by Jane Perdue | Be your best you
While working at Continental Cablevision (sadly they are no more), I had the honor and pleasure of working with Dr. Maurice (Moe) Olivier, founder of the Academy for Corporate Excellence.
As was his standard practice, Moe had created a customized leadership development program for us focused on the practices of exemplary leaders – using influence, managing change and leading transition, communicating and fostering the right work culture.
All terrific concepts from the content standpoint – yet meaningless if the course participants didn’t adopt, adapt and apply their learnings when they returned to work..
We’ve all probably heard the post-training observation that “yea, it was great stuff, but when I got back to work there was so much to do that I didn’t have time so I just kept on doing what I’d been doing.”
Our goal was to cut through that attitude. We wanted to create just the right amount of discomfort that would push people to expand their comfort zone. We wanted to create a mindset where new thoughts and actions would be internalized. Our solution for making that process visible: partners and a plant.
Partners and a plant
Why a plant? Plants need nurturing. Without light and water they die. Just as leadership principles do when they’re not applied.
We challenged the Leadership for Excellence participants to keep their plant—and key learnings—alive by taking and making time to care for the plant and to reflect on how they could keep their newfound leadership skills alive, too. I recently received an email from a course participant who told me that the plant helped him stay focused. He said a dead plant would have been a too obvious sign that he wasn’t keeping his training learnings alive!
Reflect on what you’re doing
Think back to the last training class you attended or to the last management or leadership book you read or the last mentoring session you had. Did you discover great content you wanted to use yet never found the time to make it happen? As with many things in life and leadership, you’re in the driver’s seat for expanding your comfort zone by incorporating new learnings.
3 ways to maximize the results of leadership training
In lieu of a plant, ponder these ways to push the walls of your post leadership training comfort zone:
1) Get a partner and hold each other accountable for applying just one learning principle. Make that learning nugget come to life – nurture the practice until it becomes second nature for you. Then move on to the next nugget.
2) Adopt the beginner’s mind each time you take a course or read a book to improve your knowledge, skills and abilities. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.
3) Embrace the both/and mindset: yes, I must handle all my normal work duties AND become a better leader by applying what I’ve learned.
And maybe, just maybe, buy yourself a plant as a visible reminder of what new things you will do and/or be.
What say you?
Image source before quote: morgueFile.com
by Tristan Bishop | Be your best you
This inspiring guest post comes from Tristan Bishop. From his early days defining the knowledge management vision for the first online bank (Wells Fargo) to his current role at Symantec, Tristan is a role model for thought leadership and generosity. The BIG team is delighted he’s sharing his insightful views here!
In rare cases, a concept can be more easily defined by describing what it ISN’T, rather than what it is. For example, many Physicists describe “darkness” as “the absence of light.”
The Physics Classroom states it this way:
“Black is not actually a color. Technically speaking, black is merely the absence of the wavelengths of the visible light spectrum.”
Much like darkness, success is a concept best described by what it isn’t. Just as all that glitters isn’t gold, that which seems to be successful isn’t always so. When most folks think of success, they associate it with achieving a given objective. But true success is deeper and richer than this. There is a subtle difference between genuine success and moral failure: a thin dividing line that many miss.
4 paths for success
Here’s the D.E.A.L.
I propose that true success lies in achieving the objective, WITHOUT sacrificing in these four areas:
1. Devotion
The most common regret expressed by the dearly departing is that they spent too much time striving and not enough time connecting. As the saying goes, no headstone reads “If only I’d spent more time at the office.”
Consider this: If turning a profit requires turning your back on loved ones, can such an endeavor truly be called a success?
2.Ethics
Although no one begins an initiative with a plan to stray from their moral compass, temptations and shortcuts inevitably show. Amazingly, there ARE those who reluctantly choose astounding profit with a side of guilt over modest profit and a clear conscience.
Consider this:If an objective is met at the expense of one’s own ethics, can it truly be called a success?
3. Altruism
Ambition is a powerful thing, and like most forms of power, it can be used for good or ill. The way to measure if ambition if healthy or corrupt is by taking a sober look at who benefits from the resulting achievements. If many prosper through the ambition of one, the ambition was pure, and led to success.
Consider this: If you’re the only one to benefit from your victory, can it truly be called a success?
4. Loyalty
Notable tennis champion Althea Gibson has famously said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.” I believe this to be true of nearly all victories. But as projects meet with inevitable complications, many blame partners and absolve themselves. When stakes are high, too many dispose of relationships in order to protect reputation.
Consider this: If you break trust in order to claim credit, can the accomplishment truly be called a success?
So you see, subtle though it may be, supposed success that demands such sacrifices is simply no success at all. So be true to your values and honor your conscience. You’ll reap the reward of genuine victory in your life and leadership.
Image source before quote: morgueFile.com
by Jane Perdue | Be your best you
I once had an employee spend an entire work day drawing a single line.
The line, an illustration in a training manual, depicted a cable TV wire hanging between two poles. “The curve of the drop in the line is perfect in every possible scientific calculation,” he delightedly informed me as he walked past my office. “I’m pleased and exhausted, ready to call it a day.” (more…)
