The Balancing Act of Success – Part 2
Last week my post titled The Balancing Act of Success discussed balancing the needs of the company achieving its purpose with the need of the individual to learn, grow and add value.
The Balancing Act of Success
It’s that time of year again: annual reviews, when all leaders document the successes of the past year.
Many times leaders feel like the circus performer balancing plates; there are so many demands, which ones do I focus on?
Leaders are required to deliver shareholder returns, customer satisfaction and employee engagement; all which are integral to the successful company.
How did you do last year balancing the success of those that invest in your company – Shareholders and Customers – with those that are your company – Employees?
The Story of Successful Leadership: Worth Repeating
Last weekend my family and I attended a Christmas Story concert put on by the Trans Siberian Orchestra. TSO, as they are affectionately called, puts on a $20 million dollar show filled with rock and roll guitars, moving stages, lights, and songs; all dedicated to telling the Christmas Story.
This is the traditional Christmas Story, familiar to everyone in the audience, but told in a unique, energizing format.
TSO has been touring for over 14 years and is more popular today than when they started. Why?
For anyone who grew up in the 1980’s, the music takes you back to your youth. But the audience was filled with all ages, so that isn’t the only draw.
Their popularity comes from the story they tell. The Christmas Story tells of a long awaited success. It is the culmination of hope. It is the happy ending that has come after many years of suffering. Regardless of your background or beliefs, this is a human story. This type of success story is one that everyone wants repeated in their life.
Make your Story of Leadership a Success worth repeating.
Control – Successful Leaders Let Go
The most important step in letting your leadership team grow – letting your control go.
At some point you have taught your leaders enough, and they are ready to be successful on their own. But they will never reach their best unless you release them to try.
Releasing control is easier than you may think. It’s just like when your child rides their bike for the first time without training wheels. You run next to them, holding onto the back of the bike until they get up enough speed, then you do it…You let go of the bike and they ride as you encourage them with every turn of the wheel.
A successful leader stops running and lets their leaders get the feel of leadership.
Let your leaders run the meetings and projects and make decisions. Stay close by their side to remind them of all that they’ve learned, and encourage their leadership skills.
Successful Leaders Don’t Rock the Boat
Successful sailboat captains can attest to one sure thing: As long as a boat is moving, it’s rocking.
You see, in leadership, just as in boating, you can’t expect calm waters to move you forward toward success. The only time you don’t feel the boat rocking is when you aren’t in the boat; the faster you are moving forward, the more the boat rocks.
As a successful leader you should remember this lesson: If your team is moving forward, then the boat will already be rocking. If your team is not moving forward, then no amount of rocking will make the boat move forward.
If you want to make a difference in this world, if you want to be a successful leader, don’t rock the boat; use the waves of success to lift and carry you forward.
Leadership Vision Set Into Motion
Whether you are starting a new team, or just became the leader of an existing one, things will be different for this particular set of people on this particular team. They might all buy into the goals you set, but your vision for how to achieve those goals will be unique and new.
For your vision to be effective you have to set it into motion.
The best way to set your vision into motion is through success. And the best type of success is that which consistently delivers many small successes for each team member.
Vaclav Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic said:
“Vision is not enough. It must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.”
I call this “stepping up the stairs” quick wins. For quick wins to be effective they must both support your vision, and have an immediate impact on your team. Your team needs to see progress toward the goals, and feel their job satisfaction improving. Pick five to eight things that you can personally drive to success and make them happen. This will set your vision into motion.
Delegation: All of us are smarter than one of us
Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” – Ronald Reagan
Delegation of authority is serious business. It requires that you trust others with the authority to implement your vision. For a leadership team to be successful you have to be able to delegate.
Yes, your leadership team has to be all focusing on the same goal, but there are multiple paths to each mountain. Some leaders surround themselves with other leaders who could be mistaken for their mirror images and don’t get the benefit of different perspectives. When this happens, every new challenge has only one solution: the ones we already know.
While each individual is limited by their own knowledge and experience in their ability to offer solutions to problems; each person has a diverse set of strengths formed by their abilities, knowledge, and experience.
When people with diverse strengths are brought together, the ability to offer multiple solutions to problems becomes possible.
An ancient Japanese proverb sums this up well: “All of us are smarter than one of us.”
Leaders, resolve to listen first and maximize second
Blaine Lee, one of the founding partners of the Franklin Covey Institute said, “Before you attempt to set things right, make sure you see things right.”
If you are a leader who has passion for maximizing everything and everyone, that is a great strength and a great calling. People need leaders who are in their corner, always encouraging them to be their best.
In the spirit of wanting to help everyone succeed, they offer their opinions freely. Leaders that see so much potential in every person and every situation should know that if they aren’t careful their actions can come across as being critical. Believe me; I speak from personal experience in this area.
If you are one of these passionate leaders, here’s what you should do. When you really feel that passion to maximize someone or something, before you offer your opinion, remember Blaine Lee’s advice and Resolve to listen first and maximize second.
Leaders with a history of success have developed a habit of working hard to achieve their success.
Vince Lombardi said, “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” How does winning become a habit? Sarah Knowles Bolton, a press correspondent and author of the late 1800s, wrote several books that summarized the lives of successful people: statesmen, artists, and scientists, to name a few. In her research she found that “The victory of success is half done when one gains the habit of work.”
The word habit is usually associated with something bad that needs to be stopped. Hard work is one habit that you can be proud to claim. Does your history of success show that you have developed the habit of hard work?
Those who have learned from past mistakes—their own or others’—are better prepared to lead than those who have never experienced mistakes at all.
(Photo credit: elycefeliz)
Fred Brooks, the man who managed the development of IBM’s System/360 family of computers knows a thing or two about good judgment, he wrote the book on it. Brooks wrote about his experiences managing systems development at IBM in the book The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering.
The book coined what is known as “Brook’s law,” which states that “Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” Brooks discovered this law when he himself added more programmers to a project falling behind schedule, then concluded that it delayed the project even further. Using this and other examples of what he learned in his career, Brooks is quoted as saying, “Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment.”
What are you doing to prepare yourself for leadership? Making some mistakes on your own is inevitable and one way to learn; but learning from the mistakes of others is the easier route. Are you reading books? Do you have a mentor?
