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.

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.  





 

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.

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.

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.

Answers To Your Questions About What Coaching Can Do For Your Organization

In celebration of International Coaching Week, I share with you today a link to the Library of Professional Coaching.  As noted on their home page, "Our library includes a growing collection of articles, research briefs, and white papers which will serve as the ultimate free Internet-based source of information about professional coaching.  It's an easily searchable database of trusted, high-caliber, peer-reviewed content." 

This site is a valuable resource to those looking for answers to questions like these about coaching:

•      Why does an organization hire a coach?
•      How long is a typical coaching engagement?
•      How does coaching work for groups and teams?
•      What is the Return On Investment (ROI) for coaching?
•      How is coaching applied in different industries?

Additionally, you will find a wealth of articles on leadership topics such as :

•      Managing Change
•      Applying Emotional Intelligence in the workplace
•      Ethics and Values
•      Breaking Down Organizational Silos
•      Employee Engagement

Sponsors for this site include the International Coach Federation, and you can find more articles, research, and case studies about coaching on their Research Portal.

If you are interested in coaching for your organization,

•      send me an email at april@charltonconsultingservices.com
•      call me at 518-557-2864
•      visit my website at TeamsInTransition

 

  

Have Them Show Their Work

At some point in elementary school, we begin to hear from our teachers that it is not enough to simply fill in the blank with an answer, that we also need to "show our work".  Why is that?  Because it allows the teacher to review how we came to our answer.  Did we use the right formula, was our logic sound, did we understand the key concepts, etc.  In assessing our progress on the educational journey, teachers are evaluating both the quality of our decisions and the final outcomes.

I was reminded of this when I watched one of Dan Ariely's videos on BigThink called Promoted to the Level of Incompetence.  "One of the problems with promotions is that we promote people based on outcomes, not about the quality of their decisions," says Ariely, Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University.   

There is an element of this in annual performance evaluations.  In most programs, we ask the leader to document successful outcomes against their goals, which becomes the justification for the performance rating, the size of the annual raise, the bonus, and ultimately, consideration for the next big promotion. 

What's wrong with that?  Well, as Dan Ariely argues, the outcome is not the whole story.  Like the teacher, we need to evaluate both the final answer and process for how the leader got there.   

A well rounded performance evaluation includes a measurement of behaviors and competencies such as judgement, integrity, collaboration, and strategic thinking, and change management.

Ask your team to show their work, and include that in your evaluation of who is ready graduation and who needs more time with you at the chalkboard.

FREE Management Webcasts and Podcasts

Looking for a way to supplement your management training and development program without blowing the budget?  Check out these free webcasts from the American Management Association (AMA). 

Upcoming titles include: 

• Unleashing Growth Leaders in your Organization
• How Emotional Intelligence Drives Effective Leadership
• Making Smarter Decisions Without Drowning in Information
• Crucial Steps for Ensuring Project Success

 Can't commit to a specific day/time?  Try a free podcast from the AMA instead and listen in when it fits your calendar. 

Webcasts and podcasts are offered by many organizations and have multiple advantages:

• All team members can attend, including those in a virtual office
• Opportunity to learn from a variety of trainers/speakers/coaches/industry experts
• Preview the message from an author before buying their book
• Great resource for leaders looking to expand their knowledge into other areas of business 
• Low cost/No cost

See you in class.

What's Your Leadership Blind Spot?

Have you seen the latest Allstate Mayhem ad?  It's about blind spots, a scary and real danger for any driver as depicted with dark humor in this commercial.

Blind spots are also a danger on the job.  There's an excellent article and slide show by Loretta Malandro, PhD on Bloomberg Businessweek called Discover Your Leadership Blind Spots.  To quote the article, "Our behavioral blind spots create dire and unintended consequences: They corrupt decision-making, reduce our scope of awareness, create enemies, silos, and camps, destroy careers, and sabotage business results." 

So true.  Yet the good news is that blind spots are just behaviors, and behaviors can be modified.  "Blind spots are not flaws; nor are they malicious. They are automatic behaviors. The real culprits are not the blind spots themselves. The problem is when they are unidentified and mismanaged."

So unlike Mayhem in the Allstate commercials, our leadership blind spots are not intentionally harmful.  I think this is an important point because we often believe that others realize the impact of their behaviors and thus further assume an intent to disrupt, or insult, or dominate, etc. 

The article concludes with these tips:  "The first step is to ask others for their candid feedback. Your opinion about how you think your behavior affects others isn't sufficient. The reason these behaviors recur is that you're not aware of what you're doing. Second, take accountability for your impact and stop justifying your behavior by defending your positive intentions. Third, in the absence of a structured process, ask those who do see certain weaknesses to coach you the moment your blind spot surfaces. Finally, stop the behavior the instant you see it by acknowledging it."

The link for the slide show with the author's top ten list of leadership blind spots can be found on the first page of the article, or you can click here for viewing.

Cross-Training for Strength Development

Do you have the enviable challenge of what to do next after receiving a 360-degree assessment that ranks you at or above the norm on every level of competency?  Everyone is happy with your work as a leader, no clear weaknesses to apply yourself to, just keep building on your strengths.  What does that mean, keep doing the same thing? 

No, turns out it doesn't, at least not according to the research conducted by Zenger, Folkman, and Edinger, authors of The Inspiring Leader.  For the overview, check out this short slide show "How To Improve Your Strengths".  It contains the complementary skills to 7 (of 16) core competencies that can boost performance to the next level.  Meaning, find a core competency you excel at, and then work to develop a complementary skill.

The October, 2011 HBR article "Making Yourself Indispensable" goes on to share more detail on the research conducted by these authors when they analyzed the 360-degree surveys of 30,000 developing leaders.  What they found is that some pairings of strength attributes resulted in far higher scores on overall leadership effectiveness than either attribute did on its own. 

The authors recommend the business equivalent of cross-training—enhancing complementary skills that will enable leaders to make fuller use of their core strengths.  For example, if you are highly skilled in "problem solving and analysis", developing the complementary skill of "communications" could ensure that your ideas are fully embraced and implemented.

If you're looking for ideas on how to take a strength to the next level, this article is for you.

Letting Them Grow Up

My son started high school this year and I miss him already. 

He'll only be home with us for four more years and then off to college he goes.  It's incomprehensible to me on so many levels, not the least of which is being able to see him as someone who is capable of making this big transition.

Don't get me wrong, as his mom, I'm his biggest fan, but I've also got a front row seat to all the areas where he still needs development to be ready.

Ever felt like this in the office?  You're behind your team 100%, but as their manager you also know better than anyone where each of them still needs to work on their development. 

The risk in both cases is continuing to see an individual as they were rather than who they are.  None of us is ever done with development.  Ever.  But, we can work to get ourselves to the point where we're ready to move on, and we need the people around us to recognize the growth and support us as we make the shift. 

My litle boy is growing up.  In a few years he'll leave the nest.   I miss him already.

Sara and Sony - A Story about Constructive Feedback

Here's a short story about constructive feedback.  Some of it I know to be true, and some of it I'm guessing at.  I'll let you know where the facts end and my opinions begin...

Sara Bareilles' biggest hit on her Little Voice album was "Love Song".  As she tells it, the record company said she needed an up-beat love song on her album to be marketable.  She didn't agree, she wasn't happy with the feedback, but she wrote a song anyway and it was the album's first release.    

If you're familiar with "Love Song", you know it's actually an anti-love song whose lyrics are cleverly written to sound like a message to a significant other.  But they're not.  She wrote it for the record label...literally. 

"I'm not gonna write you a love song, 'cause you asked for it, 'cause you need one, you see.  I'm not gonna write you a love song 'cause you tell me it's make or breakin' this.  If you're on your way, I'm not gonna write you to stay. "  It's up-beat, catchy, and it was a huge hit.



I just saw Sara on the Today Show yesterday, and apparently the first release from her new album, "King of Anything", resulted from yet another unsettling discussion with her record label. "I guess we have issues", she said.  Based on the lyrics, it sounds like they were giving her feedback again. 

"Who cares if you disagree, you are not me, who made you King of Anything.  So you dare tell me who to be, who died and made you King of Anything."  It's already ruling the airwaves.

Here's where the facts end and my thoughts and speculations begin. 

Sara and Sony Records seem to me to be a perfect example of a successful outcome to the constructive feedback process. 

Let's reset this for the corporate environment (not really a stretch, though is it, to call a major record company "corporate").  First, you have a smart, talented "employee" in Sara.  She has a unique sound, her lyrics are intelligent and relevant, and she's got personality.  Second, you have Sony's management who understand the customer base and market demand.  Management sees the potential in Sara, likes her work, but sees the need for a revision in order to best position her as a new artist.  

Enter the constructive feedback.  Management tells Sara that their strategy is to led off the album's release with a catchy pop love song to ensure air play and gain momentum.  Here's the rub - she hasn't written a catchy love song for this album.  Sara wants to release her album as is and does not welcome this message.  How does writing a song that's just like everything else on the airwaves show off her talents as a distinctively new artist?     

And then the magic happens.  Sara listens to the feedback, and writes a "love song" while still maintaining her voice and demonstrating the talent that sets her apart.  The song has witty lyrics with tongue-in-cheek humor, and the sound is uniquely her own.  And even more amazing, after listening to the song, lyrics and all, management goes with it.   

Think about that for just a minute.  If you asked an employee for a deliverable, and what you got back was a result that was right on the money, delivered with a smile, but accompanied by a message that everyone would hear about how they were forced into doing the project against their will, would you still stamp it with your approval? 

I say kudos to Sara for being open to the feedback (at least twice at this point), and finding a way to deliver while still maintaining her voice.  And, kudos to Sony Records for recognizing a good thing when they hear it, and having the humility to roll with the punches.  

Seems to me they've got a good thing going here.  Keep up the constructive feedback!

Lowering the Hurdles

My 10 year old daughter just competed in her school district's annual Track & Field Day events.  She ran the hurdles, something she's never even attempted before a few weeks ago.  Low and behold, she's actually pretty good at it and secured a solid 4th place finish.

The hurdles are lower for 10 year olds.  Even the taller students wouldn't stand a chance trying to clear the heights you see at standard track meets.   Does that take away from their accomplishments?  Of course not.  Without lower hurdles, they wouldn't even be in the race.

I'm reminded of something our Learning & Development team did for my Client Services teams.  I told them about some personal development goals we had for our emerging leaders.  We wanted them to have the chance to get in front of their teams and hone their presentation and facilitation skills.  However, they didn't have the time or the skills to develop the materials, so the weren't even getting off the blocks.  Plus, the content had to be truly valuable to the teams or it would backfire on us.  

The solution?  We lowered the hurdles to give our emerging leaders a chance to be in the race.

Our Learning & Development partners wrote the content, agendas, supporting materials, and facilitator guidelines for a series of relevant topics that the emerging leaders could use right out of the box.  It was a great success.

Here's to 4th graders and emerging leaders getting their first taste of success with lower hurdles.

Chariots of Fire

On paper, it was really a good idea. I was looking for a family friendly film to show to the Jr & Sr High classes from our church, when I came across Chariots of Fire at the local library. Perfect! It's about values and personal faith. It's an inspiring true story. It's about the Olympics, and that's what's playing in primetime television right now. The movie is 120 minutes long, so I'd show the first half one Sunday and the second half the next. Great plan.

Chariots of Fire went down in flames. My son was part of the viewing group, and he wasted no time afterward telling me that it was the most b-o-r-i-n-g movie he'd ever seen. No way was he sitting through the second half next week. There were no chariots, Mom, much less chariots of fire. Plus, they talked with accents so he couldn't even understand what they were saying.

*Sigh* I saw the same movie with my church youth group when I was in high school, and we loved it. What happened?

Well, in retrospect, turns out there were a few key differences.

First of all, movies have come a long way since then. Considering the special effects these kids are used to, this film had no chance of holding their attention. Who cares that it won 4 Academy Awards. The only special effect Chariots of Fire had to offer was slow motion to create suspense and drama during the foot races.

The film is rated G. G means Good when you're looking for something parents will approve of for a church youth gathering, but it means Go-to-sleep to the average teenager. Back in the early 80's, a teenager would still go see a G rated film. If it was redone today, they'd have to spice it up to at least PG-13 if not R. Seems teenagers don't go to G rated films anymore unless it's one of those nature sagas like March of the Penguins or Earth where it's cool to be green.

And as for the connection to the Olympics, well, yes they are in fact taking place right now. However for these kids, it's just another TV program. When I watched Chariots of Fire, it was a year after the 1980 Winter Olympics. Anyone remember where those games took place? Lake Placid, NY. I lived in Saranac Lake back then, just 9 miles away. When the Olympics came to town, we volunteered at the events, worked at the restaurants, participated in opening and closing ceremonies, and even had the chance to watch the games in person. School closed for two weeks while we hosted visitors from around the globe. For us, the Olympics had been a very real and personal experience.

So where did I go wrong? I took the surface value similiarities - teenagers, Olympics, epic film, church activity - without considering the underlying contextual differences, and assumed a favorable outcome. Frankly, I know better.

I'd still recommend Chariots of Fire, just in case you haven't seen it. And this week, I'm grateful for the reminder to look below the surface.

Be the Catalyst

Catalyst: a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction by reducing the activation energy, but which is left unchanged by the reaction. (http://www.chemistry.about.com/)

If you work in the sciences, I'm sure you're quite familiar with catalysts and how they can be used to move a process along faster and at a lower temperature. And since the catalyst is unchanged by the process itself, you can use it over and over again.

Regardless of the industry in which you lead, doesn't that sound like something you'd like to have at your next business meeting? Imagine it, an entity that lowers the political temperature of the room and speeds along the process by creating a different path for finding the solution. Wishful thinking? Not at all. In fact, as a leader, that catalyst could be you.

As you attend your meetings this week, pay attention to situations where tempers flare, discussions get stuck, or agendas go off the tracks, and notice how you and others engage/don't engage. Do you sit back and wait for the reaction to finish itself out without you? Do you enter the reaction, but find that you're not making an impact? What would you do differently if you were willing to play the role of catalyst in that reaction?

Here are some things to consider:

* You have to be willing to set your personal agenda aside. The catalyst isn't trying to direct the outcome. Rather a catalyst is allowing the current process to find it's best path to reach the desired end goal as defined by the group.

* You may have to give up the glory for the greater cause. Many times, the catalyst isn't even remembered at the end of a reaction. In fact, if it truly becomes a changed reaction, the group deserves the glory for following the new direction, not any one person. Over time, others will notice that meetings are improved just by your presence.

* You need to be very grounded and centered. The catalyst is unchanged at the end of the reaction, and thus you need to be in a mindset that is open and present, but strong and enduring. If you are distracted or unsure of yourself, you will not be able to meet the demands of the catalyst's role, and may get used up or burned up by entering into the reaction.

Look for your opportunities and give it a try. You may find that you are effective in this role in some situations and not in others. Just like a chemist, you have to know when a catalyst will improve the reaction, and you have to use the right catalyst for the other elements involved and for the desired outcome. But as a leader in your organization, you likely have some good instincts about this already.

Here's to good Chemistry in your workplace this week.

The Red Door

A few years ago, we moved out to the country. Mind you, it's only four miles from our former home in the suburbs, but that's upstate New York for you. Since then, as time and budgets have afforded, we've done some remodeling projects to restore our circa 1850 home to its farmhouse roots. One of my contributions was to paint the outside doors red. I had heard that in early American times, a red door was a sign of "welcome".

I've since learned that there are multiple meanings for a red door depending on culture, religion, and the historic period in which it's done. I've also learned that the reason this welcome sign was important to early Americans is because travel by horse and buggy was slow. A red door told a weary traveler that this was a safe place to stay for the night.

So here is the irony in that for me. My house has red doors, but no guest room.

I've been thinking about that lately and how it parallels another door in the workplace - the "open" door. It's most often a fixture of someone in leadership who says, "I have an open door policy". The message is similiar to that of the red door, "Welcome, come in. This is a safe place for you."

As a leader in your organization, do you have a red door? If so, do the weary travelers (employees) take you up on that offer, and are you ready for them when they do? Maybe the door is open, but you're too busy with other obligations to host a visitor so they've given up trying. Or maybe the door is open, but it's such an intimidating walk down the executive hallway that they never make it that far. What if the traveler bears a message of bad news, is it still a safe place to visit?

Your house needs to match your door. Your actions need to match your promises.

As for our home, we purchased a top-of-the-line inflatable bed to set up in the office area. It may be a circa 1850 farmhouse, but it's a modern day family our weary travelers are visiting.

Welcome.