How Working With Children is a Good Way to Improve Your Leadership Skills
For me to write a blog article I have to be excited and energized about a specific topic. This passion generally comes from a specific topic or something happening in my business or personal life. Both my business and personal life are full because I am a unit leader, husband, parent and coach. As much as I learn from my experiences in business, I learn equally as much working with children in sports. It is amazing to me how many parallels you see between the two. The interesting part of coaching is that you see the immediate impact of your decisions. This is not just in the outcome of the score board, but from the fact that children often speak quite openly and have a harder time masking their disappointments or frustrations.
I have coached many teams both for competitive and recreational clubs. During this time I have witnessed that coaches have very different leadership styles that create varying results and cultures.
One coach may use a truly authoritarian style while another mixes authoritarian and participative style. Now I must point out the authoritarian style works when dealing with some children at this stage in their development (remember a leader’s style should suit a follower’s readiness). That being said, when you lead you must adjust to other people in the organization to be truly effective (in this case team managers and assistant coaches). However the type of leadership style you utilize is only one factor as you must also consider how the message is delivered to your group.
While I believe strong organizational skills and procedures are important, how we develop and work with people is more important in long term success. Let us for example say one coach is highly organized and utilizes every moment with the kids. This style brings practices that are quite focused. However, if the delivery method the coach uses is negative than the long term impact on the team may also be negative. Negativity may include pointing out errors a specific player makes or the coach may even create a nickname to reinforce the message. This form of reinforcement would be considered bullying if it was between children but some coaches believe that it is motivating when coming from a person in authority, this is also true of some managers in the workplace.
Now if we compare this to a second coach who may lack some organization in how they prepare for a night’s practice, and ask for input from assistant coaches or even some players. While some might think this is a lack of confidence, the person is actually trying to run a flat organization. While the practices are not as effective in this manner, the coach does improve the player’s skills by pointing out a player who has just performed a particular drill with excellence.
So how may these two differing styles impact each team? Well, short term the team whose coach runs the highly organized practice will most likely see immediate success in winning the first few games, while the other team may lose. Does this result support that style more? I would say definitely not. After the first team continues to get negative feedback, players and parents will becomes discouraged and may give up on the team or worse the sport all together. The other team however, although losing to begin with, will remain positive about their overall play and the players themselves will continue to work harder to improve. I have seen this happen first hand on different occasions and based on history, the long term results for the positive coach’s team will typically be stronger.
These practices can also be applied to business leadership. A leader must adjust their style to their group’s skills, abilities and engagement. A leader must also realize that a particular group may need different leadership styles based on different tasks. It is part of effective leadership to understand and adjust to the group or individual’s needs.
More important to that is how you deliver your message. I am not going to say that you must always utilize positive support to address change. That would be impossible as certain actions do need to be addressed and corrected from time to time. This style however should be only used occasionally.
There are two very good reasons to adopt this leadership adaptation style. The first is simply that people react better when treated with dignity and respect and they will want to follow you. You will most certainly see the impact of this in your results. The second is that if you have to be strict it will be much more effective if used when only absolutely necessary. People with constant negativity are eventually tuned out, but when someone who is typically positive becomes upset it causes everyone to stop and pay attention. Above all do not use nicknames or be disrespectful. Even when a leader feels they must utilize an autocratic approach, this can still be done in a professional manner.
It is amazing what children can teach us in all aspects of our lives. I know coaching youth teams has made me a better leader.
Cheers,
Lorne
Market Matters
The new issue of Outokumpu’s Market Matters is available. Downloaded it here
Happy Unofficial Start to Summer
With Canada’s Victoria day last weekend, the United States’ Memorial Day and multiple European banking holidays yesterday, we have entered the unofficial start of summer. So what does that mean for the economy and projects?
Here are some articles with insights that look both short and long term:
Economy still moving despite European situation
How the summer season impacts the economy
G8 submit on the impact if Europe does fail
So while we all want to think of relaxing by the water and enjoying the lazy days of summer, perhaps this is the best time for business. Hope you and your company make the most out of this summer season before it passes us all by.
Cheers,
Lorne
Bottom Up Business Model: The Way of the Future?
Recent job cuts by the federal government hit the nation’s capital region hard, as did the high tech meltdown in 2002, the global economic flop in 2008, and the death of Nortel in 2009. This brings to the forefront the stability of the business ecosystem in both the public and private sector. It wasn’t that long ago when all I knew was that the public sector was the way of the future and the cash for life route, times are changing and the entrepreneurial bug within and strong minded personalities need to shine through. Stimulating our local economy will always have an effect on what the big man decides to impose on his government’s decisions and inevitably affect thousands of family’s nations wide. So this raises the question: is the top-down business model the way of the future, or would the contrast allow for a more dependable economy?
Gaining input from all levels of employees virtually doesn’t exist in a top down organization model; this is the case with the public service. This structure allows for a certain level of control yet very little input. In contrast, a bottom up business model looks to generate ideas from the vast brainpower you are buying into by paying salaries, using all your resources so to speak, in developing your company’s mechanisms to reach your goals. This can reap benefits by giving a sense of morale and ownership in the overall direction of the company, and be a huge strategic player in keeping doors open into new markets. The bottom up model demonstrates an understanding of the probable markets and is key to market development; it welcomes advice from potential customers as well as experts which can reduce the risk and the cost of failures.
Some food for thought on this Friday afternoon!
Cheers,
Stuart
Tubular Selection Tools to Help
This week we wanted to provide information on our core business – Tubular Products.
Here are some helpful tools for purchasers and engineers.
Working Pressure Calculator for Pipe and Fittings
These tools are meant to increase your efficiency when designing or choosing the materials needed for a project build. These helpful apps and more can be found on the OSTP web portal
Cheers,
Lorne
Can We Still Be Innovative Through Social Media
We thought this article was appropriate in-light of today’s IPO from Facebook.
Social Media is no longer considered cutting edge and has now become part of our daily personal and professional lives. Those individuals that brag they do not use these forms of connectivity such as Twitter, Facebook or even simply texting fail to see how they are the same people who bragged they did not have a phone in 1920 or a cell phone by 2000. So, how can the use of these tools seem innovative?
In our industry we can see that the majority of companies have some basic social media tools such as a website and perhaps a LinkedIn company page. Then further down the social media chain you go, you may see a few other tools like online pricing or inventories and YouTube pages for marketing such as this one:
http://www.youtube.com/user/outokumpuoyj?feature=results_main
While these are good examples of the basic deployment of social media tools I question whether we are getting a full utilization for our industry. As an example of how we could be missing, in our industry engineers are primary in the decision making process for alloy grades, material thickness and configuration. It would seem to me that the more ways to connect on the engineer’s level the better branding and penetration you would have. Social Media tools like mobile Apps and other means that help this key demographic in the decision making process would be tools that can enhance their daily works, especially for a group that is so attached to these tools. Yet we like many other “mature” industries we lag behind in these forms of marketing platforms.
So this to me answers yes, utilization of social tools could still be considered innovative. Innovation does not always mean invention, but can also mean how you can utilize an old invention in a new way or new industry.
Other ways social media could be innovative is to use them in new ways that others have missed altogether. Here is a look at the top 5 innovative ways PR firms used social media in 2011 according to Mashable
There is a lot of opportunity for companies to still be innovative in this rather young form of communication and advertising, the opportunity is even greater in mature industries. In those mature markets being a leader may just be enough to increase your branding and in the long run loyalty to the customer.
Cheers,
Lorne
Like this:
How 7 Top Brands Are Using Facebook’s New Ad Tools
This Friday we will be asking the question on whether utilization of social media is still considered innovative. In light of the upcoming topic we have re-blogged this article from Social Plus One
http://socialplusone.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/how-7-top-brands-are-using-facebooks-new-ad-tools/
On Leap Day 2012, Facebook gathered all its marketing executives in New York City for a coming-out party of sorts for a slew of new ad products. To people outside the industry, the promise of new initiatives might appear a bit on the dull side. But for advertisers, anything that Facebook does for advertising is of interest.
Among the products Facebook introduced were Premium on Facebook, Reach Generator, Offers and Logged Out ads. The company also asked brands to embrace a paradigm shift from advertising to “Stories,” Facebook’s preferred term for brand-related messages. Since that time, a few big brands have experimented with the new tools.
Here are a few examples or, if you prefer, Stories. Is there a standout brand campaign that you enjoy? Let us know in the comments.
1. Premium Ads: Tide
The Procter & Gamble detergent brand Tide turned a PR event into advertising in March. The program started when officials used Tide to clean up the chemical residue on a racetrack after a big fire at a NASCAR course in March. Tide’s program, which included outreach on Twitter, public relations and search, also leaned heavily on Facebook’s Premium ad products. Tide used the format to draw attention to the brand’s role in the incident. As with other Premium ads, the status update went out across the network, but it was especially focused on Tide fans and friends of Tide fans. If you or your friend interacted with the Tide brand page, then you might have seen it in your News Feed.
Tide’s initial post was a link to a Business Insider article about the event, which included photos of people hauling boxes of Tide to the scene. Tide used Premium on Facebook to blast the post and further boosted engagement with a post asking fans to fill in a caption for a photo of workers cleaning up the mess.
Facebook says that the NASCAR ad had a 62% higher engagement rate than previous ads the brand has run. The premium buy also got the post in front of 1 million people, more than doubling the usual reach of a Tide post. (Tide has close to 2.8 million fans, but only a portion see a post at any given time.) Sarah Pasquinucci, external relations manager for North American fabric at P&G, says the brand has experimented with other premium posts but can’t say how they perform versus standard Facebook ads. “We’re always looking to reach consumers in the right place at the right time in the right way,” she adds.
2. Premium and Logged Out Ads: Subway
Subway used the new Premium and Logged Out ads on Facebook to highlight spokesman Blake Griffin. The sandwich chain ran an update that featured a video with fun outtakes of Blake on the log-out screen and used the Page ad unit to promote it. People interacted nearly 1 million times with the ads and video, which hit nearly 500,000 plays. As a result, Subway’s reach during the week-long campaign increased tenfold.
Tony Pace, the SVP and CMO of the Subway Franchisee Advertising Trust Fund, says the brand takes a “test and learn” approach to Facebook advertising and jumped at the opportunity to do something different. Pace says the Stories, in this case, performed better than his expectations and were a good way to reward fans without alienating consumers.
“People who are really into our brand are surprisingly happy to get lots of content from us,” he says. “This was a good way of rewarding folks that want to see a lot from us.”
Pace says the Logged Out ad did well because the content was compelling. “If people are logging out, they probably don’t want to spend more time there unless it’s something really interesting,” he says.
3. Reach Generator: Ben & Jerry’s and Dr Pepper
The Unilever-owned ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s took advantage of Reach Generator to make sure all its fans got the latest updates. Reach Generator is designed to expose fans to updates they might not otherwise see. As Facebook noted back in February, the typical post on a brand site only reaches 16% of fans. With Reach Generator, Ben & Jerry’s hit 98% of fans during a 28-day period and saw twice as much engagement. Another early adopter of Reach Generator, Dr Pepper, hit 83% of its 8 million U.S. fans over a 28-day period and saw a 140% jump in “People Talking About This” (PTAT) with the tool.
4. Offers: Einstein Bros. Bagels and Chili’s
Einstein Bros. availed itself of another new Facebook ad product, Offers, with a buy-one-get-one offer from Feb. 29 through March 4. Some 32,000 people (out of 690,000 fans) took the chain up on its offer, and Einstein Bros. logged a “significant” spike in PTAT during that time.
Offers is an evolution of “Check-in Deals,” a mobile-only Facebook product. With Offers, consumers can redeem the deals on their desktop or mobile, since they live on a Brand Page.
Meanwhile, Chili’s ran an Offers promotion offering a free appetizer or dessert with an entree purchase for three days. The chain, which has 1.9 million Facebook fans, saw 433,773 people claim the offer — around 20% of whom were on Facebook. About 30% of redemptions also came from Facebook, which is about three times higher than average.
5. Logged Out Ads: Ford
Ford tried its hand at a Logged Out ad on March 20. The video, a Mustang commercial, got more than 1 million plays and boosted Ford’s PTAT that day by 180%. Thomais Zaremba, digital marketing manager at Ford, says she wasn’t sure that people would stick around to watch an ad when they were logging out, but many did. “I was surprised,” she says, noting that the number of people who log out every day — 40 million — was way more than she thought.
Zaremba hasn’t tried another Logged Out ad since, but plans to. Says Zaremba: “We’re always interested in testing new spaces.”
By: Todd Wasserman
