Susan Scott's Blog, page 70

Fierce Tip of the Week: Say What You Really Think

Alethophobia is an intense, abnormal or illogical fear of the truth.In Fierce Leadership , Susan Scott asks, “How many times have you told someone – your boss, a colleague, a customer, your spouse – what you thought he or she wanted to hear, rather than what you were really thinking? Painted a false, rosy version of reality, glossing over problems or pretending they simply didn’t exist?”This happens often. The thing is…we have legitimate reasons for why we don’t want to fully disclose. Perhaps it has destroyed a relationship in your past, and you don’t want to do that again. Perhaps you have seen someone lose their job over disclosing more, and you happen to like your job. Maybe you truly don’t believe it is your place to say what you notice or feel (this is a popular one).The kicker is that not sharing the whole truth is more costly in the end. If you are out of integrity with yourself or others, research shows that it damages your health and wellbeing. Organizations and families, not sharing the truth can lead to loss of time, money, and/or complete failure to thrive.Fierce leaders want to know the truth…and in turn, also have to share the truth. This week’s tip is to share what you really think and feel. It takes courage and guts. Don’t make excuses.What areas in your life are you strongest and weakest at fully being real?

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fierce resources: differing work styles can help team performance

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Harvard Business Review and shares a different way to look at helping team performance.Differing Work Styles Can Help Team Performance urges leaders to look at work style diversity as a way to boost their team. Work style is the way one orients with tasks. The first suggestion is to observe your team members to learn more about their work style. Next, it is important to leverage each person’s strength and coach according to their different styles.Have you paid attention to your team members’ work styles? What is the mix in your team?“When members of a team, or leaders of an organization, all have the same style, you’ll quickly run into trouble. For example, if everyone in your group has a big-picture, strategic, intuitive approach to work and chafes against the structure of project plans, you might frequently be over budget and behind schedule. Or, if everyone has a linear, analytical, and planned approach to work and dislikes disruption, innovative new product development would be impossible.”Read the full article.

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Leaders, Watch for These 3 Collaboration Failures

A few years ago we surveyed over 1,400 executives and employees, and 86% cited lack of collaboration for workplace failures. Does this surprise you?Many of us can cite epic failures and point fingers at people who did not ask us what our perspectives were around an opportunity, challenge, or decision. Then heads were shaking when the “inevitable” outcome became reality. Conversely, many of us have been on the other side of the equation, kicking ourselves for not asking the people that were central to the success of the project or challenge for their opinions, guidance, and help. It could have been an intentional choice or complete oversight.Collaboration is much easier said than done. Many people understand the importance of getting diverse perspectives and including the team, yet it can be difficult to ensure that it actually happens.At fierce, we encourage you to take it one conversation at a time. And for collaboration, focus on team meetings. As a leader (either by title or choice), it is your duty to understand all of the perspectives that need to be heard before making decisions. Team meetings are a powerful way to work together where everyone can roll up their sleeves and really collaborate.Team meetings can be authentic and energizing… or fake and life-sucking.Here are three collaboration traps to avoid and indicators that can occur and ways to detect if it is happening to you:   1. Non-inclusionNon-inclusion happens when you don’t even bother to ask people for their opinions. There are many legitimate reasons for why this occurs. Some may include: many things on people’s plates, decisions need to be made fast, people not understanding the issue, etc.  The problem with not including is that it makes everyone involved feel like they are undervalued. 40% of our survey respondents felt that leaders and decision makers consistently failed to seek out other opinions before making a final decision.Non-inclusion indicators: Are your employees just doing what is asked of them, nothing more? Are they resentful with decisions that you make? Are your employees just giving you the “corporate nod”.2. Illusion of InclusionThis is when a leader loves the idea of including others in the decision making process, yet doesn’t really want to. People can spot this from a mile away. They know when you are doing “what you should be doing” as opposed to being genuinely interested in new ideas and processes. It reminds me of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” In other words, you may say you want to know my perspective, yet you act very differently.Illusion of Inclusion indicators: Do you go into a meeting just to sell your brilliant idea? Are your employees withholding juicy, robust pushback and instead just agreeing? Do you glaze over when people bring up different viewpoints?3. Loudest Get HeardThis happens in meetings when a leader asks a question and the external processors raise their hands, start sharing, and slowly become the only ones to give input. That’s a problem when you want diverse perspectives. It is your job as the leader to create space for the internal processors to share their ideas and have the time they need to think about it. In Susan Cain’s book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, she shares research and insights on what we lose when we do not give the space and value for internal processors and introverts.Loudest Get Heard indicators: Are the same few people always the ones contributing at your meetings? Are your internal processors accustomed to talking with you more one-on-one instead of having the floor at meetings? Do you keep the meeting moving fast even if people may not have had time to truly think about the topic?Given the three collaboration traps, which one are you most guilty of? What do you need to watch for?

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Ask Someone New

We go to our usual suspects. As humans, we are wired to put people and things into logical buckets. It is easier. It helps us stay organized and make sense of a very complex world.In the workplace, we usually classify authority into two buckets: tenure or expertise. Oftentimes, we correlate the two. In other words, we like to go to people who have solved the problems before that we now need to solve.For example, if we have a marketing problem, we go to the marketing team. A problem with a presentation, we go to our learning team. A problem with a client we have had forever, go to the most tenured client solutions person. And so on.The consequence is that many times we are not getting the value of new and different perspectives.Last month, I heard Liz Wiseman speak about her new research and book Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work. She argues that for knowledge workers today, constant learning is more valuable than mastery. “Being new, naïve, and even clueless can be an asset,” she states.This week’s tip is to get perspective from someone who you normally wouldn’t go to – maybe a rookie – when you run into a challenge or opportunity.  Be genuine and open to hearing from someone that you may not deem to be an “expert” or your usual “go to”.

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Any Conversation Can: My Fierce Journey

I enjoy all things “Hobbit” and Middle Earth, even Smaug’s hoarding of the Arkenstone and Gollum’s devastation at losing the ring. The story is about friendship, adventure, courage, and treasure. Finding, stealing, retrieving treasure, at all costs. We all love the notion of finding treasure. Who hasn’t fantasized about what they’d do if they won the lottery. But treasures can be tricky.Joseph Campbell wrote that the hero’s journey is not complete once he finds the treasure – whether it is a chest of jewels or a powerful epiphany. It is not heroic to hoard the prize, my precious.The hero’s journey is completed when he has returned to civilization and found a way to share the treasure he fought so hard to gain. Or she.I am not a hero but in the fall of 2002, I offered what for me was and remains a treasure of inestimable value, one that I had fought to gain and have the scars to prove it – the insights within my first book, Fierce Conversations, Achieving Success at Work & in Life – One Conversation at a Time.The insight that our careers, our companies, our relationships and our very lives succeed or fail, gradually then suddenly, one conversation at a time. That the conversation is the relationship, which is our most valuable currency. That, while no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship, or a life, any single conversation can. That if you want to become a great leader, a great human being, you must gain the capacity to connect with the people who are central to your success and happiness – at a deep level – or lower your aim.Fierce Conversations provides the principles and practices that help us do exactly that and much more, for there is something deep within us that responds to those who level with us, who don’t suggest our compromises for us.When you think of a fierce conversation, think authenticity, integrity, collaboration. Think execution muscle, innovation. Think partnership – with your customers and your employees.Today, thirteen years since the book was first published, our former CEO, Halley Bock, has left and I have stepped back into Fierce, Inc. as CEO. To say that I am pleased doesn’t begin to do this justice. Fantastic team, marvelous clients, redesigned web site (if you haven’t seen it lately, take a look: fierceinc.com.) Picture me doing a happy dance.I hope to talk with you, work with you. In the meantime, take it one conversation at a time. Make them fierce.With fierce affection – Susan Scott

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Human Connectivity Defined

Years ago in a Fierce newsletter I wrote: “If you want to become a great leader, gain the capacity to connect with colleagues and customers – at a deep level – or lower your aim.” Kent, a reader, asked, “What is the Fierce definition of human connectivity?”I don’t have an official definition for human connectivity, but I know it when I experience it and I imagine you do too. Certainly human connectivity occurs one wonderfully fierce conversation at a time. And we all know what a fierce conversation is, right? It’s one in which you and I come out from behind ourselves, into the conversation, and make it real. You may have noticed that connection occurs most often during moments of honesty and vulnerability. There is something deep within us that responds to those who level with us, who don’t suggest our compromises for us. And it goes both ways. You and I won’t be connected if only one of us is willing to disclose our real thoughts and emotions. You and I won’t experience connectivity if we are only willing to be “real” on rare occasions. Connectivity doesn’t happen when we yawn and text message our way through a succession of meetings. It doesn’t happen when we become anesthetized or tune out. Connectivity requires persistent identity. It requires intimacy, vulnerability and radical transparency, which scares most people half to death. To keep it simple, human connectivity requires that we…Tell the truth. Tell the truth. Tell the truth……to ourselves and others, with good intent. When you and I or a dozen people sitting around a table tell the truth as much as we can, when we speak directly to the heart of the issue at hand, when we see past the surface and into each other, we will connect, in part because we recognize that we are more similar than different. And when we practice human connectivity, we reap the rewards that come with it. For businesses, human connectivity with colleagues and customers is the next frontier for exponential growth, the only sustainable competitive edge. For individuals, well, let me just say that for many years, I have invested in connection, at a deep level, with clients and friends around the world. The return has been spectacular.A version of this blog was originally published on the Fierce Blog on June 2nd, 2009 and was written by CEO & Founder, Susan Scott.

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Practice Something Worthwhile

“You are always practicing something. The question is: What are you practicing?”— Martial Arts Sensei

So I ask you: What are you practicing? Are you practicing curiosity? Or close-mindedness? Are you practicing compassion? Or selfishness?At the very beginning of my career in commercial real estate, I worked with a man who understood his clients better than anyone who worked with them. They would regularly tell him that. They would regularly tell others that.It was no surprise to anyone that he had the highest amount of recurring business.I always admired how it was clear to everyone what he cared about. This wasn’t an accident. It was all about what he practiced. His peers (and clients) saw him day-in and day-out make choices to further his understanding of his clients and their needs. He dug into his clients’ decisions and assumptions for their own good.Where are you proud? Or not so proud?This week’s tip is to hone a practice in your life that you know is important…to you, to your family, to your career.If we are always practicing something, we may be practicing something that is truly not getting us the results we want.So, what is worthwhile for you this week?

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Fierce Resources: Korn Ferry Global Executive Survey Finds Gaps

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Finances.com and shares the results of a survey conducted by Korn Ferry. Korn Ferry Global Executive Survey Finds Gaps in Leadership Development Opportunities for HR Professionals takes a deeper look into the role of HR professionals and how much time they invest in developing others, verse the development that they are receiving themselves. As HR roles become more aligned with strategy and business objectives, the need for ongoing leadership development will become the expectation.How do you see HR’s role evolving in the workplace?“The March 2015 survey of more than 700 executives found that nearly half of respondents (47 percent) say their organizations do not offer leadership development programs specifically for members of the HR function.”Read the full article.

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how to avoid jumping straight to assumption

The issue is not that we make assumptions. The issue is that a lot of times – they are wrong.We often misinterpret one another. We add underlying meaning or subtext that was never intended. In other words, we often go 90 miles per hour to a deep, dark place of distrust and disloyalty.Don’t feel guilty. We’ve all done it.For example, imagine you are in your office and a client calls complaining that a person on your team never called them back. What do you do?Do you go straight to the blame game? Confront your colleague and ask why he or she didn’t call the client? Or do you go to this individual and truly ask what happened?The reality is that your perception of the situation, or any situation for that matter, is truly determined by your beliefs. In this case, your opinions about your colleague, that client, and all other factors in your world that day impact your view of the situation.Your beliefs are always driving the show.So how do you make sure they are not leading you astray?Here are three tips to help you not jump straight to assumption:1. Assess Your Beliefs.It is important to step back and really dig into why you believe what you do about a person or situation. Reflect on where your assumptions are coming from. Are they coming from past experience? A personal opinion? A gut feeling?You must know. It is the only way you can truly enter into situations authentically and grounded. The added benefit is that you are setting the example for others to do the same.2. Ask Questions First. Questioning is the antithesis of assuming. It is about being open and curious, rather than passing judgment. When in doubt about where a person is coming from, ask. Come into the situation with a clean slate and genuine desire to be informed.It is the most respectful route that can create a deeper understanding of other driving factors you may not have known before. And when the table is turned, you will appreciate the same treatment.3. Seek Multiple Perspectives. As we discuss in our Team Program, no one owns the capital “T” truth about a situation. Everyone owns a piece of it. It is important to gather multiple, sometimes competing, perceptions of reality in order to truly understand what’s going on.Not only will this practice make you more knowledgeable about the situation, people will respect your desire to truly learn what their view is from where they sit.Where are you going to practice not making assumptions?This blog was originally published on the Fierce Blog on August 15, 2012 and was written by Stacey Engle, Vice President of Marketing.

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Embrace Change

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.— George Bernard Shaw

Change is hard. We all know. And we all have different tolerances for it, based on our experiences.I am the daughter of a Naval Officer, and growing up I lived in 12 houses before I was 18 years old. My friends joke and say that I was a “change manager” before I ever went into the human capital space. The thing is – change was always hard – even when I had a lot of it. We are deeply wired to stay in our comfort zone. However, I know I grew a lot, because I was continually uncomfortable. I had to be okay with being vulnerable and open to learning new things and making new friends.I remind myself of that.Where can you embrace variation in your life? Is it at work? Is it at home? Is it with your routines? Or with people?This week’s tip is to embrace change somewhere in your life. We work hard at being comfortable with change at Fierce. One of our values is to innovate with intention. We explain it like this: Fierce has made a splash since the moment we took our name. Few organizations have presented such originality, creativity, and forward thinking. We aim to keep it that way.In that vein, join us in welcoming our brand new website that launched today. We are excited for you to check it out.

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