Management Craft

Do their minds BANG! WOW! or do they leave with a whimper and sigh?

I was thinking about a course I attended a few months ago. The facilitator asked me for feedback. It was a good course and offered solid information. The facilitator did a fine job and the participants seems satisfied. Good. Solid. Fine. Satisfied.

I told her that I thought she missed two opportunities. First, the course was not designed to deliver any ah-ha moments - the potential for a mind blowing epiphany was zero. A wise man once asked me, challenged me, what my big idea was for a book project I was proposing. I had no big idea. This course offered no big ideas. Miss.

The second miss was that the course started slow, warmed to medium, and ended medium. There was no narrative arc. Courses can benefit from using the principles of story construction. The flow helps you manage and generate energy. This course was perfectly fine but draining. All whimper, no bang. Miss.

And what about your next staff meeting. Ah! Gottcha! You thought I was talking about a training class and since you don't lead training classes that I was not talking to you - right? Well consider this. I see the same two misses in meetings. That they offer no big ideas - there is no or low potential of an ah-ha moment. And they are not designed to generate and retain energy. Miss. Miss.

Don't have another meeting until you think about this. Even if you have a meeting coming up in two hours, you can do something to make it better. Bring in a big idea. Share something that has the potential to make people think anew. You might fail, but no problem, try again next week. No attempt = no potential. It breaks my heart.

The facilitator - who is a friend - felt frustrated and devastated, I could tell. She had done a good job but had let habit shroud her determination as a teacher and catalyst. I am glad she was devastated because she is talented, special, and can do better. She needed the dissonance to reconnect with why she teaches. Whenever we get people together, we need to strive for better.

High Impact Thinking for #Management - Updated for 2012

I will be doing a webinar this Friday on the topic of high impact thinking. I shared the beliefs that I felt helped improve managerial success in my book, High Impact Middle Management. I udpated the list for the webinar, adding a few emerging beliefs. Here they are, tell me what you think - no pun intended.

How to Think Like a High Impact Manager – 2012 Edition

How do you define success? Which mindset will serve you well?

How do successful managers define success? I have noticed that highly successful managers approach their work differently than their less successful peers. What’s more, many of these same ideas are held by successful senior executives. This is important to note because a senior leader’s expectations of his or her managers will tend reflect his or her beliefs about how success is achieved. It also means that this mindset will serve you well throughout their career progression. Would you like to AMP UP your impact? Consider taking on, and acting consistently with, the following beliefs:

Management is a social act—With every meeting you attend and every conversation you take part in, there is an opportunity to either add to or detract from the quality of the relationship. Managers need the support and cooperation of those they work with. Management is a social act. It occurs in conversations. Conversations are your currency for creating progress and getting things done.

Human systems are chaotic and managers manage human systems—Great managers spend more time and energy working on systems, connections, and nonlinear human processes. Nothing is ever cut and dry, right? Expect that the most fruitful path to success might be indirect – oblique – circuitous – meandering. Facilitating progress is incumbent, then, upon making connections that move things forward.

Managers exist to enable people to do their best work in the service of organizational goals—The most “results oriented” thing you can do today is to help someone, or a team, do their best work. What do you do that enables excellence? Do more of that. Think about what your manager does that helps you do your best. Ask your team members what you can do to help them to their best.

Great managers do what others won’t or don’t—The difference between great managers and less effective ones is not the college degrees they hold or their Fortune 100 company experience. Great managers do things that others put off, avoid, or ignore. They still dread doing these things or are uncomfortable doing them, but they do them anyway.

Managers are “make something happen” people—Your job is to think creatively and proactively, and take initiative to improve the business and your team’s performance. This belief reinforces the concept that it is NOT a manager’s job to maintain or oversee what would otherwise happen on its own.

Managers should be outstanding role models because they influence the culture and tone of the business—It is not OK for managers to be unprofessional or model undesirable behaviors. Said another way, you must model the best of what you seek. It is a burden and a privilege. We don’t get to be disengaged. We don’t get to talk trash even if it relieves stress. We don’t get to roll our eyes at leaders who say things that demonstrate how disconnected they are. We don’t get to complain about the culture – we build it. We don’t get to be poor team members or partners. Your team members and peers are watching and will emulate you when they decide how they should respond to situations.

Adaptability is the key competency of our time – be flexible like Gumby! —When you show your teams what agility looks like in action, you are showing them how to work and thrive in today’s times. Agility is a mindset, and it is a set of practices, a way of working that can be both strong and nimble. Managers must have their finger on the pulse and know when changes in approach make sense and would be of benefit. Be open to exploring new options and creative solutions and resist the urge to get comfortable with the status quo.

“Managing” is real work—Managers should want to spend time managing and facilitating the work of others. Managers who do not believe their job is interesting and desirable will not likely serve themselves, or their organizations, well. Helping someone is real work. Coaching someone is real work. Facilitating a conversation is real work.

Great managers are coachable and responsive—Being defensive or combative does not reflect favorably on any manager. Being open and flexible makes one seem more intelligent and talented. If you have the constant need to prove that you are right you will undermine relationships with your superiors and your subordinates. Coachable managers learn more. Management is a hard job. We need to learn. We all need to be coachable.

Dysfunction is the context from which you manage, not what’s getting in your way —Organizational life is messy. People generate drama. Politics often trump courage. Styles clash. People don’t let others into their sandboxes. Stuff breaks. Great managers know that dysfunction IS and that helping their teams work through and in spite of it is part of their work as a barrier buster. Don’t have dysfunction be “wrong” or a “problem.” Minimize or eliminate it when you can, but otherwise, get over it and on with the work. Don’t let it stop you.

Being a manager is the best job ever! —If you want to have an impact, if you want to help make people’s lives better, if you want to make things happen, if you want to leave a mark, you must manage. There is no greater way to make a difference. The opportunity to affect your team members’ lives and careers is a humbling experience and an honor. Enjoy this opportunity and tap into the compelling nature of management every day.

This list of beliefs forms a powerful definition of success, don’t you think?! Tweak this to fit your situation and goals. For example, if agility is a key area of growth for your group over the next few years, put that one near the top of your list.

Imagine what a workplace would look and feel like if all managers took on this mindset. The atmosphere would be electric, exciting, and highly productive. What a great place to work!
Here’s the amazing part: You can adopt these beliefs right now and they will begin to work immediately. How might your world change if you more fully adopted, and acted from, these beliefs? What might be possible?

Which ONE BELIEF has the potential to make the greatest difference for you? Take this belief on – big time – all next week. I promise you that your world will change. Promise!

TEDx Talk - Why You Will Fail (and how not to)

I enjoyed this TEDx talk from Larry Smith called Why you will fail to have a great career. It is very inspirational in a counter-intuitive way. Check it out and then check your assumptions and beliefs that will help or hinder your success and satisfaction.The times where we "go for it" will be those we remember the most because they are the times when we fully use our potential.

Courage and gumption and passion launch things. Resoluteness fuels continued progress.

I have come to believe that success is more like a marathon and less like playing the lottery - and yet more of us are buying and scratching then we are training in the rain (present company included at times - happy to say I feel more on track, pun intended, these days).

And by the way, I don't think there is only one shot that we get. Most of us have already passed up several pivotal opportunities. But another will present itself - or you will seek it - tomorrow. Will you be ready? Willing? You are able.

Enjoy the TEDx talk from a fellow Canadian - I like his sarcastic humor!

 

Fear of, and Anticipation for, Human Tipping Points #management #cancer

As many of you know, I have had a very interesting year health-wise (medullary thyroid cancer, surgery, many life changes including reinventing the way I eat/exercise, food as "health", etc..). I am a reflective person, but have found that I am much more so now. I enjoy letting ideas and concepts bang around in my head a bit longer because I want to discover their meaning and potential.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been pondering tipping points (hat tip to Malcolm Gladwell's awesome book by the same name). My reflection on this topic is mostly self-absorbed and related to my health. That said, I have also considered how human tipping points affect how we manage, lead, and create momentum in our workplaces.

I have read and heard many times that my type of cancer grows very slowly until it doesn't (most people, myself included, are diagnosed after it has spread to lymph nodes and is considered incurable). And because of this most people live for decades after diagnosis and often die from other causes. This is great news and gives me encouraging odds.

And yet, the idea that it "grows very slowly until is doesn't" has been tough to get out of my mind. What the doctors mean by this is that at some point - a tipping point - the volume and spread of the cancer becomes such at the trajectory of the disease changes and is hard to reverse. And apparently the difference in disease progression and likely outcomes are stark. Very slow to very fast - very good to very bad.

Before I worry you dear readers (because this is not my intent), I want you to know that I have no reason to believe that I am anywhere near the tipping point. I am enjoying life, living more healthfully, reinventing my work, and plan to experience a fun retirement in 15 years if only I can save a bit more money in my 401K.

It's the road TOWARD the tipping point that interests me right now. I wonder how much each individual action or decision might/could/does impact my trajectory and how much power I have to slow my body's march toward the tipping point. As a firm believer in the butterfly effect and someone who has seen that this applies to health, I believe (and the science concurs) that each tiny action reverberates.

I will be the first to admit that I was flapping my butterfly wings in the wrong direction - speeding up my journey to the tipping point - for many years. I let excessive travel, poor diet, and life as a road warrior consultant get in the way of exercising regularly and good sleep habits. If you imagine my disease progression as a trip from Seattle to Key West, by car from Seattle to Dallas, and then on supersonic jet from Dallas to Key West (Dallas being the tipping point), I wonder if my years of living less healthfully caused me to speed at 80MPH toward Dallas and wonder how far I have gone. Where am I now? Am I two states away? In northern Texas? Did I catch myself early enough to slow things down in Portland? Can I slam on the breaks and go 5MPH instead of 80?

Here is a specific example. I am taking several supplements (fish oil, curcumin, mushroom, resveratrol, black raspberry, skullcap, etc) that seem to help directly or indirectly reduce cancer growth (not of my cancer, mind you, my cancer is too rare to have been studied). Am I taking enough of each to be therapeutic? What if I am taking two pills less than the right dose? Most studies don't provide cut and dry answers about how much is enough and it would be a shame if two more pills a day would have done something different.

I have cut sugar out of my diet because sugar feeds cancer tumors. I wonder, however, how strict I need to be. Will one chocolate cake bender/celebration fuel growth? Will a week at a conference eating processed turkey deli sandwiches affect my overall trajectory? What if I eat broccoli with my cake - will this make a difference? I know some folks with my disease who eat cruciferous veggies at EVERY meal. Should I be doing this?

I will never likely know the answers to any of these questions (quarterly blood tests will tell me some information about overall speed of progression). And perhaps this is the point of this post and my inquiry into tipping points. It is hard to understand them except when looking back. But we know that these forces occur and are in play in all aspects of life. So what can we do?

I am slowly but resolvedly coming to the conclusion that we will be well served to err on the side of doing too much to achieve our goals. My goal is to slow my disease progression down to the point that this disease does not affect my potential for a full and healthy life. I do not know, and cannot know, the affect of the changes I am making but I can be pretty sure that each change has the potential to have an affect and that some changes will offer additive affects. Going "BIG" and making more beneficial changes does not appear to have a downside (except that eating junk food and being lazy can feel fun at the time - but this short term reward has lost its lustre with me).

When I think about stories about how everyday people generate breakthrough results against great odds, I recall that there is often an element of going big and persevering - of seeming obsessed with the journey toward their goal. We remark, "wow, they really worked hard!"

I will return to the topic of our workplaces, now. There are beneficial tipping points and detrimental ones. If your workplace culture is heading in a direction that you are not happy with, you might need to go big and throw a lot of positive butterfly flaps at it. If you want to start progression toward a new and positive tipping point, you will need to employ dozens of catalyzers to create momentum and get to the place where you will describe "it started slowly and then it hit."

Small actions can generate big results. And many, many, many small actions can impact the outcome even more.

As leaders, our most important skill and practice may well be dogged and focused determinism. A compulsion to unlearn bad habits and take on new practices  - so much so that watching you tires casual observers.

As is the case with most major life changes, my health challenges have taught me how important it is to influence the progression toward tipping points with passion, energy, and accountability. And it has taught me that we may need to do this in the absence of good data. We may not know which actions will work best or what combination will have additive effects. And we will need to decide and get going.

There is a kind of peace that comes from being fully in alignment with a goal. When I have good days - eat the best foods, exercise a lot, manage stress, sleep, remember my pills, enjoy people - I feel at peace knowing that if I can slow down the journey to Dallas (and ultimately Key West), I have done it that today.

We can feel that same sense of peace at work. When we do all we can to be positive and powerful forces for change and for people, we can fuel our organization's march toward the tipping points we seek and away from those we do not. I wish you more peace and less fear.

Life - work - life - work. What works, works everywhere.

Highly Flawed, Messy, Chaotic - Gotta Love #Management!

I taught a 2-day class on high impact management earlier in the week. When I spend time talking with managers about management, I notice the ideas that most resonate with them. Over the last few years, I have noticed that people's ears and mouths (participation) perk up when I talk about:

1. How managers, and everyone, are highly talented and highly flawed. Even the best performers are highly flawed. What does this mean? It means that we need to be tolerant and flexible to bring out everyone's talents. And it means that great teaming, collaboration, and collective work can only happen if we don't let idiosyncrasies get in the way. Relationships - friendship even - do not require full agreement. In fact, they are richer when we challenge each other. The idea that we are highly talented and highly flawed does not excuse us for being annoying or inadequate managers, BTW. We should seek to be a pleasure with which to work while resisting the urge to prescribe too much meaning to style differences.

Here is an example: On my flight back from DC, I sat in front of one of the republican presidential candidates and his wife. I overheard parts of their conversation and I needed to keep reminding myself not to ascribe meaning to the words and tones I heard because they make up only a tiny sliver of the truth of the situation. Was the conversation curt and critical because that is who they are or is it because the campaign trail is so draining and this flight was landing at near midnight? Could it have been a bad day or is this the way they always talk? Even if it is their style of communication, it would not be wise to ascribe too much meaning to what I overheard. It is human to make meaning out of our observations based on our filters and preferences but it is not always in our best interest to do so. Everyone expresses happiness/satisfaction/concern/care/interest in their own ways. My offer might mean the same thing as your critique.

2. Management is, by its nature, messy and chaotic and will always be. Get over it and then love it. Managing people is neither a linear nor logical practice. We know this! So why do we expect people who report to us - or our bosses and peers - to act logically and predictably? Human systems are more like the weather than they are like a manufacturing line - they are chaotic, unpredictable, and sensitive. This messiness and chaos are not conditions that get in the way of management - they are the reasons that management is needed. If there were no fires, we would not need fire fighters. Managers manage people. The essence of our role is to help individuals and teams do their best work in the service of organizational goals. If the human condition were tamable or simple or linear or predictable, we would not need managers. We exist to jump into the mess, be at peace with some mess, and make a difference helping people do great work amongst the mess.

Both of these ideas share a common root - great managers are nimble like gumby - especially as it relates to how they deal with and help others.

Disenthrall Ourselves of the Past #management

I took another listen to Ken Robinson's TED talk about education. Love that one. During the talk he quotes Abraham Lincoln:

"The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."

Such a great word, disenthrall, and a wonderful challenge for us all.

Most of our barriers are self-imposed. Luck is there. Talent plays a role. Timing is everything. Chaos creates momentum and reverberation. But the PAST - now that is one of the most powerful forces in our lives.

Not all past should be cast aside. Learning is anchored in the past. And yet, and yet. Lessons learned today can become tomorrow's shackles.

As you head into the week, think about the ideas or practices that you should disenthrall yourself from. Share the Lincoln quote at your next staff meeting and kick off a mighty conversation.

Don't Worry Yourself With Others - #doyourjob #management

I am one of those folks who watch the super bowl for the entertainment, not the football. Not just the ads and half-time show, but also the stories of triumph and beating the odds.

During yesterday's telecast, I was struck by the interview with soon-to-be MVP Eli Manning who said that his coach encouraged players to "do their jobs." The point he was making was that each player had a role and needed to focus on executing his role, not worrying about what others were doing or playing armchair quarterback/running back/tight end/kicker/and so on. Team members need to own their jobs and trust their fellow team members to do the same.

We should do this, too.

I am NOT saying that we should focus only on ourselves, work poorly with others, or adopt a survival of the fittest mentality - me, me, me. I am not suggesting corporate narcissism. Regular readers will know that is not my point here because I would never suggest this.

Here is the point: Think about how much better you and your team could be if everyone focused on his or her job, his or her contributions, his or her role within the team. A great team is made up of strong team members.

What gets in the way?

• Some people find it more interesting to think about what others should be doing differently. This is lazy and weak.
• Some people define success as compared to others. This approach will never serve you well.
• Some people don't hold themselves to a high enough standard.
• Some people are not clear on what their role is or how it they are expected to contribute.
• Some people get so wrapped up in the drama of the team that they lose sight of what the team is responsible for contributing. This issue, BTW, is different from being mission driven. I have worked with several health care clients, for example, where the team felt they were dedicated to saving lives and healing but who were not making the connection between their team dysfunction and their ability to manifest the mission.

I see these issues when working with struggling individuals and teams. I have wanted to hit team members over the head with a metaphorical 2-by-4 and say, "just do your job, don't worry about others."

So much energy gets soaked up by this crud. The opportunity costs are HUGE.

I bet we all could do better if we remind ourselves to just do the the work - our work. To do our thing and support others so they can do their things. To define success while resisting the urge to envy or covet other people's lives or roles.

And as managers, part of "our job" is to institutionalize this way of thinking and doing, like Manning's coach apparently did.

Love this #ted talk from Shawn Achor - Will help you be happier.

Check out this supercharged and amusing talk from Shawn Achor - it is excellent and has the potential to help us all live more fulfilling - and successful - lives. 12 minutes.

Action and Mental Garbage Model

I hope you have a great week. Here is a quick model that I hope helps you shape your week. You choose the path and how many self-imposed barriers you allow to slow you down. Openness - versus defensiveness - enables us to fully trust in ourselves because we take in the world fully and can respond flexibly. When we carry a lot of mental garbage, we rely more on history that might not be relevant for today, inflexible mental models, manic mantras, and motivational posters to guide us. Why do we need to list our values? Answer: Because we are not open enough to fully trust ourselves.

I saw the master in action this weekend. #leadership #managment

I spent an afternoon with a dear friend yesterday. We chatted over lunch and walked around his beach town. I have always admired his engaging and caring way - he is a leader who makes others feel like they have his full attention and consideration and they do (that's the important part - it is sincere, not an act).

Why? Because he thinks and lives this way. He notices people and things and takes the initiative to be helpful and caring. More so than most people. More so than I do - by a long shot.

I have always known this about my friend but I was reminded - in a vivid way - during our walk. Those who we passed received a smile and hello. Someone had dropped a baby bottle on the walking path, he picked it up and put it on the cement wall so the owner could find it and no one would trip over it. We passed a couple who were taking pictures of each other, he asked if he could take their picture together and then had some fun with them to make sure they got a great shot. He interacted with people on the street, in shops, and in the restaurant in ways that made each smile and brighten.

You might be thinking that I am a little nuts for calling this out because these human acts are quite normal - or they should be. It is true that any one of these moments would be considered what it means to be a good person - nothing extraordinary.

But here is the distinction. He oozed care in every moment. He was aware of others, noticed others, proactively cared for others, and did so while being fully engaged in our conversation. I was much less aware of others.

My friend is someone for whom people love working and he brings out the best in them. And here is the main point of this post. WE can and should do this, too. It does not take a training class or being a particular behavioral style. We can relate to others in this way if we:

• Choose to be a powerful and positive influence on others.
• Take the time and attention to notice others.
• And then be gracious, kind, friendly, and helpful more often.

Don't go rushing to include these expectations in your new employee orientation. Don't add it to your performance review or create a management competency called, "caring." Just try being more demonstrably caring and see what happens. Lead from a basis of positive care for others and you will find that your days, weeks, and years are more amazing and that your good vibe spreads.

After spending the afternoon with my friend, I found myself thinking about how I can improve what I notice and how I respond to others. I am no ogre, BTW, but I can and want to demonstrate care more often - for everyone, not just a chosen few.

You have likely heard the mind teaser about the tree - if a tree falls in a forest but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

I have to ask the same thing about caring for others. If we care but no one experiences our affection and goodwill, does it exist? I think that the vast majority of people are caring in terms of our intentions. Most of us are quite selective about how we give of ourselves and I am not sure this serves us, our intentions, or others well.

These tiny actions - smiles, pictures, gestures of help - add up and to make a very big and wonderful impression. Remember, though, that although this benefit is compelling, it should not be the reason that we choose to live a more generous (of ourselves) life. My friend does not think about this. In fact, I am guessing he would think this blog post is quite odd indeed.