Opposites Don’t Attract … But They Do Positively Drive Team Success

Guest Blogger: Adrian Wood - Co-Founder, Shadowmatch USA

My thanks to April for allowing us at Shadowmatch to write a guest blog this week! I thought I might comment on how the difference in team behaviors can have a dramatic impact on success.

The different working behaviors of teams are like the different poles on a magnet except that different behaviors actually tend to repel (drive conflict) in teams vs. attract. It’s the single biggest reason that teams fail: when they are split between “north and south” in the way that they approach work.

However, if you can get your team to understand their polarity and see how they are different, then something wonderful happens: they start to leverage each other in ways that drive productivity and efficiency across the team. In other words, they stop acting as individuals and start to work as a cohesive group.

At Shadowmatch, we saw this in real life at a Fortune 500 sales team. The team consisted of pairs of account execs focused on large corporate prospects. What was it about the pairs that determined success?

·         Pairs with different working behaviors successfully divided work between relationship and tasks, detail and high level, aggressive and thoughtful tactics. They were always able to adapt to their prospects.

·         Pairs with similar working behaviors competed for activities and often “got in the way of each other” trying to accomplish the same goals in the same way. They also had “blind spots” that prevented them from connecting with different types of prospects.

In your teams, you may not think you want behaviors that potentially drive conflict, but if you look past the short-term hurdle, you’ll see the long-term success that’s possible by embracing the opposing poles.

Adrian Wood

Co-Founder, Shadowmatch USA

Right Answer, Wrong Approach

As a tenured leader in your organization, it comes as no surprise that you have all the right answers.  And if you were promoted into management from within, chances are you're known for your ability to solve problems for your team.  They bring you the issue, you tell them how to fix it, all is right with the world.

Except...

Your team isn't developing.

Think of the child who needs his shoe laces tied.  When he's a toddler, an adult does if for him.  But at some point before he starts school, they begins to encourage him to try it himself, coaching him on different approaches, until one magical day, it all comes together and he's doing it "All by myself!".

If your employees line up at your door each day with the latest challenges, it's probably because that's what you've taught them to do.  Because it's the fastest way to solution.  Because you have the experience and they don't.  Because that way you stay informed of what problems they're facing.  Because they need you.

We all need leaders, coaches and mentors.  But if your approach to leadership is telling and solving, your organization is missing out on all that your team has to offer.

Try the coach approach.  Ask for their ideas, talk about the possible results, allow them to try, keep an open mind, and eventually you can shift the responsibility of problem solving to your employees.

Be known as the leader whose whole team has the right answers, because their leader uses the right approach.

Co-Creating Your Team's Formula for Success

Looking for ideas to get your team engaged? Try some formula work.

Word formulas combine concepts to create a definition for success. Co-creating that definition as a team is a unifying experience.

Here are a few examples:

Awareness + Shift = Clarity
     Experience + Awareness = Understanding
          Efficiency + Effectiveness = Productivity
               Focus + Action = Results
                    Result + Growth = Accomplishment
                         Discipline + Structure = Sustainability

Formulas need not be kept to just two or three components, but in general, the simpler the better. 

Reasons to use formulas:

• To clarify the pathway form one point to another. 
• To provide an easily remembered equation for success. 
• To help the team visualize the steps involved to solve a problem. 
• To provide a simple focusing tool to guide a conversation. 
• To get the team on the same page.

So whether you're interested in the definition of success for Service, Innovation, or even Teamwork itself, co-creating a word formula with your team is a great starting point. And like so many things, the magic might be less about the final destination than it is about the journey you took to get there.

Use Vacation to Fuel Innovation

Looking for more innovation from your team? Upcoming summer vacations can help.

Or more specifically, the days immediately following vacation. Brain research indicates that we're more capable of having an "aha moment" after a period of mental rest, like time spent away from the office.

What's on your work calendar when you get back from a break? Lots of catch-up time is the most common answer. Checking in on what you missed while you were away, taking the baton from whoever was covering during your absence, and hitting the ground running. This is no different for your team.  Their first priority is getting back up to speed to re-enter the fray.

David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, says this is a waste of a clear mind.

In his book, "Your Brain at Work", he shares research by Stellan Ohisson that explores how we need to stop thinking about a problem one way before a new solution can emerge. "When facing a new problem, people apply strategies that worked in prior experiences." "But as long as your prior approach has the highest level of activation, you will get more refined variations of the same approach but nothing genuinely new comes to the fore."

Genuinely New = Innovation

Your brain is hot wired for innovation after a break. 

What if the first day back from vacation wasn't used to get back up to speed. What if day one was devoted instead to innovation. We're back at work, but not the work of our day-to-day tasks and short term projects. Instead, we're at work creating the future, thinking big, finding new solutions. With the right planning and teamwork, the emails can wait until day two, even day three.

You're the leader, you could make this a part of your team's norm. Talk about it, plan it, schedule it, try it, measure it, and talk about it some more. But get moving - vacations are right around the corner.

Here's to your team's Summer of Innovation.  

You can read more about David's recommendations about using a fresh mind to tackle big challenges in his  blog post "Back From A Vacation? Don't Waste Your Clear Mind."on Psychology Today.

The Day The Chicken Crossed the Road...And Knocked On Our Front Door

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Apparently to get helping finding her way home.

My first post on this blog was about our red front door.  Our neighbor's chicken is the first to take us up on its traditional meaning - "a safe place to stay for a weary traveler".

Lucky The Chicken lives, literally, right across the road from us.  A few weeks ago, she flew the coop.  Her owners told us later that they looked and looked for her to no avail, and so she spent a few cold nights outside (we still had snow on the ground).

Until she came knocking at our front door.  She had walked through the snow to our front porch and was flitting around, bumping up against the window and the door.  Our two cats found this to be fabulously entertaining and were perched on the window sills watching when I went to the door to see what all the ruckus was all about.

When I opened the door, Lucky looked up at me expectantly as if to say, "So, are we just going to stand here or are you going to invite me in?".

She was clearly happy to be inside and out of the cold, settling right in as we carried her around (up and away from the curious cats).  We left a message for our neighbors, and they came over later to collect her.  Lucky departed clucking quietly and safely tucked away under the arm of her owner.  She's welcome to visit again any time.

When we painted the door red, we would never have predicted that the traveler in need would be a fine feathered friend.  It's a good lesson in being open minded about who needs your help.  Any chance someone in your office you'd never expect could use your assistance?  If you create a "red door" culture, you could be pleasantly surprised about who takes you up on it.

And as to another age old question, which came first the chicken or the egg?  The chicken came first, the eggs were delivered later as a thank you gift from the neighbors.

Asking the Right Question

"But what do I say?"  This from my daughter, a middle school student who is rarely at a loss for words.  She had just discovered her grades were lower than she thought in one of her classes, and had agreed to go talk with her teacher about it.

One of the core development programs offered for business leaders teaches us to "move to the other person's box".  In other words, get out of your own space.  Try to understand where the other person is coming from, what matters to them, what situation they're in.

I shifted my perspective from parent to teacher.  What should she say?

Here's the plan we developed together:

• Do your homework first.  She claimed to have studied, but was still getting answers wrong on her quizzes.  Before going to her teacher, she should compare her notes to the quizzes.  If the answers weren't there, she either wasn't taking good notes or she wasn't studying some other resource that she needed to know about. 
• Don't triangulate.  Mom and Dad were going to stay out of it and let her attempt to resolve it on her own.  If that was not successful, we could always get involved directly later.  
• Timing matters.  Ask for a separate meeting, not the last 3 minutes of class when the teacher has a line of students at their desk and is trying to get organized for the next period.  
• Show your work.  Begin the conversation with her concern and the research she'd already put into it.  This would demonstrate ownership as well as speed along the conversation.   
• Make the request.  And, as happens so many times, the wording of this request was critical.  We went back and forth on it, and decided that what she really needed to ask was:  "What can I do differently in the future to improve my performance?".  It was proactive and once again showed ownership, of both the problem and the solution.

It was a successful meeting.  Turns out she was taking all the notes, but not organizing them properly, and thus not associating the information correctly.  She's feeling very optimistic about being able to make the changes and seeing better scores on her next quiz.

And as it turns out, her approach impressed the teacher.  He told her he had never had a student come to him and ask what they could do differently going forward.  The typical question was "How do I fix this?", which is really a request to reinvent history, to get around the system somehow with an exception.

Even when people come to us with the wrong question or the wrong approach, if we're open to it, it can be a teaching moment.  And when they do get it right, say so and show your appreciation.

Feeling appreciative today for a teacher who told my daughter that she asked the right question to get the best answer.  





 

Daniel Pink on the Skill of Influence

Influence is a hot topic in leadership development.  For C level executive, it's the ability to get support from the board, business partners, and investors.   For mid to senior level leaders, it's frequently referred to as being able to "lead across the organization".     

When brought to an executive coach it might sound like:  "I need help with influence where I don't have authority."  or "I want to be more successful getting buy-in from my peers." or even "People don't respect me/respond to me/follow me.".  

In Daniel H. Pink's new book, "To Sell Is Human", he calls it the ability to move people.  The title of the book will attract those working in sales, marketing, and consulting.  However, the thought leadership he shares in regard to the skill of influence should make it a must-read for any leader looking to improve his/her abilities in this key area.  

The basic premise of this book is that we all spend our days trying to move others, and thus we are all in sales.  This holds true whether we are leaders pitching colleagues, parents and teachers cajoling kids, not-for profit volunteers doing fundraising, or salespeople closing the deal.  Moving others means trying to persuade others to part with resources - money, time, attention, efforts, ideas/opinions - to exchange something they value for what we are offering.    

The book is an easy read, and combines new research with existing studies from well known and respected experts (many of whom I've recommended in previous blog posts).  My favorite aspect of the book are the sample cases.  They offer quick exercises to build skills in the areas of Attunement, Buoyancy, Clarity (his proposed new ABC's of selling), Pitch, Improvise, and Serve - all of which improve our ability to move/influence others.

You can hear Dan talk about the research that went into his new book in this RSA podcast from February 26, 2013 in London, England.  He has the most viewed RSA Animate video of all time (Drive).  Keeping my  fingers crossed they strike gold again with an animation of his latest work.  In the meantime, the book is worth adding to your management library.

Studying the Outliers

"If we study what is merely average, we will remain merely average."

This is a quote from Shawn Achor, CEO of Good Think, Inc., during a TEDx event.  His subject was "The Happy Secret To Better Work".  It's a highly entertaining and informative talk about his work on positive psychology.

In this presentation, how we conduct research was not the focus.  Yet, it's a concept that he and others have brought to our attention, challenging us to look more closely at the positive outliers.

It's the exceptions that are the focus in "Influencer:  The Power to Change Anything", a book I've referenced before in this blog.  They studied masterful influencers, people who were consistently successful in creating profound changes, and translated those behavioral strategies into specific methods that anyone can apply.

If we map out the data, the average will appear.  But so will the positive outliers, and the learning from our study of those exceptions is what gives us the chance to lift the average.

In our workplace, we are hopefully rewarding our superstar performers, our positive outliers.  Experts in behavioral science would tell us to study them, too.

• What strategies are they applying?
• What experience did they have before coming to our organization?
• Who do they seek out for learning and support?
• What resources do they use?
• How do they organize/prioritize their work?

Study the behaviors of your positive outliers, and raise the bar for performance on your team.

Why I'd Hire This Intern

There was a time, years ago, when companies were growing and eager to hire new college grads who showed promise.

I was one of those hiring executives going to the college job fairs,conducting the interviews, and speed reading the resumes.  It could be at times both exhausting and energizing depending on the quantity and the quality of the applications.

The Business Insider just shared a cover letter that's making the rounds on Wall Street because it stands out specifically because it doesn't fit the mold.  It comes from an undergrad looking for an internship who knows he's one of thousands applying to this company.  But rather than fill in the blanks on the standard cover letter template, he tells it like it is.  His blunt style is what's caught every one's attention, but I was impressed with his smarts.  Here's why:

It connects - His second sentence reminds the executive he's writing to that they've met before, in person.  He is not a nameless, faceless applicant.  They have a connection, albeit small, which buys him some time and some more reading.

Written in plain speak - How refreshing is it to read something that sounds just like a real person talks?  Since it was sent via email to someone he had met, he wisely chooses to take a more down-to-earth approach.  No catch phrases, no jargon, and no key words that'll impress the resume software.  He still makes key points about his major, his other internship, and the path he's charting for the future.  But, he surrounds that information with wording that feels less like an interview and more like a conversation.  It makes him a real person, and furthermore, acknowledges that he's writing to a real person.

It's realistic - He knows he only qualifies for an entry level internship, one that may include some pretty lowly errands.  Some might call this a humble approach, but I'd call it realistic.  He probably figured that out from his first internship.  So he puts it right out there - I'm not expecting anything special, just the chance to learn from professionals in whatever capacity is available.  That shows that he not only gets it, but that he'll have a good attitude about it.

Self awareness - He is not trying to be someone he isn't.  No puffed up accolade or exaggerations, yet he does manage to highlight his grades and his work ethic.  Notice how the positives come after the parts about how he's nothing special.  Yet, after a second read, you realize that he's not actually cutting himself down.  He's saying, I know who I am relative to others who might apply.  Often, self awareness is a sign of an open mind for learning, for feedback, and for growth.

No typos (almost) - The only word in the letter that's misspelled/typed is "crapp".  Intentionally misspelled?  We can't be sure, but the fact that the rest of the letter is well crafted and has no mistakes is an important balance to the plain speak.  It's shows a promise of professionalism.

Appropriate appreciation - In both the opening paragraph and the closing paragraph, he expresses appreciation for the executive's time.  First for having spent time with him at their initial meeting, and then for taking the time to consider his application.  Recognizing that an executive's time is valuable is both smart and refreshing.

If his resume is any good, I'd want him on my team.  Some of the best hires I made didn't fit the standard mold.  But they were smart, they worked hard, and they appreciated someone giving them a chance.  Now that, you can work with.

Too Much Loss

It's too much.  Too much loss.  One tragedy leaves the front page, and another arrives to replace it.  

 

In New York State, the recovery efforts from Hurricane Irene in 2011 hadn't even completed when Hurricane Sandy hit late this fall. 

 

Here in Saratoga County, local communities are still reeling from the loss on December 1st of two incredible teenagers, Deana Rivers and Christopher Stewart, from the Shenendehowa High School who died in a horrific car accident.  Matthew Hardy and Baily Wind survived the crash, and have gained national attention as they recover via the power of social media.  The outpouring of love and support for these families from the capital district has been truly inspiring.

 

And then we learn of the unspeakable violence less than a week later just a few hours away at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.  I don't know those children, those incredible teachers, or the families who grieve for them.  Yet I mourn with them for this unfathomable loss.

 

Too much loss.

 

In late 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean created a devastating tsunamis that ravaged Southeast Asia.  A group of musical artists released Hands Across The Water in December 2005 to benefit the children who suffered from that natural disaster.  The second song on that album is called "Get Through It" (Allson Brown, Jon Randall, & Mairtin O'Connor). 

Here are the words from the chorus:

 

“You don’t get over it

You don’t get past it

Don’t get around it

Don’t outlast it.

You don’t fight it

You don’t lose it

You don’t believe it

But you don’t undo it.

You don’t get over it

You just get through it.”

 

The song deliver a powerful message of support to those looking for a way to move forward when the unthinkable happens. 

Whether the loss occurs right here in our local community or halfway across the world, in our homes or at work, we feel it.  It connects us in powerful ways, and people are moved to help in whatever way they can. 

Praying, supporting, taking action to bring about change.  We can't "get over it", but we can "get through it".  Together.

May your holiday season be one that brings you together with friends and family, and also with the larger community that connects us during both tragedy and celebration.

 





 

 

Telecommuters More Susceptible to "Sitting Disease"

If you telecommute, your manager - and your doctor - want to keep you on your toes.

There's nothing new about the message that people who work at a desk need to get up and move around throughout the day.  But as the number of people working from home continues to rise, it's becoming a renewed focus. 

Telecommuters spend more time sitting than their counterpoints in the office, making them even more susceptible to what health experts are calling "Sitting Disease".   

Here are just a few examples of why we sit longer when working from home:

•      All our meetings can take place by phone/computer from our chairs.
•      All conversation takes place by phone/computer rather than face-to-face - again, from our chairs.
•      We are more likely to eat at our desks when we don't have co-workers to stop by and invite us to join them in the cafeteria or at the local deli.

Throughout the day, telecommuters are missing out on those short walks that wake up the metabolism, stretch the muscles, and send serotonin to the brain.

Telecommuter Dos and Don'ts to counteract Sitting Disease:

• Don't take those calls sitting down.  Do stand, or better yet, pace while you're talking on the phone.  Become a team member who can "think on their feet".
• Don't limit yourself to traditional office furniture and equipment.  Do consider new standing workstations and exercise ball chairs.  Trade in the desktop for a laptop, add a headset to your phone that lets you move around.
• Don't eat lunch at your desk.  Do move to the kitchen, cook yourself a healthy meal, and eat it standing at your kitchen counter.  If your laptop needs to go with you, so be it, but put it on the counter, not the table (with the chair).
• Don't let preconceived notions about working from home limit your movement options.  Do short bouts of housework and outdoor activities like shoveling the walk and going to the mailbox.  "Short bouts" means the equivalent time as your peers in the office are taking when they walk from their desk to the conference room (including that conversation in the hall along the way, the stop to refill the coffee mug, and the trip to the restroom) - 5-10 minutes at a pop, separated by an hour or so of focused work effort.  Telecommuters who do a few minutes of laundry between the hours of 9-5 are not "stealing company time".  Balancing time spent at the desk/phone and time spent transitioning from one activity to the next is the same challenge, regardless of location - it's just the transition activities that differ.
• Don't be afraid to talk about it.  Do use one-on-one meeting time between manager and employee to be upfront about your concerns and ideas about telecommuting expectations.  Managers, worried your virtual team member is spending too much time away from their desk?  Telecommuters, sensing concern from your manager and team members about what you're "really" doing when you work from home?  You need a healthy conversation about how job performance is evaluated, how work productivity is measured, and a review of the team's communication expectations. 

Find more scary facts about our sedentary lives, as well as some helpful suggestions (for men and women) in this article by Women's Health Magazine.

Fact or Assumption?

Our first Halloween together, my husband and I stocked up on candy for the kids in the neighborhood.  I set the bowl by the front door a few days in advance, loaded up with a variety of chocolate bars - the good stuff.

The morning of the big day, there was a distinct drop in the level of candy in the bowl.  Considering it was a weekday, I assumed my husband must have been packing some of the candy in his lunch for work. 

Or at least I did, until he asked me, "Been hitting the candy pretty hard, haven't you?"  He had made the same assumption about me.

It was just the two of us living in the house at the time, plus the cat, who had no affinity for sweets.  Who was taking the candy?

Mighty Mouse, that's who.  We found the pile of wrappers and half eaten candy bars with tiny teeth marks behind the couch.  After informing the cat that he was falling down on the job, we put the rest of the candy in a safe place until the Trick-or-Treaters arrived.  Mighty Mouse was caught the next day and relocated to the great outdoors.

I'm reminded of this story today because it's Halloween, and mouse season, and because it's good to be mindful of our assumptions.

Assumptions come from a place of logic based on our past experiences, our general knowledge of the world around us, and the regular patterns of our everyday lives.  Our assumptions are wrong when we're missing key information or when emotion clouds logic.

Coaches working with people going through challenging transitions are especially mindful of assumptions.  Emotions are running high and the environment is changing, hitting on both risk factors for error.  A good coaching question to ask during this time is "How do you determine if that's a fact or an assumption?"

The question reminds us that we sometimes confuse assumption with fact, and that we have the ability to do the sleuth work to tell the one from the other.

Wishing you a happy, safe, and mouse-free Halloween.   

If Wishes Were Changes

"If wishes were changes
We'd all live in roses
And there wouldn't be children
Who cried in their sleep"
          "If Wishes Were Changes", Nanci Griffith, Storms

I caught myself wishing the other day and immediately started to chastise myself for such a fruitless exercise.  Wishing is for children's birthday candles, pennies tossed into the fountain, and shooting stars.  Right?

Yes.  And yet even as we leave behind our make-believe worlds, wishing is still a part of our vocabulary and our innermost thoughts. 

As adults, we know not to count on wishing alone to see change.  "I wish my boss would give me a raise."  "I wish my team member would stop stealing my ideas."  "I wish this employee would just quit so I didn't have to fire her."  These changes will take effort on our part.  So why the wishing? 

Because we don't want to make those efforts.  They're difficult and uncomfortable and risky.  "I don't like self promotion, so I don't want to talk salary with my boss.  What if she gets mad?"  "I don't like confrontation, so I don't want to talk with my team member about what they're doing.  What if he laughs at me?"  "I don't like to upset people, so I don't want to tell her she's not a fit for the job.  What if she starts crying?"

If you hear wishing in your vocabulary, it's a good sign that you have something that's unresolved and needs to be added to your to-do list.  It may be one action to drive one change, or it may be a series of actions that kick off an entire change initiative. 

And what about the wishes that we don't even say aloud, that we quickly dismiss and send back to whatever realm of the heart/soul/mind that they came from?

Those wishes are more than a to-do item.  They are powerful messages that bubble to the surface when we least expect it, deserving of a closer review.  Meaningful and sustainable changes happen when we make time to listen to that wish and all that it represents. 

I read an article written by an executive coach describing a meeting with one of his CEO clients who was wishing for higher profits.  After a series of questions about what higher profits would do for him, they arrived at a surprising answer:  higher profits would allow his company to give back to the community and make a difference.  That realization became the focus for all the actions and changes that followed. 

Wishes are not changes, but if we give them our attention, they can point us to the path for change. 

An Olympic Coaching Lesson for All of Us

I tried to watch it all, I really did, but I was just too tired.  NBC claimed they'd be showing the highlights during prime time, but they failed to note that prime time would be temporarily redefined to include late night.  I stuck with it for almost a week, but by week two, I only caught pieces of the early segments before I had to retire for the night.  

In catching up online with some of the highlights I had missed, I came across this page on the NBC Olympics site with the "Best quotes from the London Games".  They range from funny to revealing, from to hopeful to regretful. 

However, the best quote I heard during my late nights in front of the TV was not included in their list.  It came from Tim Daggett, Olympic gold medalist and gymnastics analyst during his coverage of the women's gymnastics team competition. 

As Aly Raisman was getting ready to perform her balance beam routine, Tim was filling time by sharing a conversation he once had with Aly about the pressures on her to perform, and how stressful that must be.  She replied that actually, it didn't feel like anxiety or stress for her, that she would describe it as a feeling of excitement.  Tim's reflection on this was that "I guess it's all in how you label it".

Now that's a great quote, profound actually.  It's all in how you label it.  "It" being our thoughts, our emotions, our experiences.

There were many inspiring and motivating stories to be heard over the course of the two weeks, but I would offer up Tim's insight as one that goes beyond these Olympic events and this particular athlete.  Be aware of your labels. 

• How are you labeling the events of your life as they unfold? 
• What names do you give to the stronger emotions you experience?
• How aware are you of the path your thoughts travel by pure habit and your ability to choose an alternate route?

Change the label and change your perspective.  An Olympic coaching lesson for all of us.

Olympic Pins Bring Cultures Together

This is my Olympic pin collection - all five of them.  It's small but memorable for me.  I picked these up as a teenager during the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, NY.  If you've never been to an Olympics, you may not be familiar with the pin trading craze that goes on between events, for athletes and spectators.  I read online (so it must be true) that pin trading started at the 1894 Athens Olympics, but didn't really become popular until the early 1900's.

I've written about my connection to the Olympics in an earlier blog, Chariots of Fire.   When the world's best winter athletes came to Lake Placid, I was just nine miles away in Saranac Lake. It was an incredibly exciting time to be in the Adirondacks. Many of us were hosting visitors from around the world in our homes, our churches, and our community centers.  Local kids like myself were frequently given pins by visitors to get us started on collecting and trading.

The Associated Press shares this YouTube video from the 2008 Olympics about pin trading.  I love the comment by the one woman about how this activity brings people together from around the globe.  The pins start the dialogue and connect people through their shared interest.  Those who travel regularly to the Olympics can share wonderful stories about the people they've met as a result of this hobby.  Even as the globe shrinks due to technology, there's still something special about meeting someone from another continent in person and interacting face-to-face.     

As people are now gathered in London for the 2012 Summer Games, I think about all the introductions that will be made possible because of pin trading.  People will work to communicate despite language barriers and cultural differences.  There will be lots of smiles and pointing, nodding of heads, shaking of hands, and laughter.  And yes, technology will help with translating devices.  What a wonderful way for the world to come together as one community, even as each person roots for their national team. 

I'll be cheering for Team USA and Communications World.

Why We Reinvent The Wheel

Reinventing the wheel - "As it has already been invented, and is not considered to have any operational flaws, an attempt to reinvent it would be pointless and add no value to the object, and would be a waste of time, diverting the investigator's resources from possibly more worthy goals which his or her skills could advance more substantially."  (Wikipedia)  

What happens within an organization that causes us to reinvent the wheel? 

Ignorance that the wheel already exists.  Per the definition, an individual is already aware of the wheel, yet proceeds to attempt a reinvention for no added value.  But what about the scenario where an individual thinks they are inventing the wheel, not reinventing it?  This is most prevalent in larger organizations with multiple divisions and locations.  Knowledge management is a challenge, a situation that can be improved with tools, technology, and process.  If an individual could easily research within the organization as to the existance of the wheel, they may find that they don't need to start from scratch. 

Lack of respect for others.  "Sure, their team has a prototype, but they don't know what they're doing.  I don't even have to look at it to know it won't work for our purposes.  My team will need to create it themselves."  Poor relationships and silos within the organization prevent even an initial exploration, resulting in potential duplicate of effort, and wasting time and resources. 

A culture that rewards innovation over efficiency.  Ideally, you have a balance of the two within an organization.  You may have product development focused on innovation and operations focused on efficiency.  Or, you may outlined both for one group, highlighting innovation for growth and efficiencies for maintenance.  But if all the accolades, reward, and promotion go to those who innovate, you are inadvertently shifting the balance. The resulting behavior is evident by an unwillingness to research existing solutions, to collaborate with other teams, or to share credit for work effort.  

It's clear that within an organization, "reinventing the wheel" is undesirable.  You don't reinvent that which you've already created.  But if this is something you need to address, be sure you've correctly identified the source of the problem before you implement a solution. 

Outsider Thinking Drives Creativity

If you've ever used a cross functional team to solve a thorny problem, you'll be nodding your head in agreement as you watch this video.  The idea of bringing people in from different disciplines to "think outside of the box” isn't a new one, but the idea of posting R&D problems to the Internet for any person, group, or company to solve takes it to a whole new level - a global, virtual level. 

In this video from Big Think, Jonah Lehrer, author of  Imagine: How Creativity Works, shares a crowd sourcing site developed by Eli Lilly called InnoCentive designed to tap into the world market of innovators.  And it's been successful with 30-50 percent of posted problems being solved within six months.  

Not surprising that an expert from outside the company might have the missing piece since it's hard for us to see the assumptions that hold us back until someone with a different perspective challenges them. 

More surprising is what Karim Lakhani from Harvard Business School found in a study on who solved the problems.  "Most problems on InnoCentive are solved by experts outside of the field – chemistry problems solved by physicists. Engineering problems solved by chemists. And so on." 

Meaning that real progress can be made when you bring people to the table that aren't bound by your team's culture, assumptions, restrictions, and function.  Creativity and innovation will thrive in an environment with multiple disciplines, varied experiences, encouraged curiosity, and proper incentives. 

Music To Energize The Team For Change

Major change initiatives are often kicked off by taking the leadership team off site to get everyone on the same page, to create action plans, and to get energized.  Music can be a great tool to bring focus to your theme while raising the energy in the room.  It's best used either in the background while people are entering the room to find their seats or in conjunction with a visual presentation or video.

If you go to Amazon's MP3 section and type in "change", you'll get over 50,000 options to pick from.  And yet, the vast majority aren't what you're looking for. 

To create the right vibe, you need songs with a fast tempo (energizing) and with the right content (change is for the better, not regrets about change). 

Here's a short list of music I'd recommend to energize a team for change:

Roll With The Changes, REO Speedwagon
     Well known, well used, yet it never grows old.

A Change Would Do You Good, Sheryl Crow
     A little more contemporary, and a song that'll get your foot tapping.
     {a personal favorite back when my daughter was in diapers, but I digress...}

Be The Change, Kat Edmonson
      Follows the theme of "be the change you wish to see in the world", always inspiring.

Changes, Santana
     A more spiritual message, with that infectious Latin rhythm.

Change, Tiffany Alvord
     Comes from the younger set, very positive message - "look at change like a brand new day".
   
Change The World, Taylor Dayne
     Wonderful message in the chorus - "change your thoughts and you change the world"

Rock on, change leaders.

Leaders and Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer in the U.S.  I did a little research about  the history of this annual observation, and discovered that its origins go back to our country's founding fathers.  In 1775, the Continental Congress asked that the colonies pray for wisdom in forming a nation. 

Our founding fathers asked that their names be lifted up in prayer, such that they might have the wisdom to act in the best interest of the people they represented. 

This got me thinking about how business leaders make decisions and take actions every day that affect their "colonies" of employees, customers, and investors.           

I did an online search for leadership prayers and found many sites offering up some variation of what our founding fathers requested - prayers that political leaders have the wisdom they need to make the right decisions.  Of course, the definition of the "right" decision varies, but that's what you'd expect when the topic is politics in a country founded on rights such as freedom of speech. 

What was harder to find were examples of what a leader might offer up - prayers of gratitude for the blessings received, prayers for strength and patience and compassion, prayers for guidance in turbulent times.  Where were the prayers of the leaders, political or otherwise?  

That's when I found an inspiring prayer written Julie Poland, coach, author, and founder of Summit.  With Julie's permission, I share it here for your reflection.  

A Leader's Prayer

Let me stand
Supported firmly by the foundation of my values
And in the greater purpose that calls me forth
Let me stand for the uncompromising truth
That compels me to stretch beyond
My prior expectations for myself and my contribution

Let me see
The distant hills that are my destination, our destination
The lessons of the tall old pines that grow fruitful even after fire
Let me see the effect of the river that, over time,
Can cut and mold a landscape
Even while flowing softly and serenely through a verdant valley.

Let me speak
In words that cascade like diamonds
Onto someone's shoulders, enriching them
Let me speak in tones that wrap
Like fur, warming and soothing
On skin that has been scarred and roughened by conflict.

Let me serve
With head bowed in humility
Because I know my gifts are truly not my own
Let me serve especially in times
When I am not yet ready
And in places that call for skills I have yet to discover.

Let me shake hands
With brothers and sisters everywhere
Knowing that we share our humanity if not our opinions
Let me shake hands
And look the other directly in the eye
And see the dignity and the noble intent within them.

Let me celebrate
The abundance that is already before me
That I did not create, but that has been given to me
Let me celebrate
The glimmers that light the next steps on the path
And show me that the impossible just might not be so.

Let me step out, step up
And shake the clots of mud off of my shoes
To respond to the call of the world
Let me step out, step up
And in my own way, by whatever means I can
To make a mark, a signpost for the ones who come after me.
 On this day when our national leaders encourage us to "turn to God in prayer and meditation", I offer up my prayer that you have the wisdom, the courage, and the integrity to be the leader your Higher Power calls you to be.

Your Employees Are Reading Between The Lines

Robert Lee Frost was a guest speaker at Syracuse University back in the 50's when my father was doing his undergraduate work.  During the question and answer period, a student asked the famous poet about his meaning of a particular line about the wind, and whether it could be correctly interpreted as having been intended as a metaphor for death.  Mr Frost answered, "No".  He was actually just talking about the wind.  The line had come to him as he was sitting on a high school baseball field, watching an early spring training session.  The wind was blowing.  Spring winds are cold.     

My dad laughs as he tells this story.  After hours of analysis in English classes where he and the other students had scoured each line of text for its hidden, deeper meaning, it turns out the poet meant exactly what he said.  Nothing was intended between the lines.

Whether you know it or not, this same analysis occurs in your organization every day.  Or at least it does if you haven't built a culture of open communication and trust.  Reading behind the lines is a learned behavior.  English students learn it in class.  Employees learn it on the job. 

If you want your memo interpreted exactly as it was written, here are a few tips. 

• Know the organization's vocab history - In last year's memo, did "restructuring" mean work was shifted around, a reorganization, or actual staff reductions? If it meant layoffs even one time, it will always be so for those who lived it in your organization, and that's what they will read between the lines next time they see that word. Chose your words carefully so that they match your intentions and aren't misconstrued due to past history.
• Don't forget what you've already said - Make sure your communications refer back to prior messages. Call it out if something has changed and explain why. Failure to connect the dots causes suspicion and confusion.
• Maintain an active dialogue with your team - Whether you're the CEO or a front line supervisor, you need to be in an on-going two-way conversation with your team.  Group discussions allow people hear information at the same time and with the same words.  The team is less likely to make assumptions about what you write or say if they have up-to-date data and a chance to ask questions on a regular basis.    
• Don't shy away from sharing bad news - Increasingly, employee feedback indicates that they want to hear both the good news and the bad from their leadership.  It's an opportunity to educate the whole team on the challenges of running a business and let them participate in finding the solutions.  If they know they'll hear both sides of the story, they don't have to go looking for the secret meaning of each memo.  They'll trust that you're going to tell them what they need to know, good and bad.
• Keep your influencers in the loop - Make sure your non-management influencers (the subject matter experts, the senior team members, the change agents) are informed early on so they can assist you in shutting down or redirecting misconceptions at the water cooler.  People listen to their peers, especially those they trust and look up to.
• Write to the level of your audience - Leave the eloquent language to the poets.  Your messages should be clear, using the language of the reader.  Employees think you're hiding something when you don't say it straight out.

I leave you with a verse from the Robert Frost poem "Two Tramps in Mud Time".  It's a beautifully stated description of what an April day is like here in the Northeast.  No need to read between the lines.  The wind is cold.

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You're one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,

A wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you're two months back in the middle of March.”