HeadlessChicken

My lovely bride of 49 years and I live on our ranch. 

Some of the critters we raise are chickens. From time to time we harvest chickens. A chicken with its head removed will run around burning up remaining energy like crazy -- aimless, nondirectional, frantically -- until it drops.

When we look in the mirror and see the same kind of behavior in ourselves, it's probably time to pause, prioritize, recalibrate, realign our time/effort/energy to our desired outcomes. 

As with all metaphors and analogies, this one has some weakness. But, I'm betting you get the point.

Whatcha aiming for today?

PushPull

Getting important stuff done is never a solo undertaking. It almost always takes a team. 

The more important the task/project, more (and more capable) folks are needed to pull it off. 

Hagel, Brown, and Davison (2010) asserted the importance of PULL over PUSH when we're trying to get big things done. They underscore the importance of those in the lead knowing when and how much to PULL (invite, encourage, imbue, empower). In their view, more PULL, less PUSH.

I've also heard folks using driving as analog to this concept: Knowing when to use the accelerator, when to use the brake, and how much pressure to apply to each in that constant ebb and flow process is critical. All while we constantly monitor and assess the contexts.

A thought: Knowing when and how much to PULL or PUSH can't be done from behind a desk or by poring over spreadsheets. Those in the lead gotta know the folks, gotta be on the ground, gotta have a front row seat to work as it's being done.

Relationships matter. A lot.

 

PresencePower

We sometimes get so busy being productive that we forget to be present.

There is tremendous power in being present, fully present. Here are some of the things that manifest, and are perceived as, presence:

• Non-distracted eye contact.
• Interest in the person, not just the performance of that person.
• Seeking reasons to compliment others (and mean it).
• Asking good questions. 
• Listening deeply to the answers to those questions.
• Putting down (or away) devices when engaging with others.
• Keeping the phone on silent mode.
• Showing up, on time, with homework done.
• Kind words, and a smile.

None of those things cost money, so we don't have to budget for them or fill out a purchase requisition. Interestingly, productivity often flows nicely as result of our being present. 

Power to the presence perpetrators!!!

Teacher < > Coach

The best teachers I know follow this recipe:

• Relentlessly craft lessons that cause students to acquire and retain knowledge relevant to the subject matter. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Persistently present students with skill development activities that require usage and habitual application of that knowledge. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Expose students to, and require them to wrestle with, novel situations in which the students must transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to new contexts/problems. Providing ongoing feedback as the students productively grapple and struggle.

The best coaches I know follow this recipe:

• Relentlessly craft lessons that cause students to acquire and retain knowledge relevant to the subject matter. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Persistently present students with skill development activities that require usage and habitual application of that knowledge. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Expose students to, and require them to wrestle with, novel situations in which the students must transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to new contexts/problems. Providing ongoing feedback as the students productively grapple and struggle.

The best teachers I know are superb coaches. The best coaches I know are superb teachers.

ToxinResponse

Toxins occur -- in our bodies, in the environment, and in organizations.

In all three domains, the response to toxins can follow several possible pathways...

• Removal of the toxin and cleanup of the mess left behind.
• Put in place processes to mitigate and interdict toxins.
• Intervene with counter-toxins of some kind.

A well-worn and repeatedly proven ineffective response...............ignoring the toxin.

CulturalSpinnerThumping

Culture is evolutionary. The culture of our family, of our house of faith, of our team, of our organization (of any kind) was built over time, one brick at a time.

The version of that culture (of whichever organization we're thinking about) we experience today is the manifestation of the current habits in practice by the collective membership. 

We cannot change the culture of any of those organizations with one purchase of snake oil, by excommunicating or firing one member, by occupying a new building, or by hiring a popular consultant. The likelihood of the success of any of those quick-fix strategies is the equivalent of thumping a spinner. 

Meaningful cultural change results from the daily discipline of the members deciding which habits make us better (and doubling down on them) and which of our habits make us less (and purging them).

And, tomorrow, we do it again. 

Poor-formance

Sometimes people perform poorly. 

Those of us in leadership roles are, thus, obligated to address it. That is a non-negotiable.

There seems to be three critical points in that process of "addressing it."

1. Discerning the cause of the poor performance. We have to consider a wide range of possibilities (or combinations thereof). They might include: lack of motivation, lack of skills, lack of knowledge, lack of clarity about expectations, nefarious intent, life crises, poor health, etc. Some of those things we own, some we don't. Some we can do something about; some we can't. Rarely is poor performance about just one thing. 
2. Having the conversation. One thing that is certain about poor performance is that it won't change unless we address it with that person. 
3. Taking corrective action and follow-up. Building a collaborative corrective action plan WITH that poor performer is the piece that determines success or failure (or dismissal). The poor performer stands the best chance of righting the ship when she/he is involved in crafting the solution(s). Important to remember is that that which is not monitored......is optional.

One final thing for consideration: Poor performers respond best when they feel like we CARE about them as much as we do their performance. That one requires from us a good, hard look in the mirror.