Patrick Jinks
Leadership Coach
Patrick Jinks
Patrick Jinks is a certified leadership and strategy coach, and President of The Jinks Perspective. He is the best-selling author of Strategic Fail: Why NonprofitStrategic Planning Fails, and How to Fix It, andtwo additional best sellers with Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soulauthor).
A member of the Forbes Coaches Council and regular contributor toForbes.com,Patrickis an adjunct executive coach with Leadership Systems, Inc. and a teaching member of The Right Question Institute.He is a Certified Influencer Trainer through Vital Smarts — the people who brought us Crucial Conversations.
Patrick has been featured as a Game Changer® and a Master of Success® in the USA Today and Wall Street Journal, and has been featured on CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX across the country for his unique impact on the world of leadership and strategy.His speaking stages range from TEDx to The United Nations.
4 things leaders need to advance their teams
When I launched The Jinks Perspective as a coaching company, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to help leaders and their teams achieve 3 things to help advance their personal and organizational missions: Clarity, simplicity, and alignment. As I have coached thousands of leaders over the past two decades, I have realized that there is critical 4th element as well: Inspiration.
Leaders are competing for the very attention of the teams. Our digital worlds and ongoing media bombardments cloud workers’ view more each day. Additionally, leaders who struggle to communicate effectively are challenged by team members who underperform simply because they are not crystal clear on what the expectations are.
Leaders who can create the greatest clarity for those they lead have an advantage, because individuals and teams are more likely to engage around work they understand. They will rally around leaders who say what the mean and do what they say.
Clarity in our own heads as leaders does not equate to clarity in our team members’ minds. We must be skilled at translating our vision to others as clearly as we see it ourselves.
We lead in very complex work worlds. For example, many of the clients I coach are leaders in the social sector. There are layers upon layers of complexity woven through the efforts to solve the social ills of the world, like homelessness, poverty, education, and health.
Corporate leaders face increasingly complicated dynamics of global economics and the challenges of leading intergenerational teams. Even the most knowledgeable and immersed leaders eventually reach a point of overwhelm and paralysis if they don’t somehow find a way to simplify their objectives.
Simple is not synonymous with easy, but it makes things easier. Great leaders know how to break projects down to their essence so that teams and stakeholders can truly champion the initiatives and not feel overwhelmed by their density.
Many leaders are great at planning. They may also be great at recruiting, generating ideas, and administrative functions like budgeting. But the most effective leaders know to align all those parts for success.
For example, I have coached many executives who develop stellar strategic plans but fail to remember the plan when it comes time to build the next year’s operational budget or hire the next key team member. Alignment means that composition, competencies, finances, facilities, brand messaging and more must be in sync with the mission and objectives.
Perhaps above all, leaders must inspire. Frameworks and buzzwords will only get your organization so far. Employees are motivated more by meaning than by money. Yes, there is research behind that! You may have heard “process comes before product.” At The Jinks Perspective, we insist that PEOPLE come before either!
Inspire your people, and they will perform for you, and for the organization. Leave them empty, and all the great frameworks, processes, and intentions will die on the vine, along with your organization. That’s “The Jinks Perspective!”
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