How good are you?

As managers and leaders we often wonder about this question. While the question forces one to focus internally, the irony is that our measure is external.

The measure of how well you are doing is how well your people are doing. That is the ultimate reflection of how we are performing as leaders – how our team is performing. We all provide a function as a leader and manager.

Gregg reminded of a book called “Multipliers” which talks about this. The impact you have on your team is the measure of your success. Can you get your people to give 120%? Can you get them to do more than they could otherwise? This is what we can bring out of our teams. You can think of your role as “5+5” which is of course 10 OR “5x5” which is 25.

When we measure ourselves strictly by our own performance all we look at is “5” – it is limiting and it is not accurate. And by ignoring our people’s performance we are giving it a weight of “0”. And what happens when you multiply something by zero?

So take a moment and see how your people are doing – that is a true measure of how good you are doing as a leader and manager.

A classic story to leave you with which talks about this in a different way:

More than a century ago, a young woman who had dined with both William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli explained why she preferred Disraeli: "When I dined with Mr. Gladstone, I felt as though he was the smartest man in England. But when I dined with Mr. Disraeli, I felt as though I was the smartest woman in England."

The power of creative tension

Creative tension is one of the key components for improvement.The normal, and a very good, way to visualize this concept is with the following picture:

The top hand represents where we want to be and the bottom hand is where we are. The rubber band is the desire we have to bring our reality to where we want to be.

1) Remember that both hands can move to relieve the tension. We can either improve our reality or change where we want to go. Too often we change where we want to go instead of improving our reality.

2) There are three key parts that we must think about to use creative tension appropriately

a. A good picture of where we want to go.

b. A clear understanding of where we are. This is a key component that we rarely focus on. People think about goals a lot – we all talk about goals a lot. But for creative tension to create improvement we must understand the reality of where we are – we cannot lie to ourselves about our current situation. Only if we accurately assess where we are can we then create the appropriate improvements.

c. Maintaining the desire to close the gap. We must constantly fuel these efforts. Whether it recognition, reminder of the longer term and higher purpose of the goal and creating small wins along the way so that we keep on going, we MUST be committed to continually closing the gap. And the ONLY way to close the gap is to IMPROVE our reality to our GOAL. If we compromise on where we want to go we have simply delayed the work that we must do or accepted substandard performance – neither is acceptable.

Take a moment and think about where you want to be, think about where you really are (and that is key) and recognize creative tension as a powerful force that we need to use to get better. That tension can pull us forward and keep us falling back. Instead of the two hands shown above I sometimes think of creative tension as the following picture:

It is up to us to make sure that the nail is the future we are heading towards and not the current reality pulling us back. Creative tension is a powerful force.

With a strong commitment to the goal, and understanding of where we are and the desire and energy to keep working; it will compel us to great improvements. Understand it, use it and let’s start closing that gap today.

Work smarter....

(apologize it has been a bit since my last post... I am sure the world has been waiting on pins and needles!)

Was thinking about that phrase “work smarter, not harder” over the last few weeks. It is something you hear all of the time. At its core this phrase generally means do not waste your time on activities that have little value – focus as much as possible on the things that have the biggest impact. And of course there is a lot of insight we can gain from this philosophy.

But there should be a second part of that phrase. It should go “once you know how to work smarter… NOW work harder”. Working smarter is not a desired goal because we can work less – but a desired goal because now we have a better way to work. With working smarter – the more effort we put out the better we get. Look at world class athletes and musicians – they have clearly learned how to focus their energy on high value actions. But they also work harder at perfecting those skills than anyone. Michael Jordan was famous (infamous even) for working harder in practices than he did at games. Jerry Rice’s training routine was legendary for its degree of difficulty. The world’s great musicians spend their day practicing their instruments for HOURS. The obvious point is that to develop the world class performance you not only have to work smarter, you must work harder.

The great news about this is that working harder is something we all can do. We must be willing to put in that focus and energy into that smart work and be willing to push ourselves. The comfort zone and world class performance are rarely ever in the same neighborhood. Comfort should be a signal to try to do something more challenging. As we work and develop we need to work smarter AND harder. We can push ourselves to higher and higher levels of performance – and the fact that it is our effort that contributes to the improvements is both empowering and inspiring.

How focused are we on what area we need to improve? How do we commit to practicing it more? Find something that you need to focus on – and just see what improvements can happen if you just focus on practicing and working harder on that skill for the next few days - deliberate, focused practice is both smart and hard work. Enjoy it because when you do it you are taking control of your performance and improvements. And while that is hard to do – it is also very smart.

ask me no questions

When we think about communications we often think about what we are saying and sending out – and when we are really focused we even think about listening. I want to share with a communication rule (or trick) – that is very impactful and I always wish I used it more:

9 time out of 10 you will be more impactful with a question than an answer.

When you are talking with anyone we often look to add instead of ask. Questions lead us to solutions – and let us engage others in the discussion.

The next conversation ask before time it is your turn “Can I address this issue with a question rather than a statement?”

We naturally want to add our own two cents – so do not worry about that – the point here is to put the focus on the person you are talking to?

Think of it this way (this is an adaptation of a clichéd story): do you think it is more effective to have them feel like you are the smartest person in the room or have them feel like you think they are the smartest person in the room?

That is a question we all know the answer to.

+1

Just a simple improvement reminder that I wanted to share with everyone.

And yes…it is “+1”. This means always take that one extra step.

Take 30 minutes over the next week and concentrate on adding one to everything you do. Ask one more question from a customer or someone on your team, try to plan just 1% better, do one more bit of follow up, praise one more action or drive to ask what is the one more thing I can do right now to most impact us having a better day.

See what just a small amount of this focus can do to improve your communication, your results and your morale. Imagine if you could do this every day for a week? A month? A year? As you can see “+1” is powerful.

We so often think of the large goals we are aiming for – and that is important. “+1” gives us a way to think about moving things forward and a realistic pace – sometimes in a way that even seems easy! (imagine that)

Take the time, think about “+1” and how it could impact you and your team.

The math and impact is compelling, the concept is simple to execute and share and the results will be amazing.

Five by five

Five by five is an expression that means your signal (radio etc..) is coming in perfectly strong and clear. It is also referred to as “loud and clear”.

We often forget when communicating to check what message has been received and how clearly. We do not always check that we are “five by five”

In the past I have spoken about asking someone to repeat back their understanding of what we said. Take a moment over the next few days and think about an expectation we have set. Go up to someone on your team and ask them to tell you what that expectation is. If they have – you have communicated. If not, well now we can have a great conversation. Periodically check how your communication is being received by your team. Is it strong and clear enough to stay with them when you check in later? The formula is very simple in this regard – if they know what you intended to send you have communicated that part of it well.

So take some time over the next few days and do a “communication check in” with your people. If you make this a habit the response will soon always be: “five by five”

The best in the room

I was at a meeting this week – and a person made a comment that I thought was a wonderful communications and leadership lesson. He said “I know I will not be the smartest person in the room, so my goal is to be the best listener in the room”.

The idea of “the best listener in the room” is a great leadership message and powerful communication tool. No one has ever griped “that guy listen too much!”

Whether we are talking with our people and customers – let’s remember that when it comes to making people feel important, connecting with them and finding out what we can do to improve the situation – listening is the best tool we have. If we were talking with someone do we want them to show us how important they are or would we rather they made us feel important? That is the power of being the “best listener in the room”.

A great, powerful, simple communication and leadership tool we can all start doing immediately.

What next step... the sequel

Last year I spoke about a powerful question. I wanted to bring it up again this year. The question was:

“What next step should I be taking to make my goals happen?”

This little question is so powerful that I wanted to bring it up again. Take a half over the next week and focus on simply asking yourself this question and then doing the answer. This continual focus on this question allows for several things:

- It keeps you focus on the longer term goals, not just the fires

- It is an action oriented mindset

- It naturally breaks down larger goals into smaller achievable tasks – this is key to success for any long term goal

By simply focusing on this questions and the answers to this question you will be unleashing the powerful weapons of strategy, focus and execution with a simple exercise. Now imagine if you can get your people to ask the same question and respond to their answer. Take some time this week to make sure you have communicated this powerful little thought to your team and see what they can do as well.

“What next step….?” is a key to unlocking a great day, one where you can look back and be proud of what you got done. “What next step …?” is the key to giving you the excitement of a new day with even more you will get done.

Ask the question, complete the answer and then commit to asking it again and again. Each little step will push towards a completed goal.

With this powerful question in your hands you can be like a river that shapes the landscape and cuts through mountains – you can be a force of nature. I think this question and attitude is that powerful and important.

“What next step should I be taking to make my goals happen?”

Ask it. Answer it. Do it again and again. Step by step, you will be amazed and amazing.

It’s time for action.