Has "Telling" Crippled Your Leadership Effectiveness

Many leaders grow up knowing the answer or how to find the answer. It starts in early childhood and all the scaffolding in school and the workplace simply supports this model. You seek out the approval of others by getting the answer right. This feeling of approval becomes addictive.

If you are feeling that pull to be the smartest in the room, the most informed, the one ready to provide the answer, you must first admit you are suffering from this intoxicating high before you can discover what many great leaders have discovered. It is all about the question! Shouldn't you start asking?


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Two Fold Increase in Alignment, Engagement & Accountability

Visionary Leadership - Are you heading to the same place?

Yesterday, my daughter, who is driving with her permit, headed towards a destination she envisioned. She asked me what lane she should be in, and I answered, "The right." I detected a micro-change in her physiology, but said nothing. I then encouraged her to move over one more lane to the right. And she asked, "Why? That one exits and we want to go downtown." It was then I realized we had two different visions of where we were heading. I thought we were going to the middle-school campus and she thought we were heading to the upper school. How often does that happen in your organization--where people are trying to behave in alignment with the vision they have and it is different than yours? Ask questions to find out if you are all operating with the same vision. Assume little.

Are You An Impostor?

Many leaders in their quiet moments (who ever has those?) think that they are impostors. This is a phenomenon that prevents people from accepting their own accomplishments. They feel that somehow they bluffed, got lucky, or deceived others on their way to the top and never feel confident of the decisions they are making or how they are leading others. What would amaze many employees, and many citizens, is that this is not uncommon.
Perhaps more amazing is that most of these leaders are anything but impostors. They have worked hard, taken calculated risks, and made many smart decisions in their rise to the top. And despite their lack of personal confidence, they continue to be successful. Perhaps it is not in spite of, but because of, the way they see themselves that they are able to rely on others more easily for help and demonstrate great leadership by not going it alone.
If you are interested in learning if you you suffer from this and are not sure you can take a quick assessment at LaliMunro.

Meeting Tips: Do you give adequate time to the important things?

At the end of the year, I was shopping for a new laptop (I'm a bleeding-edge technology junkie) to take advantage of some tax benefits. I must have spent hours sorting through the labyrinth of possibilities. And part of this selection process was to maximize value. I put more time into this $2,000 purchase than I put into much more important decision I needed to make.

I will spend 30 minutes driving from Costco to Target to save $25 dollars on a new telephone, while I would easily spend $2,000 on an additional option on my car just to make the transaction easier.

There is a real gap for people and organizations in how they allocate time against the importance of a decision.

You may decide to acquire a company, rush to the purchase, and spend more money than you have made as an organization since you have been in business. Even if it took you ten years to make that much money, you might not contemplate the oddity of your expediency.

I was speaking with a superintendent of a very successful school district the other day over lunch. And he shared with me how school boards can take five minutes to discuss and approve a $50 million budget and then spend 30 minutes on a $1,200 item three weeks later. This is likely not surprising to any of you that have led an organization and handled a role with P & L responsibilities. It is still very disturbing.

When faced with minor decisions, move on. Don’t waste your time; it is too valuable! When faced with important, significant decisions, however, take the time to consider the impact even if it means walking away from the deal. What is often missed is all the regrettable outcomes that are unforeseen when you rush your decision making.

Every Rule Has an Exception. Especially this One!

For every rule, it seems like there’s at least one exception—and often many.

The rule in book publishing: If you have one success, repeat it until it is no longer profitable to do so! Your audience expects a certain style and expertise from you, and will generally be disappointed if their expectations aren’t met. And sequels often succeed (at least financially) if the first effort was well-received, so authors have substantial motivation to continue in the same vein.

The co-author of Just Asked Leadership, Eric Vrooman, and I have been looking for an interesting topic for our next leadership book. We could go deeper into the “how to” of Just Ask Leadership; we pretty much have all the content developed from the training program we created. But if you follow in the footsteps of others, it doesn’t really feel like your path.

We’re not only thinking about being exceptions to the rule, we’re thinking about writing on that very subject. What are notable exceptions to the rule? And, more specifically, when is it a good idea to break from convention?

I watched a TV drama recently where a genetic specialist, who was charged with helping people get pregnant, raised her daughter to be pro-life. When her fifteen-year-old daughter gets pregnant, however, she pleads with her to get an abortion. Abortion is, of course, a polarizing subject—too big and weighty to reduce to a single case—but clearly there was an exception here to the genetic specialist’s rule: every life is sacred and must be protected at all costs.

The other day, my daughter was writing a paper for school regarding her feelings about WWII. She began the paper by explaining her rule: War is bad. Then came the exception: When a psychopath takes control of a country and attempts to take control of the world forcibly, war is necessary. My other daughter has a teacher who gives a backpack full of homework on a daily basis and expects it to be done on time. Does this rule apply to her, the teacher, when it comes time to meeting her own grading deadlines? Regrettably, no.

Rick Diamond (CEO Breathe Laser) and I had rules about expenses for our employees at ACI, and we had exceptions to the rule for the owners: not a very good idea, we learned.

What are the consequences to violating rules—conventional ones and the ones you set for yourself or loved ones? When do exceptions reveal problems with the rule and when do they reveal problems with the rule’s followers or enforcers? And what exactly is at stake? Respect, certainly. But does the pregnant daughter respect her mother less (for violating her own teachings) or more (for demonstrating her love and concern for her daughter)?

To what degree are rules the product of values and beliefs?

What is the point of having rules if exceptions are bound to come up?

What rules do you follow, what exceptions do you make, and how do you justify them?

We’re still feeling out if this subject is book-worthy, and would love to hear your thoughts and stories.

Meeting Tips: Time is Money

If you earn $50,000 per year, your per-minute rate is approximately $0.40 cents.

$100K $0.80
$200K $1.60
$300K $2.20
$1 Million $8.00

These figures start adding up. The total cost of a meeting for a small-to-midsize organization might be $1,000 per hour. In larger companies, the compensation packages of the leadership team alone can reach $10,000-plus an hour.

Why is it important to know these figures? Simply put, time is money, and per-minute figures help clarify whether a meeting is worth it, how long it should be, and who should attend. The per-minute figures help ensure that the organization's most valuable employees are not wasted--not even for a minute.

Are you and your team clear about the purpose of the meeting? Has the agenda been properly scrutinized and honed? Are the meetings kept on track? Is it essential for everyone to be present for the entire meeting? These are questions you ought to ask, so that the cost doesn't exceed the potential benefits.

When is the Right Time to Tell a Secret? (Shhhh don't tell anyone)

How can you be telling me this now? I was counting on you! If you had only told me this when you first knew! I can't believe you waited this long!

It's never fun learning a secret that's been kept from you.

It's not fun holding onto a secret either that will leave others (coworkers, friends, loved ones) disappointed and, in all likelihood, angry.

When, if ever, is it a good idea to keep secrets? And when is the best time to reveal them?

Let's locate this discussion in a few specific scenarios.

Scenario #1: You intend to leave the company in six months and have begun preparations to move into another state and workplace. When is the right time to tell your boss you're leaving? Do you give your boss two-weeks notice, a month, or more?

To what degree does the relationship you have with your current employer matter? If it's an adversarial relationship, you might be tempted to wait until the last minute to reveal your secret, but that's bound to create even more bad blood (and impugn your reputation). But does that mean you should tell your current employer the minute you know for sure you're leaving? What if that resulted in your firing and several months without paychecks?

Even if you're in good standing with your current employer, does honesty serve both parties? Will it lead to an uncomfortable six months?

Scenario #2: You are the CEO and owner of a business, and you plan on retiring in three years. You've begun your 5-year strategic plan with your staff. When do you tell your senior team and then the whole company that you're leaving?

Scenario #3: You're going on maternity leave and you don't intend on returning to work afterward. When would be the right time to let your company know?

"When is the right time?" This question has bothered me for years! The scenarios above all revolve around leaving an organization. There are many more secrets people keep from their coworkers and employers naturally, but few have as much impact. The end of a relationship--even a professional one--dredges of emotions and issues of worth and appreciation.

A few factors to consider:

#1: There's a window in which secrets can be revealed without violating trust between individuals. It's a short period of time really. A week maybe.

#2: The longer the secret is kept, the more likely trust will be violated.

#3: The longer a secret is kept, the harder it is to know when to reveal it. You may feel like the window has passed.

#4: When a secret is revealed, the party that's been kept in the dark will want to know how long the secret has been held--so that they can better assess the level of duplicity/dishonesty and their interactions with you during that period.

#5: Mental fatigue comes from holding onto a secret--and from creating lies or untruths to preserve it.

#6: How much will you need to rely on others to maintain your secret? Are they capable of doing so? And is it fair to ask them to do so?

#7: If you tell one person, do you need to tell everyone?

#8: Do you tell people individually or collectively?

There's a reason why people keep secrets! Revealing a secret isn't simple. It involves a lot of calculations, which is why, I suspect, people get paralyzed and fail to make a decision. Then time passes and they feel it's too late to reveal the truth.

What do you think is the right thing to do? When has this happened to you? Please leave your comments and see if we can get to greater clarity on this...

The “Double McTwist 1260” Leadership Model

Tell me you did not just overflow with pride as the world watched Olympian Shawn White dance with excitement as he stood on top of the halfpipe in Vancouver this week. He learned he won gold before he’d even taken his final run.

Live coverage allowed the world to be up close and intimate with the processes and decisions that were being made between Shawn and his coaches. Why had they come to Vancouver? To win gold for the second time, right? Or was it about performance and delivering the best product? "Once you're at the top of the pipe," he said, "everything changes." Quickly the decision was made that the gold medal level-winning run that he’d delivered earlier simply was not enough, "I always felt like I wanted to put everything on the table. That's what that last run was about: showing everyone in the world on this big stage what I could do." Despite all the emotion of the moment, his values and the values of the team drove them to the simple conclusion: Go for it, put down the move, and stick the landing.

I see patterns here that show up in how other good leaders conduct themselves daily. Expecting exceptional performance and celebrating achievements are very important, but Just Ask Leaders look beyond the current situation for the questions that will push themselves and others to the next level, discovering new challenges that will elevate them and their teams to a higher sense of accomplishment.

Shawn rose to the new challenge. He soared into the pipe, generated adrenaline with his first four moves, and then nailed the Double McTwist 1260, with big air, full rotation, and a clean landing. Saucy! Later, Shawn said: “"I could have just run straight down the middle of the pipe, which would have been cool. I took the other route."

As a leader, how often do you consider the “other route”?

Consider including the Double McTwist 1260 in your leadership model.

Shorten the Sales Cycle - Michael Boylan Accelerant - Book Review

Book Review Michael Boylan-Accelerants
Michael Boylan's book, Accelerants, masterfully delivers a methodology to ascend from the trench that was, for most, 2009. He explains how to increase top line sales, compress sales cycle, and reduce the cost of sale.

Does everyone on your sales team believe in the benefits that your offerings provide? How does their level of buy-in affect their ability to close business in a timely manner? How much is an extended sale cycle costing you? These questions and more are addressed in Boylan's book.

Accelerants shows you how to shorten the sales-time-to-close rate. Start by offering products with a clear and unique value proposition. Clients want vendors to be confident, decisive, and articulate about how much the offering will benefit their organization. Your sales team will be more confident, decisive, and articulate if they truly buy-in to the product and the unique value proposition. They will hold the line, close the deal faster, more efficiently, and with less cost.

To learn more, please join us for CO2's February 23 installment of "Eat the Book, a CEO Roundtable Discussion." Michael Boylan will be on hand and provide the topic of discussion.

Michael Sandel - Harvard Professor Teaching Justice

Two summers ago my wife and I attended the Aspen Institutes Ideas Festival with my mother. One of the many great take a ways was a keynote dialogue with Michael Sandel in typical and great Socratic fashion. He opened with the well know Trolley Dilemma.

"A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are 5 people who have been tied to the track by the mad philosopher. Fortunately, you can flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should you flip the switch?

A utilitarian view asserts that it is obligatory to flip the switch. According to simple utilitarianism, flipping the switch would be not only permissible, but, morally speaking, the better option (the other option being no action at all).
While simple utilitarian calculus seeks to justify this course of action, some non-utilitarians may also accept the view. Often the problem is stated with a mad philosopher initiating the dilemma. Opponents might assert that, since moral wrongs are already in place in the situation, flipping the switch constitutes a participation in the moral wrong, making one partially responsible for the death when otherwise the mad philosopher would be the sole culprit. Additionally, opponents may point to the incommensurability of human lives.
It might also be justifiable to consider that simply being present in this situation and being able to influence its outcome constitutes an obligation to participate. If this were the case, then deciding to do nothing would be considered an immoral act.
Some critics argue that the actual fact of producing an all inclusive moral theory, capable of addressing with clarity such staged or otherwise very real dilemmas, might not be attainable after all.

And...

As before, a trolley is hurtling down a track towards five people. You are on a bridge under which it will pass, and you can stop it by dropping a heavy weight in front of it. As it happens, there is a very fat man next to you - your only way to stop the trolley is to push him over the bridge and onto the track, killing him to save five. Should you proceed?

Resistance to this course of action seems strong; most people who approved of sacrificing one to save five in the first case do not approve in the second sort of case. This has led to attempts to find a relevant moral distinction between the two cases.
One clear distinction is that in the first case, one does not intend harm towards anyone - harming the one is just a side-effect of switching the trolley away from the five. However, in the second case, harming the one is an integral part of the plan to save the five." - Wikipedia

What Michael Sandel is teaching us is the difference between Consequential Morality and Categorical Morality.  Consequential Morality is when the consequences of actions, making morality inseparable from context. i.e. when we are given certain events our circumstances can change how we act - the trolley driver diverting the train to kill one to save five, verses Catagorical Morality is always described as principally being a function of how an act impacts the affected i.e. in the trolley dilemma killing 1 to save 5 is wrong.

10 Questions to Ask to move to Results Oriented Work Environment (ROWE)

Previous Interview Part 1
From interview with Cali & Jody

Gary Cohen: What are your top 10 questions you ask your clients to move them forward toward ROWE? The questions organizations need to ask themselves in order to move toward ROWE are based on the 13 Guideposts:

Cali & Jody
1) Are people in your organization able to make common sense decisions about what they work on and what they don’t work on, as long as they reach their outcomes? [And not just the “senior” people, but everyone]
2) Do you have core hours? Why?
3) Is every meeting in your organization optional? EVERY meeting?
4) What time is it on the clock when people are “coming in late” to your office? What time is it when they’re “coming in early”?
5) How many hours do you expect people to work – in a day? In a week? Why?
6) If someone is going to not work on a Thursday, do they submit vacation time?
7) How are your employees available when they’re not working?
8) Who do your employees need to tell if they’re going to leave the office for 3 hours and go to a movie?
9) How clear and measurable are your employees’ goals and expectations?
10) How do you know if your employees are reaching their outcomes?

Gary Cohen: As a leader what are the questions that I was likely asking before Rowe to align, engage, motivate, & hold co-workers accountable? And what do those questions change to in the new environment?

Cali & Jody: As a leader, there are questions you might be asking today that you think are engaging and motivating employees, and helping them to hold each other accountable. However, the ROWE mindset might change them. Here are some examples:

Pre-ROWE: “Let’s get everyone together next Friday for a barbecue.” “Let’s plan an off-site teambuilding event.”

ROWE: Team socialization is driven by the team, not the manager. If a team is experiencing low engagement in the work, it won’t be solved by spending more time together – it could, in fact, make the situation worse!

Pre-ROWE: “Let’s congratulate Eric for the great job he did on his last project. He actually gave up Thanksgiving dinner with his family and came in last weekend to meet his deadlines.”

ROWE: “Let’s congratulate Eric for the great job he did on his last project. His outcome was to deliver a system for delivering our product that would improve customer satisfaction by 10 points. The system he created has done just that!” [No mention of time, hours, or effort – the praise is for the end outcome]

Pre-ROWE: “I’ve noticed that you’ve been falling short on your expectations over the last few months. Let’s have you come back into the office vs. working at home and see if things improve.”

ROWE: “I’ve noticed that you’ve been falling short on your expectations over the last few months. What can I do to assist you? Are you clear on the expectations?” [No reference to where the work is happening]

Continue Interview

Related Blog Posts:
Why Work Sucks! And How to Fix it. Interview with Cali & Jody - Part I
Why Work Sucks! And How to Fix it. Interview with Cali & Jody - Part 2
10 Questions to ask to begin a Results Oriented Work Environment - Part 3
13 Guide Posts to a Results Oriented Work Environment - Part 4

The last ski boot I will ever wear!--Innovation stops when the imagination ends

“$1,700 for ski boots! OMFG, that is three times as much as I have ever spent on a pair of boots!” That was my inner monologue after getting fit for the most amazing ski boots I have ever worn. These are not the Lexus of boots, they are the Ferrari! They are high performance and great comfort--a combination you rarely find together. When making a turn, you simply anticipate the direction of the skies, and your legs and feet move in synchronization with the thought. You change course with no effort, no resistance, no delay. You become the boot, the ski, the turn.

These feet have been skiing for 44 of 48 years. They have been in leather-laced boots, rear-entry boots, light-weight boots, pro-form boots (from the days of teaching skiing), and boots that have traveled to ski mountains all around the world. Skiing is part of these feet’s identity and yet for some reason the owner of these feet needed to justify the purchase of such high performance boot to his friend by saying, “These are the last boots I will every wear!”

He said, “Don’t you say that. Take it back! What are you talking about? The last boot you will ever wear….I am going to go out and buy you a new pair of boots if you don’t take it back.” It was clear I hit a nerve. Kayle did not want to believe that our ski years were limited to one last pair of boots. Nor did he think that his friend, me, would start offering statements on the back end of life.

After great discussion, I conceded. It was pretty easy to persuade me. Kayle knows that I find it difficult to work with people who do not have facile minds. He shared a story of a skier that he recently saw wearing laced boots and straight-edged skies. The skier said, “They don’t make skies like this anymore.” Kayle thought, “That’s right! They make them so much better, more responsive, more dynamic and way more forgiving.”

The innovations in ski equipment have been amazing in the past 10 years, and they’re likely to be even greater in the years to come. Innovation stops when the imagination ends. Our minds become rigid when we do not increase the amount and accelerate the pace of change that we can tolerate.

Are you of a mind that this is the last job you will every have? The last upgrade I will ever need on my system? The last technique I will learn to improve my sales? The last business book I will ever read? If so, you better have a great answer! And I’d like to hear what it is, so please share it in the comments of this post.

Don’t let this be the last anything that you will do, own, or be! Keep adapting, keep facile, and be young!

Role Models and Resolutions: Learning from Former Struggling Learners

by Mary-Dean Barringer, CEO, All Kinds of Minds

It's hard to resist the temptation to make a few New Year's resolutions each year—resolutions that typically focus on something we to change to improve ourselves. We look to people we admire for their success (whatever that might mean to us—popularity, wealth, fitness, power, balance) for our inspiration. Rarely do we contemplate that a role model's current success may have resulted from his or her own resolve to conquer a lifetime of challenges. Yet for so many of today's successful adults, the road involved taking a long-haul view—and looking to others for help over hurdles along the way.

I've learned a great deal about resolve from many of the successful individuals who have been involved with All Kinds of Minds. Two individuals in particular come to mind. For both, as students who struggled in school, a promising adult life seemed elusive. Both of them have written terrific books that can inspire those who are helping students "stuck" in a learning struggle chart a roadmap for long-term success.

Paul Orfalea's story has been highlighted by Fortune magazine as an example of the many CEOs who struggled with learning as children. Paul, who founded Kinko's, recounts his journey from a student on whom most educators gave up to successful businessman in his autobiography, Copy This! Paul also graciously agreed to reflect on this journey in the foreword to All Kinds of Minds' forthcoming book, Schools for All Kinds of Minds: Boosting Student Success by Embracing Learning Variation." (Read more about the book here.) click to finish article

iPhone App Just Ask Leadership

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Reputation is built slow and it degrades at light speed

Paula Prahl, Senior VP of Communications, Public Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility at Best Buy, said, "It is so difficult to measure reputation because it moves forward so very slowly and it is dramatic how fast you can lose it on one small issue."

Glassdoor.com find out what you're worth

Glass Door is a website that will help you know what you should be paid and what you should pay your team. And much more... Check it out!

All Employees Need Media Training According to Chris Brogan

GeoTagged, [N44.86306, E93.30562]

It use to be true that executives needed media training, but not anymore. With every other person carrying a video device, all your employees are likely to be showing up on some blog or media outlet. What opportunity can this create for your organization?

Chris Brogan - Trust Agents speaking on Reputation in social media

I am not a professional marketer. I see social media as a way of saying "I see you". It is really about recognizing there is someone on the other side of the conversation. Recognition involves three simple steps:

1) Listening. The bulk of people who engage in social media are doing so to talk first, listen second (if at all). If you demonstrate that you're really listening, others will value that skill. Do a Google search on "grow bigger ears" for further info.
2) Connecting. There's a limit to the number of people you can maintain significant social relationships with--it's called the Dunbar number (and it's generally agreed to be 150 people). But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to connect with people outside your traditional network. Be the person that helps the competitors. It will be remembered. Don't think that the customer is there for you. That is the old media model. Look at these people and ask, "What do they need?" You don't have to start a community from scratch. You just have to participate in one. Be part of the community and be helpful. How can we equip people? Stop, collaberate, and listen.
3) Publishing. If all you do is listen, people will start to wonder if you're trustworthy. Everyone gathered around the campfire has a responsibility to share at times.

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