Tag Archives: Personal leadership development plan

How to Hire Keepers (1 of 2)

January 03, 2012   admin
3566432757_8125fcd489

Let’s face it … hiring can be difficult! There are so many unknowns.

When hiring for and growing employees within an organization, it is important to consider both character and competence traits. Considering only one or the other could be like being stuck in a fence. The single best strategy for helping a company improve results starts with hiring the right people for the right business needs. It is far better to leave a vacancy unfilled rather than fill just because “any warm body in the chair will help.”

The pain and cost of making poor hiring decisions is unnecessary. Sprinkle the hiring process with a bit more deliberation and patience and watch the long-term results take an upward course.

Too often, managers or would-be leaders blur the lines between character and competence partly out of fear and partly out of ignorance. The fear factor comes from our litigious society that promotes fudging or hiding the truth. The ignorance comes from a lack of intellectual curiosity that leaves us with too few leadership thinkers. For best use to any organization, character and competence need to be viewed in all their distinctiveness of meaning and use. Before we talk about the people side though, let’s think about the position.

Defining the Position

Go out and search the web for a few random open job descriptions. Most will focus almost entirely on the technical requirements. This is a recipe for disaster (more on that later). The fact is a job ad or description built only from technical traits is incomplete. Think about it.

Let’s pretend you want to hire a person for your IT Help Desk. In the extreme, you could find a person who could answer every alien technology question well but steal your company blind. Why? It’s a character thing.

Character and Competence Definitions

For our purposes, character traits refer to the values a person uses to make decisions, especially in difficult times. Number one on my list of preferred skills in this category is integrity. This is about consistently (as possible) doing the right thing in public and private settings.

Another character trait on my short list of favorites is excellence. Doing a task well, diligently and thoroughly is imperative for enterprises to thrive. It is related to work ethic but goes farther in the sense of working AND thinking at the same time. In other words, this means employing more than just my hands to complete a job. Of courses there is a long list of things to consider in the character area.

A second critical area to consider for employees is the competence. I could fully trust a new hire’s character but if this person does not have or cannot readily learn the skills required for the position, I have shot myself in the foot by bringing this new one on board. Examples of competence traits include trade skills, computer abilities and communication attributes to name a few. Keep in mind, competence is easier to teach than character.

Competence Now, Character Later

One of the interesting things is the tendency of managers to hire mostly based on competence and later judge by character. Perhaps this is based on a naïve assumption that most people possess higher character quality than reality or maybe on the fact that it is harder (although still possible) to measure character.

Whatever the reason, this process of hiring based on competence while expecting high levels of character often leads to misunderstandings and unneeded conflict. Usually the casualty is the new hire and the company suffers in the lost productivity, wasted payroll and training dollars and, ultimately, organizational results.

Let’s consider the two possibilities on why managers mistakenly hire for competence while wishing for better or different character.

1. Ignorance. This is a killer in today’s fast-paced marketplace. Either not asking appropriate questions or making too many assumptions will result in a more expensive cost model although the impact is usually insidious and not easily split out from other expenses unless a senior manager decides this is important. The manager may assume that things like honesty, respect and teamwork are natural traits for many seeking new positions. Do not make these or similar assumptions. A famous man once said “trust but verify.”

2. Efficiency. It’s easier to immediately see competence than character attributes. For instance, if your résumé says you can run a drill press, I can easily test your skills in a matter of minutes. If you insist you are honest, I must be more creative to verify your statement and it will likely take a bit more time. One method to test for character traits is to constantly ask in an interview for past examples of behavior in a variety of situations.

Next time, we’ll look at what you can do if you forget to hire with character in mind.

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5 Leadership Secrets of an Aviator (3 of 3)

August 05, 2011   admin
Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

Let’s continue from part 2 …

Be Flexible

Now this might seem to contradict the previous point but speaks to how things can change without much warning. What if my plan does not work? One rainy winter day, I landed an F-4 with the hook down because of a hydraulic failure. (The Navy guys out there are laughing.) The firm touchdown went as planned but the hook bounced over the cable. Fortunately, my Weapons System Officer (WSO or backseater) and I had discussed this possibility and stayed on the runway to catch the opposite end cable. Had we missed again, we would have ejected from the aircraft.

One tongue-in-cheek saying in the Air Force is “flexibility is the key to air power.” Regardless of how pretty the strategic plan looks, you will have to improvise in some way. This is where knowing and living principled values will pay big dividends. Stick to decisions as much as practical but do not run your company train over a cliff for sake of your personal ego. If the market needs change, adapt. Make another decision. Be flexible.

Have An Out

An analogy here is related to formation flying of two or more aircraft. One of the staples of formation flying is the rejoin where one airplane overtakes another aircraft with speed, geometry or both. Every good formation flier always has an out in case the unexpected happens.

In the military, there is always a designated formation leader but the reality is that all pilots in the formation have basic responsibilities to keep everything safe. A nice rejoin concluding with a mid-air collision will ruin anybody’s day, hence, the “what if.” No matter how the rejoin may be going, a savvy aviator will be constantly assessing and adjusting not only the rejoin maneuver but the Plan B should something go very wrong. Fighting other airplanes requires more aggressive use of geometry although the same basic rules of a rejoin apply.

I remember a time as a new F-4 driver when in the thick of a practice fight, there were two of us unknowingly converging on the same target, belly to belly. I was going to be a hero. Thankfully I had an experienced backseater who yelled, “Belly check!” Upon rolling inverted and seeing the imminent mid-air, I wracked the airplane in an opposite direction and we all lived to fight another day.

As the leader, you may or may not want to publicly admit your Plan B to risk distracting or demoralizing your team members. You may not always have an elegant or fully developed alternative. Be always thinking though. It may be an out by phases or increments. This really is an extension on the flexibility theme but this is the era we are in. Said another way, if all our grand schemes fall apart, what will we do? How will we recover the keep the enterprise viable? How will we rally the “troops” to pick up the pieces?

Nimbleness is a critical core competency and an effective leader will always be a few steps ahead of those being lead. I am not suggesting you pursue goals half-hearted; just be smart and ready to improve a good plan with great execution.

Keep flying …

Think long-term …

Be decisive …

Be flexible …

Have an out.

Simple yet helpful steps to making your leadership skills shine.

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5 Leadership Secrets of an Aviator (2 of 3)

August 04, 2011   admin
Two F-4 Phantoms on Takeoff

Continuing from part 1 …

Think Long-Term

If an airplane is in trouble, it is common sense for the pilot to land as soon as practical. Despite the urgency, there are questions to consider that will make or break the outcome. What is my fuel state? What is the nearest field that can appropriately handle the aircraft emergency? How far to the ideal airport? What is the weather like at the intended landing airport?

So often, it is easy to be too caught up with the urgent priorities of the present while all but forgetting the long-term. Executing a flawed business plan perfectly will still assure the eventual demise of any enterprise. Leaders must consider questions like the following:

  • Where will our current organizational behavior lead?
  • What changes are needed to arrive at the preferred destination?
  • What business are we really in … long-term?
  • How should the firm change to meet fickle consumer demands?
  • How should we shape internal succession plans?
  • How are we educating and growing the up-and-coming leaders to meet their future challenges?

Of course, there are many more questions as well. The long-term may seem far away but it is as or more important than the present for the leader. Chances are that your employees do their best work in the present. It is your job as a leader to devote enough time to future work.

Be Decisive

Prescribing a remedy for an aircraft emergency requires making consistent and timely decisions. A pilot can only make decisions based on what is seen, heard and felt (e.g., airframe vibrations, extra weight on the flight controls, etc.). In many cases, a wing-man can take a look at crippled airplane to give any more data. Otherwise, it is time to analyze the problem and move toward a solution.

Several years ago, when an engine fire indicator came on in the F-4 I was flying, I immediately turned directly toward the home airport. This sounds basic and yet many a student pilot has wasted precious minutes in a sim by working through the checklist before turning the airplane toward a suitable landing patch.

Decision-making is an obvious skill that any successful business person will have. A wise leadership instructor once said, “Intent counts for more than technique.” His point was to make timely decisions for the good of the organization. The only people who have 100% of the data for a decision are historians (and that might even be debatable). Don’t overly labor on a decision: Make it. It is guaranteed you will learn something from it if you are open. This is particularly true if the choice turns out to be a blunder. If you are not making very many decisions, you are likely not learning much. Stay aligned with mission, vision, and values but, by all means, make a decision.

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5 Leadership Secrets of an Aviator (1 of 3)

August 03, 2011   admin
F-15 Eagle

In military flying, studying and training on emergency procedures (EPs) was constant. Quick thinking and disciplined responses were expected as a minimum standard to succeed in a military aviation career.

EPs raise emotion. EPs tax the most skilled pilot in spite of any outward bravado. The idea behind repetition and difficulty in training was to make the real thing seem relatively easy and to greatly increase the chances of a successful conclusion. Although I despised EP simulator flights (EP sims) as much as the next pilot, they were invaluable preparation for emergencies that invariably occurred in the real airplane.

Here are a few lessons from EP sims and flying in general that relate to the study and practice of leadership.

Keep Flying

When a pilot encounters any type of emergency situation, the natural tendency is to focus too much attention on the emergency. There is more than one story of an aviator too distracted with a problem to fly safely. As a beginning Air Force pilot, I will never forget a sim ride where I became so distracted from basic flying I ran into a mountain. The instructor’s quiet words of, “You would be dead right now if you had been in an airplane” was very sobering.

In the business setting, most of us do not have the privilege of shutting down the machine to redesign and rebuild it to meet the latest marketplace needs. The company must continue operating as we do our respective leadership work. A practical leader will continue directing what should be accomplished today while honoring timeless principles and continuous improvement.

The real leader will constantly evaluate if the current movement aligns with mission objectives. This is not about feel-good but about results. This is about meeting competitive demands in our very fast-paced economy, regardless of the organization type. It takes courage but it is a critical skill for the leader to do the right things.

Next time, we’ll look at two more leadership secrets of an aviator.

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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]

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Four Steps to Choosing Better Values

October 30, 2010   admin
Photo by ginnerobot

Personal development requires looking for, looking at and changing mindsets as needed. However, since it makes no sense to change mindsets in a vacuum, what should a person use as a guide? Part of the answer is having an intentional values system. Here’s an exercise to get started.

  • In your dealings with people (in general), what do you value most from the interactions? How do you prefer others approach you from a character standpoint?
  • What are the top three or four most important things you want from a friend or business colleague on a relationship level?
  • How do you think customers should be treated? How do you think fellow team members should be treated?
  • What is non-negotiable?

Now, before we get too far, not all values are created equal. A value is nothing more than a basic priority on which to base decisions.

For instance, let’s say I’m a boss and I think it’s important my employees do what I say … no matter what (obedience)! This may be fine as long as I am ALWAYS right and ALWAYS have the best ideas. On the other hand, this could be disastrous if I’m not the smartest person in the room.

So here’s a two-part test before we go on.

Do you think you are the smartest person in the room?

Do you wish you were the smartest person in the room?

If you answer ‘YES’ to either question, personal development will be difficult to impossible. Why? Either of these self-centered mindsets will block learning, short-circuit relationships or both. Continual learning and relationships are at the core of personal development work.

Realistically, the value of rigid obedience held by the boss in the above setting will work some times and fail at others. The point is some values have more substance than others. So then, the ‘best’ values are those that work the most consistently, not just some times. In fact, if we could choose values that ALWAYS work, that is ideal.

The GOOD NEWS … there are values that ALWAYS work! Here’s another exercise to help.

Let’s say Entrepreneur X is starting a company and already has 10 employees. At an early team meeting, one of the first agenda items is to define ‘how we will treat customers and each other.’ What do you suppose would be on the list?

Possible answers could include the following (you can add more).

  • Treat each other with respect
  • Value everyone’s ideas equally
  • Go the extra mile with customers and each other (consideration/patience)
  • Promote creative solutions that are good for us and the customer (everybody wins)
  • Do business with vendors who share our quality commitment

Notice the underlined words and how universal each sounds? It doesn’t matter if you are in the military, government, non-profit, for-profit or some other organization; any healthy person could buy into the list. Why? Regardless of the organization, “people are people.”

Here’s another great exercise created by a consultant friend of mine to help build or refine a stand-out values system.

Using one or two-word descriptors, what traits are required from a husband and wife to have a happy, life-long marriage? The results of this exercise are amazingly similar with widely different groups. Here are a few traits to get the brain juices flowing.

  • Love
  • Courage
  • Honesty
  • Humor
  • Fidelity
  • … and many more!

Notice how these traits really are values? Please also notice how these traits work in professional relationships. So here’s a 4-part test for ‘good’ values.

  1. Is it timeless? (It would work centuries ago and will work centuries into the future.)
  2. Is it universal (works for most anybody across cultures and religions)?
  3. Is it obvious and certain if stated out loud?
  4. Does it ALWAYS meet the needs … long-term?

Any value that fits these four pieces is an excellent candidate for your personal values list.

To develop a list of closely held values, do this …

STEP 1: Brainstorm a list of values. Write as many as possible. (Don’t worry yet if they pass the above values test.)

STEP 2: Now test each value based on the criteria above and drop those that do not pass the test. Rank order the remaining items.

STEP 3: Set the list aside and then revisit in a few days.

STEP 4: Boil the list down until you are rock solid with the top few. It’s not that the others don’t matter, it is just important to know your top three or four to make consistent, good decisions on mindsets.

When decisions are most difficult, you may bump into what we call “values conflict” where you must decide which value is of higher priority. The person who has defined the top three or four values will do better with difficult decisions.

Once you have a good values framework in place, looking for, looking at and changing mindsets becomes MUCH more meaningful, useful and satisfying.

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Characteristics of Personal Mastery (2 of 2)

September 25, 2010   admin

Last week we began exploring personal mastery. You may recall, we divided this into five areas.

  • Heart
  • Legacy
  • Mind
  • Action
  • Treating others well

We looked at heart and legacy last time so let’s continue with the last three areas and a few last thoughts on possible application.

Mind

Definition: Creativity, logic, imagination, and possibilities.

In our society, being logical is considered a strength. In reality, being logical is just a tool (like the other areas) and can be good or bad depending on its use. To be coldly logical about what brand of toothpaste to buy is perfectly fine. To be calculating and strictly logical with people will not build relationships like they could be otherwise.

Logic is powerful though. Logic helps explore, create, and refine. Logic builds great things! Mastering the mind is, in some ways, rediscovering the inner child. Please stay with me.

Who are the most creative among us? A child often does better in this category. Why? Creativity is not rewarded in many environments because it can be disruptive with questions.  And yet, being loyal to the organization’s purpose will ensure the organization survives long-term. This will require some imaginative engagement and exploration.

In some cases, gain in mind mastery is like taking a cork out of a bottle … let the naturally creative and imaginative child partner with the wise adult in you. For example, when facing a challenging decision, in addition to thinking through the issues logically, give place to the dreamer as well.

In an ‘adult setting,’ you can do this by simply telling someone who is demanding a decision, ‘Let me think about it and get back to you.’ Then walk down the hall or look at another priority while your sub-conscious chews on the problem. It is amazing how an unleashed imagination linked with mature logic can find a new solution to a difficult problem. Try it!

Action

Definition: Decisive, measured, rational, bold, courageous, and considerate.

It’s one thing to make a decision and it can be quite another to act upon the decision. Some could argue a decision without action is not a decision but let’s not go there …

Several years ago, I was faced with a difficult personnel problem. As I talked with the supervisor team and pondered on the facts over a few weeks, I started to realize in my ‘gut’ what I needed to do. The fact was, what I perceived as the right thing was going to be very hard.

As I cast about in my mind for another (easier) solution, I was blank. Finally, what broke the logjam was when I put myself in the position of a front-line employee and asked myself, ‘What would I expect the boss to do?’ Difficult or not, it was time to do the right thing.

Achieving some level of personal mastery in the heart, mind and legacy areas will not matter without mastery in the area of action. Theory is easy; action can be quite hard to do. A partial solution in motion is infinitely better than a perfect plan that stays on the shelf.

There comes a point where ‘just do it’ is the best advice. If you or I listen to conscience, we know when this point is. The fascinating thing is mastery in the other areas help mastery in the category of action. In other words, it is important to work all the areas together.

Treat Others Well

Time to stick my neck out … if more people used this section title as a mantra, we would not need the variety of government-imposed mandates for hiring and promotions. Treating other people consistently well regardless of who they might be is a powerful tool for good.

One of the lessons I learned while serving in the military was to give feedback based on BEHAVIOR. On any military team, it didn’t matter what you looked like, where you came from, how you talked, your education, and so on. What mattered was behavior. What you did was what mattered … and that is as it should be. This taught me the importance of focusing on the output and to coach based on the actions and results.

Treating others well means I ‘assume’ everyone else has equal potential of achieving success in whatever area. It is still essential to hire smart and realize everyone is completely unique. However, once someone is on the team, treat them well and let them rise to the challenge. In most cases, they will! If not, they simply may be in the wrong seat on the bus.

Summary

Here are application thoughts to get you started.

Heart – Mastery is about using emotional data in a healthy perspective.

  • During the next few days, notice when you are angry. Being mad is often a secondary emotion – meaning there is another emotion underneath.
  • Try to discover what is underneath your anger.
  • Next, ask ‘why.’
  • Once you understand the driver, use this emotional data in the same context for decision making. What is the emotion telling you? Why, for example, are you afraid in this situation? Use this to learn about yourself and the setting.
  • Do not let others decide your emotional state. (‘He makes me so mad. She makes me sad.’) Make the choice yourself and then own it.

Legacy – Moving toward mastery in this area requires balancing the long-term against the present.

  • Let the long-term decide your purpose. Let purposes and values dictate your actions in the present.
  • Work to discover both your long-term purpose (why are you here?) and life-long values (how will you decide and treat others?).

Mind – Mind mastery comes from using both cold, hard logic AND creative imagination.

  • Select a problem that needs solving. Pick it apart with logic. Next, throw it over to your sub-conscious and let the issue ‘marinate’ for a while. What dreamy solutions come to mind? Now COMBINE the two approaches into one. What great options do you find?
  • Read books or listen to books on CD or watch educational videos to exercise your mind.

Action – Becoming a master in this category means doing well in the other areas and then stepping out decisively.

  • Choose one decision you have procrastinated on and do something about it … this week … by Friday! If necessary, commit to someone about your intent so that person will hold you accountable.
  • Do something physical this week at least three days for 30 minutes (not necessarily just jogging or working out but most any activity beyond sitting at the computer).

Treat Others Well – If you want friends, be friendly.

  • Work on treating others well this week regardless of how you feel. None of us is perfect but we can all improve on consistency.
  • Make one new friend this week.
  • Work on using first names more with everyone from acquaintances to close friends.

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Characteristics of Personal Mastery (1 of 2)

September 18, 2010   admin

Personal mastery is a tall order. To the one who thinks of personal mastery as a one-time destination, this goal is all but impossible. To the one who values the ongoing process of lifetime improvement, personal mastery is possible each day. Why? It’s a question of perfection versus excellence.

Personal Mastery as a Destination (perfection) – In this case, mastery means ALWAYS doing the right action at the right time in the right order. No mistakes! In some cases, this standard is necessary. When I used to fly fighters, perfection was the expectation because any less could have killed me or my buddies.

Often a technical skill requires at least some perfection. Nobody wants to hire an electrician who consistently gets the wiring right 80% of the time. You get the idea.

Personal Mastery as a Process (excellence) – For leadership, personal mastery must consider the long-term. Because leadership is a hybrid of art and science, perfection is less relevant because there is more than one right answer to most of the questions. Said another way, acting in an excellent way comes in different shapes, colors and sizes.

Think about your two or three favorite people. Their styles probably differ and yet they all could be considered excellent. That is one of the hallmarks of leadership thinking … there is usually more than one honorable method.

Now let’s talk about success in a personal mastery frame. There are five key parts to success for the person who wants to live in excellence.

  • Heart
  • Legacy
  • Mind
  • Action
  • Treating others well

Before we explore the five ideas, here is one other important concept. In each category, there are seemingly opposed ideas. The person who embraces mastery will make measurable progress at not only balancing the competing demands but at combining the opposing forces for great solutions. In short, think balance plus AND-solutions.

Heart

Definition: Emotions, feeling, moods, passions, and desires.

We are all creatures of emotion … whether we show it or not. It feels good to have somebody like us. It’s not fun when someone treats us like dirt. Work can be frustrating, exhilarating, mundane, or fulfilling. Notice how those are all emotions. Even the most macho guy in the audience will experience emotions. He will at least let you know when he’s mad.

If you’re still skeptical, have you ever acted on ‘gut-instinct’? Have you ever said, ‘something just doesn’t feel right.’ Even the most logical among us have emotional responses to life.

So here’s the challenge. How does one not be rash or overly emotional in decision-making but still honor the very real data that comes in by way of emotions? Think I’m still stretching this? Here’s an example.

If I plan to hire someone for childcare and that person’s record and credentials check out fine but I am uneasy about the person for some unknown reason, what will I do? Unless I can find more facts to disprove my ‘feeling,’ I will likely not hire this person. The risk is just too high. And yet look how I used emotion to make the decision.

On the other hand, if I need to face a subordinate over an ethical issue at work, my gut is probably unhappy. My emotion might say this isn’t the greatest or most fun thing to do. In my heart-of-hearts though, I know I must stand up for what is right and go ahead with the confrontation. Why did I disregard the emotion in this case?

Mastery of the heart is becoming self-aware enough to recognize all the different emotions in any given situation and assigning meaning to this emotional data. The emotion is valid but cannot be the end-all. Emotional or heart mastery means I will not allow one emotion to over-shadow the others or overwhelm pure logic without a very good reason.

Legacy

Definition: Thinking long-term, focused on outcomes and consequences, and law of the harvest.

I suspect most of us want to leave the world a little better than the way we found it. That is a natural instinct. It is important to think long-term and consider consequences. All choices have consequences. At times the results may be so very small, we hardly notice. Other times, the outcomes are significant and make us pause at the decision point.

While thinking of the long-term is important, it can also cause an otherwise reasonable person to freeze in the face of difficult decisions. Whoever coined the phrase, ‘analysis paralysis’ understood this. Sometimes, activity is an excuse to avoid making a decision.

There must be a balance all along the timeline. I need to think short-term to be decisive in the moment. I need to consider the medium and long-term for consequences of choices made today. Too much time in the present causes me to ignore the natural results but too much time thinking on the future may cause indecision or no decision now.

At times, we will hear of a public servant who begins to over-focus on his or her legacy. Invariably, this leads to bad decisions. The reason is, thinking about legacy too much means becoming too concerned about what other people think. Legacy has its place but just as all the other areas, it must stay in its place.

The other extreme is just as damaging. Giving no thought for tomorrow makes a terrible landing place when tomorrow arrives in all its disastrous glory! A young child, for instance, gives little or no thought to consequences. It is common for this little one to be very self-centered and thinking only about the present.

The person of mastery understands the extremes and middle ground of legacy. Those who would master legacy take all parts of this area into intentional account but do not over-focus on any single piece. Mastery is being good at living in the here-and-now AND consistently thinking about consequences.

Next week we will explore the remaining three areas of personal mastery. All the best to you!

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Conflict Resolution Activities

September 08, 2010   admin

The value of conflict is a controversial topic in many circles. Some organizations thrive on conflict for its own sake while others avoid conflict at any cost. Either extreme is dysfunctional as conflict can play a vital role in a healthy organization. The challenge is to focus, use and defuse conflict.

Focus

Focus requires commitment by the team to the larger purpose or goal. The first question a leader must ask in this situation is, “Can the purpose or goal be easily stated and understood?” If not, work until it is so.

Next, draw up ground rules to avoid making conflict personal and to stay on task toward the stated outcome. Typical rules include things like mutual respect, one person talks at a time, stay on task, honor those who are absent and so on. My personal favorite is “attack issues, not people.” The rules list should be a living document in that it can be added to or changed later as the team needs and wishes change.

As Chair of a 24-member, middle management, financial working group, I had the chance to take part in different degrees of conflict. As with any organization, there was never enough money to fund all the wants and, at times, the needs were funded at lower than ideal.

The continual challenge before us was to sort through posturing and over-inflated requests to manage the budget finances wisely and with fairness. Over time, we developed a set of rules and funding priorities that helped keep budget arguments on task and focused.

Use

After determining purpose and rules, it is time to move to application. DO NOT be intimidated by this next step. Venture in carefully but decisively and be true to the starting agreements above.

The ideal is to have a group that is self-regulating and continually aligning to goals and values (rules). If this is not possible, given the maturity or experience level of the group, hire a professional facilitator or appoint an internal gatekeeper.

If the facilitator is someone from inside the company, this person should be highly respected by the team and one who has a pattern of making sound judgment calls. This is not necessarily the boss and may even be someone from another department or division. The biggest role of the gatekeeper is to keep the process on track by moving toward the goal while honoring the rules with a firm yet considerate approach. (Yes, this is an art form at times.)

Defuse

Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, passions will swell and tempers flare. If the “discussion” remains focused on the goals and honors the rules, the gatekeeper should allow the conflict to continue. Any time talks become personal though, it is critical to stop and take a breather to allow emotions to settle.

Taking a break anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours or days can do wonders to not only put people in a more rational frame of mind but allow for processing opposing arguments and softening mindsets. Depending on the conflict, well-placed humor may be sufficient to relieve the tension. With more serious misunderstanding comes the need to actually separate for a time.

Persisting in conflict that has degenerated to a personal level of name-calling, posturing, and cynicism does more harm than good to the team. More importantly, this poor behavior, if left unchecked, will lower team output and hurt quality results.

Another benefit of taking a break is a chance for the gatekeeper or facilitator to quietly chat with any person that is either not participating or is inflaming passions on a personal level. This may also be a time to encourage a person who has shut down because of the intensity of the conflict. If the team interactions are staying on task but are passionate, some will find this environment too intimidating.

One- on-One or One-on-a-Few

So far we have talked mostly about teams working together to harness conflict for the betterment of the organization. But what about those inevitable times when conflict pops up between people or in small groups? Here are some thoughts.

  • Do not react to the emotion.
  • Work to find the issues that matter (Hint: It may not always be the first thing on the table.)
  • Brainstorm options and then narrow down to the best fit.
  • Stay locked on working to solutions; diagnosing is fine but do not spend time on blaming or other rabbit trails.

For example, while Budget Director, I once had a division head storm into my office and say, “Where is my $300,000?” He insinuated we had “stolen” the money for another division.

I could have become angry and emotional (very tempting) because this manager had the gall to question my integrity. I could have said something like he had no business making such accusations since we had been friends for years. Instead, I opted for the more difficult but useful course to immediately explore the issue and compare notes in a non-emotional way. The good news is we resolved the issue without any damage to trust.

Conflict is challenging even for the experienced but it has great potential to improve an organization if allowed to do so. The trick is to harness the raw energy of conflict and let it show underlying issues in the bright light of reality.

Summary

1.      Establish an easily stated and understood purpose or goal.

2.      Draw up ground rules at the first group session (change over time as needed).

3.      Attack issues, not people.

4.      If discussions are passionate but on task, allow to continue unless a participant obviously shuts down.

5.      When things get personal, take a break of a few minutes, hours or days to let passions cool. Use well-placed humor if appropriate or use break time for individual discussions as required.

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Bootstrap Leadership

September 07, 2010   admin

Here is a GREAT quote: “Leadership is difficult but not complex.”

So begins Michael McKinney’s review of the book, Bootstrap Leadership by Steve Arneson (Bootstrap Leadership: Creating a Blueprint for Your Leadership Development).There is so much common sense in leadership that it is usually easy for others to agree about many leadership concepts … in theory. The greater challenge is to take the theories into application when it requires courage to do something ‘common sense.’

I remember one case of wrestling with such an issue that should have been common sense. Well, actually it was common sense; I just didn’t have the courage at first to do the right thing. As soon as I asked myself the question, “If I was the subordinate looking on, what would I expect my boss to do in this case,” the common sense answer jumped out at me!

It is interesting how doing the right thing aligns with doing the leadership thing.

In addition to the opening quote at the beginning of this post, I also strongly agree growing in self-awareness is job #1 of any leadership student – new or experienced. This area is often described as a soft skill but my response is, “If that’s true, why is it so hard?” (That’s not a whine by the way … I am loving this journey.)

There could be many reasons but at the top of the list are probably the undiscovered personal mindsets and the emotional attachment to some of the favored behaviors (which further shield discovering the underlying paradigm). This is a classic blind spot that must be uncovered in order to progress.

Breakthroughs in finding a previously invisible mindset moves the leadership student well down field to personal growth. This breakthrough also helps the budding leader define his or her role in a clearer way to become that leader evangelist talked about by Mr. Arneson.

Finally, becoming a better listener is a high leverage activity both for self and others.

  • Self: Get quiet inside and tune into what I am hearing and then my reactions. Why am I responding inside as I am? What mental models are at work? Why, why, why? What can I learn from the speaker?
  • Others: Increase understanding by taking in the whole message. Increasing understanding naturally builds trust and credibility. How many of us have enough of either?

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