Posts by: Denis McLaughlin

Denis McLaughlin is the author of the best-selling book The Leadership GPS, which reached Number 1 in Amazon’s Job Markets and Advice, and Top 25 in Team Management and Leadership. Featured in John Maxwell’s “What I am reading, Spring 2013 edition,” The Leadership GPS was highlighted by Kirkus Reviews as “An engaging, unusual business book full of practical advice,” and “Its leadership lessons are on point and lavishly illustrated with stories of great leaders past and present, from Michelangelo to Steve Jobs.” Of the author, Kirkus Reviews says that “McLaughlin’s storytelling format brings each stage of leadership to life.” Denis has held executive leadership positions at several leading banks over the last twenty-five years. Along with his executive responsibilities, he also speaks, teaches, and mentors on leadership both in the workplace and externally. Denis was trained and mentored by some of the most well-known leadership experts today including John Maxwell – International leadership authority, Paul Martinelli – President of The John Maxwell Team, and Bob Burg – Best-selling author and expert on influence and success.

The Four Obstacles to Change

obstacles - Michael JordanAs a leader you will experience obstacles that may cause you to veer off your vision unless you have plans to move around them or through them.

The obstacles you will face as a leader are not physical impediments, but the responses of some of the people around you whose lives are being changed. If you pay attention you will see the obstacles coming and be able to take action to avoid running into them or being stopped by them.

According to Dr. James Belasco, “Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.” Large changes, like moving from where your team is now to where your vision will take them, require giving up a lot. Remain calm when people challenge your vision. Recognize that it isn’t personal; it is a natural response to change.

There are four obstacles that emerge in an attempt to stop or slow down change in the people’s response to change. Your particular plan for continued success will differ slightly for each of these four responses but your theme will remain the same: focus on your vision. Automobile industry pioneer Henry Ford had this same idea in mind when he said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

The first response to change is fear of failure. In this response, there will be doubt cast over the possibility that your vision will work. Comments will be made about your vision and your ability to deliver your vision. You can recognize this response by comments such as “This has been tried before and it didn’t work,” or “He has never led a group this large, I am not sure he can do this.”

When this response occurs, don’t spend your time debating when comments are made; instead invest your time achieving your quick wins, one at a time. There is no better way to remove doubt or fear than through the observation of success.

The second response to change is forced failure. In this response, there will be action taken to impede any progress on your vision and derail the train of success you have set in motion. This response can come in the form of intentionally missed or incorrectly completed assignments. You may also see that one or more people will refuse to agree on the next steps, but instead will want to debate the solution endlessly.

Take each person responding in this way aside and discuss their response one-on-one. Acknowledge and validate their fear of the change that is occurring, and reassure them that your vision will create success for everyone, including them. Finish the conversation by reaffirming your commitment to your vision with a promise to not let their actions interfere with the success of the rest of the team. Once your team knows that you are committed to their success, they will commit to your vision.

The third response to change is false friendship. In this response, your attention will be drawn to other activities in an attempt to take the focus away from your vision. Statements that start with “Let me tell you as a friend” or “No one can do this as you can” are frequently meant to divert your efforts to areas away from your vision.

Your time is limited and should be invested in achieving the purpose and vision of your team. If the suggestion or request does not bring you closer to success, return your focus to your vision and proceed. Don’t let flattery cause you to forget your focus.

The fourth and final response to change is false facts. In this response, your intentions will be challenged through statements that misrepresent the truth in order to convince others not to follow your vision. For your vision to be successful, your team must believe in your intentions. Your team will turn to you for an answer to these claims.

Do not argue or spend time trying to prevent these challenges from occurring. Instead admonish the challenger and demonstrate your intentions by recounting the success of the team and moving forward to further success. The proof of your character comes through in the lives of those on whom you have an impact.

Leadership is Transformation

transformation-is-not-a-future-event-it-is-a-present-activityThe ultimate goal for every leader should be transformation.  Long term success requires continuous transformation for every company, team, and individual.  No company, team or individual can just stand still and succeed.  So if you want to transform a company you do it through its teams.  If you want to transform teams you do it through its individuals.  Therefore, all transformation is achieved through individuals.

Successful leaders know that you don’t try to transform people into what you want them to be.  You can only equip and empower people to transform into everything they can be – and only if they want to. After all, “A caterpillar only becomes a butterfly if it wants to fly so much that it is willing to give up being a caterpillar.”

Here are three key points about transformation that each individual must learn to succeed:

Transformation is possible  You may not be satisfied with your job, accomplishments, or the impact you have had on the world – so do something.  If you don’t like where you are then change, you are not a tree. You have the power to change where you are, or change right where you are. 

You decide where you plant your roots. One option for transformation is to change locations.  Get a new start.  There are opportunities all around you.  However, before you decide to pack up and leave consider that you are where you are right now in part because of you past actions.  Will you find yourself unsatisfied somewhere else?  As yourself if you have bloomed to your fullest potential right where you are?  John Maxwell has a great quote that says, “If you think the grass is greener on the other side then water your own lawn.”

Transformation takes planning  If only I could…says those that don’t.  What would you like to transform into?  Nothing happens overnight except the sunset and the sunrise.  Wherever you would like to be one year from now will take you 365 days to get there.  What is your plan for tomorrow to get you one step closer to your transformation?

“Success is more about momentum around small wins than it is about big wins.” – Tom Peters

Transformation means change  Obtaining more than you have right now will require change.  Now that change could come from other people, your circumstances, your opportunities, or from you.  Of all of those possible changes, the only one you can control is you.  So while the world around you might change to meet your desires I wouldn’t suggest you count on that happening.  You will get what you seek quicker if you change first to at least meet the world halfway. 

Remember the wise words of Jones from Andy Andrews’ book The Noticer Returns, “If you want to make a difference you have to be different.”

 

Sacrifice: Another word for Teamwork

individuals sacrifice so that teams win championshipsFootball playoff season is here.  I love the playoffs.  Only the best teams remain; the ones that made the sacrifice to earn their place in football history by making the playoffs.  Teams that made it this far are already a success in my book.  These players sacrificed their time, energy, focus, knowledge and skill so the team could reach this pinnacle of their sport. 

Every player chose to give of themselves to reach this goal.  They focused understanding their role on the team and executed that flawlessly.

Women’s soccer great Mia Hamm defined teamwork like this, “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”

All teams, whether in sports or business, rely on teamwork to succeed.  And teamwork only works when the members of the team are willing to sacrifice for each other’s succees, and for the success of the team.

“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problem of modern society.” – Vince Lombardi

 

Is there an “I” in Team?

there is a me in teamI once heard a story of a coach giving a beginning of the year pep talk to his young baseball players.  Trying to stress the importance of teamwork he said, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” After practice one player approached the coach and asked innocently, “Coach, my English teacher taught us that ‘I’ and ‘Me’ mean the same thing, there just used in different ways.  It wouldn’t be correct to say ‘Me is on the team’, the proper sentence would be ‘I am on the team.’ So there is an ‘I’ in team, and it’s me” 

This young baseball player may have misunderstood the coach’s initial statement.  However, he was exactly correct in his understanding of teamwork – its success is dependent on the individual success of each “Me.”

Teamwork does not discount the individual, it relies on their unique abilities working together.

“Teamwork divides the tasks and multiplies the success”

Each “Me” can’t do everything needed for success, and that is the great thing about teamwork. John Wooden said, “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do,” and Napoleon Hill said, “If you cannot do great things do small things in a great way.” It is the combination of individual talent that brings success to the team.

Each “Me” won’t be as successful alone as they will being part of a team.  This holds true whether you play Baseball or an individual sport like Tennis (think of the coach and racket manufacturer as part of the team), or if you work for a large corporation or for yourself as an Author (think of the publisher and Federal Express as part of the team).  The reality is that working together to accomplish a goal raises everyone’s success.   

“Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities… without becoming very good at it.”  – Brian Tracy

In answer to the title of this article, as our young Basaeball player said, “There is an ‘I’ in team, and its ‘Me.'”

 

Individual commitment to the greater goals.

Success - individual commitment to a group effortEveryone seeks to achieve success. Most people look at their own individual accomplishments to fulfill that desire. As the leader of a team, you are responsible for the success of the team. But it is the commitment of the individual that makes a team successful. It is therefore important to understand how you can achieve success for your team through the individual success of your team members.

Individuals focused only on their individual success may not be applying their talent to the tasks that will generate the most success for the team, and hence for them in the long run. While each person should use their talents to their fullest extent, long term success comes from not just focusing on individual success, but on how individual talent can be used for the success of the entire team.

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”– Vince Lombardi

Here are three areas for leaders to focus on when it comes to individual commitment to team success:

Explain the definition of team success. If you want your team members to have a commitment to something bigger than themselves, you have to describe what that team success will look like – in a detailed and vivid way. You are going for an emotional connection to the outcome. Something that your team members will be proud to be part of. Something they can visualize.

“Every well built house started with a definite plan in the form of blueprints.” – Napoleon Hill

Explain how the individual commitment will benefit the team success. Now that your team has a picture of the team success in mind, they need to know what part their individual talent and success will play. Your team members need to feel that their contribution is key to the ultimate team success they now envision. The team needs them to be individually successful as they do their part.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

Explain how everyone on the team will play a role in the team success. Picture of team success – check. Understanding of how what I do contributes to the success – check. Now comes the part that sometimes gets left out – how is everything else going to get done if I don’t do it myself? It’s not enough to just explain the total picture and the individual team member’s part, leaders must lay out the entire plan. Successful individuals want to know how the piece before them and after them is going to be successfully done so the team success will come.

“I can do things you cannot; you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” –Mother Teresa

It is only through the joining together of individual talents that we can achieve beyond our individual abilities. As Andrew Carnegie said, “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to achieve uncommon results.”

 

Prioritize – deciding between AND & OR

PrioritizeIt’s a new year. Time to dream big dreams and never settle for easy. What do you want to accomplish this year? Picture next December 31st – What do you want to have accomplished?

Some people have trouble with this exercise. Is it a matter of “This And That?” Is it “This Or That?” So much is running around your head, it’s hard to decide – so you just don’t start.

Here is the secret to achieving big goals:

First, don’t limit your scope and don’t decide what to do yet. Think of big ideas and set big goals. Then take a look and decide what’s first – Prioritize. Out of your list, if you could only accomplish one thing, what would it be? Then out of the remaining list, if you could only accomplish one thing what would that be? Complete this exercise until your list is empty. That is how you prioritize.

There is no reason to sell yourself short on this year’s goals. But step two is to focus on the best ideas. Remember, if everything is a priority, nothing can truly be a priority.

“Sometimes you have to pass on good to focus on great” – Denis G. McLaughlin

Prioritize your goals. A major part of success lies in the ability to put things first. The reason major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” — Stephen Covey

Leaders: Troubling times require you to be present

presence of one we trustWhen there is trouble leaders need to be present.  Your team doesn’t want to receive an email or a phone call.  They want to know you really understand the situation and care enough to help – in person.

A team in crisis doesn’t want the one way communication of email instructions.  Even with emoticons and well placed capitalization there is no real EMOTION in an email 😉

A team wondering what to do next doesn’t need your cell phone call from the airport while you are catching a flight in the other direction.  They know you are busy, but imagine how busy you will be if this situation doesn’t get handled the right way.

Your team needs help.  You need to be there.  Here’s why:

Read More…

Why? Understanding leads to success.

understanding

There are always rules to be followed in life. Most rules were put in place by well-meaning people who felt that the rules were needed to right a wrong, protect from injury, or create agreement between two or more parties.

Over time, we can forget the wise words of Franklin D. Roosevelt who said, “Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are.”

I call the principles the “Why’s” behind the rules.

Without the wisdom of why the rules were made – understanding of the intent of the rules, and knowledge of when to apply the rules – we rely on the strict wording of the rules instead of the spirit of the rules.

Now, I am all for rules in the right circumstances. I like being confident that the car coming down the road isn’t going to keep driving right through the red light and hit my car broadside just as much as the next guy. But, many rules are not that simple.

No one can possibly think of every nuance when writing rules and we can be fooled into letting the rules rule our lives and stop using good judgment to make good decisions.

Without understanding the “Why’s” behind the rules, the individual settles on “Because I…”
Because I always follow the rules
Because I was taught to do it this way
Because I was told to do it this way
Because I don’t want to change the way I have always done it
Because I am not responsible for the outcome, just for following the rules
Because I am not the expert, someone else is

What can we do when we understand the “Why’s” behind the rules?
We can see the vision – It’s easier to be motivated to accomplish a grand vision then a task
We can support the vision – It’s easier to encourage others toward a common vision
We can successfully achieve the vision – It’s easier to get back on track when you see the big picture

Maybe a more apropos title for this article would have been – Do you follow the principles? The answer to that question would be: Not unless I know what they are.

Getting there is not the same as staying there.

staying there

Everyone has accomplished something in their lives. We can all remember a specific time where we persevered, pushed forward, gave it the extra effort and reached a goal. Maybe for some it was only once, while for others it has been a series of accomplishments, one after another. What is the secret to consistent success? Why do some continue to reach the peaks while others struggle after their first success?

Here are some truths that have to be faced to achieve consistent success:

Getting there is more fun than staying there.

Getting there is a new experience, staying there is more of the same.

Getting there has an end, staying there is endless.

When you face these truths, and realize the impact they have on your success, you can find the secret to consistent success in your life:

The secret to consistent success is to turn all of your staying there opportunities into getting there opportunities.

Dream a new dream every day. Set a new goal every day. Achieve a new success every day.

Remember what C.S. Lewis said, “You are never to old to set another goal, or dream a new dream.”

What and How – Words that limit or boost your confidence

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What stops you’re chances for success? More to the point what keeps you from even starting to take advantage of the chances that do come? The answer is confidence, or rather a lack of confidence. A lack of confidence in your ability to succeed will surely keep you from succeeding to your fullest potential.

Why do some people lack confidence in their abilities where others seem to be overflowing with it no matter what situation they are in? The answer is very simple:

Successful people focus on confidence boosting behaviors while others focus on confidence limiting behaviors, and the difference between the two behaviors are the words “What” and “How.”

Confidence limiting behaviors
Focusing on “What” to think
Focusing on “What” to do

For specific situations, with specific conditions many people have learned exactly “What” to think and “What” to do. However, if either the situation or conditions change, they no longer know “What” to think or do. This causes a real lack of confidence in one’s individual abilities to succeed.

Confidence boosting behaviors
Focusing on How to think
Focusing on How to do

If instead you invest time learning “How” to think, and “How” to do, then no matter the situation or circumstance, your confidence will remain high. People who consistently succeed know that they know “How” to succeed.

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