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Leadership topic - Bands

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What manages Performance?

What manages Performance?

Feb 23, 2021 | , ,

There is an entire industry now built up around what is called “Vulnerability”.  Brought to the forefront by researcher Brene Brown, now a legend, the concept is that deep inside all of us are fears that need to be managed.  Left unchecked, they can get in the way of our best Performance, and often are topics that I work with leaders to understand and reframe – the coaching word for turning Lemons into Lemonade.  The paradox often is that by not showing vulnerability in your early career, you appear to have it all figured out… which, to those of us later in our career, we can remember those days… and how Performance changes….

engaging Performance

engaging Performance

Feb 22, 2021 | , ,

A good friend was leading a workshop for leaders, and it caused me to pause.  She enjoyed drama and theater, including music and dancing which we had discussed often… as hobbies. She was now offering training for managers on Improv, what they shortened “improvisation” to in Performance competitions. Perhaps from my days in Debate, where the Theater people were… “different” – a feeling they had about us also – I thought it was little off.  What would Improv have to do with leadership?  And then… I was called in to engage a team with…. no preparation…

The renewal of Harmony

The renewal of Harmony

Feb 21, 2021 | , ,

Our week on Harmony ends where my first experiences were:  singing at church.  My parents hosted “The College Kids” from church in the early 60’s. They sang and played Peter, Paul, and Mary songs, and watching them blend their voices “in renewal” encouraged me to learn how to do that.  I don’t know precisely what “ear training” is, but there are pictures of me sitting with my Flute-o-phone playing Harmony.  Hearing the notes and getting your brain/voice to match was a fun challenge, which eventually I mapped into reading music… sorta…

executing with Harmony

executing with Harmony

Feb 20, 2021 | , ,

When teams are at their peak, there are ways of executing together that anyone outside of the team may or may not even be able to observe.  Little looks and phrases become cues for Harmony that is hard to duplicate.  While the reason for being together may be stressful, those hours of work start to build up muscles that become second nature.  In one season, I was in meetings 3 times a day with the same people – 6 days a week.  We got tight enough to really understand how to cover for each other’s faults, and build on the strengths in ways that most teams will never experience.  What causes that Harmony? 

The wonder in Harmony

The wonder in Harmony

Feb 19, 2021 | , ,

Finally, we get to the song that triggered the week.  I have been trying to be more explicit about leadership and management tips lately, and hopefully, you have gotten a few.  Today’s story is so rich that I don’t have space (or the need) to point it out.  So wonder with me …. by this point, The Fifth Dimension is well on their way, having won multiple Grammys with multiple platinum records.  They were in New York City playing a series of concerts when Billy Davis noticed his wallet was missing – having fallen out in the cab he had just stepped out of.  “Well, that’s gone…. “ 

observing Harmony

observing Harmony

Feb 18, 2021 | , ,

We were at the hospital for a procedure, and the nurse couldn’t get the IV started.  Without missing a beat, another one came right over, picked up the work … and the conversation … without even missing a beat.  As a keen observer of teamwork, I perked up and started to chat her up about what it is like to work here?  “It is amazing – from the people who take out the garbage, to the staff that mops the floors, to the administrators who make sure we have what we need, we all come together to provide you with the best care”.  We were then whisked off to another room, with a similar experience…. How does that type of Harmony happen? 

partners for Harmony

partners for Harmony

Feb 17, 2021 | , ,

In watching the Food Network with my wife, there is a catch-phrase:  If You’re Looking, You’re Not Cooking.  Exactly the opposite is true with leadership, particularly now.  Before last year, at least talent was mostly limited to work they could drive to… and now, I know for a fact that people have started preparing for the annual spring job search with a NATIONAL target.  The war for talent is only going to get more intense as you can work from anywhere, and what will they be looking for?  Harmony and partnership – pure and simple.  The number one reason people stay is the relationship with their leader…. And the main reason they leave is … exactly the same. 

Is your management Harmonic?

Is your management Harmonic?

Feb 16, 2021 | , ,

Harmony is distinguished from Unison singing – everyone singing the exact same note together. When men and women sing together, even though they are singing the same note, they are often separated by an octave or more.  But choosing a Harmony requires intensely listening to each other, and you will often see the singers lean in, cover an ear, and then either read a note or more likely, trust their well-trained ear to pick up a note that blends together with the others.  As more singers are involved, you have to be careful to not only hit your note, but stay out of the way of the others… constantly juggling your own musical path with those around you…

engaging with Harmony

engaging with Harmony

Feb 15, 2021 | , ,

A meme popped up last fall pointing out, in February “…a whopping seven planets (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn, plus asteroid Pallas) will all be clustered together in the sign of Aquarius, creating what’s known as a stellium in astrology.  This intense influx of Aquarius’ fixed air sign energy in February will shift our focus to humanitarian issues, technological advancements, and unconventional innovations.  And these themes will guide the framework of our society throughout all of 2021 and the years ahead.”  But didn’t we hear this already – in 1967 – the dawning of the Age of Aquarius?

renewing Rhythm… You and Your Calendar

renewing Rhythm… You and Your Calendar

Feb 14, 2021 | , ,

The one remaining element of Rhythm critical to Management Hygiene is summarized with a single word: When?  All of the work on priorities, partners, directs, strategic planning, even email fail… unless they make it onto your calendar.  As I tell each leader: your calendar does not lie – it shows who, what, and why you do what you do, and the paradox is that managing the calendar is the easiest and hardest exercise we do.  In one engagement a leader wanted to move from 12 hours a day to 8.  As we examined each day, by Thursday, after eliminating no meetings, I moaned, “…so you don’t really want to work less..:” 

Rhythm that executes… Email and Writing

Rhythm that executes… Email and Writing

Feb 13, 2021 | , ,

I grew up with email.  My class was the last class to learn slide-rule in high school, and the first to move from punched cards to a terminal. And it was just as inside IBM and outside networks were starting to connect remote people together in ways that are still taking over our lives.  I took typing in high school, not to be an admin (like my first bosses thought), but because being able to do it well was the connection to the rest of the world. Interestingly, studies have shown that people hate email – it takes up way too much of their daily Rhythm and produces very little ROI – and yet, they can’t let go.  So who is executing whom? 

wonderful Rhythm… Strategic Planning

wonderful Rhythm… Strategic Planning

Feb 12, 2021 | , ,

In the early weeks of the year, the Rhythm of many organizations is “Strategic Planning Meetings” – otherwise known as “…wonder what the heck do we do now?”  It is the place where the realities of last year, the current market assessments, and the dreams of the future come together to set out goals for this year.  Similar to “Feeding the Bear”, well-run organizations have what they projected for “this” year from last year’s “5-year plan”, and can simply reorient that to what is now happening.  But particularly last year has probably thrown that up in the air… or has it? Who sees over the horizon that you need to find?

Rhythmic observation…Status Reports!

Rhythmic observation…Status Reports!

Feb 11, 2021 | , ,

A basic element of any effective management system is “No Surprises”.  “Simple but not easy” does not even start to describe this critical part of your Hygiene.  In fact, I have used a fairly graphic way of describing it to leaders, probably driven by where I now live.  Our street in Virginia has a Rhythm of what are politely called “Bear Interactions”, the largest in our area… and our area has the most in the whole state.  So we fairly regularly have a bear walk past our house. In fact recently, we observed not 1… or 2… we had 3… on our deck.  They were small, but like surprised leaders, they can pack a wallop…. 

partners with Rhythm

partners with Rhythm

Feb 10, 2021 | , ,

In the same spirit as 1-1 meetings, nothing is more important than Rhythmic conversations with peers and partners. It is complicated, as for most of your career you are “competing” with them, imagining that only one of you will get the step up.  There is truth in that, but also that without good relationships, you will become more and more insulated.  To stay with the musical metaphor, without the band, the lead guitarist is flashy… but rarely would be recognized.  So who are your “bandmates”, and how do you sort out how to partner with them?