As a leader and a person you are probably experiencing a range of emotions this time of year; excitement for the time off, apprehension or elation about reuniting with family, exhaustion or nostalgia and pride following a demanding year, and or anxiety or excitement about the year ahead. As you snuggle up to the fire with your eggnog do some introspection this year. After all, you are a human first before you are a leader and it is important to recognize and embrace this. Your buckets, just like the buckets of your people, need to be filled. I'm talking about human needs.
Imagining takes us back to our childhood where we operated without boundaries, pretending to be warriors or princesses. In unoccupied moments we travel backward and forward reflecting on events in our lives, actions we took, decisions we made (beating ourselves up perhaps) and projecting ourselves (and our organizations) forward imagining desired scenarios and achievements.
It is that time of year. Many organizations are hosting Christmas gatherings before they close the office for the holiday. These are important gatherings as they typically bring families together and focus on things other than work. People can shed the pressures of the office, 'let their hair down,' relax, and meet family and even children. Trust is formed in moments like this when leadership shows a true interest in the personal lives of its people. This social gathering of families should not be the only one of the year.
In a coaching session once, my client and I were talking about a meeting he had coming up in which he needed to present something controversial. An external agency had failed to perform to the level required and overall company sales performance fell below expectations for the quarter. He was struggling with how to present this to the company leadership. Long-standing relationships were involved and he risked tarnishing them. That said, he had a duty to expose the failures and offer solutions. I offered, "start with the ugly nasty truth, then polish it for delivery."
Read MoreThere is something about this time of year. While I'm warmed by the thought of reuniting with family, exchanging gifts, and catching a few extra naps, I feel pressure as the year speeds to a close that I owe my people something. Season's greetings is certainly in order but it's also my duty as a leader to close out the year properly - lift everyone's heads up, pause and reflect on the year's accomplishments and talk about the big picture. I'm talking about a State of the Union-like presentation and December is the perfect time.
Read MoreHave you been to the grocery store lately? These places are getting so big they need a shuttle bus. I gain in age by the time I'm through walking the cereal aisle. Grocery stores have grown because of the expansion of brands and versions of products (like spaghetti sauce) but also because of the organic and gluten-free desires of the consumer. Try visiting a Whole Foods. I thought I was in a library. Everyone was busy studying the back of boxes in search of the truth. I gave the cashier my library card when I checked out and asked when I should return the lavender chips.
Read MoreFrankenstein, a novel by English author Mary Shelley, tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a creature in an unorthodox experiment. The creature was a composite of whole body parts grafted together from cadavers and reanimated by the use of electricity (ref. Wikipedia). The story of the creature is a series of mishaps and ultimate death - an experiment gone wrong. A Franken-unit is a group formed from different individuals, groups and even resources. Much like the novel, it can be an unorthodox experiment destined for failure.
Read MoreMy uncle Eddie passed away this week. Along with passing my sincere condolences to his loving family, I spent some quiet time reflecting on his life and the impact he had on me as a child - more deeply than I had before. Eddie was a gentle man, unassuming but with a dry and surgical sense of humor. He wasn't the 'alpha male' in the room, directing and carrying the conversation but he could seize the moment better than anyone I know with a powerful statement or his timely humor. I'm sure Eddie had his moments of frustration and anger but I never witnessed those. He had an aura of calm and peace I always admired. The picture above is how I will always remember him.
Welcome Thanksgiving. We all have a lot to be thankful for and we ought to reflect on that as this week speeds by. And we ought to tell our people how thankful we are for them. After all we are not leaders without them. In the spirit of thank you, allow me offer some ways I have thanked my people.
Just by saying the word or phrase but by looking them in the eye. A heartfelt 'thank you' should be delivered as you pause, say the person's name, look them in the eye, and thank them.
I've always said, if you want to attack the U.S. Army at its most unorganized and vulnerable state, attack it on a Monday morning. Nobody has their act together. Try leading during this moment where everyone is still in vacation mode or the anxiety of work stress kicks in again - where last week's tasks are long forgotten and people are off their game. Here are some thoughts as you unlock the doors, turn on the lights or dust off your virtual meeting skills.
Read MoreHave you ever had one of those leaders? "That dog aint gonna hunt!" "Let's bake this into the plan." "Put some meat on the bone." As a writer and a speaker, I use wordplay but I do so cautiously, especially when leading a group of people. I usually follow wordplay with some descriptors of what I am talking about so I can 'paint a clearer picture' (there's some wordplay!). While wordplay can be effective in making salient points, it can lead to confusion, especially if overused. I had a leader once who I respected but who used "bottom line" several times when speaking. It was hard to determine what was truly the bottom line. When a leader is older and more experienced, those in his or her charge may struggle to keep up amidst a sea of wordplay.
Read MoreYou know I'm a definition guy. It helps me start from a point of clarity (see my first book). Wikipedia does a perfect job of defining the executive summary. "a short document or section of a document produced for business purposes. It summarizes a longer report or proposal or a group of related reports in such a way that readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material without having to read it all." Read more here.
Read MoreThe statement, "I've already tried that," is typically associated with a problem a person is addressing. When I hear, "I'm doing (or done) that already," or "I've already tried that," it starts me to wondering; "Why is it still a problem then?" Or I wonder if the person is not listening or being defensive. There is danger contained in this statement and its related thought process. One should pause and think about why they are saying it.
Read MoreAt this moment in 1918, the armistice (end of fighting) went into effect for World War I. Armistice Day as it was originally named would later become Veteran's day. And while we always honor the fallen, Veterans Day is more about the living. It is a chance to recognize those who defend and defended our nation whether combat veteran or not. Aside from husband and father, veteran is one of my proudest titles. It means I have membership among a small group of some of the best men and women, spouses and families our nation has to offer.
Read MoreDoes this scenario sound familiar? One of your people notoriously shows up late, misses a deadline on a reoccurring report, gets too emotional on emails or office chat applications, or seems too timid to speak up and contribute to the group.
I bet it does. I'm sure you have your own scenario but how then, do you influence your people to grow, learn and fix their deficiency? Unfortunately, I've seen too many leaders get this wrong. They either let the failing go unchecked, fix it themselves, or go right for the jugular, "Andy stop showing up late!" Believe me, I was in that camp once but thankfully superiors and subordinates alike taught me a better way to influence. Here it is.
Trust lies as the core of effective leadership. Without it, an organization slows to the point of dysfunction or implodes altogether. Good leaders work hard to build and foster trusting relationships as they speed through daily operations and business growth. This is especially true (and vitally important) in today's work from home environment. As Steven Covey states, "When people trust each other they're more likely to take risks together, see greater opportunities, and respond to change in smart and coordinated ways." Trust is fragile. It requires constant nurturing. Unfortunately, there are other forces at play which, if left alone, can erode a healthy foundation of trust.
Read MoreI'll get right to it. It is between 5 and 7 people. Any more than 7 the scale begins to tip and the quality of leadership begins to diminish. I would say 5 is an optimal span of control for a leader. Span of control, span of management, or direct reports represent the people a leader is directly responsible for. There can be no sharing of leadership (more on that in a future blog) where one person reports directly (and equally) to two people. Don't let that happen in your organization. It will cause problems, mostly for the individual. When people look up they ought to see one person who is the one who cares for them, grows them, and leads them. It's why span of control is so important.
Read MoreHappy Halloween and welcome to the haunted house. Brave enough to enter and walk through its dark and damp hallways, dusty spiderweb covered rooms, and dark corners? Instead of ghoulish hosts with fangs and creatures emerging from dark corners, you'll encounter the group who is worn down, looking for respite, the late or indifferent attendee, the question you don't have the answer to and fear of making a decision. This time mom or dad is not close by to grab hold of. You're on your own and the echos inside this chamber are terrifying.
Read MoreWhen a leader uses "got that T-shirt," or versions like it, such as, "I've done this before," or "I know how you feel," they are equating their experience with that of a subordinate. "Don't be that guy," leveraging yet another quote, this one from the 1994 movie PCU. "You're gonna wear the shirt of the band your are gonna go see? Don't be that guy." Here is the YouTube link. And with that last set of quotations, I believe I've used up my daily allocation. I digress.
Read More"Don't let this stuff overwhelm you, the Army is run by idiots." My first company commander shared that with me in 1991. He was partially joking. There were some great Army leaders above us, but also, like any organization, some lunkheads. He was using that line to ease my mind as I took command of my first platoon. My line today is, "There are some real buffoons running businesses. Many of them are sitting on top of millions or billions of dollars." I use it when coaching a leader lacking confidence, intimidated by his or her leadership and when promoting entrepreneurship.
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