#SH302: Tribal Forces–3 Vital Elements in the Creation of Your Tribe

#SH302: Tribal Forces–3 Vital Elements in the Creation of Your Tribe

by | Jan 6, 2019 | #SH302, Learning to Lead, Tribes

Connection

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.” ~ Seth Godin

The Tribal Force: A Compelling Cause

The magnetic force of great relationships is unbelievable. Perhaps the bond comes from something simple, even crazy, like an idea, a belief, or even hopefulness and the possibility of a future. Regardless of what it is, as Seth Godin (2008) writes, “human beings can’t help it: we need to belong.” This desire to belong is based on wanting to make a difference, and it is born from passion. As humans, we have a tremendous need to connect, to be a part of something meaningful and powerful that can inspire and transform people and communities. We see this in every sector of life, where people come together to be part of something that gives them meaning, hope, identity, and a cause. Within the professional realm, and as a leader, the power of your cause must be so compelling that it harnesses an unbridled belief that drives the work. The cause lives in the gap between good environments and great ones. There are three vital elements associated with harnessing people and leveraging the power of what we call Tribal Forces. But, be careful because each tribal force has its own tribal trap.

tribal forces

The Power of Ideas

We live in a world with a great deal of information, and it can be challenging to filter the noise so that we can more clearly hear the important messages amidst all of the clamor and commotion. Consider YouTube as a world provider of instructional videos and a massive messaging outlet for people of all ages. With over 400 hours of content uploaded every minute, YouTube has over 1 billion hours of material watched every day. Despite the enormity of idea-sharing available on the platform, there is one video that over 5 million people have enjoyed, posted by Derek Sivers in 2010, called the First Follower: Leadership Lessons from the Dancing Guy. The essence of this 3-minute recording demonstrates that for great ideas to grow, they must always attract a first follower. To have power and the ability to develop a strong tribe, ideas must generate momentum. The first follower supports the movement by actually inviting others to be included. In this case, we’re talking about a wacky dance, but any idea can be the force that forms a tribe of people. The clear communication of a concept coupled with only a few early adopters is precisely what makes for a viable audience and a shared acceptance for one another. “If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire.” Sharing an idea is always the first step in creating a tribe.

Tribal Trap #1: A Dangerous Leadership Flaw

Many leaders operate in isolation, lacking transparency and subsequently failing to attract those who will support and champion the work. The Dancing Guy was available for everyone to see, which ultimately engaged the first follower, and, in turn, drew a massive crowd. Too many leaders are trapped by a lack of openness. To break the barrier, we must share ideas, which means that we might fall prey to ridicule and judgement. If you study The Dancing Guy, you realize that prior to the first follower there were plenty of jeering, laughter, and even taunting around his peculiar dance moves. But real leaders always keep dancing despite any disparagement or scorn. Don’t fall into the trap of isolation just because your first follower hasn’t arrived yet. Next time you feel the need to shut yourself off from the world to get the work done, ask yourself who else should be on the team: Is there a movement, or am I alone?

The Power of Connection

Isolation not only limits the power of an idea, it also dramatically diminishes a leader’s ability to influence. Humans are inherently social, and we thrive in networks of association. Benjamin Hardy, author of Willpower Doesn’t Work, reminds readers of a 75-year study of two groups, conducted by Grant and Glueck at Harvard University. The study revealed that relationships have an incredible impact on both health and wellbeing, to include longer, happier lives when they’re strong, especially in later years and in marriage. The devastating reality is that our current social constructs encourage too much independence and a greater emphasis on individualism. According to Sebastian Junger (2017) much of our psychological stress is due to the growing social insistence that we must be unique in every way. But, we must fight against the urge to create our own avatar by using the force of connection with others. A strong community helps people live and cope with the harsh circumstances that we face each day in life and work. Our very nature is designed for fellowship, and although a world of social media might seem “social,” it limits our personal connections. Humans thrive on a sense of purpose, which includes the ability to contribute to a larger cause. The one common ingredient that separates great leaders from average leaders is their emotional intelligence and their distinct ability to connect with all walks of life. Highly influential leaders are responsive to the needs of their people because of their ability to empathize deeply. Through the building of strong social networks, they increase everyone’s sense of belonging to one another and the work. They spark the force of a tribal connection.

Tribal Trap #2: A Dangerous Leadership Flaw

Too often leaders overly rely on their cognitive prowess and technical expertise to lead their organization. Although both are critical, it is only by harnessing the power of the people, through strong interpersonal connections within the organization, that we truly yield tremendous results. By listening and remaining sensitive to key signals, an attuned leader will hear far more than just what is being said. The trap is in thinking that technique, protocols, policies, and procedures are what govern important outcomes, and that’s not the case. It’s relationships. If we’re not thinking together, we’re not working together. Next time you have an inclination to create a new policy or protocol, stop and ask yourself if everyone is on the same page: Are we a community, or am I the expert?

The Power of  Ideals

On this very day, January 6, 1941 (the day of this post), Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his powerful “Four Freedoms” speech. FDR’s state of the union address was truly a cry to uphold our greatest ideals by fighting for freedom against enemy forces to protect our global tribe. His call for the U.S. to end neutrality and engage in war epitomizes the sacrifice that needs to be made when we truly believe in, and are guided by, our beliefs. Most leaders will never have to face the grave decision of going to war, but all leaders will need to make the difficult decisions to ensure alignment to their company’s ideals. Christine Comaford is an applied neuroscience expert in the field of behavioral modification and organizational development. She teaches that it’s only through focus, clarity, accountability, influence, and sustainability that leaders can create a culture where progress can take place rapidly and still maintain alignment. The critical difference that distinguishes progressive companies from those who lag behind in any given industry is through leadership practices and decisions that reinforce the organization’s purpose. This means that ideals have to be front-and-center in the decision-making process so that everyone, particularly the leaders, are grounded in what matters most. When we operate within a set of defined ideals, we are positioned to take risks, working faster and harder within our organizational community. Communicating ideals, just like FDR did in 1941, creates an incredible force that binds a tribe together so that they can rally together and progress faster as a group.

Tribal Trap #3: A Dangerous Leadership Flaw

Leaders can often get trapped by thinking that logic and reason should guide the work. In doing so, we can be convinced that the most coherent path is the most rational and therefore sensible way to go. But that’s not true when it comes to what guides people, especially groups of people who have a specific task to complete. This is where ideals are most critical because they bring decisions into focus. Next time you begin to respond to a problem with analysis and reason, stop to check that core values are guiding your thinking: Is this the logical next step, or is it the next best step based on our values?

Conclusion: Tribal Forces Trifecta

When people are connected through their passion for a particular topic of interest, through a social connection where they can relate to one another, and through a common set of ideals, they create an organizational environment that is forecasted to consistently win. A movement occurs when an idea spreads. People don’t follow when they don’t feel connected. And, no one can move forward when the guideposts aren’t clear on the road ahead. The challenge is that leaders need to protect themselves from being isolated, from thinking that expertise alone is enough, or from making decisions with reason only. The good news is that leadership is skill that can be practiced and sharpened, which is best done by relying on the tribe. Those of us who desire to lead better and grow faster can do so by deliberately practicing within our organizations, focusing on our strengths, reflecting on our capacity, and developing a tribe around us.

Let us know what you think of this #SH302 post with a like, a follow, or a comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

References and Resources

Comaford, C. (2013). SmartTribes: How team become brilliant together. New York: Penguin.

Godin, S. (2008). Tribes: We need you to lead us. New York: Penguin.

Hardy, B. (2018). Willpower doesn’t work: Discover the hidden keys to success. New York: Hachette Books.

Hardy, B. (n.d.). This 75-year Harvard study shows how to have a lifetime of joy. Thrive Global.

“Sebastian Junger: ‘Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging’ | Talks at Google.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHosF5Wzyd4.

Sivers, D. (2010, February 02). First Follower: Leadership Lessons from a Dancing Guy. Retrieved December 26, 2018, from https://sivers.org/ff

Goleman, D. (1996). What Makes a Leader? Reprinted in The essentials. (2011). Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

 

#SH302: Fulfillment–Satisfaction Beyond the Surface

#SH302: Fulfillment–Satisfaction Beyond the Surface

by | Dec 2, 2018 | #SH302, Fulfillment, Learning to Lead

Fulfillment Image Fulfillment is something we all seek, but it’s a hard concept to grasp in terms of the strategies we need so that it manifests itself through real experiences. Perhaps it’s because fulfillment is unique to the individual or our own sense of fulfillment can change so quickly. Regardless, through a conversation with good friend who we believe is a model of personal fulfillment and genuine self-satisfaction, we sought to discover what fulfillment truly looks like and how others can obtain it for themselves. Now in his 70s, Solon doesn’t waste words, and his insight into life is remarkable. We’ve met no one else who gets more out of each and every one of the 1440 minutes of our days. When we asked him about living a life of fulfillment, he spoke of the strategies to follow for what he called a value-designed life. Solon took some time to think, as we asked him for more, and we walked the beautiful trails of White Clay Creek; he landed on three key ways that he feeds and satisfies his hunger by living a life of fulfillment. He embraces these strategies each day and so can you. Solon: “Honestly, my degree of happiness or fulfillment isn’t subject to what I achieve or what I accomplish. I discovered this truth almost too late in life, though…that who I was and my self-satisfaction could not be wrapped up and determined by a promotion, landing a new client, or closing a big deal. For years, I worked to fill this insatiable desire from within, a hunger and drive that catapulted me to early success. I was 43 when I made partner at my firm, three years ahead of the average layer, and I was just getting started. I was achieving everything I wanted and then suddenly, one indistinguishable Tuesday morning, a week after making partner, my laser focused desire to own the day was blurry. I still felt an overwhelming need to be an incredible attorney, but in an odd way, I actually desired even more than that. I decided to take the day off and try to listen to what was actually going on inside my head…and my heart. I needed space to gain clarity. I was at the pinnacle of my career, and as I stood at the top of the mountain. At the summit, gazing down, I saw a whole world that I missed, one that I suddenly wanted to join. Making partner, one of my highest goals in my life, opened up even more interests, yet they weren’t isolated to a board room or my high-rise office. From that day forward, I not only pursued my career with an obsession, I sought ways beyond the norm to serve that gave me an even greater sense of accomplishment and personal fulfillment in life and work.” Solon gave us invaluable advice that we share with you here, and he left us with this quote as we finished our walk in the woods:

“My first thought every morning is one of thanks. I inhale gratitude and exhale faith. I express my sincerity each day by making a difference in the world.” ~ Solon

Fulfillment Model

Value-Driven Days

The first thing you must do is actually identify what it is that you truly value as a person. Take time to identify the elements in your life that create a true sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. For this to happen on a deep level, you must go beyond what you think matters to uncover how you feel during certain experiences. The noise in our lives is so loud that we often fail to genuinely uncover and identify the values that lead to a greater sense of success. The key to living value-driven days is in making sure that your daily actions and activities are aligned to your core values. The challenge here is to identify the specific areas of your day that provide fulfillment and to avoid the broad brush. Surface responses, such as “making a difference,” don’t provide the specificity needed to replicate the feeling of fulfillment we need each day. We can alter the broad approach to “making a difference” by saying that the difference should be made in others. Many leaders find that “contributing to others” (Jones, 2016) is a vital way to add value to their own life because it increases our feeling of connectedness, allowing us to help others feel special, and, in turn, providing fulfillment. Once you clearly identify the key values in your life, like “contributing to the lives of others,” look to include ways to achieve them in your daily work.

Technical Tip: Rand Fishkin told us about the importance of ongoing alignment between our work and our values. To make this happen, we must pause throughout the day to determine if what we’re doing is aligned to our overall value system. Rand talked about self-awareness and grounding ourselves in our WHY. Interestingly, if adding value to others is important to you, then your actual vocation isn’t what matters most. You might be a school teacher or truck driver, what matters are the opportunities we get each day to serve and add value as often as possible. Our values can be woven into anything and everything we do. Use Rand’s strategy today by pausing often to reflect on your values and your actions. Are they aligned? If your value is to contribute to the lives of others, what have you done in between each pause to ensure that you’re living a value-driven day for better fulfillment.

Value-Driven Hobbies

The second thing you must do for greater fulfillment in life is to identify the experiences that typically satisfy your hunger outside of work. We often create fulfillment by pursuing other interests and hobbies, and we miss this when our time is hijacked by professional goals and even familial needs. Nonetheless, the benefits of intentionally seeking outside-of-work activities has incredible results on feeling fulfilled. The key with a value-driven hobby is that it creates an even deeper passion and purpose in life. The value is added to you as a person, but it also adds value to your work and family when you’re feeling your best. Everyone wants the best you they can get. “A hobby keeps you aware, inquisitive, and on the cutting edge of one more aspect of your life. Exploring a passion in-depth also helps you to gain a better understanding of yourself—how you function, what you like and dislike, and what is most important to you” (Jones, 2017). Get more out of yourself, unveil your greatest talents, and reach depths of joy by pursuing hobbies that fulfill you.

Technical Tip: Having a hobby fulfills a deeper desire that supports your overall well-being. Identify at least one hobby that truly inspires you and excites you to be a better, stronger person. Build time in your weekly and weekend schedule to pursue it. Without the blocked time, it won’t happen. Without a value-driven hobby, you won’t be your best self.

Value-Driven Relationships

The third thing you must do is to develop deep relationships with a few people who you can truly trust and be yourself around. This step may be the hardest because it requires us to be vulnerable and to let others into our life in new and different ways. The Grant and Glueck studies reveal the power of relationships and how “close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives…those ties protect people from life’s discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or even genes” (Mineo, 2017). Whether the person is a good friend, a mentor, or a trusted colleague, you need time with them on a regular basis to decompress, get things off your mind, and enjoy a good laugh together.

Technical Tip: Developing close and meaningful relationships is a critical aspect of life and studies reveal that the impact is clear on our health and fulfillment. Identify three different ways that you can further develop a current relationship that you have with someone who means the world to you. If you don’t have a mentor, get one. And, if you don’t have a trusted colleague with whom you can share a laugh, take inventory of your workplace and make a friend.

We hope you’ll heed the advice of our friend Solon. Fulfillment is more than your professional goals, and it’s even more than providing for your family. Being at your best is important for you and others. Without a value-driven daily exercise, a value-driven hobby or two, and a value-drive relationship with three key people, you’re not growing and contributing as well as you could be. That’s our fulfillment model, and we hope you learn to practice stronger engagement in life and work through personal fulfillment. Let us know what you think of this #SH302 post with a like, follow, or comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen. TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster. Joe & T.J. References  Jones, M. (2016, May 31). 5 Ways Extremely Successful People Find Fulfillment. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/matthew-jones/5-ways-extremely-successful-people-find-fulfillment.html Jones, P. (2017, October 15). Having hobbies outside of work is key to your professional success. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/professional-development/2017/10/15/heres-why-having-hobbies-outside-of-work-is-key-to-your-professional-success/104712918/ Mineo, L. (2018, July 24). Over nearly 80 years, Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life. Retrieved from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/
#SH302: Avoiding the Performance Trap: Staying Focused to Improve Time, Energy, & Efficiency

#SH302: Avoiding the Performance Trap: Staying Focused to Improve Time, Energy, & Efficiency

by | Nov 4, 2018 | #SH302, Energy, Focus, Leadership, Learning to Lead

Tired of Running at Work

Jonathan glanced up at the clock, it was half past 6:00PM, he felt a slight wave of anxiety ripple through him; he was supposed to be home by now. He knew Becky, his wife, would understand. But that wasn’t the issue. The harsh reality is that Jonathan’s nights are getting longer-and-longer and the workload is growing-and-growing. Piles of paper adorn his desk like skyscrapers, and he’s fearful that he won’t be able to keep this up for very long.

Johnathan is considered successful by many. Professionally, he is a top executive in a large organization, and he was recently recognized by the local rotary for his civic contributions. He is considered, by both the people he supervises and his superiors, to be an excellent leader. On a personal level, he is married with three kids, and by all accounts, everything couldn’t be going better. His biggest challenge lately is staying focused on the items that are the most important throughout each day. Despite his best efforts, he is often derailed by incoming emails, text messages from colleagues, unplanned phone calls, and what seems to be an endless run of meetings. He has his own work to accomplish, but the uncontrollable amount of “emergency” questions and additional problems find their way to his office on a regular basis.

Now, at 6:30PM, on a Friday night, he finds himself still at work with an insurmountable number of emails in his inbox and his head in hands.  His workload is simply consuming his days and nights, and he knows that he’ll be taking home work for the weekend as well. To no surprise, Johnathan is mentally and physically exhausted, and it appears that there is far more work than week. He’s a high performing leader, and he’s using his skills to kill himself slowly. The problem is that Johnathan isn’t alone; too many leaders fall into the same trap.

The Performance Trap

Jonathan can’t see it, but he has fallen into The Performance Trap. He also can’t see that he can escape from it to regain control of his work life. If he understands what he can and cannot influence from day-to-day, he can bring things back into his grasp in due time. There are distinct ways that leaders can proactively address every situation, large or small. Steven Covey reminds us that “…the problems all of us face fall in one of three areas: direct control (problems involving our own behavior); indirect control (problems involving other people’s behavior); or no control (problems we can do nothing about, such as our past, or situational realities)” (Covey, 2004). Jonathan needs do manage what he has within his direct and indirect control and release the items that he cannot control. But like many leaders who are caught in this trap, he can’t see it.

There are three simple, but highly effective strategies, that can help Jonathan stay organized, and more importantly, free him from the clutter, unnecessary noise, and incessant distractions. He needs to T.E.E. up his focus so that he can regain his influence over his own working conditions. There are truly only a limited number of aspects of work life within our direct and indirect control, and they are most often associated with our time, our energy, and our efficiency.

T.E.E. Up Your Day

T.E.E. Up Your Day

TheSchoolHouse302 developed a T.E.E. Up Your Day focusing-strategy list so that leaders can gain clarity around what matters, staying crystal clear with time, energy, and efficiency so that you can lead better and grow faster intentionally. Teeing it up is not only about staying focused, it’s about being a better leader for yourself and others. Keeping your attention on what matters most drives happiness, productivity, and even organizational profits (James, 2018). Let’s drive all of our results forward, fast, and far.

Time–Block Fill Your Calendar

Block Fill Your Calendar

Every job has recurring tasks. For example, every supervisor has performance appraisals to complete each year. They are a mainstay and vital part of any supervisory role. Observations and evaluations are also very time consuming and can eat up precious work time. They can also creep up by mid-year and year-end to create massive blocks of time needed to write reviews and meet with people, on top of everything else. Whether it be evaluations or other recurring tasks, the strategy used by all highly effective leaders, to ensure that these things are accomplished on time and well, is to block-fill the calendar with specific times to complete tasks that are otherwise left to “open” times. Any task that can be scheduled should be, especially the tasks that we know come up annually, monthly, weekly, and daily. Block the time needed to do the work so that it doesn’t pile up. This also creates space in your day where you go undisturbed, bringing you back in control of the minutes and hours. When this time is scheduled, set boundaries so that everyone knows “when you’ll be available or not, so they are aware of your more limited schedule” (Jen Su, 2017). This may sound simple, but too many tasks go unscheduled and then a fast approaching deadline destroys the focus we wanted to have on something else because the “urgent” takes precedence over the “important.”

Technical Tip: Do a yearly brain dump or calendar review of anything that needs to get done on a regular basis. List out the meetings and work items that you know creep up if they aren’t scheduled, and block time for them to happen. Don’t wait; the time is now. If the problem is mostly people who suck up your time, the strategy is precisely the same. Author of Productivity Secrets says to “reliably dedicate time on your calendar every week for each of your direct reports…[so that they can] make decisions on their own” (Thomas, 2018). The point is that by using your calendar you can be available less but get more done.

Energy–Have a Bucket

Have a Bucket for Information and Ideas

A bucket is designed to carry things from one place to another. In Thinking for a Change (2005), John Maxwell describes using a tool to help carry his thoughts and ideas around without losing them. The reasons are simple. “Inundated” and “under fire” are some of the best descriptors for the life of any leader. Leaders are often consumed with both outside information and thoughts that flood their mind. Much of this occurs through offhand conversations and fleeting or momentary thoughts. Although they come and go with speed, they are important and usually need more attention than we give them. We all need a strategy to bring our mental focus into alignment so that our energy can be spent on the right things, in the present. This creates the need for a mental bucket, which can be a daily 3X5 card, a memo book, or an app that can be kept in a backpack or even your pocket. The critical notion is that if you can’t create space in your mind for thinking due to the ever growing barrage of information coming at you, your energy will be spent without focus. The bucket creates space. Once your thoughts are on paper, your mind can be clear for problem-solving, focused work time, and gaining clarity around the future of your efforts. Uncluttering your mind is a crucial step in creating the physical energy you need to be at your best.

Technical Tip: Get a bucket (a notepad or app that you commit to keeping with you at all times). If a notepad seems like a bad idea for your style, put one 3X5 card in your suit pocket each morning for your personal notes, crazy thoughts, and new information that comes your way. File the card at the end of each day, creating your own note-system for future reference. This suggestion may seem old-school, and you may prefer to use an app instead, which is fine. The key, though, is to take time each day to reflect on your bucket so that your focus is clear and your energy is high.

Efficiency–Don’t Do the Same Work Twice

Don't Do the Same Work Twice

A successful business executive turned educator and an old friend of ours, named Stewart, gave us sage advice regarding how to deal with mundane time-crushing tasks. Stewart advised us on how to increase our efficiency by controlling our time and our activities by taking control of when to review information and how to review it most effectively. Stewart used a simple and efficient process by dedicating specific times of the day to review email and other routine tasks. He strived to do this during times of the day that maximized gaps in his schedule or occasions where he didn’t need his most creative self. The number one piece of advice that he gave, though, was to never complete a task twice, especially email. Stewart set specific times throughout the day to specifically read his email and answer calls. He didn’t haphazardly approach the task, and he made sure that he had enough time to process the information. What Stewart didn’t do was keep a pile of uncertainty on his desk or in his computer. And he didn’t look at every email that entered his inbox all day long. He also intentionally decided to do something with the information and documents he received. This is about being efficient so that you can stay focused when focus is what you need most.

Indecision around a common aspects of our jobs kills future productivity. Emails can also wreak havoc on time and organization. In David Allen’s Getting Things Done (2003) he writes about the 3 Ds—Do It, Delegate It, or Defer It. Email presents a slightly different challenge since the information being communicated can vary greatly. However, the key is to develop a system that helps organize the information to maximize your efficiency. Respond to email immediately, forward it to be responded to by a delegate, or defer to another source for the mailer to seek the right person to ask. Don’t keep a full inbox, and don’t check your inbox all day.

Technical Tip: LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner, discovered that one of the best ways to reduce the amount of emails he received was to actually send fewer emails. According to Weiner you should not send an email unless absolutely necessary (Gillett, 2016). The strategy here is to evaluate if you should send the email in the first place (or at all) or if someone else is better suited to send it (and to receive the reply).

Are you tired of running ragged at work, never caught up? These three basic strategies are simple yet effective. And most importantly, you can begin them today. We say T.E.E. Up Your Day for better use of time, energy, and efficiency.

Let us know what you think of this #SH302 post with a like, follow, or comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

Allen, D. (2003). Getting things done: The art of stress free productivity. New York: Penguin Books.

Covey, S.R. (2004). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Gillett, R. (2016, December 21). The email habits of Tim Cook, Bill Gates, and 16 other successful people.

James, N. (2018). Attention pays: How to drive profitability, productivity, and accountability. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Jen Su, A. (2017). 5 ways to focus your energy during a work crunch. Harvard Business Review.

Maxwell, J. (2005). Thinking for a change: 11 ways highly successful people approach life. New York: Warner Business Books.

Thomas, M. (2018). 4 ways leaders can protect their time and empower their teams. Harvard Business Review.

 

Productive Disruption–Cultivating Organizational Growth as a School Leader

Productive Disruption–Cultivating Organizational Growth as a School Leader

by | Oct 7, 2018 | #SH302, Disruption, Learning to Lead

Productive Disruption

School Leaders Have to Manage Change 

Schools are constantly subjected to forces of change. Some change is driven by internal considerations, while others are due to external factors, some out of necessity, while a few are fueled by inspiration and drive. When we think about inspiration and drive in schools, we think about school leaders who productively disrupted their organization to create something new and different that hadn’t existed until they pushed the conventions to the limit.

When Steve Jobs was CEO of both Apple and Pixar, he maintained an incessant focus on excellence. His reputation in his early years at Apple portrays him as somewhat tyrannical about it, but the people closest to him say that his candor was always laced with compassion (Catmull, 2014). His desire to disrupt, pushed himself and others to think and create beyond imagination. Undoubtedly, he is remembered as a controversial leader, but he is also considered one of the greatest innovators, entrepreneurs, and business tycoons that the universe has ever seen.

Jobs had a few key characteristics that made him successful. He was driven, profound in his thinking, possessed an uncanny ability to say no, and cared deeply about the collaborative process. At times, he was also dissentious and outspoken, which often meant that he argued relentlessly to get what he wanted. He was surely opinionated, and he went to great lengths by forcefully assembling what he considered to be the right people to get the work done. The problem is that the same qualities that made him successful–giving him the skills and abilities as CEO of two of the most creative and profitable companies ever (at the same time)–are precisely what got him fired from Apple in the first place and likely the reason that people still describe him as arrogant and even nasty.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Steve Jobs fan; it’s impossible to dismiss the fact that he was revolutionary in his ways. He gave us personal computers when the idea was laughable and then he put one in our pockets. He changed the way that we interact with music and then he built a platform to buy it that had never before been conceived. But, to do these things, he disrupted the business world, the status quo in more than one industry, and our modern culture as we know it. So we ought to do our best to learn from him, for better or worse, to apply a little of what made Jobs tick in our own leadership scenarios. It’s possible for all of us to be a bit more productively disruptive in our own organizations.

The good news is that you don’t need to be Steve Jobs or even hire a Steve Jobs to garner success in much of the way that he did. However, let’s dissect what made him, and other disruptors, so wildly accomplished in business and life when the people around him dismissed his character as flawed, doubted his predictions, and dreaded the interactions they might have with him. It’s time that we value the rebels, the radicals, and the renegades.

School Leaders as Productive Disruptors

School leaders who are productive disruptors understand that change and instability, for good or bad, both internal and external, are the only true constants. As a result, they skillfully leverage problems as opportunities by creating a culture that encourages people to willingly identify and fix areas that need to be improved. They foster an environment where innovation and ideation are the norm rather than the exception.

The interpretive and diagnostic approach to challenges includes three distinct steps. Organizations often don’t get to even experience Step One, and it’s only at Step Three where true innovation can occur. Once we realize the way each step works, we can cultivate a setting that maximizes Step Three through people, culture, and space.

The School Leader’s Model for Productive Disruption

Steps to Innovation

Step One–Problem Solving: A Traditional Approach to Improvement

Every school has issues and problems-of-practice. If you take a couple minutes, grab a pen and a pad of paper, we’re certain that you can identify several things that need to be fixed, improved, polished, or, worse yet, thrown out in your life and work as a school leader. Problems are plentiful, but good, viable solutions are not. To combat this imbalance, disruptive leaders know that in order to land on the right solutions, teams must thrive in a collaborative culture. Dr. Collier (2016) explains that skillful problem-solving works best among those who embrace the “yes, and” approach, which builds a team-oriented path to solving issues by capitalizing on the fact that many problems are the result of various breakdowns throughout a school or district and not isolated to one area or department.

This type of problem-identification and solution-minded manner of dealing with issues is the most traditional way that school leaders tackle challenges. Too often, when leaders perceive themselves as trapped by their problems, they admire the issues without addressing them head-on and holistically. But system- and design-thinking are becoming more mainstream for school success with intiatives. Using “yes, and” allows leaders to acknowledge current conditions and add a future consideration. Too often, our cultures revert to “yeah, but…” Step One pushes for a problem solving approach.

Step Two–Constructive Dissonance: An Uncommon Approach to Growth

Receiving difficult feedback is hard to hear regardless of the circumstance. We are easily unnerved and fall prey to our sensitivities, which can limit the growth of our organization by the culture that we create. Disruptive school leaders recognize that the workforce around them must be able to freely communicate ideas and thoughts, even when they are different, unwelcomed, and against the grain. Yes, they must be aligned to the vision and core values of the district, but they don’t have to honor the status quo. They should push boundaries, revealing areas of need that typically go unnoticed or get ignored.

As Jim Collins (2001) writes: it’s a key characteristic of the “Level 5” leader to embrace humility with a “fierce resolve” for improvement. Humble yet disruptive leaders create a culture that requires everyone to speak out and speak up because of a true desire to question everything with, “what do we need to do to make this even better?”  This creates constructive dissonance, which takes problem solving to a new level, but it doesn’t always initiate something totally new like we’ll see in Step Three. It’s more growth and improvement centered than it is innovative or inventive.

Step Three–Break It: An Extraordinary Approach to Innovation

How we frame situations, programs, and products is critical to unveiling new ideas and capitalizing on various challenges. This step requires a whole new lens for school leadership growth and innovation. The strategy is designed to combat a desire to rest on previous successes. Zuckerberg once touted the mantra, “move fast and break things,” which he later revised to “move fast with stable infrastructure” (Statt, 2014). Innovation requires a new way of thinking, which often goes beyond problem solving or making incremental adjustments. It’s a growth strategy that relies on proactive thinking and anticipation based on new and different ideas.

Often this approach unveils a new and better approach, solution, or idea that totally removes the old and replaces it with something altogether new and different. Productive disruptors tend to break rules and make messes in the pursuit of an improved alternative. The ideal is not just to solve a problem or fix something, but rather explore new territory altogether, not confined by artificial boundaries or rules. This is akin to an artist needing a completely new canvas versus trying to rework an already established painting. It means leaving a first version behind or breaking the system to start over.

Incorporating Step Three into your organization requires extreme focus on three areas–how we support people, how we establish culture, and how we create space for productive disruption to occur. This will ingrain, Break It, as an expectation not just a novel idea.

Powering Step Three: 3 Solution-Driven Ideals for School Leaders

The following ideals are uncomfortable, which is what makes them rare, but they’re critical to building an organization that values innovation at its core. These three ideals are each grounded in evidence and research, and they represent true leadership. The definition of leadership is influence, the challenge of leadership is conflict, and the result of leadership is change. Productive disruptors create change through conflict that results in their influence for something new and different to occur. These three ideals are what support Step Three.  

Three Solution-Driven Ideals

Ideal #1–Focus on the People

Great school leaders know that it’s never policies or programs that get the work done; it’s the people. To get to Step Three, and past the traditional problem-solution model, leaders must create an environment that supports the people who are willing to do the breaking–the people who make a mess, challenge the status-quo, and often make others uncomfortable. Francesca Gino (2018) calls these people “rebels,” and she notes that they have distinct insight and talents that they bring to the table. Leaders who crave innovation need rebel talent on the team. That means that we need to hire and support rebels, but it also means that we need to foster rebel-behavior in people who might otherwise be stifled by rules. For creative solutions for old problems to emerge, to replace fundamental beliefs with new ones, leaders have to idealize disruption and accept some of the disorder that comes before change can occur.

Technical Tip: At some point, every rising school leader reaches a place where the work is viewed through who can best support the desired outcome.  We have to shift our focus from what is getting done to who is getting it done. Look for individuals with great perceptual acuity, the ability to “see around corners,” to bring creativity and innovation to your team. We have to recognize our risk-takers and reward our “rebels” so that everyone understands that we value disruption and innovation over traditions and status quo.

Ideal #2–Focus on the Culture

We center productive disruption as a cultural norm in organizations. It’s evident that some school cultures inherently invite and support disruptors and some do not. The point, though, is that if you’re interested in innovation–or real problem solving at any level, disruption has to be embedded in the culture. This doesn’t come without what Ray Dalio (2017) calls “radical transparency.” This is a level of candor that goes beyond facing the facts or confronting reality to being brutally forward with thoughts and ideas. It means being critical with almost a hint of insensitivity. Dalio explains that it’s only when we truly desire criticism and feedback that we’ll accept it openly to improve ourselves and the organization.

Technical Tip: Every great school has a clear vision coupled with crystal clear core values. Great school leaders list and post their school’s core values everywhere so that they are imprinted into everyone’s minds. They leverage their core values to ensure that the work is aligned to the vision and goals. Make sure your organization’s core values support change, new ideas, and innovation; one such value is “transparent communication.”

Ideal #3–Focus on the Space

For new thoughts to emerge and for sharing to take place at the highest degree, we need time and space to come together with the right atmosphere for the people. Pat Lencioni’s (2002) composite character, Kathryn, found her team to be totally dysfunctional when she arrived as their new leader. They weren’t getting results, they lacked accountability, commitment was low, they feared conflict, and trust was simply absent. What Kathryn did to mend the team and revive performance was to create space where vulnerability and safety could occur. She established trust by allowing for dissonance but then pulling together the thoughts of every member of her team into a synthesized plan that they could all get behind. She didn’t allow disagreements to fester; instead, she actually brought them to the surface, making it okay to push back while at the same time holding one another accountable. She acted as a guide and a facilitator, and, ultimately, she communicated care through her firm decision-making once she gained insight from the team. She was only able to do this because time and space were available for the team to hash things out in a way that hadn’t happened before she started creating it for them.

Technical Tip: Transform meetings into a place for open-source ideas. Create space and maximize collaboration by setting and adhering to strict meeting times and establishing meeting norms for transparency, engagement, and accountability. One way to do this is to organize agenda items to a person with an associated time and intended purpose. Each item should be marked as dissemination, decision, or discussion. This approach lets people know how to participate with the agenda items–take notes to share with others, help to create a plan, or to brainstorm new ideas designed to break things.

At TheSchoolHouse302 we equate Steve Jobs with an insatiable desire to simply make things better regardless of how good they are already. We even take that one step further, as Jobs often did, by pursuing the impossible. Excellence is a never-ending pursuit that is not confined by artificial boundaries or limiting ideals. There are countless advances with otherwise unforeseen outcomes, from the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming to Henry Ford’s commitment to building the V8 engine, all of which remind us of what was once considered the impossible. Productive disruption is the result of not only great minds coming together, but the faith and belief that progress really is limitless. As a leader, have the courage to allow your organization to break it by remembering to focus on the people, focus on the culture, and focus on the space.

Let us know what you think of this post with a like, follow, or comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

References

Catmull, E. (2014). Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the unforeseen forces that stand in the way of true inspiration. New York: Random House.

Collier, C. (2016, November 21). How To Adopt A Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach Through ‘Yes, And’ Thinking. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/11/21/how-to-adopt-a-collaborative-problem-solving-approach-through-yes-and-thinking/#70271d636694

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap…and others don’t. New York: HaperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Dalio, R. (2017). Principles: Life and work. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Gino, F. (2018). Rebel talent: Why it pays to break the rules at work and in life. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Statt, N. (2014). Zuckerberg: ‘Move fast and break things’ isn’t how Facebook operates anymore. Retrieved from https://www.cnet.com/news/zuckerberg-move-fast-and-break-things-isnt-how-we-operate-anymore/

#SH302: The Five Cs of Professional Dialogue: Taking the Fear Out of Giving Feedback

#SH302: The Five Cs of Professional Dialogue: Taking the Fear Out of Giving Feedback

by | Sep 2, 2018 | #SH302, Communication, Feedback, Learning to Lead, Professional Dialogue

Feedback

A culture of excellence requires time, commitment, and ongoing care. To cultivate excellence, it must be rooted in professional dialogue to launch and sustain your organization’s growth and development, which requires employees to be engaged. Unfortunately, employee engagement remains an issue in the workplace with poor communication being one of the main culprits. One Gallup study of “7,272 U.S. adults revealed that one in two had left their job to get away from their manager to improve their overall life at some point in their career” (Harter & Adkins, 2015). Too often “people sense that they [are] missing needed information, [and] they blame lack of communication for the problem” (Markman, 2017). The fact is that proper communication and professional dialogue rest at the heart of every great organization’s infrastructure.

How an organization communicates to deal with the realities facing them will be the basis for either growth, stagnation, or eventual failure. The problem is not normally information sharing or access but rather how well we communicate with one another that makes the difference. To create a culture where communication is woven into the fabric of the organization, we’ve developed a five-part model to guide leaders and to ensure that poor communication doesn’t sink their best efforts.

5Cs of Communication

Everyone Loves Samantha, But…

Samantha possesses the interpersonal skills and positive attitude that everyone loves in a coworker, yet, at times, she can pose issues with behaviors that hinder the team and get in the way of productivity and the team’s output. Her technical competency and depth of knowledge are good, but she has tendency to talk by the “water cooler” a little too long and can easily derail a meeting with an off putting joke or misplaced story. The difficult thing about Samantha is that her strengths, at times, become her weaknesses; her team perceives her more as a tension eliminator versus a problem solver.

The biggest issue for Dan, her manager, is that he wants to talk to her to get her to balance her levity and off-task tendencies with her potential for substantial contributions. She is certainly loved by her peers, and so Dan fears that a conversation with her about this will shut her down and alienate other team members who may be used in the examples that Dan has to demonstrate the problems. At the end of the day, he struggles with whether or not the conversation is even worth it. Samantha brings humor and laughter to the meetings, she gets her work done, but Dan and the team need more than that from Samantha.

What Should Dan do?

We would love the situation to be straightforward, suggesting that a simple conversation will do the trick, but we know that growth and development take time and resourcefulness on the part of any leader. Samantha is loved by her co-workers, and she possesses a vibrant energy. In the end, we need to ensure that Samantha is clear about the needed changes, that she recognizes her need to grow, and that the terms and conditions are agreeable. Not only is Samantha’s attitude toward growing critical to her success, it’s pivotal for the organization’s culture and the support that ensues when people are ready to make needed changes.

Dan needs to be straightforward with Samantha and any waiting to communicate will only exacerbate the problem. He needs to address her behaviors as soon as possible. He also needs to be clear about the fact that her strength is her ability to provide a positive energy and that her potential as a contributor is clear but that her off task comments can stress the team in times when she thinks she’s lightening the load.

Dan has to be candid, confronting reality with expectations and timelines. He can’t sugarcoat the situation or it will be misunderstood. Managers have a distinct need to demonstrate that they are in their employees’ “corner,” establishing and systematizing professional dialogue in the workplace, but with candor at the same time. The notion is that leaders care so much that they can tell you what you don’t want to hear in a way that balances the need to communicate a problem with the nurture and support to help make the changes together.

Communication is Often Counter-intuitive

As leaders, it’s critical that we focus on growth. We have to do what it takes for our team and for ourselves to develop over time. This means that organizations have to put core values at the center of every decision. If a core value is professional growth and personal development, then feedback and dialogue are critical drivers for performance. One step in keeping the norms at the forefront is in setting clear norms for communication and understanding the pitfalls in what we think we said and what we think we heard from others.

These norms have to be established within the culture and modeled by the leader. There are three critical norms that the leader must set, holding everyone accountable to the way that communication takes place:

  1. Accept the norm that feedback is candid and welcomed by all.
  2. Accept the norm that feedback is frequent and meant to drive positive changes in performance.
  3. Accept the norm that we must review and reflect on what we’re writing and saying to one another on a regular basis so that the quality of our feedback improves.

This means that all dialogue considers the balance between communicating clearly because of our position in the team’s corner and our care for the people. In the center of clear communication and compassion for the people is always the candor it takes to help them get better.

We know that some conversations can be difficult. Particularly, with individuals who contribute positively but who also have flaws that need to be addressed, communicating can be excruciating. This is precisely why leaders need to create a culture of candor and compassion with feedback at the core. But before we fully introduce a model for crystal clear communication and professional dialogue, we need to address a common assumption about the lack of information sharing in any organization. As Judith Glaser, an organizational anthropologist and author of Conversation Intelligence, reminded us in our #onethingseries podcast interview (coming up this month): “our words create worlds” and “we often don’t say what we really mean.”

The Assumption: Information is the Solution

Too often, when communication is pinned as the culprit, we jump to conclusions that there’s a lack of information sharing in our organization. Folks even say things like “had I known…” or “no one shared that with me…” And, as leaders, we tend to believe that “greater access to information is the solution” (Markman, 2017) so we develop stronger methods for communicating, like newsletters and bulletins. But more or different communication channels are not likely the answer because procedures for communicating aren’t usually the problem. It’s more likely to be the way we communicate, how we interact with people, than if we are communicating. You can eliminate the fear of providing feedback by using these 5Cs of professional dialogue.

5Cs of Communication

The 5Cs of Professional Dialogue

Be a Communicator: Are your organization’s goals communicated well enough to use in a conversation regarding performance?

The first C is to be a communicator in the first place. Too many leaders fail to communicate, and that’s simply not acceptable. The bottom line is that strong communication is grounded in the mission, vision, and goals of the organization. Leaders must over-communicate the purpose and meaning behind the work. If you haven’t communicated the goals of your organization often enough to hold others accountable to them then they might as well not exist. Dan should be able to use the department’s goals to demonstrate a performance gap for Samantha. If he can’t, the goals for her performance aren’t clear enough.

Be Clear: Is your feedback clear enough for others to take action?

Achieving clarity around the goals and values is the backdrop for quality feedback concerning an individual’s personal actions or a team’s accomplishments. This type of clarity with communication allows for all professional dialogue about performance to be more objective. In the case of Samantha, it means pointing out her strengths and weaknesses based on pre-defined organizational expectations, which are not the arbitrary personal standards of the supervisor. Remember that this means two things: 1. the mission, vision, and goals have been communicated and 2. that the feedback is clearly tied to them. Too often, we fall into the trap of assuming that the goals are clear when they’re not or we give feedback that isn’t clearly linked to the goals. In either case, we’re not communicating clearly and subsequent improvements won’t be made.

Be Candid: Is your feedback specific, candid, two-way, and ongoing?

The third C is candor. Being candid while maintaining a two-way, open dialogue, requires serious skill. It also requires a high degree of competence with the aspects of Samantha’s performance that you’re addressing. Too often, candor has a negative connotation because it is associated with a difficult message or with a frankness that’s too abrupt.  We maintain that candor is simply direct and specific feedback, which everyone needs, and should be presented in a manner that is designed to be open and honest. In an interview with one of the greatest boxing trainers ever, Angelo Dundee makes it clear why his relationship with Muhammed Ali was so successful: “I was always very honest with him. And him with me.”  Dundee recalls how he could simply mention how Ali’s jab looked and how Ali would work on it until it was right. Embracing candor as the vehicle for improved performance builds a culture that accepts and expects feedback for improved performance. Candor also increases the speed of the desired improvements. It accounts for specificity with the needed changes versus the flowery and ambiguous feedback that leaders sometimes provide in an effort to “be nice.”

Be in their Corner: Does your feedback communicate that you’re in the person’s corner no matter what you’re saying?

The fourth C of our professional dialogue model is communicating that you’re in the corner of the person with whom you’re feedback is directed. People are not always going to like what you say, especially when it’s critical about an aspect of their performance at work, but they’ll be far more likely to accept the message if they know that you’re with them in their efforts to make improvements. Consider Samantha, the only way she’s going to get better is if someone points out her performance issues to her. She’ll likely respond in one of two ways: defensively, which is a result of her feeling alone in her efforts to improve or acceptance, which is the result of her feeling like the message is coming from someone who stands in her corner with support and resources. The difference looks like this:

  1. Samantha, you need to make some changes or we’re going to have to talk about an improvement plan for you.
  2. Samantha, you need to make some changes, and I’m here to support you with some strong advice and a few resources that can help. Let’s work together on this so that you can improve your performance and contribute on greater level, which I’m confident you can do.

The first example is almost an ultimatum, and sometimes people do need real documented improvement plans, but it leaves Samantha hanging out there alone versus the second example, which commands the same message but shows that the leader is there to help and not just to evaluate.

Be Caring: Do your words and actions demonstrate care for the people in your organization?

The fifth and final C in the professional dialogue model is demonstrating care. If the leader truly cares about the people in the organization and demonstrates care through actions and words, the people will be motivated and inspired to put forth effort and improve the quality of their performance through feedback. We can’t just want Samantha to improve for the sake of the organization. We have to care about Samantha–her personal needs, her sense of efficacy, and her feelings about the job she does–before we can spend any time enhancing her performance through critical feedback. Leaders who care do so with specific actions and words. Sinek metaphorically describes this by saying that “leaders eat last.” By eating last, providing food, making work fun, and uplifting others, leaders can demonstrate that they care about people.

If you communicate with people, you do so clearly, you employ candor, you demonstrate that you’re in their corner, and you show care, you’re leading in a way that should prevent any fear from giving feedback to the people on your team or in your organization. This type of professional dialogue is exactly what leaders need to propel their teams into the future. That’s our model for professional feedback, and we hope it helps you to lead better and grow faster.

Let us know what you think of this #SH302 post with a like, follow, or comment. Find us on Twitter, YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, & SoundCould. And if you want one simple model for leading better and growing faster per month, follow this blog by entering your email at the top right of the screen.

TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

References

Gallup, Inc. (2015, April 08). Employees Want a Lot More From Their Managers. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236570/employees-lot-managers.aspx

Markman, A. (2017). Poor communication is often a symptom of a different problem. Harvard Business Review.

Sinek, S. (2014). Leaders eat last: Why some teams pull together and others don’t. Penguin Group: New York.

#SH302: Great Leaders Win from Failure–Don’t Earn Any of These Three Fs on Your Success Report Card

#SH302: Great Leaders Win from Failure–Don’t Earn Any of These Three Fs on Your Success Report Card

by | Aug 5, 2018 | #SH302, Failure, Learning to Lead

Learning from Failure

We hear of incredible stories of accomplishment amid severe hardship and constant rejection. Whether we consider Abraham Lincoln’s early failures in politics and business, and revere his perseverance at becoming one of our greatest presidents. Or using a more contemporary example, we look to Stephen King, a great American author, who in pursuit of his dream found rejection with his first novel, Carrie, being dismissed by publishers over 30 times (Demers, 2015). We know that many successful people endure major setbacks, both personally and professionally, as life itself presents a series of challenges that crush some of our greatest desires and goals. Whether in politics, business, writing, sports, or any aspect of life, failure is natural, trials occur, and misfortune becomes almost commonplace. How we view and perceive our failure determines whether the experience is beneficial and continues to move us toward our goals…or not. And as failure has somehow emerged as a prerequisite for leaders, the notion that great leaders have to fail first to be able to succeed, we want to address this concept of failing in order to achieve greatness in two ways:

  1. It’s not a farce that leaders often have countless failed attempts before making it big, earning them fame or fortune or some other glory. Not all leaders have to fail to be successful, but it is true that persistence is a key leadership attribute, and those who fail and “try, try again” are the ones who are most likely to succeed. We think this is mostly due to the grit that is defined as pushing forward after a failure (Duckworth, 2016) than it is due to the nature of needing to fail.
  2. Failure comes in many forms. The simple definition of failure is usually something along the lines of “a lack of success.” But, this lack of success isn’t always due to a failed attempt, but rather an omission of a critical action necessary for success. In other words, failing to lead is mostly something that happens when we fail to take action because we fear that our actions won’t lead to our desired outcomes, and we focus on the product of our efforts and the lack of clear results that we see along the way.

Great leaders know that to win, risk is almost always necessary. And although there seems to be a glorification of risk-takers as leaders in our society, most great leaders know that when they’re venturing into uncharted waters, the best thing to do is to mitigate risk. So two concepts emerge around winning from failure. The first is that failure is necessary, but we contend that failure is typically a result of inaction, fear that our goals won’t be achieved, and a lack of clarity around what we truly desire. The second is that leaders are risk taking daredevils, and with that we note that leaders certainly take risks but never blindly. For these two reasons, we have a model, not for how to fail and succeed, but rather how to not fail to take calculated risks in life and business. Avoid earning yourself these three Fs on your report card of success and you’ll fail forward with the greatest leaders of all time.

F#1: Failure to Launch–you can’t fail, if you don’t try.

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”  ~ Michael Jordan

The biggest failure of them all is not even giving yourself the opportunity to fail in the first place. The leaders who failed before they succeed all had one thing in common–the didn’t fail to try. The problem is that people tend to make 100 excuses as to why it’s not possible to move forward versus 1 excuse to take action immediately.

The reality is that we want things to be just right before taking the first step. Although planning and preparing are critical aspects of any successful endeavor, the conditions for launching a project are never perfect. Too often, leaders are in pursuit of perfection when perfection can be the enemy of making any progress at all. This is where we bring back the concept of risk-taking. Failure to launch a project is either a symptom of not enough planning or too much. If you’re in the preparation stage, taking time to mitigate risk, it’s time to make a move. Ron Ashkenas, author of Simply Effective, says that executives can get caught up in research before taking action, but we need to shift that thinking to the notion that “action can occur parallel to research” (2011). Your project likely has many steps, but launching it only takes the first one.

Practical Example: Consider Jan. Jan was unhappy in her current job, deep down she always wanted to be a teacher and her role as business analyst was not satisfying. In fact, it was impacting her overall well-being. But, with a mortgage, three kids, and a husband who traveled three days a week, she questioned whether teaching was worth pursuing. She spent a lot of time thinking about it, planning for it, and researching the possibility, but daunted by the thought, she prevented herself from taking action. Ultimately, Jan decided not to suppress her desire, so she reached out to a local university and learned exactly what it would take to become a teacher. What Jan didn’t know until she fully planned and prepared to go after her goal is that because she was interested in teaching mathematics there were alternative paths to becoming certified. This first step of just determining the requirements gave her a clearer picture of the cost, the time commitment, and the different possibilities involved. Suddenly, Jan’s desire to teach was actually feasible because of the clarity she gained from that simply phone call. Jan went from thinking and hoping about a new career to taking the first step toward accomplishing it.

Technical Tip: Define what the logical first step is, something simple, and then take it. It’s likely a phone call, setting up a website, filling out an application, or making an appointment. Don’t let another day go by.

F#2: Fear of Not Making a Massive Contribution–small steps lead to long treks.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~ Laozi

One of the major issues with pursuing our goals is that we live in a hero’s culture. We hear about amazing accomplishments and compare them to our own realities and the goals we have. We need to be sure that we use the right yardstick to measure what we are looking to accomplish and detail the incremental steps along the way that reinforce that we are making progress. Too often, our goals are so lofty that when massive change or intense contribution is not an immediate outcome, we lose track of the fact that small steps are the mile markers that indicate that we are moving forward. Somehow, our brains tend to associate small wins with a lack of achievement when that’s not an accurate picture. We see that a friend has 800 followers on Twitter, and it prevents us from even setting up an account. What would 10 followers say about me and my lack of initiative? But that fear prevents the 10 followers and the steps it takes to get to 800 and then 8,000.

This fear that paralyzes us, because our goals seem too audacious while our contributions appear minimal, doesn’t recognize that when big goals are broken down they represent a series of small practical steps. Anyone with a massive accomplishment will tell you that it took guts and no guarantees; it takes the first step and every step thereafter to realize any big win. Art Markman, author of Smart Thinking, tells HBR readers that “the people who do manage to accomplish their long-term goals create regular space to make progress on them” (2016). The idea is to take the first step toward a goal and then each step thereafter. Massive contributions are almost always an accumulation of smaller ones.

Practical Example: Let’s consider Jan, again. In taking the first step to realize her goal in becoming a teacher, she launched her project by learning that she doesn’t need to go back to school before becoming a teacher. She can apply for an alternative route. Because she already has a degree in accounting and mathematics, she can use that to pursue a teaching certificate. Even though it took her a long time to get started, the new career path is quite the opposite in terms of the approach she needs to take versus what she originally deemed the excuse. She thought she would need to getting a teaching degree to be able to teach, but because of her math background, she actually needs a teaching job to be able to get the credential. Little did she know that math teachers are in seriously high demand, and after applying at a local technical high school, she gave notice to her analyst position, and started in the new teacher induction program in August. A series of small steps, once considered too daunting to take, became easier and easier for Jan as she took each one at a time. She learned to create space in day to manage the progress, and she recognized that each small step added up to achieving her big goal. In June she considered teaching to be an impossible feat, and now in August she’s on staff in her dream job.

Technical Tip: New projects, initiatives, and goals can seem intimidating, but that’s because they have a number of moving parts. After identifying and taking the first step, unpack the rest by making a list of steps and action items that need to be taken. Prioritize them and get started on the process of completing them one-by-one, and make space daily and weekly for each. Incremental achievement is the only antidote to overcoming the fear that your accomplishments won’t be grand enough.

F#3: Fixating on the Wrong Measures–avoid thinking about the product, and focus on the process.

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Learn to measure success by celebrating the short-term wins rather than waiting for the long-range outcomes. Setting goals and having clear targets is a key to success because if you don’t know where you are going, you have no chance of getting there. However, we tend to overlook the daily inputs, tasks, and behaviors that need to be done throughout the journey that are necessary to be successful. Essentially, the day-to-day activities that will lead to accomplishment. Effective leaders focus not only on the long-term goals and the overall destination, but they also identify key mile-markers that indicate accomplishment and success along the way.

One by-product of identifying clear short-term measures while working toward a goal is in recognizing the clarity they bring during the process. Great leaders know how to anticipate potential problems and accurately measure risk, but they also know when the process is demonstrating new developments to celebrate incremental successes. Everything we do is riddled with complications and setbacks, but there are also always key indicators that we are making headway. The key is framing an understanding around each hurdle so that each minor accomplishment is a short-term win toward success, which is a critical element to not losing site that we’re realizing breakthroughs. In his fable about reaching goals, Ken Blanchard’s composite character Andy reminds readers that leaders have to cheer the work being done not just the product or outcome of the work (1997). Knowing that there are measures of success that come long before the goal is reached allows for failure to be an option along the way to our ultimate success, and it motivates us to keep on pushing forward.

Practical Example: Let’s take one last look at Jan. She gained clarity that her goal can actually be a reality and that she can fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher. Even though the requirements to becoming certified are easier than she thought, there are realities that she needs to be pragmatic about. Jan has a lot on her plate and since her husband travels a great deal, many of the household demands fall on her. Whether it is as simple as grocery shopping or taking the kids to their activities, they all require time and will add to the level of strain in doing a new job and going back to school at night. The key for Jan is that she stays realistic with all the incremental steps she previously identified. She has to recognize that there will be hurdles and setbacks, but she also needs to learn to celebrate the smallest of wins and remind herself of the overall goal whenever she experiences failure. One bad day at school doesn’t mean she’s not a good teacher just like one alternative routes course completed doesn’t mean she’s certified. She has to overcome the mistakes and celebrate the minor markers of success during the process of realizing her dreams.

Technical Tip: Become passionate about the process, not obsessed about outcomes.  Learn to celebrate yourself and others along the journey. Too often we hear about people achieving so much and still being unsatisfied. When we set goals and look to achieve more, we are seeking something we hope pays off in some way. Whether it is self-satisfaction, a better lifestyle for your family, or making a positive contribution to your community, the key is to enjoy the process and gain knowledge and understanding from the experiences.

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Avoiding the three Fs of failure is what defines and separates those who learn from life as a process, with repeated setbacks and failures, and those who don’t even take the first step to reaching their dreams. Our goal at TheSchoolHouse302 is to help you gain clarity around what you truly want to achieve and offer simple, yet effective, strategies for you to tackle the complexities of life. If you want more support with learning how to fail forward for yourself or the leaders in your organization, don’t hesitate to contact us, we can help.

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TheSchoolHouse302 is about getting to simple by maximizing effective research-based strategies that empower individuals to lead better and grow faster.

Joe & T.J.

References

Ashkenas, R. (2011). The problem with perfection. Harvard Business Review.

Blanchard, K. (1997). Gung ho! Turn on the people in any organization. New York: Ode to Joy Limited.

DeMers, J. (2015, July 07). Inspirational Lessons From the Failures of 4 Great Leaders. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/inspirational-lessons-from-the-failures-of-4-great-leaders.html

Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. New York: Scribner.

Markman, A. (2016). When you should worry about failure, and when you shouldn’t. Harvard Business Review.

Thiel, P. (2014). Zero to one: Notes on startups, or how to build the future. New York: Random House, LLC.