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Leadership topic - partner

with customers and teams to produce world-class results. Manage stakeholders, address issues effectively and practices the fine art of negotiation.  Blends people into teams when needed; Can quickly find common ground and solve problems for the good of all; Can negotiate skillfully in tough situations with both internal and external groups; gains trust quickly of other parties to the negotiations; has a good sense of timing.

Roadblock – Competes first versus sharing responsibility, Optimizes for their team/personal goals first. Delegates pieces and parts; treats people as a collection of individuals not a team.

The Courage to partner

The Courage to partner

Dec 8, 2021 | , ,

If anyone tells you there is only one way to do something, they are lying or very misinformed. And it is particularly true in IT systems – both being told there is only one way, and that not being true. Our current predicament was caused by an IT person who was disgruntled with the way systems were being built, and left the org to build systems “in the business” – otherwise known as “without oversight”. And because he built them quicker and also knew more about the underlying business, the business used his group more and more. Now – those systems had to be replaced and completely re-implemented by “our” official IT group… and I had to be his partner…

Continuously Changing partners?

Continuously Changing partners?

Dec 1, 2021 | , ,

Today I am hosting one of the final workshops for a group of brave souls who are piloting the Designing Your Life material that I prototyped on myself for the last year. They have all discovered the magic needed to sustain Change, particularly Continuously: partners. I would love to claim it is the material, and even my excellent leadership – but you all know me 😉 There is something about realizing that you are not alone…

partners for The Middle

partners for The Middle

Nov 24, 2021 | , ,

I became aware of The Middle as a management concept when I was in charge of Product Management — a critical job for any company, but particularly for a software company. The idea that you can build “anything” is mostly true — and only limited by resources — which are mostly time and people. As such, everyone thinks it is easy to do what their own area needs —

partners with Joy

partners with Joy

Apr 7, 2021 | , ,

As we discussed with Happiness a few weeks back, Joy can be a fleeting commodity. It often arrives when you may or not be even looking for it, but appears with a smile, a laugh, a look.  You may not know what has caused it, but the endorphin rush in your brain confirms it is real..and wants to recreate it again.  For the last few years, all I knew was that something that I used to have, and had misplaced along the way, not in a dramatic way, more like how you lose your keys.  You know there – somewhere – and you slowly retrace your steps to where you can remember last having them…

partners in Faith

partners in Faith

Mar 31, 2021 | , ,

March Madness is all around us again, and I am really happy to have it back.  So many memories of my life are tied to these months, and the early decisions that were made then are still playing out.  Yesterday we talked about the bumper sticker about Faith and I realize that some of you don’t like me bouncing around my timeline, but at least the U2 storyline will be consistent.  For there is really no way to talk about them without weaving in one of the most important partners in the band… and therefore a bit about my own story that is very similar.

Different partners

Different partners

Mar 17, 2021 | , ,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  An interesting day like most modern holidays that has a Different story behind it than you may know.  The day is supposedly the day he died and was buried in his adopted Ireland, and to celebrate that, the Lenten season’s ban on drinking is lifted for this day – and probably why there is so much of it 😉  After 20 days without, and anticipating 20 more days until Easter, it is a day to let it all hang out.  And while the Irish were hated by most Americans when they arrived in the 1840s, we were more than happy to embrace any holiday that allowed a party… 

Are partners Valuable?

Are partners Valuable?

Mar 10, 2021 | , ,

There is a point in every career where it is clear that alone, not only can the work not be accomplished, it will not be nearly as Valuable and rewarding.  For me, it was always that way.  In High School Debate I had a partner.  My first job at Texas Instruments was shared with a partner who handled “business” software while I handled the technical programs.  The remainder of my time there and well into IBM, I shared offices and roles with peers, some easier than others.  Not everyone makes that shift, and there are many singular leaders who give the impression that it is all about “them”, and occasionally their Values of “the cult of personality” can survive and persist… but at what cost? 

partners to Celebrate

partners to Celebrate

Mar 3, 2021 | , ,

Yes, that picture is Faye Dunaway, and no that is not Frank Zappa.  I always enjoy finding odd things to Celebrate about the artists, and try to tease just enough that if you really want to know more, you can.  And with today’s theme being “partner”, this seemed like a perfect place to slot in a story about one of the other major players in the band, and also a short story about partners that I still Celebrate from those days at SMU in the ’70s…

Your Partners in Performing

Your Partners in Performing

Feb 24, 2021 | , ,

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. 

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?