The question about what it takes to be a good team player keeps coming up in my coaching practice with executives and leadership teams. I think this largely reflects the fact that you, as well as the majority of corporate employees, likely belong to one or more teams.

Out of the large amount of literature available on this subject, I continue to leverage the three qualities outlined in The Ideal Team Player book by Patrick Lencioni, explained by him in a recent TEDx talk. They resonate well with my own observations both as a coach and, before that, as a corporate executive.

1. Be humble. I find team members struggle the most with this quality. It’s hard for them to admit their mistakes, ask for help, and give praise to others. Corporate cultures tend to reward individual over collective accomplishments, which makes it hard to show your vulnerabilities. However, being humble is a choice you can make and, for those of you who lead teams, you can role model.
   
2. Be hungry. I find elements of this virtue in most successful executives. They are willing to go the extra mile to deliver results above expectations. However, the challenge I see is how to demonstrate this passion and personal responsibility not only for their individual objectives, but also for the greater good of the team.  
   
3. Be people-smart. This is about active listening and showing empathy for other team members. It’s also about treating others the way they want to be treated.

As an executive, team leader or member, you have a choice to make when working within a team: Operate as an individual, or truly work as a team player. If it’s the latter, consider role-modeling these three qualities. You will deliver better results and your team will likely follow suit.

Let me know if you would like to schedule a free consultation call to discuss how I can coach you or your employees to achieve better team results or to improve other leadership and management skills.

Percy M. Cannon

Podcast: Download

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In today’s episode you will learn how to add value to your Direct Reports by understanding what each one of them needs from you.
I invite you to become a manager-coach. It’s one of the key choices you can make, whether you have recently moved from an Individual Contributor role to a corporate manager, or if you’ve been a manager for a few years. Seek to understand what your Direct Reports want from you, commit to helping them in those areas, and make this part of your day-to-day interaction with them.

Useful links:

Episode transcript:
http://cannon.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SCRIPT-FOR-PODCAST-5-Final.pdf

Questions? Suggestions? Consult with Percy?
https://cannon.consulting/contact/

The Business Apostolate Book:
https://www.amazon.com/Business-Apostolate-Insights-Achieve-Mission/dp/0985554231

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/percycannon

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Spotify | RSS | More

In today’s episode you will learn two resourceful tips you can use to deliver results through your boss, a crucially important audience.
Seek to constantly clarify and update what your boss expects from you. Never assume that the performance objectives you received at the beginning of the year will remain fixed throughout the following twelve months. Things change, priorities get reshuffled and you don’t want to be putting your energy behind what you think is of value if you haven’t regularly validated with your boss what he or she thinks is of value.

Useful links:

Episode transcript:
http://cannon.consulting/script-for-podcast-4-final/

Questions? Suggestions? Consult with Percy?
https://cannon.consulting/contact/

The Business Apostolate Book:
https://www.amazon.com/Business-Apostolate-Insights-Achieve-Mission/dp/0985554231

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/percycannon

Me complace anunciarles el lanzamiento del podcast “The Career Accelerator“. En su primera etapa, este podcast estará disponible solo en inglés.

Si alguno de estos desafíos le son familiares, lo invito a suscribirse al podcast “The Career Accelerator“:

1. ¿Usted es un gerente corporativo cuyos empleados no logran alcanzar sus objetivos de rendimiento sin que usted intervenga frecuentemente?
2. ¿Tiene problemas para confiar en las personas con las que trabaja?
3. ¿Ha logrado reclutar a su jefe para que lo ayude a alcanzar sus prioridades de trabajo?

Cada miércoles escuchará consejos y recomendaciones para obtener resultados a través de otros y así acelerar su crecimiento profesional.

¿Cómo? Adoptando una mentalidad de servicio, donde siempre se enfoque en identificar “qué beneficio hay para ellos“. Al decir ellos me refiero a las personas en su organización con las que más interactúa: sus empleados, sus compañeros de otros departamentos e incluso su jefe.

En el podcast “The Career Accelerator“, usted se beneficiará de lo que he aprendido (y de lo que sigo aprendiendo) en mis cuatro décadas de experiencia en el mundo corporativo, primero como un ejecutivo en tres empresas multinacionales, y ahora como un coach y consultor profesional.

Pulse aquí para escuchar y suscribirse al podcast “The Career Accelerator“.

Percy M. Cannon
www.cannon.consulting

I am pleased to announce the launch of “The Career Accelerator” podcast.

If any of the following challenges resonate with you, I encourage you to subscribe to “The Career Accelerator” podcast:

1. Are you a corporate manager whose direct reports are not capable of achieving their performance goals without your frequent involvement?
2. Is it hard for you to trust some of the people you interact with at work?
3. Have you been able to enlist your boss to help you achieve your work priorities?

Every Wednesday in this podcast you will hear tips and tools to deliver results through others—and in the process, accelerate your career advancement opportunities.

How? By adopting a mindset of service, where you always focus on “what’s in it for them,” them being the people within your organization with whom you interact the most: your direct reports, your peers from other departments, and even your boss.

In “The Career Accelerator” podcast, you will benefit from what I have learned (and continue to learn) from my four decades of experience in the corporate world, first as an executive in three multinational companies and now as a professional coach and consultant.

Click here to listen and subscribe to “The Career Accelerator” podcast.

Percy M. Cannon
www.cannon.consulting

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Spotify | RSS | More

Is it hard for you to trust some of your peers, especially those with whom you often interact at work?
Throughout the close to four decades that I’ve been working in the corporate world, first as a manager and now as an executive coach, I continue to see a huge opportunity for people from different teams to learn how to achieve results through others.
The few managers who learn to work with and through colleagues from other areas tend to be the ones who achieve better results and accelerate their career growth.

Useful links:

Episode transcript:
https://cannon.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SCRIPT-FOR-PODCAST-3-Final-1.pdf

Questions? Suggestions? Consult with Percy?
https://cannon.consulting/contact/

The Business Apostolate Book:
https://www.amazon.com/Business-Apostolate-Insights-Achieve-Mission/dp/0985554231

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/percycannon

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Spotify | RSS | More

In our last episode, you learned about the importance of letting go of the mindset of an individual contributor, where you had to rely mostly on yourself to deliver your goals.
I invited you to instead achieve results through others by adopting a mindset of service.
But what happens if the service mindset doesn’t come naturally to you? Can you learn to adopt it? The good news is yes, you can learn this approach. The not-so-good news is that choosing to adopt a service mindset is not a decision you can make lightly.

Useful links:

Episode transcript:
https://cannon.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SCRIPT-FOR-PODCAST-2-Final-2.pdf

Questions? Suggestions? Consult with Percy?
https://cannon.consulting/contact/

The Business Apostolate Book:
https://www.amazon.com/Business-Apostolate-Insights-Achieve-Mission/dp/0985554231

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/percycannon

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Spotify | RSS | More

Are you a corporate manager whose Direct Reports are not capable of achieving their performance goals without your frequent involvement? Is it hard for you to trust some of the people you interact with at work? And, have you been able to enlist your boss to help you achieve your work priorities?
In this and future episodes, I will help you solve these and other challenges faced by corporate managers. I will build on the experience I have gained during the past 4 decades, from what I did well and the whole lot that I could have done better.

Useful links:

Episode transcript:
http://cannon.consulting/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SCRIPT-FOR-PODCAST-1-Final-1.pdf

Questions? Suggestions? Consult with Percy?
https://cannon.consulting/contact/

The Business Apostolate Book:
https://www.amazon.com/Business-Apostolate-Insights-Achieve-Mission/dp/0985554231

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/percycannon

I am pleased to announce the launch of “The Career Accelerator” podcast on May 13, 2020.

If any of the following challenges resonate with you, I encourage you to pre-subscribe to “The Career Accelerator” podcast:

1. Are you a corporate manager whose direct reports are not capable of achieving their performance goals without your frequent involvement?
2. Is it hard for you to trust some of the people you interact with at work?
3. Have you been able to enlist your boss to help you achieve your work priorities?

Each week in my podcast, you will hear tips and tools to deliver results through others—and in the process, accelerate your career advancement opportunities.

How? By adopting a mindset of service, where you always focus on “what’s in it for them,” them being the people within your organization with whom you interact the most: your direct reports, your peers from other departments, and even your boss.

In “The Career Accelerator” podcast, you will benefit from what I have learned (and continue to learn) from my four decades of experience in the corporate world, first as an executive in three multinational companies and now as a professional coach and consultant.

Stay tuned for more details about “The Career Accelerator” podcast!

Percy M. Cannon
www.cannon.consulting

PS: Click here if you want to be notified when “The Career Accelerator” podcast is officially released.

How can you deliver top-flight results through your direct reports—and accelerate your career growth?

Try coaching. Coaching is not restricted to outside professional coaches. As a corporate manager, consider adopting elements of coaching as a key strategy to develop the strengths and capabilities of your direct reports.

If you enjoy learning from books, like I do, let me recommend an excellent one I recently read: Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore. It’s like a textbook on how professional coaches and corporate managers can increase the performance level of their coachees and direct reports, respectively, through coaching.

Here are my top three take-aways from Whitmore’s book, complemented by my own experience as an executive coach:

1. Ask questions, listen attentively, and keep asking questions to raise your direct reports’ awareness and responsibility. Help them arrive at a conclusion versus prescribing a course of action for them. Aim to grow the relationship toward interdependence between the two of you. They need you to help them grow and achieve their performance goals. You need them to deliver the results that your boss will hold you accountable for.
     
2. View coaching as helping your direct reports develop and practice their Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Whitmore describes EQ as “…interpersonal intelligence or, even more simply, as personal and social skills.” It can be explained through a four-part model:
   • Self-awareness: Understanding why we do what we do
   • Social awareness: Identifying people’s strengths, interferences, and motivations
   • Self-management: Being authentic, flexible, and positive
   • Relationship management: Trusting, partnering, supporting, and challenging others so your direct reports are equipped to contribute toward a high-performing organization.
     
     
3. Follow the GROW model in each coaching interaction. Although I was already using a somewhat similar model in my coaching sessions, I liked the structure and simplicity of Whitmore’s model, which is applicable to both external and corporate-manager coaching situations. It builds on asking questions, as indicated in point #1 above:
   • Goal: What does the coachee want to accomplish?
   • Reality: Where is the coachee now? What’s their current situation?
   • Options: What could the coachee do? What are the alternative courses of action?
   • Will: What will the coachee commit to do, how truly committed are they, and by when?

I hope you see yourself as a manager who can deliver much better results through your direct reports by coaching them, rather than by the “command and control” style practiced by too many leaders. This, in turn, should carry an additional benefit for you: Accelerate your career growth.

Contact me if you wish to adopt a coaching style to develop the strengths and capabilities of your direct reports.

Percy M. Cannon
www.cannon.consulting