Archives 2020

To some, this entire year feels like a storm of bad news. As a leader, you’re leading in a crisis and during unprecedented times. Naturally, world events might get to you. But are you taking this out on your team? They deserve better than you being an ass.

I have been blogging about leadership for a few years now. I draw the subject matter from my observations of other leaders, the questions readers and clients ask, and from my own experiences and mistakes. To protect the privacy of others – and my ego – I usually veil names and circumstances when I relate a story … but this one is all about me!

My own experience leading in a crisis

I spent a few years leading a public-sector organization. Things were going very well until a series of events pushed me into a place where I wasn’t sure who I could trust. I felt many of the people I was working with weren’t acting ethically and I began to feel undermined, paranoid, and under attack.

On the ‘Fight, Flight or Freeze’ spectrum, I do not fly or freeze well. When threatened, my instinctive reaction to fight. In that setting and at that time, I felt my temper becoming quicker to light. I was in such a state that I once slammed a door so hard it nearly came off its hinges.

Not one of my finest moments.

Maybe, maybe my reaction was understandable. But it was unacceptable and inexcusable.

My personal and professional expectation is to hold myself to a higher standard. In times of uncertainty and adversity and crisis, any signs of leadership immaturity will make your employees feel unsafe and insecure.

I needed to be the paragon of composure and not an ass.

So, if you’re leading in a crisis, let me save you from these same mistakes.

Here are seven ways to maintain leadership composure during the most pressure-packed moments.

Get A Grip On Your Emotions

Grow up!

You are the adult in the room so learn not to wear your emotions on your sleeve. When you allow emotions to get in the way, your employees interpret this as you not being objective and too passionate about the situation.

Balance expressing concern and care while maintaining your composure.

Read more about demonstrating leadership even in tough times here.

Try Not To Take It Personally

There are lots of reasons why decisions and circumstances don’t always play out logically.

Remain calm and never start thinking that your moral indignation will justify your actions.

Keep Positive

Employees are always watching your actions, behaviour, relationships, and overall demeanour.

You must maintain a positive mental attitude and manage a narrative that keeps their employees inspired and hopeful–even when you’re leading in a crisis.

This is where your leadership and resolve can shine. Stay strong, smile, and demonstrate authentic compassion and empathy.

Remain Courageous

Fear is contagious. So, act like a duck! Calm on top and paddling like hell underwater.

No matter what kind of crisis you’re leading in, project a sense of steady confidence. That way, you will instill it in others.

Remain fearless and cool to communicate a sense of composure to those you lead.

For more on moral courage, click here.

Be Decisive

Maintain your composure and never show doubt.

Speak with conviction, confidence, and authority. This gives employees the comfort that everything is under control.

Be Accountable

You have chosen to assume leadership responsibility, and it’s more important than ever when you’re leading in a crisis. So take the required steps to problem solve before things get out of hand.

You Got This

The most effective way to maintain composure during challenges is to act like a leader.

You have solved complex problems many times before. Knuckle onto this one with the same compassion, elegance, and grace.

It’s easy to lose composure during times of crisis if you let worry turn into fear. By remaining calm and in control you can step back, critically evaluate what is going on.

Your composure puts those you lead at ease and creates a safe and secure workplace culture where no one needs panic in the face of adversity.

Leading in a crisis and beyond

Oh yeah, and don’t be an ass.

If you’ve been thinking about moving your career to the next level? Looking for support while you’re leading in a crisis? You’ll also want to have a look at my 1-on-1 coaching services.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check these out, too:

The High Cost of Poor Leadership
10 Signs You Have a Scary Boss
People Pleasing Leaders & Soup Sandwiches – 5 Messes You Make When You Try to Make Everyone Happy

This post was originally published in March 2017, and has been updated just for you!

Have you, as a leader, established a culture of safety in the workplace?

Leadership is not a position.

It is an attitude – management is the position.

One has nothing to do with the other.

Safety, too, is an attitude.

What is a culture of safety?

A culture of safety is a state of mind and a way of living your life. Safety is the result. Safety is the choice in every moment of every day.

Those with a safety leadership attitude who promote a culture of safety will choose to do the job safely at every moment.

Companies are waking up to the fact that people who blindly follow orders on a job site still get hurt. But safety leaders who choose safety in every moment save themselves from harm by the choices they make.

In the workplace, a culture of safety is quickly becoming a coveted element in any organization.

Developing a culture of safety

Here are the 7 cultural traits an organization with a culture of safety performers will possess:

Honesty

This comes wrapped in accountability and responsibility.

Any attempt to deflect accountability negates honesty. Honesty is the trait that allows leaders to be vulnerable and accept that they don’t know everything. You can fix what you don’t know, but you can’t fix what you cover-up. Honesty is a willingness to be who you are and make no excuses for it. Values and core beliefs are tied to honesty.

One of those core beliefs will be promoting a culture of safety and self-preservation.

Want to talk more about honesty? Please take a look at this post, where I discuss moral courage as a leadership characteristic.

Communication

This is the key to keeping yourself and others safe on a job site.

If no one is talking, then no one is listening. When no one is listening, instructions get missed, and people get hurt. Communication doesn’t happen by scolding or by lectures. People don’t respond well to scolding and being lectured. Communication involves conversation. People engage themselves in conversation.

When they are engaged, they are paying attention.

For more on communicating with your people, take a look at how to Improve Your Conversations By Not Talking – 3 Tips You Can Start Using Today.

Confidence

Anyone working without it is a prime candidate to get hurt. Some work is simply intimidating. And when a worker lacks confidence in performing the job, others are put at risk. When a worker is continuously scolded, they will lose their trust.

Lack of confidence is a distraction.

Setbacks happen on every job site. When a setback occurs, people turn to those who display confidence and an “I’ve got this” attitude–all commitment to a culture of safety.

Commitment

It’s perhaps the most contagious of all traits.

Working alongside those without the commitment to the job is tenuous. Knowing that a co-worker could quit at any moment leaves workers unsure and confidence on the job site wanes.

But when you are surrounded by those who have a deep-seated commitment to the job, it brings a sense of peace and sureness about doing the job safely. Commitment means to focus, and when workers are focused, they will act safely.

Positive Attitude

Regardless of whatever adversity you may face, your attitude is critical.

A positive attitude is what turns someone’s debilitating roadblock into a temporary setback that is easily overcome. People focused on the worst attract the worst. People who can find the silver lining will emerge as victors. They see what needs doing and take action instead of wallowing in fear. A positive, supportive worksite tends to attract those who will contribute to it.

Speaking of positivity, here are three 3-minute articles to discuss with your team to create a lifetime of positive change (for everyone).

Intuition

When you are plugged into your surroundings, you can see what is coming and prepare for it.

There is a quiet confidence in merely “knowing” what is about to happen. You can prepare yourself and those around you. You can address issues before they become issues. The tough decisions are easy to decide when you can depend on your gut instinct for answers.

Learning to trust yourself is as essential as your team learning to trust you.

Sense of Humour

There is no reason safety can’t be fun.

The benefits of being safe are happy and joyful. So why can’t we laugh on the job site?

There is little reason to laugh when you don’t feel confident, lack commitment, or frequently face safety issues. But when you and your workmates have a sense of self, have confidence, excellent communication, and a great attitude, there’s no reason that you can’t have fun at work.

Humour allows people to settle into their work comfortably.

Establishing a culture of safety is the new Leadership.

Start by looking for these seven traits in yourself and your teammates.

And if you want to talk about Leadership and a culture of safety at your next safety meeting, I can help.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check these out, too:

5 Steps You Can Use To Build a “First Team” Mindset
80% Of Projects Fail Because Of ‘People’ Issues … Here Are 6 Things You Can Do To Reduce That Risk
People Pleasing Leaders & Soup Sandwiches – 5 Messes You Make When You Try to Make Everyone Happy

This article was originally published in February 2019 and has been updated.

What is Your ‘First Team’?

Learn what happens when you are a ‘First Team.’ 

Imagine a group of people who meet every day to resolve the most significant problems our society faces. Now, imagine those same people being more concerned about the people they represent and their own self–interest than society’s most pressing concerns.

When this happens, and people advocate for their political interests first and foremost, the greater good takes a backseat.

Imagine when politics focuses only on personal issues and not on the greater good.

‘First Team’

This same phenomenon occurs in companies and organizations.

Executive teams are comprised of leaders from various functions – e.g. operations, sales, marketing, technology, human resources, finance – who are often more concerned about what’s going on in their own area than how the executive team as a whole is performing.

This is a very natural phenonium and something I often see in my consulting work.

To explore this idea, I always ask executive team members, “Which team is your first priority, your ‘First Team’?” Unfortunately, the answer is not easy to admit. If you want to ensure your leadership team is working as cohesively and effectively as possible, the question can’t be ignored or glossed over.

Most executive team members serve on two teams, the team they lead and the team they are a member.  To be truly effective and for the good of the organization, they need to prioritize the leadership team first. This team must become their ‘First Team.’

To truly be a cohesive leadership team, members must pay attention to the team’s collective results over anything else, including the results of the groups that they may manage personally.

This is difficult for many leaders because they see it as being disloyal to their direct reports. Remember, a leader’s direct reports are the people they hired, the people they spend most of their time, and the people they enjoy leading.

However, if every member of an executive team is more concerned about how decisions will impact their group rather than the overall organization, collective decision–making will inevitably suffer.

Collective Versus Siloed Decision–Making

If a leadership team is debating how to allocate a budget surplus best, each team member’s perspective will affect their suggestions and, ultimately, decision–making. A group that believes the team they lead is their ‘First Team’ will usually engage in debate with a departmental focus: engineering needs more developers, marketing needs more advertising budgets, etc. This jockeying for position and resources often causes frustration and resentment.

When a team approaches the same budget question with the leadership team as their ‘First Team,’ the debate completely changes. The team evaluates each of the potential investments in light of what would be best for the organization and not just their group. As obvious as this sounds, clarifying the distinction about ‘First Team’ can make all the difference.

Read more about bringing clarity to your ‘First Team.’

Make it Stick

To ensure that your leadership is adhering to the ‘First Team’ concept, I recommend reviewing the following with your team:

1. Point out the priority of ‘First Team’ before making any critical decisions. This will put leaders in the correct frame of mind. When entering an executive meeting, team members need to remove their functional hats and put on their executive team one.

2. Demand that team members prioritize the executive team over all others. When the executive team is truly cohesive and prioritized appropriately, their ability to face difficult challenges with confidence bonds, the team and models unity to the organization, this requires an absolute, unwavering commitment to the ‘First Team.’

3. Explain how the team’s direct reports will be impacted. Because if there is any daylight between executive team members, those lower in the organization are left to figure and fight it out.

4. Finally, change the agenda of the Executive team meetings from reporting on a functional or departmental basis to a goal or objective-based agenda. The organization’s goals and objectives should be the most critical work you do. The work that moves your organization forward and by each executive member reporting on how they are contributing to or have problems achieving the goal will completely change your ‘First Team’ meetings from silos to collective thinking.

Like many of the concepts I consult on, ‘First Team’ is as powerful as it is simple.

I have seen leaders with vast experience have an “aha” moment about this concept resulting in immediate impact on their team’s cohesion and their organization’s ability to succeed.

Learn more about how my consulting services can help you build a ‘First Team.’

Credit to: Patrick Lencioni & The Table Group for the “#1 Team” concept

A client once told me her supervisor had asked if she needed anything to help her accomplish her job. She said, “No, but every once in awhile it would be nice to hear thank you and receive a little recognition for doing good work.”

Her supervisor told her, “We don’t say ‘thank you’ or ‘good job’ because it demotivates staff and makes them complacent.”

Really?

I worked with some of the most hard-nosed soldiers the Canadian Army ever produced. When they gave you an “attaboy,” it was a great day.

I remember working so hard on a patrol that even the insides of my eyelids were sweating. Everything was running like clockwork. My section accomplished our mission and returned to headquarters to brief the bosses.

My Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) was in the briefing and never once broke his stony expression. The look on his face could have scared the snakes off of Medusa’s head. I had no idea what was in store for me. But after the briefing, the RSM took me aside and said, “Nice work.” It was a terrific feeling.

People want and need recognition beyond their compensation package. No one deserves to be taken for granted. Some people need their ego stroked, some need a quiet touch on the shoulder, and some need to be publicly honoured.

Just be careful not to give platitudes.

The leadership skills of the manager may be the most important factor in achieving desired results. And two of the most difficult tasks in dealing with employees are praising and reprimanding.

Giving Credit and Recognition

“If you tell a Hun he is doing a good job when he isn’t, he will not listen long and, worse, will not believe praise when it is justified.” —Attila the Hun

Even Attila the Hun had it figured out.

Human beings crave recognition.

Recognition helps to satisfy this desire and gives the person being commended inspiration and renewed enthusiasm. As Attila the Hun warns, some people hand out so much praise that it loses its significance.

Praise should be kept for the extra effort and really good performance, not just for doing what is expected.

To be an effective manager, you should know that people do better in a positive environment of acceptance and understanding.

To use praise effectively:

• Give credit when it is due.
• Be specific about the reason for the recognition.
• Be sincere.
• Ask the advice of your people. The most sincere form of praise is accepting someone’s advice and suggestions. If you can’t accept a suggestion, you should provide a diplomatic explanation why.

On top of giving recognition where it’s due, part of being a great leader means having emotional intelligence.

Here’s how to increase it.

Taking Corrective Action

On the other hand, good leadership and management often require an employee be called to account for making mistakes, or for work or personal factors related to the job.

Here’s a refresher on how to reprimand someone.

Do:

• Time the reprimand properly. As a rule, the reprimand should be administered as soon after the offence as possible.
• Reprimand the person in private, never in the presence of others.
• Begin the reprimand with a question based on the facts, not an accusation.
• Take nothing for granted. Give the employee a chance to tell the entire story.
• Listen.
• Give constructive advice. Leave with a feeling that no resentment has been incurred and that a positive plan of action has been developed to correct the problem.

Don’t:

• Reprimand someone when you are emotionally upset.
• Interrupt the person’s story or anticipate a particular response.
• Get manoeuvred into an argument.
• Nag. Once the issue is settled, forget it unless there are signs of it being repeated.
• Compare the employee to other people. Always compare to a company standard.

The golden rule of corrective action is that the emphasis should always be on the error being corrected or the offence committed—never, never, never on the person who is being reprimanded.

How and When to Take Corrective Action

It’s easy to commend your people for good work and give recognition where it’s due. Doing so is often a great pleasure to a leader.

But to correct a fault, provide a reprimand, or terminate an employee for poor performance takes courage.

In my career, I have had to do too much of that kind of HR “dirty work.”

But I draw the courage to do so from the knowledge that the employee has been treated fairly and has been provided with every opportunity to improve.

How Do You Measure Up When It Comes to Recognition?

Read each statement or question below.

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “never” and 5 meaning “always,” mark an “X” where you think you are today on each measure, and then mark an “O” where you would like to be.

You involve people in a creative climate in which they feel free to participate.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

You understand that people don’t behave in uniform ways, and you take into consideration the personal makeup of each individual.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

You have accurate, objective ways to assess the performance of your people.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

You hold regular interviews with people to stimulate them to achieve desired results and coach, guide, train, and counsel them on a goal-oriented basis.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

You train people to take corrective action when desired results are not forthcoming.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

You take corrective action quickly when deviations from desired results and performance occur.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

You show proper appreciation to staff when they merit it.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

You do not ignore mistakes, but you don’t dwell on minor ones.
1 —– 2 —–3 —– 4 —– 5

Areas for Improvement

So, how did you measure up? Could you use a little help with giving recognition and corrective action? I can help.

From being a better leader, to building a stronger team, my one-on-one coaching helps leaders prioritize their work, streamline communications, and gain the confidence they need to become truly motivational leaders for strong teams.

Get in touch today to find out how we can work together.

Did you enjoy this article? Be sure to check these out, too:

The High Cost of Poor Leadership
10 Signs You Have a Scary Boss
People Pleasing Leaders & Soup Sandwiches – 5 Messes You Make When You Try to Make Everyone Happy

This article was originally published in 2018, and it’s been updated just for you.

We are experiencing the most significant shift in leadership training and professional development in decades.

If not, ever.

And it is disrupting our entire approach to new manager training and leadership development. 

The Association for Talent Development calls this shift ‘Revolution 4.0.’

In reality, we are experiencing generational change and technology breakthroughs.  

The Age of Millennial Management

We all know that millennials are upon us. As baby boomers retire rapidly and millennials (age 25 to 35) come rushing in, they’ll form 50% of the workforce in just two years and 75% by 2025.

So stop asking, “How do we manage those millennials,” because millennials are now becoming managers themselves. 

What Millennial Managers Think Of Current Training?

Soon, we will have more younger managers with fewer mentors above them.

A recent survey of over 200 first-time managers–ranging in age from 27 to 32 and working in either mid-size or large enterprise companies asked for open-ended comments, which included:

• • • “My generation really doesn’t want to learn from PowerPoints.”
    • “We took some online training about harassment, diversity and what kind of questions to ask if we’re interviewing someone. But nothing about motivating people or how to be a strong team.”
    • “It’s crazy. I can watch any episode of Friends in three clicks on my phone. But it’s like dozens of clicks, logins and popup windows to start an e-learning course.”
    • “We have tuition reimbursement, a corporate university and supposedly over a thousand courses on the network. But there just isn’t any time. Zero time.”
    • “I like learning about stuff, but the work training isn’t very good. I just listen to podcasts, watch TED talks and sometimes read.” 

 What New Managers Want From Their Training?

So, if our new generation of managers isn’t in love with our current solutions, from classroom training to online learning catalogues, what do they want?

1. 1. 1. Self-awareness is the foundation of great leadership, and you are likely already investing a lot in this area. From personality assessments, communication styles, and strength profiles, we spend a lot to discover what makes each manager tick. But are you using that data to personalize your training programs? When training on delegation do you explain to highly conscientious managers that they need to be careful not to micromanage? Does your training explain to managers low in conscientiousness that they need to delegate, not just dump? 
      2. Coaching. One of the big ironies in our industry is that the people who get executive coaches are the ones who already have the most experience. Who (or what) coaches your front-line managers? Do they have a new developmental goal every quarter? Do they have someone to motivate them, and to hold them accountable?
      3. On Demand. Nobody wants to travel to a remote seminar. Nobody has the time to be away from their desk for several days. Modern learners have been informally trained to look things up on Google or YouTube. How much of your leadership development curriculum is available at any time? How many minutes does it take to go from the desire to learn something, and the learning intervention itself?
      4. Ongoing (long-term).Too often training is delivered as a “one and done” event. Numerous studies have shown that we quickly forget much of what we learn in our day(s) long training programs, and very little ever gets applied. Rather than viewing management training as a “boot camp” style event, how can training become continuous?
      5. Mobile. The call it the consumerization of enterprise software. Our modern workers expect digital solutions at work to be as easy to use (and perhaps as engaging) as the apps on their phone. Most of us now have access to 12,000 movies and TV shows (Netflix), 20 million songs (Spotify) and 4 million ebooks (Kindle)–all in the palms of our hands. How many leadership development programs are on your new managers’ smartphones? How many clicks does it take to access them?

There Will Be Winners And Losers

We know from Gallup research that 70% of the variance in employee engagement is tied to the manager. Who your boss is counts greatly: Discretionary effort, performance, service, safety, employee grievances, and more. And when it comes to talent retention, that old saying, “You join a company but leave a boss,” is largely accurate. 

Those who fail to take action now—who fail to move quickly to adopt new training strategies—will be overtaken by those who recognize that these mega-shifts are both a threat and an opportunity. 

Innovative leadership development professionals who adapt quickly will turn their organizations into millennial talent magnets. Front-line leaders will unleash the discretionary effort of their teams, and retention will be high.

While the impact of these shifts may be arguable, nobody can risk sitting on the sidelines. At the very least, ask yourself, “How can I deliver a better learning experience to our managers?”

Much of success in business relies on getting everyone on the same page.

And inevitably someone has to choose to lead the charge in getting clarity. 

In the Army, we reviewed ‘comms’ (communications) procedures during pre-mission briefings to ensure that everyone would be on the “same frequency.”

In this case, gaining clarity could mean the difference between life and death.

In team sports like football and baseball, we see players and coaches using all sorts of signals and methods to achieve communications clarity to have precise execution of the play.

Without clarity things fall apart as the play unfolds; the feedback loop is immediate and obvious—from both the players and the fans.

The Challenge

At work, it is not as obvious as the fans booing you when there is a loss of alignment and focus.

I see it every day, and I understand why it’s so easy to fall into this trap.

We’re all uniquely designed and are naturally inclined to communicate in unique ways.

The goal is to understand your natural behaviour and make positive adjustments so that everyone clearly understands your message.

Clarifying Clarity Clues

Here are also two important clues to clear up the murky fog of communication and gain greater clarity –

Don’t assume that everyone hears (and visualizes) your message.

We have a natural tendency to assume that something is clear to us; we assume that it would be clear to everyone else. 

Using the sports analogy, teams usually have set plays, and they rehearse them in practice for weeks before they execute them in the game.

Work situations may not have a playbook, so when the leader calls the play, team members create their individual mental diagrams/pictures of what it’s supposed to look like.

Read about different images of the future

And,

Some are distracted and never even hear the message. 

As a leader, we must regularly and publicly clarify our expectations.  

At the top of the organization, most of these expectations are at the 37,000-foot level. 

As we move down the organization, the clarity needs to get more granular as standards more specifically to the tasks.

This is hard work because it takes mental discipline, time, and energy to clarify what is expected of our employees and to supervise the level of detail is required.

Read about expectations

Clarify Where You Are

How are you doing on clarifying standards and expectations?

Reflect on it yourself and look for times when people were not on the same frequency with you.

What happened?

Whose responsibility was it?

Get feedback from a couple of your stronger players on how well you are doing on clarity.