Leader's Compass 34 - The Few Who Do

"[Rationalization's] job is to keep us from feeling the same we would feel if we truly faced the cowards we are for not doing our work."

- Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

The greatest wars in life are waged in the walls of our mind. Should I? Shouldn't I? What if I fail? What if I succeed? What if it's too hard? What if people talk bad about me? What if...?

Constant questioning can paralize us into inaction. Essentially, we fail before we even begin. We battle the critical, excuse making voice inside us and give up before the physical battle ever begins.

There are those who, through practice and diligent effort have separated themselves from the exhausted masses of "those who rationalize" to become one of "the few who do."

High standards and expectations are essential to growth and flawless execution. Let's look at a few ideas that separate the few who do from those that have developed learned helplessness.

Personal Leadership
There is an old saying that "how you do anything is how you do everything." Standards will be met - either high or low. This is a basic tenant of leadership, growth and development. Strong leaders of others are even stronger leaders of themselves. They have honed the "few who do" mentality in their personal lives. These leaders:

1. Set crystal clear personal expectations. The few who do have mission statements, visions and standards for their lives. They review their internal compass regularly.
2. Realize that they are only as strong as their weakest link. The few who do know that the statement "I'm good at __________, but really bad at ____________" determines how good they really area. They know the weakest area is one that creates the most drag.
3. Understand that the negative internal voice author Steven Pressfield calls "The Resistance" is inherent in all of us. Doing what needs to be done in spite of this voice separates the few who do from those who rationalize.

After developing strong personal habits the leader can then look outward at setting and holding strong expectations for others.

Leading Others
The powerful personal leader, the one who has discipline and focus can now turn his or her attention to leading others into becoming the few who do. When doing so these charismatic and determined leaders:

1. Set crystal clear expectations. Strong leaders set the bar high and clarify -
1. What the global vision is
2. What the strategic objectives are
3. What every team member's roles are and
4. What obstacles may be in the way that the team will need to overcome
2. Teach, coach and develop both the top and bottom performers. These leaders know that the drag created by low performers can not be outrun by the best. The weakest metric, the weakest skill in a team member or employee will need to be addressed.
3. Challenge and inspire the team to push through challenges. The "leader who does" gets involved and works side by side with his or her team challenging them to step up their game. They hold their team accountable to their personal development plans and empower and facilitate change in others so that they may also be part of the few who do.

 

Taking it Up a Notch
In his book Good to Great author Jim Collins identifies that the most charismatic leaders are not always those who get extraordinary results. Don't get me wrong - charisma is important in leadership, however it may not be the fulcrum that takes your endeavor from good to great.

Collins identifies what he calls Level 5 Leadership. In this level of leadership the leader has learned how to combine seemingly opposite qualities of personal will or determination and humility.

Effective leaders never give up, they cut through excuses - their own and others - and they stay humble by staying focused on being one of the few who do. Practice this yourself, BE one of the few who do and you will reap great rewards. Lead on.

Leader's Compass 33 - Be The Captain...How To Keep Your Head While Others Are Losing Theirs

You've heard the analogy before. A great captain keeps their head while all others are losing their own. The storms wage, the fears grow in the hearts and minds of the crew and the captain, the seasoned leaders shaped by time and experience keeps his calm and steers the ship through the storm to calmer waters. "Calm waters not a good captain make" the old adage was coined.

 

What is it that keeps these seasoned leaders so calm, emotions in check and focused? What do they know that you may not?

Author Mario Alonso Pug wrote that "whether we like it or not, someone who is overcome with emotions is intellectually at a dead-end." The ability to keep your head when the challenges seem to be mounting can be the tipping point of your success or failure.

So how do keep calm when deadlines and pressures mount? One of the crucial skills in developing your EQ or emotional intelligence is the skill of self awareness. Being self aware is the first step to ensuring your plan execution is cognitive and not emotive in nature. When stress builds up taking the time to stop and ask a few questions may prove to provide a more solid base from which to execute from. Let's take a look at a few:

• "What are my current top stressors?"
• "Why am I feeling the increased stress?"
• "What beliefs, what paradigms have led me to this point?"
• "Ultimately, what are the MOST important items for me to focus on right now?"

Anyone who has read Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People will remember that in order to get moving in the direction we want we need to classify our stressors and action items into 4 quadrants (see below).

After identifying the quadrant breakdown you can slow down and take action on the items deemed most important. This requires a little bit of patience and some skillful kindness when you may need to tell someone who has brought you the latest gossip, their own pressing problem or the latest waste of time that you simply don't have time for it right now.

History has shown that acting when emotionally charged we make more "I'm sorry" moments than when we chose to pause, evaluate and act out of intellect, principle and independent choice.

The storms of life and business may not always be fun, but they can be a solid testing ground for our ability to remain calm when the waters are rough. Slow down, evaluate and gain perspective. Great leaders have a habit of looking, observing and then acting.

Take a deep breath, take time to evaluate and lead on.

Leader's Compass 32 - Patience - THE Essential Leadership Ingredient

When I was a young boy my mother would use any opportunity she could to teach me the importance of patience. Waiting in the doctors office, sitting in church, driving the 2 hour drive to grandma's house; the message was the same -" it'll teach you patience"

All of those times paid off. I learned that patience was a virtue to be coveted and practiced regularly. In fact, I've observed that patience in leadership is probably the most crucial ingredient to the recipie. A wise person once said that when it comes to people "slow is fast." This means that if you want someone to grow quickly be patient and slow down. People, unlike objects thrive in nurturing, patient relationships. The wise leader uses patience as the powerful tool to help breed a culture of support and growth.

Over the years I've had the pleasure of watching young managers become true leaders by learning and practicing patience. "Do it now, because I said so!" becomes replaced with patient nurturing and passionate teaching that respects the natural growth process. Patient leaders tend not to get as frustrated because they understand that patience is a more powerful tool than pushy persuasion. 

The patient leader tends to follow the mature decision making process when making decisions. They ask:

1 - How does this decision affect my team member?

2 - How does this decision affect my team?

3 - How does this decision affect our customer? And finally 

4 - How does this decision affect our company?

By patiently pausing and then choosing action after filtering the decision through the above process the patient leader is more likely to make a savvy, more seductive decision luring his or her followers toward wanting to do what the leader asks. 

Like physical strength movements patience is developed and strengthened through consistent practice. How is your patience practice coming along? Don't forget to pause and be patient. Lead on.

Leader's Compass 31 - Running Lean - How Managers Can Creatively Cut The Fat WithoutCompromising Quality

All too often we think more is better. Recently I've read about how some retailers are finding thier revenues down and are needing to "trim the fat" through better expense management. Although most companies and many people personally have had to cut back on spending when times are tough tightening the belt a bit can be a helpful reminder of what is important. Below are a few helpful tips.

1. Always invest in training and development. It's been said that a great leader knows more about his assets than his liabilities. This does not mean that the leader is a fool that ignores expenses, but that they look for, see and understand the depth of the assets in his possession. Spending time with and training the team you work with can have a massive effect on your overall cost savings. 

Better trained, more developed people are able to easily do more without becoming burned out and overwhelmed. 

2. Maximize individual strengths. A solid manager will take pause and look from both a long term strategic and short term tactical perspective what strengths in her individuals are best utilized where. People that are maximizing strengths in thier day to day are happier, more productive and more effective as well. Putting the right person, with the right talent and skill in the right job is the first step toward success.

3. Don't forget the fine toothed comb. Doing a thourough search for company fat - programs that are not producing, projects that are unproductive will always be found through a detailed approach to the financial statements.

4. Commit to killing sacred cows when necessary. Every company has no shortage of sacred cows. Perhaps it's the idea that the CEO loves and everyone has followed despite its eventual ineffectiveness. Maybe it's the cultural shift made by the entire corporation in an effort to improve an area but instead created more redundancy in the business. 

When cutting costs effectively it's important to go into the process with the commitment to kill any sacred cow that is no longer serving the company needs.

5. Finally - never sacrifice the customer experience. Experience is what keeps us coming back to a retailer, a restaurant, hotel, health club, or any other service business. Sure, competitive pricing is great, but if history has taught us anything about business the experience consumers have is paramount to the company's long term success.

See from the customer point of view and never forget that intelligent consumers can see when you are trying to save a buck at thier expense. Don't fool yourself into thinking you are fooling them if one of your cost cutting measures puts customers needs on the back burner.

In the end lean times can create better efficiency and effectivity if done properly. Cost cutting is a sharp sword that if done too aggressively and without the velvet hammer approach can alienate employees and customers alike. Done well however it can be a great lesson in leadership, team building and loyalty creation. Plan well and lead on.

Leader's Compass 30 - One of These Things is Not Like The Other

"Life is hard, and so am I"

- Mark Everett, The Eels

In school I got sent to the principal's office for not conforming to the standard regularly. Times have changed but I haven't. Ultimately, at the heart of it I'm what you would call a contrarian. I do things contrary to what is popular. I'm not particularly interested in the most popular way of doing something because I've never gotten much satisfaction from being a lemming.

When I was younger being a contrarian, someone who marched to the beat of a different drummer didn't seem so cool. I struggled with the fact that my inner voice would not only be able to cut through the bullshit of what "authority" figures said, but that I couldn't just go with the conventional flow. Call it my artistic expression, my strong willed stubbornness or my analytical passion. Whatever it is I was born hard wired to not conform. 

Over time I came to observe that leaders were those that, like me were a bit off the beaten path. They didn't listen to the masses. In my home office I have a quote from the great Henry Ford that says "If I would have asked them (the public) what they wanted they would have told me [they wanted] a faster horse." Instead of listening to the masses Ford created the automobile and revolutionized our world transportation.

Managers and leaders are cut from different cloth. A great leader can also be a great manager. A good manager however has a difficult time becoming a great leader. Managers listen to the status quo, develop systems to maintain that status quo and follow the mantra "create efficiency and don't rock the boat." Leaders rock the boat...regularly. Leaders are rarely "appropriate." 

When asked about his general who "drank too much and cursed too much" Abraham Lincoln, a great leader in his own right responded that that general was getting results and that he wished he had several more "drunk generals." That "drunk general" by the way ended up winning the war for Lincoln and the country.

Being a leader means you are driven by passion and a love for the people you lead. Sometimes, those people, because of their own weakness look to you as the "fault." Their personal self esteem issuers cause them to betray themselves and ultimately you. Does that mean the leader is in the wrong? Not necessarily. The great contrarian Winston Churchill said that if you are have no enimies then you have never taken a stand or made a bold action.

Being a contrarian is risky, and all risks come with upsides and downsides. Great leaders weigh the risks and act anyway knowing that at the end of the day they (unlike their manager counterparts believe) cannot control every outcome.

Contrarians are leaders. They are those that stop, observe, act out of what they belive is right and not out of what "the rules" say. A great contrarian, therefore must become a great appoligizer. Contrarian leaders don't mean to offend and are often misunderstood because they do not follow the status quo. Apologies for misunderstandings and unintend offenses are had regularly.

Ultimately we all have at least a small contrarian inside of us. Some have a stronger voice than others, perhaps because they have learned to listen to it more often over the years. Regardless, feed that contrarian. Be the guy, be the girl that is, as Sesame Street taught us "is not like the other" 

Live well. Lead on.

Leader's Compass 29 - Two Crucial Leadership Skills

In his book Creativity - The Perfect Crime, Philippe Petit describes that the first step in his creative process is to start with chaos. "The word chaos is Greek and means 'that which gapes wide open. It's a beautiful world. I see a wide-open mouth hungry to swallow the worlds knowledge."

The art of parkour began in France. The French called this explosive running style "faire un parcour." Parkour, or playfull acrobatic running is running is a mix of running combined with gymnastic-type moves in an obstacle course, in city streets or throughout nature. At the heart of this style of movement is the ability to adapt ones movements to ones surroundings and environment.

Relationships are inherently either creative or destructive in nature depending on the way we approach them. A true leader and coach approaches the relationships in her life with the intent to create, build and develop. Like any other creative pursuit this requires stepping into the unknown, facing the chaos and opening up another person in a way that develops and creates.

One of the difficulties in navigating relationships is having the ability to perform gymnastic-like moves when communicating with others in order to stay on track. Flexibility is crucial in communication and relationship growth. Like the skilled parkour runner the skilled leader may need to leap over criticism, dodge anger and cartwheel past the initial challenges of tough conversations.

Two important tools in any leader's tool belt are coaching and feedback. Coaching is something a leader does when the foundations of trust, honesty and respect are present in the relationship. The process of coaching is fairly simple. When a problem or concern arises in a relationship the leader approaches the other person and in a non-attacking way tells them how they see a situation. Following their perspective they say "how do you see it?" Finally, the leader encourages the other person to create a plan to fix the problem, improve the situation and/or ensure the concern doesn't continue.

Coaching, like its brother feedback is fact based. Opinions, judgements and threats are not part of true coaching. Feedback, also a fact based tool in the leaders tool belt is a tool to be used with high and low performers to reinforce positive behaviors. "I really appreciate how thorough you were in your financial report. You really drilled down to the details and showed a strong grasp of your business. Thank you for the time and attention to detail you put in." 

This type of specific feedback shows the person exactly what you appreciated and what you thought they did well. The feedback approach builds confidence in a specific area and eliminates "the halo effect" we throw around when we say things like "you are awesome." Specific feedback drives more specific performance. Telling someone they are awesome, no matter how well intentioned only makes them feel good temporarily and does not give them anything to continue doing well.

The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the majority of workers prefer getting positive feedback. Reading that may make you think "well duh"! Who loves receiving negative feedback? Not many. Therefore they ability to deliver coaching, rather than just negative feedback is crucial. Stepping into the wide expanse, opening up to the chaos is the first step in the creative process. Practice the skills of coaching and feedback and, like a great parkour artist you will be able to navigate your relationships well while making others feel great. Be a true professional - practice until you don't get it wrong. Lead on.

Leader's Compass 28 - A&I - A Lethal Combination

"I'm pretty much the best artist I know."

- Napolean Dynamite

We all know "that guy." You know, the guy who is never wrong, the guy who "always" knows, the guy who knew before you did..."that guy"....the legend in his own mind.

From rap stars songs revolving around themselves to the ever present "selfy" revolution we have transformed ourselves into a nation of hubris loving, self aggrandizing "that guys" or "that girls" that value arrogance over humility and ignorance over intelilligence.

Basic chemistry teaches us that certain compounds alone may not be as harmful as they are when combined with other chemicals. Mix the wrong two chemicals and you have and explosion. Psychology and relationships are the same. A&I, or arrogance and ignorance mixed together create an especially lethal compund for any leader. 

We can all remember that guy, or that girl who had a particular mastery of both qualities. Can't remember? Maybe that guy or that girl is you? Outside of just not showering, smelling bad and being consistently "the smelly kid" I can't think of a compound more repulsive to anyone in a leadership position. A&I drive others away, discourage growth and offend the masses. The legend becomes legendary in their hubris, their self aggrandizement, their constant need for self promotion. Sorry Mr. Important, but beyond your overly inflated ego no one cares how uber awesome you think you are.

Like a poison slowly spreading in the bloodstream of a leaders relationships the A&I compound has a tempering antidote. This tempering antidote is not an opposite, not an alternative but a vitamin, a medicine of sorts to lesson the negative affects. The curative compound L&R works as an appropriate antidote. L&R is not easy, however it can be both a quick fix and a long term deposit into the emotional bank account of any relationship.

L&R, or listening and restating go beyond mere passive listening, pretend listening (categorized by the "bullshit nod" and the classic "mmmhmm...'I'm not really listening but want you to think I am' grunt") and the ultimate "listening just to respond". L&R require you to be active with your ears and your body. Your body's language speaks to an inclination not only to hear, but to clarify and understand. L&R requires cognition, thought about what the other person is saying. L&R means that you may even be open emotionally to another person while you set your ego aside. 

  

If you ever find yourself pontificating on how awesome you are because you spent "like three hours shading the upper lip" of the drawing of your life remind yourself that A&I make you look about as cool as Napolean Dynamite in his stellar moon boots and rockin' Preston High gym class shirt. Take a dose of L&R and become truly legendary. Live well, be well and lead on.