David Dye's Blog, page 114

5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of July 17, 2017

We were so excited this week to learn that Inc. Magazine has listed Winning Well in its top business and leadership books written by women (and I’m proud to be one of the male co-authors in the list!)

Who can you inspire with Winning Well tools to blend the bottom line with the human spirit?

Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five leadership articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.

What Type of Leadership Works In the Long Run? By Irene Froehlich on Forbes.com

The type of leadership that works in the long run is resonant leadership. What is resonant leadership? Resonance is the ability to empathize with other people. A resonant leader harnesses the ability to be in tune with the needs of their team.

The type of relationship you establish with your team is what counts in the long run, not what skills or intellect you possess. I’m not saying that those aren’t important. They are, just not in this context. Your skills and intellect help you navigate the team in the right direction, but your leadership keeps the team together and helps them achieve success.

My Comment: Resonance and empathy are vital elements in an effective leader’s relationship with their team. And Froehlich does a great job articulating how these characteristics benefit your team and your influence. However, it is important to remember that this focus on relationships must also be combined with a focus on results. When you focus on relationships and results in every interaction, you’re on your way to creating transformational results that will last.

Avoiding the Pitfalls of ‘Watch Me Swim’ Leadership by Scott Cochrane

Have you ever encountered a “Watch Me Swim” leader?

This is the person who insists on letting you know about every accomplishment they’ve achieved, no matter how small or insignificant. The attitude is very similar to the child splashing around the swimming pool, desperate for the grown-ups to notice their aquatic abilities.

For children in the pool it’s cute. For leaders, it’s a problem that can undermine their effectiveness because…

My Comment: This is an interesting article because it gets at an inherent tension for many organizational leaders: you need to speak up for yourself or risk being overshadowed by narcissists or better self-marketers. Just this week, I worked with a division leader who needs to do a better job representing her “wins” and results to her senior leadership so that they’ll have confidence in her (which they should – she does a great job.)

At the same time, as Cochrane rightly points out, leaders who must always call attention to themselves, particularly for less-than-vital accomplishments, undermine their own credibility and influence. As we say in Winning Well, they are “gaming the score, not playing the game.” Striking the appropriate balance of confidence and humility is important to your success. One way to do this is to be very clear about the top three results your team, department, or organization needs to achieve. As you achieve these results, blow the trumpet and let everyone know what your team has accomplished. Then you’re playing the right game, not trying to game the score.

One Thing People Want From Their Leaders by Kevin Eikenberry

Ask leaders what they want from their team members, and you will get a fairly consistent list:

They want people to:

Work hard
Be productive
Be safe at work
Listen
Be trustworthy
…

Fill in your blanks. Fundamentally, on top of all of that, they want their people to follow them.

So, if as leaders we want people to follow us, what can we do to improve the chances that they will?

Of course, there are lots of things we can do that can help make that happen, but there is one fundamental thing we can do; based on a truth of human nature. It’s something that everyone wants from their boss. If you can provide this one thing, you will catapult your odds at having the list above being true for your team members.

My Comment: I’m not going to tell you what Eikenberry says is the one thing you’ve got to have as the foundation of your influence, but I will tell you that I agree whole-heartedly and that if you think you do this, but people still aren’t following, you might want to re-examine your behavior to see if what you do lines up with what you think you communicate.

The Maligning of Management by Fred Ende at SmartBrief

Raise your hand if you consider yourself an educational leader.

Now raise your hand if you consider yourself an educational manager.

If my instincts are right, many of us raised our hands for the first one. Far fewer likely for the second.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we strive to be leaders before managers. After all, leaders innovate. They serve others before themselves. They take risks and help people do things that couldn’t be done were they not there to facilitate.

And managers? They make sure that things happen, often relying on attainable benchmarks that have been set. They keep organizations moving in a straight line and deliver performance that meets expectations.

While leaders lead, managers manage. Clearly, there is a difference between the terms around aspirations. While managers shoot for the horizon, leaders aim for the stars.

My Comment: I always cheer when I read articles like this one. For twenty years I’ve maintained that the supposed division between leadership and management is crippling the ranks of our frontline and middle level supervisors.

I compare it to driving a car. When you learn to drive, you learn to operate the brakes. You learn how to accelerate. You learn how to signal, how to change lanes, and how to control the lights, radio, and wipers.

Now, imagine someone whispering in your ear the whole time you are driving: “Accelerating and operating the radio are far better skills than braking or signaling your turns. Focus on the first two if you want to be successful.”

Hogwash!

You need all of it if you’re going to drive successfully. Likewise, you’ve got to both lead and manage if you want to succeed in creating transformational results that last.

The Leadership Skill Everybody Needs – and 90% of Managers Lack by Liz Ryan

There are good reasons it’s easy to find lousy managers in virtually every industry and function.

It is no surprise that nearly every working person has one Bad Boss story ready to share, if not a collection of them.

New managers typically receive little to no training in “people management,” although it is the crux of their job.

HR people describe how their training budgets are slashed further every year, and “soft skills” training is the first item to go when budgets get tight.

It’s not only managers who are thrown into the deep end of the pool in a new job and expected to swim. Senior leaders don’t know how to lead any more than their subordinate managers do.

Most of us struggle with higher-level communication skills like conflict resolution, negotiation, argumentation and persuasive communication. If it were up to me, every kid would learn and practice these skills starting in kindergarten.

My Comment: As an executive myself, and as a leadership development expert who has worked with thousands of managers around the globe, I completely agree with Ryan.

In fact, as an executive, I personally met with every new hire, gave them communication tools, and discussed the vital role that healthy communication would play in their success. Part of onboarding every person included communication and conflict resolution training. As an executive, the number one skill I look for in an employee that I want to promote to leadership responsibility is the ability to hold difficult conversations well. And, our leadership training cohorts frequently cite the Winning Well INSPIRE model for feedback conversations as one of the most valuable tools the received during the course.

If you want to be effective and influential, learning to communicate effectively will be at the core of your success.

We’re booking corporate leadership development and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders. Invite David and Karin to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind).

To see David in action,   check out this demo video.

 

5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of June 26, 2017

We were so excited this week to learn that Inc. Magazine has listed Winning Well in its top business and leadership books written by women (and I’m proud to be one of the male co-authors in the list!)

Who can you inspire with Winning Well tools to blend the bottom line with the human spirit?

Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five leadership articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.

What Type of Leadership Works In the Long Run? By Irene Froehlich on Forbes.com

The type of leadership that works in the long run is resonant leadership. What is resonant leadership? Resonance is the ability to empathize with other people. A resonant leader harnesses the ability to be in tune with the needs of their team.

The type of relationship you establish with your team is what counts in the long run, not what skills or intellect you possess. I’m not saying that those aren’t important. They are, just not in this context. Your skills and intellect help you navigate the team in the right direction, but your leadership keeps the team together and helps them achieve success.

My Comment: Resonance and empathy are vital elements in an effective leader’s relationship with their team. And Froehlich does a great job articulating how these characteristics benefit your team and your influence. However, it is important to remember that this focus on relationships must also be combined with a focus on results. When you focus on relationships and results in every interaction, you’re on your way to creating transformational results that will last.

Avoiding the Pitfalls of ‘Watch Me Swim’ Leadership by Scott Cochrane

Have you ever encountered a “Watch Me Swim” leader?

This is the person who insists on letting you know about every accomplishment they’ve achieved, no matter how small or insignificant. The attitude is very similar to the child splashing around the swimming pool, desperate for the grown-ups to notice their aquatic abilities.

For children in the pool it’s cute. For leaders, it’s a problem that can undermine their effectiveness because…

My Comment: This is an interesting article because it gets at an inherent tension for many organizational leaders: you need to speak up for yourself or risk being overshadowed by narcissists or better self-marketers. Just this week, I worked with a division leader who needs to do a better job representing her “wins” and results to her senior leadership so that they’ll have confidence in her (which they should – she does a great job.)

At the same time, as Cochrane rightly points out, leaders who must always call attention to themselves, particularly for less-than-vital accomplishments, undermine their own credibility and influence. As we say in Winning Well, they are “gaming the score, not playing the game.” Striking the appropriate balance of confidence and humility is important to your success. One way to do this is to be very clear about the top three results your team, department, or organization needs to achieve. As you achieve these results, blow the trumpet and let everyone know what your team has accomplished. Then you’re playing the right game, not trying to game the score.

One Thing People Want From Their Leaders by Kevin Eikenberry

Ask leaders what they want from their team members, and you will get a fairly consistent list:

They want people to:

Work hard
Be productive
Be safe at work
Listen
Be trustworthy
…

Fill in your blanks. Fundamentally, on top of all of that, they want their people to follow them.

So, if as leaders we want people to follow us, what can we do to improve the chances that they will?

Of course, there are lots of things we can do that can help make that happen, but there is one fundamental thing we can do; based on a truth of human nature. It’s something that everyone wants from their boss. If you can provide this one thing, you will catapult your odds at having the list above being true for your team members.

My Comment: I’m not going to tell you what Eikenberry says is the one thing you’ve got to have as the foundation of your influence, but I will tell you that I agree whole-heartedly and that if you think you do this, but people still aren’t following, you might want to re-examine your behavior to see if what you do lines up with what you think you communicate.

The Maligning of Management by Fred Ende at SmartBrief

Raise your hand if you consider yourself an educational leader.

Now raise your hand if you consider yourself an educational manager.

If my instincts are right, many of us raised our hands for the first one. Far fewer likely for the second.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we strive to be leaders before managers. After all, leaders innovate. They serve others before themselves. They take risks and help people do things that couldn’t be done were they not there to facilitate.

And managers? They make sure that things happen, often relying on attainable benchmarks that have been set. They keep organizations moving in a straight line and deliver performance that meets expectations.

While leaders lead, managers manage. Clearly, there is a difference between the terms around aspirations. While managers shoot for the horizon, leaders aim for the stars.

My Comment: I always cheer when I read articles like this one. For twenty years I’ve maintained that the supposed division between leadership and management is crippling the ranks of our frontline and middle level supervisors.

I compare it to driving a car. When you learn to drive, you learn to operate the brakes. You learn how to accelerate. You learn how to signal, how to change lanes, and how to control the lights, radio, and wipers.

Now, imagine someone whispering in your ear the whole time you are driving: “Accelerating and operating the radio are far better skills than braking or signaling your turns. Focus on the first two if you want to be successful.”

Hogwash!

You need all of it if you’re going to drive successfully. Likewise, you’ve got to both lead and manage if you want to succeed in creating transformational results that last.

The Leadership Skill Everybody Needs – and 90% of Managers Lack by Liz Ryan

There are good reasons it’s easy to find lousy managers in virtually every industry and function.

It is no surprise that nearly every working person has one Bad Boss story ready to share, if not a collection of them.

New managers typically receive little to no training in “people management,” although it is the crux of their job.

HR people describe how their training budgets are slashed further every year, and “soft skills” training is the first item to go when budgets get tight.

It’s not only managers who are thrown into the deep end of the pool in a new job and expected to swim. Senior leaders don’t know how to lead any more than their subordinate managers do.

Most of us struggle with higher-level communication skills like conflict resolution, negotiation, argumentation and persuasive communication. If it were up to me, every kid would learn and practice these skills starting in kindergarten.

My Comment: As an executive myself, and as a leadership development expert who has worked with thousands of managers around the globe, I completely agree with Ryan.

In fact, as an executive, I personally met with every new hire, gave them communication tools, and discussed the vital role that healthy communication would play in their success. Part of onboarding every person included communication and conflict resolution training. As an executive, the number one skill I look for in an employee that I want to promote to leadership responsibility is the ability to hold difficult conversations well. And, our leadership training cohorts frequently cite the Winning Well INSPIRE model for feedback conversations as one of the most valuable tools the received during the course.

If you want to be effective and influential, learning to communicate effectively will be at the core of your success.

We’re booking corporate leadership development and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders. Invite David and Karin to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind).

To see David in action,   check out this demo video.

 

Blazing Your Own Path to Success

I’m happy to share a guest post this week from Naphtali Hoff whose writing frequently appear in my weekly top 5 leadership articles. Here he shares some of the wisdom he frequently gives aspiring leaders and growing executives. Enjoy these tips and check out Naphtali’s new book: Becoming the New Boss – The New Leader’s Guide to Sustained Success.

Be the Leader You Want Your Boss to Be,

David

Blazing Your Own Path to Success

by Naphtali Hoff, PsyD

Did you ever look around in amazement at people around you that don’t appear to be all that extraordinary yet have achieved extraordinary things? These are people who have greatly succeeded in business, in politics, in the arts, in sports, or in some other space, but in many respects seem pretty much on par with you (or even inferior to you) in terms of their core abilities and talents. How is it, you wonder, that they “made it” in such a robust manner while you continue to middle along in relative obscurity, earning a pedestrian income and feeling somewhat unfulfilled?

Perhaps, you tell yourself, these individuals do possess special qualities that you are unaware of and were able to leverage them to achieve success. Maybe they benefitted from favorable timing, connections, family wealth, or other advantages that helped propel them onto a higher plateau.

Those are the easy answers. Others succeeded more than you because of their superior tools and/or their good fortune. And sometimes they are the correct ones.

No Copouts

However, this can’t be the full explanation. We are all aware of many “rags to riches” stories, accounts of individuals who began their lives and careers with much larger decks stacked against them than we did, yet still managed to do great things. Even if you were to argue that these people are rare exceptions, the “one in a million” who defy the cruel odds of life, their successes remind us that us that greater attainment is possible if we learn to approach things correctly.

It’s also a copout. There will ALWAYS be people out there who are smarter, more talented, and more fortuitous, than you. Especially nowadays, when international talent can be easily identified and accessed, we cannot even rely on our “home field advantage” in order to advance. If you wish to occupy a different plane within your respective occupational or career space, you have to focus more on what you can do in order to get there.

9 Steps to Straighten Your Path to Personal Success

Of course, there is no clear, straightforward path to success, but there are some steps that can help to clear the straightest pathway to your personal success.

Believe in yourself – It is extremely difficult to get anywhere if you don’t believe deeply in yourself and your abilities. Sometimes, you can use an injection of positivity and support from others to get you started. But at some point you have to be able to sustain your efforts with a profound sense of capacity, especially when you start to experience inevitable setbacks.
Align objectives with abilities – Obviously, we are not all good at everything and belief alone won’t open most doors. That’s why it’s important to take the time to think about what you are really good at or can become very good at. This includes assessing your existing skills and knowledge as well as your ability to learn new and master new things. It also includes your passion, which is the engine that will ultimately drive your process forward. Seek to align your abilities (current and projected) with your goals so that you can likelier achieve what you want.
Learn, learn and learn some more – Do as much research as possible about your goals and how best to achieve them. Speak to others who have gone down that path previously to learn from their experiences, mistakes and triumphs. Read related articles. Attend courses and seminars. Seek out apprenticeships for low-risk, on-the-job experience. All of these can help you build efficacy, shorten your learning curve, and strengthen your inner resolve and confidence.
Set goals – Effort without a clear plan is likely to not produce the desired outcome. Take the time (alone or, better yet, with a coach or colleague) to set clear, actionable goals with clear deadlines and deliverables. This will help you focus your time and energies and motivate you to stay the course.
Take measured risks – Every new endeavor carries some degree of risk. This particularly true when you seek to rise from good (or not-so-good) to great. So many people never pursue their dreams because they are unwilling to upset their existing apple carts and stretch a bit beyond their comfort zones. Of course, all risk taking should be measured and responsible in nature.
Work hard – There is no substitute for hard work. It sounds so simple, but this frequently gets overlooked. So often we observe successful people and focus on the here and now while losing sight of the many years of labor and toil that it took for them to break through. Once you identify your goal, be willing to put in the requisite time and effort to make your dreams a reality.
Learn how to get unstuck – A primary obstacle to growth and success is our propensity to get stuck. Something happens that prevents us from moving forward and we fail to figure out how to get past it and come to accept it as fact. Think of ways around the problem so that you can maintain your progress.
Take rejection standing up – Just because someone says no doesn’t mean that you’re incapable or that your idea is flawed. Sure, there may be some things that you need to tighten up. It would also be a good idea to get as much information as you can as to why your application or proposal was rejected. Still, countless success stories began with multiple rejections and setbacks at the outset.
Refine your people skills – This is perhaps the most important quality in the list. Belief, self-efficacy, and perseverance are hugely important qualities in a person’s success, but they can all be undermined by poor or even average interpersonal skills. Despite our increased use of technology, our ability to interact with and gain the support and trust of others remains critical. Learn how to speak so that others will listen. At the end, all things being equal, people will hire or select those that they like and relate best to. Consider it the human side of doing business. And that side isn’t going anywhere fast.

 Leadership effectiveness expert Naphtali Hoff is the author of the book Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader’s Guide to Sustained Success . He is President of Impactful Coaching & Consulting , an executive coaching and organizational consulting firm that supports executives who want to increase their leadership capacity and improve their team’s effectiveness. Naphtali is a prolific writer who contributes regularly to SmartBrief on Leadership , the Huffington Post , and other online and print publications. The ideas expressed in this post are adapted from his book.

5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of June 26, 2017

Is your organization Winning Well? Let’s talk about how we can help your managers get the tools they need to achieve breakthrough results.

This week I was in Columbus, OH and Nashville, TN sharing Winning Well programs with motivated leaders from around the world. I heard from a several of you about how you’re using these weekly leadership tips. One leader shares them with her management team and they discuss the concepts together. Another manager picks one tip each week and focuses on using it in his daily leadership. I’d love to hear how you’re using these selections of leadership wisdom!

Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five leadership articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.

6 Steps for Turning Your Employees Into Intrapreneurs by Jill Schiefelbein

In creating a culture of innovation within an organization, you want to make sure you have the ability to not only highlight people and bring their ideas to the surface, but also have a process in place so you can escalate those ideas up the chain to get action taken. Creating systems for intrapreneurship is a key success factor in many of today’s successful companies.

An intrapreneur is someone who thinks like an entrepreneur but is an employee within an organization. They get that steady paycheck, but they want to bring ideas to the surface and know they can impact decisions and the trajectory of the business. Your intrapreneurs are entrepreneurial thinkers who drive organizational change and are motivated by creation.

Squashing attempts at innovation is an easy way to kill employee morale and experience high-talent turnover. To avoid this, develop an internal process that all employees can use to bring ideas to the table and communicate them to the right people within your organization. This will encourage your intrapreneurs to contribute and think about ways to make the business better.

My Comment: I regularly hear from managers who want their team members to be more creative and solve problems on their own. But when you look more closely, it’s easy to see how employee’s motivation gets stamped out. If you want innovation or problem solving, you’ve got to create room for your people to suggest ideas that have already been attempted and not shoot them down as “we tried that.” You’ll want to reward effort, not just success. Innovation means taking a risk – and not all risks pay off. Use Schiefelbein’s process to make it safe for people to try.

Success Quotes that Pack the Biggest Punch for Entrepreneurs Like You by Christina DeBusk

Success. It’s one relatively simple word, yet it is large in concept because it signifies what every entrepreneur wants to achieve. To attain. To sustain.

The problem with success is, no matter what your definition, it isn’t always that easy to find. The path is long and winding, and the temptation to give up can be found around every corner.

So how do you keep going when all you really want to do is quit? You continuously seek to find motivation. And one place that I regularly find mine is in success quotes.

My Comment: This one was funny – I shared this list of quotes because three of them are ones I contributed to the list. Someone recently shared it again on social media and I read through the list, having forgotten what I had contributed. Wow – sometimes you can surprise yourself. The third one I listed was something I really needed to hear this week. I’ll share it here for you as well:

From French philosopher, Albert Camus: “They say I’m active. But being active is still wasting one’s time, if in doing one loses oneself. Today is a resting time, and my heart goes off in search of itself.” To Dye, this means that “productivity does not equal happiness or health. It is too easy to be consumed by the achievement of conquered to-dos and forget that life is meant to be lived. Keeping perspective, health, and relationships is vital.

May this and the other quotes on this list inspire you on your leadership journey.

Resilience: It’s All In Your Head by Mary Schaefer

I remember sitting on the edge of my bed crying. I have a variety of issues with my back. A few years ago they were acting up. One day I rolled out of bed about 4 pm because I couldn’t get up any sooner.

I had a “why me?” moment. “Why is this happening to me?” “I’m not the type of person this happens to.” (What does that even mean?) “This is never going to get better.”

Beside my bed is a bookcase. As I leaned over, feeling sorry for myself, a book caught my eye. The title doesn’t matter much. I chose what you would call spiritual or self-help material.

I slid onto the floor and started flipping through the book. I was reminded that I had more control over my situation than I was admitting.

I started with the main flaw in my thinking: “I’m not the type of person this happens to.” Self-pity raised its head, with a touch of entitlement and resentment sprinkled in.

After doing some reading and soul searching, I realized I was arguing with reality. Tip: Reality always wins…

My Comment: Every leader I’ve ever known is either in the middle of adversity, just recovering, or preparing to face the next one. Resilient leaders provide people the strength and focus they need to get through whatever circumstances may happen. Schaefer’s observations about how to maintain your resiliency through a neutral mindset are essential if you want to be a leader people respect and trust – no matter what is happening.

Are You a Boss Who Plays Favorites by Joel Garfinkle

We all have some working relationships that just work better than others. It can be tempting to latch on to what has been successful for us in the past, whether that’s a certain style, a certain personality type or even a specific person or group. While it’s good to play to your strengths, there’s a difference between sticking with what works and being stuck in a rut.

Playing favorites leads to missed opportunities for you and your team. You lose out on new perspectives, new ideas and unique problem-solving techniques. The company can hardly benefit from the skills of staff that are never given the chance to shine, and staff that is never given a chance to shine may soon leave. Take a look at your leadership style and see if any of these habits describe you. Read on to learn how to break up your “inner circle” and build a better team.

My Comment: This is an excellent list of leadership traps to filter your own performance. This isn’t playing favorites in the sense of overt preferential treatment. In fact, I know I’ve had every one of these habits at different times in my career. When you avoid these habits, you diversify the strength of your team and create a more robust group capable of creating breakthrough results.

How to Help a Task Master Focus on People by Karin Hurt

“I’m just not a people person.”

“I hate this touchy-feely crap.”

“See that! I’m a ‘C’ on the DiSC assessment this just doesn’t come naturally to me. Now let me get back to work!”

Of course, all this may be true, for you, or for a manager that you’re working to develop. It’s also true, that if you want results that last, you can’t ignore the human side of teams.

So how do you help a task master focus on people? The short answer…

My Comment: Karin and I work with many managers who have a natural inclination to tasks and may even be exhausted by people. (There’s nothing wrong with these folks, it’s how they’re built and if that’s you, you bring natural leadership strengths to your team.) The good news is that if you’re not much of a people person (or you have one on your management team), you can definitely leverage your natural abilities to start building the relationships you’ll need to succeed.

We’re booking corporate leadership development and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders. Invite David and Karin to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind)

To see David in action,   check out this demo video.

 

5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of June 19, 2017

Join thousands of leaders around the world and get the practical tools you need to achieve transformational results – without losing your soul (or mind) in the process. Get your copy of Winning Well today!

Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five leadership articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.

The Thief of Workplace Productivity by Kevin Sheridan

When asked about the single greatest detractor of workplace productivity, most employees, and especially managers, will incorrectly cite workplace meetings or meeting mismanagement. While it is certainly true that a great amount of productivity is lost to these things, the real answer is workplace interruptions, especially given the push to open-office floor plans. While this design trend was intended to facilitate more communication and collaboration, it no doubt carried an unintended downside. The lower cubicle walls, communal snack bars and break rooms, and removal of office doors bring heightened interruptions, as well as concerns over keeping information confidential. A study by the University of California Irvine found that employees who work in open floor plans have 29% more interruptions than employees in offices.

We’re booking companies and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders.

My Comment: In my work with thousands of managers around the world, I have heard this theme repeated over and over again: I can’t get anything done because I’m constantly interrupted. By my staff, by my leaders, by our clients.

If you can relate, you’re not alone. The good news is that you can reclaim some control over your interrupt-ability – even when you’re in an open-office floor plan. There are a number of ways to address the problem, and Sheridan gives you a healthy list to get you started. In addition, I would add: coaching your employees to think critically and problem-solve rather than bringing everything to you. Have the discussion with your team and colleagues. “Here’s what interruptions do to all of us. How can we solve this?” If your type of work allows for it, one client of ours created shared 90-minute “focus-zones” in the morning or afternoon where no one will interrupt another person’s train of thought except for a pre-defined emergency.

We all need time to focus and think. Reclaim both yours and your team’s.

7 Things Your Rock-Star Employees Want to Hear You Say by Karin Hurt and David Dye

These are all real statements I’ve heard in the last few weeks: “We focus on call center reps who are struggling. We’re not worried about observing our high-performing reps. “John has his job down cold. He doesn’t need more training.” “Well, he’s a bit a rough around the edges, but we overlook that. He’s so good at his job, we’re afraid to tick him off.” “Oh Sally’s good. She loves what she does. Thank God for her. She just likes to be left alone to do her thing.” I get it. Your high-performance employees never seem like the MIT. (Most Important Thing). They’ve got it. They don’t complain. You can count on them. They’re capable and don’t appear to want your help. You’ve got bigger issues on your plate. But the truth is, when I meet with such high-performers and ask what they need, here’s what they tell me they long for from their boss.

My Comment: It’s a common management trap: spend so much time dealing with low and mediocre performers that your high performers stagnate, feel unappreciated, and go somewhere else. In this article Karin and I shared at Careers in Government, we offer several suggestions on what you can say and do to help your high-performers continue their excellence and take the next steps in their career.

Make Two Lists by Seth Godin

On one list identify the grievances, disrespects and bad breaks….On the other list, write down the privileges, advantages, and opportunities you have…

My Comment: I loved this short and poignant article. Godin offers a powerful choice at the conclusion that will make a huge difference in how you lead. You probably know (or have been) a person who makes both choices.

5 Leadership Mistakes Even the Best Bosses Make by Marcel Schwantes

If you think your boss is some freak of nature and you’re the luckiest person alive, I’ll break it to you gently: He or she is human and will make mistakes.

The great ones rise up from their errors by A) acknowledging they made a mistake and correcting a behavior (think humility), or B) acknowledging a blind spot that needs to be addressed, then doing something about it.

Lets dive into a few prevalent leadership mistakes that even the best and smartest leaders tend to make.

My Comment: This is a great list in that every leader likely has made these same mistakes. I know I have. Read through these five items and target the one that most applies to you. A quick note on open-door policies (addressed in item #5) – being available is one thing…actively inviting feedback and “channeling challengers” is stronger. Listen, say thank you, and respond – even when you can’t take the desired action.

Is Modern Leadership Missing the Point by Matt at Thin Difference

One does not have to look too far to see what many have dubbed a “crisis in leadership.”

Bad guidance and poor judgment appear to be dominating our public space, putting in jeopardy our hopes for progress. Why? Because without strong leadership, individual goals reign supreme—no one knows where to look, so we put on our blinders and do what’s best for us.

So whether it’s environmental protection, healthcare, food supply or business, recent leadership has been unable to communicate unifying messages, fostering individual pursuit and harming solidarity. This trend has led some to say leadership is failing.

My Comment: An important post by a millennial looking at the world and seeing quite a bit of ‘every-one-for-themselves’ in the world. He asks important questions about what leadership looks like at the human level (as opposed to ‘global’ – which tends to worry some). Growth and progress may be unifying characteristics, but are they enough. His questions are important, though I would offer some different perspective on his premise: despite heated rhetoric and a general trend toward more authoritarian political leaders in many visible parts of the world, there are also many people working toward the future he envisions. The trend of empathy, connection, and dignity is up in the scope of human history, even if it’s not getting much press right now. I encourage Matt, and all of us, to keep that progress in mind as we work to create a better future for all of us. It’s a future that you help create with every interaction you have with another human being.

We’re booking companies and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders. Invite David and Karin to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Available for keynotes, deep-dive breakout sessions, and corporate training.

To see David in action,   check out this demo video.

 

5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of June 12, 2017

We’re celebrating this week being honored as one of the most socially shared leadership blogs. You made it happen with every like, share, and tweet. A big thank you from all of us!

Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five leadership articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.

How to Have More Joy At Work by Karin Hurt

The other evening, I was sitting at the kitchen table putting the finishing touches on next week’s keynote for the American Health Quality Association. They’d invited me to talk about “finding joy in your work,” a subject that’s at the core our entire Winning Well philosophy, but that I’m not usually invited to address head on. I kept feeling I was about 90% there when my son, Sebastian, walked in and plopped a crinkled sheet of notebook paper down my keyboard.

“Mom, here’s my story for the 5th-grade graduation speech contest. What do you think?”

I read the words he’d painstakingly written, full of the usual “I’d like to thank my parents and teachers.” I’m not sure if it was the look on my face or the fact that he knew it wasn’t his best work, that revealed my concern.

“It’s not that good, I know,” Seb winced.

My Comment: Employee engagement is not employee happiness. If you’re focused on employee happiness, you’re likely to be disappointed. People are happy or not for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with you or your organization. Add to that the point that Hurt makes here: there are times where the pursuit of excellence and breakthrough results means real travail and struggle. You probably don’t describe yourself as happy in those moments…but like Sebastian, you are engaged.

Why Feelings Matter, From Someone Who Thought They Didn’t by Dan Rockwell

Feelings matter more today than they did when I was young. I’m old school. It doesn’t matter how you feel. You show up and do the work. Being brought up on a dairy farm in New England where feelings are an inconvenience contributed to my orientation.

Back on the farm, work centered on work. Today, organizations are moving toward a people-centric focus. Translation? We care how people feel.

Back in the day, you sacrificed enjoyment on the altar of advancement. Drive was more important than enjoyment.

Drive still matters. You’re on a dead end without it.

My Comment: I love one of the concluding thoughts in Rockwell’s article: “One reason engagement levels are abysmal is leaders push for performance but neglect purpose.” I would suggest that feelings, and purpose, have always mattered, whether we were conscious of them or not. The greatest leaders have always made it clear how what we’re doing matters.

Four Conversations That Boost Employee Engagement by Kristi Hedges

There’s a lot of communicating at work. It’s hard to find someone who wishes for more meetings, conversations or emails. Many workers feel inundated by the sheer amount of communications that’s required of them. For leaders in particular, it can seem as if you are never not communicating. Even when you’re silent, all eyes are watching for nonverbal cues.

All of this is true, and yet, there are important conversations that don’t happen enough.

My Comment: We are big believers in the value of the important conversations that aren’t happening well or often enough in teams and organizations. Hedges looks at important conversations you can have with your employees that will help release their energy and motivation. We would add many Winning Well conversations to the list, including how to Own the UGLY, Coaching Strategies for Busy Leaders, and How to Communicate Bad News.

Leadership: You can’t do it that way! You’re 40 feet tall! By Wally Bock

In 1963, Richard Burton advanced from mere fame into superstar status when he signed to play Mark Antony in the movie Cleopatra. It was on the set of that movie that he and Elizabeth Taylor began the love affair that would rid them each of their spouses and put them together, at least for a while. They married and divorced twice.

Even though Burton was already a star and had done several films, he was still primarily a stage actor. Taylor was the more experienced film actress. She helped Burton develop the specific skills that make for a great movie performance.

At one point, when he had just done some histrionic stage-actor thing Taylor is reported to have said, “My God, Richard, you can’t do it that way! You’re forty feet tall!”

Her point was that the very actions that were effective for a stage actor might be outrageous when your image was projected on a forty-foot-high screen. Being a screen actor called for different behavior and different skills.

The same thing is true when you become a boss, someone responsible for the performance of a group. Suddenly your actions have an outsized effect.

My Comment: I love this analogy. I recently had someone remind me that in a leadership role I held, my words and actions are magnified. Realizing the way you come across and being aware of your impact will help you to be more influential, get more done, and have more engaged employees.

Death by Indecisiveness by Steve Keating

I’m not sure if there is anything more useless than a leader who cannot or more likely, will not, make a decision.

I know that sounds harsh but I’ve really held that belief since I was a seventeen year old High School senior. As a Senior Officer in my Military High School I had the responsibility of overseeing the small bore rifle range for a Freshman military class.

One day a student’s rifle misfired and the student turned toward me looking for instructions on what to do. (We had only explained the proper procedure 1000 times) As he turned toward me the barrel of his rifle also tuned toward me and I hesitated to give direction for a split second. That was long enough for the round in the chamber to go off striking me in the foot.

My Comment: This is an interesting perspective. I agree with Keating that leaders need to be decisive (as well as with the band Rush: “If you decide not to decide, you still have made a choice.”) That said, there is a difference between impulsive constant decision-making and getting sufficient information to decide well. How much information is enough? That depends on the time frame and context. As General Patton said, “A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” Action usually wins. Try to aim for plans that are at least “good.”

We’re booking companies and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders. Invite David and Karin  to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Available for keynotes, deep-dive breakout sessions, and corporate training.

To see David in action,   check out this demo video.

Coaching Strategies for Busy Leaders

Deborah sighed and looked at her phone. “David, I’m sorry, I need to take this.”

She paused the strategy session I was helping her work through and answered the phone. The employee on the other end needed help. She answered his question and got him back to work.

After she hung up, she looked at me and frowned. “He should be able to figure that out on his own.”

I smiled – having been there myself many times. “Looks like he’s got it figured out pretty well…”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, if he has a question or hits a roadblock, he’s figured out a surefire way to get his answer.”

Deborah chuckled. “Him and the rest of the team. But I want to be helpful, supportive…have an open door. Right?”

“Right,” I said, “and you can be the most helpful and supportive by helping your team develop their own critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

“That would be great,” she said, “and give me more time to get my work done.”

Good Intentions Gone Wrong

What do you do when an employee asks for help?

For many years, I made the same mistake as Deborah, and I’ve watched thousands of managers do the same thing. Someone comes to you for help and you give them the answer.

Because you want to be the hero, or you want them out of your office, or you want them to like you. Whatever the reason, when you give them the answer, you’ve taught them to depend on you. But you need a team of people who can think critically and solve problems on their own, right?

Your good intentions have gone wrong and they’re keeping you from developing the team you need.

In my experience, managers and leaders often struggle with how to develop their people. You might vaguely know you’re supposed to…you’ve heard of ‘leader as coach,’ but what are you supposed to do?

The good news is that you can do it and it doesn’t take very long. In a few conversations that take a few minutes each, you can enhance a team member’s ability to take responsibility and solve problems.

Often, your team doesn’t need you to solve problems for them. What they really need from you in are your questions.

The Power of Healthy Questions

Asking good questions is critical to freeing up your own time and increasing your team’s ability to think and solve problems on their own. In these situations, a good question or two can quickly move the conversation back to the employee owning the problem and analyzing potential solutions – but they do have to be good questions.

Poor questions place blame, dwell on failure, and are followed by an implied “you idiot!” Examples of poor questions include:

Who screwed up?
Why did you do that?
What were you thinking?

In contrast, healthy questions focus on learning and on the future to generate ideas and solutions. Examples include:

What is your goal?
What did you try?
What happened?
What did you learn from that experience?
What else do you need?
What would you do next time?
What do you think would happen if you tried that solution?
What will you do?

Assuming that your staff has the basic skills, training, and materials they need to do their jobs, this conversation doesn’t have to take more than a few minutes. For a complex project, it might take the time required to drink a cup of coffee, but it shouldn’t take much longer than that.

What To Do With “I Don’t Know”

Now, you might be wondering what to do if the person replies to one of your questions with, “I don’t know.”

No problem – it’s time to use the super-bonus question. When a team member says, “I don’t know,” most managers will then jump in and supply the answer, but not you!

“I don’t know” can mean many things. Rarely does it mean the person has zero thoughts about the issue.

More often, “I don’t know” translates to:

“I’m uncertain.”
“I don’t want to commit before I know where you stand.”
“I haven’t thought about it yet.”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
“Will you please just tell me what to do?”
“I’m scared about getting it wrong.”

Your job as a leader is to continue the dialogue – to ease the person through their anxiety and train their brain to engage. This is where the super-bonus question comes in.

With one question you can re-engage them in the conversation and move through “I don’t know” to productivity.

When someone says, “I don’t know,” your super-bonus question is: “What might you do if you did know?”

Before you laugh, try it.

Try it with your children, with your co-workers, or with the person next to you in a coffee shop. In any conversation where someone says, “I don’t know,” respond with a gentle, “What might you do if you did know?” and watch what happens.

It’s like magic.

The person who was stymied two seconds ago will start to share ideas, brainstorm solutions, and move on as if they were never stuck. It’s amazing and hard to believe until you try it.

The super-bonus question works because it addresses the source of the person’s “I don’t know.” If they were anxious or fearful, it takes the pressure off by creating a hypothetical situation: “If you did know…” Now they don’t have to be certain or look for your approval and they become free to share whatever they might have been thinking.

If they hadn’t thought about the issue or didn’t want to think about it, you’ve lowered the perceived amount of thought-energy they must expend. You’re not asking for a thesis on the subject, just a conversational “What might you do…”

Our brains can do amazing work when we remove the emotional blocks. When you do this for your team, you train their brain to engage, to push through their ordinary blocks, and increase their performance. Ultimately, they will be able to have these conversations with themselves and will only need to bring the very serious issues to you.

Celebration

You’ll know you’re succeeding in asking healthy questions when a team member tells you: “I had a problem. I was going to come and talk it over with you, but then I thought, you’re just going to ask me all these questions. So I asked myself all the questions instead and I figured it out.”

Celebrate those moments and encourage them to start asking those questions of the people around them. You’ve just increased your team’s capacity for problem-solving, freed up time to focus on your work, and…you’ve built a leader!

Remember, when a team member has trouble thinking through a problem, good questions are your best solution.

Be the leader you want your boss to be,

David

To see David in action,   check out this demo video.

Invite David to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Available for keynotes, deep-dive breakout sessions, and corporate training.

 

5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of June 5, 2017.

Summer is nearly upon us here in the northern hemisphere. Invest in yourself and the leaders in your life: get a copy of Winning Well: A Manager’s Guide to Getting Results Without Losing Your Soul and equip yourself with the tools you need to blend the bottom line and the huma spirit.

Karin and I are booking companies and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders.

Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five leadership articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.

Half Full or Half Empty: Negativity Kills Employee Engagement by Jenna Cyprus

Employee engagement is a fickle thing. And while every individual has different needs, preferences and personality traits, widespread negativity is a recipe for disaster. Not only does it kill employee engagement, but it has the potential to tear your company culture apart at the seams.

Negativity: The silent killer of employee engagement

There’s a time and place for being critical in the workplace. Companies can’t improve and move forward without listening to what people have to say and correcting their mistakes. However, there’s a difference between constructive feedback and chronic negativity…

My Comment: Cyprus makes such a good point here. You’ve assuredly met that manager who is constantly critical, negative, and for whom nothing is ever good enough (regardless of its actual quality). The fundamental problem with this kind of consistent negative refrain is that it crowds out hope.

People without hope just give up. You may have a team where little is going well or right…and you may need to ditch the diaper genie and say that it no uncertain terms – but you still need to give them a path to success. That path is hope. The essence of leadership is that together we can have a better tomorrow than we do today. Eliminate that hope and you’re not leading, you’re just complaining.

Why the Fuss Over Employee Engagement? Interview with Kevin Kruse by Jathan Janove

JATHAN JANOVE: Is “employee engagement” simply the latest fad or is there something more to it?

KEVIN KRUSE: I think it’s often misunderstood, but definitely not a fad. I’ve been a student and practitioner of it for about 20 years, and I think engagement is one of the secrets behind so many of my companies. Engagement is when we feel emotionally committed to our employer and it’s mission. When we are engaged, we actually care.

JJ: How are American employers doing when it comes to fully engaged work environments?….

My Comment: In this interview, Kruse covers some fundamentals about employee engagement – a highlight of which, in my mind, is that true engagement is not a function of HR. Human Resource professionals can champion and train, but if you want engagement on your team, train your leaders and expect them to lead well.

3 Strategies for Making Meetings Really Work for You by Jill Schiefelbein at Entrpreneur.com

A lot of people cringe when they see “Let’s set up a meeting” in an email or instant message. I understand. Many organizations have meetings just for the sake of having meetings, where people feel forced to come up with something to talk about. These meetings, without a clear purpose or goal, are why they get a bad rep.

But meetings are an essential part of business. And learning to run them effectively and efficiently can help you be a better manager and leader. Here are some strategies for making your meetings work for you…

My Comment: In our Winning Well workshops we often address the “truth” that people hate meetings. I don’t believe that. I believe people hate bad meetings. Good meetings – productive, helpful discussions that move your results forward, build relationships, and solve problems are enjoyable. They get results and people want to attend. In this article, Schiefelbein shares some excellent suggestions to help you make your meetings productive.

I couldn’t agree more with her invitation to clarify the rules of engagement. In addition to her suggestions here, I would add: be clear about who owns the decision to be made. Is it you? Your boss? A majority of the team? Or a consensus among the team as a whole? When you clarify the purpose of the meeting, clarify who owns the decisions and empower people to share meaningful input and eliminate hurt feelings that arise when someone assumed they have a vote, but are really being asked for input.

Are You a Bridge Building Leader? By Chip Bell at Lead Change Group

A crowded Montgomery, AL city bus stopped at its usual spot and a middle-aged African-American woman boarded the bus. As the bus pulled away, she realized every seat on the bus was taken and was prepared to take the trip standing on her feet. But, something changed that stance. Three different white men in three different locations on the bus simultaneously got up to give their seat to the middle-aged woman.

It was cold morning in early December 2016; almost exactly sixty-one years after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man boarding the Montgomery city bus near the exact same bus stop. It was a commentary on the unifying impact this “mother of civil rights” made through her non-violent act of courage.

My Comment: When he addresses the impact that Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and other bridge-building leaders have had on society, Bell calls each of us to take a hard look at the purpose and meaning in our own leadership. At the conclusion of Winning Well with the reminder that most of the time, your legacy is not the product you make or the service you provide. Your leadership legacy is the impact you have on the people – employees, clients, and colleagues – you work with every day. You might have thought you were taking a simple management job. But leadership is bigger than that – it speaks to the soul of every human being you work with. It calls you and your team to a bigger purpose. What is the bridge you are building?

5 Questions Leaders Need to Ask to Increase Morale at Work by Mary Kelly, PhD, CMD, US Navy (Ret)

Keeping employees motivated is crucial to maintaining an effective and productive workplace. The American Management Association points out that increasing morale doesn’t come from gimmicky management fads, it comes from within the workplace. Sometimes asking a few simple questions can yield amazingly productive results.

Be warned: If you ask the question, and you don’t do anything with the response, your lack of activity may make the workplace situation worse, as you will be perceived as being all talk and no action. If you are going to ask your people questions, then you have a responsibility to respond. Be prepared to walk the walk.

My Comment: This doesn’t happen very often, but this is one of those weeks! Mary Kelly is back with an article that has remained in the top five most popular for two straight weeks. These really are great questions.

Part of the power of these questions is that they get your team thinking positively and productively. People usually find what they look for – if you ask your employees what’s wrong, you’ll likely get a morale-draining litany of problems. In contrast, when you ask “what would make our workplace more enjoyable” or “what keeps you motivated,” you’ve focused on the opportunity and positive aspects in a way that helps you build on them, without being a Pollyanna or foolish about the reality of your workplace.

Invite David to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Available for keynotes, deep-dive breakout sessions, and corporate training.

303.898.7018

To see David in action,   check out this new demo video.

5 Top Leadership Articles for the Week of May 30, 2017

Karin and I are booking corporate and association events for 2017 fall and 2018 spring. Email or call to bring us and Winning Well to your leaders.

Each week I read a number of leadership articles from various online resources and share them across social media. Here are the five leadership articles readers found most valuable last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think, too.

According to Research, Here’s the Single Key to Improving Employee Engagement by Joseph Folkman at Forbes.com

A large organization had a high level of employee engagement in 2009. They believed a workforce of highly engaged and committed employees is a key factor influencing business success and a positive culture. Everyone seemed pleased with the high level of engagement until one senior leader said, “If high engagement is good, wouldn’t an even higher level be better?”

The CEO believed that if the company set a goal to maintain the high level of engagement, it would decline — the only way to keep engagement high is to work hard to take it continually higher. Over the years this organization has measured the engagement of its employee and has found a way to continuously improve the level of engagement in the organization.

Note that while engagement in this organization overall is quite high, when people work for an ineffective manager (e.g., those at the 10th percentile) the engagement level is very low (20th percentile). Those who work for a highly effective manager have high levels of engagement.

My Comment: Of all the factors that happen inside an organization, as a leader, you have more influence on your employee’s engagement than does any other factor. For organizations, Folkman rightly points out that you’ve got to get individual managers the feedback they need in order to monitor their own effectiveness. For individual leaders, it reinforces the fact that good leadership can make up for a variety of other organizational ills.

5 Questions Leaders Need to Ask to Increase Morale at Work by Mary Kelly, PhD, CDR, US Navy (Ret)

Keeping employees motivated is crucial to maintaining an effective and productive workplace. The American Management Association points out that increasing morale doesn’t come from gimmicky management fads, it come from within the workplace. Sometimes asking a few simple questions can yield amazingly productive results.

Be warned: If you ask the question, and you don’t do anything with the response, your lack of activity may make the workplace situation worse, as you will be perceived as being all talk and no action. If you are going to ask your people questions, then you have a responsibility to respond. Be prepared to walk the walk.

My Comment: Part of the power of these questions is that they get your team thinking positively and productively. People usually find what they look for – if you ask your employees what’s wrong, you’ll likely get a morale-draining litany of problems. In contrast, when you ask “what would make our workplace more enjoyable” or “what keeps you motivated,” you’ve focused on the opportunity and positive aspects in a way that helps you build on them, without being a Pollyanna or foolish about the reality of your workplace.

How Managers Can Excel by Really Coaching Their Employees by Ben Wigert and Annamarie Mann at Gallup.

Can we talk?

The answer to that simple question may have a profound impact on how employees are managed, now and into the foreseeable future.

It’s certainly a question that front-line managers will have to answer if they want to get the most out of today’s workforce.

The problem is, recent Gallup research finds that only about one in four employees “strongly agree” that their manager provides meaningful feedback to them — or that the feedback they receive helps them do better work. Even more alarming is that a mere 21% of employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.

My Comment: As we share Winning Well with leaders around the world, one of the most common problems we encounter is that leaders know they should give feedback and coach their employees, but they don’t know how.

And why should they know how? After all, it is a skill that has to be learned – and most organizations put managers in their role with little or no training. One of our more popular tools, available in the free Winning Well Toolkit is the 9 What’s Business Coaching Model. A few straightforward questions and you’ll develop your employee’s problem solving and critical thinking skills – freeing you up to the work only you can do.

4 Unexpected Words Powerful Leaders Say Daily to Inspire Others by Todd Nordstrom at Inc.com

It’s not a good number. In fact, it’s not something anyone in a leadership position wants to admit. However, when a Harvard Business Review survey reveals that 58 percent of people trust strangers, while only 42 percent trust their boss, it’s time to acknowledge there’s a communication problem in corporate culture. The leader/subordinate relationship is obviously suffering and the detriment it creates comes with a high price — disengagement, loss of productivity and turnover.

Of course, the statistics surrounding the supposed dismal state of the corporate world could ramble on and on. A survey by business communication software company Bolste suggests that only 25 percent of employees feel extremely happy in their job. And just last month, CBS News ran a story titled “Why So Many Americans Hate Their Jobs,” which cited the now infamous Gallup poll detailing the American workplace that seems to remind us all each year just how bad things are at work.

My Comment: I’ve long advocated for the simple power of specific languages. In The Seven Things Your Team Needs to Hear You Say, I share specific phrases that help to unlock your employee’s creativity, problem-solving, and productivity. Nordstrom focuses on four specific words that your employees need to hear from you. They have the power to help you build better relationships, improve morale, and achieve better results.

6 Ways to Make Hard Decisions Easier as a Leader by Jayson Demers at Entrepreneur.com

Leadership is mentally and emotionally demanding. Not only will you need to temper your emotions to keep your team inspired, you’ll also be the point person for almost every hard decision your business makes.

You’re the one who has to make the call, and the one who has to deal with the consequences. It’s no wonder that depression affects entrepreneurs more than the average population.

Sooner or later, you’ll be forced to make a tough call; it might mean firing an employee you’re personally close with, or making a risky strategic change for the business or ending a long-term partnership.

My Comment: You’ve got to make decisions, and yet, the research around decision-making suggests that you have a limited number of good decisions in you each day – so you’ve got to make each one count. Demers’s list is an excellent way to help you reduce your decision-fatigue and make timely decisions that help move your team and business forward.

To see David in action,   check out this new demo video.

Invite David to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Available for keynotes, deep-dive breakout sessions, and corporate training.

 

A Moment of Despair and Isolation

 

It’s good to be back – I’ve just returned to the US after a month in southeast Asia sharing Winning Well in four different countries and visiting some of the Winning Wells Karin and I have built in honor of clients.

I will resume the top leadership articles next week. I hope you have been enjoying the Winning Well International Symposium. (See the end of this post for a couple of highlights.) In the meantime, I want to share one particularly poignant moment during our time in Cambodia.

A Moment of Despair and Isolation

Do you ever feel alone?

As I return to the US from our Winning Well tour in southeast Asia, it is challenging, and perhaps inadvisable, to summarize or reduce the vast array of experiences to a single emotion, thought, or post. However, there is one story that lingers with me.

It’s when I felt the most alone.

One evening ten of us decided to take an ATV tour through parts of rural Cambodia. We set out in groups of four – three of us along with one guide from the company. I was the last vehicle in the last group.

Perhaps twenty minutes into our ride, Alex, the woman riding in front of me, over-corrected a turn and her ATV flipped. In slow motion I watched it roll, tossing her like a rag doll, until it came to a stop, right side up – on top of her.

I was the only one who saw the accident. The other two riders in our group, Karin and our guide, could not hear me honking or shouting over the noise of their engines.

As they receded into the distance, I looked at Alex pinned under her ATV, unsure how badly she was injured and I felt – alone.

She desperately needed help and all she had was me. I don’t speak the language, was in the countryside without a clue how to get back to town, and only had a light first aid kit (think cuts, scrapes, and sprains). I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sensation: “It’s just me. Well, let’s get to it.”

I lifted the ATV off of her, began evaluating her injuries, and tried to keep her conscious (a losing effort). Thankfully, there were no compound fractures and her neck and spine seemed to be good, but she had a nasty wound on her chin that was bleeding profusely.

Probably in response to my honking and shouting, several local people had come out to see what was happening. I remember one man in particular. He had deeply tanned leathery skin and only two teeth remained in his mouth. None of them spoke English, but they conferred among themselves and sent someone off to call for help.

By this time, our guide and Karin, realizing we weren’t behind them, had turned around and come back. After a quick conference, the guide realized that our injured friend needed to go to the hospital. He got on his ATV. Karin and the villagers lifted the now unconscious Alex onto the ATV and seated her directly behind our guide. The guide told Karin to get on the ATV behind the two of them.

While the man with two teeth wrapped Karin’s arms around our friend and made her hold on to the front of the guide, another local woman clarified what was happening for Karin: “You go hospital.”

And with that, the guide took off, driving his ATV cross-country over fields with our injured friend sandwiched between him and Karin. I was left to watch over my vehicle, Karin’s, and the one that had crashed. I gathered up Karin’s purse and our friend’s cell phone, messaged our group to let them know what had happened, and waited.

Meanwhile, Karin held onto our unconscious friend as they transferred to a tuk-tuk and sped to the hospital. In our discussions afterward, Karin shared how, during that drive to the hospital, as she tried to revive and keep our friend conscious, a similar sense of being alone – what should I do? Am I enough in this situation?

She felt alone. I had felt alone.

And yet…

I wasn’t. Not really. In moments, there were villagers. A few moments more and there was my partner and sweetheart, ready to do what I could not (namely, fit as the third person on the back of an ATV) and then advocate for her with the doctors at the hospital.

As I’ve reflected on that evening, I am touched at the way people came together to help one person.

With all the craziness that the world throws at you, much less the responsibilities you have as a leader, it’s easy to feel alone. But there are so many moments of human kindness and decency every day. Look for them. Contribute to them.

And if you’re feeling alone, know that you are enough.

Do what you can, get to it, and please: honk the horn and call for help.

(Our friend did not escape unscathed: she had a broken jaw that required surgery, multiple stitches on her chin, and deep gouges to hands, arms, and elbows. Given the severity of the accident, I’m grateful it wasn’t worse.)

Be well and I’ll see you next week!

David

5 Don’t Miss Posts from the Winning Well International Symposium

Get Things Done, Build Confidence In Your Team, and Eat That Frog (Brian Tracy)
6 Ways to Transform a Divisive Culture Into a Winning Well Culture (Chery Gegelman)
The Performance Appraisal That Really Matters (Marshall Goldsmith)
One Sentence Engagement (Kevin Kruse)
5 Ways Leaders Unintentionally Sabotage the Team and One Way Forward (Alli Polin)

We are currently booking fall 2017 and spring 2018 corporate training and conference keynotes.

Invite David to help your leaders transform their results without losing their soul (or mind) in the process. Available for keynotes, deep-dive breakout sessions, and corporate training. Email or call at 303.898.7018