Lee Ellis's Blog, page 142
June 16, 2020
Free Help for Remote Teams – See Inside
How many people have you talked to that will be working from home indefinitely? There’s an art and a science to keeping your team communicating and performing well a remote, isolated environment.
Lee Ellis and team have prepared the page below to help you – start by reading his 5 over-arching insights of leadership wisdom gained during his five-year POW experience –
Get free help on the Next Steps in Courageous Leadership page –
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June 15, 2020
How’s Your Situational Awareness? 3 Behavioral Attitudes to Remember
In our day-to-day work, most of us would consider the statement “Think or Die” to be pretty dramatic. But for F-16 pilots, their slogan is defined as a keen level of “SA” or “Situational Awareness” because it’s a matter of life and death in their work.
700 Feet per Second Awareness
One of the roles of an F-16 pilot is to lead a strike force into enemy territory while sniffing out and destroying enemy radars and surface-to-air missiles. In the cockpit, one pilot manages all aspects of the process:
flying the aircraft by outside visual references while operating at more than 700 feet per second.
monitoring three screens (enemy radar detection; friendly and enemy aircraft; and weather/navigation).
detecting and eliminating enemy threats with onboard weapons.
Given what these pilots do in task-saturated life and death situations, it would seem easy for the rest of us to have good situational awareness while sitting in a meeting with our boss and peers. Unfortunately it’s not that easy, and the absence of SA can be a threat to our effectiveness and career.
Growing in Situational Awareness
Several years ago, one of my executive coaching clients (we’ll call him Brad), an up-and-coming junior executive, learned to “think or die” in his profession.
Regardless of the agenda for the meeting, Brad would often hijack it with his interruptions and comments. Some of his remarks were on point, but more often he took the group off subject and wasted everyone’s time. As his coach, it was my job to help him learn to adapt his behavior by reading a situation and managing his words and actions appropriately. It sounds simple, but it takes focus, discipline, and controlled energy for a quick thinking, highly verbal personality to master. After a few weeks of false starts, Brad finally managed to contain himself and limit his input during meetings.
One day after the meeting, one of his peers asked if he was feeling okay. He responded, “Sure, why do you ask?” His friend responded with a smile that he had never seen Brad so quiet and self-managed in a meeting. Later that day I got a phone call from Brad, beaming with energy over his new success. Brad made a crucial course correction, and it paid off. He is now a Senior VP in a Fortune 200 company.
“As a leadership coach, this skill is what I focus on the most—to be as situationally aware as possible of what’s going on in the room.” [Tweet This]
Situational Awareness How-To
So how can you coach yourself to be more situationally aware? Here are three important behaviors:
1. Know Yourself. Understand your strengths, struggles, and patterns of your natural behavior. Have you found yourself with someone who told stories or information that wasn’t relevant to anyone but them? Their mind is wandering as if they’re on cruise control. Bumping into clueless people happens often, doesn’t it?
We use assessment tools like Leadership Behavior DNA every day to help individuals and teams with a self-awareness of their natural behaviors.
2. Know the Situations that Threaten Good SA. Examine your response at work with your manager and your team. Is your tendency to dominate or withdraw? How could you better manage your SA and engage to respond more effectively? I worked with one team where the manager avoided any disagreements or conflict by dominating the meetings. The manager just talked incessantly until everyone was worn out and disengaged.
3. Be Proactive in Your Thinking. Set aside your own emotions or thoughts in the moment, and think about others and consider what might be going on with them in certain situations. Ask good questions to gain more insight. Then, coach yourself to respond in the most effective and appropriate way.
Mastering the Art of SA
At this point in my career, coaching and training others on this skill is challenging and rewarding—and as close to the excitement of being a fighter pilot as I can get.
“Situational awareness requires outward focus, listening, observing, and consideration of the dynamics of the situation as well as an inward awareness to manage ourselves to be the most effective.” [Tweet This]
SA is always crucial to the art of leadership, and the stakes can be high. So how is your SA? What has been your success? Lessons learned? Please share them with our followers.
LE
The Basis for Managing Differences in Teams
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Every human is unique — and the best leaders know why this might be an advantage. Learn how embracing different talents and abilities, both our own and those of others, can lead to more effective leadership and success.
Grounded in statistical research and supported by data from millions of clients and more than 45 years of workplace experience, Lee Ellis and Hugh Massie reveal their personal stories and experience on how they’ve successfully helped organizations achieve their goals by applying practical insights on human design.
Get Your Copy
Additional discount available for bulk orders.
“…There are few that have made significant strides on making ‘knowing yourself’ operational and real as Lee and Hugh have in this marvelous book. Reading this book is a compelling adventure. If you follow the path, you will change for the better!” – Richard Boyatzis, Co-author of the international best seller, Primal Leadership and the new Helping People Change
“This is the book that I have longed for during my decades in managing talent. Having seen the positive impact of DNA Behavior on my teams, this is a must-read for leaders who desire to build strong teams by accelerating natural talents in an authentic and lasting way.” – Belva White, CPA, MBA, Vice President for Finance & Treasury, Emory University
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Special CEO Endorsement – See Inside
Thank you Debbie Gordon, CEO of Cloud Range Cyber, Nashville, TN for your kind words about the book Leadership Behavior DNA –
“I highly recommend this book to every leader that realizes that they can always become better. It’s the perfect resource to gain a deeper understanding and be able to lead your people to greater results. This will absolutely change how you lead and change your organization.”
Read more than 30 endorsements and get your copy at https://www.leadershipbehaviordna.com/endorsements/
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June 14, 2020
On This Day in Leadership History, June May 14th
On this day in leadership history in 1893, Philadelphia observed the first Flag Day. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The United States Army also celebrates the U.S. Army birthday on this date.
What’s the leadership lesson? One of the U.S. flag’s primary purposes is to unify us as a people. In your daily leadership, look for ways to unify your team rather than divide them.
Flag Day – Wikipedia
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June 12, 2020
Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, June 12, 2020
“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” – Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers)
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June 11, 2020
Does Remote Working Fit with Who You Are?
Is everyone naturally good at working remotely? The answer would be no, but there’s hope. Understanding the natural behavior of everyone will help leaders adjust their leadership style to help them be successful.
Friend and DNA Behavior President, Hugh Massie, shares his advice and experience in the article in the DNA Behavior blog.
please check it out and post your comments and experience too –
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June 9, 2020
Leading with Honor FAQ – Not Fitting In
Leading with Honor FAQ –
“What do you do when you get new people on your team and they don’t fit in?”
Lee Ellis’ Answer –
“This is a good time to proactively apply the Golden Rule—accept them the way you would want to be accepted—openly and respectfully. Take the initiative to get to know them and help them get to know others on the team. Building understanding is the way to build acceptance and trust, and trust is the glue that binds teams together.
Remember, differences tend to divide, but diversity is essential for healthy teams. Embrace the other person’s strengths and talents and tolerate their struggles. Like you, they are not perfect. Welcome them and make it work.”
Read more Leading with Honor FAQs – www.leadingwithhonor.com/faqs
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June 8, 2020
Graduation Gift Ideas – See Inside and Save
Graduation season is here, and Leading with Honor wants to help you celebrate and gift these young leaders with future wisdom! Experience gripping stories from the Vietnam POW camps and learn the leadership lessons that enabled them to survive and return with honor.
Save 20% instantly when you buy both Lee Ellis leadership books together – Purchase in the Online Store or your favorite online retailer
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Quick Leading with Honor Advice on Adapting Quickly
As leaders, we’ve been bombarded the last few months with fast changes that require the ability to adapt quickly. Now as we’re approaching a shift back to the old normal, we must consider some areas where the old normal won’t work well.
Most leaders know that they must adapt to changing situations as well as the unique natural behaviors of others, but they don’t know how. Here are two models that can serve you well in that process.
Model #1 – The OODA Loop
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In this model, the first step, Observe, this is the time to gather relevant information and data. Then it moves to Orient which is about connecting the dots and reflecting on the options and challenges. Continuing clockwise, Decide is based on opportunities, needs, and resources. And finally, we must develop a plan and Act to execute the plan.
Obviously, in an aerial dogfight, this is all done in seconds. But in most situations, the goal is to have a process that will help you be intentional and wise about moving to action.
Model #2 – The Courageous Accountability Model
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Once the decision is made and you’re ready to act, follow the four steps on the right side of our attached Courageous Accountability Model 
to be a well-rounded, honorable leader . This is also designed to be a cyclical model where a leader will repeat these steps on a regular basis –
Clarify – Make sure that mission, vision, values, policies, and guidelines are clear; make sure people understand what outcomes are expected and what resources and ground rules are in place. Solicit questions and listen to make sure people see the same picture.
Connect – Know your people’s unique talents (strength/struggles) and manage each person uniquely; connect with the heart by making people feel valued and important.
Collaborate – Develop a proactive mindset about collaboration. Welcome it; support it; dialogue as needed and provide ongoing feedback to encourage and correct.
Closeout – Celebrate successes; confront problem issues with confidence and humility; critique the process for continual improvement.
Following these two models will give you a process of intentionality that will greatly increase your likelihood of success. Please try them and let us know how they work for you. Others would love to hear your experience.
Also read and watch the entire coaching blog on this topic – “2 Honorable Ways that Leaders Can Adapt Quickly”
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June 7, 2020
On This Day in Leadership History, June May 7th
On this day in leadership history in 1932, over 7,000 war veterans marched on Washington, DC, demanding their bonuses. After four years or protests by thousands more veterans, Congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act in 1936, authorizing the immediate payment of the $2 billion in World War I bonuses, and then overrode Roosevelt’s veto of the measure.
What’s the leadership lesson? Honorable leaders seek to be peacekeepers while consistently supporting the right cause. Choose today to do the same thing regardless of the backlash or consequences.
Bonus Army – Wikipedia
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