, Adobe Systems, Inc.
Ronald J. Alsop, Editor, Workforce Management
John Seely-Brown, Independent Co-chair, Deloitte Center for the Edge, and Visiting scholar and advisor to the Provost, University of Southern California

This conference is a “must attend” for Human Resources Leaders, Leadership Development Professionals, Talent Management Professionals and Senior Business Leaders interested in developing high potential talent, as well as those responsible for global human resources and diversity, talent acquisition, learning and employee development, and succession planning.

For more information, or if you’d like to register and join me at The Future Leaders Conference in Chicago September 14th – 15th, visit The Conference Board’s website – www.conferenceboard.org/futureleaders  or call (212) 339-0345.

BONUS: Enter the discount code JM1 to receive $500 off of the conference registration price.

 

Note: I’ll be attending the Future Leaders Conference as a guest of The Conference Board in order to share with my network and clients some of my learnings from the event. But I’m not asked to say/write anything other than my personal insights. Just wanted you to know.

Categories: Blog, Leadership
Posted on August 4, 2011

Written by Jennifer McClure

Carnival of HR – Online Degree Edition

I’m so excited! It’s time for me to host the famous Carnival of HR for the first time!

It’s also the midpoint of summer here in the US, meaning it’s almost time for the kiddos to head back to school (which according to Staples – and many parents – is the most wonderful time of the year), so I’ve got class schedules and degree programs on my brain as the parent of an incoming freshman at THE Ohio State University. (Go Buckeyes!)

In the spirit of education, I thought I’d whip up a quick online degree program for HR Pros, Recruiting Rockstars and Talent Management Geeks everywhere by organizing the great Carnival of HR submissions I received into an educational opportunity and featuring some great bloggers Teachers just for you!

So grab your assigned seat, take out your pen and paper, bring some chocolate an apple for your Host and check out all of the posts! I’m confident you’ll find some great new blogs and bloggers you’ve not yet discovered and you’ll also be a wiser and more educated professional for having done so.

———-

Corporate Culture

Leadership Belief and Building ‘People-Centric’ Culture – Professor Tanmay Vora of QAspire Blog.

Class Summary: The Leader’s choice to treat people as “humans” or as “resources” and how that can affect an organization’s culture.

The Perfect Corporate Culture Doesn’t Exist – Professor Jennifer V. Miller from The People Equation.

Class Summary: Explore how even the best of corporate cultures aren’t perfect.

Diversity & Inclusion

Inclusion Measurement – Tracking the Intangible – Professor Erik Samdahl of The Productivity Blog.

Class Summary: Learn some indirect measurements for gauging inclusion success in an organization.

The Act of Including – Professor Joe Gerstandt of Our Time to Act.

Class Summary: The not so fine line between being unintentionally exclusive versus being deliberate, intentional and proactive about being inclusive.

Employee Benefits

Survey Says: Employees Don’t Want Their Benefit Information Tweeted – Professor Lexi Ruben from the Precept Employee Benefits Blog.

Class Summary: To tweet or not to tweet benefits information? That is the question.

Employee Relations

Anniversaries Matter. Jobs Matter More. – Professor Kari Quaas of the Seasonal Human Resources Blog.

Class Summary: Don’t be schmucks.

Rehire Fired Employee? – Professor Susan M. Heathfield from the Human Resources Blog on About.com.

Class Summary: How following the recommended steps for firing an employee might influence that decision.

Why Do Companies Punish Whistleblowers? – Professor Suzanne Lucas from the Personal Success Blog on BNET.

Class Summary: Establishing a process for reporting and investigating problems within your company to keep communication lines open.

Global Human Resources

Future Imperative – Professor The HRD of My Hell is Other People.

Class Summary: Discuss the seismic changes taking place and globalization of work – and whether or not organizations are prepared.

Salary Inflation II – Professor Frank Mulligan of the Talent in China blog.

Class Summary: Explore the effects and consequences that recent increases in wages in China are having on the nation’s & region’s economy.

Upside of a Global Organization – Professor Amy Wilson from the TalentedApps team.

Class Summary: Learn about some of the challenges and tremendous leverage of working in global teams.

HR Technology

Top Three Challenges of Implementing an HR Automation Software – Professor Gireesh Sharma of the Grasp e-Marketing blog.

Class Summary: Review the top 3 challenges during the software implementation cycle based upon Gireesh’s experience.

Leadership

Make Sure You “Hug” Your Top Performers During Times of Change – Professor Dan McCarthy from Great Leadership.

Class Summary: The importance of not taking top performers for granted and making sure they know they’re valued.

Responsibility and Leadership – Professor Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership Blog.

Class Summary: When Dwight Eisenhower gave the order to launch the D-Day invastion, he faced the real possibility that things could go wrong. But he was willing to take the responsibility.

Stop Trying to Make Others Happy – Professor Mary Jo Asmus of Aspire Collaborative Services.

Class Summary: Personalizing rewards and recognition to motivate employees.

Legal & Compliance

Dear Evil Skippy: The FMLA Expands Family Trees – Professor Jim of Evil Skippy at Work.

Class Summary: FMLA definitions, communication and navigation. (Note: This required class is sure to be a riot. Good times.)

What You Need to Know About Floating Holidays – Professor Kim Urban of Kim’s HR Potpourri blog.

Class Summary: The intricacies of handling Floating Holidays in the state of California.

Organizational Psychology

Trains and Perception – Professor Steve Boese of Steve’s HR Technology blog.

Class Summary: What we call programs and activities in our organizations can influence the perception of their importance as well as the approach and enthusiasm of the people involved.

$5000 or a Stranger’s Happiness? – Professor Drew Tarvin of Humor That Works.

Class Summary: Learn how surrounding yourself with happy (or unhappy) people impacts you.

Performance Management

Performance Management is a TOOL and not a CHORE – Professor Cathy Missildine-Martin of Profitability Through Human Capital blog.

Class Summary: Decide whether Performance Appraisals should be 1 question, 3 questions or 435…

Recruiting

In Defense of Recruiters – Professor Bill Boorman of Norton Folgate: The Recruiting Unblog.

Class Summary: 5 ways to fix the process and build better relationships between Recruiters and HR departments.

The Need for Speed – Professor Mervyn Dinnen of T Recs.

Class Summary: Debate whether finding the “best” candidate for clients is hindered by expectations of speedy submissions.

Social Media for HR/Recruiting

Developing a Social Recruiting Strategy: From Bigot to Believer – Professor R.J. Morris substitute teaching for yours truly right here on the Unbridled Talent blog (good stuff in case you missed it).

Class Summary: Case study of one man and one company’s approach to developing a social recruiting strategy.

How to Get Started in Social Media with Mike Vandervort – led by Professor Ben Eubanks of UpStartHR.

Class Summary: Learn how HR practitioner Mike Vandervort is using social media to create a competitive advantage for his employer.

We’re Social Media Hippies Who Live in Mamby-Pamby Land. I can dig that. – Professor Kevin W. Grossman of HR Marketer Blog.

Class Summary: Explore the risks and the values of using social media in the workplace – while saying cool words like Mamby-Pamby.

Talent Management

If Lebron Went Corporate: A Cautionary Tale – Professor Aaron Ziff from the Respectful Workplace Blog. Class Summary: Talent management lessons from the real-world case study featuring basketball hero or zero (you decide) Lebron James.

Talent Management Best Practices for a Post-Recession World – Professor Lois Melbourne of Aquire.

Class Summary: Talent strategies to keep your top talent as the economy improves and employees have more choices.

There Is No “I” in “Team”. But There Is a “Me”. – Professor Benjamin McCall of ReThink HR.

Class Summary: Talent Management and succession planning lessons from the world of sports.

Tour de France’s Lessons for Human Resources and Management – Professor Michael D. Haberman from HR Observations.

Class Summary: Review some lessons from the Tour de France related to talent, teams and planning that are important for businesses today.

Talent Selection

How to Hire People Who Understand the Values of Your Organization – Professor Amit Bhagria of Young HR Manager.

Class Summary: Review a case study and examples of how to shift the focus of your interview process to asking questions that reveal a candidate’s self beliefs and value system.

Low Performers Are Laid Off First – Professor Chris Young of the Maximize Possibility Blog.

Class Summary: The importance of pre-employment assessment validity.

Winning the War on Talent – Professor Mark Stelzner of Inflexion Advisors.

Class Summary: Review a case study that could change sourcing, screening and assessment processes to ensure hiring candidates that match an organization’s culture.

Workforce Development/Career Management

Making Employees Career Competent – Professor Lance Haun of Rehaul.com.

Class Summary: HR’s role in helping today’s workforce develop new skills to improve employability.

New Generation – Professor Laura Schroeder of Working Girl blog.

Class Summary: Debate whether the new generation is owed an express ticket to executive management because they’re willing to work hard and have black belts in social media – or not.

Extra Credit/Self-Study

Ten Minutes with Vinnie Mirchandani – Industry Expert – brought to you by The Devon Group.

Class Summary: Hear from the author of the book “The New Polymath: Profiles in Compound-Technology Innovations”.

Top Summer Reading for Business Leaders – compiled by Professor Trish McFarlane, the HR Ringleader.

Class Summary: What thought leaders in HR, recruiting and academia are reading this summer.

———-

Whew! Well there you have it folks. A crash course in all things HR, Recruiting and Talent Management.

If you read all of the posts and passed the exams, give yourself a pat on the back. You just graduated from the Carnival of HR Online Degree Program! Now be sure to leave a comment on this post so I’ll know how many seats we’ll need at the graduation party…

Thanks to all who submitted great posts for the Carnival of HR! Next up, the August 4th Carnival will be hosted by Drew Tarvin at Humor That Works. Be sure to check it out!

Categories: Blog, Human Resources, Recruiting
Posted on July 21, 2010

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