You are a Walking Billboard for your Personal Brand
Danielle Fagan (@daniellemfagan) is President and CEO of Anytime Leadership. She provides learning and leadership conferences, corporations and academic audiences.
Danielle Fagan is an #EverydayLeader.
What are you passionate about? And what are you doing to deliver on this passion?
Having been a leader in many roles in my life and career, I have recognized the need to sharpen leadership skills in order to lead effectively. I have become passionate about helping others in their leadership journey. Leadership is never about title or position, but always about the characteristics, qualities and actions we take that impact others. We are leaders in so many aspects of our lives and we have the opportunity to influence the people around us. The actions we take can leave lasting impressions. Most of us intend to leave positive impacts, but it takes more than intention for the outcome we desire.
There are many vehicles to deliver this passion. I spend most of my time providing leadership development for healthcare leaders. Having worked in the healthcare industry for over 18 years, I have used my talent for facilitating, teaching, coaching and public speaking to help others develop their leadership skills. Some other opportunities for sharing my passion come through my work as a consultant, professor, and a mentor. Even less formal opportunities present themselves in daily life, such as being a coach for my children’s sports team, providing enrichment programs through our local schools and communities, and networking with local business owners, family members and neighbors. It is always exciting for me when the qualities of leadership are evident in daily interactions. I truly enjoy when people talk about compassion, indomitable spirit, self-care, time management, and lessons learned from moments in their lives.
How do you go about leading? And how do you use your passion to align people to your vision?
I have been told time and time again, that the coaching, consulting, teaching and workshops I offer are practical and relatable. Beyond theory and models, people walk away with implementable strategies that enhance their leadership skills. The idea that I have “walked a mile in your shoes” has allowed me to take real situations and extract lessons in order to help others learn and grow.
Humor and moxy are also underestimated. People learn when they are interested in listening. No one wants a dull key note speaker or college professor. Have you ever walked out of a conference, meeting or classroom and thought “well that’s an hour of my life I will never get back”. Inspiring others is about how you make them feel. It’s the difference between lighting a fire in someone instead of under them.
Another important approach for me is storytelling. Using stories that paint a picture (that everyone can relate to) allows people to have their own “a-ha” moments. Storytelling also gets away from traditional learning methods, and allows people to use their own creativity to gather lessons and learn.
Is there anything in your background not directly related to being a leader that has had an outsized impact on the way you lead?
I love this question, because most of my background was not directly related to being a leader. In fact, growing up I was told I wasn’t “college material” and should probably learn a trade. Beauty school was not my cup of tea, so I decided to study law enforcement. I had a background in martial arts, so becoming a police officer seemed like a good fit, after all the Rhode Island State Police are the best dressed in the country! I quickly realized I had no passion for this type work. In this journey I found my passion and purpose in healthcare.
That said, there were many people and opportunities that allowed me to grow in my own leadership. I was a peer educator as a teen and we used skits and theatre to teach at risk youth. I was also a martial arts instructor and these two experiences shaped my leadership style. Leading with authenticity, integrity, perseverance, while being humble, approachable and compassionate all come from my foundation early on in my career.
Working with so many populations over the years has given me the ability to work with a broad spectrum of clients. From the classroom to the board room, I have had the pleasure of working with diverse groups. As a social worker, I have provided care to neonates (at the beginning of life) all the way to hospice patients (end of life). Each and every patient (and their family) taught me how to be a better person, leader, parent, daughter, sister and wife.
What’s your philosophy on building a team? What do you search for? How do you go about selection? And how to do you approach managing performance?
When hiring people, I frequently ask behavior based questions that might be good predictors of how the individual might behave on the team. During interviews, I look for people to tell me about how they contributed to a team and what they have learned from others; this shows me they value collaboration.
Teamwork isn’t just a nice thing to have, it is a business strategy. Successful companies have engaged employees who demonstrate communication and collaboration.
Managing performance is about daily feedback. Recognizing people for their skills and contributions is only one part of the performance management equation.
Think about the last time you were recognized.
Was it only when the outcome of your work was successful?
Was the recognition meaningful to you?
Was it timely?
Did it address both what you did and how you went about doing it?
Most employees say they almost never hear positive feedback and when they do it is not specific or meaningful. Behavior modification is recognizing the behaviors you want to keep seeing, but most leaders look for behaviors to correct. While constructive feedback has it’s role, we will be more successful if we demonstrate appreciation for daily work.
If the only time your employees hear feedback about their performance is during their annual performance review, you have missed 12 months of opportunities to create an employee experience that keeps your employees wanting to come to work.
What data do you use to ensure you are leading effectively?
This varies from industry to industry. In healthcare we look at employee engagement scores, patient satisfaction ratings, burnout rates, turnover, LOA’s, absenteeism and so on. As we all know, employees don’t leave companies, they leave their managers. There are many data points that are good predictors of effective leadership. Each company has to look beyond some of the obvious data measures and think about what is impacted when leadership is effective, or the opposite, what negative outcomes are a result of ineffective leadership.
What are some of the biggest mistakes today’s leaders are making? And how would you go about fixing it?
I caution leaders about making assumptions about the varying generations in todays workforce. Leaders should be spending time with each employee and get to know their passion and skills.
We should be applying the platinum rule “treat others the way they want to be treated”. This requires leaders to learn about each individual, their communication style, learning style, career interests and more.
We make the mistake of assuming instead of asking.
What do you see as the 2 or 3 greatest opportunities for leaders over the next several years?
Appreciation and teamwork are business strategies.
Humor and storytelling are underutilized approaches to motivating others.
Do you have any final words of wisdom for Everyday Leaders?
You are the walking billboard for your personal brand, and are influencing the people around you.
Carry yourself with pride and personal excellence, because leadership is not about your title or position.
Leadership can happen anytime!
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Are you a superstar performer at work but feeling stuck?
If I were to personally guide you through building a customized plan to reinvent yourself and recharge your career, sharpens your leadership skills and multiplies your influence, would you be interested?
I’m talking about a complete change in career trajectory that breaks through the perceived plexiglass ceiling that may be holding you back.
If I offered to work with you 1 on 1 for 8 weeks:
- To clarify your vision
- To develop your weekly roadmap action plan
- To upgrade your skills.
- To be your personal accountability partner so you get the transformation YOU deserve.
…would you take me up on this offer?
