DESERT SPRINGS, CALIF. - Do you possess the right leadership skills for your corporate environment? PR pros looking to catapult their careers are often at a loss to confidently answer this pointed questions regardless of how hard they work. But developing a leader's mindset requires a daily workout of mini-goal setting and self-assessment, according to Deb E. Atchley, director of marketing and PR consulting services at Quorum Health Resources, Inc. (Edmond, Okla.), a subsidiary of Quorum Health Group.
Referring to the importance of stepping out of your job's comfort zone, Atchley pointed out that "Fear and not knowing what's going to happen tomorrow is a great place to be!" in her presentation to a packed room of PR/marketing attendees at a "Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development" conference held here last week. During this interactive session, Atchley introduced a performance measurement tool called "Act & Track," that can be customized for marketing, PR and strategic planning pros.
Paula Haenchen, director of marketing/planning at Brazosport Memorial Hospital in Lake Jackson, Tex., who has attended Atchley's educational conferences on leadership excellence and was on hand at the Act & Track session, says that she might incorporate this exercise in her staff initiatives for promoting employee-assessments of marketing performance and independent action plans.
Stair-Stepping Process
Making your career goals achievable requires dissecting them into "little bites" that are more achievable and less overwhelming. Atchley outlined four steps to setting career mini-goals:
- Define each goal in writing. The aim is to develop a clear vision statement for a specific role/goal.
- Outline each goal in a stair-step so that it is less intimidating and easily scheduled into your lifestyle.
- Determine a timeframe that is realistic by projecting how long it will take for you to achieve your intended goal and allows you to measure the success.
- Claim your achievements by celebrating and rewarding your personal vision.
Unless you ask yourself some core questions about your leadership abilities, you won't know where your career strengths and weaknesses lie.
And, for marketing/PR pros who have to wear a number of hats to stay ahead of the game, maintaining a leadership focus can be much easier said than done, according to Achley, who provides career counseling and PR consulting for Quorum Health Group's 20 for-profits hospitals and Quorum Health Resources' 241 hospitals. (Quorum, 405/330-2777; Brazosport Memorial Hospital, 409/299-2829)
Self Assessment Leadership Test
| Role | Habit Building Steps | Frequency | Assessment |
| Enlister-To be an energetic enlister of team support for marketing and PR efforts from the organization's sales force - the employees. |
1. Write thank you notes for assistance with Mktg/ PR efforts. 2. Have Mktg/PR be a team effort from the start. 3. Prepare a Mktg/PR plan that demonstrates your knowledge of management's direction. |
Daily Weekly Annually |
A B C D E |
| Appraiser-To be an astute appraiser who can offer counsel to senior management/board on how actions can influence employees, clients and consumers. |
4. Meet with key supervisors/management to problem-solve. 5. Meet with fellow PR/mktrs to offer solutions. 6. Be a resource to local media, place stories (be fair and consistent). |
Monthly Quarterly Daily |
A B C D E |
| Developer-To be a diligent developer of new products and services that will impact the organization's financial/strategic goals. |
7. Discover what consumers/clients want from your product (focus groups, market research). 8. Look for new targets (minorities, geographic) to develop new products. |
Weekly Annually | A B C D E |
| Enforcer- To be an empowered enforcer who has tracked and measured Mktg/PR investments and can demonstrate return on investment. |
9. Develop a database marketing/tracking system, prepare ROI reports. 10. Assess mktg/PR actions by the influence it may have on desired targets. |
Quarterly Monthly |
A B C D E |
| Researcher-To be a relentless researcher who continues to offer insight and supported data into the intricacies of the market place and consumer desires and behavior. |
11. Assess market place through quantitative research measures. 12. Assess market through qualitative methods (focus groups, interviews). 13. Report to stakeholders customer satisfaction data collected. |
Annually Quarerly Monthly |
A B C D E |
| High-Tech-To become technologically savvy, capturing data/ opportunities in new info. systems. |
14. Learn how information/Internet systems can assist your organization. 15. Learn one new technology to improve your efficiency/ capability. |
Annually Annually |
A B C D E |
| Innovator-To become an integral innovator and champion within the organization who is viewed as one who talks and walks the continuous quality improvement process. |
16. Be a trainer/champion for employee relations. 17. Work/lead/facilitate a quality improvement team. 18. Develop a personal, responsive relationship with quality assessment staff. |
Annually Annually Daily |
A B C D E |
| Professional-To be viewed and act as a proactive, powerful, positive professional who positions himself/herself as a capable leader and team builder. |
19. Read, attend conferences and network to improve skills. 20. Do a personal strengths, weaknesses analysis. 21. Update your resume to determine if you would hire yourself. |
Annually Annually Annually |
A B C D E |
A= Always do this activity - it's a habit
B= Best try to make this a habit, 75 percent or greater of the time
C= Casual attempt to make this a habit, 50 percent of the time
D= Definitely not been able to make this a habit at this time
E= Environment is such that additional human resources are needed or someone else in environment has this responsibility
Scoring
19-21 A & Bs: You are leadership material hands-down.
15-18 A & Bs: Your leadership potential is strong, but pin down those goals that can take you to the next level.
11-14 A & Bs: You're close, but there are key leadership areas that need to be strengthened.
>10 A& Bs: Identify your leadership goals, use the stair-step process to achieve them, reward your progress.