Lee Ellis's Blog, page 233

The latest recommendation from Lee’s bookshelf – “Roll the Pole”

The latest recommendation from Lee’s bookshelf – Roll the Pole: A Memoir by Richard Taylor

Set an outlandish goal, but then achieving it is not all that’s it’s cracked up to be. It took Pat Epps and Richard Taylor three annual attempts to fly an airplane upside down over the Magnetic North Pole, just to see what the compass does in that configuration. But, in the end, they did “Roll the Pole”.

Read at this Amazon.com link about the harrowing process that it took to do it and what they learned. Highly recommended reading from these adventurous pilots.

 

 

 

 

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Leo Thorsness Leadership Award – Upcoming Event

We wanted to highlight a special upcoming event called “Warrior Community Integration Symposium” being held in September 2017.

As part of the evening, the ‘Leo Thorsness Leadership Award’ will be bestowed to Former President George W. Bush for his work and support of re-integrating veterans back into the U.S. workforce. Leo Thorsness and Lee Ellis were fellow POWs together in Vietnam.

Please learn more about this fantastic organization. Details are also available if you would like to attend –

 

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4 Trust-Building Fundamentals That Get Results

In Patrick Lencioni’s book The Advantage, he points out that in today’s competitive world a healthy organization is likely to be the greatest competitive advantage you can have. He’s right, so what exactly does that look like? Well, let’s take a closer look at the culture of an unhealthy organization.

To outsiders like Pat and me, three strong indicators are –

A lack of trust leading to poor teamwork and alignment.
A lack of communication clarity about mission, vision, and values.
A fear of conflict. People are not allowed to say what they really think.

With these symptoms, you can predict a lack of accountability on team goals which results in sloppy execution, inadequate results, and ultimately, a poor reputation in your industry.

4 Cultural Fundamentals

However, you want to assess and execute the best results and have a great place to work (they typically go together), so let’s consider the four fundamentals that can achieve both goals. They may sound simple, but they’re not easy.

Diligently focus on them in your leadership, and you’ll see results culturally and financially –

Build Trust

Trust is the hallmark of cohesive teams. Without it, people have doubts, fears, and uncertainty making alignment and unity impossible. Remember that we’re not talking about baseline trust such as “Do I trust you not to steal my wallet?” Trust in this context means that I understand and accept you because you’re willing to be vulnerable and genuine, I have an awareness of each team member’s natural behavior strengths and struggles, communication style, and more. Because we know each other really well, there are no hidden agendas and you won’t take advantage of me if I’m not at the meeting with the boss.

This kind of trust takes time, and leaders must go first with this virtue. Behavioral assessments like Leadership Behavior DNA will help in that regard.

Clarify and Over-Communicate

Leading a business means facing many crucial issues and decisions every day, but a good leader has the ability to synthesize large amounts of information into something simple. Too often leaders assume that their staff see and understand what they do, and this mistake causes many problems with execution. Imagine the quarterback having a complex play in mind, yet he only calls a short version of it in the huddle. Ten teammates must execute precisely to make the next play a success; but if they don’t have the same picture as the quarterback, mistakes will likely result in a setback. It’s the same in business.

Leaders have to continually clarify and over-communicate the message all the way to the bottom of the organization to make sure the team understands what plays the leader is calling. [Tweet This]

This is an important element of balancing getting results with cultivating good work relationships.    

Create a Safe Environment and Encourage Debate

In healthy organizations, there’s an absence of fear, and courage is rewarded. Do your people have to walk on eggshells, or do they feel safe with you? Can they disagree with you and have a fair hearing, or do your reactions equate disagreement with disloyalty? Healthy leaders invite creative conflict prior to making key decisions to get team buy in and to make sure that other reasonable ideas are evaluated. They’re more interested in being effective than being “right.”

One of the greatest desires of all people is to be understood, so show courage by listening and learning from your people. [Tweet This]

Your courage, vulnerability, and authenticity will be seen as strengths.

Be Courageous

Leading isn’t easy. Every day you face tough issues, and your people are watching to see if you will walk the talk of your stated values. It will take all the courage you have and the support of your team and confidants to consistently lead with honor. Lean into the pain of your fears to do what you know is right, and you will send a message of healthy courage throughout your organization. Remember that positive emotions are contagious and powerful, and leaders go first.

LE

Assess the Natural Behaviors of Your Team

[image error]Knowing the natural leadership behaviors of your team is the smart way to lead. With this valuable information, unity, productivity, and performance increase dramatically giving you the strategic edge in the marketplace.

Learn More about Leadership Behavior DNA and Contact Us for customized proposal.

 

 

 

 

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Fill-in-the-Blank – “I have to stay positive and find creative ways to…”

Fill-in-the-Blank – “I have to stay positive and find creative ways to solve problems in my work approximately  _____ percent of the time.”

Please share your answers in this blog post – thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We love ‘Leading with Honor’ reader comments like this one!

We love ‘Leading with Honor’ reader comments like this one!  –

“This book was one I heard talked about on the Jocko Podcast and one that I took to the beach with me. Once I started the book, it was hard to put down. His lessons from being a POW translate beautifully (albeit not as strong) to real life business. I highly recommend this book for business leaders and especially those who love military connections.”

Get your late Summer/early Fall copy wherever you purchase books – visit our Store or your favorite book retailer such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

 

 

 

 

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On This Day in Leadership History, August 20th

On this day in leadership history, it is Former President Benjamin Harrison’s birthday. During this leader’s presidency, notable accomplishments included unprecedented economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff, which imposed historic protective trade rates. Harrison also facilitated the creation of the national forest reserves through an amendment to the Land Revision Act of 1891.

During his administration, six western states were admitted to the Union. In addition, Harrison substantially strengthened and modernized the U.S. Navy and conducted an active foreign policy, but his proposals to secure federal education funding as well as voting rights enforcement for African Americans were unsuccessful.

Benjamin Harrison – Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, August 18, 2017

“He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.” – Plato

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Connect with Authenticity – Coaching Video Clip

Is your idea of connecting sending emails without ever spending face-to-face time with your team (meetings don’t count)? The first critical step to truly connecting is to know yourself and know your people!

Lee explains this tactic in this coaching clip from Chapter 6 of his book, Engage with Honor: Building a Culture of Courageous Accountability.

 

 

 

 

 

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Darth Vader’s Leadership Lesson

Here’s your reminder on what honorable leadership is NOT – go and lead with honor today

 

 

 

 

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Want to build up your Resilience reserves for the next challenge? 12 Points Inside

Want to know how to build up your Resilience reserves for the next challenge? There are 12 life areas of life to consider:

Roots
Forgiveness
Values
Deepest Desires
Faith
Vision for the Future
Role Models
Past Experiences
Determination
Others
Courage
Gratitude

See the Resilience Checklist Infographic on how to go deeper on each item. It’s worth our time as leaders to evaluate them – please share your comments too.

You can also read the entire article on this topic.

 

 

 

 

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