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Archive for the ‘Leadership’ Category

Who’s Watching Your Lead?

30 Aug

Great leaders are a little bit crazy.  There is always something about them that looks odd.  Mother Theresa spent hours in prayer each day.  Martin Luther was obsessed with his own salvation.  Steve Jobs is so secretive about product development that Apple’s success now depends on it.

Leadership is often marked by these odd traits, often only observed behind the scenes.  But to those who work closely with leaders, the quirks and foibles are evident on an almost daily basis. They become “normal” and the organization either works around them or through them.

In short, someone is always watching your lead.

As a school leader, I’m aware of this fact and yet try not to think about it too often.  The cult of personality is not something that would help my organization and would do terrible things to my ego!

My family comes first and provides the ultimate grounding for how I see my work.  The root of the word “humility” is humis or earth.  In other words, a humble person is well-grounded.  Their leadership first sets an example for others.

My daughter reminded me of this principle when I came home to find that she had completed a project for school.  When I asked her how she did it, she shrugged and said, “I just figured it out Dad.”  Here’s what she did, with no guidance at all from me or her mother:

  • Took a digital photo of herself on an iPhone
  • Synced the iPhone with our home computer and transferred the photo
  • Found the photo in iPhoto
  • Plugged in the printer cable and proceeded to print out her picture
  • Cut out the picture to be included in a poster for school

Not bad for a 9 year old who is bored out of her mind in the late shadows of summer!  I realized that she must have seen me do this same project many times.  (ok minus the poster part)  It was her chance to show Dad her stuff.  And show she did.

Who’s watching your lead?  Is a family member observing your good example?  Are your colleagues at work witnessing virtue unfold?

The key of course is to trust in God for the grace to live well.  The follow through is all yours.

*Photo by UND-CFC-USFK

 
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Posted in At Work, Faith, Family, Leadership

 

Should the CEO Practice GTD?

28 Aug

What do you think of this new clip courtesy of GTD Times?  I’ve made it a habit of recommending David Allen’s books and resources to all new hires.  It’s become a bit of a game to see which GTD tool will help each person.  Will it be the GTD Implementation Guide, the DavidCo website or one of David’s books?

As an executive myself, I’ve seen time and time again that the principles behind GTD never get old.  Write things down…clear your head…manage your lists.

 
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Posted in GTD, Leadership, Uncategorized

 

How to Disagree Productively

02 Aug

Most people like to get along.  As a result, confrontation is something that most of us avoid like the plague.  I know that up until a few years ago, I would prefer telling someone indirectly something negative rather than face to face.  Sort of like taking the easy way out.

That was then.  This is now.

Like most leaders, I don’t have the luxury of agreeing with people all of the time.  As they say, sometimes you have to speak the truth, even if it hurts.  The key is to do it with love.  This is not only for high-level leaders but for all people who care.  We all have moments when we really have a duty to disagree.  A mom disagrees with her son who has just been disrespectful.  A boss disagrees with the employee who has acted unethically.  It’s really about principles and leadership.

As Stephen Covey says,

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”

In other words, leaders have to discern the proper direction of the organization and call it out when the ship is heading in the wrong direction.  This often happens through very small conversations and precise decisions.

The Trick: Conversational Bumpers

I’ve learned a trick to help this process.  If you are hesitant to disagree with someone or are afraid that you’ll start a full-blown argument, consider this approach.  Rather than say, “I totally agree with you,” why not say the following:

“Bob, I’ve got to push back on you a bit on this.  Here’s my perspective…”

The use of the short phrase before actually disagreeing with the other person is what is called a conversational bumper.  Other bumpers include:

  • I’m not sure, in my experience the opposite has been true.
  • Maybe in some cases, but I’ve found that…
  • You and I may have to agree to disagree on this point…

In each case, the listener hears that you’re on their side but in this particular case, you have a different point of view.  The next time you are in a position to disagree with someone, in love, try one of these bumpers and I think you’ll find that your leadership expands all the more.

*photo by vanity press

 
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Posted in At Work, Communication, Leadership, Productivity, Stress

 

The Difference Between Good and Great Work

27 Jun

One of the ways that I’ve mixed up performance reviews this year for my team members is to recommend a book for summer reading.  For most, this year’s book is Michael Bungay Stanier’s Do More Great Work.

If you’re not familiar with Stanier’s work, he happens to be a friend of David Allen and has as his homebase Box of Crayons, a creative group that helps folks do less good work and more spectacular work.

Stanier describes three types of work: bad, good and great. Bad work is that which is demeaning.  Good work is like emptying our your inbox- it’s very important but at the end of the day, may not determine the difference between being effective and doing what Stanier calls “being lit up”.  While good work is better than bad work it can become a default level of “ok” which could crowd out truly great work.

It’s great work that ultimately stretches us and gets the most out of us.  A unique project, a fear conquered, a moment of true creativity, a conversation that is meaningful- each of these (and obviously much more) could be considered great work.  Very subjective here and that’s the point.

Marcus Buckingham talks about this kind of valuable labor as being “strength-based”.  It’s that which you might look forward to, lose yourself in and cherish after the fact.

Which projects can be considered GREAT this week?  When you emerge next weekend, which will you look back on and cherish for their deep value?


 
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Posted in At Work, Leadership, Motivation, Productivity, Uncategorized

 

The Downside of Having an Open Door Policy

02 May

We’ve grown up in a culture of leaders with “open door policies”.  Besides the closely related concept of MBWA (managing by walking around), an open door policy is generally a good idea for the following reasons:

  • It promotes communication- it at least symbolizes that you don’t despise people.  I know, pretty basic but still relevant.
  • It represents interest in the organization- you can leave at a moment’s notice to plug into whatever else is going on in your workplace.
  • It represents accessibility- simply put, someone can speak with you easily.

Open door policies are what good leaders foster among their subordinates as well.  In a cascading effect, leaders model good behavior and then encourage it in their direct reports.

The catch of course, is that open door policies just might inhibit productivity.

Let me explain: in an effort to be open to dialogue and accessible to those around you, an open door policy can also be terribly distracting.  As you work in your office/cubicle/desk space, it’s easy to be distracted by small elements around you.  These can include hall traffic, noise and pedestrian traffic.

But are these enough to ditch an open door policy altogether? Not so fast. If great leaders are those who are also productive, then it’s imperative to know how to manage the small distractions that can eat away at working time.

Some easy things you can do to keep both an open door for parts of the day and manage alone-time include:

  1. Practice closed door working for parts of the day. It’s ok to close up shop and focus for 30–60 minutes at a time.  Doing this several times during the day can boost productivity.
  2. Use noise-limiters to minimize distractions. If you want to work and keep an open door, using a sound limiter can be helpful.  I use Ambience for iPhone for various sounds of waves and bubbling brooks.  I even find that those who come into the office enjoy the sounds.
  3. Make appointments with yourself. Simply schedule time for you to work on something of value and excuse yourself or tell others that you have an appointment.  Simple as that.  Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to work on what you want to work on.
  4. Know your own physical limits. I know that I’m pretty useless from 12-2pm every day.  If I have to get some important work done, I zero in on the early morning.  In the afternoon, I’ll spend time around campus visiting with students and their parents.  It’s a good way to get some fresh air and stay productive in a non-office kind of way.

What strategies do you employ to maintain both an open door policy and sustained productivity?

*photo by sillygwailo

 
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Posted in At Work, GTD, Leadership, Productivity

 

The Problem May be You

17 Mar

571348271_6dbfd6c660_mI love reading about productive people.  Not the ones who have 15 aids to follow them around during the day and do their work.  No, I enjoy the ones who have simple habits that help them get things done, whether they have an admin at their side or not.

As a person of faith, I’m used to studying those before me (i.e. saints, missionaries, pastors) and then trying to incorporate their skills into my own life.  There is a real parallel with those who are productive.  Watch and learn and you’ll pick up a few of their tricks.

Still, I have to admit that I’ve been in a true rut as of late.  Whether it’s been the rain (photos here) or daylight savings time or just a resistance to get my inbox to zero, my productivity has been off.  Looks like I’m not the only executive in a rut as even Thomas Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt posted about this earlier in the week.

The hard realization is this: the problem isn’t my inbox, my work projects or anything external.  The problem is me.  I constantly think of what others may think of me and that can be a problem.  As an introvert (and high C in the DISC profile), my ability to work well is acutely linked with my internal drive.  Rather than worry about how I’m leading the organization, I’ve got to focus on why I’m leading and then get to it.

My resolution today?  I’m going to arrive early and be sure that my daily agenda is in order.  I have three collumns:

-To Do

-To Connect w/

-To Meet

In each category, I list several items that are critical for the day.  The day then shapes around those priorities.

I’m praying for all TDS readers. If you have ever been in a work-rut, I hear you.  The problem may be you at the end of the day but the good news is this: if you’re reading this post, you’ve got a new opportunity to start over.  Let’s get to it.

*photo by Tambako the Jaguar

 
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Posted in At Work, Leadership, Productivity

 

One Leadership Tool You Shouldn’t Forget

23 Feb

DISC QuadrantsI’m blessed with just enough of a commute to be productive while I drive.  No, I don’t mean that I have a laptop open while I’m on the NJ highways.  What I do is cue up podcasts on my iPhone so that I can be learning while I’m driving.

For me, an average week features 450 minutes of driving.  That’s a lot of time if you add it up over the course of a year.

So what do I listen to on my way to and from work?  I enjoy sermons from prominent pastors, productivity talks, gadget reviews, etc.  With the amount of free material on the internet, the possibilities are endless.

One of my recent favorites includes Manager Tools.  This two-man team of executive coaches provides podcasts galore about everything from meal etiquette to getting a raise.  I discovered the DISC profile through MT about two months ago.

What is the DISC Profile?

DISC stands for Dominant/Influential/Steady/Conscientious and is a behavior profile based on psychological data from earlier in the 20th century.  It varies from Myers Briggs which focuses more on your personality.  As a fan of Myers Briggs, I’ve seen the benefit of going deeper into one’s personality so as to lead more effectively in the workplace.  DISC predicts behavior rather than personality.

How Does DISC Help Leaders?

For me, DISC was insightful in learning more about my colleagues at work.  I feel as if I can walk around campus and figure folks out.  This in turn allows me to get frustrated less often and leverage behavior that I want from our team.  Here’s an example- if you score high in the S category, it usually correlates that you are a people pleaser.  Instead of seeing this person as having no backbone, I’ve learned to appreciate their desire to involve others in decision making.

In my own leadership as a school executive, DISC has made a huge difference in how I also see myself.  I wanted to score higher in the D category, thinking that “real leaders” have a take-no-prisoners attitude.  What I’ve since learned is that leaders come in all shapes and sizes.  My highest category was C which I initially disliked.  I’ve since learned that it’s spot-on and now I accept that I really am a C kind of leader.  Some of the qualities of a C include:

  • Focus on data
  • Being task oriented
  • Keeping your hands close to your body when you speak
  • Emphasis on digital communications
  • Being tech-savvy

Once I learned more about these qualities and then looked back on my own career, I realized that DISC was right on the money.  I had been leading via a “C Lens” for years without even knowing it.  I recommend DISC to anyone who wants to get ahead at work.  You can purchase it here via Manager Tools.  Try it today!

 
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Posted in At Work, Communication, Leadership, Productivity

 

The New Rules of Collaboration

21 Jan

3485095631_2e36dbf903_mA good friend asked me yesterday what I thought about collaboration.  Having been an employee of non-profits for over a decade, I had always enjoyed the sound of “servant leadership” and “collaborative change”.  The writings of everyone from Jesus to modern day thinkers like Stephen Covey seem to promote collaboration.  Think of the feeding of the five thousand or Covey’s famous “think win-win” formula for negotiating life.

The catch though about collaboration is that it’s only part of the leadership dynamic.

What do I mean?  Think of the pastor who decides to put an addition on to the existing church.  Sure, he got buy-in from some parishioners but at the end of the day, the addition doesn’t get built without his say-so.  Or, think of the much-rumored new tablet computer from Apple.  This baby doesn’t happen without the blessing of Steve Jobs.  One man making a decision.

So what are the new rules of collaboration?  Here are my three in no specific order.

  1. Leadership is about decisions.  A good leader hones his ability to make tough decisions, based on data, consultation and measurement of success.
  2. Collaboration is about buy-in on the front-end. Some call this politics but I think of it as collaborative wisdom.  If you know that your decision will ruffle some feathers, it’s worthwhile to get the right folks on board with the course you intend to chart.
  3. Collaboration yields ownership on the back-end. If you’ve done things right, you’ll need project managers to carry out your plan.  This is back-end follow through and it is the result of strong collaboration in the planning process.
  4. Collaboration is only of value within a context of role clarity. Some of my best employees are those who respect authority.  Their default mode is, “if the boss asks me to do something, it’s a done deal”.  If this exists, much collaboration is possible.  Without it, it may be a waste of time.

*photo by rama miguel

 
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Posted in At Work, Leadership

 
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