Tilting at Windmills

Many of our “enemies” are illusions–specters of past traumas or the product of misguided beliefs. We allow old narratives to play out again and again, unquestioned. We simply draw our swords and start swinging, just as Don Quixote does in Miguel de Cervantes’ novel. That’s where the term “tilting at windmills” originated. Don Quixote goes into battle with windmills that he imagines to be giants:

“When they came in sight of  thirty to forty windmills that rose from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, Sancho Panza, ‘Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless.’”

Tilting away from Windmills

Often it takes a trusted friend, mentor, or coach, who knows how to both speak truth to power, to get us to put down our swords and see the myths we’ve created for what they really are. In Don Quixote, Sancho Panza plays this role.

“What giants?” [Sancho asks.]

“Those you see over there,” replied his master, “with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length.”

“Take care, sir,” cried Sancho. “Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone.”

The longer we’ve believed a myth, the harder it is to dispel. We create adaptive strategies and employ them so frequently that they become habitual. We tend not to question the myth or our reactions to it. We see a windmill, and we want to attack it.

To begin seeing windmills for what they really are, try these steps:

1. Examine the “windmill” in front of you. Describe it. What has really happened, when, where, why, and how? Only describe what has really happened, not what you think has happened.
2. Consider all the options you have to respond–not just the responses you’ve used in the past.
3. Gain perspective by asking people you trust for their input, and don’t filter their responses to justify your preferred course of action.
4. Think back on the “windmills” you’ve battled in the past. Try to demystify those events.
5. Attend to each of those past events separately and do micro-testing to validate or invalidate your past reactions. Remember your feelings were likely tied to youthful understanding not the understanding of an adult. Dig deep and get real. Did your reactions really produce successful outcomes, or did they simply satisfy an emotional urge?

Elements of Leadership

The post Tilting at Windmills appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Your leadership and management skills can be dramatically improved by taking a page out of the motorcycling playbook. This past weekend I took a training course in how to drive a motorcycle from Rider Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota. To say I stretched myself would be an understatement. I was left fatigued at the end of each 9 hour day.

Riding a motorcycle is such an intellectual and physical activity; I now better appreciate the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. You must be continually mindful of yourself, the machine, and the environment you’re riding in. My instructor kept repeating the acronym S.E.E., which stands for Search, Evaluate, and Execute. It helped me stay focused, and, it can help leaders stay focused on their work as well.

Search

This is what great leadership and management talent are always doing. They are constantly scanning their organization for episodic events, dissonance, or anomalies (internal or external). Searching isn’t limited to vision, of course. Leaders frequently search by asking questions of everyone and anyone.

Evaluate

Detection of an opportunity or an obstacle is important, but leaders must do more than just search. They must evaluate what they’ve found. They must consider the potential impact on the current course or plan. Many leaders skip this step–because there are too many variables, they feel like they have too much on their plates already, or they simply don’t want to make adjustments. Some events, of course, pass by like a log in the river with no disturbance to the flow of the organization or the operating environment. But some obstacles will knock your organization off course. It’s the leader’s job to evaluate what the impact will or might be. At CO2 Partners, we’ve found that the GPSing model can be enormously helpful for leaders in this regard. It helps them reconfigure strategy around their goal and current position.

Execute

Once you have a clear understanding of what you see and what impact it will have on your trajectory, it is time to act. Leadership and management must modify the plan with all needed staff to build understanding, engagement, alignment, and accountability to ensure the execution happens with minimal disturbance.

What you SEE is what you get. As a leader, keep those eyes open, evaluate what you see or learn, and be ready to execute.

The post Motorcycle Leadership: What you S.E.E. is what you get appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Few Employees Want to Be Told What to Do

Only six percent of employees wish to be told what to do by their boss, according to a survey by CO2 Partners.  The overwhelming majority, 94%, prefer to be asked questions by their supervisor. 

The directive workplace has been in decline since the 1970s.  Today it’s not about following orders, but about dialogue and effective leadership.  People have grown to expect a supportive work environment where everyone is encouraged to contribute.  Moreover, at a time when senior management is so focused on talent management there is no alternative.

Leaders Ask Questions

At least one-third of supervisors and executives who are surveyed favor inquiry as a leadership style.  Leaders don’t tell people what to do, they ask questions.  This isn’t merely an indirect way of giving orders, but real give-and-take.  Leaders realize they don’t know all the answers and must draw on the know-how of their employees.  In fact, we find based up real-time surveys of audiences made up of leaders that about 80% use this approach.

Fifteen years ago, most supervisors knew how to do their employee’s job, perhaps even better.  But today few bosses know how to do an employee’s job.  So moving from telling to asking isn’t a matter of choice.  It’s a necessity!

With respect to employees who just wish to be told what do to,  there are always people who don’t want to be challenged.  They want their work day to be consistent and as easy as possible. But, more and more, these employees are in the minority. Most employees find reward and satisfaction in dictating how they do their work. They find that questions motivate them way more than commands.

(Independent research firm Content Connections was retained by CO2 Partners and surveyed 216 employed Americans via the Internet in March 2007.)

The post Leaders Ask Questions appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

In the diagram above, Robert Quinn and John Rohrbaugh put culture on a two-dimensional plane. The vertical axis represents Structure (control vs. flexibility) and the horizontal axis represents Focus (internal vs. external). Control organizations value standardization and a well-defined, decision-making process. They focus inwardly on their people and processes. Collaborate  organizations are more familial and are comfortable with flexibility. Compete organizations differ from their counterpart (Control) by focusing externally. They want great products that can be differentiated in the marketplace. Create organizations are highly flexible and externally focused. One would probably not find a Control culture comfortable with telecommuting. Nor would you find an Compete culture sitting in a room going through a multi-day strategic planning session just to get buy-in from the entire team–like you might in a Collaborate culture.

The post Culture Model appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Assumption Bias restricts the possibility of change for both the leader and followers. It acts like a steel safe, locking in a static belief system and locking out the possible alternatives.

The greater the power leaders have, the more vulnerable they are to assumption bias because their coworkers are unlikely to challenge them.

Here are three forms of assumption bias:

1. Cognitive dissonance–When you have two conflicting beliefs and to reduce the internal tension/conflict you alter one belief. The stronger the conflict, the greater the rationality employed.
   
2. Ego involvement–When you’re so invested in a position (in part because of group membership & your own emotional commitment) that you’re unlikely to be rethink or revise it.
   
3. Overconfidence effect–When your subjective confidence in your judgments is reliably greater than your objective accuracy.

Assumption Bias at Work

A value-added reseller of a software company grew and prospered until one point it began to lose money each month. This surprised the senior team because their revenues had continued to grow with greater and greater software sales. Each time they sold software, they also sold maintenance and professional services. The company was locked into an assumption that began the day they open their doors: they sell software. Because this company saw itself as a software reseller and not a professional services firm, they managed the business around a software sales matrix and not the key performance indicators of a professional service firm. CO2 Partners worked with this company to improve its performance, but first we had to expose and eliminate longstanding assumption bias. While the full nature of their business seems obvious now, it wasn’t at the time for the senior team, who had invested a lot of time, work, and ego in getting the company off the ground. They had to revise their vision of themselves and their company.

When you are moving through the change process, you will usually run headfirst into assumption bias–whether you’re an outsider or an insider. You may think that good ideas should be accepted and implemented quickly and easily. And they should, but that’s not usually how the script plays out. People don’t always act the way we expect or hope they will. They make assumptions and hold onto them–even in the face of superior logic.

Uprooting faulty assumptions requires not only superior logic, but also an examination of the bias or biases that led to the assumption. Be aware of the types of assumption bias–cognitive dissonance, ego involvement, and the overconfidence effect. Use this knowledge to help persuade stakeholders to see the situation in a more objective light.

Elements of Leadership

The post 3 Forms of Assumption Bias appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Grit Matters

I love the saying, “It only took me twenty years to be an overnight success.” Recognition from others can come in an instant, but building a success often takes years. And it takes grit.

Grit is the perseverance and passion to achieve long-term goals. It is about your deliberate practice even when facing obstacles–obstacles that may cause others to turn away and give up. Grit is a difference-maker, according to Angela Duckworth, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. It explains why one person with the same intellectual gifts as another can accomplish so much more.

Duckworth conducted studies about grit in many organizations, including West Point, where the students have been getting psychological testing done on them for years. What Duckworth found is that grit was by far the strongest indicator of the cadets’ ability to finish the summer training program called the “Beast Barracks.” At the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth found that grit mattered more than intelligence in terms of GPA performance, too.

It’s not enough to be smart. If you’re smart and don’t have to work that hard to be successful, you may get in the habit of not working hard. You may give up too easily when obstacles arise.

How much grit do you have? Take Duckworth’s Grit Survey and find out.

Overnight successes rarely happen overnight. They may benefit from some good fortune, but they usually come from grit. Learn to look for and appreciate grit–in yourself and others.

The post The Dirty Little Secret About Grit appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

We have all heard the phrase “Culture eats strategy for lunch (or breakfast, or dinner).” But what exactly does it mean and what, as a business leader, can you do to improve your organization’s culture?

Every morning when I logged onto my system at Merrill Lynch I saw their well-known “bull” logo and the words “A Performance Driven Culture.” They are driven by performance. Big producers, wealthy clients, and large deals are all part of who they are and what they project. That culture can help and it can hurt. Their aggressive posture led to significant financial troubles in the market downturn of 2008; in bull markets, though, they tend to fare far better. Other companies, as I have witnessed, value consistency of service. The $500,000 mortgage client and the $2 million investment services client get the same touch as the newly opened savings account for the kid that mows lawns in the summer. Again, that culture can help and it can hurt. The high-value accounts may feel like they’re getting enough attention; on the other hand, small-value customers may be more inclined to recruit others or to stay longer. In both of the cases I’ve outlined here, the organization’s culture usually dictates its strategy. When it doesn’t (when strategy isn’t shaped by culture), customers and employees tend to get thrown by the bull.

So, what is your culture? How do you describe it to friends or acquaintances who have no stake in the matter? Is it clear and consistent to both customers and employees?

The following three tips will help you maintain a strong culture or improve one that seems inconsistent or lacking:

1.  Align employees’ core values with the organization’s

One of the first activities that we conduct with a new coaching client at CO2 Partners is a values assessment. Values are those things that you define to be non-negotiable. They are different for every person and every organization. When organizational values align with employees’ personal values then great things can happen. Misalignment will cause stress and conflict that consumes energy and holds you back from attaining goals–personal and organizational. In “Working without a Net: How to Survive & Thrive in Today’s High Risk Business World,” Morris Shechtman says that goals are where you are going and values are how you’re going to get there. He’s right. If employees’ values don’t align with the organization’s then begin moving them out and bringing in people whose values do align.

2.  Hire around your culture, not the technical needs of the position

CarterBaldwin has a process that they define as “The Five P’s: A Client Assessment for Matching Culture” (a PDF can be found here). Those five P’s are: Power, Push, Pace, Play, and Principles.  The sales process at one company might be quite a bit different than the sales process at another company. As a matter of fact, the mere mention of the word “sales” or “sales training” may invoke a strong, negative leadership reaction–we don’t “sell” to our customers–even though a need is identified, a product is offered, and a purchase is made. Be very clear about the cultural fit that you seek not just the technical aspects of the position.

3.  Discover and address your cultural blind spots

One of your cultural strengths may lead to a blind spot or weakness. If your organization values respect and decorum highly, for instance, it may not be well-equipped to handle conflict or emergencies. The hierarchical nature of the Korean people meant that somebody of a lower status (the co-pilot) would always defer to the decisions of somebody of a higher status (the pilot) at Korean Air Lines. Further investigation showed that, at times, co-pilots were completely disengaged with the operations of the flight deck. This disengagement led to loss of life and equipment. Complex systems, like modern aircraft, require a team effort to operate. Align your organization around common values, but make sure you discover and address your cultural blind spots, so that you can avoid potential crashes.

The post 3 Ways to Improve Your Organization’s Culture appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

From Therapeutic to Performance

As executive coaching continues to expand, the field is shifting away from a therapeutic model to a greater emphasis on business performance, leadership, and communication.

Coaching has already changed significantly since it emerged barely 15 years ago. Coaches initially came from psychology or counseling, and their mission was to solve a problem with a rising manager, like an overly assertive management style or poor interpersonal skills. The subject of an intervention might suffered a stigma, so the coaching was done on a confidential basis, sometimes without even HR’s knowledge.

In the past decade or so, coaching has become increasingly professional and leadership development is now the largest market segment. But this is a very dynamic field, so let’s look at all the executive coaching types–the nature of the work they do, their origins, and future prospects.  

7 Executive Coaching Types:

• Therapeutic Coaching–Those not familiar with the larger coaching field will probably conjure up the stereotypical image of a therapist behind a desk with a pad of paper, asking questions of the “patient” on the couch about how he or she felt when a specific incident occurred– plumbing the depths of childhood traumas perhaps. Therapeutic coaching doesn’t always take this form, of course, but it remains in great demand among individuals. Providing this form of nurture and support is losing ground among corporate buyers, though, in part because it’s perceived as personal coaching (not professional) and because so many professional coaching options have emerged in recent years. Research has shown that emotionally-grounded employees tend to have better morale, creativity, and productivity. As a result, the corporate world may be more inclined to embrace therapeutic coaching in the future.

• Life Coaching–This is a newer part of the coaching market, and does not have a significant corporate following either. The threshold for becoming a life coach is pretty low; anyone can become one, but many do attend a local or nationally recognized certification program that provides them with a template for assisting clients. People in this field are often very warm, caring people who have a strong desire to help their clients move to a better life. They can and often do have a powerful impact.

• Intervention Coaching–Once the only kind of business coaching, intervention was designed to help promising but problematic managers. This coaching segment has declined in recent years. As loyalty has left many firms in this country, the amount of time and resources that an employer is willing to spend to help a struggling employee is decreasing. In addition, research indicates that more effort should be put towards employees’ strengths rather than their weaknesses. When employees’ weaknesses are not a good fit, the organization is often more interested in moving them out of the firm than providing coaching.

• Career Coaching–Career-transition consultants work with individuals seeking a job or career change as well as those just promoted into a new role. These specialists help you determine what your passions are and then develop a road map to integrate those passions into your career life. Rather than farm their employees out to career counselors, some high-volume organizations have created a formulaic approach to career transition. In part due to these large organizations’ formulaic models, this segment of coaching is expected to plateau; it is currently dominated by career transition firms that were originally just doing outplacement work.

• Command Coaching–Although better understood not as “coaching” but “instructing,” command coaching will remain a steady specialization. Some people know themselves well enough that if they pay someone to keep them in line, they will stay in line. The entire fitness coaching model is built on this drill-sergeant concept–I want someone outside of myself to hold me accountable. This form of coaching is sometimes referred to as “directive coaching.”

• Time-Management Coaching–Organizational and strategic coaching was an early specialization and continues to enjoy a steady market. Time management and organizational skills are being taught in schools now (this wasn’t the case even 10 years ago), but that hasn’t depressed the demand significantly. Several large organizations dominate this market and have created really interesting, straight-forward approaches to helping people find the right model that works.

• Business Coaching–Business coaches usually work with business owners and CEOs, and, as result, can provide a high ROI. When owners and CEOs perform better, their organizations tend to improve as well. Business coaches are often viewed like consultants, but they are not paid to execute. They are paid to build the leader’s muscles and ask questions that others may be too afraid to ask about vision, mission, goals, and strategy. Despite growing demand, business coaching is still the smallest market segment.

This typology oversimplifies the complex coaching marketplace. Of course, there’s always overlap in mission and approach, and every coach tends to bring his or her own unique perspective and expertise. This blog post is meant to be a primer for those not familiar with how the coaching field has changed in the past 10-15 years. It’s a primer that most HR departments should be aware of when they’re about to bring in a coach, but sometimes aren’t. Feel free to share this post with members of your HR department.

More and more, individuals (not HR or employers) are initiating coaching searches. In fact, they account for roughly one third of coaching searches. If you were to seek out a coach, what type would you choose, and why?

The post 7 Executive Coaching Types appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Despite the growing popularity of executive coaching, common misconceptions persist. These misconceptions revolve around the nature of the work executive coaches do and the results they’re expected to achieve. It’s time to uproot the most persistent and pernicious of these misconceptions.

10 Frequent Misconceptions About Executive Coaching: 

1. “I don’t have issues and don’t need executive coaching.” Many individuals think coaching is a sign of a shortcoming rather than a key tool for improving performance or building a business. Coaching allows you to identify and build on your strengths. It’s not a punishment for a particular failure, though it might help you avoid repeating destructive patterns in the future.

2. “I don’t want others to know I’m being coached.” Instead of being kept a secret, coaching should involve others in the process, including superiors, colleagues, and subordinates.  Many coaches begin with a 360-degree assessment, which by nature is an open process.  Openness can foster commitment. It’s also a sign of a confident and proactive individual.

3. “Coaching is now a standard process.” Despite efforts to standardize the practice of coaching, there are as many approaches as there are coaches, and this will not change.  Some coaches are continually developing new insights into the process and it may be wise to seek one that is on the learning edge rather than a coach whose ideas are set.

4. “Women don’t get coaching.” Two out of three who get coaching are probably men, and that reflects their proportionate representation at the managerial and executive levels. But that has been steadily changing. Today at least one in three of those getting coaching are women, and those number will only rise.

5. “Coaching is just for high-potentials.” In fact, more people are seeking coaching, whether or not they have been identified as high-potentials by senior management. Everyone has barriers, and coaches can help identify them and build bridges.

6. “An executive coach needs to be certified.” Certification may reassure your employer, but it is no guarantee of professionalism, or whether that coach will be the right fit for your needs. Instead, consider carefully the business experience a coach brings to the table.

7. “An executive coach is a kind of therapist.” Some coaches approach their mission in this way, but increasingly executive coaches address business issues with a practical eye, and do not engage in psychotherapy. Most coaching is about empathy, trust, and engagement with the client.

8. “Women should coach women.” This is no more true than that men ought to coach men.  Look for professionalism and business experience, not secondary considerations.

9. “A coach needs to be tough.” There is the persistent image of the bullying and badgering coach. While this style might work for some, it is really more essential to have a rapport with a coach. If one is not comfortable, it may be time to find a new coach.

10. “I won’t qualify for executive coaching.” There is no such thing as qualifying for coaching, and neither is there any need to wait for HR or top management to tap someone for this vital support. If an individual wants coaching, then ask for it.

Some coaches have a very directive approach, but the great majority try to discover what is best for their clients. Telling a person what to do won’t develop leadership thinking or skills. Instead, a wise coach asks questions, and asks for an invitation to pursue solutions.

What misconceptions do you have about executive coaching?

The post 10 Frequent Misconceptions About Executive Coaching appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Betrayal at Work

Betrayal is a violation of trust, which is why it feels so gut-wrenchingly awful and can come as such a shock. We often don’t or can’t see it coming. And we’re often left flatfooted in terms of how to deal with it. Our anger or resentment may cause us to want to get even. Before we know it, an angstrom of deceit has built into a galactic war between us and our former friends or trusted coworkers.

When my clients feel betrayed, I often refer them to the work of Dennis and Michelle Reina, authors of Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace. The Reinas created a Betrayal Continuum, which helps put a particular experience of betrayal into context.

Betrayal Continuum

Betrayal Continuum by Dennis & Michelle Reina

As the Betrayal Continuum indicates, betrayals can be intentional or unintentional, and they can be minor or major in terms of the consequences. Understanding where a particular betrayal falls on the spectrum may be helpful. You might tell a coworker, for instance, that you know it’s not intentional and that it’s a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but that you feel like his arriving late to work is, in fact, a betrayal, as well as a challenge to your authority.

If you want to further quantify the betrayal(s) of an individual or yourself, here’s an exercise that I derived from material found in Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace.

Evaluate Degree of Betrayal at Work

Reina's Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace

I encourage clients to have their coworkers, direct reports, and superiors fill out this form, too, so that the individual gets a 360-degree view of how their untrustworthy behavior is perceived by and affects others.

Betrayal can create a vicious cycle. The more you feel betrayed, the more likely you are able to rationalize your own betrayal of others. You’ve got to nip this cycle in the bud. Here’s a seven-step process that Dennis and Michelle Reina recommend:

Seven Steps to Stop Betrayal and Rebuild Trust

1. Observe and acknowledge what has happened
2. Allow feelings to surface
3. Get and give support
4. Re-frame the experience
5. Take responsibility
6. Forgive yourself and others
7. Let go and move on

Don’t let betrayals go unchecked. And don’t retaliate, since that will only make the situation worse and likely draw others into the fray. Take the Reinas’ expert advice. Use these seven steps to address betrayals as they happen; in doing so, you’ll prevent future betrayals. You’ll also work in a far more harmonious environment.

Elements of Leadership

The post 7 Steps for Stopping Betrayal at Work appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Rethinking Leadership Infographic was developed by Sammi Cohen. To develop your own infographic, reach out to Sammi Cohen.

Rethinking Leadership

The post Rethinking Leadership Infographic appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Drexler-Sibbet Team Performance Model

Decision Model

A model can be anything that defines a process (iterative, linear, or chaotic) in which you move from a particular starting point to a desired destination. Some models are rather straight forward. Take, for instance, planning a business trip from Rochester, MN (my home town) to Los Angeles, CA to attend a conference. I would simply register for the conference, book the hotel, book the flight, pack bags, etc. The timeline is linear, and the process requires little to no effort to design and accomplish. Other models aren’t so easy or simple.

Find the Right Questions

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first fifty-five minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”–Albert Einstein

The Drexler-Sibbet, team-performance, decision model (shown in the diagram above) lays out a seven step process that a team will go through on nearly every project. Each step centers around a defining question. These questions will help the team stay on task and not get ahead of itself.

Execute the Solution

The first four steps in the Drexler-Sibbet process are highly iterative, require significant discussion by all members of the team, and will help to provide a cohesive group. Don’t overlook the value of this part of the process–it is truly the foundation.

The last three steps are all about execution. The real value of the first part of the process shows up in the execution. How does your organization say yes? Better yet, how and when does your organization say no?  How do stray projects “show up” in the execution phase and alter those efforts in the planning phase?

Encourage your team not to get ahead of itself–to take it step by step, in other words. And encourage them not to do too much back-tracking in order to justify answers to questions in the execution phases.

As a leader, your main job is to be the question-asker, not the answer-provider. Trust your team to execute.

“The best executive is one who has the sense enough to pick good men [or women] to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”–President Theodore Roosevelt

The post The Decision Model appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Going to Work vs. Getting Your Work to Go

Going to work can get old. A change in environment often allows you to open up to other possibilities and see solutions that may not have otherwise appeared. If your work or routine needs revitalizing, pack up and go somewhere else. Go to a coffee shop, the public library, a local art center, the park, even a hotel lobby. You might not only get new ideas and new routines, you might also get new customers or contacts. It may not even feel like work.

What feeds your creativity?

I personally frequent many different coffee shops; Caribou, Dunn Brothers, and Starbucks are highest on my list. I write most of my blog posts from Dunn Brothers, where the eclectic crowd and comfortable atmosphere (and sitting by the fireplace in the winter) feed my creativity. Personally, I like the noise in a coffee shop–the coffee grinder, the sound of milk being frothed, and the general hustle bustle of customers and employees. If you find it too distracting, head to the library, where others are engaged in quiet and thoughtful activity. Or sit on a park bench where you can be inspired by nature–and lots of sensory stimuli. In an art gallery, you might get colorful visual inspiration for a problem that you thought was black and white.

You might be tempted to go to places you’ve been before–either because you’ve done good, creative work there in the past or imagine you might now. But don’t limit yourself to old haunts. If you want to think new creative thoughts, go somewhere new. Where haven’t you gone to work?

Expand your network

At coffee shops, you’ll likely reconnect with old friends and acquaintances, and you’re apt to expand your network, too–especially if you’re friendly and introduce yourself to the staff and owner. Coffee shops are excellent places to network. The only downside is if you’re not in a networking mood. If you really need to be productive and focused, you might want to seek out a different, less social environment.

Want a tip? Tip.

Buy something. Tip well. And don’t nurse a single cup of coffee for hours on end (going back for multiple “free” refills is tacky). Remember, the barista meets many people throughout the day and may find an opportunity to provide a key introduction. If you want support for your business, you need to support the coffee shop’s business.

The post Going to Work vs. Getting Your Work to Go appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Power Poisoning

In a recent interview with Dan Pink, Bob Sutton (the author of  The No Asshole Rule) talks about his new book, Good Boss, Bad Boss, and “power poisoning.” He believes that power can poison leaders in the following three ways:

1. They become more focused on their own needs and wants.
2. They become less focused on the needs of others.
3. They act like the rules don’t apply to them.

All leaders are potentially vulnerable to power poisoning. Has power poisoned you? Here are two questions to test whether it has. Be sure to answer them honestly:

1. What team members’ needs have you recently addressed, and how?

2. Do you feel like some organizational rules don’t apply to you? If so, which ones, and why?

If you have trouble answering the first question, chances are you’re too focused on your own needs and wants. And if you feel like you’re above some rules, you may also be in need of a “power poisoning” antidote.

Less Power, More Empathy

Don’t let power–or the quest for more power–derail your leadership. Keep yourself grounded with Emotional Intelligence and Servant Leadership; these two leadership guides illustrate the importance of generosity and community–both to your development and to your organization’s.

The post Power Poisoning appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.

Animation has given us more than great entertainment; it has given us remarkable leadership lessons. In Toy Story we are given a surprising leadership lesson by Slinky Dog. Slinky Dog is the head, feet, and tail end of a dog with the body made of Slinky. Imagine for a moment that you as the leader are the head of the Slinky Dog and that all of your followers are the tail end. Depending how you lead, your followers will be immediately behind you, right beside you, in front of you, or a long way back. A dear friend of mine who is Senior Vice President at a Global 100 company explained to me the concept behind Slinky Dog Leadership as we watched skiers come down the mountain in Steamboat Colorado. Here are the four ways it typically plays out:

Leader Too Far in Front

As a leader you can actually get too far in front of your team with your ideas and speed of desired implementation. Each day your team wakes up capable to implement the operational needs of the organization. If you were to look at each of their schedules, you would see that they may have at most 30 minutes free of time not yet soaked up in moving the business forward. In those 30 minutes, what are you asking them to do? Do you expect them to implement your idea from yesterday or two days ago as well as the amazing idea you gave them today? Your ideas might not only help them do their jobs better or more efficiently, but also significantly boost the overall performance of the organization. It’s easy for you to picture–the outcome and maybe even all the steps between this imagined future and the present–but far more difficult for your coworkers to implement. The backlog of your ideas has created a whole lot of Slinky wire between you and your coworkers, and something or someone is going to snap. 

            Here’s how you likely got too far in front of your coworkers:

• You overestimated or under-provided the resources (financial, equipment, or staffing) necessary to implement your new idea.
  
• You didn’t or aren’t willing to make tradeoffs–cutting one thing in order to free up the resources to do another.
• You didn’t get buy-in (or maybe even full understanding) from your coworkers. If they don’t comprehend what you’re suggesting or if they don’t support it, they may drag their feet in the mud, creating even more tension and Slinky wire between you and them.
  

Lead from the Side

You become so captivated by activities or people outside of the organization that you become estranged from your internal team. When you actually appear at the office, you are a bit of a stranger and you blow in with all the new ideas that you have gathered from the market. You have become totally disconnected with the reality of production and what it takes to get your product or service produced. You and your team are going in opposite directions. You want your team to turn in your direction, and they expect you to swing back in their direction. You may chew (or chew out) your own tail, which only serves to irritate your team, since they felt like they were not only pulling their weight, but yours while you were away. They miss their independence and may now resent your presence. 

Lead like a Donut

You become so involved with your own team members that you fail to spend time with external stakeholders–in the market place or other departments (in larger organizations). You become so consumed with operations that no one can do their job consistently without youoffering a better or different way. You become so narcissistic that you are always gazing at your ass and thinking it looks good as the market passes you by.

Leading with a Spring in Your Step

Creating the right amount of tension–not too little and not too much–is the art of leadership. If you take all the tension out of the system, it becomes static; if you put too much in the system, it becomes destructive. Great leaders build alignment, commitment, and accountability by regulating the tension and direction of the organization. They monitor both internal and external environments, set a clear vision and objectives, make tradeoffs, and get buy-in from team members before implementing big new ideas.

Give your team enough slack to move, but not so much that the Slinky Dog’s head and tail snap back at each other!  

Elements of Leadership

The post Slinky Dog Leadership appeared first on | Elements of Leadership Blog.