Session With Marshall Goldsmith

Good learning session with Marshall Gold Smith on 5th November 2012 at Hydrabad

some fantastic take home points

Marshall Goldsmith

• Success Delusion

o Remember that I am successful in spite of doing so many stupid things

o Four Key belief that help us become successful – prevent us from changing

 I have succeeded

 I can succeed

 I will Succeed

 I choose to succeed

o The Concept who have a more skewed self perception :

 Individual athletes, Sales people, Politicians, College professors, College dean, Investment bankers, FBI agents, Jesuits Priest, Pilots, Medical Doctors

• Transactional Flaws that leaders should avoid

o Winning too much

 Rao Gave 400Mill to charity but grumbled loose Rs 200/- . No one likes to loose

o Adding too much value

 Adding value may increases the impact but definitely decreases the ownership

o Telling the world how smart we are

 65% interpersonal communication is about “ how good I am or how bad others are “

o Passing Judgment

 Check with people if they want to bet on it – instead of passing your judgment

o Avoid using “ No” , “But” , “However” in your conversations

 Punish yourself if you use these works in your conversations

o Avoid speaking when angry

 “When I lose control the problem is within”

o Punishing the messenger

 “Say thank you more often”

o Avoid Favoritism

 The Dog example – we all love suck ups – avoid encouraging the suck up culture

• Feedforward instead of feedback

o Steps to feedforward

 Listen

 Think

 Respond

 Involve

 Change

o Action Plan for Feedforward

 Ask your partner what can I do to be a better partner

 Do this to all people who you care for and who matter

 Do this repeatedly

 Even if they give you suggestions that you may know or may not agree – say thank you

 “Problem is not in understanding it – problem is in executing it”

• Change

o Important Changes you can make

 Focus

 Make life simple

 Celebrate with people

 Accept what is

o How Can we change for better

 Feedback / Feedforward

 Apologizing

 Telling the world

 Listening

 Thanking

 Follow-up


• Decision making and power

o Decision in the world are made by people who have power to make them – make peace with that

o These decision may or may not be rational but are made by people who have the power

o Treat others as customers especially the ones who have the decision power

• PDQ computer case – late coming + big breakthrough ( Missed celebrating the big break )

o We get fixed on our goals and forget our mission. We tend to focus on task and lose relationship

o It’s not important what or how I say – its important how we make people feel.

o We convey lack of trust – and unknowingly doubt people and loose leadership.

• Cognitive dissonance - Roman Number watch activity

o The disconnect between what we believe and what we experience or see

o We see what we think and not what is there

• Active and passive questions

o If we ask passive questions we will get environment answers, but when you ask active questions you get right answers

o Active questions focus on what you can do to maximize a positive difference for yourself

o List 6-10 active questions and follow through on them in daily basis

 Did I do my best to …

• be happy

• find meaning

• be fully engaged

• build positive relationship

• set clear goals

• make progress towards goal achievement

o do something stupid every day

• Coaching

o Coaching lesson

 If they do not care - don’t waste your time

 If you don’t care – don’t waste your time

o Don’t make coaching your own Ego

o The most important factor for successful change is client – not the coach

o Best Coaching Advice – Achieve success

 As a person

 As a professional

o Great is the need of the student to learn; greater is the need of the teacher to teach.

o Rajat Example – Prof asked students to slap him for not doing their assignment.

• Employee engagement

o Focus on what the organization can do to engage you – not what can you do to engage yourself.

• • Important Quotes

• “World is not a better place by what we learn it becomes a better place by what we do”

• “We receive feedback from others only consistent with what we think of ourselves”

• “For great achievers- it’s all about me …, for great leaders – it’s all about them.”

• “Real values are not what I say it’s what I do”

• “Help more judge less.”

• “Great achievers are not always great leaders”

• “Empathy is an important trait of a leader”

• “Ego and pride go hand in hand. Our Ego doesn’t let us accept negatives of what we pride.”

• “Lower your aspiration, increase your impact”

• “In Leadership , it is not about what we say, it is about what they hear”

• “Our default reaction to life is to experience inertia”