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Archive for January, 2011
Is Resilience The Right Message? Three things to consider before starting this discussion in your organization
Many years ago a friend shared this story. At the birth of their first child they reached a point where the doctor asked them if they wanted an epidural. They had discussed it during birthing classes and decided to go through the delivery process without it because it was not covered by insurance. Several hours of real labor had changed his wife’s thinking on the matter and she wanted it. My friend, still being a rookie at marriage and childbirth, decided to coach his wife through the final stages of childbirth by offering the advice “Suck it up honey”. I will stop the story here, but will share that they ended up getting the epidural.
Coming back from the recent economic downturn will take resilience from everyone. How often does the message of resilience sound like the response of the father above when being delivered from others. This is emerging as one of the hot topics in 2011 as companies grow with limited hiring and budgets. Here are three key things to remember when tackling this topic:
1. What it means? In the January 2011 edition of HR Magazine author William Atkinson provides a nice summary of the topic. (link to article) A key point is this is not a new topic, but the current conditions in the workforce make this critical because the pressure caused by increasing expectations for performance versus the unprecedented push for efficiency. People have more to do and fewer resources. In his article, Atkinson refers to a survey that found 75% of people saying they were stressed to unhealthy levels. The take away is that we need to equip our people to cope with this new reality.
How we should talk about it? The topic goes beyond the wellness discussion, although how we take care of ourselves is important. To start, the message has to focus on the reality that all levels of the organization are facing this challenge. It has been said, but has it been said from the standpoint of “We feel we are doing what we have to do for this business to be successful. Yet we know that it is stressing people beyond what is healthy.” Next, focus on open and honest discussions about what stresses each person out, what we can do to relieve the stress, and what can be done to lesson it (both by the leader and the employee). If there is going to be training, it needs to first focus on equipping the leaders to have these conversations with their teams and provide ongoing support.
Who we should be listening to? A standard piece of every management library is a stress management book. If it is not there go buy one. Jim Loehr is an author that has been around this topic for a while using the analogy of creating a corporate athlete. Another voice that I like to listen to is Doug Silsbee. He has placed a few videos that outline his thoughts on the topic that will provide a perspective on how resilience can help and provided some basic stress management techniques. Here is a link to the videos.
Back to my initial story. Was my friend purposefully trying to be insensitive to his wife? No. They are still married and that baby son is now off to college. But when stress hits sometimes the words out of our mouth don’t accurately reflect what we are thinking/feeling. For leaders, just make sure the words out of your mouth take the discussion in a healthy direction, not to a place where people interpret the message as “deal with it”. This is a topic we should all be talking about.
Someone we all need to listen to – Jessica Jackley
Image via CrunchBase
I like listening to interesting people. Recently I was able to see Jessica Jackley speak. If you don’t know her, she is the co-founder of Kiva.org, which enables micro lending to happen in the world’s poorest areas. Successful? In five years they have made loans in excess of $130 million to 700,000 people. In the process over 98% of the zero interest loans have been paid back. If you want to hear her speech here is the link to the TED website. It is a worthwhile 18 minutes. Here is what I took away:
- Know your mission (what / how / why). It helps you say no to some things and connect with people who share similar goals.
- In order to co-create with people you have to give up control (Kiva uses volunteer translators).
- Do iterative development: Build it, get feedback, improve it, and remember it is okay to fail.
- Entrepreneurs see tomorrow > today
Finally, in response to a student asking her a question about whether he should pursue a similar career track, she responded with these steps to helping others:
- Learn as much as you can about the person you want to help.
- Ask if they have a place the can go to get their needs met.
- When you see things/needs that are not being met, find a way to fill in those gaps.
These three simple steps could be used anywhere it is important to connect with people and make a difference in their lives. Which is everywhere from main street to the board room to the factory floor. It is refreshing to see someone who did not read all the leadership books succeed because they were passionate and willing to try something. Passion is the fuel for change, and Jessica Jackley stands out as a modern-day example of that.
Related Articles
- TEDTalks: Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money — and love (huffingtonpost.com)
- Profounder: Raise Money for Your Business (thetylerhayes.com)
- Raising Capital as a Sustainable Entrepreneur (triplepundit.com)
- Collaborative Fund: Visionary New Investing Model for Pro-Social Startups (bigthink.com)
We are in this together . . TrustBUSTER#10 – Asks team to make sacrifices, but does not follow
TrustBUSTER #10 – Asks team to make sacrifices ($ / time), but does not make same sacrifices
Something good came out of the most recent recession – shared pain. When organizations have to cut as deep as they did, people saw the ‘shared’ part of it. Money and other perks went away, so the pain from all parties was shared in most cases. Here are three things that causes this TrustBUSTER and two ways to make it go away.
What causes it?
- Executive – Sees the perks as entitlements. Cars every two years, club memberships, assistant to pick up dry cleaning, or maybe the box at the local sports venue. Is it part of your base compensation? No. Is it a performance bonus? No. Is it something that is earned because of the stress and personal sacrifices made for work? Probably the closest thing to a reason there is. What employee will empathize with the last reason? Enter TrustBUSTER #10.
- Employee – Sees their work as the hard stuff and wonders what their boss actually does to earn their money. Printing executive pay scales sells papers. Piling on the working class for spending too much time complaining does not. Studies have found that compensation is not a motivator, but can be a demotivator if there is a perceived inequality. The only wisdom I can offer is my experience hearing leaders wish for their old job back. It is not as easy as it looks.
- Both – “If you could only walk in my shoes for a day!” There is a TV show called Undercover Bosswhere the owner of a company spends a week doing frontline jobs in their company as an anonymous new hire. I am not sure if it is all real, but it shows the impact of leaders getting their hands dirty once in a while. Sam Walton was famous for visiting Walmart stores to interact with people directly. I am guessing this one was not as much of a problem for him. Too bad there is not a show allowing people to be a leader for a day.
Two solutions:
- Leader – get out of your office and talk to people - A chief nursing officer once shared conversation she had with a new nursing graduate. The RN asked “Who drives you to work?” An innocent perception of inequality. Makes you wonder how many people thought that but were afraid to ask? It is impossible for a CEO to know everyone, but the more you focus on people seeing you in normal situations the more you will be seen as a person and not a primadona. Being seen in the cafeteria or the lunchroom a couple of times a week makes you accessible and normal. Take it to the next level and try sitting with non-executives when you eat.
- Look for chances to get to know your leaders - Your leader asks you to lunch? Go. Is there a corporate function? Go and seek out leaders to meet and hear what they are thinking about. When you get a chance to ask them questions, here are a few: What have you learned lately? What are your favorite things to do what you are not working? What are the things that keep you up at night? What do you want me losing sleep over?
This trustBUSTER goes away when leaders and followers get to know each others. For leaders, it is harder to implement a one-sided sacrifice when those on the short end actually have a name. For followers, seeing leaders as people helps to alleviate some of the us versus them thoughts that fuel this TrustBUSTER.
Related Articles
- I care… really! TrustBUSTER™ #8 (trugroupscott.wordpress.com)
- Who me? TrustBUSTER™ #4 – Does not communicate and explain changes/decisions well (trugroupscott.wordpress.com)
- TrustBUSTER™ #6 – Criticize decisions AFTER the team made them – How to handle the 3 most common situations (trugroupscott.wordpress.com)
- TrustBUSTER™ #3 – Slow to extend trust to others (and Why onboarding matters) (trugroupscott.wordpress.com)
- Here is what I think. . . TrustBUSTER™ #5 – Tells a lot, listens very little (trugroupscott.wordpress.com)
Is Failure The End?
I went to a class sponsored by our local chamber of commerce this week. The presenter was terrible and it was two hours of wasted content. The benefit was that it got me thinking about when we fail, what it means, and what it should mean.
A mentor of mine, Doug Silsbee, once shared the observation that “We have to shift from a success/failure belief system.” As a startup, I have that posted on a piece of paper on my desk to give me some perspective on viewing good and bad days. I am not to the point where I want to ban the word because it has power. It has the power to be positive if we do things with it. Here are three ways failure can be a building block:
- If it means the beginning of something - In Parker Palmer’s classic book Let Your Life Speak he shares some wisdom from a Quaker elder. She said “A lot of way(doors) has closed behind me, and that’s had the same guiding effect.” Failure should be a guide on a journey, not an end. The ability to see it and process it this way does take some strength and maturity, but it will make a huge difference on your journey.
- It is only part of what defines us - When I talk to groups around career choices and job searches one of the main themes I use is ‘Your Story’, and that any resume, LinkedIn profile, or references should tell our story. Part of our story are failures in jobs, projects, and degrees. When I hire I want to hear them and hear how the person has processed them. It is that part of our story that helps us either not repeat past mistakes or handle the same situation differently to produce a different outcome.
- We learn empathy - Let’s face it, to walk off the stage after a poor presentation, get escorted out of our workplace, or fly home from a failed selling presentation it hurts. But once we experience it we understand what it feels like and what kinds of darker choices enter our mind when the memory is fresh. By dark, I mean the emotions or things you want to do to lash out at those you view as responsible. I will stop here. If you have been here you know what I mean, and being familiar with this place allows us to guide others past it and on to better places.
The final thought is that failure often needs a friend. Someone to come along side you, help identify the event for what it was, and help put some positive energy into the event that will allow you to move along. Gallup did a study that identified the positive outcomes of having 3 friends at work. Buried in the reasons is the benefit of having someone familiar with you that can help process these moments. It is not the only reason for building relationships at work, but it is a significant one.
I hope the presenter makes our time together the beginning of something better.
Do Heroes Have To Be Leaders?
As I was having my coffee and reading the Sunday morning paper yesterday an obituary caught my eye. A 92-year-old WWII veteran named Richard ‘Dick’ Winters had passed away. I first learned about Dick Winters watching the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. It was based on a book published by Stephen Ambrose that told the story of a company of soldiers from the 101st Airborne during World War II. I am the first generation in my family in the last 100 years not to serve in the armed forces, and I love to hear the stories of those individuals who did because it provides me a glimpse into the character of my father and grandfather. What war requires and what it takes away from those who go through it still boggles my mind.
The story of Dick Winters is especially interesting because he was not the leader of Easy Company when the planes took off from England as part of D-Day. But when their company commander was killed in the invasion he assumed command and his heroics began.
Dick Winters was a hero, and he happened to be a leader. What did he think of leadership?
“If you can,” he wrote, “find that peace within yourself, that peace and quiet and confidence that you can pass on to others, so that they know that you are honest and you are fair and will help them, no matter what, when the chips are down.”
Did he consider himself a hero?
When people asked whether he was a hero, he echoed the words of his World War II buddy, Mike Ranney: “No, but I served in a company of heroes.”
Being a great leader takes courage. Being a hero takes a depth of courage to quickly act in unbelievably difficult situations. Unbelievably difficult are the words for those who hear about the heroics years later. For real heroes, they just call it their job or their duty, and humbly go about their lives.
Something to think about today no matter what your title or position.
Related Articles
- Richard ‘Dick’ Winters, ‘Band of Brothers’ inspiration, dies at 92 (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
- Dick Winters, Band of Brothers Commander, Dead at 92 (outsidethebeltway.com)
Leave the Squirrels Alone – Put Energy Where It Matters
Today at breakfast I watched the squirrels eat at my bird feeder. Remember – I called it a bird feeder. I grew up watching my Dad chase the squirrels away with every trap and method imaginable, so to this point in my life I saw the squirrel as an enemy. Then I realized that 25 lbs of sunflower seeds was less than $10 . . . and that squirrels are just hungry. Suddenly, the reason I had started this battle in the first place was fuzzy. The only thing I could come up with was it was a matter of principle because I wanted to feed the birds. So I decided to feed the squirrels and turn my energy to other things.
Seth Godin calls the part of our brain that takes over when we feel threatened the lizard brain. More specifically, it is the amygdala or inner brain, and when it takes over the thought and reasoning parts are idled and fight/flight thinking dominates. The resulting behaviors have been researched and identified by the Birkman Method as stress behaviors, and they are not normal or productive. They happen when the lizard brain is in charge.
So what are the ‘squirrels’ you are battling? In the business world I have seen operations square off with sales, engineering with design, quality with suppliers, finance with sales, and purchasing with just about everyone. There are lots of battles going on, and in many the lizard brain is in charge. Getting out of the lizard brain is one of those things that is simple, but difficult. Here are five steps to taking the control away:
- Step back and see the behaviors (yours and others) as lizard brain thinking.
- Ask the questions: What is our common goal here? What is the solution we are each offering? Why are we so passionate about our solution? (keep asking Why? until you get to the basic answer)
- Listen well and write the answers so everyone can see.
- Ask: What solution best fits our common goal?
- Make a decision – and move on.
A grown man, in his pajamas, sneaking through the snow with a club to attack a squirrel is an image that reflects some lizard brain thinking. What is a good image of your lizard brain taking over? Identify it, remember it, and take the power away from it when it happens.
Do your clients really love you? Here is one measure
Yesterday I had a discussion with a partner that has done an amazing job helping me promote my business during my first year of operation. The discussion was difficult because I need to alter my relationship with them from a monthly basis to an as needed basis. They were valuable and I need them on my virtual team, but I have to do things a little differently in year 2. It was a great discussion and I left feeling upbeat, as I always do. As I sat down this morning I realized I had to add another sales goal to my list – Find Clark Communications another client to replace my business. I like them so much I want to sell for them, and they did not ask me to do this. I know that is a strange reaction, but that is how good they have been to me. I owe them another client.
So what do they do that makes them so special?
- They get as excited about my business as I do: When someone really believes in you it is obvious – they always have energy for what you are doing and it always feels like you should be paying them more. Imagine that last thought?
- They really care about how I am doing: The first question from them is always about me – then about my business. Startup is not easy. They understand that and tend to the entrepreneur first, then the business.
- Their service feels like a friendship: Friendship is not about connecting on LinkedIn or Facebook, it is about doing the little things just because. When you sit next to someone you hear their conversations and do lots of ‘little’ things that are just part of working with someone. It is part of being a friend – - you do things just because.
American Express made the priceless concept into a commercial that always made me smile. One question we should be asking ourselves every day is What can I do to become priceless to my clients? Hmmmmmm . . . . . . . .
Thanks Clark Communications. More specifically, thanks Craig and Jen. 
Now I need to go find that new client . . . .
Self-Awareness 101: Why it matters and 5 questions to get started
A few days ago my 8-year-old daughter shared an observation. She said “Daddy, when you come on field trips my teacher always gives you the new kids for our group. You like to meet new people.” Her comments made me step back because she sees that about me as does her teacher, who I have known for nine years. I thought about what she saw, and she was right. It pains me to see someone standing away from a group of people looking alone and lost. I like to find those people, connect with them, and get them connected. In my professional life, nothing irritates me more than seeing a poor onboarding program at a company or no resources put towards helping new leaders or teams be successful.
Moments like this happen every day, but too often we let them pass by. As our jobs and leaders change more frequently, understanding who we are and what we need to be successful and happy is important. In fact, it is more than just important, it is critical.
So here are the five sets of questions that make up Self-Awareness 101. Being able to answer these will help you build a base of knowledge to use when being approached for a tough project or a new job assignment.
- What do I do extremely well? What are my talents?
- What am I passionate about? What gets me excited?
- What do I need from my job? What rewards mean the most to me?
- What are the realities in my life right now?
- What demotivates me?
In his book Mastery, George Leonard teaches us that mastery is a journey, not a destination. Mastery of ourselves (ie. Self-Awareness) starts with commiting to understand ourselves and seek answers to these five questions, even if the answers come from an eight year old. Enjoy the journey.
The Career Question No One Asks – and 5 Questions All Leaders Should Answer
A couple of times a year I do a keynote address to high school students for something Junior Achievement calls a reverse job shadow. This is a day where people come to the school to talk about their careers. One question I always ask the students is:
- Did any of the presenters share a mistake they made during their career journey?
The answer is always no – which is a shame. We get the students into a room to help them consider career choices, and we don’t take the time to tell them mistakes are part of the journey. Like any journey, career journeys are not defined by the mistakes, but by our response to those mistakes. They should know that, and we all need to remember that.
Next time you have a chance to tell your story, make sure you include the answers to these questions:
- What careers/degrees/jobs did you have before you found this one?
- What is one thing you wish someone had told you before you started?
- What is the biggest mistake you ever made and what did it teach you?
- What part of your job is more fun than hard?
- What part of your job is more hard than fun?
If you are a leader, what would be the impact of sharing this information with your people?
Remember . . . Vulnerable <> Weak.
I know I said I would do that, but . . TrustBUSTER™ #9 – Four common causes and solutions
TrustBUSTER™ #9 – Does not consistently follow through on commitments
It was a team of eight people and we had just gone through a DiSC assessment and were discussing the results. One of the individuals was particularly stressed out, and as we were talking through strengths and weaknesses she had an epiphany. She said “I am overwhelmed with my work and exhausted. I have too much to do because I cannot say no, and as a result I am missing deadlines.”
It is not normal behavior to not complete tasks on time. We are not all task focused people first, but under normal circumstances we should all be capable of hitting deadlines. So what gets in the way? Here are the four most common causes of TrustBUSTER™ #9:
- Ignorance – In his Situational Leadership Model, Ken Blanchard called the initial development stage the enthusiastic beginners. Remember when you would say yes to things, even though you had no idea how to complete the task? Also, remember that ignorance is only a temporary condition. (hopefully) Solution: Recognize ignorance and either shorten the performance leash (check in frequently) or offer to partner/coach through the task the first time.
- Trying to please – There are many different situations that contribute to this problem. Fear from seeing people lose their jobs that results in feeling that yes is the only answer. A high performing team of highly driven individuals and you want to do your share. A leader that puts in 70 hours a week, and there is an expectation (real or imaginary) to keep up. Solution: Focus on having conversations that define expectations and reveal how people are feeling about tasks. In addition, self-awareness and understanding how teammates are wired so the situations above can be addressed openly.
- Big eyes / little stomach - We have all been there. The buffet looked great and a little bit of everything is the decision. The certain outcome is feeling sick and dissatisfied. Some enjoy the challenge of too much or feel they are at their best when overwhelmed. Even the best take on too much sometimes. Solution: Make it a habit to have frequent discussions about priorities to make sure expectations are clear. Individuals have to learn to recognize limits and how an overloaded task list can negatively impact the overall team.
- Not enough time - There are people in every group that have time boundaries. Whether it is someone working part-time, a single parent, or maybe someone who has learned through a heart attack that they need to keep their stress levels down. Solution: Talk about it. Not everyone wants to live a life of too much to do at work. If it does not fit the culture (ex. a startup company) then get that on the table and make the decision that is best for the individual AND the organization.
How can a leader proactively address this TrustBUSTER™? First of all, leaders need to be fanatics about making it safe to question priorities. Secondly, making accountability a norm within the team is critical. Mistakes will happen, but missed deadlines have to be discussed openly and the problems/barriers have to be named and addressed. Always have the questions in hand “What will it take to get things back on track?” or “What has to change or fixed?”