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Sunday, February 16, 2025

Defensiveness(Less)

Being defensive is not a good look. Especially so for those in leadership roles. Unfortunately, we see defensiveness rear its ugly head from leaders occasionally. 

Some of triggers for defensiveness:

  • A little too much ME and not enough WE.
  • Feeling like the smartest person in the room, and feeling everyone else should know it.
  • Assuming we have a grasp of the full picture, when we don't.
  • Lacking experience in high-pressure, high-expectation circumstances.
  • When difficult situations pivot to focus on personality rather than facts and contexts.
We've all probably either been the defensive one, or on the receiving end of the ire of the defensive one. Neither is a pretty place to be.

Either way, environments of defensiveness rarely produce positive outcomes or portend strong collaborative relationships. Dialing down the temp is always a good first step. And it can be initiated from either side of the table.


Saturday, February 15, 2025

FailForward

"Failing forward" is a phrase we hear with some frequency. And, it makes sense.

IF we are bold... 

     IF we take risks to achieve ambitious and important things... 

          IF we step out of our comfort zone... 

There will inevitably be some fails. 

But, then what? What do we do with that failure? It can make us less, or it can make us more. The choice is ours. A good recovery recipe for when it didn't go like we planned:

  • Assess critically and objectively what went wrong. It often helps to have a valued, wise, and nonjudgmental other to assist in this process.
  • Accept responsibility for the failure. Own it. Don't play the blame game, the only-if game, the poor-me game. 
  • LEARN from the failure. Be intentionally reflective about how the unpleasant experience is gonna make us better.
Then........................tee it up again!


Saturday, February 8, 2025

UbiquiVision

The best leaders I know keep us all pointed in the right direction. They make sure we all know where we're headed and why we're headed there. 

They relentlessly communicate the Vision by...

  • Making the Vision synonymous with the brand.
  • Hiring people who share the Vision.
  • Articulating the Vision across a plethora of communication portals.
  • Incentivizing progress toward the Vision.
  • Building the Vision into the systems.
Even if the contexts are changing (and they always are) and the next steps a bit uncertain (and they often are), those wise leaders keep us all focused on where we are headed. They make the Vision ubiquitous. 

But.......what happens if there is no Vision? Or, if the leader can't/won't enact the strategies listed above? The organization languishes listlessly. (Not hard to predict how that story ends.)

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

DeathTrajectory

Most often, humans and organizations die from within. As individual humans and as organizations, lack of attention to our "health" accelerates the trajectory toward death. Some argue quite convincingly that healthspan is really more important than lifespan.  

Some things we can focus on in our organizational lives that foster both healthspan and lifespan...

  • Purpose - Are we living with fidelity to our "calling," the reason we exist?
  • Nutrition - Are we paying close attention to the "stuff we put in" to our lives (Food? Learning? Resources?).
  • Peace - Are we taking time daily to notice the good stuff and be thankful for the blessings?
  • Holisticness - Are we regularly acknowledging and honoring the contributions of each of the parts and people that make up the whole?
  • Accounting - Are we honestly looking in the mirror and at our work with an eye of "ownership" rather than victimhood?
  • Improvement - Reflecting on all the above, are we taking small but intentional steps each day to get better? 
This is what the most vibrant organizations do, day in and day out. Works as a recipe for us as individuals, too.

The death part is inevitable. The path toward it, however, is largely in our control. 

Monday, February 3, 2025

ShelvingTomb

Grand plans and lofty projects are often hatched as result of stakeholder conversations. Most of them look and feel extremely important. Some are.

Far too often they are codified (in a three-ring binder) and put on a shelf, usually somewhere in the Boss's office or on a buried page of the website.

Then..........................they die. 

Why? Some reasons that plans/projects die:

  • No one is assigned to lead and be the champion of the project.
  • The project "champion" has little or no authority act upon.
  • Resistors (there are always resistors) are given too much moxie.
  • Insufficient, or no, resources are allocated to the project.
  • Forecasting the barriers and challenges never happens.
  • The plans (which usually mean significant change of some kind) never get consistently and clearly communicated.
  • The plan/project is never, or rarely, monitored after the initial crafting.
There is much wisdom in the old metaphor of "sand castles"....

Execution is a craft (the combo of science + art). A learnable skill, if we wish to learn it. And MUCH harder than the crafting of the plan.

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

AuthenticLeadership

The best leaders I know emanate an aura of authenticity. They tend to put us at ease -- with them, with ourselves, with the challenges we face together.

Those impactful leaders understand that the team is smarter than the individual and that the team needs the best each individual can offer. 

I often see those authentic leaders tackle complex issues NOT by putting their predetermined solutions on the table, but rather by asking questions like...

"What pieces of the puzzle do we still not have?"

"What are our options for handling this?"

"Who might we consult with that can provide valuable insight before we move forward?"

"How have we handled similar sticky issues in the past, and what did we learn from it?"

Notice that each of those questions strongly implies that the leader is LISTENING to others. 

For those of us who find ourselves in leadership roles, perhaps the foundation of authenticity is the assumption that we have much to learn. The stronger the team, the more we learn.

Sunday, January 26, 2025

GrowthMeter

I have long been convinced that the day we stop learning and growing is the day we put our first foot in the grave.

If that is true (or even close to true), then how might we be measuring our growth?

Learning new skills?

Finding a new way to serve others?

Reading in unfamiliar genres?

Experiencing completely novel stuff?

Engaging with people we don't know (especially some who don't look and think like we do)?

Taking classes (even if we already have full transcripts)?

We each get to choose whether or not we're gonna grow, and the metrics of that growth. The scariest option of all is choosing both no growth and no metrics.

Yep, we can start anew today...

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Politics

Those of us who are breathing must live with the impact of politics in our lives. (I'm not sure that holds for hermits.) It is especially true for those of us who work in organizations. It matters not the type.

One of my valued mentors provides this admonition: “You'd better understand how the game is played, but know you don’t have to kiss the ring.” The same mentor asserts that "every decision is a political decision." Wise counsel on both fronts.  

Some key strategies we can leverage in navigating tricky political waters include:
  • KNOW what we believe and be transparent in sharing those beliefs
  • Act on those beliefs dependably
  • Resist being openly judgmental/critical of others
  • Avoid pettiness 
  • Strive always to raise others up
  • Assume there are NO SECRETS
A good definition of Integrity is when our actions consistently align with the things we believe/espouse. Folks can then have TRUST in knowing what to expect from us. 

Monday, January 20, 2025

Cascading

The airline industry uses the phrase "cascading effect" to explain airplane crashes. The assertion is that it's rarely just one thing that brings down an aircraft. Rather, it's one small thing that triggers another small failure that results in yet another malfunction until .... the cascading of all those small things becomes too much for the plane to remain airborne.

As individuals, and as organizations, we also witness the cascading impact of the decisions we made and are making on a daily basis. That cascading can be moving us toward failure, or toward success.

Engaging in reflection on the choices made decades ago, years ago, months ago, and minutes ago can be most enlightening with regard to the next decision(s) we make. 

Looking in a clear-eyed and honest way at the results we're currently getting is the first and best step to inform our next decision. There's plenty of data to consider, and not nearly all of it exists in spreadsheet form.

Sunday, January 19, 2025

SuccessTwins

TONS have been written and produced in the interest of unlocking the keys to successful leadership. We've all read, seen, and heard the voluminous advice and admonitions. 

In my profession of education we often refer to the "knowing-doing gap." It's that void between the valuable knowledge we've acquired and the actual application of that knowledge in some meaningful way.

Many impactful leaders I've observed over the years implement a plethora of powerful strategies that move the organizations they lead toward the goals they desire. They know the stuff, but applying it effectively seems elusive. 

The MOST effective leaders, however, disproportionately spend their time, effort, and resources on two things (I'll call them the Success Twins). 

What are those Success Twins? 

  • Vision - Clarity of direction and intention is communicated relentlessly, in simple terms, across all internal and external stakeholder groups and platforms. Those leaders make persistently clear Why we're doing what we're doing, Where we're going, and How we can tell how well we're doing.
  • People - These superb leaders major in knowing and understanding the team members, growing and developing them tirelessly, and placing them in roles that fit them and serve the organization well. No resource in the organization is more potent (or more destructive) than its people. 
Vision & People! 
(Maybe that'd be a good tattoo for leaders to consider adding...)

Sunday, January 12, 2025

DummkopfStuff

Dummkopf is a German expression for "blockhead" or "stupid person."

Those of us in leadership roles can appear to be a dummkopf when we:

  • Procrastinate.
  • Avoid difficult conversations.
  • Assume the status quo will stay so.
  • Re-deploy plans that failed the first time.
  • Think and act from a short-term perspective.
  • Fail to mentor new or young players on the team.
  • Don't do our homework, and don't hold others accountable for doing theirs.
We are wise to dodge our inner dummkopf.

Thursday, January 9, 2025

InfluenceLevers

Most of us want to be able to have some influence. 

Being able to influence others sometimes serves us personally (con men/women are notable and obvious examples). Sometimes being able to influence others serves our team's interests/positions (professional negotiators and many political leaders fit into this category). In notable (too rare) instances, being able to influence others toward a common greater good seems the underlying motivation (exemplary Servant Leaders wear this mantle). 

Observing, listening to, and reading the works from that Servant Leader category reveals some powerful levers they skillfully use when "moving" others:

  • They emanate a genuine disposition of CARING. They do care, and aren't afraid to show it.
  • They practice active and powerful LISTENING, ensuring that the "other" is heard, and heard well.
  • They show EMPATHY in their interactions, both through trying to understand the "other" and expressing it openly.
The use of these Influence Levers is a powerful way for us to invite others into meaningful conversations, subsequent planning, and ultimate action. 

And it energizes all of us for the challenging work that lies ahead.

Sunday, January 5, 2025

DecisionPoints

The messiness of life requires us to make decisions. The more people involved, the more complex the decisions to be made. The more risk involved, the more consequential the decision.

Valued mentors over the years have shared with me some solid wisdom in the decision making process:

  • Ground all decisions in our deeply held principles. Never forsake those.
  • When time affords, seek the counsel of wise others who have faced similar decisions.
  • Forecast extensively the then-what-happens? scenarios of the decision options.
  • Always factor in the impact of our decision on others.
  • Pilot decisions when possible, to "test the waters."
  • Be willing to change a decision if it proves untenable.
  • Take as much time as is prudent to make the decision. 
  • The best decision in the world, made one minute too late.....................is futile.
Happy decisioning!

Thursday, January 2, 2025

AnchorsAweigh

Perseverating on past mistakes and fails can become an anchor. 

Failure can mire us in doubt and misgiving and hesitation. Or, it can propel us toward betterness.

Some ways we can use the past as launching pad instead of an anchor...

  • Focus on who we want to be, not on what we did or didn't do.
  • Assess carefully and articulate clearly what we think caused the fail, rather than focusing on the result of the fail.
  • Don't forget to acknowledge the wins and successes.
  • Modify our behavior -- resource allocation, engagement strategies, expenditure of time, etc. -- toward achieving the outcomes we desire (which almost always means a "change" in previous practice).
  • LEARN from the mistake/fail through examination and LEARN toward the corrective plan of action. Reflective practice, daily and intentionally, is key.
While some circumstances are outside our control, there are a bazillion things we can adjust that are within our span of influence. The habits we adopt and practice are key...

Anchors aweigh!