Posts Tagged ‘Change’

You don’t know what you don’t know

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

“Awareness requires a rupture with the world we take for granted.” Shoshana Zuboff

High performance leaders recognize the need to constantly improve their organization and its people, and above all, themselves. To become better leaders, they continually expand their self-awareness, even if this means confronting aspects of their personalities, habits and performance that they’d rather not see. Self-awareness requires a dedicated effort to uncover the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Here are some steps to get you started.

Accept that others may know you better than you know yourself. It is far easier to have wisdom about others than it is to truly know ourselves. Recognize that you have a biased perspective or that you don’t comprehend the whole picture of your behavior and its impact.

Examine your world view. There’s an old saying that a fish doesn’t know it’s swimming in water until it is thrown upon the riverbank. Up until that moment, that fish thinks that he understands all about the world and how it works. Your world view is a framework that allows you to understand individuals, groups and your “reality.” A world view is like a lens through which you see yourself and others. It is dangerous to assume that your world view is the right one or the same as other people.  To explore your world view, ask yourself, What are my beliefs? and What assumptions do I make about myself and others?

Find a new perspective. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” To get a different perspective, look at an unrelated industry, ask for feedback from a new source or methodically toss out all of your assumptions and start fresh.

Explore the unknown unknowns. You’re probably pretty comfortable with not knowing every answer. What if you didn’t even know the right questions to be asking? According to an article by Errol Morris in the New York Times Opinionator, known unknowns are the problems you can list and prepare for. The unknown unknowns are problems about which you are completely unaware. Giant leaps in self-awareness and performance can be achieved by not only adding to your list of solutions, but uncovering previously unexplored questions.

You would never accept mediocre performance from yourself. Likewise, don’t accept that you have complete self-awareness, without a consistent and disciplined effort to uncover the real you.

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Posted in Change, Courage, Diversity, Emotional Intelligence, Flexibility, Judgment, Leadership, Personality | No Comments »

Live your legacy

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

In an age of unemployment and downsizing, many people are thanking their lucky stars that they have a job at all, even if it’s more busy and stressful than ever. Few people have the luxury of wondering, Is this job helping me to fulfill my purpose in life?

The unexpected death of a colleague can cause us to examine how we’re spending our lives. We ponder our mortality and envision the legacy we hope to leave for the future. Our conclusion is that the most important thing you can do is live your legacy every day. That is, don’t wait until tomorrow to live your values and focus your energies on your life’s purpose. Start with these questions:

What would people say about you at your funeral? If your life ended today, how would you be eulogized? Is it something you’d be proud to hear?

Are your actions and decisions today consistent with how you’d like to be remembered? Not only do you follow the defined rules, but how do you respond in the gray areas – when the ethical boundaries are not as well-defined? As Albert Camus said, “Integrity has no need of rules.”

Are you happy now, or waiting to be happy when…?” The Center for Creative Leadership’s article titled Your Leadership Mojo: Wisdom from Marshall Goldsmith explores the advice that your 95-year-old self might give to you today. Goldsmith’s friend actually asked elderly people who were approaching death to reflect on what is truly important in life. The number one theme that emerged was be happy now. Don’t wait for that big promotion or retirement. Don’t get so caught up in the rat race that you don’t notice the sun is shining today.

Are people your priority? The Leadership Mojo article points out that when the end of life approaches, it isn’t our co-workers who hang out at the hospital. It’s our friends and family, if we’re lucky enough to have both. And doing things today to nurture relationship with people isn’t just important to ensure that you have hospital visitors. It’s the right thing to do, and your 95-year-old-self would tell you so.

Are you accomplishing something meaningful? It can be easy to amass a collection of accomplishments or life experiences, but if they don’t fulfill some aspect of your life’s purpose, they won’t matter much to you in the end. And if you accomplished them at the expense of others, you may not have those hospital visitors after all.

One thing is certain. We’ll all come to the end of our mortal lives. We hope it doesn’t happen soon. George Carlin used to say, “I’m always relieved when someone is delivering a eulogy and I realize I’m listening to it.” The good news is that if you live your values today, your legacy will take care of itself.

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Posted in Change, Courage, Emotional Intelligence, Judgment, Leadership, Uncategorized, Work/Life Balance | 3 Comments »

Performance is improving, but not fast enough

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

You’re piloting an airplane. You take off from the airport and head west towards the mountains. Your altitude is gradually increasing, but not at a fast enough rate. Without the right maneuvers now, the plane will crash into the side of the mountain.

A nightmare, right? Yes, but it’s also a great analogy for a problem we’re seeing in many organizations. Teams and individuals are working hard and seeing improvements in their performance. However, the business realities require them to get better at their jobs faster. Without a steeper trajectory, individuals and the organization will crash.

As an individual performer, how can you maneuver quickly to amp up the rate of your performance improvement?

Prioritize. What are the highest value things you can  do to improve results and make a big impact? Not the good uses of your time – only the critical few. Make those your priorities. Keep them uppermost in your mind, on your calendar and in your daily activity. When you know where you’re going and what it will take to get there, communicate this widely so that others in the organization also redirect their efforts.

Focus. This can be hard, but something’s got to go. It takes courage to dump projects and readjust activity to align with just a few priorities. The key is to focus relentlessly on the drivers of success. Don’t do the other stuff.  If there is not a direct relationship between the project or initiative and your highest value priorities, stop!

Be consistent. One of the most maddening dynamics in organizations is when the boss says A, B and C are our only priorities. Then something cool – unrelated to A, B and C – comes along. When opportunity knocks, don’t waffle; figure out if it aligns with your top 1, 2 or 3. If not, just say no. A compelling distraction is still a distraction.

Many of the strategies above work for teams too. Also consider the following:

Assign sufficient resources. As James W. Frick said, “Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you  spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are.” Clearly articulate a business case for what you’re doing. Then negotiate with your superiors to assign more time or employ new technologies to get the job done.

Feed your people. You’re leading a team that’s failing. Your first impulse might be to point out all the things that are going wrong. Instead, identify what’s working (Feed) and reinforce those behaviors. Then decide what you must achieve (Need) and fill in the gaps with new actions (SEED) that need to happen. Only after Feed, Need and Seed do you eliminate practices that aren’t working (Weed).

Quit bickering. When the going gets rough, back-biting and blame find fertile ground. Model and enforce a climate of open communication and respect. Help people to say what they need to say in a factual manner. After the crisis has passed, there will be plenty of time to dissect what happened and how it might be prevented in the future.

A Chinese proverb states, “A crisis is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind.” Face the reality of your impending collision, so that you can maneuver to make the most of the opportunity.

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Posted in Change, Courage, Customers, Judgment, Leadership, Strategic, crisis | 1 Comment »

Are you a consistent leader?

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Is your leadership consistent, regardless of the setting you are in, the people you’re with or the circumstances you’re facing? Consistency in leadership may sound like a recipe for boring sameness or rigid thinking. On the contrary, being a consistent leader means:

  • What is important today is also important tomorrow
  • You don’t chase the latest fad, project or trend
  • Your bad mood doesn’t cause you to act radically different
  • People know what to expect from you

Being consistent in your leadership means that even under duress, you make the right choices. You steer the ship, make mid-course corrections and align your “crew” around important best practices that will help you reach your destination.

Even the most reliable and unswerving of leaders must be able to adjust to change. Yet, the consistent leader will be grounded, so that unfamiliar and challenging conditions won’t change the quality of interactions, thinking and decision-making.

How do you stay on course and make consistently positive leadership choices? Start by answering these four questions.

1. What is success? Success is defined first by the impact you want to make – and secondarily by the results you need to achieve to have that impact. Think about who and what will be changed by your efforts. That’s your impact.

2. What is sacred? What are your non-negotiables? Make a list of the things you will not compromise, no matter what. For example, you might list ethical standards that are vital and unchanging.

3. What is important? List a few guiding principles for your life and your leadership. Examples might include:

  • Act with integrity
  • Be a good steward of resources
  • Be humble
  • Have fun

4. What works? Know – and grow – best practices that lead to success, help you hold fast to what is sacred and allow you to focus on what is important. Identify the thinking and actions that are requirements for questions 1, 2 and 3.

Consistent, dependable leadership choices provide a solid foundation for your people – enabling them to weather storms and operate at their peak. You shouldn’t be completely predictable. You don’t have to be perfect, and you’re allowed to have bad days. What you cannot do is permit outside conditions to change you fundamentally – causing you to shift whichever way the wind blows. Be the anchor that your organizational ship requires.

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Posted in Decision-making, Judgment, Leadership, Strategic | 1 Comment »

Navigating the transition from peer to boss

Monday, March 15th, 2010

You’ve done it. You’ve received the big promotion and will now lead your department. So, how do you handle the transition from being a peer to being the boss?

Scott Eblin summarized a New York Times article on Ursula Burns’ transition to CEO at Xerox. Paraphrased, here are the main points Scott draws from the Xerox experience:

Call it out. Be up front about your agenda, priorities and what should happen next.

Go one on one. Talk directly with the former peers who aren’t on board and create a plan to make it work.

Remember that it’s different. Comments you could make as a peer are interpreted very differently when you’re the boss.

Based on our experience with peer-to-boss transitions, we offer the following additional tips:

Address the interpersonal and social aspects. While you may not be able to hang out and yuck it up at happy hour in the same way now that you’re the boss, don’t just stop showing up. Talk with your people about what you’ll be doing and not doing and why.

Understand that some relationships will change. Your closest ally as a peer may not play the same role when you’re the boss. In fact, some people may be angry, particularly if they wanted the job as well. Be patient, and realize that you must build connections with former peers based on a whole new dynamic.

Do your new job, not your old job. It might be tempting to delve into the details and try to stay as connected with your old role as you once were. Figure out what you need to  know to do your current job well. Stay out of the other day-to-day particulars that were part of your former job.

Remember that you don’t know it all. Even though you’ve moved up the ladder, maintain your humility and eagerness to gain new knowledge and skills. In particular, be willing to learn from your past peers, whose contributions are critical to your team’s and organization’s success. Seek feedback about your performance in your new role, graciously accept that feedback as the gift that it is, and act upon it.

Make expectations crystal clear. Former best buddy or not, the job needs to get done. Articulate what is expected, how people will be held accountable and what role you’ll play in supporting everyone’s success.

Keep the lines of communication open. Beyond your initial “I’m-the-boss-now” conversation, check in with people regularly to gauge how the transition is going, what issues they’re facing and how you can feed their strengths and optimize performance.

As in any transition, good planning and skillful execution are required. Even with best transitions, expect some bumps in the road. The payoff will be that while your relationships may change, you’ll achieve your goals – moving the team and the organization towards high performance and amazing results.

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Posted in Communication, Leadership, Supervision, Transition | 2 Comments »

Enjoying change

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

changing-leafWe’re constantly being told that we should embrace change, even love it. But constant change can be unnerving and stressful. It reminds us of a bumper sticker that reads “Every time I find the meaning of life, they change it.”

How do you roll with what feels like daily change and even find joy in riding the waves?

Stay true to the principles and values that ground you. These will keep you sane  and help you make sound decisions in keeping with what is really important. Post your core principles where you’ll see them regularly and make them your compass.

Plan for the future, but not rigidly. You must think about what’s coming down the road, but don’t rely on guessing exactly how the future will play out. Your strategies must be robust enough to work in multiple scenarios.

Tolerate risk. If you play it safe, a more courageous competitor will most likely win. Analyze decisions from multiple viewpoints and remember that there are very few, if any, no-risk moves.

Be a constant learner. Don’t be a dinosaur. Make a point of staying abreast with new ideas and innovations in your field. Keep yourself in touch with the latest technologies that will help you work faster and smarter.

Never, never take the current state for granted. Relationships of today will vanish if they are not nurtured. Business assumptions need to be revisited in light of new information. Regular, disciplined review of your business climate and key stakeholders is a must.

Some changes can be difficult and even painful.  Embracing and enjoying change requires that you see it as an opportunity, not something to be avoided. Some think that in the olden days, the pace was slower and change wasn’t an issue. But Benjamin Franklin had it right even then when he said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

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Posted in Change, Leadership | 1 Comment »

Want to influence others? Use the right methods.

Monday, July 6th, 2009

paintingWhen we successfully influence, we build solutions that everyone can live with. These solutions don’t always come easily, and often people involved must change their thinking and behavior. How much change is required? It will depend upon the person. That’s why it’s important to assess the degree and difficulty of the changes up front, and change your methods of communicating accordingly.

Small or easy changes? Based on your relationship and expertise, people will likely respond to your telling them what they need to do. If the change is  harder to do, you can reduce resistance by using a fact-based story to illustrate the situation and potential consequences. For more difficult or substantial change, you may need to do something that gets the person involved in the situation or simulate what is going on.

Visualization is a valuable simulation tool to help people clearly understand the state of affairs. Visualization is creating a story picture that is a clear and compelling summary of the current conditions.

Influence requires that you paint a picture for people – one that they can not only understand, but one that compels them to action. Some necessary components of your story picture include:

  • Show cause and effect. Rather than overwhelming people with numbers, charts and graphs, tell the story. Share only what is needed to illustrate that A causes B and B causes C.
  • Provide context for comparison. Answer the compelling question, “Compared to what?” For example, “Our sales are 23% lower than last year, and 27% lower than our biggest competitor.”
  • Define assumptions and limitations of the data. Don’t try to hide contrary indicators. Openly explore the indicators that your “facts” may be wrong.
  • Address alternative explanations and contrary cases. What other stories fit the data? What data does not fit the story you want to tell? For example, “The recent surge in sales may be due to our competitor’s supply chain problems, not our recent marketing campaign.”

Influence requires that we break complex ideas into simpler, bite-sized chunks, without losing the full weight of the message. Or, as Albert Einstein said, “My aim is to make things as simple as possible, but not simpler than that.” Luckily, you don’t have to be Albert Einstein to influence others. You do need to communicate clearly and concisely,  paint an accurate picture and tell the whole story.

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Intentionality, Part 2 (Or, Make Change on Purpose)

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

You have something about yourself you want to change – maybe a habitual way of thinking that is getting in the way. Or maybe it’s a behavior that you want to start or stop. Wishing it will happen doesn’t work. Writing it down isn’t enough to embed the change. So what will help you stick to your guns and just do it once and for all?

If you read our earlier blog post on keeping resolutions, you may have been left with a sense that making change is hard, like 5 hefty steps of arduous work. For those of us who are loaded with self-discipline, the five steps of FACET are right up our alley. But for many human beings, just thinking of doing 5 steps makes us say, “forgidaboudit!”

We hate to see people suffer, so (TA DA!) here are some options that are simple and easy to do. Best of all, they will help you focus on what you want to do (or not do) and make that long-awaited change in thinking or behavior.

PICK, POST & TRACK

  1. Pick what you want to focus on (starting a new best practice, for example)
  2. Post it prominently near your desk.
  3. Track the number of times you do it (by making a tally mark on the paper).

PICK, SHARE & FEEDBACK

  1. Pick something you want a teammate to help you with.
  2. Share it in writing with the team member and tell him or her how you plan to implement this for the next 30 days.
  3. Ask the team member to give you feedback on this best practice whenever he/she sees a success or a miss.

PICK, TEACH & MULTIPLY

  1. Pick a best practice to teach to a direct report.
  2. Teach the best practice in a staff meeting or one-on-one conversation.
  3. Ask the direct report to use the best practice, share it with others and give you feedback on the experience.

To keep this easy, think of the commitments you’ve already made, so you’re not inventing new tasks for yourself. Keep your focus simple and trackable. For example:

  • I will not interrupt. (Track the times you DO interrupt).
  • I will give Person A positive feedback once per week.
  • I will ask two open-ended questions before giving my opinion in staff meeting.

You get the idea. We’d love to hear about your experiences – what you did well and the “misses” as well. This blog can and should be a place for sharing what works and what doesn’t….so get commenting, people!

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