Leadership – Page 21 – Fast:Forward Farther

December 23, 2014December 23, 2014

Lessons Learned – #10

Each December, I pause to share with my newsletter readers the ‘Top 10 Things’ I learned during the year. Here’s wishing you peace and success in the New Year… as we begin with Lesson #10:

Broken Promises – Returning from last year’s Christmas trip, we discovered a large window on the back of our home cracked top to bottom. We contacted a local glass company… and the installer and helper arrived four hours after the scheduled time on a cold night. For 90 minutes we huddled in blankets as they did what glaziers do. The next morning I went outside to check their handiwork and discovered it was terrible. Then I realized the loud noise I heard when they left was their truck backing against our mailbox and knocking it askew. It took multiple unreturned calls and several trips for them to make good on their poor craftsmanship and driving skills. A few days later I remembered our next-door neighbor is in that business.

November 24, 2014November 18, 2014

Big Leap

One of my good friends likes to say: “Momentum is a powerful force” – which means when you’re on a roll is the best time to capitalize on success.

You see it in sports all the time: when the defense forces a turnover in football and the quarterback immediately takes a shot at the end zone… in baseball in the bottom of the ninth, when two runs are in with a man on, the crowd is roaring and the next batter launches a walk-off home run… in basketball when Stephen Curry knocks down a couple of 3’s and you know the next time down the court he’s going to swish another.

Similarly, Colin Powell believes, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”:

“The ripple effect of a leader’s enthusiasm and optimism is awesome. So is the impact of cynicism and pessimism. Leaders who whine and blame engender those same behaviors among their colleagues. I am not talking about stoically accepting organizational stupidity and performance incompetence with a ‘What, me worry?’ smile. I am talking about a gung ho attitude that says, ‘We can change things here, we can achieve awesome goals, we can be the best.’ Spare me the grim litany of the ‘realist’; give me the unrealistic aspirations of the optimist any day.”

Whether it’s the energy of cheering fans charging the atmosphere, the delighted smiles on customers’ faces justifying all the hard work you put in, or the subtle nods of team members acknowledging your insight and conviction, the momentum of success will jettison you forward toward even great results.

July 30, 2014

Over Easy

One of my clients recently said to me: “You seem to do things the easy way.” At first I wasn’t sure that comment was intended as a compliment, then he continued: “In our conversations I keep trying to make things hard; you keep taking me back to the simplest concepts. That helps me actually get things done.” It pleased me that he recognizes I tend to look at things from a ‘How do we get there in the fewest steps?’ mentality.

Not saying I take shortcuts… just that from my seat it seems if you start moving the details fill in themselves. That approach – which makes me a terrific brainstorming partner – works well… although some folks, usually engineers, may be frustrated by the lack of depth in some of my ideas.

Granted, if I was responsible for building bridges, launching rockets or performing brain surgery, it would be important to deep-dive into the plan; however, when my role is to move clients off ‘stuck,’ I find that suggesting two or three ‘first movement’ possibilities allows them to see through to the other side and take action toward desired results.

Interestingly, in my television days – and as recently as the past few months while preparing for the franchising conference I produced last week – people asked, “How do you keep all the details straight?” Of course, I maintain excellent notes and am continually double-checking to ensure everything is going as requested. However, at the highest level, I keep a picture of the overall theme vividly imprinted on my mind… and everything that flows from my imagination aligns with that vision.

Perhaps the lesson here is, to put a twist on Covey, begin with the beginning in mind.

July 29, 2014July 29, 2014

Take Video

For the second year in a row I served as executive producer last week of the annual conference for a franchising company. After months of planning – and a lot of work by a lot of people – everything went splendidly… which is always nice after you put so much effort into developing a great experience for attendees.

Seeing the production crew convert an empty ballroom into a beautiful setting – with wide format banners, elegant lighting and video screens – in a matter of hours created a lot of energy for everyone who would be working the event. It was fun to meet an Olympic medalist, who presented the keynote address, and watch the cover band, which would deliver a rocking show to wrap things up, conduct their sound check and rehearsal. What was better is that these talented individuals were polite, friendly and had their egos in check.

The best part personally for me is a vision that popped into my head in February came to fruition in July through the creative efforts of many. Talented people pulled off every one of my “Let’s do this” ideas… and, when it was all over, one of them said: “I didn’t really get it when you requested all these different things – not seeing how they fit together. I learned to trust you and just go with it because you truly see the big picture.”

While I have no desire to return to my television roots and do more of these extravaganzas, there is something exciting about the rush of adrenaline as the clock counts down to show time. And, I must say, it’s fulfilling to witness everything come off without a hitch. Perhaps that’s what drives people toward success… whether you’re producing entertainment or widgets.

May 31, 2014May 31, 2014

Finding Strength

Over the last six years, I have delivered more than 80 debriefings utilizing an assessment that provides a comprehensive report on Usual Style, Needs and Stress Reactions. Clients find it insightful to better understand how they appear to others and how they desire to be treated. This process is an essential piece of a successful executive coaching engagement.

Recently, many organizations are turning to the Gallup StrengthsFinder – developed by the late Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. – as the method for measuring their leaders best assets… and to keep executives “more engaged, more productive, and happier.” While I personally see value in also acknowledging and working on weaknesses, focusing solely on maximizing strengths seems a plausible approach to improving performance.

It’s always fascinating to see how accurately assessments describe an individual. I’ve asked every client if the report captured his/her style and only one said no. (Later, I shared that with her boss, who said, “That’s her biggest problem – no self-awareness.”) While I have no idea how the algorithms behind the innocuous maze of questions work, there is something to this personality style approach first presented nearly a century ago by Carl Jung.

The Gallup StrengthsFinder nailed my top five Signature Themes: Strategic (“a special perspective on the world at large”), Achiever (“if the day passes without some sort of achievement, you will feel dissatisfied”), Learner (“energized by the steady and deliberate journey to competence”), Focus (“each year, each month, and even each week you set goals”) and Futuristic (“a dreamer who sees visions of what could be”).

There are hundreds of assessment programs. Some are inexpensive and available instantly online. If you haven’t paused recently to look inward and explore yourself, this summer might be a good time to do that.