by Leadership Accelerators | Jan 11, 2022 | Leadership Learning, Leadership Skills
I was very lucky to conduct an interview with Michael Aagaard Andersen, a world-class brand builder who was my best leader ever at the beginning of my career at LEGO. I never experienced such an outstanding level of empathy, motivation and support. What an example to follow. He is sharing his view on some extremely important questions about leadership. Enjoy the start of the year with the thought-generating answers of Michael.
What three leadership strengths do leaders need to be successful?
So, Krisztina, in my mind, leadership is quite simply the capacity a person has to influence the behaviour of others toward a goal, and to do things they would not otherwise have the skills or motivation to achieve.
Hence, to be successful as a leader you need the ability
– to formulate an inspiring vision,
– to secure alignment, and
– to coach the team to deliver on strategic goals.
Besides the above, the leadership skill that I believe has helped me the most in my international business career, is my intercultural sensitivity and self-awareness – or as you prefer to call it at LPA, my capacity for self-reflection. Only if you know yourself fully, can you be a great leader.
What was a moment in your life when self-reflection helped you to achieve a breakthrough?
I’ve made a habit of performing self-reflection almost daily, in connection with my exercise regime. Whether going over a hill on my mountain bike, cross-country running or kayaking, as soon as my body begins to release the feel-good chemicals, dopamine and endorphins, I start reflecting on the issues facing the businesses that I am involved with. Often my most profound breakthrough ideas have come to me in connection with self-reflection during an exercise high.
What stands in the way of self-reflection for most leaders?
I can only speak for myself but a lack of time can be a road-block. Also, as an active board member and advisor, I have seen “not invented here” and even arrogance stand in the way of this important leadership skill. But the biggest self-reflection “killer” is the inability to listen, and not being open to feedback. I have come across this problem both in early-stage startups and established enterprises.
Leaders suffering from this inability need to come and see you and your team and get on your world-renowned LPA program to open their minds!
What role do the skills of unlearning and relearning play in the development of a leader?
If leaders are able to un-learn skills that don’t serve them any more, this makes space for new, necessary behaviours. Then, these new habits and ways of working can be re-learned in a better way.
Today, what do you think is the primary reason people are leaving their jobs?
Krisztina, we have long known that employees do not leave their jobs – they leave bad managers – managers with low emotional intelligence, that micro-manage, exhibit a closed mindset, that play favourites, that bully, blame, and steal credit. And the pandemic has only accelerated this trend.
Today, what is the best way for leaders to remotivate their teams?
If the past 2 years have taught us anything, it’s that employees crave focus on the human aspects of work. Employees are exhausted. They want a renewed sense of purpose in their work. They want meaningful interactions, and they want to feel a sense of shared identity.
To achieve all this, today many senior executives are being challenged to rethink and reimagine how they lead. Now is the time for leaders to unlearn and relearn how to best perform in a post-Covid world – and that’s something I know you people at LPA really excel at helping them to achieve.
Thank you Michael for your thoughtful response to our questions.
Do you want to understand how the LPA Method could help your organization?
by Leadership Accelerators | Nov 30, 2021 | Leadership Learning, Leadership Skills, Learning Potential
CEO ALD Automotive Hungary
Today, we are talking with Olena Tymofiyiva, CEO of ALD Automotive Hungary. ALD Automotive offers corporate fleet management and long-term leasing services. They carry out more than 1,700,000 cars worldwide in 43 countries. Owned by the French group Société Générale, which is the dominant financial institution of the eurozone. ALD Automotive is a leader in both Europe and Hungary.
As CEO for Hungary, Olena provides great insight into leadership expectations through practical experience, observation, and leading teams.
What is something that you expect from ALL your leaders?
First of all – the attitude. Being passionate and determined toward what they are doing.
Another important detail is higher-than-average standards. Standards become habits. And then habits become outcomes. Exceptional results are almost always achieved by humans with higher-than-average standards.
Do you think you need to be a born leader or can you become a great leader by developing leadership skills?
Well, it is definitely both. Leadership is a mindset. There is no universal definition of what makes the best leader. In the same way chefs specialize in certain cuisines or musicians master specific genres, leaders can lead in different ways.
The only things, probably, that keep someone from becoming a sound leader are lack of character, effort and desire. Everything else can be developed. It’s not what you’ve been given, but rather what you do with it that matters.
Some people mistakenly believe that a leadership “title” gives them the “authority” to lead and be more effective. I would say, if you need a title to be heard, you don’t have a voice probably.
What is the role of self-reflection in your opinion as a leader?
Taking a step outside of yourself is very powerful. It helps leaders in three different directions:
1. Acknowledgment – facing the fear & disabling its ability to frighten you
2. Gratitude – having a moment of gratitude and compassion for yourself and other people
3. Setting goals to grow – taking actions toward meaningful things based on true values
What type of leadership development do you think works best?
I strongly believe that only ability to learn, unlearn and relearn makes people agile and ready for challenges. Seeking, acquiring and sharing knowledge should be a continuous process throughout the life of a leader, to benefit your career and keep you ahead of the game. It’s a well-known fact that humans who changed the world are those who were brave enough to change themselves first.
How can leaders maximize their potential?
The first and most important thing to know about leadership is that it’s not a position. It’s a process. Your ability to lead others is only as good as your ability to be the leader of you. Before you can maximize your leadership potential with others, you should be well-led yourself. One of the powerful tools to use is coaching and mentoring, as well as constant re-evaluation. It gives a sense of direction, accountability, and allows leaders to measure how they are doing.
What advice would you give today’s leaders to follow in our complex world?
Stay curious. Exceed expectations. Be ambitious. Shift from reactive to proactive.
Take calculated risks to learn continuously and stay out of your comfort zone. It’s ok to have fears, but it is important to find the strength to face and overcome them. By default, we do things we like and enjoy. When we start doing uncomfortable things, we grow.
If you see a problem and want to do something about it, act. If someone else is doing something inspiring, help. You have nothing to lose. Don’t expect anything in return.
Listen to diverse opinions and feedback. Surround yourself with people that inspire you. Who you work with is equally if not more important than what you work on and where you work at.
Instead “all or nothing” – each step matters. Instead “life is a competition” –life is an adventure. Enjoy it.
by Leadership Accelerators | Oct 21, 2021 | Leadership Learning, Leadership Skills, Learning Potential
What is the impact of being open to Learning?
I want to share the success story of the French owner of a car part designing and manufacturing company.
Their HR manager asked me to run a training for their shift and team leaders. The training was tough because I was bombarded with complaints about dire circumstances and many smaller and bigger critical working conditions.
I felt that participants were so full of negative thoughts that it was nearly impossible to make them pay attention and open them up for learning.
So I offered them to share their problems with the owner. They gave me their green light, and since they felt that someone cared about them, they started to be active in the workshop.
How to react to employee feedback
The day after the training, I sent a text message to the owner and told him that I heard some complaints about the working conditions in his company and asked him if he wanted to hear about them. He immediately shared his availability with me, and in a few days, we had our first meeting. He even booked a meeting room in a hotel to have a safe place for confidential discussions. He took notes and listened carefully to every word I said. He sometimes stopped me and asked for clarification.
A week later, he called me and asked if I was willing to coach him and told me about the changes he initiated. I was so impressed by his speed of action!
During his 10-session coaching journey, he did a lot of self-reflection about the management culture in his company. Very soon, his organization saw some significant changes. The reforms enacted were over 15 years ago.
Yesterday I attended a company event with his management team. He was also there. I observed how carefully he was making sure that nobody had to stay alone at dinner. He even put together tables so that people could sit together in bigger groups. Attention to detail has always been essential for him. It felt amazing to think back on how huge the impact of self-reflection, willingness, and ability to change can be. The once “cold” owner became an exceptional, inspiring leader with superior emotional intelligence. He needed openness for feedback, even if it hurt a lot sometimes, to look into the mirror, unlearn old habits, and learn new tools and techniques for his management skillset.
Want to learn how Learn – Unlearn – Relearn can help you? Contact Us
by Krisztina Lorinczi | Oct 12, 2021 | Leadership Learning, Leadership Skills, Learning Potential
If we believe in the definition that Ego is our operational center that defines who we are and why we are different from others, then we can state that a great leader has to accept his/her team members. I mean, accept WHO they are.
How to appreciate team members
Great leaders make sure that the team members feel this. When they feel accepted and valued and can work and exist based on their values at work, they will be much more open to receive (and give) constructive, corrective feedback. And the feedback has to focus on HOW the person did something and not on the person. In other words, it is not about the person but the behaviors.
And let me share a piece of insider information with you, just today; that is how we trainers do it as well. We do our best to appreciate participants’ comments and shared ideas. We make sure that their Ego feels safe and respected, and when they say something that is not right, we ask them why they think it is correct. It is almost always an open discussion in which the participant can draw their conclusion.
And sometimes we change our minds because we learn something from our participants! Suppose the trainer is 100% sure that the participant’s opinion is not correct, and an open dialogue does not help because it is not the right tool at the given moment. In that case, the trainer can share different options, and the magic question can be asked: “Which option do you think could work best A, B, or C?”
Leaders can achieve a lot by respecting the person, communicating that, and correcting behaviors. It is hard to overcommunicate respect and acceptance. By regularly giving positive and constructive feedback, team members will open up and autocorrect their views about themselves. It takes time, effort, and sometimes even more effort.
Your managers can become great leaders with the right insights in ego and how it is used. Contact Us to learn how we can help.
by Krisztina Lorinczi | Sep 9, 2021 | Leadership Skills, Learning Potential, Training
Communication is an art. Getting people to open up and talk is an important skill to have today. Sometimes, we have to maneuver around the person unwilling to share their thoughts. One approach that can work is to paraphrase or summarize what little information they have provided. An example may be:
“If I understood you correctly, your priority is to update your CRM data?”
I have never heard anyone answer with a clear Yes or No, which is excellent news! It opens new possibilities to involve the other person. People like to make corrections; they add something and say “Yes and,” “Not exactly because,” etc.
To be agile:
- Understand the other person’s view,
- Solve conflicts without burning bridges and hurting others, and
- Involve and motivate others to achieve even more.
Ask questions to help communications. Try to limit your questions. The more straightforward question will be answered. Too many questions can limit your exchange. If you ask several ones at once, the other one goes to waste.
And the real magic of questions is…SILENCE. Make sure you count until 10 when you raise a question. What I see leaders struggling with is waiting for the answer because they think they know it better, not you, of course, the others who are not reading the book.
There is another question I have received many times: “How do I know that I asked a good question?” You don’t need me or a coach or a trainer to let you know. The reaction of your team member will tell you. The first reaction to a good question is, “I didn’t think about that; it is a good question!” Or “Hmm, I don’t know!” A great leader stays in the tension of the conversation and observes the impact of their questions and statements. He navigates through the conversation like a great captain taking one wave after the next. Good luck with adjusting the angle of your next conversation!
by Krisztina Lorinczi | Sep 7, 2021 | Leadership Learning, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training
Being a Team Leader is an incredible responsibility.
Sometimes our roles can go beyond meeting our goals and metrics. If we are not tuned into our team members, we can miss opportunities to ensure their well-being. We all have bumps in the road that can keep us from maximizing our individual potential.
Listening can require us to use other instincts to hear what is really happening.
