Specific Praise

"Good job."

"Nicely done."

"Thanks for everything."

Who doesn't like to hear these words?  In truth, all of us like to hear praise or gratitude passed our way;   we should utilize both in leading our teams.   We can, however, improve upon praise by being more specific, i.e.:

"Good job, the way you formatted the report makes it incredibly easy to see the bottom line and reach conclusions."

"Nicely done - what I really appreciated about your presentation was that you didn't rush it.  You gave people time to absorb the information and to ask questions."

"Thanks for everything.   Not only did you complete the outline I requested, but the detail you provided really will enhance the entirety of the project."

By being more specific, you are accomplishing additional things with your communication:

You are making the individual feel that much better.   When you are more  specific with praise and gratitude, you are likely calling out individual traits that distinguishe that team member.  For instance, multiple people may do a "good job" on a report;  what made one individual's contribution noteworthy was that they formatted it in an easy to digest template.  By using praise to distinguish, you are not only expressing appreciation, you are also calling out what makes a team member special.

It shows you are paying attention.    Seriously, (and everyone knows this) you can sleep through a presentation and at the end of it still say, "Nicely done."   By adding qualifiers to praise, it shows that you really are paying attention to an individual's performance.   This builds your credibility as a leader as well as strengthens the bonds between you and your team members.

Specific praise shows the way.  You can be very general in your praise and people will feel good;  you can be more specific  and not only will people feel good, they will know your expectations for the future.   For instance, ". . .but the detail you provided really will enhance the entirety of the project," lets people know that you appreciate added detail in their work.  The next time they do a project for you, they will probably add those extra details that you appreciate.

Certainly, at this time of year (and every other time of year, too!), we should express appreciation to the people we have the privilege of working with.  This year, make it go a little bit further by being more specific.

Leadership Lessons from a Smart Phone

Several months ago, I got my first Windows phone.

I loved it.  I accessed many of the great things this little piece of tech wizardry could do for me.  Several days of wonder were filled with the discovery of voice recognition, the cornucopia of games, an amazing world of apps.   I looked forward to months of learning my new communications device/toy and then reaping the added ease it would provide to my life.

Then, the novelty wore off.  Other parts of life prioritized themselves to the top of the list and my new phone became more of a utility vs. a technology that could make my life easier.  I fell into a routine of using the most familiar features. . .which was just a small percentage of what the phone can do.

The idea that my phone could do more for me just kind of disappeared from my field of vision.  At my own disservice, I settled into the world of the usual.

Often, that's what I believe we do as leaders.  As a passionate believer in human potential, I trust that everyone has a roster of great talents. . .and we have the ability to continue to learn.  There is a world of options and abilities for us to access to drive business and improve our own professional satisfaction.

Unfortunately, due to all of the priorities we face and the resulting lack of time, we often fall into the routine of the familiar.  While the familiar serves us well, there are also those challenges we face and people with whom we interact that  utilizing a different skill set  would work to a better advantage for us.

A different way of listening.  A new way of leading a group discussion.  A different point of view when facing a difficult issue.   We have a great variety of tools available to us, plus, we have the ability to learn so much more than we know.

Not only does a different way of approaching things often work to our own advantage, but it often works better for those with whom we are communicating and working.

To be able to access the talents and skills beyond our familiar routine, it takes the dedication of time to reflect:

• What else do I do well that I don't often use?
• What skills have I learned in previous situations that I'm not currently accessing?
• What have people told me are strengths of mine that I take for granted?
• What skills, talents, approaches can I learn that would help me with bosses, peers and others with whom I have the privilege of working?

Give yourself time to explore the talents and skills that often are ignored or little-used.  Make full use of all the talents available to you.

Forgive. . .So That You Can Lead

Last week, in the HuffPost's Blog, Oprah Winfrey's entry was entitled, "Forgive. . .So You Can Truly Live."   The point is incredibly valid.  The holding of grudges, the desire for revenge and the stagnation of looking back at the past keeps us from living better lives.

Taking a cue from Ms. Winfrey, I would also suggest this:  Forgive. . .So You Can Truly Lead. 

I'm uncertain why often we separate what are good ideas in our personal lives from our professional personas.   Often a good idea at home is just as valid in the office, if not more so.  Forgiveness is such an example.

Yes, you may have been wronged.    Yes, you think it may be sweet to see revenge.   The problem is, it's not getting you any place and, in all likelihood, it's holding your team back as well.  The very idea of forgiveness is to let go of the past;   one of the key success factors in any business is the ability to move the work forward.  You can't very well accomplish both.    If you're focusing on the bad things that have happened to you, likely you aren't moving forward, or moving your team forward, to grow the business.

It isn't always a matter of forgiving others;  sometimes we really need the ability to forgive ourselves.  Nobody is perfect in the workplace.  We all make mistakes.   Sometimes I have found that it is extremely difficult for people to let go of their own errors and move on.   It is of paramount importance that you own the skill of  self-forgiveness and that you can coach your team in this ability as well.

And what if someone hasn't forgiven you?   It can be seen as "their problem."  Truth is, it's everybody's problem because their inability to let go ends up being a major block to teamwork.    If someone is holding a grudge against you, be sure that you have properly apologized, and if necessary, work through a longer process of talking it out and learning how to work together again.

Oprah's right (of course!).   Forgiveness should be a priority.   At home and at work.

Marissa Mayer and "Ruthless" Prioritization

How do we get it all done?   With the competing demands at work - forget about a 40 hour work week, it often doesn't seem possible to get it all done in 60 or 70 or more hours.

So let's take a short lesson from Marissa Mayer.    Ms. Mayer made news several months ago when she was lured from her long-term executive position at Google to take the helm at Yahoo.   She made news again when she just returned to work from a two week family leave after giving birth to her son.   When asked how she gets everything done, Ms. Mayer, the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company, responded with this piece of advice.

"You have to ruthlessly prioritize."

She's right;  one of the key responsibilities we have as leaders is to make great use of our resources through prioritization.    Often we are so slammed - do this report, get this analysis done, attend this meeting, etc -  we perceive that we are too busy to prioritize.  In fact, to maintain some semblance of work/life balance and to do good work, we need to make prioritization, well, a priority.

Establish for yourself how you are going to prioritize.  Here's a few ideas to get you started:

• What is business critical?   What absolutely must happen that will either make business much better or disallow a shortfall in business?
• What (even though perhaps not critical) will make a substantive difference to your business or team?
• What are other team members relying on you to deliver so that they may do their jobs?
• If I do this piece of work - will it make a difference?  To anything or anyone?
• Evaluate importance given relativity.   Something that may have seemed very important, and do-able last week may not be viewed in the same light given the circumstances of this week.
• Does it matter?   At times we do reports, or repetitive work that at some time, some one deemed important - is that still the case?   If not, get rid of it.  Be unafraid to challenge the status quo.
• Can it/should it be delegated?   Use strong delegation as a tool to not only increase learning among the team, but also use it as a tool to get the project with the right expert.   Sometimes projects come your way that really would be better off with another professional.
• Have the courage to say "no" or "I can't manage your request right now, but I can do it in the foreseeable future."

The team that I managed evolved to a state of continuous prioritization.   This was not an exercise of mindlessly moving projects around;   this was active thinking about the business, the human and financial resources we had available at the time and how to best use those resources to advance the goals of the company.   

If we don't prioritize, projects and issues that don't really matter get in the way of big ideas that really move the business forward.   When we prioritize those big ideas, we are not only driving the business but we were leading the mission of the company.

Why I'm Liking Warren Buffett

Right now, I'm inspired by Warren Buffett. . .and it's not because he is ridiculously wealthy.    It's because, as a nationally recognized business leader, he has the courage to do two thing:   suggest a tax increase for himself (and others of similar wealth) to help solve the current economic dilemma and further, lead the country with a positive, nationally televised, "America's a winner" message.

First things first.   Often it is the negative, oh-woe-is-me message that receives the most news coverage.  Particularly galling is the hand-wringing among the very wealthy (who  typically do not have to worry about their health insurance or making the mortgage or concern themselves about the price of heating oil.)  The millionaires who complain about how bad their taxes are have no contact with the great middle ground of America, much of which would be happy to trade places with them, even if it did mean a higher tax bill.

In contradiction to this stands Warren Buffett, who has some of the finer financial credentials this country has seen.   Mr. Buffett has said, on numerous occasions, that he believes he personally should pay more taxes;  moreover, he says that the others who are as financially fortunate as he should do the same.    That takes a high degree of leadership.

Pragmatic as he is, Mr. Buffett does not believe a higher tax rate for the very wealthy would stagnate growth.   He believes that any individual, presented with a smart investment opportunity that would reap higher rewards that a standard interest rate would avail themselves of that opportunity, even if it meant a few extra points of taxes.

Secondly, Mr. Buffett is leading with the positive, saying  on NBC's Today Show that he believes the American economy has been improving for the past three years, that it will be strong in the  next decades and he concludes with the words we should hear more often, "America's a Winner."

Moreover, he puts his money behind his words.  In 2012, his companies will have invested a record $9 billion in infrastructure, a 10% increase over the year previous, which in its own right was a record.   While some may be sitting on the sidelines, Mr. Buffett is truly investing in job creation and growing the economy.

So,  who would you rather follow?   The naysayers or someone who has a positive vision, like Mr. Buffett?   For me, Buffett wins, hands down.

He is unafraid to take a stand that others may disparage.  He has the humanity to think in broader terms of what is good for the country, versus what is convenient for him.   He has the vision to be confident in America.

Here's the lesson for us as leaders.   Do we have a similar amount of courage?   Do we have the humanity to do what is in the best interest of the majority, versus what may be convenient for us?   Do we publicly advocate a positive message for our mission?   Do we lead with confidence?

Each of these is a great leadership trait, whether in the office, factory or national stage.

Not Just Because It's Thanksgiving

It's tempting not to write about being thankful in the workplace during Thanksgiving week.  My fear is that the subject, coinciding with the holiday, will come across as trite and treacle-ly in the vein of  "It's Thanksgiving week, be a nice person, thank the people you work with and you're done with that for another year."   And that would be missing the point.   Don't thank someone just because it's Thanksgiving, thank them because you're genuinely grateful.

Giving thanks at the workplace, year-round, is the right thing to do.   Here's why.  The reality of any workplace is that team members are dependent upon one another to get the job done.  It's important to recognize that if your team members were not there, the output they produce would no longer be there either.  You, and your company, rely on that output to "get the job done."   This is true all up and down the chain of command.  If someone did not clean the bathrooms, it would not get done.  If someone was not providing direction and strategy, it would not get done.   If someone was not responsible for tactical execution, things certainly would not get done.  You are reliant upon each other and thus, you have the privilege of being genuinely grateful..

Key word:  genuinely.  It is easy enough to say "thank you" to someone as a fly-by in the hallway;  sometimes it is more difficult, but better, to examine how you and your team work together and to be truly grateful that you have the privilege of working with these people every day.    The gut ability to be genuinely thankful not only provides  you with a realistic view of your contribution, and how it meshes with everyone else's, but it also shifts the focus to the positive in the workplace.

At times, it is way too easy to get caught up in "I" at the workplace:  nobody appreciates the work I do. . .I work so hard and it isn't recognized. . .I put so much energy and thought into my work.  All of that may be true, but the above statements don't necessarily move you anyplace positive.  Being grateful expands your field of vision beyond "I" and puts the emphasis on other members of the team.  That is always a winning strategy.

If you are genuinely grateful, find ways to express that gratitude - each day.  In-person thank you's, e-mails, text messages, public announcements, taking someone to coffee or lunch are ways of expressing your appreciation for a job well done.   Make it a priority, all year, to feel gratitude for who you are, what you have and the team with whom you have the privilege of working.

 

"Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is published on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095KPA6A

The Winning Formula of Nate Silver

Obviously, there were many winners and losers in last week's election;  one of the winningest, however, wasn't even a candidate.   It was Nate Silver of the New York Times 538 blog.  Mr. Silver gained fame when in the 2008 presidential election he called nearly every electoral state correctly.  In 2012, he outdid himself and called every one of the 50 states correctly in the electoral race.

Here's the part I love.  In a post-election interview with NBC's Andrea Canning, she asked Mr. Silver, "When you were a kid, did you always have all of the right answers?"  To this, he replied that her assumption wasn't the case.

"I always had a lot of questions.  I think that's what smart people do."

Here is a man who, perhaps more than anybody currently in the United States, could stand on his ability to be right.  Instead of staking his claim in the "right-ness" or "correct-ness" of his work, he emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions.

As leaders, I believe there is so much we can learn from Mr. Silver's quote.  First of all, it leaves the audience with a sense of the man's humility as well as his willingness to learn.  As a follower of his blog, I am reassured by his ability to look at life with a sense of curiosity and wonder.  This allows him to approach the myriad of stats and facts he works with not just from one dimension, but from multiple viewpoints.    The ability to question life, and to perhaps question his own assumptions, makes him a stronger, better leader.  Because he is eliminating many of the chances to be blind-sided (and so many of the political prognosticators were blind-sided by the recent election because they approached it from only one viewpoint) it makes him a more reliable leader in whom we can have confidence.

So the question is, are you also that kind of leader?  This is one of the propelling ideas in my book (shameless plug for "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" on Kindle) that encourages us to confidently ask ourselves questions that make us better.  Are we smart enough to know we don't know everything?  Do we have the confidence to freely admit that we don't have all of the answers, but that we are intelligent enough to find the solutions?  And lastly, do we apply ourselves to our work so that, like Mr. Silver, in the end we present an incredible degree of accuracy in our work?

The lack of questioning, or curiosity, in leadership results in one dimensional work that is subject to failure.  The ability to engage life through learning leads to incredibly successful work.

"Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders"  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095KPA6A

Obama and Christie Together - And It Feels So Right!

As shocking as the photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy were, nearly as unexpected were the photos of President Obama and Governor Chris Christie. . .working together, sharing the same goals.

Tragic it was a tragedy that provided the photo-op.  Here were two titans of opposing political parties, cooperating together, to offer relief to the hundreds of thousands who suffered the ravages of the storm.  The two, of different political beliefs (at least on some issues) found common ground in the need to offer assistance to those in great need of it.   I believe most Americans were relieved and reassured to see this type of cooperative leadership.

It is also tragic there cannot be greater cooperation like this daily.  What's at stake in America is precious:   the charter to take care of our citizenry, the desire to lead the world to democracy and the protection of freedom.   Instead of cooperation and negotiation to attain these goals, we often find the exact opposite, conflict and deadlock.

Polls tell us that most Americans decry this stagnation due to polarization.  They are angry that their government cannot get more things done;  their legislators are seemingly more concerned with "winning" than actually bringing the American dream to fruition.

Before we get too carried away in political assessment however, I believe we also need to examine our own leadership in the workplace.   There have been many times that I have witnessed deadlock because people refused to get along, even though the stakes were high.    Political warfare, resulting in stagnation, does not just happen in the US government;  it also happens senselessly in any size of workplace.

Whether on the national scene, or the workplace, I believe true leaders should:

• Yes, advocate for what they believe in; but also be prepared to temper their tactics so there is room for negotiation to achieve goals for the overall good.
• Be honest.  Are you alarmed by the amount of "truth meters" that seem to be necessary in the current election?  The tampering or twisting of facts, or just plain fabrications, may result in a short-term "win," but long term, it results in fostering the doubt of your constituency.
• Look at one's own position with a keenly critical eye.   Do you truly understand all sides of the issue?  Do you thoroughly understand opposing viewpoints?   Are you prepared to alter your position for the greater good of all involved?

The leader that people want to follow is the one that understands that deadlock is fruitless, but that cooperation, and building consensus builds both stronger governments and stronger workplaces.

Negative Campaigning = Loss of Leadership

As a marketer, I'm dumbfounded over the amount of local and national negative political advertising.  As a citizen, I'm alarmed.

As leaders, I believe we can learn a lesson.

Strong marketing is the business of delivering compelling messages that the consumer will wish to respond to.  We are to craft images, visions and value propositions that will engage the customer.   We are in the business of "telling our story" so that people will want to follow us.

Some (maybe most) of current political advertising does little or none of this.   The story is all about how bad, dangerous, incompetent and well, just plain evil the other candidate is.   Usually this story is accompanied by at least one photo, if not several, of the opposition candidate with his/her name plastered all off the screen.  If one is watching with the sound off, it is often very difficult to tell which of two candidates the ad is promoting.

By devoting so much time to the other candidate, the focus becomes the opposition.   It's like this:   I spent years in marketing for Macy's.  If I had crafted a television commercial that spent at least half of its time showing imagery of JC Penneys, my tenure with Macy's would have been considerably shortened.  The resources that I was entrusted with for marketing were for the purpose of telling our story, not for bashing the competition.

Ironic that candidates are spending so much of their own campaign's money. . .creating imagery and focus around the other candidate.

Moreover, with the conversation centered around "what's wrong with the other guy or gal" there is not a vision for the future.   Who are we to follow if there isn't a clear path forward?

That is why, as a citizen, I'm alarmed.  I need to know what I can believe in.   I need that path forward.  I need to know the story and vision of the people I'm asked to follow.

The same is true in the workplace.  Teams need to know what and who they can believe in.  They need to have a positive story and mission to follow.

Are you, as a leader, presenting a positive image and story that others will follow?   Or, are you so busy bashing others, or talking the negative points of the job and/or company, that the people entrusted to you don't know what or who they are supposed to follow?  If you have ever worked for a boss that focused on the negative, you realize how demoralizing this can become.

Just as advertisers spend the resource of money, leaders spend the resource of time - both their time and the time belonging to the team.  Are you using the resource of time creating focus around the competition, or are you wisely investing it in crafting positive images and stories for your team to follow?

Negative campaigning, whether in politics or in the workplace accomplishes this:  it makes both parties look bad.  As a leader, your team entrusts you to do so much more by creating positive communication that allows the company and the people who propel it to move forward.

The Power of One vs. The Power of Many

As a senior executive, he had great ideas; he was smart and was imbued with entrepreneurial spirit.  He knew what he wanted to get done but was challenged by sub-par results.  The challenge was that he was clueless as to how to energize the workplace to follow him.  Perhaps the issue was that his idea of professional nirvana was this, "If I could just shoot all of them and hire a hundred robots, we'd get things done around here."

In other words, his idea of success was "one brain, one hundred drones."

This is not leadership, this is one person pushing buttons instead of utilizing the group to maximize the idea and build consensus.  Seldom, if ever, do the ideas of just one person outpower the consensus that can be built by engaging smart people who know the business.

How then do we lead groups to consensus?

• Recognize that the very idea of group consensus means that not one person is going to get it 100% their way.  "My way or the highway" is an antiquated idea.
• Have confidence that the individuals in work groups have diverse experiences, skill sets and viewpoints.   Their experience and outlooks do not weaken concepts, they bring ideas to fruition by making them stronger.
• As a leader, be extremely clear what the goal is and why it is important it be met.  These are the guardrails for your group.   In other words, describe the desired "what we need to do" and spend less time on "how we need to do it."  If you are working with a group of true professionals, they will point the way.
• Be humble.
• Listen.
• Recognize what is important to each member of the group.  The strength and diversity that arrives with the group also means that each individual has their own goals.   Minimally, those goals should be respected and not transgressed when building consensus.  Maximally, you can achieve the goal you set and the goals of the members of the group.
• Even though it may be your idea,  the entire group should have ownership of the project and the result.  If everyone wins, you win.  It's that simple.

One person doing all the thought and execution is not leading people;  working positively to build consensus within a group not only maximizes results, it is also true leadership.

The Power of An Apology: A Lesson in Leadership from GoDaddy

The letter to customers on the GoDaddy website began:

"We owe you a big apology for the intermittent service outages we experienced on September 10th that may have impacted your website and your interaction with GoDaddy.com."

Preceding this apology, said GoDaddy experienced a major technical malfunction, shutting down hundreds of thousands of the websites they host.  I'm not going to debate the handling of the malfunction, but I was impressed by the apology that followed.  As opposed to some apologies that seem only shallow enough to mildly placate, GoDaddy donned the sackcloth and accessorized with ashes.

"We have let our customers down and we know it.  I cannot express how sorry I am to those of you who were inconvenienced.  We will learn from this."

Note the difference in tone from other corporate "apologies" that aren't really apologies at all:

• "We are in the process of an internal investigation. . ."
• "Due to circumstances beyond our control. . ."
• "We will have a statement in the future. . ."

Instead of this type of spin, GoDaddy went right to the core of the matter and apologized.  That's smart.   When you've been inconvenienced, think of how it makes you feel if you're getting a run around. . .versus how you feel if someone admits to the obvious:  "We were wrong. . .and we're going to learn from our mistakes and do better in the future."

Leaders can and should learn from this simple statement of contrition.

Let's face it, errors, mistakes, blunders and bloopers are bound to happen in the workplace.  Seriously, not one of us is perfect.   The challenge is that often either we think we need to be perfect - or worse, we actually come to the god-like conclusion that we are perfect - and thus are unable to utter these three powerful words:  "I am sorry."

Instead of apologizing, we relinquish ownership of the issue ("It was Sebastian's fault."), try to turn around the blame ("Well. . .the copier wouldn't break down so much if people didn't use it.") or try to shift all evidence of wrongdoing hastily away from us, much like passing gas and then furiously fanning the emitted air in the general direction of the person seated next to you.

The truth is, if you've done something wrong, and aren't owning it and making proper amends, things start to go wrong:

• Even though you may think that by refusing to apologize you are making the issue go away, you are actually prolonging the issue.   The very act of apologizing is the act that allows humans and teams to move forward.
• Even though you may think that by refusing to apologize you are obscuring responsibility, the fact is that people figure out pretty fast who did what and by trying to dodge it, you are appearing to be less than courageous.
• When an apology is owed, and isn't delivered, mis-trust is fostered and teamwork is lost.

Conversely, by owning an error, making a sincere apology and learning from an honest mistake. . .the organization is enabled to move on and you garner extra respect as a leader with both courage and ethics.

By apologizing, you're doing something very right.