by Jane Perdue | Leadership
Hubby and I have a difference of opinion.
It certainly isn’t the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last.
(After all our years together I feel pretty darn confident making that prediction! But, of course, I’m been wrong so many times before!)
What’s fascinating this time around is that we’re endorsing the opposite of what people who know us would expect.
Note: the root of the content of this post is in politics yet it isn’t about politics! It’s about believing/embracing/accepting that it’s OK for adults to play.
Work or play?
Hubby says it’s inane for the President to complete his NCAA brackets. Says the president he has more important things to do. Says doing so diminishes the power and authority of the position.
I say it’s perfectly appropriate for the President to do his NCAA basketball brackets because of all the important things he has to do. We’re leaders who have a job to do and human beings who have a right to be ourselves. To let the gravitas of a position dictate that the holder of the role can’t play or have fun is just so limiting, so unrealistic.
(Insightful note: I’m the workaholic in this relationship and must confess that it took years for me to get to this point of view.)
Must leaders be all work and no play?
Is it unprofessional to have fun?
Do share your thoughts!
Image source: morgueFile.com
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
I‘m a snappy driver (translation: no stranger to speeding tickets).
I’m traveling down a winding two-lane highway and have caught up with the vehicle in front of me—which is going less than the speed limit!
I’m trapped—a most unpleasant feeling for someone who drives as if the traffic light will always be green.
*Hmmmmm*
That’s an interesting thought to noodle on while driving a winding road.
Is your leadership speed:
-
-
- Red
- Yellow
- Green
- Some combo of all three?
Thinking about RED light leadership speed:
- there’s a comfort level with the tried and true
- rules, regulations, policies, etc. would be clearly defined, enforced and communicated
- boundaries would be set – no coloring outside the lines
- change and innovation might take a back seat to “what we know”
Thinking about YELLOW light leadership speed:
- one eye would be in the rear view mirror and the other peering out the windshield, assessing whether movement or halting is next
- there would be a greater acceptance of incremental innovation rather than full-scale change
- the decision-making process probably includes lots of analysis to make sure all the bases have been covered
- the work environment probably feels safe and secure, maybe creating impatience in some
Thinking about GREEN light leadership speed:
- there’s most likely lots of blue-sky thinking and visioning, probably in a go-for-it environment that might feel uncomfortable to some
- boundaries would be written with pencil, if at all, leaving room for initiative and exploration
- there might be chaos, a concern for security and perhaps a desire for some stated protocols
- risk-taking would most likely be encouraged with bouncing back from failure just another normal part of doing business
Ah, the road widens…off to pass and head for home, hoping for green lights all the way!
What other actions and/or behaviors would you add to the red/yellow/green leadership speed list?
Image source: morgueFile.com
by Roni Wilson-Vinson | Leadership
Remember in elementary school when you had to write your first report?
Usually those early life reports were a few sentences filled with facts along with a couple of pictures you cut from your mom’s magazines.
Have you been asked to write a report for work? Again, your report probably was composed of a number of facts, some big words or acronyms and a few charts thrown in for good measure.
We’ve been taught in both school and business that we should be logical and that facts should drive our decision-making process. What we aren’t taught is that facts alone just don’t work.
Brain Science, Meaning and Memory
The working memory area of our brain can hold only seven (plus or minus two) bits of information!
To hang on to this information, we must consciously decide whether or not to make a permanent record of it. Every time we’re presented with new information, the previous information can be pushed out. The only way to remember these facts is to make them mean something to us.
If we’re presented with fact after fact, our minds can tire easily from trying to decide for ourselves if the facts have meaning and/or if we should make them permanent. After a while we start to tune out – not because we want to – but because we can’t quickly find the meaning of the facts.
However, there is a way to jump-start thinking and help your audience process your facts a little easier.
That way is by telling a story.
Benefits of Storytelling
John Kotter, author and professor at the Harvard Business School, writes:
I see that too few business leaders grasp the idea that stories can have a profound effect on people. The gestures made (or not made) by leaders can turn into the stories that powerfully affect behavior. Leaders who understand this and use this knowledge to help make their organizations great are the ones we admire and wish others would emulate. Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.
Stories have been used since the beginning of time to pass important information from generation to generation.
The stories of storytelling can do so many things:
- Make the complex simple
- Organize data so that it can be processed
- Convey and communicate information and data
- Introduce a new concept in a non-threatening manner
- Inspire and present a new or different point of view
- Reduce tension and anxiety
- Help change behaviors
- Provide entertainment
- Create rapport and engage your audience
Once you understand what a powerful tool stories can be, you’ll never look at a presentation the same again.
And THAT is no tall tale.
————————————-
Today’s guest post is by Roni Wilson-Vinson, a Training Consultant, Instructional Designer and Training Project Manager who saw the power of storytelling back in 2003. Since then, she’s presented this topic at national conferences, at Fortune 100 companies, for government agencies, in higher education institutions, for non-profits and through elearning. Roni’s personal story includes a BA from Wright State University, a 25 year marriage, 2 busy teenagers, 2 dogs and a love for creating stained glass.
Image source before quote: Gratisography
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
If you put your mind and heart to it, there’s nothing you can’t do.
Negotiating is as much an attitude and behavior exercise as it is an intellectual one. Be prepared on all fronts.
Don’t lose precious time wishing for things; make it happen!
Never let anyone make you feel bad for being a smart woman.
If there’s a will, there’s a way. You just gotta figure it out.
All those great lines were shared with me by my mentors, generous people who took an interest in me personally and in my career and who pushed, pulled, challenged, inspired and molded me into who and what I am today.
To all of you – I say THANK. YOU. from the bottom of my heart. You’ve enriched my life immensely.
To those of you who are mentors: kudos for giving of yourself and your time to mold the leaders of tomorrow. Please keep sharing what you know, think and believe with those in your company or community. For some, your time and attention may be the only leadership guidance they receive.
To those of you who want to be a mentor: make it so! If there’s someone of promise in your company or community or organization, reach out and offer to be their mentor. It could be the best thing you’ve done…for both of you!
To those of you who want to be mentored: join a program within your industry, organization or community if one’s available; if not, be proactive and ask someone you admire if they’re willing to mentor you. Who knows, they just might yes – and think what an adventure it will be!
I delight in sharing my mentoring time with the amazing young professionals in the formal community-wide program offered here in Charleston. The two-way learning and exchange helps me grow.
January is National Mentoring Month.
Get one or be one!
Image source: Gratisography
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
“The act of compassion begins with full attention, just as rapport does. You have to really see the person. If you see the person, then naturally, empathy arises. If you tune into the other person, you feel with them. If empathy arises, and if that person is in dire need, then empathic concern can come. You want to help them, and then that begins a compassionate act. So I’d say that compassion begins with attention.” ~Daniel Goleman
The Situation
“I don’t know what to do with Tammy. Every time I try to talk to her about her job performance, she cries.”
“What do you do when she cries?”
“It makes me feel bad so I try to comfort her.”
“Tell me how you do that.”
“I find myself saying ‘now, now, calm down. It’s not that bad. It’ll be OK.’”
“Does that stop the crying?”
“It usually takes a little while, but it works.”
“After she stops crying, what happens next?”
“By then we’ve usually used up the allotted time so she goes back to work.”
“So when do you discuss what performance improvements she must make?”
“Well, now that you mention it, we’ve never really gotten that far.”
Performance management lessons from Goldilocks
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation where your sympathy pulled you right into the matter almost as if you were an active participant instead of the boss?
If so, there are some nuggets from none other than Goldilocks that can help you get the right balance between compassion and empathy. Effectively handling these situations requires that you not be too hard or too soft, but just right!
- Too hard.
- Coming across as cold-hearted, aloof or unfeeling to an employee’s plight lands you squarely in the bad boss corner. Dismissing, making light of, mocking and/or ignoring an employee’s emotional reaction sends the message – whether intended or not – that you don’t care. Taking an uncaring approach doesn’t solve the problem – it creates a whole new set of issues.
- Too soft.
- When you start feeling their pain and allow their emotions to become your emotions, you’re in trouble. You end up like the manager in the above story who never deals with the situation. And, while it’s always good to ascribe good intentions, you have to hope that you aren’t being manipulated. When you fail to assert the correct leadership response, you aren’t helping the employee, your organization or yourself.
- Just right.
- For those employees who get emotional when you want to talk about their performance, it’s appropriate to feel empathic to their situation. Understanding and acknowledging their feelings demonstrates that you have heart and do care. Offer a tissue. Allow adequate time for them to express their emotions, then gently and tactfully steer the conversation back to the issue(s) that prompted the meeting. By dealing with the situation in a compassionate yet composed and straightforward manner, you serve the best interests of the employee and your organization.
As reported by the Behavioral Coaching Institute, “Research shows that by acquiring emotional management skills and techniques, managers and leaders can more readily create positive and productive results in every aspect of their lives.”
So take Goldilocks’ lead and get it just right!
What other advice would you offer?
Image source: morgueFile.com
by Jane Perdue | Leadership
We were working with a six-person senior management team known for two things:
1) being stuck in time, and
2) not communicating amongst themselves or with the rest of the organization.
After shadowing the team, it became evident that these six people were what we call “monotone thinkers.”
Monotone, or one-note, thinkers get stuck in an ongoing pattern of a singular reasoning style that shapes their reactions and actions, and limits their innovation.
One-note thinking
Have you met these people who have a one-note thinking style?
• Death-by-Delay Donnie
This style never wants to be first and is very also risk-averse. A typical response is “Let’s just give it another month or two. By then, we’ll know how such-and-such has turned out, and how so-and-so is thinking. Then, we’ll be able to decide what’s best to do.”
• Fear Factor Frannie
A typical first reaction is avoidance and looking backward. You might hear a Fear Factor Frannie say, “Don’t you remember the last time we tried to change that? It was a disaster, and we sure don’t want a repeat of that scenario, do we?”
• Big But Ben
These are the glass half-empty folks, perpetually looking and thinking on the dark side and/or taking the contrarian view. “Sure, I’ve heard that 500 million people use Facebook, but we can’t be certain how long that fad will last.” Or, “Of course everyone likes Sam, but I’m not sure he’s really right for our organization.”
• Positive Polly
These individuals wear their rose-colored glasses all the time, refusing to acknowledge or accept that there’s any thing wrong with anyone or anything. “You folks are being much too hard on Billy. Yes, I know he got that DUI in a company vehicle and then fibbed about it happening. But no one was seriously hurt in the accident, so what’s the ruckus?”
• Like Me Larry
Being liked – not being correct or candid or respected – is at the top of the priority list for Like Me Larry’s who agree with whoever is speaking at the moment. “Polly, I couldn’t agree with you more.” Followed by, “Of course, Donnie, I agree with you when you rephrase what Polly said that way.”
• Balance Sheet Bob
Everything is all about the bottom line to those caught in this line of thinking. “It doesn’t matter, Frannie, that the telephone system is out-dated. Customers can call back. There’s no money in this year’s budget to buy a new system.”
In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better. ~Edward de Bono, Six Thinking Hats
All of these points of view are important elements in thoughtfully analyzing a situation or devising a strategy. Where it becomes problematic is when these styles of thinking become walls that shut out any other considerations.
What other types of one-note thinking have you experienced?
Image source: morgueFile.com
