Blog - Page 43 of 60 - Wheeler Coaching Systems

Feb

2019

Learning from a Leader in the Pharmaceutical Industry

I was sitting beside a man who is about a foot taller than me. I asked him for some of his time because I knew he was a man of great character and also had an opportunity to be a part of an elite Division I college basketball program so I wanted to learn what insights he had on leadership.

Rob works as a sales manager for Amgen, a pharmaceutical company in the Indianapolis area. During our time we discussed the leadership principles he learned from his experience in that elite basketball program.

The coach he played under had three key principles he modeled: hard work, knowledge, and preparation. This coach’s principles have influenced his leadership, but some of the coach’s traits showed him ways he did not want to lead.

As we reflected on Rob’s experience three key leadership principles came to the surface which influence his present leadership approach.

Coach to the positive

Rob played at a time when some coaches tore athletes down psychologically in order to build them up. At times coaches and leaders can unintentionally focus too much on the negative instead of reinforcing the positive. Instead of tearing people down, Rob seeks to build his team up as much as possible by first affirming their strengths. After that, when necessary, he will point out growth areas and equip his team for those areas.

Be transparent

At work Rob now leads some of the individuals he previously worked alongside. This creates a unique environment where he admits his weaknesses and recognizes they are a team. He sees his job is helping team members achieve their goals. As leaders we need to willingly share areas that need improvement and then create the appropriate plan for growth.

Create opportunities

As a player he received opportunities because of his hard work and discipline. As a leader, he provides those he leads with opportunities for growth and advancement. In order to have that mindset he must be more concerned about his team’s growth than his personal agenda.

While we concluded our time together, I asked him for one key takeaway. Rob replied that we need to remember where we came from and we are no better than anyone else. He reflected that if we respect people and treat them like humans we will be leading well.

What about you? How are you leading your team? Are you being transparent and authentic? Do you create opportunities for those you lead to continue to develop? Our mindset is constantly a challenge, how are you at thinking positively and helping your team by focusing more on the positive than the negative? Let me know how I can help you to lead better at work and home. Lead well.

Feb

2019

My Technology Failure

Have you ever been ready to throw your iPhone, iPad, computer or some other form of technology against the wall and scream?

That was me on this particular Friday morning. I am sitting at my desk preparing to join my John Maxwell Team friend Eric Reid on his Friday Facebook Live he graciously invited me to participate in.

I am excited and ready to go so I join in while listening on my computer. He sees me there, but I have to get connected via my iPhone or iPad . . . . that is where the problems begin.

I log onto Facebook and see his video, but no matter how many times I touch the screen it won’t play. Confession here, I am not a technology whiz. After about five minutes my blood pressure is rising and then I figure I will download the app.

At this point my friend knows I am struggling and he is demonstrating his phenomenal speaking skills as he speaks on something he totally did not anticipate. As I continue to struggle, I have messaged him with the confession that I am cursing my devices.

We are now about fifteen minutes in and I am yelling and screaming either outloud or in my head and I finally get on . . . . but cannot access the camera . . . whatever that means!

Finally, I message him and tell him I give up because we are now too far in for me to bring much value. He encourages me through the broadcast and asks others to do the same. Now that the emotion is gone I ask myself: what did this teach me about leadership?

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

I should have done the test run beforehand . . . I know common sense, but apparently not for this guy. When we try something new especially involving new technology of some sort, give it a low risk “test drive” first.

Don’t be Attached

I could have been much worse off than I was especially if I allowed my self-worth to be attached to the result that morning. I was frustrated, embarrassed, and felt my lack of preparation let my friend down. The reality is that my self-worth should not be based on the results of a Facebook Live.

Learn.

Why am I writing this now, so I can reflect and learn and possibly help you when you try something new as you lead. Mistakes happen, but in order to learn we need to pause, reflect, and learn from them.

Failure occurs to us all and when we are trying something new the probability of some type of failure is higher. What about you? Do you get attached to what you are trying so much that if you fail you will be crushed? Do you take time to learn from the mistake? Just like I have to remind myself often, because we fail does not mean we are failures. Go out today, try something new personally or professionally and if you fail on some level, learn and re-enter. Lead well.

Jan

2019

Learning from a Leader in the Banking Industry

Jeff and I were sitting in the green room behind the stage at the Forum Credit Union conference center discussing leadership. I had met Jeff only a few months previously and he is a genuine and caring man who desires to lead others in the best way possible.

Mr. Welch has the responsibility of overseeing finances as the CFO of Indianapolis based Forum Credit Union. Through my interactions with Jeff and others in this organization I have gathered this is an organization with an outstanding culture.

When we started our conversation, I asked him to explain leadership from his role in the organization. He believes he must bring clarity to where the organization was, where they are now and where they are headed as it relates to the financial details. Addressing these areas makes the numbers relevant to others in the organization. While answering those questions, he correlates the numbers to the organizational goals and how people are making a difference in their role. One additional question he asks himself as a leader who desires to be transparent and authentic is: how much is enough information?

LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

Mr. Welch values people and that is evident in how he communicated with me, but also in his guiding leadership principles.

Communication

Many leaders have this as a foundational principle. Specifically Mr. Welch believes communication must be consistent and timely. If we are leaders who develop other leaders and not developing followers then we need to provide information in a manner that enables those we lead to make informed timely decisions. Consistent, timely communication enables that.

Relationships

In order to maintain strong relationships with those he leads Jeff seeks to build unity and trust. When a mistake is made he accepts responsibility for his part in it and makes it known by saying “we messed up.” This humble response builds unity and trust among his team. Jeff also takes time to think about each individual and how to be present with them in the way they need. He modifies his communication approach instead of expecting them to adjust to him.

DELEGATION

Mr. Welch’s third principle was the idea of delegation. He admits his struggle with being a perfectionist so this has been an area of great growth for him. Because of this reality I dove a little deeper on this idea and he provided some more detailed insights on effective delegation.

Provide a clear goal. As the leader he knows he must make the goal and expectations of the task/project clear. At the same time, he is willing to adjust his expectations for himself and others.
Create a win/win. Jeff has the humility to allow and encourage those he leads to push him to delegate. This atmosphere also encourages creating win/win situations where he distributes responsibilities to free his time while providing others with opportunities to stretch and grow their leadership.
Team thinking. When delegating a responsibility Jeff tries to create a team. A couple key questions for him are: what is the problem? Who needs to be involved? In answering these questions as accurately as possible he can build an effectively empowered team that will accomplish the goal.

This is a man who is authentic, humble and continually seeks to grow through his involvement in organizations outside of Forum. How about you? When it comes to relationships, communication, and delegation what is one way you can grow to become a more focused, effective, and purposeful leader? Need help thinking into this? If so, contact me. In the meantime, lead well.

Jan

2019

How Well Do You Handle Adversity?

If you have ever been around or involved in sports you know the phrase “be tough.” That phrase applies not only to sports, but all areas of life at work and home. A couple falls ago my son wanted to start a leaf raking business. Because of his stage of life I knew he needed a little help so we went to the computer and printed off some business cards for him to use and then he began canvassing the neighborhood.

On his first day out he got hired by three houses so the following weekend we went to those houses to start our raking. As with most of us, he began with great enthusiasm and energy at the first house in spite of the cold temperatures. He then had to attend a sporting activity and after lunch he began his second house. I left him alone to work and when I came back from running some errands he had stalled. What was the problem? It was beginning to feel like work . . . and it was.

He wanted to quit, but I encouraged him to persevere and told him that quitting was not an option. After a weekend of raking four houses and securing a couple more jobs he was very proud of himself.

How are you and I at handling the challenges of what we are entrusted to do? Do we want to quit at work, our marriage, doing the work of parenting, pursuing a greater dream? In all honesty there are times I want to quit, but for me this is not an option.

ADVERSITY QUOTIENT

What all this is about is our “Adversity Quotient” which Dr. Paul Stoltz created years ago. According to Maxwell Maltz in his book The New Psycho-Cybernetics Stoltz describes adversity quotient as “a measurement of how people perceive challenges and how well they deal with them.” p.151

So what are the characteristics of people with high AQs? Stoltz provides three attributes:

They do not blame others

Adversity is not because of someone else or something else, it just is.

They do not blame themselves

The adversity or setback does not negatively impact their personal perception – they are not a failure as a person because of a setback.

Problems are limited in size and duration and can be dealt with

Adversity does not overwhelm them to the point of paralysis and inability to take action, they keep moving forward one step at a time

When you hit adversity at work or home how do you respond? Do you have a high or low AQ? Which of Stoltz’s three attributes do you need to grow in? You can accomplish your dreams as long as you get out of your own way. Move forward today and keep growing.

Jan

2019

A Bold Vision

“Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game; if we played them ten times, they might win nine. But not this game, not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can. Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world.
You were born to be hockey players – every one of you, and you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. . . . This is your time. Now go out there and take it!”¹

Herb Brooks

The locker room with tense with the nervous excitement one would expect before a championship event. Coach Herb Brooks was boldly talking to a group of young men in 1980 before they took the ice to eventually defeat the intimidating Soviet Russian Olympic hockey team. What gave Coach Brooks the courage to make such a bold speech? Was it simply a coach being a great motivator? In part, but I believe there was more that gave him the ability to set the vision with confidence and the team to believe it was possible.

History

These young men had fought through tough games. They had experienced the thrill of victory, the pain of defeat and the struggle of becoming a unified group of individuals working toward a common goal.

Confidence

Because of the history of the season and what Coach Brooks had seen these young men accomplish both at practice and in competition he knew they could fulfill the vision he had set.

Ability

Not only did Coach Brooks assemble a talented team, but he developed their abilities and, as leadership expert Jim Collins would say, put the right people in the rights spots on the bus to achieve success.

A Plan

One author comments on the idea of leadership: “at a certain point people need more than vision. They need a plan, a step-by-step explanation of how to move from vision to reality.”² They had played the Russians earlier in their season and watched more film since then. They had a strategy and had practiced that plan. When the plan was followed, the results would come.

Courage

Even with all the above four in place to declare we will be the victor takes courage. Not only did he say it, but he believed it. If the leader does not believe the vision can be accomplished neither will those he or she leads.

Do you have a bold vision for your organization or team? Do you have enough history of small and even big successes to build confidence for the team? Do you have the right people in the right place? Do you have a strategy to implement? Are you confident it can happen? If so, set the standard and move forward courageously to accomplish the vision. Need help thinking into the vision or any of these other steps? Contact me for a complimentary coaching session. In the meantime, lead well.

https://sites.google.com/site/herosandthehistoryofsports/herb-brooks-speech
Courageous Leadership. Bill Hybels p.55

Jan

2019

Leading in Health and Fitness

I was sitting across the coffee table from an individual who is passionate about helping people reach their full potential in their wellness. This man had spent years in another industry, but through his personal journey and tapping into his passion he walks a different path now with his company Alignment Nutrition.

Jeremiah is a certified health coach who continually learns and grows in understanding of his industry and craft. Awhile back he took a leap away from the monotony he was experiencing in his job to launch out and build a business helping change people’s view on themselves and specifically their view on food and nutrition.

As we talked I wanted to learn his perspective on leadership as it relates to health and fitness.

FOUR AREAS

Jeremiah suggests four areas of our lives help create balance. As we seek to bring reasonable balance to these areas our overall well-being improves. He recognizes we will never be in perfect balance and there is a constant ebb and flow of these areas even in one day let alone our lifetime.

Spiritual – this can be as simple as creating quite-time or thinking time

Relational/Emotional – are we aware of our personal mindset and how it impacts those we interact with daily?

Passion – look at your heart. I have heard the questions: what makes you laugh? What makes you cry? What makes you sing? Answer these questions clearly and you will have greater clarity on your true passion.

Physical – This area Jeremiah focuses on the most in his business as all other areas are manifested in our physical care. If we are not right in the other areas then others will sense that in your in our physical appearance and the energy we exude.

HIS DISCIPLINES

I asked Jeremiah to provide insight on how he leads himself in these four areas. The following were some of his thoughts:

Surround yourself with the right people. This is a factor of self-leadership and one way he leads himself is by bringing three types of people into his life: coaches, mentors, and accountability partners. All three play a role in helping him continually move toward his goals.
Intentionality. In order to maintain this balance Jeremiah chooses to block time to engage with his family. He also intentionally invests time in developing, learning, and growing his business acumen.
Habits. Whether the physical discipline of exercise, proper nutrition, etc. or mental discipline of daily moving toward his goal Jeremiah cultivates habits that help him progress in balance. Although he is very disciplined Jeremiah encourages himself and others to “give yourself grace when it is not perfect.” Changing habits takes time, give yourself room to grow.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON GROWTH

As we concluded our time together he shared some insightful thoughts that may help us as we pursue our goals. We all want to live a fulfilling and purpose-filled life but as Jeremiah reminded me through an idea many of us have heard: “until the pain of change is less than the pain of remaining the same, you will remain the same.”

Growth requires change and change is not easy and Jeremiah reminded me of a key truth.

We ask for success, but then prepare for failure.

Move in the direction of success today by preparing and expecting it. Battle those limiting beliefs with truth. Provide yourself with a framework for success and accountability. Need help with any of this? If you need help thinking into your leadership results contact me. If you want help with your health and fitness results learn more about Alignment Nutrition Coaching with Jeremiah and become the person you were created to be. Lead well.