Blog Archives - Page 53 of 55

0 Metrics or Mindfulness

Leading from the middle is challenged by a metrics vs. mindfulness conundrum.

The people above us measure our success on our metrics.
The people below us measure our success on our mindfulness.

Can we do both? Can we actually manage and lead at the same time? Can we meet the expectations of the organization while also being committed to the needs and aspirations of the people who follow us?

We have to.

If we only focus on our metrics, we risk losing our people.
If we only focus on our mindfulness, we risk losing our job.

The secret? Connect metrics and mindfulness.

Connect people to the metrics – our people should operate knowing the impact of their efforts and results, and be, not just involved, but invested in those metrics

Connect metrics to people – our metrics should reflect the impact of our efforts to guide, advise, listen, develop, and mentor our people to be successful (ex: we should measure their retention, their growth, their contributions, their involvement, and their mindfulness in leading others)

Master this and you’ll master your role as a middle leader.

Running Backs and Defensive Linebackers

Just like on the football field, the workforce is fraught with Running Backs and Defensive Linebackers.

Running Backs catch new ideas and help us run them to the end zone, navigating obstacles in their path.

Defensive Linebackers block us from easily reaching the goal with their naysaying (lots of no-can-do talk) and no-doing (lots of can-do talk, no action).

Buy why? Why block good ideas? Fear, concern, or confusion.

Why didn’t I think of that idea? Does this mean that I’m not needed anymore?
Will I get in trouble if this goes through and fails?
I don’t get it and I’ve got enough I’m already trying to figure out

The secret to working with Defensive Linebackers: purposeful perception. We need to respond not react, discern the real issue, and consider the view from their sidewalk.

Ask yourself:

What’s really going on – what’s their fear, concern, or confusion?
How can we address it?
How can we help them win when we win?

And while it’s easy to judge others, we must be honest when new ideas come to us: are we being the Running Back or the Defensive Linebacker?

Lead with Woo-Hoos not Tsk-Tsks!

Our people crave woo-hoos, high-fives, fist bumps, and applause.

Instead we question them in meetings, overrule them in emails, and judge them in performance reviews.

Which is all rather unnecessary because they already question their self-worth and judge their performance on a daily basis. Is flaming their self-doubt really the best use of our role as their leader?

What they really need from us is a spotlight on their wins, a highlighter for their progress, and limelight for their successes. Our people need us to celebrate them!

What does celebration look like?

a shout-out: “You’re a rock star! “Great idea!” “Congratulations!”
a compliment: “Your report was solid.”
a progress marker: “I’m so impressed with how you are managing this project.”
an effort acknowledgement: “I love that you took a chance to improve it.”
a good news advancement: “The client loves it. Great work!”

And the reality is that it’s a lot more fun to lead people in celebration than it is to lead them in condemnation.

ps. Thursday January 21 is “Thank Your Mentor Day” – a perfect time to start celebrating others!

It’s Not a Team; It’s a Band

Teams win and lose together.

While it’s valiant to declare your collection of people a “team,” they aren’t. In the end, they win and lose their performance reviews, their paychecks, and their jobs as individuals.

You don’t have a team. You have a band.

Every successful band keeps the tempo, achieves harmony, and creates melodious tunes together. And at the same time, each band member can create beautiful music as a solo.

Whether it’s a rock band, an orchestra band, a jazz band, or a high school band, band members make music together, and they solo.

What’s your number one job as the band leader? Make sure their solo performance enhances the melody of the band.

Let’s stop treating these collections of people like an NFL team. And start treating them like a Grammy award-winning band.

Forget WIIFM. Focus on WSIC.

Everyone wants to know What’s In It For Me (WIIFM). But WIIFM is ephemeral. When the “what” is gone, so is your drive.

Shift your focus to Why Should I Care (WSIC) and you’ll transform your impact and your results. WSIC is like the north star – it never disappears. It’s your passion, it’s your purpose, it’s the reason you show up.

Some examples of “why should I care” ….

because your team needs a courageous leader
because your leaders are starved for new ideas
because your clients need better solutions to their problems

When you help others shift their conversation from WIIFM to WSIC, you will trigger their need to make a difference. This results in self-motivation – more powerful and resilient in its impact than any gift card, bonus, pizza party, or company tchotchke.

When people know the purpose, feel the importance of that purpose, and recognize how they can make a difference in fulfilling that purpose, then they care. And when people care, they become unstoppable.

At the core of every remarkable result is a remarkable person, team, or leader who shifted their focus from WIIFM to WSIC.

The Eureka of Participation

People support that which they help create.

In behavioral economics, this is called “Participatory Bias” – people are more inclined to support decisions they help to make and solutions they help to create, even if the end result is not theirs.

Having participated, they are more willing to defend the outcome. Their ego won’t allow them to support the process and oppose it at the same time.

The opposite is also true. When we don’t include people in decisions, projects, or solutions, they are more likely to resist, oppose, and even sabotage the end result.

Knowing this, why wouldn’t we go out of our way to create opportunities for people to participate, even when we don’t need them to?

We cannot ignore the enormous influence participation has on human behavior.

The simple act of including someone…

helps that person feel valued, recognized, and appreciated
increases their engagement and patronage
fosters their effectiveness through understanding, learning, and discovery
encourages their creativity and innovation

Easy ways to create participation:

Solicit suggestions for improving the team, the meeting, a project, or a process
Ask someone new every week for their perspective on an issue
Seek advice on solving a problem from someone not involved with it
Request a your team’s help in generating new ideas or approaches
Nominate people for a task force, a committee, or a development program

If we want to be great leaders, we need to intentionally provide people with the opportunity to participate, contribute, and make a difference.

0 Leverage the Power of Labels

My teacher in 2nd grade wrote the word “enthusiastic” on my report card. My parents beamed with pride. So I continued to be enthusiastic. Teachers continued to write the word on my report card. And my parents continued to beam.

Labels are a powerful influence.

Diagnosis Bias When a person gets labeled by someone they admire, respect, or value, they mold and shape their behaviors to fit that label. This phenomenon is called “diagnosis bias.” Essentially, once someone is diagnosed, their brain looks for evidence to confirm that diagnosis.

The label is so powerful that it literally causes that person to start acting out that label through their behavior and decisions. And once they start acting out a label, they perpetuate it as they continue to reinforce and reaffirm it with more behaviors and decisions. Essentially people confirm the diagnosis they are given through their own actions.

Parents Label Children. A mom says, “Sally is shy.” The more Sally hears that she is shy, the more she acts shy, which then confirms that Sally is, in fact, shy.

Bosses Label Employees. Jane has been identified as an “up-and-coming leader at the company.” Bob, however, has been told he might not be cut out for sales.

The more Jane hears her label, the more Jane acts like an up-and-coming leader, which confirms for her and everyone else that Jane is, in fact, an up-and-coming leader.
Bob’s diagnosis shapes his behavior, and his sales slip, which then confirms the diagnosis that he is, in fact, not cut out for sales.

Brand Your Labels Carefully When someone respects and admires us, we must apply labels carefully. When we brand that person with a label (ex: smart, dumb, strategic, ineffective, leader, follower), they will embrace the behaviors of that label and then mirror the expectations we have for them. Essentially, they adopt the characteristics of that label.

How can we use labels more vigilantly?

Notice the labels you use for people – consider that your label may be perpetuating their behavior
Select labels for people based on the behavior you want, not the behavior you see currently
Employ empowering titles and nicknames for people (ex: Queen of People Success, King of Sales, Client Engagement Specialist, Product Guru, Leader of Leaders)

Pay attention to the labels you use and wield this superpower with diligence and intentionality.

0 The Art of Pulling Relationship Weeds

Like a garden, relationship weeds result from neglect.

Upsets, miscommunications, missed expectations, disappointments, frustrations, altercations, and conflict. All weeds that sprout in our personal and professional relationships.

When relationships are new, weeds are rare. We are too busy making a good impression, establishing trust, creating rapport, being a new boss, or being the new team member. In new relationships, we are intentionally vigilant against weeds.

However, when we get comfortable in our relationships, we tend to get lazy. We forget to update our boss; we make a decision without including our team; we fail to follow up on a commitment; we cancel meetings or show up late; we neglect to set expectations on an assignment; we tolerate emotional outbursts; we inflict snarly or rude comments.

Like gardeners, we must diligently pull weeds to foster those relationships.

Here’s your candid, no B.S., weed-pulling script:

What’s working for you?
What’s not working for you?
Here’s what’s working for me…
Here’s what’s not working for me…

Example:

What’s working for you? I love this new project
What’s not working for you? I’m not getting the support I need from you.
Here’s what’s working for me… I’m excited to see your leadership shine in this new project.
Here’s what’s not working for me…I need you to get better at delegating so other work gets done.

As you embark on pulling weeds, a few pointers:

Start by identifying a topic, a situation, an issue, a relationship weed to address.
Emphasize your commitment to the relationship and to the other person’s success.
Muster your courage. It can be uncomfortable asking for such pointed feedback, but your vulnerability will invite theirs.
Prepare for some defensiveness, especially if the neglect has eroded the trust between you. Reaffirm your commitment.
Focus on the issue, not the person.

When a relationship matters, weed-whacking doesn’t work. You need to intentionally and unabashedly pull the weeds to strengthen the soil that allows the relationship garden to flourish.