Collaborative Culture

Collaborative Culture

To give credit where it’s due, I recently read a book written by a new friend, Robert Nitschke, titled, “Creating a Collaborative Enterprise.” (Nitschke, 2012) I urge anyone interested in culture improvement More »

Change Management Consulting

Top 3 Change Management Mistakes

Change is a healthy part of any enterprise intent on thriving long-term. History, and even present day, is littered with countless examples of those who failed to change in timely response to More »

Photo by InterContinental Hong Kong

Turning Business Owners Into CEOs

One of the most fascinating topics is the area of small business. Our country has a rich history of many entrepreneurs over the 200+ years who have worked hard, failed, learned, succeeded More »

Process Design Diagram

Process Design in Operations Management

We all know there’s design … and then there’s DESIGN! From beautiful houses and buildings to boats – you name it – design makes all the difference in a great or just-ok More »

6513345221_d042e235f4_z

Business Scenario Planning

Would you like to know what’s over the horizon? The truth is, nobody can precisely predict the future but we can get an idea with a handy improvement tool called “future scenario More »

Leading Strategies Blog Featured on LeadershipDigital.com

February 28, 2011   admin

The Leading Strategies Blog is now featured on the popular site, LeadershipDigital.com. With over 15,000 articles and growing daily, Leadership Digital is a comprehensive resource for leadership and management topics. Their site offers a free daily, weekly, monthly or annual digest via e-mail from around the leadership universe.

You will find content from many familiar names such as Goldsmith, Drucker, Cooper, Wilde, Senge, Hammer and topics ranging from leadership  and management to innovation and marketing to technology, ethics, operations, and finance.  In addition to author names, the site also categorizes posts by concepts (succession, teams, strategy, etc.), industry or type (blog, book, how to, etc.) for easy searching.

What’s not to like? Stop by and take a look!

Link to this post!
Read More

Sales Strategy and Management

February 24, 2011   admin
Sales Manaqement

No matter what … everything comes back to sales. Leadership development is great. Culture shaping is critical … but without sales, these and other organization development activities are academic. However, what is interesting to this culture geek is sales strategy and management are simply sub-areas of the overall aim of an organization.

To successfully manage the sales process in a big picture sense requires planning, predicting and/or delivering in the following major areas. Leaving out any of the four areas below will mean lost revenue to the company.

  • Discover Customer Demand – The organization must have an idea of the market. It is important to study, digest and make assumptions about the target niche. Who will buy? How much? How often? Where and what are the unmet needs, wants and expectations? How can we exceed these requirements to stand out from the crowd? Without this step, sales efforts will be unfocused and ineffective.
  • Build Sales Capacity – After predicting the demand, an enterprise must decide how much of the market it wants to “handle.” What is the short, medium and long-term sales vision of the company? How does this fit with the overall aim of the organization? (If it doesn’t fit, one or the other or both must be adjusted.) Where will we find sales representatives with our values? How will we develop them for increasing success?  Without this step, customers will not know about your company or will look elsewhere when the sales staff does not engage in a timely way.
  • Create Company Capability – Now that demand and sales capacity are known, plan for and configure the company to meet the need. Some might argue for this step to be second but the needs-based company will make this the third step. Customers are why business exists. Define who the customers are, how you intend to build relationships with them and then deliver on promises. Without this step, meeting customer demand will likely remain elusive or of mediocre quality.
  • Measure – This is the follow-up or accountability piece. Be sure what is measured is relevant and keep the metrics to the absolute minimum. Most of us have probably seen places where measurement became the master instead of the slave. Have a process in place to periodically review ALL the metrics and reconsider each one. Cut regularly. Without this step, an organization will not know where to increase efficiencies for better sales results.

Now let’s drill down a bit more into the nuts-and-bolts of sales capacity and management. Management by its very nature means to find the most efficient way to deliver on an existing mindset. This is working inside the box. There is nothing wrong with working inside the box as long as it is intentional and is in a broader leadership context (reviewing the box constantly). With this in mind, to excel at managing sales operations requires successful mapping and alignment of sales territories as well as balancing workload effectively.

Mapping and Alignment of Sales Territories

Many companies choose to create sales territories. If your organization uses this model, balanced territories help with sales quota planning. Remember the need to know customer demand above? This is a key part in defining and segmenting sales territories. Of course, sales territories will not stay static so the balancing effort should be ongoing to make sure the company is putting its best sales foot forward.

After understanding the ideal customer profile, it’s time for building prospecting lists for the sales representatives. This can be an exciting step for the sales-minded as it makes the sales concept become more real! There is nothing like translating strategy into a tactic.

Balancing Workload

However, with the prospect data comes a dilemma. What are the proper sales quotas and how should the organization best spread the workload reasonably among the sale staff? Most everyone likes to be challenged but no worked too slavishly. Balance workload is the key so all feel as though they are part of the solution but also part of a team. Let’s step back to check the progression.

Company Aim –> Strategy –> Customer Demand –> Build Sales Capacity –>

Map the Sales Territory & Translate to Sales Quotas

One service option for succeeding in sales management is to use a smart technology firm like Geographic Enterprises as they can help with sales territory mapping. Most of all in thinking about sales management, please remember to manage the process but not the people. Lead them … but that’s a topic for another time.

————————

Related Articles

  • Sales education: Can sales be taught in the classroom? – – That’s the question I put to my LinkedIn network, and the range of answers I got was illuminating. When I’ve talked about this in the past with sales pros, including some of our veteran account managers here at Hoover’s and sales consultants who have been in the business a long time, they all talk about how the whole world of sales can get better. Many of these folks, even ones who have thrived under the typical find- more- rainmakers method of building sales teams, want sales management to become more rigorous, more analytical, and more systematic.
  • Business Skeptic » Blog Archive » Solution Selling Defined – One of the greatest attributes of marketing is the creation of words and phrases that sound great and instill a feeling of virtue and professionalism, yet are undefined and often meaningless. Solution Sales is one of my favorites. …
Link to this post!
Read More

4 Steps to Better Culture (2 of 2)

February 17, 2011   admin
Photo by SFO CP

Last time I talked about how each organization has a personality as a result of the collection of personalities within. Now let’s continue with the thought of improving that larger personality through a few common sense steps.

3. Interview any new employee within 7-14 days of starting work. People are smart and very quickly adapt to a new environment. This includes companies where a fresh face quickly blends into the culture. Many of us would like to change things but many cultural mindsets become invisible because, “that’s just the way we do it here.” The newest employee is more likely to wonder “why” and the smart cultural warrior will pounce on this information like the gold nugget it is. Oh by the way … act on the interview information.

Specific Take-aways:

  • The important part of this interview is to only do it when you are completely open and 100% non-defensive. The interviewee will take cues from your body language – good or bad.
  • Take good notes (and let the person know what and why you are writing vigorously.) Also, you must be committed to acting on this feedback or else the interview is actually a bad thing. Any boss who asks the type of questions as below is sending an implied message of coming improvement. Better to not ask and not change than to ask and then not follow through.
  • Here are possible questions.
    • What has surprised you about joining this company?
    • What has disappointed you since you started?
    • What processes seems cumbersome? What methods are really slick?
    • What is your favorite part of this job? Why?
    • Assuming the right skills match, would you try to get your best friend to work here? Why or why not?
    • What kind of training do you wish you would have more of?
    • What educational opportunities do you hope for in this organization?
    • What things would make you a raving fan of this organization for a long time?
    • If you were to describe this company as a person, what would that person look like and act like?
  • IMPORTANT: Follow up with the new employee in no more than two weeks about improvements you made based on the feedback. The more the better. Please, please follow-up. If this is not your strength, enlist the help of a colleague or sharp executive assistant.

4. Hire for a value system first before experience. See if this sounds familiar. The typical hiring process looks for X years of experience in this specialty or that. Throw in a college degree for good measure and maybe membership in some professional group. Once the hiring manager is satisfied the person has “been there, done that” long enough, the deal is closed.

All too often though, the same hiring manager will grow disgruntled with the employee in the coming weeks and months. Why the dissatisfaction? The problem is rarely a discrepancy in the experience level. (They said they had eight years experience and they only have six, for example.) The complaint is usually something about the lack of performance or some obnoxious personal trait. This is a classic case of aiming for the wrong target and hitting it! The company ultimately pays the price in lower morale, productivity and profitability. Don’t get me wrong, experience is important, it’s just over-emphasized in too many cases.

Specific Take-aways:

  • Identify the values most important in the ideal person for the position. If you can narrow the list to the top three or four, that’s best.
  • Conduct more than one interview … face to face. You can’t afford to mess up the hiring decision because it’s too painful and costly. Sorry HR, telephone interviews are terrible for making quality hiring decisions. Skype is bit better but still not as good as in person.
  • Conduct at least one interview at a local eatery or other public place requiring interaction with others. (I can’t take credit for this idea but don’t remember where I read it.) How does the prospective employee interact? Is this someone you want talking to your most valued customers?
  • Get into discussions about decision-making with the candidate to start to understanding their thinking process. What values do you think are most important to them? Would you let this person babysit your 4-year old? Would you be comfortable to introduce this interviewee to your mother?
  • If you don’t find the right candidate at first, start over. Don’t settle for second best or “just OK.” Resist the pressure to “just fill the position.” Take it from one with hiring regrets in a past life.

5. Learn to work outside the script. (OK, I fibbed a little … here is a fifth way to help build a stand-out culture.) Anybody can learn and run a business script. It’s not terribly tough to say, “Store policy is …” because it transfers the accountability to some nameless person deep in the company hierarchy. The clerk or low-level employee becomes the innocent face for a dysfunctional organization and this is doubly frustrating for the customer.

The first frustration is the restrictive policy that does not allow the customer to be completely satisfied or, heaven forbid, delighted! The second frustration is there is usually no way to give feedback on the dumb policy to the company because the person reciting policy has little or no influence. Too often, “company policies” arise out of a few isolated problems and rather than deal directly with the issues and the culprits, it’s easier to make a blanket rule and pronounce the problem solved. To the hapless consumer, it can seem as though some businesses work to find new ways of saying “no” like a “no-of-the-week” campaign.

I am not advocating anarchy or lawless minimum wage employees but surely it is common sense that team members be allowed and encouraged to think to delight customers (who are the life blood of any enterprise). After all, if the employees are that bad, why did you hire them in the first place? Why not communicate policy in a broader sense of timeless values such as respect, kindness, courage, fairness, justice, etc. This may prove difficult for the organization bent on hiring on experience alone – see the last section – but this type of employee is worth his or her weight in gold.

Specific Take-aways:

  • Resist the urge to have very many company policies. Yes, you need some rules to keep order but keep the number down and, by all means, review all the policies at least annually to cut the most annoying 20%.
  • Find a way to actively, genuinely ask for customer feedback so the lamest rules become painfully obvious … quickly!
  • Give the frontline employees some decision-making authority using broad values (respect, kindness, courage, fairness, justice, etc.).
  • Sorry to be repetitive but … ask customers, would you recommend your mother shop or work here? If yes, why? If not, why not?
  • Educate the frontline employees. Don’t just throw them into the ring and expect instant success. I have seen it and so have you. As one colleague used to say, “Pay me now or pay me later.”

All the best!

————————

Related Articles

  • Toyota’s Japanese-y Corporate Culture « Geek Buffet – Toyota’s Japanese-y Corporate Culture. Yesterday on Marketplace, they were of course doing a story on the big news that Toyota is now actually America’s biggest auto manufacturer, causing GM to fall from its 70-year reign …
Link to this post!
Read More

4 Steps to Better Culture (1 of 2)

February 10, 2011   admin
Photo by SFO CP

Every organization has a personality and this personality is a result of the collection of personalities within. To this culture geek, the interplay of personalities that create a company persona is a source of endless fascination – not only from the what-is-it-now perspective but in the what-it-could-be department. I hope you’ll agree the possibilities are endless when we start imagining.

So what if you could make a few changes to improve this overall personality. Maybe you’re a manager who is both aware of your enterprise sacred cows and cultural improvement opportunities. As you know, culture progress will improve customer service and, more importantly, the bottom line. May I suggest the following four ideas? Perhaps they’re useful or will trigger other thoughts for your organization’s long-term good.

1. Give your receptionist a raise. Who is the first face or voice for many of your customers? Maybe it’s not a receptionist in your case. Maybe it’s an outside sales person or a repair technician, etc. Whoever this person or team, they should be rewarded on making a great first impression because this initial interaction can be very powerful.

What would you pay for customer loyalty? What would you pay for customer word-of-mouth advertising? Both of these items and more are influenced by the customer’s first contact with your organization. How much attention do you pay to the entry point of your company?

Specific Take-aways:

  • Identify who is usually your organization’s first face or voice.
  • What are the things you most want in your first customer contact beyond the traditional position description details? Communicate those expectations to the frontline employee.
  • In addition to their normal job duties, give pay consideration to this person or team for a critical public relations (PR) role. In the case of a receptionist, the duties are much more than just answering the phone or greeting a walk-in customer. Are you broad enough in the total compensation thoughts?
  • How well do you know this employee? Are there any other welcome considerations you could give for the PR role such as time off, education opportunities, cross-training, etc.?

2. Steal your senior executives’ office chairs. For a culture to grow and thrive requires activity. Not just busy work but engaged hearts and minds with the natural variety of perspective. A senior manager that asks multiple questions and does a lot of listening will learn much about what makes the culture tick and how it could be better. Most people are genuinely happy to give their opinions on most topics. Also, asking honest questions has a natural side effect of building trust; what company couldn’t use more of this commodity?

Although these conversations make look like small talk, the smart executive will be constantly on the lookout for cultural facts to include in senior level discussions. and decisions Look beyond the present discussion. What does it mean for your best customers, vendors, suppliers, and alliance partners?

Specific Take-aways:

  • Here are starter questions to ask. You are trying to discover what employees thinkabout their workplace, NOT just what they say.
    • If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
    • If you could make one policy/software/process improvement in your area, what would that be?
    • If you were the boss, what would you do? OR What do you think is the right thing to do in this case? (In response to a complaint.)
    • How could we lower the use of sick days?
    • What makes you run to work and walk home? What makes you walk to work and run home?
    • Would you recommend your mother work here? If so, why? If not, why not? (Thanks to Lee Hawkins for this question.)
  • As you talk to employees, tune into their body language. How open are they? What would a casual observer say about the conversation? What can you learn on improving the culture by this feedback? How can you improve the feedback?
  • Get used to asking “why” as a discovery question, not as a preface to an accusation.

Next time, we’ll explore the final two steps to a better culture. All the best!

————————

Related Articles

  • Changing Values | Compound Thinking – Changing Values. June 4th, 2007 by Mark Ramm. It’s hard to change your corporate culture, because it requires changing the way people think, feel, and act. And smart people can do really stupid things when they try to change other people. …

 

Link to this post!
Read More

Leadership Acumen

January 19, 2011   admin
Photo by joye~

What is leadership acumen? Leadership always yields tangible business results in the long-term. Since acumen is about insight and wise action, let’s consider it in context of great leadership and excellent business.

Insight

In many ways, leadership is about understanding self and others. A leader is not very effective at leading others without first leading self. Said another way, “Do as I say and not as I do” has fleeting success. What are some overlapping areas for leadership and business?

  1. Fill Out the Team – A leader who is growing in understanding of self will know what type of people to add to the organization for a more complete team. All of us have strengths and weaknesses and bringing others in who have strengths not otherwise present in the existing group is essential for great leadership and measurable business outcomes. When looking for new team members, a leader will understand and consider a lot of personality traits, character attributes and leadership skills.
  2. Watch for Falling Paradigms – A companion insight for excellent leadership acumen is recognizing the important role of mindsets. It is possible to force behavior changes for the short-term but this tension eventually resolves itself with a mindset change or someone leaving the organization. A sharp leader works to develop tools to help discover, look at and adjust personal as well as organizational mindsets. Only then, can behaviors change long-term with the resulting improvement in culture.
  3. Demand Thinking – Leadership authority is not granted by a nameplate; formal power is – do not confuse the two. Leadership acumen demands innovative thinking be cultivated at all levels. This will require a measure of humility especially when a great idea comes from someone with a less-than-impressive title. (Here is an argument to reduce the use of titles but I digress.) The amount of decision-making authority to grant can be debated internally based on the desired culture but a healthy organization must have active thinkers with all their ideas popping out of the woodwork … consistently.
  4. Allow for Mistakes – A culture that is a one-strike environment will clearly not inspire innovation. Self-awareness on mistake-mindsets will help the leader improve and then communicate this growth to others.

Wise Action

Assuming an organization is reasonably successful at fostering the preceding environment, what is the best way to sort through all the ideas and dialogue to take decisive action? While part of the answer is an art form, there are definite limits to consider. Here are three foundational ideas.

  • What is the intended, long-term destination of the organization (vision)?
  • Why does the company exist (mission, aim or purpose)?
  • How does enterprise intend to treat people inside and outside the organization (values)?

The answers to these guiding concepts should come through extended dialogue over months or even years. Part of the process of refining these overarching ideas thoughts will help make decisions on specific ideas in the environment. Everything must tie back to the vision, mission or values … hopefully to all three if possible.

Although a bit tongue-in-cheek, the next step is to simply make decisions. When a company is struggling, there is a tendency to slow or stop making conclusions. A certain amount of caution and analysis may be warranted if cash flow is tight but a leader must be careful to not stagnant out of fear. Procrastinate too much and your competition will eat your lunch.

One important measuring stick to help continue making decisions is the question, “What is the right thing to do?” Based on everything I know about our company, what is right? Listening to my conscience, what is right? What would those I most admire advise on what is right in this circumstance? What do others on the team think is right? The answer to “what is right” can vary depending on the environment but the discussion is healthy.

Build in whatever helps are necessary: write down the list of fears, form an informal advisory board (and use them), or specifically define what will happen with no decision. You can think of other ideas. Most of all, a leader must keep making intentional decisions … other people inside and outside the company depend on it. Anybody can make an easy decision; a leader will not run from the tough choices or allow other team members to shirk similar responsibilities in choosing. Remember, no decision is still a decision.

Results

Ultimately, results are what matter. Leadership acumen and process is great and informative but if it does not translate into action and measurable results, there is probably little linkage to business acumen. To repeat, true leadership acumen will link to tangible business results in the long-term. At times, this may take longer than the next quarterly earnings report but therein lies some of the art form: balancing the different time spectrums to have an organization that grows and produces at the same time.

————————

Related Articles

5 Leadership Secrets of an Aviator (1 of 3)

5 Leadership Secrets of an Aviator (2 of 3)

Link to this post!
Read More

Advantages of Positive Thinking

December 18, 2010   admin
Photo by wadem

There is the classic question on whether the glass is half full or half empty. We could argue endlessly on a philosophical level about which outlook is more useful but let me make a practical argument for the-glass-is-half-full or the use of optimism.

The Christmas season reminds me of the power of optimism and how it can be a catalyst for other principles. (Principles meaning those things that are timeless, obvious and effective. Examples include respect, courage, consideration, service, excellence, etc.) Christmas is about new beginnings and how things can improve in amazing ways.

There are a lot of people hurting now with the sluggish economy. Layoffs continue and many are nervous about tomorrow. One of the necessary ingredients in prevailing over tough times is embracing optimism. This is not about escapism or denial; this about relentless perseverance and confidence that just happens to wear a smile (at least inside).

Optimism alone can fall short but, when used properly, can serve as a great driver. For example, when faced with a difficult problem – like job loss or other financial setback – the pessimist might be tempted to give up too soon.  On the other hand, the optimist will actively engage in finding a solution over and over and not be put down by the first few failures. Some might argue optimism is soft but I suggest optimism is tough because it’s most needed when situations are the most difficult.

While upgrading to the F-15 from the F-4, I had some struggles learning how to fight with the new airplane. Because it was more capable than earlier fighters, it was important to maneuver differently to win. This required unlearning earlier lessons and learning new ones. During this time, optimism was one of things that kept me going. Even after failing two flights in a row (a big deal), I was committed to learning and was optimistic I would do so. Optimism was not the main or only ingredient but it was sure important. (I successfully upgraded by the way.)

The opposite holds as well. I worked with a man several years ago who was consistently pessimistic. No matter how I or others tried, there was no humoring his downcast outlook away. As a result, one of the hallmarks of his work was small or incomplete solutions. If you think you can’t or consider yourself unable, you are probably right.

Here are some application thoughts especially as we think about an approaching new year and the potential for greatness in each one of us.

  1. Hold on to optimism like the treasure it is. Although incomplete by itself, optimism is of incredible value when combined with other principled actions.
  2. Optimism is a great driver to reach better solutions. When faced with choosing between bad or worse, push back and look for good or great. Optimism helps keep the head clear for fresh possibilities. Don’t settle for “just OK” as this will likely turn into regret or at least disappointment later.
  3. Optimism is practical. I must admit I have been skeptical at times of those who are overly optimistic. Just trying to “think” away a problem or challenge does not work. I was once lost in the woods and no amount of thinking (by itself) helped me find my way out. However, optimism combined with common sense action saved the day.
  4. Optimism is a choice. Whether or not you feel naturally prone to optimism, this trait can be cultivated over time and become “natural.” Great people examples come to my mind and you likely have similar role models as well. Choose optimism and you will enjoy a great number of options across the board over time.

————————

Related Article

The Importance of Trust

xxxxxx

Link to this post!
Read More

Perseverance Meaning

December 11, 2010   admin
462148644_90d3b86ad8

One of my dreams was to fly fighters. The power of this dream had carried me through many difficult things over nearly two years of Air Force flight training and education. Now it was time to complete one last hurdle … land survival training … in Northern Washington … in the dead of winter. I really had put the thought far from mind as I worked through the other flying schools. Now, the reality of survival training was here.

We began the classroom training and all seemed straight-forward enough. The instructors made many things sound logical and I began to think this training might not be too bad. I was, after all, familiar with the outdoors from earlier hunting, hiking and camping trips. Wouldn’t it be like that?

Brutal Reality

One of my early clues that this would be some different was when we began making our own “tents” from parachute silk. As we assembled the supplies, we were fitted for snowshoes. This was my second clue about the challenges that lay ahead.

The outdoor part of the training began by adjusting to being active with almost no food. We hiked more and more each day using the snowshoes which only made us hungrier. Sleeping under the individual silk parachute on top of four feet of snow was a new experience as well. The challenge was the instructors would leave us in the late afternoon with a list of several things to do before the next morning. As team leader, I became more and more frustrated as we kept failing to complete the assignments from now allowing enough time.

As we proceeded farther into the week, the demands increased as did the failure rate. We tried to improve our teamwork and think of new ways to meet the requirements but to no avail. Even worse, the instructors began breaking our team into smaller groups making the requirements more difficult yet. I eventually switched to “survival” mode and simply tried to make the best of the circumstances. This tested my patience because at times it seemed I was simply playing games. In reality, the instructors were trying to teach lessons that would help should any of us find ourselves in desperate circumstances.

I am not allowed to talk about the last few days of training but suffice to say I was fully tested mentally and physically. At times, it seemed as if time had stood still and we were forgotten. I persevered – almost mechanically. Thankfully, the dream of flying burned brightly in my mind and fueled a persistence I did not know was there. Suddenly, the training was over. We made it through. It may not have been elegant but we were now graduates and a little wiser for the hardships.

Lessons

While I realize there are many military folks who have gone through more difficult training and conditions than I, Air Force survival training taxed my stamina at the time and gave me greater confidence that lasts to this day. I now believe most of us have hidden reserves that can be tapped in the most difficult times.

Committing to learn as a leader requires persistence as well. At times, the office politics, unreasonable policy demands or simple tiredness lead to less than stellar relations or decisions. One key part of developing as a leader is to learn disciplined perseverance. This requirement usually occurs when a leader faces setbacks. Conceptually, continually look for any small leverage points that will help you improve as a leader and influence others to do right as well. Here are some application ideas.

1. Re-double Preparation and Personal Growth Efforts – At times, a growing leader may feel frustrated by a lower than ideal influence at work. In times like these, when you feel like you are marching in place, re-direct the energy into your own personal development. Check out a leadership book from the library, record your difficult time in a journal including lessons learned or call that mentor you haven’t talked with in a while.

2. Look for Ways to Improve in Your Personal Relationships – If you are feeling under-valued at work, don’t take it out on your friends and family, embrace them! Re-focus the negative emotions on making your personal life even better. Exercising positive influence for those you most care about is satisfying.

3. Keep Doing the Right Thing – The natural human reaction to difficult times can be to lash out or do less-than-excellence work. Resist the temptation! Persevering means to do the right thing even when there is little encouragement in the environment. The leaders we most admire are those who cultivated and carried out an innate sense of doing good even in the face of bad stuff.

When all else fails … just keep going! Sometimes it’s that simple.

————————

Related Article

  • Perseverance: Chad Crittenden’s Story : ASInside – What if one day you were diagnosed with a rare and deadly cancer and had to have your leg amputated? How would you feel? How would you cope? Well Chad Crittenden, the keynote speaker for the 2011 Disability Awareness Day, experienced just that. Crittenden was diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma, which led to the amputation of his leg. Just nine months after his surgery, Crittenden was a contestant on CBS’ Survivor: Vanuatu.
Link to this post!
Read More

Four Types of Preparation

December 04, 2010   admin
Photo by quacktaculous

In any field, preparation is a key part of success. Years ago, my Dad was a residential painter by trade. One thing he would say was, “a paint job is only as good as the preparation.” As a child, the quote was a mindset shift for me as I thought all there was to painting a house was to slap the paint on. In reality, there were many hours of preparation to first sand, seal, repair, and prime the surface.

The need for preparation is clear anywhere you want to look. For instance, several years ago, I knew an up-and-coming leader. He embraced things like excellence, continuous improvement, leadership and seemed to be a student. As expected, he was promoted several times within the organization and seemed like a refreshing change to candidly address internal problems.

Eventually, this man was promoted to a very senior position where he would have the authority to make sweeping improvements as he desired. He did not make any lasting, positive leadership changes in several years at the helm. What happened? I didn’t realize until later but this individual suffered from a lack of preparation.

The manager had great intent, knew the buzzwords and had participated in several internal, professional, development programs with the rest of us. However, he had not ‘paid the price’ to grow. Said another way, he had not internalized and cultivated the development material. Once in the new position, it was too late to make-up the lost months and years of preparation. The evidence was the lack of positive change in a dysfunctional environment.

It is no more effective to cram for leadership or excellence growth than it is to rush a good paint job. The finished product will tell the honest story. Some times when I hold a seminar, I like to borrow from a colleague to first talk about the type of development attendees. There are bullies, prisoners, tourists and students. Let’s apply this to preparation and see if you recognize anybody.

Bully – This person will not only try to disrupt the education but will work hard to brings others down too. The bully will try a variety of tactics to both disrupt and deprive others of learning … relentlessly. I’ve seen it happen.

In terms of preparation, the bully will knock leadership preparation and actively try to cause others to do the same. This might come in the form of active procrastination or offers to do others things besides growing as a leader. This person may put down any of the normal activities in leadership development such as reading good books, journalling, seeking counsel from respected sources, and so on.

RESULTS: Negative growth

Prisoner – In a training sense, a prisoner is at a class because the boss said so or because it’s the only way to get a promotion or another similar reason. The prisoner is just there to endure the time and move on.

For preparation, don’t expect anything from the prisoner unless ordered. The prisoner is just there … enduring … watching the clock … thinking about other things.

RESULTS: Irritation by all and general deterioration

Tourist – Ah, the happy tourist. Let’s enjoy the sights, take pictures and maybe send a postcard to Grandma. I’ve seen a number of seminar participants who are friendly, polite and even take an occasional note or two. The fact is, the tourist attendee is only slightly interested in the material and will put any book on the shelf (permanently) once the class is over. This attendee probably showed up at the training just to get a day off work.

A tourist in a preparation sense will usually express positive thoughts toward development of one type or another but will probably stop there. Maybe, this tourist will buy a book once in a while or put one on reserve at the library but that’s it.

RESULTS: No forward motion masquerading as happy talk

Student – Any personal development requires active, consistent engagement. A true student does just this. The engaged student is a treat to have in any development course. This person constantly processes the material, asks questions from genuine curiosity and energetically wants to apply the information. Any instructor worth his or her salt will learn from a student.

In preparation, a student is well … a student! This person is constantly learning, curious, and persevering toward excellence. A student does a book report without being asked. The student continues to think about a new concept and how to apply it to family and work. The student enjoys learning.

RESULTS: Progress!

In a family or organization, persisting in excellence growth will require effort and much, much preparation before the growth is obvious to others. We can all do better (myself included). The question in preparation is not how are you compared to others but how are you doing compared to yourself?

Picture Credits

Paint brush and bucket on a ladder – luv is max on Flickr

Classroom group – Improve It on Flickr

Tourist group – Simon Blackley on Flickr

Graduates – bredgur on Flickr

[clean-contact]

Link to this post!
Read More

So What Do You Think? (2 of 2)

November 27, 2010   admin
Photo by Wiertz Sébastien

Last time, we started looking at counsel versus encouragement and how each has a role to play in a healthy environment whether at home or at work. Here is the continuation with specific steps to application.

1. Know the difference between counsel and encouragement. Counsel is the meeting of diverse paradigms which in turn urges the participants to explore underlying explanations. Encouragement is the alignment of two or more mental maps or the suspension of a mindset to give support. This may reinforce a learning point but will not foster as much growth as counsel.

Here are some questions to help. Am I looking more for an ally instead of improvement to a product, process or plan? Will I be overly shocked at a counter point or welcome the advice? Am I willing to allow someone else’s finger prints on my initiative?

If you want a yes-person’s comments, just ask for support, encouragement, or reassurance – not input. You will actually gain trust by being honest in your request. If you ask for input, be ready to hear disagreeing words and reward that behavior if you want such help in the future.

2. Seek counsel to grow as a leadership student. Engaging in genuine, open dialogue is a guaranteed way to uncover, look at, and improve paradigms. This in turn will ensure a broader perspective and continuous improvement as a learning leader. It is challenging to suspend assumptions to hear another point of view but the effort pays great dividends.

The aspiring leader’s goal should be to approximate reality as much as possible on any issue and this requires looking for different perspectives. Not all counsel will be useful but at least take it in and test by timeless principles. Here are two examples.

I once asked for and received input on a plan to streamline office processes. Several of us discussed this idea and it went a different direction than I had expected but it was better than my original idea. Upon presenting this plan to the wider audience in the office, one person said, “You will fail.” This set me back for a moment so I re-evaluated the process and plan. In fact, we had arrived at the solution properly and the so-called counsel was based on a person’s hidden agenda and not for the good of the organization. By the way … the initiative did not fail.

I worked with one team member who I could count on to call me on any dumb ideas. His style was to approach me one-on-one in my office and diplomatically but directly explain the short-sightedness of my plan. The first few times, I found the practice annoying but I quickly grew to value the advice as we improved team solutions based on these honest conversations. It also made his encouragement more important as I knew he was completely genuine in his support. I often think of this man’s example when needing to give honest feedback I know will cause controversy.

3. Let encouragement arrive unsolicited, if possible. The measure of humility is to allow encouragement to show up unexpectedly. It may be right at times to ask for support from a spouse or confidante but these instances should be the exception. If I need too much encouragement, there is probably an unmet need for approval that indicates a self-esteem problem. It may also reveal a love for status quo and this is the anathema to leadership. If I am producing leadership results in a principled environment, I will not lack for encouragement.

4. Give counsel based on conscience. This means carefully consider timing, issue significance, and openness of the hearer. This does not mean be timid about giving counsel but rather intentional. This is about being real and generating trust. The best counsel is given at least implicitly in context of the larger organization, whether it is a family, team, company or other organization. Counsel is about making the environment better. Counsel focuses on fostering positive, long-term results and is not beating someone over the head for sport.

5. Give encouragement only when you can do so genuinely. Given appropriately, specific encouragement will foster intrinsic motivation in others. Conversely, most people can smell flattery or fake praise and this approach will make future words less and less meaningful.

Encouragement and counsel both have a role to play in the leader’s toolbox. Just be certain to clearly understand each concept and know when and where to use properly.

Application: Value diversity in perspective.

Picture Credits

Flame-head and Bomb-head – Mark and Allegra on Flickr

Vegetable garden – Southern Foodways Alliance on Flickr

————————

Related Articles

So What Do You Think? (1 of 2)

Asking Great Questions

For helping on choosing between a corporate initiative skeptic or believer, check out this article by David Maister.

Link to this post!
Read More

So What Do You Think? (1 of 2)

November 20, 2010   admin
Photo by Wiertz Sébastien

Modified excerpts from the book, “Expected End”

“You were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the flight lead barked at me in the debriefing. Inside, I already knew this but how could I improve for the next time? Several of us had gone out on what was to have been a routine “Dart ride” where we live-fired the air-to-air gun against a towed target. My brain-fade this day was especially dangerous because of real bullets. As a new mission-ready pilot to the F-4, I was still adjusting to flying with a group of very experienced but non-instructor type of pilots. Still, by any standard, this flight had not gone well.

One of the basic skills required of a fighter pilot is to predict geometry and fly accordingly. I had calculated wrong and put myself in an unsafe position. The debriefing did not help much as it was long on my failings and short on fixes. However, what happened next was very useful.

After the debriefing, one of the experienced pilots took me aside and described what I had done, what I should have done, and, most importantly, why. The counsel of the more experienced pilot made sense although it clashed with my current mindset. I was then required to make a decision on whether or not to change how I saw the issues for improvement.

I finally decided the other pilot’s straight-forward explanation made great sense and tried it on the next Dart flight. It worked! Rather than being a hazard to the several other airplanes swirling in the sky, I was part of the team.

A few years later in an F-15, I finished a fight with a simulated tracking gun kill on the opponent. This is considered a macho way to take out a bad guy and made the many hours leading up to the moment all worthwhile. On this day in the debriefing, another experienced pilot was very complimentary of my contribution to the mission. The encouragement I received that day from the other pilot in the flight was very gratifying. I had produced a great result while honoring expectations and took a few moments to enjoy the fruits of learning.

There is a time for both counsel and encouragement. Counsel will likely produce a collision of paradigms. If the hearers are open to improvement, the counsel is put to good use to look at current mindsets and adjust as needed. If good counsel is rejected, growth will not happen.

In most learning environments, the conversations should be weighted to the counsel side but encouragement must not be neglected. Each of us has some need for recognition at least in some small way. If counsel is the main dish for improvement, encouragement is the spice that makes the meal taste so much better.

As an upgrading pilot moving from the F-4 to F-15, I had the chance to fly with an instructor who found a great balance of counsel and encouragement. He was very exacting in his expectations and there was nothing soft about his standards. On the other hand, he consistently pointed out successes in the building block flights that fueled my motivation exponentially.

One of the questions we ask in the military is, “Would I be willing to go with this person into combat?” The answer speaks volumes. In the case of this instructor, it would have been my honor to team up with him in combat.

Next time, I will suggest five concrete application steps for the leadership thinker.

————————

Related Articles

  • Critical Thinking – Where to start? « Tim van Gelder – I was wondering if you could take a moment of your valuable time to suggest a couple of books on the subject. I would like improve my critical thinking skills so I suppose the focus sought would be adult learner skill(s) acquisition with emphasis on techniques and (lots of) practice. I have been trying to develop said skills on my own (without much success).
  • A Weblog · Critical Thinking Journals/Culture of Thinking – Critical Thinking Journals/Culture of Thinking. Thursday 8 March 2007 in Creativity, Critical Thinking, Education, Personal, Philosophy, Society by Josh | 2 comments. Well, last semester I kept a journal for my class CCT 602: Creative Thought. …
  • The Question of Critical Thinking at cac.ophony.org – In my current work as a Fellow at Baruch, I’ve been encouraging students to formulate questions as they begin to work on research papers. The idea, in part, is that it’s a whole lot easier digging through the literature on a given …
Link to this post!
Read More
« Older posts
Newer posts »