It is a common complaint of the manager: "NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE wants to do what they are supposed to do."
The core question then becomes: well, exactly how does that behavior and how do those attitudes change? And guess what - NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE wakes up one morning and says "Yesterday I really didn't want to do any part of my job, but today I LOVE my job and I am going to do the best I possibly can."
As leaders, we must understand this: the easiest way to change others' behaviors and attitudes is to change our own. So, if people aren't doing what we want - the best piece of advice is to change our own behaviors and attitudes.
Do people understand the purpose of what they are doing? Do they understand the impacts, both large and small, of their work contributions? Do they understand that others in the enterprise are inextricably dependent and linked to their own work output?
Do we support them; do they feel they are supported?
Do they feel heard? (More to the core of the issue - are they actually heard?) Are they genuinely respected first as individuals and secondly as professional contributors.
Do we thank people enough ? (And by the way, it is not possible to over-thank anyone).
Do we believe at the core that their contribution is important - that they are necessary? And if so, are our actions a testament to that belief?
Do they feel important?
The follow-up and trigger question then comes, what can we all do to improve our own actions so that people believe in us and truly want to follow us?
It is that sense of ownership that makes true leaders.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Friday, March 29, 2019
Friday, March 22, 2019
My Life is. . .RUINED!!! (Or, I Am a Lucky Man)
On last night's commute (which wasn't a bad commute until. . .), I was about four blocks away from home and in the left hand lane of a busy arterial - and I experienced that sickening feeling that there wasn't any commiserate reaction by pressing the accelerator. No power whatsoever. Slowly and surely I inched over to the side of the road and glided off into a vacant parking lot.
Hmmm. . . .
I didn't want a car repair bill (seriously - does anybody?). The car didn't perform its basic function of getting me from Point A to Point B (what's the point if the vehicle can't even get you where you want to go?). I had an empty coffee container in the car that needed to be returned to Starbucks that night (Oh - the pressure!). All I really wanted to do was get home (like right now!). . .have a nice dinner with the family. . .and get some sleep. All straight to hell in a handbasket. Now on one end of the spectrum, I could respond like the stereotypical teenager who finds out they can't go to the prom and throw my body onto the asphalt with the defining cry of both hopelessness and martyrdom: "My life is. . .RUINED."
But. . .
Okay, if the car was going to break down - and you're only four blocks away from the house - seriously, how fortunate is that? And, in the middle of a Seattle commute (and if you don't live here - let me assure you that Seattle statistically has some of the worst traffic in the nation) people were kind enough to let me get from the left lane to the side of the road. And just where I had to pull off was the parking lot of a fully depreciated and now-closed convenience store - so I could leave the car in the middle of a parking lot and not worry about it. Oh. . .and it was one of those beautiful spring days that was warm and sunny - so the walk home was therapeutic. And, my wife was home - so we jumped in her car, retrieved everything we needed from my car, returned the container to Starbucks (where I got a jolt of caffeine). All in all - I'm a pretty lucky guy.
Granted - two extremes of the issue - but isn't that always the case? And doesn't it enable us to move forward (because honestly, what's the choice?) faster and with greater purpose - if we recognize what is foundationally good? And honestly, being thankful for every good thing that is given us (even in difficult situations) is healthy. . .and lets us live life to a fuller purpose.
So I think about this and all of the accompanying options and I arrive at this conclusion. I choose to be a lucky man.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Hmmm. . . .
I didn't want a car repair bill (seriously - does anybody?). The car didn't perform its basic function of getting me from Point A to Point B (what's the point if the vehicle can't even get you where you want to go?). I had an empty coffee container in the car that needed to be returned to Starbucks that night (Oh - the pressure!). All I really wanted to do was get home (like right now!). . .have a nice dinner with the family. . .and get some sleep. All straight to hell in a handbasket. Now on one end of the spectrum, I could respond like the stereotypical teenager who finds out they can't go to the prom and throw my body onto the asphalt with the defining cry of both hopelessness and martyrdom: "My life is. . .RUINED."
But. . .
Okay, if the car was going to break down - and you're only four blocks away from the house - seriously, how fortunate is that? And, in the middle of a Seattle commute (and if you don't live here - let me assure you that Seattle statistically has some of the worst traffic in the nation) people were kind enough to let me get from the left lane to the side of the road. And just where I had to pull off was the parking lot of a fully depreciated and now-closed convenience store - so I could leave the car in the middle of a parking lot and not worry about it. Oh. . .and it was one of those beautiful spring days that was warm and sunny - so the walk home was therapeutic. And, my wife was home - so we jumped in her car, retrieved everything we needed from my car, returned the container to Starbucks (where I got a jolt of caffeine). All in all - I'm a pretty lucky guy.
Granted - two extremes of the issue - but isn't that always the case? And doesn't it enable us to move forward (because honestly, what's the choice?) faster and with greater purpose - if we recognize what is foundationally good? And honestly, being thankful for every good thing that is given us (even in difficult situations) is healthy. . .and lets us live life to a fuller purpose.
So I think about this and all of the accompanying options and I arrive at this conclusion. I choose to be a lucky man.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Friday, March 15, 2019
99.8% Organic
Probably all of us realize the advantages of going organic - healthier, less additives, truer to the original nature. But do we recognize the advantage of going organic in the workplace?
The common practice in the workplace is to prescribe work - certainly the specific task to be done ("You need to meet with your team on a weekly basis") if not in fact the particulars of the specific task ("You need to meet with your team every Monday at 3:15 for a total of twenty minutes and you are to have an agenda or not more than five items, including two carry-over action points from your last meeting. In other words - you should do it exactly as I do it.") In other words, it is cut and paste leadership.
Here is the lost leverage. If individuals can come up with ideas themselves, it is then organic. It is their idea. It is their action point. It will be executed in the way that is best suited to their personality and style. It is their ownership.
So - given our propensity to define leadership as throwing around specific action points - how exactly would this work without dissolving into utter chaos?
First of all recognize that as leaders we are present to prevent utter chaos. It our job to consistently monitor, edit and trim. It is our organization and focus that brings things to fruition. Being extremely prescriptive may seem like the most efficient, but allowing the team to come up with organic solutions around which we coach and guide has the best long-term impact.
Let's create strong definition around the work to be done - then allow individuals to bring their own questions and solutions.
In creating strong definitions - let's be unafraid to ask questions about the work to be done as opposed to issuing edicts. What is going to be effective? What is your belief structure about this work? How does this resonate with your team? What do you feel you are most skilled at doing? As leaders we are then creating a foundation upon which the team can build a framework.
Let's be cautious and yet be unafraid of allowing people to do the work differently than we would do it ourselves. This is the entire point of teamwork: bringing a diversity of solutions to a challenge creates the strongest house.
The point is this - if we can lead and guide the team to its own solutions, the work will be so much more resilient and forceful than if we just prescribe. Why? Because the solution is organic to the team. The work is then healthier, has less unnecessary additives and is true to the original nature of the team.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
The common practice in the workplace is to prescribe work - certainly the specific task to be done ("You need to meet with your team on a weekly basis") if not in fact the particulars of the specific task ("You need to meet with your team every Monday at 3:15 for a total of twenty minutes and you are to have an agenda or not more than five items, including two carry-over action points from your last meeting. In other words - you should do it exactly as I do it.") In other words, it is cut and paste leadership.
Here is the lost leverage. If individuals can come up with ideas themselves, it is then organic. It is their idea. It is their action point. It will be executed in the way that is best suited to their personality and style. It is their ownership.
So - given our propensity to define leadership as throwing around specific action points - how exactly would this work without dissolving into utter chaos?
First of all recognize that as leaders we are present to prevent utter chaos. It our job to consistently monitor, edit and trim. It is our organization and focus that brings things to fruition. Being extremely prescriptive may seem like the most efficient, but allowing the team to come up with organic solutions around which we coach and guide has the best long-term impact.
Let's create strong definition around the work to be done - then allow individuals to bring their own questions and solutions.
In creating strong definitions - let's be unafraid to ask questions about the work to be done as opposed to issuing edicts. What is going to be effective? What is your belief structure about this work? How does this resonate with your team? What do you feel you are most skilled at doing? As leaders we are then creating a foundation upon which the team can build a framework.
Let's be cautious and yet be unafraid of allowing people to do the work differently than we would do it ourselves. This is the entire point of teamwork: bringing a diversity of solutions to a challenge creates the strongest house.
The point is this - if we can lead and guide the team to its own solutions, the work will be so much more resilient and forceful than if we just prescribe. Why? Because the solution is organic to the team. The work is then healthier, has less unnecessary additives and is true to the original nature of the team.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Friday, March 8, 2019
The 6 "P's" of Cultural Change
Nearly everyone will agree that there is great business leverage in warranted, positive cultural change. And then often the conversation. . . just. . .stops. We may meet and come up with a mission statement. We may put up posters. It may be a featured article in the newsletter. . .and then. . .really. . .nothing happens. The result? The culture doesn't change.
So, what does it take to change culture? 6 "P's."
People: Unless the organization is dedicated to its workforce and recognizes the importance of the individual, positive change will not occur.
Power: Often existing cultures have not been directed, but are the result of laissez faire leadership - and while this doesn't sound that stable - to change it requires a proverbial act of God. No cultural change will happen unless it is initiated, or minimally, endorsed, by the leadership of the company. No cultural change will occur unless the bulk of the enterprise is persuaded by the active participation by the leadership of the enterprise.
Persistence: "We've done the prescribed team meeting. We've hung the posters. We've worn the lapel pins. What else is there to do ?" Cultural change only happens when the messaging is repeated again and again. . .over a prolonged period of time. In the marketing world there is an adage that a message must be heard at least seven times before it is even recognized. Why would we think the workplace is any different? By our messaging, but more important, by our actions, we must not only be consistent, but persistent.
And while talking about messaging; let's not allow signs, articles, posters and swag to take the place of that which is most meaningful. Culture will not change unless it is a subject of repeated face to face conversation.
Patience: The current culture did not happen overnight - it is not going to change overnight. Some people will get on board more readily - others will be more resistant. It seems like you've taken giant steps forward. . .and then there is a backsliding. It takes time. . .lots of time. . .to make important, cultural changes (See persistence above).
Pay-Out: "What's in it for me?" Cultural change must result in something positive for every member of the organization. This is the "Why?" So not only must we be clear as to why we are initiating change, but in that rationale must be the explanation of how every team member benefits. And along the way, while we are being persistent and patient - we have to celebrate the achievement when team members start to reap the benefits. Which brings us back to. . .
People: This is the starting and the culmination point. We must organically recognize that people ultimately are the reason we do anything at all. If we permit task to over-ride the priority of people, we are culturally lost. If we allow ego to take the place of team, we have failed as leaders. Positive culture is rooted in the importance of people to the enterprise.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
So, what does it take to change culture? 6 "P's."
People: Unless the organization is dedicated to its workforce and recognizes the importance of the individual, positive change will not occur.
Power: Often existing cultures have not been directed, but are the result of laissez faire leadership - and while this doesn't sound that stable - to change it requires a proverbial act of God. No cultural change will happen unless it is initiated, or minimally, endorsed, by the leadership of the company. No cultural change will occur unless the bulk of the enterprise is persuaded by the active participation by the leadership of the enterprise.
Persistence: "We've done the prescribed team meeting. We've hung the posters. We've worn the lapel pins. What else is there to do ?" Cultural change only happens when the messaging is repeated again and again. . .over a prolonged period of time. In the marketing world there is an adage that a message must be heard at least seven times before it is even recognized. Why would we think the workplace is any different? By our messaging, but more important, by our actions, we must not only be consistent, but persistent.
And while talking about messaging; let's not allow signs, articles, posters and swag to take the place of that which is most meaningful. Culture will not change unless it is a subject of repeated face to face conversation.
Patience: The current culture did not happen overnight - it is not going to change overnight. Some people will get on board more readily - others will be more resistant. It seems like you've taken giant steps forward. . .and then there is a backsliding. It takes time. . .lots of time. . .to make important, cultural changes (See persistence above).
Pay-Out: "What's in it for me?" Cultural change must result in something positive for every member of the organization. This is the "Why?" So not only must we be clear as to why we are initiating change, but in that rationale must be the explanation of how every team member benefits. And along the way, while we are being persistent and patient - we have to celebrate the achievement when team members start to reap the benefits. Which brings us back to. . .
People: This is the starting and the culmination point. We must organically recognize that people ultimately are the reason we do anything at all. If we permit task to over-ride the priority of people, we are culturally lost. If we allow ego to take the place of team, we have failed as leaders. Positive culture is rooted in the importance of people to the enterprise.
Like it? Share it!
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Friday, March 1, 2019
What Did You Learn Today?
Okay, so that conversation with a colleague didn't go exactly as planned; it was rougher than expected. And now, in retrospect, you're feeling a little burned. . .maybe a little dismissed. . .
And that presentation - going fine until that person from the fifth floor asked a question that really didn't have any applicability to your subject matter whatsoever. You stumbled. . .and now you feel a little foolish and a lot of embarrassed.
And the answer your boss gave you! Very unexpected - kind of threw you for a loop. Feeling a little off-center. . .
Or instead of feeling dismissed or disrespected or foolish or embarrassed or off-center. . .a more constructive course of action is generated by this. . .what did you learn today?
It is what it is. . .what is done is truly done. The past can't be changed. . .but our reaction to it can be. Our reactions are so trained by our personal culture. . .to be angry or flummoxed or embarrassed is rather built in. That doesn't mean, however, that our natural reaction cannot be re-trained to be something more positive; something that moves us forward.
And learning moves us forward.
What did we learn about our approach to that potentially difficult co-worker? What can we do in presentations to be prepared for the unexpected? Perhaps we should approach conversations with our boss with less expectations and more open-ness.
Meditating on what went wrong is very different than dwelling on it. Thoughtfulness on what "went wrong" should instruct us as to what we can do better going forward.
Each day presents new opportunities and challenges. The commonality is that we can, and should, learn as much as possible. . .each day.
Like it? Share it?
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
And that presentation - going fine until that person from the fifth floor asked a question that really didn't have any applicability to your subject matter whatsoever. You stumbled. . .and now you feel a little foolish and a lot of embarrassed.
And the answer your boss gave you! Very unexpected - kind of threw you for a loop. Feeling a little off-center. . .
Or instead of feeling dismissed or disrespected or foolish or embarrassed or off-center. . .a more constructive course of action is generated by this. . .what did you learn today?
It is what it is. . .what is done is truly done. The past can't be changed. . .but our reaction to it can be. Our reactions are so trained by our personal culture. . .to be angry or flummoxed or embarrassed is rather built in. That doesn't mean, however, that our natural reaction cannot be re-trained to be something more positive; something that moves us forward.
And learning moves us forward.
What did we learn about our approach to that potentially difficult co-worker? What can we do in presentations to be prepared for the unexpected? Perhaps we should approach conversations with our boss with less expectations and more open-ness.
Meditating on what went wrong is very different than dwelling on it. Thoughtfulness on what "went wrong" should instruct us as to what we can do better going forward.
Each day presents new opportunities and challenges. The commonality is that we can, and should, learn as much as possible. . .each day.
Like it? Share it?
My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)