tasks critical to business success flawlessly. Marshals resources (people, funding, material, support) to get things done; Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; Leverages metrics, tracking, and dashboards to make sure that positive business results can be delivered, communicated, and repeated; is constantly and consistently growing top performers, steadfastly pushes self and others for results; focuses on the Bottom Line in a wholistic way;
Roadblock – Over controls and meddles; does too much of the work themselves; doesn’t get the most out of people; has weak followers and teammates; often traveling alone
Change is exhausting. Continuous Change would then be constant exhaustion. So why would anyone actively choose to engage this as a stance for their life – work or personal? If we have learned something from the last 2 years it is that Change is in fact always happening, and either we get good at it, or we are constantly the victim of it
Many of you don’t believe all these things happened, and I don’t blame you. Unlike now, you didn’t have a camera in your pocket to record video – but boy if I did… IBM was the Apple of the 80’s – growing faster than the US economy, without rival in the computer business, literally called Goliath.
Joy has been complex for the last year, and if you think about it, for a long time. We have been marinating in people either pointing at others who are keeping them from their Joy, or even more dangerous, how could I possibly be Joyful when I am so downtrodden. The transference of our own ability to manage… ourselves … to others has been spectacularly executed. It may be why watching the recent NCAA championship was so fun – it was watching some amazing players who have navigated all of the crap this year and now are at the peak of their Joy…
One of the most difficult things to execute as a leader is called a “Declaration”. In the field of speech, that is defined as “a public communication that moves us toward a future possibility.” It must have Authority, a clear definition of the future state, inspire others to join in, be within their grasp… and slightly out of their reach. It is that last part – getting people to step up and join in the journey that is often complex… as without execution, it is just words. Faith is what causes you to actually move forward…
Being a “human doing” is easy for me, and probably the closest common denominator to what integrates Happiness into my day. If you remember fractions, and frankly who doesn’t, denominator means the quality/number that reduces those crazy-looking numbers into something you can combine together. Without stretching the math metaphor too far, it means that it is present in all of the things you are working with. All my best stories include, “I was … “ followed by something I was doing… A “human being” …and being Happy at that… a complicated conversation to execute…
I have been thinking about Teams a lot lately, particularly those that are formed in a crisis. They typically execute with “show up in a conference room at ….” and from there, take on a life and a feeling that is hard to describe. Leaders of those teams have a unique challenge – how to assemble a group that has all of the various skills that might be needed, and then, how to keep them together when there is not a lot that they share. Differences that bring strength and breadth also challenge you to communicate and lead in a way that says execution is about the work and not about what happens to you or others 😉
For as long as I can remember, I have been working – and not in a negative way. I love doing things, solving problems, creating things, particularly when they are complicated. As an executive I had to realize that making things EASY was actually WAY more important… and also, WAY more difficult. The way I would explain this to you in-person would be to draw a Venn diagram – which most of you won’t even remember from Geometry or Algebra. The idea is you have a circle, I have a circle. Where they overlap, we share… objectives, deliverables, targets, mission, etc. Easy with 2… but when organizations are large, the execution overlap becomes smaller and smaller… sometimes the Null Set…
Politics, or trying to not write about it, had a hand in starting these columns years ago. After being active in High School, begrudgingly, I tried to stay out of it in college, but to no avail. I was spotted by a junior in my sophomore year, and he wanted to groom a successor. There was a Student Senate, and the Engineering School needed someone to be on it, and he suggested I ran – which I did and served for 3 of my 4 years. He also wanted me to take over the Student Engineers Joint Council (SEJC), the student leadership group for the School, which I also did. This was one reason I was standing in the middle of the road on a Friday night, missing a shoe, waiting for my girlfriend to pick me up… and likely be executed…
After that jarring start yesterday, let’s take a more restful approach for today’s conversation. It is difficult to tell what is real and what is Performing, particularly as you consider another’s or your own stance on faith. Paradoxes of what is said versus what is done can be a conversation that goes in directions that are not renewing for anyone. For me, it has helped to realize it is more a dance, and sometimes the steps are not clear or easy, and balance is hard to hold…
So who are you… really? A jarring way to start a Saturday conversation, but one that could be well-timed. Freed from your 9-5 commitments, what do you pick up and execute … first? As I have mentioned repeatedly, doing is what I do… Performing and acting. Resting happens only in the process of actually executing something to be completely honest. A weekend is best ended when there are activities that have been completed, things built, people entertained… you get the idea. Performing and execution go hand in hand in my world…
In my world, we talk a lot about Authenticity. Ironic as we also talk about Performing… and Presence… and lots of other catchphrases that are offered up as insights to help people become “better”. It is a wonder that we make any progress, with over 15,000 books published – each year, and the countless “self-help” blogs, video blogs, and writers like me giving you their pearls of wisdom to make it sound simple. I can offer this insight – it is not easy… but the trick I have found is don’t lose the ability to wonder what it is that makes you Perform at your best. There is always someone to help you in ways you can’t even imagine…
Working under pressure has always been my “go-to”. Since I am now a coach, people think I have...
The First 90 Days is one of my favorite topics to work with new leaders on. That time is when they are at their freshest to see things that can really help business change and grow… and also are at the highest risk of stepping into things they are just starting to understand. As it is early in the year, I have a number that are on day 20-30 of that transition, and are feeling the compelling push to Perform – do SOMETHING… and another of my least favorite management “truisms” that is patently false – “Quick Wins”. They are rarely either, and most often damage your reputation with at least one partner.
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….