Nov

1

In the world of sports, there are foundational points that every coach highlights, emphasizes, and repeats to all of his or her players.  Coaches who coach outside the sports world (business, leadership, and personal coaches, that is) focus on similar foundational points with their clients. 

After 10 + years of coaching, I have my own list of foundational points that I have used and emphasized.  Here are my top twenty:

1.            Know the rules and abide by them

2.            Play with integrity

3.            Be clear about what you intend to do

4.            Make the most of the time you have remaining on the clock

5.            Play to win (don’t play not to lose)

6.            Respect your competition

7.            Be fully responsible for the outcome

8.            Practice, practice, practice

9.            Don’t overreact to pressure

10.          Eat right and get plenty of rest

11.          Work with your team with an attitude of cooperation

12.          Lead by example

13.          Stop complaining (or quit)

14.          Set outrageously high goals (and then make sure someone holds you accountable for reaching them)

15.          Celebrate the sale you almost got, too (recognize the effort but learn from it, too)

16.          Keep learning “new stuff”

17.          Stay alert - practice being totally present

18.          It’s okay to make mistakes; just don’t repeat them

19.          Be able to hear (and handle) the truth

20.          Aim to make a difference!

…

Oct

26

If your business is like most these days, things are slow.  Frighteningly slow.  A speedy recovery is essential for the business owner.  And if you have employees depending on you to make things happen, the pressure to perform is great.

A few years ago, the area I live in (south Florida), was visited by two hurricanes within weeks.  Afterwards, companies were struggling to get back in business for lack of telephones, electricity, employees, raw materials, and/or customers.  I conducted several short seminars designed to help the business owner back to the right mindset. 

The attached PowerPoint (restart-your-business-now-2008.pdf) is an amended version of those seminars designed to help the business owner to gain perspective, reach some conclusions, outline a plan, and then take action…quickly.  The same elements of innovation and action apply in today’s challenging environment.

The 5 Points are:
1) Assess the situation
2) Assess yourself
3) Assess your business
4) Find the opportunities
5) Get into action…now

…

Oct

4

A handful of years ago, I wrote a book call Intentional Leadership.  In it, I outlined a formula that I believed was an effective and long-lasting approach to leadership.  It stated that leadership was intentional.  That each of us chooses to be a leader. 

The book manuscript spent a considerable amount of time in the hands of a few publishers (McGraw-Hill, Penguin, and a few others) but after months of consideration, it never made it to press.  Regrettably, I shelved my quest to publish but continue to publicly speak, coach, and manage using the Intentional Leadership formula of Authenticity, Simplicity, and Consistency.     

Today it appears the country is crying out for intentional leaders who can live by the principles of authenticity, simplicity, and consistency.  Below is a broad overview of each one:

Being authentic is being yourself.  No fluff, no bull, no hype, just you.  When you can be yourself 100% of the time, no matter who you are with or what you are doing, then you have reached a high degree of authenticity.

Regarding simplicity, this means to live and lead simply.  People who lead complicated lives confuse those whom they lead or influence.  Simplicity means a distinct lack of stuff - possessions, trinkets, papers, obligations, and to-do lists.  Simplicity also means living and working in an environment that is not cluttered with things that you will never use.  Consider what’s on your office walls, or your desk, or your files, or even your computer.  The more “stuff,” the less simplicity exists.

Consistency completes the formula.  First, you need to be consistently authentic.  Next, you learn to lead a consistently simple lifestyle.  And lastly, there is consistency by itself.  Have you ever worked for a boss who was inconsistent?  One day the boss might have been upbeat, and the next day he’s grouchy.  Another day he’s boisterous, and the next he’s a recluse.  Inconsistency as a leader will lead to confusion and frustration, for you and others.  A leader who is consistent is the glue that holds the organization together and keeps it moving forward.

The point is - whether you are the leader of a company, of a department, of a family, of a church, or of a community association, you must intend to lead.  Treat the responsibility seriously and with respect.

…

Mar

21

Life Under the Bus

March 21, 2008 | Comments Off

 One of the less endearing terms I’ve begun to hear more and more in business environments lately is “They threw him under the bus.” 

The phrase implies ruthlessness and power, representing one person’s ability to (metaphorically) lift and throw another into the path of danger or destruction.  If this phrase is used in a team environment, it usually signifies a huge lack of trust and a “watch your back” mentality.  In other words, a team really isn’t a team.

Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, identifies some essential components of an effective team, with the pivotal one being trust.  And that trust is almost exclusively derived from team members being able to make themselves vulnerable to the others.  Of course, this vulnerability can be seen as giving your team members the ability to throw you under the bus.  A very high trust level must exist among team members in order for that kind of vulnerability to display itself.

The interesting aspect of the bus metaphor’s current use is that it’s usually said as matter-of-factly as people share the day’s weather forecast with each other.  There is no longer any shock value attached to the phrase.  In other words, it’s as though throwing someone under the bus is an acceptable and common form of personal and business behavior, one that we tolerate because that’s just the way it is.

Perhaps I’m taking this too far.  I don’t mean to.  My intention is to simply raise the awareness level of leaders so they do not fall prey to thinking that “throwing someone under the bus” is acceptable to say or do.

My suggestion for leaders who do hear this term being used in their organizations (or catch themselves using it) is to lead a discussion at your next team meeting about the intention and use of the phrase.  Also, ask how they think its usage helps or hurts the team or the organization.  Don’t openly judge its use, just ask the questions.

Here is your homework assignment for the week:  Listen carefully to all of the conversations you participate in or overhear and take particular notice of whether you hear the “under the bus” metaphor being used.  My guess is that you will hear it more than you think you will.

…

Jan

30

Electronic communications save us time, but also distances us from those we lead.  Therefore, it’s easier for people to misunderstand or misinterpret the intentions of the leader.  Below are 4 simple ways to ensure that the people you are leading really do hear what you have to say and that they are positively influenced by it.

1)  Walk Your Talk

A leader today must recognize that everything he or she does is under scrutiny.  Everything.  The world is full of skeptics; people who feel they cannot trust anything they see or hear.  And even if they do connect with your message, they will still look for chinks in your armor.  Why?  Because too many leaders have failed them in the past.

Of course, every leader is aware that he or she is being watched, but what they might not realize is just how much they are analyzed and dissected.  It’s ugly, it’s unfair, but it’s happening.  It’s business in the 21st century.

So the number one rule for every leader is Walk Your Talk.  Do what you say you’re going to do.

2)  Have a Clear Vision (and Message). 

A leader must have clarity in his or her life - clarity of purpose, clarity of goals and intentions, and clarity of expectations.  When you have a clear vision of what you want, the confusion factor is greatly reduced.

Everything pertaining to a company’s vision begins with the leader. 

3)  Incorporate a Great Story Into Your Message.

Don’t make up a story; tell a real one.  Something that happened to you or to someone you know.  Stories don’t have to be exciting, but they do have to have relevance and be able to touch someone’s heart.  Make sure it’s authentic as well as easy to understand.

A leader’s message regarding his or her vision is much the same as a political campaign.  The candidate stays “on message” wherever he or she goes so that a consistently clear message gets heard.  Those sound bites that the television networks lock on to are very similar to the stories you should be sharing about your vision.

4)  Be Respectful

“The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”  -  William James

Tom Peters retold a story about a well respected management consultant (not Peters) who was brought into a company to help the executive team improve their leadership skills.

As Tom tells it, the management guru got up front in front of the room full of executives and wrote these words on the white board - “Don’t Belittle.”  And then he sat down.  Session over.

Now this story may have evolved from what actually happened that day but I like this version.  Easily half (or more) of a person’s leadership challenges will come from his or her inability to consistently respect other people.

Respect is such a small word but it has huge implications.

- Do you consistently bark out orders?

- Do you burst into meetings and take over?

- Do you publicly admonish others?

- Do you neglect to acknowledge others with a simple Good Morning or greeting?

If you said Yes to even one of these questions, your leadership effectiveness is seriously at risk.  And if you can’t follow (at least most of the time) the business sage’s advice of Don’t Belittle, you don’t deserve to lead. 

MESSAGE: Leadership is never static; it’s always in motion.  Requiring at the very least that leaders be aware of not only what they do and say, but of what they’re not doing and not saying.

How do you know that the people you lead really hear and understand what your intentions are and what your vision is?

…


Blogroll