VIDEO OF THE MONTH: "Leading with Integrity: Lessons in Leadership with Traci Morrow"
From the 2014 Team Beach Body Leadership Conference, founding Top Coach Traci Morrow shares how to have longevity in leadership by having longevity of integrity.
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: "What Does Team Player Really Mean?"
"Team player" is probably one of the biggest buzzwords in HR and recruiting. In 9 out of 10 job descriptions, you will find the requirement of being a team player. Managers want to have true team players on their team. Strong team player skills are used in performance reviews. But, what does being a team player really mean? Yes, a team player performs well in a team, but if we break that down, what does it really consist of?
A good team player communicates constructively.
Great team players are not afraid to express their opinion and ideas but do so with respect and in a positive, confident manner.
A good team player is transparent and shares openly.
Good team players share the information, knowledge and experience they have and take the initiative to keep the rest of the team informed. Good team players don't keep important information to themselves just so they can individually progress. They don't consider information as power.
"The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You" by Julie Zhou -Book Reviewed by TLP Cohort #6 Member
This book is a great read in "Field Guide" format, with small morsels as chapters for today's short attention span.
The key leadership lessons I learned from the book were:
There are four common routes that someone takes to becoming a new manager: the Apprentice, the Pioneer, the New Boss, and the Successor.
For a New Boss who is coming in to manage an already established team, one should try and take advantage of the fact that people cut you some slack in the beginning. You also start with a blank slate in reputation, identity, and communication style.
For New Bosses, "It takes a while to adjust to the norms of a new environment," which makes this a great opportunity to learn through questions and not opinions.
New Bosses have a hurdle to climb when it comes to establishing and building new relationships with the entire team. Not throwing strong opinions around during the adjustment and spending more time learning can ease the disruptiveness of the change in leadership to the team.
Lastly, "You don't know the job and what it takes." Make sure you communicate this with your manager and not just your reports (a term the author uses when referring to subordinate staff) to define expectations and goals to work towards, but also to identify areas where inputs and coaching from your manager would be needed to be successful.
I would recommend this book to my other Cohort members.
Final Capstone Project
Attention Members of TLP Cohort #6:
Just a reminder to submit your final capstone project to Donna for approval. She is very happy to help you with your topic development if needed and can share examples of topics from former TLP Cohorts. Drop her an email at: donna.shea@uconn.edu.
A tip from TLP Alumni who have come before you: "Don't wait until the last minute to work on your TLP Capstone Project — trust us on this one, Donna will know."
We Want to Hear From You!
Have you been promoted or started a new position? Have you completed a project that you and your crew have been working on for many months? Have you been honored with an award?
Whatever the milestone, it's worthy of a celebration and should be shared. We want the hear from you. Contact Regina Hackett with your good news!
"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."
-John F. Kennedy
2019 Training Opportunities
NOW AVAILABLE
We will continue to update the schedule with dates and locations, so check in with us regularly.
