Helping a discouraged employee

An employee who has become discouraged will not perform at the level he or she is capable of achieving. In addition, they can begin to draw others down to their level. It is important for a manager to know how to recognize a discouraged employee and to know what to do to help them return to their former level of production.

How To Recognize A Discouraged Employee

There are many reasons an employee might be discouraged. The symptoms can be as varied as the causes. Here are a few of the signs you can use to help you identify a discouraged worker who might be at risk and in need of your help.

· They complain that work is not fun anymore

· They overreact to minor hassles and are easily irritated

· They complain about being overwhelmed

· They question the value of tasks they perform

· They are lethargic and often comment about feeling empty at
work

Find Out Why The Employee Is Discouraged

After you have identified discouraged employees, and before you can effectively help them, you have to find out why they are discouraged.
Sometimes they don't want to tell the boss, so you may have to be persistent or innovative. Sometimes they don't know themselves why they are so discouraged. Usually they try to hide it.

Here are some ways you can try to find out why the employee is discouraged.

· Ask them. Try to pick a quiet time. Keep it private.

· When they make a comment about the job, really listen. And try
to "listen between the lines". Listen for what they are saying, not just the words they say.

· Ask their colleagues. The other employees on your team may be
more aware of the condition and the reasons than you think.

· Ask the Human Resources (HR) Department to get involved.
Someone the employee sees as a neutral third party may be able to get more information than you can.

· In a severe case, refer the employee to your Employee
Assistance Plan (EAP) if your benefits plan includes one.

Helping The Discouraged Employee

The employee may be discouraged because of burnout, may suffer from a lack of confidence, or may have discouraging problems outside of work that are bleeding over into work hours. The cause will guide the steps you can take to help the employee, but here are some common suggestions.
· If they are burned out, and you can't reduce the load, try to
vary it. Give them different tasks or give them more latitude in how they do them.

· If they lack confidence (courage), give them tasks they can
do. Set them up with a couple of tasks that are challenging for them but not too difficult. Let them "win" a few.

· Encourage them to talk with you. This motivates them. It gives
them a safety valve for their frustrations. And it helps build their confidence.

· Don't be afraid to refer them to the EAP if they need
professional help. Your job is to keep them a productive member of the team, not cure potential mental health problems.

Preventing Discouraged Employees

Rather than discovering discouraged employees and figuring out the cause and cure for their condition, it is always preferable to prevent it when possible. Here are some things you can do proactively to reduce the likelihood of discouraged employees in your department.

· Keep them motivated. The bottom of this article contains links
to specific articles on this topic. If you keep them motivated, they won't get discouraged.

· Communicate openly and freely with your employees. Let them
know what is going on in the company and why. Let hem know why what they are doing is important and how it contributes to the overall success of the department and the company.

· Listen and keep listening. Listen to what the employees say
and what they don't say. Listen to what employees say about each other, about the job, about the company. Let them know you are listening and will take action on what you hear to the extent you can.

· Get out of your office and wander around. The best way to keep
employees from getting discouraged is to be among them. Yes, you have a lot to do and you need to be in your office working, but the time you spend out in the department, listening and observing, will more than make up for the effort it took.

Bottom Line

You can do a lot to prevent discouraged employees, but you can't prevent it completely. Be alert for symptoms of the problem and take action to help the employee as quickly as you can. It will benefit both the employee and the rest of the team.

By F. John Reh

Improving your interaction skills

Most people feel uncomfortable starting conversations with people they don’t know but did you know that many people feel equally uncomfortable having conversations in a non-work situations with people we know on the job? Some people always seem to be comfortable in every setting, on the work floor, in the meeting and in the company party.
Companies are always looking for individuals with “excellent interaction skills”, a talent that is equated with leadership and managerial skills. People with these skills have an advantage, they are more lively to get the deal done, gain favors from others and in a personal situation, they are likely to gain trust and develop loyal friendships.
If you don’t think you have this quality, here are a few pointers that can help you become more engaging, more memorable, more confident and more trustworthy.
Shake hands- Get in the habit of being first to stick out your hand to say hello or to introduce yourself. If an introduction always include your first and last name.
Remember names- This is an essential business skill. People love to be called by name. Find a technique to learn the names of people you meet

Take time to get to know others first. Remember, people don’t care about you until the know you care about them. We all have a tendency to want to tell others what we know rather that hearing the other person out. You can show your interest by having good eye contact, nodding your head, and by asking questions.
Smile -We often show our interest or lack of interest in meeting new people by our facial expression, but putting a smile on your face is powerful communications tool. Smiling transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, liking. If you smile frequently you will be perceived to be likable, friendly warm and approachable.
Body Posture- Standing erect but not rigid, and leaning slightly forward communicates that you are approachable receptive and friendly. Mirroring is a technique where you subtly mimic the other person’s physical behaviors. People send and receive non-verbal signals all the time and by mirroring the positive behaviors of the other person we are non-verbally showing our approval. Mirroring involves synchronizing your body language such as posture, gestures to match those of the person you are speaking. Ability to do this helps develops rapport and gain trust.
These few pointers can help you on the job and in social occasions. Get in the habit of finding one tidbit from the news that you can use to start any conversation and approach each communication interactions as an opportunity to learn something about someone you did not know.

Make Sure You Are Never Without a Job

Did you ever notice that there are certain people who have great jobs? People who are always working on a consistent basis, even in shaky industries and uncertain times? And then there are those who are either constantly unhappy in their careers or who go for long periods of time without work. They blame the world and wonder why bad luck always seems to happen to them.

You make your own luck. Your career is great when you focus on making it great. This means not waiting for things to happen, but making things happen instead. It means being proactive instead of reactive. Rather than blaming others, you are passionate about new possibilities. You are excited about what you do and what you contribute every day.

So, how do you make sure you are never without a job? Follow these five steps.

1. Tell Yourself That You Will Always Be Employed

What you say matters. Your words have power, meaning, and intention. When you tell yourself something bad will happen to your job, something bad will probably happen. If you tell yourself that you are marketable and confident and that you will always be working, your words can make this true.

2. Anticipate Trends In Your Industry

If your job is being eliminated or outsourced, you will want to know about it before you are in the room with the human resources person telling you that your job is going away. Research your industry. Know what's happening and what the experts say will happen. This way you can make informed decisions. Look for trends. When you find them, start to train yourself in these areas. Knowledge is power. Having the right skills at the right time ensures that no matter what is happening around you, you will be needed and employable.

3. Have An Updated Résumé

Your résumé showcases your skills and abilities to the world. It is a selling tool that outlines your unique qualifications so an employer can see, at a glance, how you can contribute to the employer's workplace. When you are looking for work, prospective employers know immediately whether or not you are a fit for a position. Even if you are not looking for work, your résumé reminds you of the contributions you make on a regular basis, something you can easily forget when you are immersed in the day-to-day. Whether you are looking for a job, or you already have one, an updated résumé is essential for your career.

4. Network On A Regular Basis

If you start to network only when you need something, you will have a lot of catching up to do. Therefore, network every day. Wherever there are people, there is an opportunity to network. You do not always have to go somewhere to network successfully. You can network within your own company. Are there opportunities for you? Ask people and find out. People are your best resource for information. Invite co-workers to lunch. Take the time to walk by someone's office to say hello.

In addition, who can you tap into outside of where you work? Every industry has an association. When is your industry's association meeting in your area? Check the date and go. Get involved in this group so more people can get to know you. That way, if something happens to your job, you'll have people to reach out to.

Lastly, send an e-mail to or call people you already know on a regular basis. If you are always keeping in touch, then you will not feel bad that you are bothering someone when it's time to reach out and ask for help.

5. Always Be On The Lookout For New Opportunities

Read trade publications. Read memos-not only from your area, but from others as well. Think about what you could be doing differently. Get your creative juices flowing. Think positively. Rather than thinking, "It cannot happen," believe that what you want is possible and is within your reach. Then, make it happen.

So, what do you say? You only have one life to live, so it might as well be a life you love!

6. Check www.boballenrecruiting.com for new job listings


By Deborah Brown-Volkman
Deborah Brown-Volkmann is the President of Surpass Your Dreams, Inc. a career and mentor coaching company that has been delivering a message of motivation, success, and personal fulfillment since 1998. We work with Senior Executives, Vice Presidents, and Managers, who are out of work or overworked, and Coaches who want to build profitable coaching practices. Deborah is also the author of "Coach Yourself To A New Career: A Book To Discover Your Ultimate Profession," a book that can be found on Amazon.com..

Job Interviewer-Prepare to test your interviewing skills

Just about everyone has figured out by now that when they go for an interview, they're likely to be asked by the hiring manager to talk about their strengths and weaknesses. And, most people also know they'll be quizzed about how their skills would be a good fit for the job.
But how many will be prepared to answer the question: "If you were a car, what type would you be?"
Welcome to the tough -- and often bizarre -- new world of job interviews.
"Because people are so much better prepared for interviews, they're getting asked some off-the-wall questions that let interviewers see how they react when caught off guard," says Lynne A. Sarikas, director of the MBA Center at Northeastern University in Boston.
While high-tech companies are credited with starting the new trend of creative interview questions, more companies are seizing the chance to try and rattle interviewees who often are armed with well-rehearsed answers. So, now job candidates can expect to hear something along these lines:
- If you could be any character in fiction, who would you be?
- If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play you?
-If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
-If you could compare yourself with any animal, which would it be and why?
-If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you be?
But if you claim you would be bleu cheese dressing rather than raspberry vinaigrette, are you really affecting your chances for getting a job?
"It's not about getting the right answer, it's about showing grace under pressure," Sarikas says. "They're looking for how you react in that unguarded moment -- just like if a customer would call with an unexpected question. They want to know whether you would be able to handle it, or fall apart."
Still, it can be daunting for interviewees to enter such an environment, where they're not sure if they're going to be able to answer such a question without drawing a complete blank or saying something completely inane.
"You can't possibly be prepared for all these types of questions," Sarikas says. "But practice, so that you get a feel for them. Don't be afraid to take a deep breath before answering, but they are expecting some kind of response. You won't be able to say you need to go collect data and then get back to them. They're trying to see what your initial reaction is
In addition to the creative questioning, interviewees also should be prepared for thought-process questions, such as: "How many cars would you expect to see parked in the parking lot of the local grocery store at 10 a.m. on a Monday morning in January?"
Such questions are used so the candidate has to talk about population assumptions in the area, the number of competitors, shopping trends for the month and day of the week. While not all job candidates will be asked such a question, it's more common for hiring managers to look for ways to get an interviewee to demonstrate thought processes and recognize that appropriate data is required.
At the same time, hiring managers may use behavioral interview questions, such as: "Describe a situation you feel you should have handled differently" or "What is the most stressful situation you have handled and what was the outcome?"
Sarikas says that there are some ways that job candidates can prepare for the tough and unexpected questions:
-Be very well-prepared to answer common questions such as "why did you leave your last job?" so that you are more confident and at ease when the tough ones come along.
-Think about situations in your life that you can apply to many of the same questions, especially when it comes to behavioral issues.
- Have several questions prepared in advance to ask an interviewer. Do not ask about salary or benefits, but rather about the organization's culture or long-term goals for the job and/or department.
- Create a bond with the interviewer. "So, what you do like most about working for this company?" or "Why did you start working for this employer and what has been your career path?" allows you to hear a personal story that helps you find common interests.

By Anita Bruzzese

Things recruiters do without knowing.....

by Reut Schwartz-Hebron

After years of interviewing and hundreds, if not thousands, of opportunities to practice, you are an expert when it comes to sensing who is sitting right in front of you. You are so good at it that sometimes you surprise yourself with how quickly you pick up on things about candidates inside and outside of an interview session.

That's intuition and, if it's built on a feedback loop, it's one of the best tools at your disposal when you need to identify traits and uncover delicate and important factors such as authenticity and flexibility.

The difficult part is that you can't share this type of knowledge with new recruiters. Intuition and other automatic and subconscious thinking patterns (yes, intuition is a thinking pattern) often seem out of reach, and we assume the only way for people to learn them is to go through a learning process similar to the one we had to go through ourselves.

There are certain things we can't trace and, hence, we can't teach. We can't trace the values we assign certain behaviors. When you notice a certain behavior during an interview and you instantly have a value assigned to that behavior (say you notice the candidate drumming his or her fingers on the table and you instantly know it is a sign of resistance to authority) the value-assigning part is out of our reach. You don't know why you interpret a certain behavior in a specific way; if someone asked you to explain most of these conclusions, you probably wouldn't know what to tell him. But, what you are actually doing is a lot more than assigning value to a specific behavior. Your mind is noticing gesture, tone of voice, and combining those and other clues to produce a conclusion.

We can't teach new recruiters which values to assign. Though there are many theories that try, the result is a long list of combinations which, even if we put validity aside, are too numerous to remember and apply. But we can teach recruiters where to look for signs and how to practice combining them. Though experience and feedback loops are indispensable, knowing where to look cuts the learning curve dramatically.

Here are seven techniques you are probably using without knowing:

1. Make the Most out of the Resume. Expert interviewers prepare well. They read and re-read a candidates' resumes, treating these documents like a detective would a crime scene: Anything can be a clue, but nothing is valid until it is supported by concrete evidence. They look at the resumes for anything that could be even slightly off, and they assign meaning to the length of the sentences, the richness of the language, the use of space on the page, repeated words or themes, and much more. Expert recruiters build the most unsympathetic theories as they read through a resume, but they stay clear of coming to any conclusions.
2. Use Introspection as a Mirroring Technique. Introspection is often used by experts to identify areas that need attention. By assessing their own reaction to the candidate's behavior, interviewers can pinpoint manipulations of different kinds. If, for instance, a candidate is triggering a protective response in the interviewer, the interviewer (alerted by his or her own emotional response) can track back the behavior or response that triggered the reaction and assign it meaning.
3. Peruse Emotional Triggers. We are most authentic, exposing our basic assumptions and values, when we are emotional. Any reaction that is off balance, and that includes an excess of positive or negative response (you are just as emotionally vulnerable when your team wins as when your team loses), falls into this category. Experienced interviewers notice emotional responses and follow their paths with additional questions that intensify emotions to asses the candidate's evasive values, attitudes, and basic assumptions.
4. Collect Contradictions. Anything that might seem like a contradiction that comes up through context or content is a great place to dig. When candidates have seemingly contradicting areas of interest or have invested time in contradicting efforts, expert interviewers pick up on that and ask for interpretations. The same principle applies to content, when things that have been said earlier could be interpreted as being contradictory to things that are being said now. It's not so much the explanation that interests experts, but the way in which the response is presented. The response is a great telling sign about abilities like handling criticism, working with authority, accepting ambiguity, and much more.
5. Collate Repetitions. Certain behaviors mean very little by themselves, but put together with other behaviors, when a pattern is created, they are very indicative of a personal of professional trait. Let's look back at the example of drumming on the table. That behavior, if interpreted by itself, could mean many things. It could, in fact, mean the exact opposite of a defiant candidate and indicate insecurity and shyness. How did you know it was one and not the other? You looked at one behavior and created a pattern.
6. Look for Core Reasons. Direct answers are often just the beginning of a long discovery trail. An effective interview feels more like a conversation to the candidate because the interviewer is focusing and stretching the understanding of the candidate's basic assumptions through a certain example. Most soft skills can be located in pretty much any discussion, and as the interviewer asks core questions like why, the answers become more revealing.
7. Detach Yourself of Your Own Emotional Limitations. Like therapists or anthropologists, interviewers must know how to leave their own imbalances and limitations outside the interviewing room. To interview well means to have control of the emotional responses you are trying to elicit. I know recruiters and managers who build up tension and as soon as they feel they made the candidate uncomfortable, they back away and try to soften the blow. That, of course, requires your new interviewers to be aware of their own limitations, but they'll master this knowledge a lot faster if they know what to look for.

All of these techniques are expert skills that can easily be taught to a novice. All you need to do is provide practice, coupled with a feedback loop. If you can do that, mastery will come about faster than you could ever imagine

Body Language during the interview

Make Sure You ‘Fit In’ One of the key questions in the mind of the interviewer will almost certainly be ‘Will this person fit in?’ Therefore, if you are perceived as being a good fit with the prevailing corporate style and culture you will be strengthening your case. Here again, what you wear can have a disproportionate effect on the interviewers perception. So, you might be wondering how you can predict what to wear in order to fit in. It is actually remarkably easy to get information about the prevailing corporate style. If they have a website, visit this and see if there any pictures of people at work (but do be aware that some organizations use library pictures for this). Alternatively, try getting hold of a copy of the annual reports. Another useful tactic can be to visit the site at the start, middle or end of the working day and observing the prevailing dress code of the staff as they come and go; before assembling a smart version of this for yourself; ahead of the interview.Recognizing Physiological ResponsesWhen you attend an interview, you are likely to notice one or more of the following: Firstly, your temperature is likely to increase and you may notice that you have sweaty palms, that you feel slightly flushed and maybe even clammy. Secondly, adrenaline may be pumped into your system and this may make you feel shaky. Thirdly, your respiration rate is liable to increase and this may make you feel stressed and panicky.Finally, nervous energy may cause you to consume body sugar with the result that your mouth starts to feel dried out. These effects - increased temperature, shakiness, panic, stress and a dry mouth can interact to make you feel extremely nervous, uncomfortable and tongue tied. However, research has shown that they are not necessarily signs of fear but may indicate that you are gearing up to perform. Many entertainers, public speakers and competitive sports people report the same four symptoms immediately prior to performing - often before giving the best performance of their lives. In the context of an important interview that is precisely what you should be aiming to do. Therefore, recognizing the symptoms for what they are shouldn’t panic you, as they may well enable you to perform better on the day.Positive Visualization The subconscious mind works on past experiences, hopes and fears. In being apprehensive ahead of an interview it is easy for your sub-conscious to focus on negative outcomes and thereby magnify your concerns. If you concentrate on your own nervousness then you will be drawing this to the attention of the interviewer and the impact of your message will be weakened. If you become aware that the interviewer is observing your nervous state this can serve to heighten your self-consciousness. Before the interview, you should try to visualize an enthusiastic interviewer; who is reacting positively to your responses. Picture yourself delivering a clear and interesting presentation; admit to yourself that you may be nervous but that you are going to use this in a positive way. Remember that the interviewer is not your adversary and they are not attending the interview in order to pull you apart. Their interest lies in what you might say and show them. If you keep your responses focused on the message and try to relax then they will be able to concentrate on taking your message on board.
Overcoming Negative ThoughtsYou may be convinced that they have formed an unfavorable first impression of you. Ignore this thought. Professional interviewers and other managers are increasingly trained to overcome their initial reactions and to apply more scientific interview techniques. Even if you have stumbled and made a weak first impression you can turn their opinion round, so keep working hard at making the right impression throughout the remainder of the interview. The first impression is important; but always approach the interview in a holistic manner, you are a winner and you are there to win!Aspects of Body LanguageBody language is a very important part of any communication. It will be analyzed by the interviewer; even if they are unaware of this at the conscious level. A brilliantly prepared interview delivered in an interesting voice will fall well short of the mark if accompanied by negative, intrusive or hostile body language. There are three main aspects of body language that you should consider: what to do with your eyes, what your facial expressions indicate and the positioning and movement of your torso and limbs.MirroringIn any intimate communication there is a natural tendency to mirror the pose and position of the person you are talking to, and this behavior tends to result in a more relaxed and agreeable atmosphere. You can help to put the interviewer at ease by being aware of this and making a positive but subtle effort to mirror their body language. The concept of mirroring is based on the well-known human trait of like attracting like. People generally like people that appear to be similar to them. Therefore, by observing the interviewers body language and reflecting this back at them they are likely to feel more at ease and friendly towards you. An individual’s facial expression, tone of voice, body posture and movement often convey a world of detail about what they are thinking and feeling and how they are reacting to what you are saying. The effective use and interpretation of body language communication will help you to identify subtle aspects of the interviewer’s attitudes and reactions. This understanding and interpretation of body language is a key component of intelligent listening.
Maintaining LPMAs most interviews are held with both parties seated it is important to convey a positive message in the way you sit. In particular, this comes down to the placement of your arms and legs. With the upper limbs the guideline is that the less a person moves their hands and arms, the more powerful they are. This supports the view that they are used to people listening to them and they therefore do not have to resort to gesticulation to get their point across. The technical term for this is Low Peripheral Movement, or LPM. When being interviewed, maintain LPM and you will make a more impressive impact with your interviewer. Try to keep your hands lower than your elbows; rest them on the arms of the chair, your thighs or even make a low steeple with the fingers of both hands.How to Sit at InterviewThe everyday seating position, with legs crossed high-up is not suitable for the interview setting because in this intimate context it actually conveys a defensive attitude. Your legs need to convey confidence and there are two key positions that can communicate this - the low cross or athletic position. The athletic position is where one leg is brought under your chair so that only the toe of that shoe is in contact with the floor. The other leg is firmly planted on the floor, parallel with the direction of the chair, with the entire sole of that shoe on the floor. This is a powerful position, conveying a readiness for action. The athletic position is often not suited to female clothing and here the low cross position, where the legs are kept together and crossed at the ankles is often the best option. Effective Eye ContactThe face shown below has a shaded area that indicates the correct target zone for positive eye contact. Looking anywhere within this shaded zone represents positive eye contact. Think about where else you might be tempted to look at someone’s face during a conversation; which area of the face do you think would cause the most discomfort to the person being looked at? Looking at someone’s face anywhere outside of the triangular target zone is likely to cause some degree of embarrassment. However, the no-go zones shown are both associated with strong adverse reactions.Zone A represents the intimate zone and by moving just a fraction below the base of the target triangle you will enter it. When this happens people typically react by feeling that the other person is staring at them, or that the observer looks shifty.Zone B represents a dominant zone and by looking at the forehead of another person you are likely to invoke a reaction that you appear to be arrogant, that you are staring straight through them or more commonly that you are talking down at them.As well as understanding how to make positive eye contact it is also important to ensure that you do maintain this form of communication even if the interview does not appear to be going as well as you had hoped. If this is the case you will need all of the help you can muster to get the interview back on track and maintaining the correct amount of positive eye contact may help to do this. Eye contact with the interviewer is an essential part of the interview process. Without it they will feel remote from you and are unlikely to relate to one another, or what you are saying in a meaningful way. Not many people realize how important eye contact is, or how sensitive people are to it. Eye contact should be a positive form of body language communication, but if it is not used correctly it can easily become negative.
Instigating Eye ContactUnderstanding where to look to make positive eye contact is only part of the story. You also need to know how and when to use this non-verbal communication. The amount of eye contact you make should differ fundamentally depending on whether you are in the role of speaker or listener. It is in the role of listener that you should instigate more eye contact and hold it for longer periods of time. It supports your role as an attentive listener, whereas overusing eye contact when speaking may appear a demand for the interviewer to pay attention. As a speaker holding eye contact initially for 5 to 10 seconds and after that using it in an intermittent way is ideal. This way you do not appear to be lecturing or hectoring and the listener does not feel that they are being challenged to a staring contest. It is normal for the listener to maintain eye contact for longer than the speaker who will typically break off and then revisit this form of contact as they are speaking. Eye contact when used positively can be a very effective form of non-verbal communication. However, excessive or inappropriate eye contact will prevent you establishing a good relationship with your interviewer.

How to spot a Leader

By Ram Charan
Leadership is predicated on the ability to mobilize others to accomplish a vision, a goal, or a task. Leaders can't do everything; they get other people to do things through managing. They increase their capacity -- the ability to get more done -- through delegation combined with a methodology for ensuring follow-through. They set expectations, get the best people to do what needs to be done, and oversee the relationships among them to ensure that destructive or self-interested behaviors don't subvert the group's common purpose.
You know you've discovered a leader with people acumen when you see evidence that the person selects the right people and motivates them, gets them working well as a team, and is able to diagnose and fix problems in coordination and social relationships among groups of people.
Real leaders, I have found, exhibit an enthusiasm for selecting people who are better than they are -- whether or not they have worked with them before -- and then using those subordinates to lift the organization and themselves to new levels of accomplishment. They motivate their people and develop them as conditions change, retaining those who advance the business and having the courage to deselect with dignity those who don't. Such leaders show a repeated pattern of accurately identifying other leaders' talents, helping them flourish, or easing them into other jobs where their talents fit better. You can often identify a true leader because the people working under that person are of high caliber, are energized, and have a natural affinity for the leader and want to see him or her succeed.
Leaders with people acumen get the most out of their people by setting clear goals, then giving feedback and coaching judiciously to help achieve them. Most use some kind of performance indicators (the term I use is key performance indicators, or KPIs) that not only measure progress in quantitative terms but also influence behaviors. A KPI may be as simple as the percentage of customer calls answered in the first minute or may be as broad as corporate profitability measured against competitors. They watch for problems that might get in the way of achieving the KPIs and don't hesitate to give people unvarnished feedback. They are keen judges of when someone is not up to the task and don't back off from making the hard decision to replace him. Many people who think they're leaders are terribly uncomfortable and indecisive in the realm of personalities, even when they have the insight into who and what needs coaching. Some have a deep-rooted need to be liked that compromises their judgments of people.
Anyone can improve his or her ability to select and develop people's talents, but other aspects of people acumen are hard to teach. Leaders with people acumen have good instincts to anticipate problems among individuals who must work together and to get them resolved. They size up the group dynamics and pinpoint simmering conflicts, then draw them to the surface to unblock the group's progress. They intervene when they detect behavior that disrupts the working of the group. These leaders are fearless where many people are unconsciously concerned that if they try to change the group dynamics, they'll be cut apart or ignored and lose face.
Social acumen also manifests itself in network building. Leaders who possess it are not loners or bookworms. They have an innate desire to work with diverse people and naturally cultivate a broad range of social networks that permeate the company, including subordinates, peers, and superiors. As these leaders develop their social acumen, their networks often extend beyond the business to include customers, suppliers, regulators, politicians, and various interest groups. The relationships tend to be durable because they are built on trust, and that trust allows information to flow both ways, exposing the leader to new ideas and different ways to see things. The social networks also allow him or her to energize and synchronize people's energy and actions and to do a better job managing a crisis than would otherwise be the case.

Ram Charan is the author or coauthor of many bestselling business books, including What the CEO Wants You to Know and Execution. For more than thirty-five years, he has worked behind the scenes at Fortune 100 companies like GE, Bank of America, DuPont, Thomson financial, Honeywell and Home Depot to help senior executives develop and implement strategic plans.