Leadership on Speed

silence is not always golden

One of the core challenges many people often have in the business environment involves the simple act of knowing when to use their voice - of knowing when to  speak up in order to make a difference in their space.  

How often have you been in a meeting discussing a business situation and a thought crossed your mind which sat on your tongue?  In the span of mere seconds, you surveyed the participants, heard your idea spoken, evaluated the perception (Is it the "right" idea? Will it sound "smart"?  Will this make me sound competent or inept?  Will it sound too rudimentary?) and after internally evaluating all of the possible outcomes, you decided against speaking.

Invariably, minutes later, someone else shares the same thought you had on your mind and they are praised for their great insight and contribution.

You, meanwhile, are mentally kicking yourself....

So how do you decide when the time is right?

In a recent Conversation Starter blog post, Nilofer Merchant over at HBR identified three critical times when speaking up is not only valuable, but necessary:

1.  When it will improve the results of the group

2.  When it gives others permission to speak their truth

3.  When the costs of silence are too high

I couldn't agree more.  For her full blog post, click here.

Continue to be great!

 

moving towards "count-on-ability"

The reality is that as human beings, we want to be trustworthy which means we also want to be accountable (or rather "count-onable").  Have you ever met someone who aspired not to be?  The challenge is that somewhere along the line, we learned that it was "ok" to break our word.  That the world is, in fact, so accepting of it that we no longer feel bad when it occurs.  We have confused the "promise" of getting something done with the reality of completing the task.

What we don't realize however is that every single time we fail to keep our word, we chip away at our own integrity.  This applies to our public promises and almost more importantly, the private ones.  After all, who will know when we break a promise to ourselves?  Who will know that I actually wanted to get that report in 2 days early?  As long as I get it in on time, my boss will be happy.

But someone really does know.

That's right. 

YOU.

And try as you might, you cannot hide from yourself.

So how can anyone else trust you when you know that you can't even keep your word to yourself? We're all such frauds!

The good news is that every day is an opportunity to practice new behaviors:

1. Only make commitments that you can deliver.  If your boss pushes you on a "no-can-do" deliverable, have the courage to say no and discuss the challenges.  This gives your boss the opportunity to understand how you are prioritizing and delivering your work so that you can come to a mutual decision on something else that may have to give in order to meet the request.

2. If you commit, deliver.  NO MATTER WHAT.  We have come to accept apathy as the norm.  Set yourself apart from the crowd by actually delivering on your commitments.  Not only will you be a super-star, you will feel better about yourself and your work!

3.  Start slow.  Set yourself up to win. If you have historically had difficulty keeping your word, don't make TEN promises today.  Make ONE and keep it all costs.  If you can't keep it, assess why and move on.  Sometimes there really are valid reasons for missing a deadline.

4.  Don't beat yourself up for missing the mark.  You're practicing new behavior so you will not be perfect.  Notice why you didn't meet your goal and begin in the next moment to do better.

Imagine what a shift we could make in our workplaces if everyone from the top to the bottom made a renewed commitment to their personal level of integrity and accountability!

What could this mean for your organization?  If you want to learn more about our programs, click HERE.

Continue to be great! 

holding a higher standard for personal accountability

I was reading a blogpost recently that spoke to the issue of accountability, specifically on the leaders responsibility to hold people accountable for what they said they would do.

I was disappointed....

While there is truth in the old adage that "people will do what they know gets checked", I'm not sure if that equates to people being accountable.  More often than not it becomes more about fear-based motivation rather than accountability...

While that is a place to start, I contend that where we end is coaching people to greater personal accountability. Period. 

How's THAT for a concept?

For far too long, leaders and managers have given too little credit for employees acting...acting...well, acting grown.

The result? 

Micro-management.

It isn't that leaders WANT to micro-manage.  It is that they have come to believe they MUST in order to ensure their own survival. 

Are you ready to create a culture of personal accountability?  These tips offer a place to start:

1.  Be the model.  In demonstrating a high level of personal accountability, those that come in contact with you better understand the importance of personal accountability.

2.  Deliver your expectations and then stick to them.  In other words, if you set a check-in meeting for a week from Tuesday, don't call every day to see how things are going..

3.  That means, Trust.  A scary word I know but in the beginning as you build trust, set your check-ins appropriately to ensure that the work is getting accomplished.

4.  Coach up.  Always coach-up to the standard you desire.  It can be a long, tough, time consuming route but well worth it in the end, especially when you develop competent, trustworthy, consistent and dependable staff who keep their word or communicate appropriately if there is a problem before something blows up.

5.  Re-assess the people and the process.  Don't sell your people short.  Everyone has it within them to be accountable and responsible.  Associates at all levels feel more valued when they are trusted and respected and they do better work.  If someone can't get with the program, it may be time to re-assess whether they are on the right bus (circa Jim Collins in Good to Great).

In the next post, we'll further discuss why lack of accountability has become so profound and additional tips on developing greater accountability in ourselves and others.

Continue to be great!

why can't everyone just play nice?

Undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges (and the greatest downfalls for many) in the work environment is dealing with conflict...and, unfortunately, it's an area in which most lessons are learned posthumously (in other words, AFTER the damage has been done).

Yep. Been there, done that.

If you wish everyone would just "play nice", think again.  While not all workplace conflict is good, some conflict is actually necessary to push the organization past it's own boundaries.  How boring (and limited) would an organization be if everyone always agreed with one another? 

But unless you come from a large family (like, 5+ siblings kind of big), chances are your conflict management skills could use some work.  Yet, most organizations only reserve conflict management classes for managers or high-potential employees leaving everyone else to fend for themselves.  The challenge with this approach is that most organizations see conflict management as a "leadership skill" instead of a people skill.  "Leaders" learn to manage conflict amongst their teams rather than the team members learning to manage their ability to resolve conflict amongst and within themselves.

Given that, I thought it would be helpful to share some rules for "Management Conflict" published by BNET (although I respectfully submit they apply to everyone, not just managers):

1.  Stay calm.

2.  Attack the problem, not the person.

3.  Be open and honest.

4.  Don't lose perspective.

Click here for the rest of the list.

Continue to be great!

is emotional intelligence hype or reality?

At Leadership on Speed LLC, our "raison d'etre" is to support business success at all levels through a core understanding of how individuals "show up" and are experienced in the work place - in other words, one's level of self-awareness.  From a place of self-awareness, we can then work and train on communication, leadership, integrity, interpersonal skills and a host of commonly called "soft skills" that are not simply important, but critical to long-term success, in business and in life.

Interestingly enough, even with Daniel Goleman's groundbreaking work in Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the criticality of these skills in business success, organizations (as a general rule) still give little time or attention to supporting, training and developing these aspects of current and future leaders.

First of all, in our work at Leadership on Speed, we train leaders at every level but we define leadership not as positional or authoritative but rather we train for all associates to "lead where you stand".  In other words, every human being has the capability to lead from any position within an organization - to exert positive influence across the organization in order to accomplish the mission. 

Goleman's extensive research clearly demonstrates that while IQ and technical skills are important, they are not the driving factor in success. Rather they are considered "threshold capabilities" - meaning that one clearly must be technically competent in order to have some degree of success but many of us have been in environments where simply "average" individuals have successfully moved up the ranks while someone who was considered quite brilliant, incisive and "high potential" has failed to live up to the hype. 

The difference?  While intellect and cognitive skills such as big-picture thinking and long-term vision are particularly important to success, emotional intelligence proves to be TWICE as important as the other skills for jobs at all levels. 

THE GOOD NEWS:  Research shows that people can, if they take the right approach, develop their emotional intelligence.

On this critical learning area, we will commit more time on our blog in 2010 to support you, our readers, in better understanding what these skills are and how you can improve them for your own success.  We would also love to get your thoughts and feedback. Do you agree that emotional intelligence can or does distinguish those who are most successful?  What is your personal and business experience with EI?  Do you consider yourself to have a high emotional quotient already?  Has it made a difference in your success?

Here's to an amazing 2010!

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

i'm prefect. oops, i mean...perfect!

In last week's post, I shared with you one of the biggest impediments to success in business and in life is procrastination.

For many, procrastination is not just a hurdle..

it's a MOUNTAIN.

So this week, I wanted to extend last weeks post by discussing the SECOND major reason that people procrastinate:

The quest for perfection

Stated another way, we want to wait for the "perfect" conditions to make change or take that next step.  Many ordinary and really good people are caught up in an idealistic "perfect world syndrome".  They never create real wealth for themselves or their families because they wait for perfect conditions (which don't exist) before they advance toward their dreams.  I know of one business owner that purchased a home based franchise and spent FIVE years "getting everything in order" so that when he started, everything would be "perfect".  I guess it will comes as no surprise to hear that the business never got off the ground....

Sound like anyone you know?

This business owner represents just one of thousands of examples of how perfection can be a dream killer.  You and I both know that a "perfect world" has never and will never exist but the quest for unachievable perfect conditions provides the opportunity to make-up wonderful excuses for not taking action and ultimately, responsibility.  To add insult to injury, we can get so attached to everything being perfect, we don't understand it when others bring it to our attention! After all, we just want to do things "right", right?

Why do otherwise smart and even brilliant people get so stuck?

Fear has something to do with the quest for perfection as well but additionally, this particular breed of procrastinator is also risk-averse.  Instead of managing reasonable risks, they are unreasonable and want to avoid ALL risks.

Conversely, wealthy people don't wait for conditions to be perfect.  When they smell an opportunity that makes sense, they take action.  In fact, they have a bias for action.  Action could be starting a full- or part-time venture but it could also mean putting your hat in the ring for that big promotion or taking the job at that small start-up with big plans instead of being "safe" in the background of that big company with more perks..

The bottom line this week?

Don't get stuck in the perfection quagmire.  Make a calculated choice and move! Most good opportunities come covered in a layer of challenges and hard work - far from perfect but capable of providing substantial wealth.  At the end of day, it's about taking intelligent action versus INaction.

Have you ever heard a story about a wealthy procrastinator?

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

can i put it off just one more day?

The older I get and the more I coach, I realize that there are truly no absolutes in life except this:

There are many ways to avoid success in life and one of the surest of these is procrastination.

I know most of us don't like to admit it, but most of us procrastinate from time to time.  Yes, it's true.  In fact, some of us are down right pros at it!  We put off filing our taxes until the last day (guilty), never get around to certain work and don't clean up "messes" in our lives.

Unfortunately, procrastinators end up sabotaging themselves and their dreams.  They very often put artificial obstacles and excuses in their own path.  I know, I hear it all too often....

So, why procrastinate?

One major reason for procrastination is FEAR - fear of change, fear of the unknown or fear of failure.   Fear is a fundamental part of the human existence but the problem with fear is that we can become so attached to our fear that we believe that our fears are "truth".  The real truth is that most of the "mental demons" we create do not exist and will never materialize.  Perhaps you are familiar with the acronym for fear?

F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real

In order to achieve breakthrough levels of success and fulfillment with anything in life, you must learn to accept being uncomfortable.  In fact, I'll go so far as to say that it's necessary to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  If not, it becomes much more difficult to adopt the empowering mindsets and actions required to leave your current situation.  If you don't break out of your comfort zone, your life down the road will look nearly identical to how it does today... 

If you find yourself inwardly screaming, "No WAY!" then welcome to the first stage of a new reality.  Don't look around in six months, a year or even five years and find out that, sadly, nothing in your life has changed.  Otherwise, you'll still be working at the same job, doing the same thing, making the same salary and probably reporting to the same boss.

As the new year comes upon us, declare that you won't wait one more day.  Decide what your future looks like and begin to take steps to make it happen. 

Do just ONE thing today to create a different future.

Tomorrow do just ONE more thing.

The next day do just ONE more...and soon you'll create momentum you could not have dreamed possible and living the life you were meant to.

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

modeling character and competence

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.  Without it, no real success is possible no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army or in an office.  
-Dwight David Eisenhower

Several weeks back, I wrote a post on integrity (The Integrity Test).  I wanted to follow it up with some observations taken from Stephen Covey's The 8th Habit which gave me additional perspective that I wanted to share with you.

I think it's safe to say that we all desire to work with people of integrity.  It is also safe to say that 60-70% of the workforce who has been employed for at least five years can identify at least one situation they have witnessed in the workplace in which someone (probably a manager or leader) has not demonstrated integrity and for which there was no repercussion.  It is worth noting that in a survey of over 54,000 people asked to identify the essential qualities of a leader, integrity was by far, the number one response. 

I realized in reading The 8th Habit that this issue of integrity (or lack of it) really boils down to a failure of character.  And, according to Stephen Covey, 90 percent of all leadership failures are character failures.

Where leaders lack character, trust cannot grow and trust is the key ingredient to all relationships be they business or personal.  So if you want to make a difference as a leader in your organization and in your life, practice integrity.  Keep your word.  Only make promises you can keep.  Don't do anything in private that you wouldn't want made public.  If you make a mistake, come clean. 

One man cannot do right in one department of
life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any
other department.  Life is one indivisible whole.
- Mahatma Gandhi

We are all human beings and sometimes life gets in the way of who we want to be.  Begin with yourself and notice the domino affect it has on those around you.  It isn't about being perfect, it's about being the best you can be. 

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!   

the dog ate my homework

This post was inspired by my recent frustrations over getting some marketing work done.  I wanted to brand and rebrand some of my programs and I had a great marketing guy referred to me.  Great at least when it comes to design work, not so great when it comes to getting his deliverables out on time....

Once John was hired (and yes, the names have been changed to protect the innocent) and we were in the middle of branding, I would email or call him about a certain aspect of the project and it would literally take him 4 or 5 DAYS (yes, D-A-Y-S) to get back to me. BUT here's the rub: He would always have what he thought was a good story about why it took him so long.

Don't get it twisted...

A good story does NOT equal getting something done.

It's like the joke about the dog eating my homework.  We always laugh at it because we know that as ludicrous and unrealistic as the story sounds, the deliverer (the student) THINKS it's a great story that EQUALS getting the homework done and thereby lets them off the hook.  And as much as we smile or laugh, WE DO THE EQUIVALENT EVERYDAY.

I know I promised to call you back but my boss called me in the office.
I know I promised to take you to the mall but I had a busy week and I'm really tired.

I know I promised to ________________  BUT __________________. (fill in the blanks with your favorite story).

So everytime you want to back out of something or it becomes inconvenient to meet your deadline because the dog ate your homework, remember that a good story does not equal getting something done.

I know life happens and occasionally, there really are extenuating circumstances (but not every day).  Here's a tip:  If you KNOW that you won't meet your commitment then simply renegotiate the deadline up front.  Much of my angst would have been alleviated if John had given me the story on the front end and rescheduled his deadline as opposed to missing the deadline and disappearing.  THAT is not a good strategy in work or in life. 

And John?  Well, he is now my EX-marketing guy.  We finished the project for which he was hired and I LOVE the result BUT I would never refer him out.  His inconsistencies overshadowed his design brilliance.

It's a sad thing really....

By the way, how do YOU show up?

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!

yes, your money can make money no matter how much (or little) you think you make

I am here to tell you that my husband and I have recently finished reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad and I could hardly wait to share this post. (and YES, I know it has been around forever but I can't read everything at once!).  Ok?  --- so back to Rich Dad, Poor Dad..

If you haven't read it, move it to the top of your list.

If you have read it, but haven't applied it - read it again.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a "make sense" book that offers excellent insight to the idea of leveraging yourself. 

It will create a shift in thinking and I'm here to tell you that after reading that book, I realized that my insight on leveraging didn't go deep enough.  It is easy to think about leveraging your assets when you own a business - you hire more employees and you create systems but how do you leverage assets if you have a job?

THAT is the question that author Robert Kiyosaki so eloquently answers.  Interestingly enough, I consider myself fairly financially literate and had already subscribed to many of the principals he lays out in the book but what was missing for me was the clarity of WHY.   I was fortunate enough to stumble on some things by accident but I am also very clear that had I operated with the financial intentionality of these principals even ten years ago, my family would definitely be completely living off of our investments by now....

Rather than risk getting too complex here, just do yourself a favor and buy this book!  You should definitely read this book:

• Whether you make $20,000 a year or $200,000
• If you think you have NO "extra" money to invest
• If you would like to run your own life someday
• If you like dealing with finances but aren't sure where to start

You were born to be great.

YES, you can!