The Absentee Boss

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Dale Kurow

Absentee Boss?

When does too much hands-off management reach the point of diminishing returns? In my executive coaching with clients I hear the frustration and sheer anger caused by absentee bosses.

It’s one thing to give your staff freedom and the ability to make independent decisions. It’s a whole different thing to be unavailable or fail to give any direction.

I hear stories about absentee bosses rarely touching base with clients and worse, how they are often a no show to scheduled one-on-one meetings with their direct reports. This creates escalating employee morale problems as the
disrespectful behavior continues with no one holding the boss accountable.

One client even cited an incident where her boss didn’t apologize for completely blowing off a scheduled meeting. Further, she stood up a candidate who had come in for an interview. There is no excuse for this type of behavior, however, it happens all to frequently.

Before you go to HR, I recommend you first try to deal with this on your own. Here are tactics for dealing with an absentee boss:

Build your relationship with your boss’s boss. It could be as simple as sharing pleasantries. Your boss’s boss will ultimately decide your fate anyway, and if s/he notices you are taking on more responsibility in your boss’s absence, this will be money in the bank during your performance review.
Learn to do more without your boss, so s/he relies on you and would hate to see you go. Make yourself indispensable and you will greatly improve your job security and bargaining position.
If you truly have a lot of downtime, use that time for improving your skills by further education and/or attending professional conferences. Reach out and connect with those in your industry who have influence. There’s no better way to prepare for your next move then building a relationship with outside hiring managers.

If all else fails, leave! You won’t be the first one to have to find a new job because of an absentee boss, and if your boss’s boss is aware of your boss’s shortcomings,you may force his/her hand and receive a promotion!

New Linkedin Group – Executive Coaching: The Keys to Success

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Dale Kurow

Just quick update, we’ve launched our new LinkedIn Group dedicated to continuing the conversation on career advancement, leadership, and job performance. It’s called Executive Coaching: The Keys to Success, and you’re all invited to join.

Hope to see you all there!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Never Accept the First Salary Offer

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Dale Kurow

Why Accepting the First Salary Offer is Never a Good Idea

One of the key issues I tackle in my executive coaching work is
helping clients negotiate the salary, bonus and perks they want in a
new job.

What always surprises me is the anxiety that clients display in
trying to come up with the salary number to request.

The anxiety is often coupled with feelings of gratitude (wow, they
offered me a job!) or, I don’t want to appear greedy (they won’t think
I’m a team player if I ask for a lot plus they already said they have a
limited budget).

Have these thoughts entered your mind in dealing with the salary
issue?

I bet they have.

I’d like to offer my point of view.

Sheryl Sandburg, the COO of Facebook, and the author of the new
and controversial book “Lean In,” suggests that women need to step
up and learn to negotiate salaries that reflect what they are truly
worth.

However, my experience in coaching executives proves that
asking for what you are worth is not only a women’s issue; men
also lack adequate negotiating skills.

Here are two recent examples:

A client came to me because he was about to accept a new job with
a government agency. He was going back to the public sector after
working in a large private corporation for several years.

The potential new boss said they were limited by the salaries of their
current employees. During our session the client told me that offers
were tied to salary grades (hard numbers) and sign-on bonuses were unheard
of in government.

However, the client had progressed a long way in experience and
value since his prior government service and needed to factor that
into his new ask.

I pressed him to request a salary matching his current compensation.
My client negotiated over several weeks with his potential new boss.

The upshot was that they not only matched his current salary, which
was a big ask, but they also gave him a sign-on bonus!

What does this prove?

Always ask for what you deserve. If the new employer really
wants you they will “find” the money, government or not.

A second example was a client who was consulting for a growing
entertainment company. They offered her a full-time position and she
was struggling to figure out what salary to request. She wanted to
match the salary of her last full-time job but was reluctant to request
that because the employer said they had a “limited budget.”

After our discussion, she requested 10K more than her last salary.
The company initially countered with a lower offer. She persisted and
inquired if they could do better. They not only came back with the
10K she asked but agreed to an early performance review.

My client knew she had superior skills for the job and she had proven
her value. Her negotiating position was strong.

Not every potential candidate has a strong bargaining position going
into a salary negotiation. However, be aware that most employer’s
use the phrase, “we have a limited budget” as a negotiating ploy to
apply pressure to the candidate to accept a lower offer.

The lesson here is:

Don’t buy into the “limited budget” tactic.

At a minimum, always say you need time to think over the first
offer. This will give you breathing room to develop your negotiating
strategy.

Consider this: negotiating is a skill all employers value and they will
be watching and impressed by how you handle this first negotiating
test.

Learning to recognize and successfully navigate the methods
employers use in salary negotiations will strengthen your resolve
never to accept the first offer.

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Do you need guidance in negotiating your new salary? Working with
an executive coach can make all the difference.

Posted in Leadership Development, Success Strategies | Tagged business goals, dale kurow, executive coaching, negotiating salary, salary discussion, salary expectations, salary negotiation | Leave a comment

Authoritarian Bosses Create Cutthroat Cultures

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Dale Kurow

“Remove staffers who don’t crush it. Immediately.”

This quote came from an Inc.com article — “10 Ways to Step Up Your Leadership Today” by Dave Balter published in January of this year.

Did you cringe when you read that? I did.

And that uncomfortable feeling stayed with me for days.

My immediate reaction was — who is really making the mistake here?

How much of the failure to “crush it” is the fault of the boss?

What kind of culture does this method create and is it conducive to retaining good people?

Here are things to consider:

The CEO’s and bosses I work with are creative, driven and extremely hard working. However, they often lack leadership skills and that keeps my executive coaching New York business busy. Further, they are terrible at giving direction, often sketching out in a vague and unformed fashion what they hope to achieve.

So, boss, ask yourself — have you given ANY direction to your staff? How specific was the direction? Are you unclear in your own mind what you expect the outcome to be?

You may want to triple your profits. You may want to be known for the best customer service in your industry. You may want to produce
a product that will knock the your client’s socks off. Or you may think that any of these outcomes would be good.

Any uncertainly in your mind will compound the uncertainty of those that are responsible for delivering results. Ensure that your staffers are clear on what you want by asking them to review their commitments and deliverables.

You don’t need to provide specific methods for reaching the desired targets. You do need to share the “why” and the ultimate goals. Allow your staff to find their own way of getting to the results. If you insist on the method being your way, you will kill creativity and independent thinking.

How open are you to providing coaching or employee development? Do you expect every new hire to come in and perform at the highest level without a period of learning, transitioning and melding with the team?

Okay, I’m not saying you coddle or excuse poor performance after 3-6 months. I am saying that to expect extraordinary results right out of the gate is unrealistic. And it creates morale problems and a cutthroat culture that allows no room for learning or missteps.

If you set a high bar and expect everyone to reach it, then you also need to provide the tools and a pathway for your people to get there.

Results are what profitable businesses are all about. However, if results are your sole criteria for success, ask yourself if this is the
type of business culture and future you want your children to inherit.

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Do you want to motivate and lead your staff more effectively? My executive coaching services can help you hone your leadership skills and clearly define your goals and objectives.

Posted in Leadership Development | Tagged achieve goals, achieving goals, bosses, corporate coach new york, corporate coaching nyc, executive coach new york, executive coach nyc, executive coaching new york, executive coaching nyc, leadership coach nyc, leadership coaching new york, leadership coaching nyc, new york corporate search, new york leadership coaching, nyc corporate coach, nyc executive coaching, nyc professional development | Leave a comment

Achieve Goals with Conversations That Count

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Dale Kurow

Executive Coaching New York

In my executive coaching work, I’m often asked how I help people reach the next level and achieve their goals.

My simple response to that question is —

Make your conversations count.

Every conversation.

How flattered would you feel if an acquaintance you met once remembered not only your name but also details about what you said?

My guess is you’d feel flattered and impressed that your words were remembered. It’s a good feeling that you can create with your contacts if you stay in the present moment.

Achieving your goals necessitates interacting with other people — securing information or budgets, seeking guidance, brainstorming or making requests for connections with other people who might be helpful.

So, how do you make your conversations count?

Here are tips for having a dialogue that’s not soon forgotten:

Focus — All your energy, attention and eye contact on the other person. Shake hands with a firm grip and a genuine smile on your face and in your eyes. Listen intently so you recall details. Crystallize the key points in your mind and take notes afterwards. Then refer back to the comments, stories and suggestions the next time you connect.

Relax —People are attracted to those who are tranquil and calm. No matter the type of person you are speaking with — approach them as an equal and be yourself. They will want to be around you because you radiate confidence and are comfortable in your skin.

Prepare — You know the questions you want to ask, or you should. That’s a no-brainer. Beyond your questions, your prep work should consist of research that will show you care enough to know more than their name and title. Prepare one or two specific comments that would spark a dialogue.

Why are you speaking? — Ask yourself that question before you say anything. Are you truly listening and responding in the moment to what the other person is saying? Are you even present? Or are you wrapped up with what you are going to say next, so you can sound impressive? Too many of us are afraid of appearing stupid or insecure so we compensate by uttering words that have nothing to do with the topic at hand, or say too much. It’s much wiser to listen more, learn, and respond succinctly. Your words will have greater impact, and will be more meaningful, if you distill the information you share.

Expect Good Outcomes — Assume positive intent about people and situations. The tone of your voice and your choice of words will directly reflect your mental outlook. People gravitate towards upbeat and outgoing individuals, thus compounding the reason to stash away any negative thoughts.

Offer Your Help — Don’t wait until you send a follow-up email or card. Before the conversation ends, offer your assistance. If you’ve done your prep work, you might even offer help on a current project that is important to your contact.

You can achieve your goals if you upgrade the quality of your conversations. Charismatic people know this, and use the power of focus to draw people into their circle of influence by making everyone feel heard and respected.

Here’s a short and helpful article on having better conversations in the February issue of Fast Company. Read it here: http://www.fastcompany.com/3004491/how-toyes-and-your-way-better-banter

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Are you planning the steps to achieve your goals? That’s where I can help. Visit my executive coaching services page!

Posted in Success Strategies | Tagged achieve goals, achieving goals, corporate coach new york, corporate coaching nyc, executive coach new york, executive coach nyc, executive coaching new york, executive coaching nyc, leadership coach nyc, leadership coaching new york, leadership coaching nyc, new york corporate search, new york leadership coaching, nyc corporate coach, nyc executive coaching, nyc professional development | Leave a comment

The 5 Critical Conversations to Have With Your New Boss

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Dale Kurow

You’ve recently started a new job. You definitely feel like the new kid on the block – everyone is watching to see if you’ll succeed, if they can trust you, are you a pushover, etc.

There’s a mountain of work to be done and meetings to be scheduled. It’s difficult to know where to begin.

A word of advice: Begin with your new boss.

At the start of a new job, there’s no more important relationship to establish and nurture early on than the one with your boss.

Your first instinct may be to jump into the juggernaut of projects and tasks awaiting you. Fight that instinct. Otherwise you run the risk of getting overwhelmed immediately and will lose the chance to set direction and goals based upon your boss’s needs.

It’s your responsibility to reach out to your boss, to find out what you need to know and make the relationship work. Don’t expect your boss to reach out to you.

There are 5 critical conversations you need to have with your new boss. These conversations can be thought of as a dialogue that continues over several meetings.

The 5 conversations are:

1. Where does the business stand? Does your boss see this as a turnaround situation, a start-up, a re-organization, or is the goal to sustain success? Do you see this the same way your boss does? Discuss the challenges your business situation presents and the resources that are available.

2. What are your boss’s goals/vision? The most important question to pose to your boss is: How can I help you be successful? Pay attention to your boss’s priorities and aim for early wins in those areas.

3. How will your boss define your success? How will your success be defined in the short and medium term? How often will you receive feedback on your performance? If you feel the performance expectations are unrealistic, you will need to negotiate those parameters in future discussions.

4. What is your boss’s preferred method of communication? How does your boss want to receive communications from you— in person, in writing, quick emails, voicemails? How often? What types of decision does your boss want to be consulted on, and what decisions can you make on your own? Your boss’s answers to these questions will give you insight into his/her management style.

5. What resources are available to you? What resources does your boss think are critical to your success? This may consist of additional staff, budget or the backing of your boss to push through needed initiatives. Ask the questions now before circumstances dictate the outcome.

The information and direction you gather from these early meetings will be invaluable to your success. Use your best powers of persuasion with your boss and cite the ROI that will be realized by investing time in early conversations.

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Looking for an on-boarding plan to be successful in your first 90 days in a new position? Check out my executive coaching services.

Posted in Success Strategies | Tagged bosses, conversations, corporate coach, corporate coaching new york, corporate coaching nyc, executive coach new york, executive coaching, executive coaching nyc, supervisors | Leave a comment

Take Charge of Negotiating Your Salary

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Dale Kurow

salary negotiation During the interview process, do you know how to respond to the question about your salary expectations?

More importantly, how well do you handle salary negotiations?

As an executive coach, preparing my clients for interviews and for the salary expectation question is a topic at the top of the list.

The first hurdle you face is during the initial interview process. Have you felt the pressure to divulge your salary expectations and the trepidation that if you didn’t, you’d alienate the interviewer?

If so, here’s my suggested response:

“I’m really focused on discussing how my skills fit this position and how I can contribute to your organization. Salary is important to me, but not the major consideration. I’m sure you offer a competitive salary (what are they going to say– no?) and we can agree on a fair salary if you decide I’m the right person for the job.”

There are at least four good reasons to delay salary discussions:

1. You need to understand exactly what the job requirements are and the scope of the job’s responsibility, before you can intelligently discuss salary.

2. You need to know your market value (check out www.salary.com) and understand the value of the specialized expertise, training and contacts you bring to this position. For example, you may possess a rich database of contacts in a specific niche in your industry. You could consider adding thousands to your asking salary depending upon how valuable these contacts are to increasing your immediate contribution.

3. If you have determined that this job is a good match, you need to sell yourself to the interviewer beforehand, so that when you do reach salary discussion time, they are more willing to be flexible about your starting salary. Be sure to stress the experience you’ve had managing the challenges they face; discuss specific examples and your unique contribution, use facts and figures.

4. You need to know the additional benefits that you can negotiate if salaries are locked-in at set levels (this is usually applicable to government jobs). For example: sign-on bonus, percentage of performance bonus, earlier review cycle, stock options, expense account, car allowance, additional vacation, memberships in industry organizations, etc.

When you’re deciding about a big purchase (a house, for instance) don’t you shop around, deciding if the house meets your needs, comparing houses in the neighborhood, knowing the mortgage rates and negotiating for the best deal?

Of course you do.

Why would you do any less with salary negotiations?

Posted in Career Advancement Skills | Tagged job benefits, job interview, job requirements, negotiating salary, salary, salary discussion, salary expectations, salary negotiation | Leave a comment

Leadership Skills: Alliance vs. Relationship Building

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Dale Kurow

leadership skills As a leader, you need to tackle the right challenges in the right order. The level of distractions and demands upon your time can be daunting.

Even if you choose the right challenge at the right time, unless you have the leadership skills to push your agenda forward, you will be wasting valuable time.

Most leaders I work with as an executive coach possess intelligence, drive and know what their challenges are. The leadership skill we focus on is learning how to build alliances. Alliances are often confused with relationship building. They are two different animals.

There is no doubt that relationships in business are important. The more resources (such as a hefty contact list) you bring to any task, the easier your job will be. There’s nothing like speaking with a colleague who has faced and solved the issue you are now dealing with.

Some leaders possess highly attuned social skills and can easily deploy a charm offensive. That is sometimes enough to get people to like you. However, that’s not enough to change minds about important issues; or override longstanding agreements with other
people.

Alliance building requires more subtlety and more planning. It requires that you not only understand the issues, but also know each stakeholder’s agenda. leadership skills

First, you need to know who the chief influencers are and to whom they listen. You can spot the influencers by watching who defers to whom, where all the eyes go in the room when a question is asked and who has the ears of key senior deciders.

Once you have identified the chief influencers, then you need to determine what their interests are, what their agenda is and what they might be willing to trade, in order to help move your agenda forward.

It’s a matter of seeing beyond the intransient “no” you may initially receive and looking for an alternative solution that interests the influencer.

How do you find out what might interest the influencer? Speak to someone that s/he trusts. Once you have that information, you can move your plan forward in three ways:

Take small, incremental steps and build on those wins. Assuming you’ve won agreement in one area, use that as a starting point and add or trade up.
Carefully chose the first influencer you approach. If you can build an ally right out of the gate, one who is respected by other influencers, you will create a positive cycle that could bring others on board.
Schedule one-on-one meetings with influencers and their supporters, as well as group meetings. The sequencing of these meetings is important and should be determined by how many small wins you’ve secured and what allies are now with you. You need to have built a fair amount of consensus to make groups meetings successful.

This process is not straightforward, nor is a positive outcome guaranteed. Each situation is unique and requires careful planning, flexibility, and excellent leadership skills coupled with a correct reading of the situation every step of the way.

Make no mistake: the ability to move your agenda forward, which is integral to your success, will be measured by your leadership skill in building alliances.

Posted in Leadership Development | Tagged alliance building, leadership coaching, leadership development, leadership skills, professional development, relationships | Leave a comment

Six Smart Reasons to Update Your Resume for Promotion

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Dale Kurow

Update Your Resume

Executive Coaching NYC | New York Leadership Coaching | Corporate Coach Dale Kurow

You may wonder why you even need a resume to be considered for a promotion.
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Heck, you are applying for a promotion within the same company. They know you and what you can do. Right?
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Well, maybe not. With that assumption, you could very well be decreasing your chances to even be considered.
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Here are six reasons why it’s smart to update your resume from Dale Kurow, Executive Coach:

Don’t assume the HR department will have the time or desire to weed through and update your file. You may know all the good work you’ve done but hiring managers in other departments will not. So make sure the resume version they is not years old.
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Many companies require a current resume to even be considered for a promotion. It makes sense to have one ready to be at the front of the pack. Promotional opportunities often occur out of the blue; don’t compromise the quality of your resume submission by having to update your resume at the last minute.
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Who better than you to describe your outstanding accomplishments? What do you want your potential new internal boss to know about you? This may be your only chance to make a good first impression. Think about your finest accomplishment, and using bold type and numbers, describe what you did in the summary section at the top of the first page.
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Record your best accomplishments as they occur, when they are freshest in your mind and you have the numbers and facts handy. Use these points during your next performance review to bolster your case for a raise/promotion.
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The opportunity to employ company-specific language will strengthen your resume and your chance at an internal promotion. Besides using industry-specific language, company-specific language is even more important. For example, when I worked for Charles of the Ritz in the HR department, I was in charge of the PMIS (Promotable Manager Identification System) that was used company-wide and had immediate name recognition. Using the acronym PMIS on my resume provided an immediate indicator of the type and level of responsibility I held. It helped me secure my next promotion to Director of HR.
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Because company closings and downsizing’s are still happening, having an updated resume will keep you prepared for an unexpected event.
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Whether you update your resume for internal or external factors, it is the sign of a professional to prepare for the future and be able to quickly capitalize on opportunities.
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Want to position yourself for promotion? I can help. Take the next step here.

Dale Kurow is a leading executive coach in New York – you may contact her here

Posted in Career Advancement Skills | Tagged business coaching services, executive coach new york, executive coaching nyc, lisa kurow, update your resume | Leave a comment

Six Signs It Is Too Late to Save Your Job

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Dale Kurow

Is it too late to Save Your Job?

There’s nothing to equal the anxiety you feel when things are not going well at work. You take it home with you, lose sleep over it and it becomes your first waking thought.

I know; I’ve been there.

In my long career, I’ve experienced the highs of being promoted five times in one company and also the lows, when I was close to being fired.

Sometimes the anxiety is triggered by an unexpected remark by your boss or gossip repeated by your peers. Other times, it’s nothing overt, but still, you feel something is different, and not in a good way.

How do you tell if this is paranoia on your part or for real?

My advice to know the signs if it is too late to save your job?

Don’t wait until you are actually confronted by your boss. Look for signs early and often.
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Here are six signs it might be too late to save your job:-

Your boss never has time for you. I mean never. It’s been weeks since you had a conversation of more than a “yes” or “no. “ Further, there’s been a noticeable reduction in face time with him/her from what you previously enjoyed.
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The tenor and tone of the conversation with your boss changes. Remember the easy camaraderie and jokes you shared? Gone. Remember you use to be privy to inside information. History. Your boss’s tone is now terse and all business.
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The conversation stops when you walk into the room. Okay, maybe not everyone clams up. But you definitely notice that colleagues who used to smile and start a conversation with you no longer do.
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It’s been months since you’ve gotten feedback on your performance, good or bad. Most bosses hate to deal with performance problems. They avoid, post phone and hope the offending employee gets the message without having a confrontation. Perhaps your boss has even cancelled the scheduled performance review you put the calendar. Not a good sign so it could be too late to save your job.
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You are not included in important meetings. Maybe you fell off the distribution list for that management meeting? Maybe it was just an oversight? But if it happens more than once, and it’s a meeting that directly impacts your area of responsibility, take immediate notice.
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Lunch invitations trickle to nothing. It’s especially damaging if this happens with your bosses’ other direct reports, who you formerly would share lunch with. The political winds may have shifted, and now they are in the know and you are not.
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Be aware that changes in your boss’s behavior can occur when it has nothing to do with you. For example, your boss could have a new boss and the pressure has been ramped up. Or the company has a new focus, and your boss has much more responsibility.
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Those are all plausible reasons for some of the signs it could be too late to save your job above.

However, if most or all are occurring, the pink slip isn’t far behind.

Don’t wait until you can check off all six signs, get information today on how you can reverse it or be proactive and start looking for a job.

Explore your next step.
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Posted in Career Advancement Skills, Success Strategies | Tagged dodge the pink slip, save your job | Leave a comment

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