Happy April Wisdom Day!
Posted: April 2, 2013 Filed under: Behavior, Leadership | Tags: April Fools, celebrate, wisdom Leave a comment »I’m posting this on the second day of April, also known as the day after April Fools Day. You probably opened a few trick emails yesterday and checked to see Google’s infamous prank-of-the-year.
It occurs to me that perhaps the world is out of balance. We all like to have fun, and an April Fools Day fills the bill. But isn’t it odd that we have no official day on which we celebrate wisdom? Why that is, I have no idea, but maybe it’s time to correct the omission.
Having been fooled, we are often made wiser (and not necessarily sadder), so let’s just agree amongst ourselves that April 2nd is April Wisdom Day. And another thing… I think that the correct ratio of wisdom to frivolity is probably 12:1, so let’s follow with May Wisdom Day (which has a nice ring to it), and June, and so on. Who knows? This could propel us all into a happier future!
How to celebrate wisdom? Start by thinking of the special things you know about, or know how to do, that most people don’t. They don’t have to involve world-changing drive, or enormous curated stores of treasure. They just have to be important enough to you to have created or collected them. Now ask yourself:
- Do I appreciate myself for having acquired this wisdom?
- Have I let it be known that I have access to this wisdom?
- Have I shared my accumulated wisdom enough with others?
- Have I added something new to my wisdom collection lately?
- How do I plan to pass my wisdom on to those who will need it after I am gone?
Just contemplating the answers should tell you something. Things that we assume are commonplace, we often overlook. But gems of wisdom are never ordinary or trite, while pranks often are.
You don’t have to give up any fun you planned for yesterday. But, if you will believe in the intrinsic worth of your own wisdom, you will soon develop a greater appreciation for the wisdom of others, and this will have far more positive impact than even the most creative of April Fools.
Leading Into the Light
Posted: February 11, 2013 Filed under: Behavior, Leadership, Teams | Tags: leadership, team Leave a comment »There is a famous old Peanuts cartoon. Linus, ever philosophical, quotes “It is better to light one candle rather than curse the darkness”, whereupon Lucy, ever the pessimist, says something like, “You stupid darkness!”
Before you choose your favorite (and yes, one choice is more ‘socially desirable’) consider the advantages of being a Lucy.
- You never have to expend much energy finding the candle and lighting it.
- You don’t have to actually achieve anything, so you don’t have to put forth any effort.
- You won’t have to challenge any of your old beliefs, even the ones that make you miserable.
Are you with me? There is a choice here to be made. To do something positive that causes the light to be lit – or to curse it for not lighting itself.
Make no mistake about it: there is a lot of darkness in the world. You may not be feeling very positive about searching for light, especially if this has been a particularly dark time for you. If it has, the only positive thing may be that you are tired of cursing it.
So here are my three best suggestions for making sure that even in the darkness, you leave room for some light.
- One candle might not seem like much in a sea of darkness, so find other holders of light. They are all around, but even if you can’t see them, their flames will keep yours lit.
- If you find yourself surrounded by cursers, refuse to join. Instead, consider turning their curses into kisses by thanking them for their caring about whatever it is that they are cursing.
- Remember, curses pass the tongue quickly but linger in the atmosphere. Before you are tempted to curse the darkness, look around. Do you really want to snuff out other people’s candles, or would you rather let yourself be warmed by their light?
Just one more reminder: the direction a leader takes is the direction in which their team will follow them.
Perfection is Highly Overrated. How About Just Being You?
Posted: October 26, 2012 Filed under: Behavior, Career, Communication, Engagement, HR, Leadership, Teams | Tags: Action Former, Action Mover, coherent, Communicator, Conductor, Curator, diffuse, Explorer, faith, Founder, imperfections, inspirational, interpersonal, leader, leadership, organization, Quora, rigid, stakeholders, team, team player, teamability, vision, Vision Former, Vision Mover, Watchdog Leave a comment »Leadership isn’t easy, but there are a lot of people who can tell you how it’s done! You can find about 69,000 of them on Amazon.com. Read a few, and soon you will be ready for the fitting of your halo and wings.
Last year I answered a question about Leadership on Quora.com. I have a special place in my heart for this website. The questions that people ask and answer there can range from tough to touching. The question I picked was, ‘What are the top 10 interpersonal skills found in great leaders?’ It was irresistible because I’ve met a lot of people who seem to believe that a team is only as good as its leader, and that is just not so!
Here’s my ‘Top 10’:
- They are team players.
- They are coherent (neither rigid not diffuse) in all their interactions with others.
- Depending on what they are leading, they are either highly inspirational, in which case people are drawn to follow them and their vision, or they are excellent at shepherding people toward the goal. Occasionally you find people who are good at both.
- They take initiative, especially in innovation companies – they seize the moment, and go for the opportunity.
- They clearly get that other people have a point of view that may not be an exact mirror of theirs. (They might not like it, but they definitely get it.)
- They aren’t consumed by greed. Their ambition and desire to win extends to their team, organization, stakeholders, and especially their customers.
- They aren’t know-it-alls, even though they are generally smart.
- They know how to be able depend on other people – their trust is highly desired and valued.
- They respect all living things. (That includes ‘silicon-based life forms’ – the technology that runs the company.)
- They openly express their faith in their team, that together they can achieve the vision.
After I posted it, I had to ask myself if I was only feeding into the perfection myth, but they checked out OK, especially #7 & #8.
Leaders need to acknowledge their imperfections, and that is actually the perfect team’s scenario. Every thing you do not do well calls for someone on your team who does do it well, and who loves having the opportunity. This gives the team, as an entity in and of itself, a much greater chance of being perfect than a ‘perfect’ leader ever could, or should.
No, leadership is not a formula, or a style, or a canon. Neither can it be adequately described as a series of traits or bits and pieces of experience. Leadership is intertwined with situational context, and thus leadership is a team sport. In the end, all that matters is that, collectively, your team is pulling together to achieve its mission.
There is a way to describe what any team needs, in terms of the people who are attracted to fill those needs. Each has a Role. Not a ‘role’ – like a job title or a set of responsibilities – but Role in the language of Teamability™: the manner or mode in which a given person seeks to make a meaningful contributions to meet team needs.
When you understand that you cannot do all of these things well, you may feel angry, or cheated, or sad in your imperfection. Or, you may suddenly realize that your moments of greatest joy and fulfillment have come when you were entirely immersed in contributions that were aligned with Your Role – and that in those moments, you were grateful for the others on your team who were also experiencing joy in performing their own ‘life’s mission.’ When people and teams are functioning this way, they generate tremendous positive synergy and performance, producing real business value for an organization.
Now Hiring for Leadership of the USA
Posted: October 12, 2012 Filed under: Behavior, Career, Leadership, Politics | Tags: Coherence, election, executive, FLOTUS, Founder, leadership, POTUS, President, respect, Role, teamability, teaming, Teaming Characteristics Leave a comment »I read an article last week asking if a business leadership background is essential for performing the job of the President. (If I could remember where, I would give the citation, but by now there are probably a few thousand expert opinions on the subject.) And, of course, my first thought was, hiring by resume? How will that tell you what kind of Teamability the applicant will demonstrate when they’re hired?
It got me thinking. How does the top leader of our nation need to team? With who? In what circumstances? Like any job in the leadership of an organization, there are three key teaming relationships:
(a) The senior executive team. For the President, that includes the Cabinet, the heads of the branches of the military, and leadership of the Senate, House, and Supreme Court, at a minimum.
(b) The rest of the organization. That includes all of the rest of us, we ordinary citizens. We may not be on speed dial, but we do need to hear from our President on a regular basis, and at times of crisis.
(c) The people outside the organization. This includes just about everyone else on the planet, especially the leadership of countries outside ours.
That is a lot of teaming, and there is no vacation from it. Even when you do get a few hours or days away with your loved ones.
So what’s required? If you aren’t familiar with the metrics of Teamability, just look at the header of my Teamability blog. We’re talking about Role, Coherence, and Teaming Characteristics.
Role: The next POTUS needs to be a Founder with a long term vision and the ability to inspire us to believe in it. A Founder will also respect other Founders – the heads of state of other countries. And if you think that isn’t important, remember that it’s much harder to go to war with someone you actually have a respectful relationship with. Bonus: A great Founder is likely to have a Communicator for a spouse, and isn’t that great for a FLOTUS. (What will they call the first woman president’s husband, I wonder. FHOTUS?)
Coherence: I can’t think of a more stressful job than being the leader of the free world. As Coherent as possible. Rigid may be ok for a hard driving business person, but demanding things be so will not make them that way.
Teaming Characteristics: I’ll just drop a few no-no’s here. For one, I want someone who is sensitive to how they are seen by others. Clueless is just not going to work, not at home and definitely not abroad. Anything that’s a red flag or serious caution is definitely a deal killer. And anything indicating any degree of unlikeableness is, in the end, going to present more challenges and the potential for risky foreign relations.
You may disagree with what I think is important and that’s fine. But please. Can we just agree that how our next President teams will be critical to our success as a nation?
Who Put the ‘No’ in Your Innovation?
Posted: September 19, 2012 Filed under: Behavior, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Intrapreneurship, Leadership | Tags: entrepreneurship, innovation, intrapreneurship, teaming 2 Comments »You dreamt up something completely new. It is so cool that people don’t even know they need it yet. But, like their iPad, once they try it, they’ll forget they ever had a life without it.
It was a fit for your line of business, so – with great hopes swelling in your chest – you brought it to your teammate, your manager, or even the Vice President of Innovation, and it got shot down before you even had a chance to explain the vision, or the strategy, or the compelling need it would serve.
You’re a grownup, and you can take rejection. But still, it grinds you. It’s one thing when people give an idea a fair shake, and maybe it doesn’t fly because one or the other decision-makers isn’t ‘in the know,’ but this time it was clear that they were simply ‘in the NO!’
What’s an innovator to do?
First identify the naysayer. Was it one of these usual suspects?
- Nano Teamer: This is the person who is so into ‘teamwork’ that they spend more time talking about it than doing it. A favorite expression: “There’s no ‘I’ in team.” A frequent tendency: hanging around where things are ‘happening’ and taking credit for results that were actually produced by other people. Motivation: If it will make someone else look good, kill it.
- Mini Manager: There are managers who are team players, and there are managers who ‘play’ their team. The latter type prefers to be the source of all great ideas and all good will. Anyone else who dares to tread on that turf is regarded with suspicion, or worse, and will be dealt with severely.
- Inno Vader: Like Inno’s big brother Darth, he (or she) believes that the purpose of decision-making power is to punch the other person’s lights out. It’s ironic that some of the people who have ‘Innovation’ in their job title seem to be preoccupied with controlling innovation rather than facilitating it. It’s a little like the VC or Angel investor who thinks, ‘I have the money. Therefore, I get to decide because I’m smarter than you, entrepreneur!’
Second, consider whether or not the concept is worth pursuing at your present company.
- Is there someone in the organization who can be trusted help you shape up your plan so it can be re-presented?
- Is there an ‘open door’ policy further up the food chain? A ‘Department of Last Resort’? Or would running an ‘end-around’ just be a short cut to getting yourself a pink slip?
- Are there other reasons you’ve been looking elsewhere, and this most recent affront is feeling like ‘the last straw’? Perhaps it even seems that the stars are aligning that way, since recruiters have been calling you day and night with tempting offers.
Finally, make your decision, and follow your path.
- Is there enough potential commercial value and growth potential to enable you to attract seed capital?
- Can you build your own prototype during your off hours? Land a space in a business incubator? Get a grant?
- Are you sure you would not be violating any obligations to your present company? Would a top plaintiff’s attorney agree with you?
If you’re not confident in your ability to make it happen on your own, it’s OK to just ‘let it go.’ But you really should give some thought to finding a more collegial work environment!
Innovation is precious, and often fragile. Whatever you do, don’t let yourself be the one who put the ‘no’ in innovation!
(This post originally appeared in InnovationDAILY)
A very short blog.
Posted: November 19, 2011 Filed under: Behavior, Leadership | Tags: entrepreneur, Founder, work Leave a comment »“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
It was on the puzzle page as I was cooking dinner and multitasking.
Very apropos, I think. Been a week of planting.
Being a Founder is like being a farmer. You need to make sure the soil is tilled in time, get the seeds to go in the right places, and do the whole mess before the sun goes down.
Oh yes, and leave the rest to Heaven.
Customer Service: The Big Secret
Posted: October 5, 2011 Filed under: Behavior, Customer Service, HR, Teams | Tags: Communicator, customer service, Paul Sevcik, team Leave a comment »I didn’t know it was Customer Service Week until I read Paul Sevcik’s blog this morning. Since he’s our Client Services Manager, I can vouch that he lives and breathes this kind of customer service, and helps everyone on his team do the same.
Here’s what he said:
“As a customer, it can be a confusing consumer world out there. Was that item on sale this week or last? Is this the promotion code I need? What’s the special name this company uses for this item? Summary? Report? Credit? Debit? Phew!
“As a customer service professional, we are the gatekeepers. When a customer calls or walks in to our location, we are the face they see, the voice they hear, and the make-it-or-break-it guy/gal. When we have a bad day or we skip a training class or our manager is breathing down our necks, there is a strong possibility that we will relay those emotions into our work. It’s only natural because we try to associate with others.
“Try instead to walk a few steps in that customer’s shoes. Here are a few pointers that can make this a great Customer Service Week for us and our customers:
1 – LISTEN!
Sometimes what a customer says and what they mean is not aligned. There are plenty of reasons for this. Your industry may have particular lingo or the customer is angry and they just want to vent.
2 – Empathize with the customer.
Imagine yourself in the customer’s exact situation. If you had to call someone 5 times before a problem was resolved, would this set of circumstances annoy you?
3 – Empower the customer…just a smidgen.
We can’t give away the house, but we can definitely ask, “What can we do for you to help solve this situation?” I was asked this once at a Hyatt hotel when a mistake was made and the question really surprise me. I felt like I could ask for anything and then allow the company to respond to my request.
4 – Solve it!
Empty promises, missed calls, faulty reasoning…there’s plenty of that in our experience. Let’s reverse it by committing to a great standard of fixing the problem. Customers don’t like being shuffled around, so take care of it as best as you can. And if you can’t, get someone who can. Working with the customer sure is easier than working against them and this can lead to great loyalty and perhaps even customer advocates.
5 – Be rewarded.
Celebrate yourself. Go get a smoothie after work. Order lunch in for your customer service team. Hand out gold stickers. As a manager, you have amazing superpowers that allow your team to love you. Don’t squander those powers on territorial squabbles and fear. Do something that celebrates your team and reduces your turnover. After all, your team is your customer as well!”
Isn’t that how you – as a customer – want to be treated?
What Paul is saying is no big secret to the people who know him, but I’m going to tell it here, just in case you’ve never met him:
Customer Service is a Team Sport.
If you can’t team with your customer, you’ll never serve them – or your organization!
PS: Yes, Paul is a Communicator!
Leadership in 10 Not-So-Easy Lessons
Posted: September 24, 2011 Filed under: Behavior, Leadership, Teams | Tags: coherent, inspirational, interpersonal, leadership, Quora, skill, team 2 Comments »I just answered a question on Quora. You may not be familiar with this website, but I have a special place in my heart for it. People ask – and answer – questions there. Sometimes the questions are tough, sometimes they are touching. And sometimes I am drawn to answer them, before I think through exactly how I actually know the answer I’m giving.
So the question was, What are the top 10 interpersonal skills found in great leaders?
I was drawn to answer because of that key word: interpersonal. I didn’t even check to see who asked it.
Here is my answer (and the first one should come as no surprise):
- They are team players.
- They are coherent (neither rigid not diffuse) in all their interactions with others.
- Depending on what they are leading, they are either highly inspirational, in which case people are drawn to follow them and their vision, or they are excellent at shepherding people toward the goal. Occasionally you find people who are good at both.
- They take initiative, especially in innovation companies – they seize the moment, and go for the opportunity.
- They clearly get that other people have a point of view that may not be an exact mirror of theirs. (They might not like it, but they definitely get it.)
- They aren’t consumed by greed. Their ambition and desire to win extends to their team, organization, stakeholders, and especially their customers.
- They aren’t know-it-alls, even though they are generally smart.
- They know how to be able depend on other people – their trust is highly desired and valued.
- They respect all living things. (That includes silicon-based life forms.)
- They openly express their faith in their team, that together they can achieve the vision.
After I posted it, I had to question myself, as I often do: How do I know what I know?
And I realized that there is no easy path to leadership. That it can only come from surviving the great trials and challenges of life. That it cannot be described as a series of traits or bits and pieces of experience because, indeed, it’s a team sport. And it is the team that is the teacher.
Getting Engaged
Posted: July 17, 2011 Filed under: Behavior, Engagement, Teams | Tags: engagement, Gallup Q12, survey, team, The Gabriel Institute Leave a comment »Big-city high-rises often have exercise/pool areas that rival the best-equipped health clubs. I like to use the one in my building as a study. Late one evening, relaxing in the hot tub after a day of constant business activity, I was joined by two young professionals who were having a discussion – actually a debate – on the topic of ‘engagement’ surveys. One is a psych major turned HR manager and the other a product manager with a degree in marketing. I’m going to call them ‘Psych’ and ‘Product.’
Psych was asking Product if he could get her a copy of the Gallup Q12 – a set of questions that test for ‘employee engagement’* so she could use it to survey people in her company. Product pointed out that the Q12 is copyrighted material, and went on to lecture Psych about the value of such attitude surveys – or more accurately, the lack thereof. He must have taken great notes in class. He cited chapter and verse from product marketing literature, summing it up by stating categorically that although people might give you rave reviews, if they aren’t buying your product, who cares?
Psych was not convinced. She had been given an assignment by her boss, and was determined to follow through. I felt sorry for her.
If you are – or know – someone who feels compelled to measure ‘engagement,’ especially if the assignment has career-altering consequences, here’s a set of questions that you can offer without exposing them to copyright infringement litigation. Why am I doing this? Well, I’ve done 30 years of study and research on what makes great teams great, and I know there is a big difference between a person’s attitude about their place on a team (their level of engagement, if you will) and the underlying factors that influence ‘teaming’ behavior. The former will tell you about existing conditions. The latter will tell you why, and what you can do about it, thereby bridging the gap between attitudes and business results.
The technology we created, TGI Role-Based Assessment, measures the how and why of team synergy. If you’d like to know more, go to the Contact page at http://www.TheGabrielInstitute.com, say you read this, and you’ll get a special offer.
If you just want the survey questions, here they are. Tell people to rank them on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). If you want to credit Dr. Janice and send her a link to your results, you’ll be making her very happy. She might even send you something extra special.
The TGI ‘Team 7’:
- I know the vision, purpose, and/or goal for everything I do at work.
- When problems arise – of any kind – they are usually resolved in a reasonable and efficient way.
- My job responsibilities are aligned with my desire to serve my team and my organization.
- I get respect and recognition from others in a manner that is meaningful to me.
- My manager ‘gets’ me – consistently listens to me, values me, and encourages me to grow.
- My coworkers feel like a real team to me. We share the load, we support each other, we have fun together, and we get the job done.
- I may not have the most important job in the company, but I know that I make a significant contribution.
I’m sure you know what you want, so I don’t have to tell you the ‘right’ answers.
Oh, and just in case you are wondering what happened between the two young professionals in the hot tub…
I just heard they are getting engaged.
* An “engaged employee” is described, variously, as one who is fully involved in and enthusiastic about his or her work; who acts in a way that furthers the organization’s interests; who will ‘go the extra mile’ for colleagues and customers.
