Team Building

Lessons in Leading Change I Learned From Indoor Skydiving

Yes, that picture is me experiencing the feeling of free falling.

What could I possibly learn about Leading Change from Indoor Skydiving?

First let me explain Indoor Skydiving.  The entire experience takes place inside a vertical wind tunnel at wind speeds of 120 mph.  You wear the same gear as a skydiver, suit, helmet, goggles and ear plugs – not just for show, by the way, imagine what 120mph can do to a body in a wind tunnel if you change your body position too quick or too much.

Here are the Lessons in Leading Change I Learned From Indoor Skydiving:

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Lessons in Leading Change I Learned From Elephants

Elephants are large animals standing up to 13 feet tall and weighing up to 15,000 pounds. It’s no wonder we associate our difficultty leading change with our inability to move an elephant.

My leadership team and I are finishing a study of the book Switch by Chip and Dan Heath.  In Switch, Chip and Dan describe the process of leading change in the picture of an elephant and its rider.

In short, the rider represents rational and logical thought and the elephant represents our emotional needs.  Leaders must address both sides by addressing the head of the rider by explaining the need for change while capturing the heart of the elephant so it desires the change.

My family and I had the opportunity to visit a family-run elephant preserve.   We observed the elephants interacting, exercising, performing and even painting a picture.  The preserve owners and trainers taught us the about the elephants and their individual personality and behavior. Read More…

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?

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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.

The ABC’s of Successful Leaders: Get The Best Information

Benjamin Disraeli was a prominent member of the British government during the 1800s. He served in leadership positions for three decades including twice as prime minister. Disraeli said:

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes…The more extensive a man’s knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do.”

In order for you to be a success as a leader you need to understand the conditions in and around your team.

A) What internal and external pressures HAS the team faced in the past?

B) What internal and external pressures IS the team facing now?

C) What internal and external pressures WILL the team face in the future?

Here is the process to gain that understanding:

A) Look for information that already exists in books, surveys, or websites – This is a great place to learn what did happen and what is happening

B) Listen to people with information gained through experience -Talk to your team, your boss, experts in the industry

C) Learn what people need by analyzing the two together – Decide how you will achieve your goals now that you understand the conditions

The information you gather by looking, listening, and learning will be that on which you base all future steps to successful leadership.

 

Delegation: All of us are smarter than one of us

Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan.

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?

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