Building a Leadership Team That Builds Your Business

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Jordan Guernsey

Building Teams

When it comes to your small business, you only want the best. You have worked hard to build your business and you continue to work hard to keep it flourishing.

But growing your business without the right people is a path to ruin.

Your Building Blocks to Business

When your business reaches a point where it requires additional dedicated workers other than you to continue growing, it’s important to know what to look for and what kinds of goals and standards to set to build a quality leadership team.

A strong leadership team will allow you to delegate some of the responsibilities of managing the operations of your business. There are specific skills necessary to lead others, and there are critical standards you must set for your business to drive company goals.

Personally, it took me much longer than I would have liked to master these tools, but hopefully my experience will help you learn these lessons ahead of time.

Building Quality Leaders

Here are three key elements that I have found to be essential in building quality leaders:

Flexibility

Quality leaders are able to address multiple issues under any one circumstance. By being flexible, a leader is able to tackle whatever situation presents itself inside or outside the business “norm.”

Communication

Communication is the key to effective leadership. A good leader listens first, gathers as many details as possible about the issue, and then provides necessary solutions.

Desire

Above all, a strong leader must have the desire to lead others. If the desire to lead isn’t there, then communication and flexibility are moot points. Quality work begins with an interest and a passion for the work at hand.

As important as strong leadership is to your team, as an entrepreneur, it is sometimes difficult to begin to give up control of your business to other people. But relinquishing control is actually one of the best decisions you will ever make.

I realized that when I refused to relinquish some of the control, I was actually holding everyone back.

Leaders are Readers

It is helpful to read, read, and read as much as possible about other entrepreneurs’ experiences. You’ll find helpful tips on how others have managed to release some of the control you feel like hoarding. It truly makes all the difference to have confidence that your team can handle the job just as well as you can — if not better!

Doug, the operations director of our company, is the perfect example of a quality leader. He was able to calm the storm he walked into by making processes more efficient and putting in place a higher standard than I ever thought possible.

I feel fully confident in his knowledge and his ability to provide quality work. By relying on him to do the job, instead of jumping in and giving (bad) suggestions, I gave him the opportunity to impress me.

On Processes and Procedures

In addition to a quality leadership team, it’s important to implement specific processes and procedures that will allow you to give up the reigns and trust that the company won’t fall apart. If you haven’t set certain standards and expectations, how can you expect that the strong team you have built will make the best decisions and do right by your business?

If you’re like my past self, however, you may feel like you have nothing to learn. I thought I was smart. Of course, other call this being a “know-it-all”…

You may feel like you know all there is to know, and you don’t need to bother with such silly details. But if you’re like my current self, you’d like you visit your past self and slap him across the face for thinking that way.

Mission Critical

If you haven’t already, stop what you’re doing immediately. Define these few critical standards for your business.

Mission

  • What are the meat and potatoes of your business?
  • What are the services you provide or the purpose of the product you create?
  • What does it do to help the community?

Vision

  • What do you see for the future of your business?
  • What is your ultimate goal?
  • What do you want your business to look like in 10, 20, 50 years?

Values

  • What are the things that matter most to this business?
  • What kind of image do you want to portray to the community?
  • What are the standards you want to uphold?

Be intentional in your efforts to build the strongest team and teach that team the importance of upholding the standards you have in place. You will find that taking the time to lay out a map of success for your business that is clear for all team members makes everything easier overall for your business, for your team, and for yourself.

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Jordan Guernsey
Jordan Guernsey is the CEO of Molding Box, a simplified outsourcing solution
He is a leader in the shipping and logistics industry
Email | LinkedIn | Web

Image Sources:  communicaid.com

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Values: The Lifeblood of an Organization

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Rich Bishop

Organizational Health

Many companies are quick to point out their values when a customer or prospect walks in the door. They are proud of what they stand for.

Then there are many other companies who don’t have any formal values posted anywhere.

Values Drive Business

I have known many people who think that mission statements, vision statements, and values are a waste of time and keep an organization from being “productive.” But if you look at some of the most successful companies in the world, these are a key reminder to keep employees focused on what’s important.

The values that are being lived out that determine the health or the corporate culture.

“Integrity” is a word that is usually the first word out of someone’s mouth when they talk about values.

It sounds nice, doesn’t it?

“Our company values integrity.”

Not only is integrity a great value to have, but it’s the key to whether or not the corporate values are worth the paper that they’re printed on.

Your Corporate Culture

It has been said that a person’s true leadership ability shines in a time of crisis. This is also true for organizations. The true corporate culture will show when times get tough, regardless of what is written somewhere in a mission, vision, or values statement.

Here are a few critical steps to ensuring your organization embodies the values it stands for:

Build buy-in from the current employees

If your employees don’t buy-in to the organization’s values, they’re worthless. Like any vision that is cast, buy-in is vital to its success. Include as many employees as possible in setting the values.

Hold round-table discussions or run a contest to incentivize them to participate in the process. The key is to have as many people as possible feel ownership in the decision – it is the best form of buy-in.

Don’t stop talking about them

Values can’t just be written once and thrown in a drawer. In order for them to be in the front of everyone’s mind, they have to be discussed constantly.

  • Mention them individually whenever the entire company is addressed.
  • Put them in your email signature.
  • Print a poster on the wall or hang them in the offices and cubes.
  • Whatever you have to do, get them in front of people.

Align your business practices around them

The key to integrity is doing what you said you were going to do, right? If you want to represent a value, you have to live up to it. This means doing what you say you’re going to do even if it’s difficult.

Many companies include the company’s values as a part of the annual employee evaluation process. For example, if you value your employee’s growth, then you have to support them. You have to move them on to new challenges when they’re ready.

Don’t keep them at a job just because they do it very well. If you value customer service, make sure the customer is the focus of everyone in the organization.

Don’t be afraid to let people go

Companies often show that they honor performance over values. If a person is going against the corporate values, you have to be willing to part ways – even if they’re a strong performer. When a person can repeatedly fall short the company’s values, everyone around them knows it.

It sends a very strong message if that person is kept or if they are let go.

Keeping them will breed distrust in management because you are not practicing what you preach. Worse yet, nothing can be swept under the rug. You will either deal with it now by letting the person go, or you will deal with it later by the decline in employee morale. One decision affects one person negatively while the other effects the entire organization.

Which one do you think is best?

Hire the right people

This is truly a key component of any business’s success, isn’t it?

Not only is it important to hire someone who is technically competent for the position, but their values need to be measured as well. Study after study has shown that corporate culture is one of the greatest factors in a company’s success.

So a candidate who has average ability but holds the same values is going to be a much better fit for your corporate culture than someone with strong ability and different values.

Values are the lifeblood of any organization. Align your people and processes with the corporate values and you will create a company that is enjoyable to work for sets up long-term success.

What are your organizations values? Are you building a culture that promotes them in everything they do? If the organization doesn’t live and breathe the values, what comes forward in a time of crisis? I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Rich Bishop
Rich Bishop is President of Bishop Coaching & Consulting Group
He serves with hands-on approach to Development through Coaching & Training
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Web

Image Sources: pnl.gov

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Trust: The Foundation of Leadership

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Keith Glover

Foundation of Trust

According to their wonderful book “The Leadership Challenge,” leadership research experts Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner state that “credibility (or Trust) is the foundation of leadership.”

The research simply confirms what we have all experienced in our lives.

Understanding Trust

Without trust, you can’t lead and you won’t follow!

We’ve all heard that old saying, “people don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.” And if you’re a good leader, you understand that without trust, you have nothing.

The depth of each relationship is directly equal to the amount of trust that is in that relationship. Trust is the basis of ALL relationships, and as a leader you must understand this in order to be effective.

I’ve made a few observations about trust in leadership that I’d like to share with you. I think you’ll find these to be true in your situation as well. How many times have you been a part of an organization and just wished that the leader(s) would trust one another so you could move forward?

Unfortunately, I’ve seen it all too often which is what led me to jot down the following:

  •  Trust is a Two-Way Street: 

In order to be trusted, you must trust those you lead. At it’s foundation, trust is simply believing in someone else’s abilities and empowering them to fly.

Too many times, leadership becomes more about control than about empowerment of those we are leading. That shift in your focus as a leader can become the first step to the destruction of trust, and the organization/church/ business.

Trust is a two way street and good leaders trust their followers’ abilities and empower them to lead instead of holding them back by micromanaging them.

  •  Trust is Mission Focused, not Self-Seeking

We all want our organizations, churches and businesses to be successful. However, if you care more about who gets the credit for the success of the organization than you do about the mission of the organization, there is a trust problem.

When our focus is on who gets the credit, then we will inevitably become distrustful of others in the organization. We will constantly be paranoid that they will “outshine” us and steal our glory. The fact is that all the glory must go first of all to God who allows us to do anything that we do.

Then we must give proper credit to those who excel in their respective roles in accomplishing the overall mission. Good leaders defer credit and accept blame.

  • Trust is All About Teamwork

As the leader, we are responsible for creating the environment of trust in our organization. If we want to be trusted, then we must trust our team! Our team will do as we do, not as we say.

We can talk about teamwork and trust all we want, but if at the end of the day we do not trust our followers and believe in their abilities to make the team better then they will never trust us to lead them anywhere.

What are some things you’ve observed about trust in your organization? How much do you trust your team? How much do you think they trust you? Have you ever had an open discussion about trust in your organization?

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Keith Glover
Keith Glover is Head Coach at Pastor2Pastors
He helps Pastors & Ministry Leaders take care of themselves to better serve others
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter | Web | Blog | 423-343-4335


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Leadership Priorities: How “Why” Eats “How” for Lunch

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Josh Allan Dykstra

FAQ

Awhile back, my invisible mentor, Seth Godin, wrote a post called Form and Function.

In this article, he had a quote which read:

The question that gets asked about technology, the one that is almost always precisely the wrong question is, “How does this advance help our business?“

The correct question is, “How does this advance undermine our business model and require us/enable us to build a new one?“

Adopting this disruptive perspective is a fundamental difference of what separates someone who wishes to lead, particularly in the strange new economy. Godin’s contrast is helpful, because it helps us remember that a big part of leadership is about asking one question: Why?

“Why…?”

Why are we doing things the way we are?
Why are we continuing down this path?
Why should we stay the same — or is it time to change?

As we move into a marketplace which places new and different demands on our businesses (e.g. more customer focus, faster failures, more product launches, etc.) we find that the “same old” thinking isn’t just harmful, but that it’s actually more destructive than it used to be.

If we wish for our business to thrive tomorrow, we must be crystal clear on the WHYs of our behavior today.

But we’re not very good at this, are we?

Obsessed with “How?”

For a long time, leaders and managers have been obsessed with “how.”

  • We’ve developed lists of tasks and we’ve created lengthy job descriptions
  • We’ve built policies, procedures, and protocols
  • We’ve obsessed over process

And we’ve come a long way using this mentality — our operations are incredibly efficient and our companies are lean and mean.

But to a great extent, this relentless focus on “how” has gotten us as far as it can. Now, we must shift to WHY.

3 Reasons for “Why?”

Here are three reasons to make this shift, and how to get started:

1) ‘Why’ Frees Up Our Personal Resources

When we focus on WHY, we can manage by outcomes instead of tasks. This is a crucial activity for creating a strengths-based team, and allows us to truly capitalize on the diversity of our talent and the synergy of teamwork (both things companies talk about a lot, but aren’t very good at operationalizing).

When we lead with WHY, it helps our teams do what they’re good at and frees up our own personal time and energy to focus more on the things we’re best at, creating more value for the organization from two directions.

If you are a leader/manager, this looks like:

Give direct reports the outcome they need to achieve and let them know you don’t care how they get there (of course, you actually have to mean it, too).

Encourage them to use all the creativity and autonomy they can muster to meet that goal.

It hopefully goes without saying that behaviors must match up with laws and organizational values, but beyond that… set the people free to work the way they want! The level of autonomy you can grant is almost only limited by how fearless your organization’s leadership is.

2) ‘Why’ Helps Us Innovate

When we lead with WHY, our teams can be more flexible because we don’t have to legislate every little task. Also, when we are overwhelming clear about why we are doing something, it empowers our teams to not get lost in the mire of purposelessness.

Having to ask “Why are we doing this?” is emotionally draining, and the costs often remain unseen because many people don’t voice this concern — they simply think it. Even unspoken, the damage has the same impact in lost trust and diminished buy-in.

If you are a leader/manager, this looks like:

When people come to you for decisions, always (stop just short of being incredibly annoying–which means you should sound a bit like a broken record) remind people of the mission of your organization/team/department/group. Then, after reminding them, ask them if what they plan to do furthers that mission or not.

If it doesn’t, help them find that conclusion themselves.

If it aligns, tell them to go for it and inform them that next time, before coming to see you, they should run their question through this same filter. Give them permission to execute their ideas without approval if they further the mission.

3) ‘Why’ Boosts Engagement & Passion at Work

Companies from Apple to TOMS to Zappos know that the work we do is rarely about the “thing” we produce.

In these examples:

  • Apple is about simplicity more than technology
  • TOMS is about giving away shoes more than it is about selling them
  • Zappos is about customer service and not about being a “call center”

Making a connection between “work” and “why” isn’t easy for many people, though — which means leaders can play a big part in helping making this connection.

Research is very clear: when we provide people with a connection to “something bigger,” they care more deeply about their work, which makes everything better.

If you are a leader/manager, this looks like:

Constant reminders about the end-user benefit of your product or service. These can be conversations or something more — the only requirement is that they remind employees of the real-life impact their work has.

Some of the best examples I’ve seen are mini-films which depict end users directly experiencing the benefits of the product/service.

When done well these are be quite touching, even after being indoctrinated in a culture for a while. Everyone (everyone you want to hire, anyway) wants to be part of something that’s making a difference in the world. Don’t let your people forget about what your company REALLY does.

So, what are you doing as a leader to look at the strengths of your people in conjunction with the tasks they perform? How are you aligning these? Are you actively incorporating a “Why” mindset over a “How” culture at your organization? What can you do to unshackle your people and their natural strengths to build your bottom-line? I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Josh Allan Dykstra is Author, Speaker & Consultant at Strengths Doctors
He is a work revolutionary, an agent of change, a catalyst, and a firestarter
Email | LinkedIn | Twitter  | Web | Blog 

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Leadership Storyboarding

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Andy Uskavitch

Storyboarding

People become leaders – by title – because they’re good at . . . well, leading.  Well, in addition to this… you also need to be good at organizing, counseling, and many other things.  

But for now, I just want to focus on organizing.

Organizing projects and processes, that is.

Organizing Formats

As a leader, when you are able to organize and plan well, this technical capability helps many other things in your world fall into place more much more easily.

When you are good at “organizing things,” you will  have less “managing” to do.

Every leader has their own particular twist on organization. These organizational manifestations may show up as:

  • Well-placed sticky notes
  • Outlook tasks on your email
  • Synthesized spreadsheets
  • Hierarchical to-do lists
  • Google Calendar flashing on your screen
  • MS Project nipping at your heels

Telling Your Story

But to help leaders better prioritize their efforts and convey their vision in a linear fashion for all others to see, I recomend a better set of tools to help them convey their thoughtful ideas to their teams. For many projects, I like to use a technique that isn’t thought of very often, if at all, but is extremely versatile.

What I recommend is something called storyboarding.

“Huh? “you might ask. “What are you, a cartoon writer?”

No, but that is usually the context in which you would hear about storyboarding.  I use storyboarding, not for cartoons, but to “draw” and plan out each step of a process.

I am then able to see each step, one at a time, while also considering the entire process.  As ideas or resources change, I can then eliminate or move things around at any time to keep an up-to-date picture of the entire project. I can continue to experiment with various orders of steps and ideas.

If you observe the way people read or listen to things you’ll realize that there aren’t many of us with a linear attention span.

Unless you are blind, visual information is much more interesting than verbal information.

Remember – a picture is worth a thousand words.

Storyboarding

The storyboarding process actually started with Leonardo da Vinci but was revitalized and developed at the Walt Disney Studios in 1929 with the creation of Steamboat Willie. Since that time it has grown in popularity in movie and animation studios and has also moved into mainstream business.

Walt Disney World itself was planned exclusively via storyboarding in about 10 days.

Walt Disney and Mike Vance saw that storyboarding could be adapted effectively for business planning in a mode they termed “displayed thinking.”  Displayed thinking can be used for group problem-solving and strategic planning, such as in:

  • Decision Making
  • Strategic Planning
  • Decision Execution
  • Building Consensus and Buy-in
  • Processing Large Amounts of Information
  • Making the Plan Visible While it is Executed

There are 13 basic steps to the typical storyboarding process.  You can just as easily go through this yourself for an individual project as you can with a group for a larger project.  This is outlined well by the Iowa State University Extension:

1. State the Problem.

Be specific and concise.

2. Brainstorm and Post all Ideas.

Each idea is written in large letters on a separate card or piece of paper.

3. Share Ideas.

Participants talk about what they have written on the cards.

4. Review Each Card for Meaning.

Ask for clarification.

5. Sorting By Content.

In silence, participants begin sorting and grouping the items of similar content.

6. “Header Cards” Added.

Participants are given several “header cards” that are larger (and a different color) than the idea cards previously used.

7. Total Group Discusses the Groupings.

There may be a need to break some of the topics into smaller sub-topics.

8. “Symptoms” vs. “Causes.”

The focus should be on the root causes of the problem, not causes.

9. Vote for Consensus.

The group identifies the top three or four ideas.

10. Restate Header Cards Using A Verb.

Replace a noun with a verb.

11. Subtier Actions.

If subtier actions are necessary, post them under the header cards.

12. Assign Completion Date.

Assign a completion date to each item.

13. Post Dates and Name of Person Responsible.

Post dates and the name of the person responsible for each action item.

Remember what I said earlier about the way people think . . . “Tell” instructions and half of them will be forgotten – tell a story and it will remembered.

How do you involve your staff in process development?  Do you have effective process development?  Would you rather hear it, or see it?

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——————–
Andy Uskavitch is Leadership Development at Florida Blood Services
He develops and facilitates Leadership, Motivation & Teambuilding Seminars
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Blog |  (727) 568-5433

Image Sources: designcouncil.org.uk

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Leadership: How to Make an Elephant Fly

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Andy Uskavitch
Flying Elephant

“I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band,
I seen a needle that winked its eye.
But I be done seen ‘bout ev’rything
When I see an elephant fly.”

                                                                         ~”Dumbo” lyrics

Have you ever made an elephant fly?  Probably not, but I know an organization that has.  Of course I’m talking about the Walt Disney Company, and it’s become a catch-phrase . . . Make an elephant fly.

Uncle Walt’s Wisdom

Walt once said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and get started”.  Figure out what you need, what you have, get the creative juices flowing, and get going.  Good leaders ensure that this is being done.  You can’t get anywhere by sitting around complaining because you don’t have this or that.

Unless you’re extremely lucky to have unlimited resources, you probably already know that accurate project planning is essential when you have a new project.  This is illustrated in the way live-action and animated films are developed.  With live-action, you can shoot extra film and use editing to get the outcome you want.  You can’t do that with animation.  It just costs too much to produce extra footage that you know you’re not going to use.

Another Disney executive summed it up perfectly in preparing his team saying, “Within these boundaries you will create.  This is the budget, these are the limitations.  Make it work within this framework.”  In other words, “make an elephant fly”.  Sometimes you just have to do with what you have to make it happen.

How to Make an Elephant Fly – Project Plan

The key to a successful project is in the planning.  Creating a project plan is the first thing you should do when undertaking any kind of project.

Often project planning is ignored in favor of getting on with the work.  However, many leaders fail to realize the value of a project plan in saving time, money and often, many, many problems.

In The Disney Way, Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson outline the nine steps to the planning process called, the “Blue Sky” process.

Step 1 – Blue Sky

  • Ask “What if?” instead of “What?”
  • For a while, learn to live with the discomfort of no knowing, or not being in full control.
  • Take a trip through fantasyland by starting with the story.

Step 2 – Concept development

  • Develop research.
  • Evaluate alternatives.
  • Recommend an idea.

Step 3 – Feasibility

  • Reconcile scope.
  • Prepare pro forma.

Step 4 – Schematic

  • Finalize master plan.
  • Outline initial business processes.

Step 5 – Design objectives

  • Finalize design details, equipment, and materials.
  • Develop implementation strategy and budget.

Step 6 – Contract documents

  • Prepare contract documents.

Step 7 – Production

  • Construct site infrastructure and develop work areas.
  • Produce show elements.

Step 8 – Install, test, adjust

  • Install the show.

Step 9 – Close out

  • Assemble final project documents.
  • Monitor performance.
  • Get sign-off letter from operations.

I guarantee that no one LIKE’s putting together a detailed plan, but it’s the only way the team and all of it’s leadership levels (in and out of the project team) can stay on track.

Expanded Excellence

In expanding on the Blue Sky process I’d make note of a couple of things that will make life so much easier. Because easier is good…

1 – Document Everything

Keep records throughout.  Every time you change from your baseline, write down WHAT the change was and WHY it was necessary.  Every time a new requirement is added to the project, write down WHERE the requirement came from and HOW the issue was adjusted because of it.

No one will remember everything – so write it down and you’ll be able to look back at any time.

2 – Keep Everyone Informed

Keep all of the project stakeholders informed of progress throughout the process.  Let them know of your success as you complete each milestone, but also inform them of problems as soon as they come up.  Also keep your team informed.

Make sure everyone is aware of what everyone else is doing.

Having followed all the steps above, you should have a good project plan and be able to deliver consistently successful products and services.  Remember to update your plan as the project progresses, and measure progress against the plan.  And at the end?  CELEBRATE!

What elephant are you going to make fly?  Have you started planning yet?  Is your team on board? What steps can you take this week to get things going? How can you help others who need this help? I would love to hear your thoughts!

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——————–
Andy Uskavitch is Leadership Development at Florida Blood Services
He develops and facilitates Leadership, Motivation & Teambuilding Seminars
Email | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Blog |  (727) 568-5433

Image Sources: johnlund.com

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The Leader’s Journey: The Fool On The Hill?

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Doug Ramsey

Fool On The Hill

During one of my personal contemplation sessions, I was taken away by the Beatles song “Fool on the Hill” which was playing in another room in our house.

It’s the Beatles playing, so of course I had to listen to the whole song…

A Different Perspective

But perhaps because of my state-of-mind or perhaps it was my lack-of-a-state-of-mind, this song resonated strongly. While listening, I started to hear it from a Big “L” Leadership perspective (See Big “L” Leadership at previous post The Leader’s Search for Self, Meaning and Spirit.)

I have no idea what the writer’s (Paul McCartney) perspective was when the song was written.  Maybe there is some deeper or mystical meaning in the song; maybe it is just about a fool.  As I let the lyrics play inside my head, I started to relate them to some of my experiences as a Leader, Leadership Development instructor and as an Executive Coach.

Please, put on your headphones and listen.

After all what our profession demands (I am talking to the Leaders Big “L” now) is hard to achieve and it requires a depth of knowledge and skill that the “carver’s hands” etches into our soul over time and experience throughout our life.

We are highly trained professionals. And as such, we are expected to deal effectively and ethically with many  issues like these:

  • Intra-psychic resistances
  • Denial and self-deception
  • Irrational behaviors and actions

We strive to be effective in improving cultures that do not support ethical values and fair treatment of people. We continuously work to develop high levels  trust and credibility in our relationships with a wide variety of people with whom we work.

This is why the lyrics of the song hit me so hard.

Same Song, Different Place

Another Fool On The HillAs the song begins, the lyric “nobody wants to know him, they can see that he’s just a fool” made me think of all the times when my ideas and expertise were not popular nor accepted (maybe not well understood) within management and client teams and I was the fool nobody wanted to know.

Have you ever felt like the “fool” when you are trying to execute change and improvements and every way you turn you bang into resistance from others even the company’s leaders?

It takes courage and conviction to be the fool and to not become discouraged and give up.

So the Leaders (Big L) persevere in spite of the obstacles!

The song’s refrain is “But the fool on the hill, Sees the sun going down, And the eyes in his head, Sees the world spinning ’round.”  This made me think of all the times when, despite my (and others’) best efforts working hard each day, we were unable to produce any meaningful actions or changes that would help the company (as the sun goes down).

And, we kept working as time (days) passed (with the world-spinning round) and it seemed that all our hard work and expertise failed to produce sustainable change.  There were the occasional “aha moments” and some of our interventions produced that feel-good factor that soon dissipated.

  • Does “the fool on the hill” suggest that we need to accept our limitations and get over ourselves?
  • Can we accept just how ordinary we are in some situations?
  • How hard it is to be a conscious, grownup Leader (Big L)?
  • How hard is it to admit to ourselves that we all fail from time to time?

Take a look around. Time shows us how little we control.

Not On My Cloud

The song continues with the lyrics “Head in a cloud, The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly loud, But nobody ever hears him, or the sound he appears to make, and he never seems to notice…” This perspective made me think about how optimistic and positive we have to be to take on the types of assignments that define our work.

Are our heads in the clouds?

We use the vast array of systems like:

Theories | Practices | Tools

Interventions | Training | Coaching

Analysis | Experience | Judgment

to attempt to make new solutions visible and viable in the client system.

But when we do this, are there times when we are just “the man with a thousand voices that nobody hears?”

And, as we persist in executing our plans, do we sometimes fail to notice what the informal system is saying about us, the value of our work and our expertise in the “fool” conversations at the water cooler that are so common in the culture of most organizations?

Above It All

As Leaders (Big – L), we are true believers in the power of our roles so we learn to hold our noses and bite our tongues. At the higher levels of growth, we learn to respond with kindness and compassion in these situations.

At its worst, this criticism and resistance tests our character . At its best, it is an opportunity to deepen our learning and consciousness growth.

Mirror of OurselvesAgain the refrain:  “But the fool on the hill, Sees the sun going down, And the eyes in his head, See the world spinning ’round.”  This reminded me that each day brings both opportunity and risk. Over time sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t.  Regardless, we are obligated to put our best work on the table even if it is controversial.

The song continues with the lyrics, “And nobody seems to like him, they can tell what he wants to do, and he never shows his feelings…” This perspective reminds me of how lonely and alienated we can feel when it is an uphill climb to the bottom in some assignments.

In doing our work, our clients know we are obligated to hold up the mirror with the unpleasant image in it.

Dedicated To Purpose

We want to be liked and respected, but if it comes down to one or the other, the Leader (Big L) is going to choose being respected every time.  So we are obligated to do what we think is best for the client system including giving voice to the good, bad, and ugly we find in the organization.

During these times we may over-control our emotions (bury our feelings), smooth-over conflict, hold our noses, and try to take the high road when the client system may be better served if we were to “burn their cover and bust their games.”

Thus the lyrics, “And he never listens to them, He knows that they’re the fools, They don’t like him,” This pretty much sums up how to be excellent in our profession, we have to become true believers in our dedication and commitment to stand for what we believe is right and just.

Lead Like A Leader

We need thick skin because the problem with change is that everybody thinks it is about somebody else, Consequently, someone is going to feel wronged in the process and blame us.

World Spinning RoundIn my experience in consulting and coaching, there are very few (little l) leaders that can resist playing the blame game or choosing a scapegoat in support of their false reality and their familiar comfort zone.

Once again the refrain:  “But the fool on the hill, Sees the sun going down, And the eyes in his head, See the world spinning ’round.”

Time goes by each day, the sun goes down, and once more, we offer up our very best making progress in some areas and not much in others.  So the world keeps spinning round for as long as we are here and we are responsible for everything we do.

So we “fools” follow Dr. Kopp wise recommendation and we, “learn to forgive ourselves again and again and again and again…”

Some questions to ponder:

  • Is our work a version of The Fool On The Hill song?
  • Are we the fool with “a thousand voices hoping we will be heard?”
  • Are we a fool to be disliked because we want to change the system for the betterment of all?
  • Are “they” the fools simply entrenched in functional blindness or the comfort of their reality?
  • Are we all fools in the game of life and the dance of ego, power, and the need to be always competent and approved of?

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”  — Friedrich Nietzsche

——————–
Doug Ramsey is Managing Director at Designed Management, LLC
He helps with Performance Improvement, Change Mgmt Consulting & Coaching
Email | LinkedIn | Web

Image Sources: joeodonovan.co.uk, 3.bp.blogspot.com, bambootiger.co.uk, billfrymire.com

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Filed under: Coaching Corner, Leadership Lessons Learned, Leading & Developing Other Leaders, Leading Change, Professional Development, Team Building Leadership, Values Measurements | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

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