Category: Leadership

In his heyday, Steve Martin created some memorable lines:

“We’re two wild and crazy guys!”

“Always…no wait…never…” 

“I thought yesterday was the first day of the rest of my life, but it turns out today is.”

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”

“Boy, those French! They have a different word for everything.” 

My favorite, from his 1977 album Let’s Get Small, is when he would refer to making a grievous mistake and slough it off with an extended, “Well, excuuuus me.” I stole borrowed it when I emceed high school football pep rallies that fall – even appearing with an arrow through my head – and received big laughs. 

Now 46 years later it seems way too often folks use that approach to justify behavior that most would find unacceptable. From politicians, to clergy, to CEOs, egregious mistakes are explained away as ‘oopsies’ that attempt to minimize the impact of actions.

Perhaps the rest of us could learn something from the legendary comic that would discourage such behavior: “I’ve heard lots of people lie to themselves but they never fool anyone.” 

Yesterday, I gave a keynote for the Houston chapter of IREM (Institute for Real Estate Management). The topic was ‘Five Generations of Talent’ in the workforce for the first time in our nation’s history. A lot is written about this unique period, including a book by Jean M. Twenge, PhD, published last month, appropriately titled: Generations.

During my research I spoke to some clients to gain their perspective. A VP in charge of Europe for a plant-based food company said:

Every generation feels the next one is less committed. I think it’s more accurate to say each has a different mindset. The key to engaging them is aligning the organization’s culture and principles. Start there.

Placing broad characteristics on people requires generalizing… and not everyone fits the category. In the case of generations, one way demographers categorize them is by the technology they encountered around age 10… and what happened culturally in their twenties.

For instance, as 10-year-olds in 1956, the first Boomers were watching the spread of television… spending their afternoons with Annette and Cubby on the Mickey Mouse Club. Meanwhile, the early Millennials –in 1991 – experienced the expansion of the Internet.

From a cultural perspective, Silents – as twenty somethings in the 60’s – championed the Women’s and Civil Rights movements, while Gen X – in the 80’s – witnessed both the Challenger explosion and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The latest entry into the workforce – currently comprising 25% and growing quickly – is Gen Z… those born starting in 1997. Only 61% consider work to be ‘a significant part of their identity,’ as compared to 86% of Boomers. Yet, they’re seen as: ‘highly ambitious’… ‘optimistic and upbeat’… and ‘practical and realistic.’ They also ‘pursue their passions’ and ‘voice views fearlessly.’ Much more, in fact, than their parents and grandparents.

As my VP client suggested, each generation looks at the next one and tends to undervalue them. Personally, I believe we’re in good hands… especially with Gen Alpha coming up fast. They’ll be in the workforce in five short years. Of course, us gray-haired veterans will need to do our job and align culture and principles to help them launch. 

For the past year, I’ve worked virtually with an international group of leaders who reside in Australia, Pakistan, Mexico and the US. These are senior executives that are on track to be C-suite members during their career. Our work is around what gaps they need to overcome individually to continue soaring in the organization.

Last month, we watched a video by David Marquet, author of Turn the Ship Around, during which he shared the approach for taking the worst performing submarine in the fleet to the best in one year.

These are the three key lessons I heard:

> Never give another order – Empower the team to make decisions… and stand by them when they take a different approach than you would. (With one exception: final launch of a weapon; that responsibility alone stayed with him)

> Allow leaders to discover the answer – This is a coaching tenet: rather than tell them, ‘Do this’, ask ‘What do you want to do?’ Marquet shared: When the commander says, ‘Captain, I intend to submerge the ship,’ he asked, ‘What do you think I’m thinking right now?’ to help them consider things from his perspective. Then, later, they discussed whether their decision was the right one in the moment.

> Place more authority where the information is – Those in the field – (or on the front lines of the ship) – understand better than a CEO (or captain) what’s happening. From his viewpoint, there are two pillars that matter: Technical Competence (ability to do the job) and Organizational Clarity (everyone understands the goal and their individual role in achieving it). 

It seems a lot of people I speak with are doing more and more and more at their organizations – whether because ‘it’s hard to find people these days’ or ‘we’re not filling positions when someone leaves.’ One of my clients told me last week: “If you do a good job here at your job, you get someone else’s job to do.”

At some places, this approach could be a signal to lay low, do just enough to get by and let others pick up the extra slack. Elsewhere, it could be an opportunity to take on new challenges, display previously unknown skills, or set yourself up for a promotion.

Doing the work of three people isn’t sustainable forever – and no one wants to be taken advantage of; however, in the short-term, it might be worth the extra hours and energy drain. 

Whenever I meet another coach – especially new ones in this art – I’m quick to offer any guidance or materials I have that might help them. So many people helped me learn and grow during four careers that I can’t imagine not sharing anything I have with someone.

A few weeks ago I spoke with a person who’s been coaching for a short time, then sent her several redacted documents to use: project agreement, introductory emails, role definitions, feedback report, development plan, progress tracking. The next time we spoke she said: “I can’t believe you did that. Some other coaches I’ve met protect those things like they’re gold.”

I told her that approach doesn’t make sense to me. Operating from a place of abundance just seems like the right thing to do. It solidifies a relationship… and I’ve found it always comes back to me many times over. I gain more than I give.

Right now I’m working on a project that involves something I haven’t done in many years. When I contacted two coaches I’ve mentored for several years and asked for help, they quickly responded: “Of course, whatever you need. I’m there.”