Blog - Page 54 of 60 - Wheeler Coaching Systems

Oct

2017

Leading the Next Generation

Recently I was talking to a business owner and we were discussing the challenges he faces as a leader. One he discussed was working with “Millennials.” Now I do not intend to offend anyone with my post especially those who do not like labels. Labels are beneficial to provide a language for us to communicate more clearly about a specific group of people.

As I researched the idea of leading millennials I found a post that discussed a concept similar to a principle that John Maxwell discusses in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. The post encouraged leaders to “be the right person” in order to win the respect of millennials.¹ This is a similar concept to John’s Law of Magnetism which says “who you are is who you attract.”²

I am a very direct person so I will connect with those who value candor and authenticity because that is my natural way of being. I am also very driven which causes me to gravitate to similar individuals. This is fine if I want a team of clones, but in the end I need people around me who have different, complementary personalities and strengths, but similar values. So do I, do we, need to change who we are in order to work with the next generation.

I would suggest we do not need to change who we are, but how we are. For example, being driven I tend to focus on tasks more than relationships. If I want to lead a team of productive and caring individuals I have to be that myself. Leading people is complicated, but no matter the generation we all want to know if others truly care about us and if we matter to them.

When we lead the next generation maybe these few ideas will help:

Take time to let them know you care. Maybe that is buying them lunch and getting to know more about them beyond what they can do for you as an employee.
Understand what is important to them. One of the principles Maxwell discusses is “people are attracted to leaders whose values are similar to their own.” With that in mind when looking to hire millennial employees understand what they value and whether or not it aligns with what you value.
Find a partner in the mission. As you seek to lead the next generation is there someone in your organization from that generation who understands what the vision of the company is and has bought into it? If so, develop a strong relationship with that person so he/she can become an ally in helping peers to join in the mission. Seek out this person’s perspective on how to achieve specific goals and he or she may give you fresh insight on how to cast the vision in a way that will attract the next generation.
Be humble and teachable. As the leader you may have more experiences, but the next generation has much to teach you. Build a relationship with enough openness to ideas that those you lead can share with you without feeling they may receive repercussions.

These are a few suggestions. Maybe you have some strategies that you have found effective for leading the next generation. Please share them so we can learn from one another.

https://www.thebalance.com/tips-for-retaining-millennial-employees-1918679 accessed 6/27/17
Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

Oct

2017

How Do You Achieve Balance In Life?

“I’m too busy!”

“There’s not enough time in the day!”

“I can’t seem to balance work and life!”

Do some of these statements resonate? They often resonate with me and I believe many people feel similar. The overarching question is how do I achieve balance?

Once I was working with a group of leaders from a non-profit organization. As we were interacting around the table during a session of The Leadership Game, a team building and leadership assessment tool I use with organizations, a common theme from this group of dedicated leaders arose: work/life balance. To help investigate this issue let me point us to people much further along in this journey than I am.

Leadership expert John C. Maxwell provides in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership* a part of the answer in the Law of Priorities. Maxwell helps us understand that priorities force us to evaluate if we are just being active or are we actually being productive. How does this apply to achieving balance? Simple. Look at the calendar and is our time being used in a manner that produces the results we want in our lives or are we running like hamsters on a wheel being active with tasks but getting nowhere?

Once we have established our priorities authors Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend provide an abundance of direction on the concept of boundaries in their book Boundaries which I strongly recommend if this is a challenge for you. Specifically related to work challenges, the authors suggest that if “people took responsibility for their own work and set clear limits,” most of their problems would not exist.** This points us to another principle in work/life balance. Once we know our priorities we do what we need to do and avoid taking on other individual’s responsibilities.

To illustrate, I once heard Collin Powell discussing how he was in President Reagan’s office discussing all the challenges he was facing with the military at the time. He continued to expound for a period of time and I would guess he may have hoped for some answer to all his problems. The response he got from the President was an observation about a squirrel outside the oval office in the grass. In the moment Mr. Powell must have been dumbfounded. After further reflection he realized the President was indirectly saying: “that’s not my problem.” So if it is truly not your problem whether at work or home, set an appropriate boundary and let them struggle, figure it out, and grow.

Author Richard Swenson, M.D. in his book Margin provides the observation that the “tendency of our culture is to inexorably add detail to our lives . . . . Yet one can comfortably handle only so many details in his or her life. Exceeding this threshold will result in disorganization or frustration.”*** We have many options, needs, wants, and desires vying for our attention. In his book he provides practical solutions for improving margin in many areas. To add practical steps to this part of achieving balance with time I will highlight a few of his suggestions (some are slightly modified) related to time.

Learn to say no. It may mean saying no to a good thing for something that is greater and more in line with your priorities.
Unplug. Do we need to be on that device or should we just sit and talk with the people around us?
Practice simplicity and contentment. It seems the more stuff I have the more time it takes from me.
Create “buffer zones.” Is there margin in your calendar or is everything stacked right on top of one another?

These are only four of sixteen suggestions he provides on this topic alone. I do not have this all figured out because I am on the journey of balance as well, but hopefully these principles will help move us in the right direction toward work/life balance. What is one action step you need to take today to move you toward greater balance in life? Maybe you need someone to coach you through the process. If that is the case, contact me today for a free coaching session.

*Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2007.

**Cloud, Henry and Townsend, John. Boundaries. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1992.

***Swenson, Richard. Margin. Colorado Springs, NavPress, 1992.

Sep

2017

8 Types of Culture . . . Which is Yours?

Have you ever stepped back to think about what the culture really is where you lead or work? Culture is those unspoken expectations and habits that are formed within a group of people. For example, some families have a culture where there is no cursing. Some organizations are very positive and creative while others may be negative and rigid.

Why is culture so important? Culture establishes your standards and expectations. Culture creates your team’s daily environment. Culture is like the personality of your organization and as the leader it often is a reflection of you.

In his book How to Build and Sustain a Championship Culture, sports psychologist and author Jeff Janssen provides a definition for eight different types of cultures. As you look at this list ask yourself “what is the culture of the group or organization I lead most like?”

Corrosive culture – this is a culture that is dominated by conflict, frustration, negativity, gossiping, selfishness, distrust, and cliques. People are not working together, but instead are constantly battling. People become apathetic or resistant to achieve goals because of a lack of respect for the leader.
Country Club culture – the priority here is to look good and have a good time. Championships do not matter and coasting through is acceptable.
Congenial culture – the priority is that everyone gets along. People don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Most likely there are no candid and honest conversations occurring. Although there are positives to this culture, results are not a priority.
Comfortable culture – comfort is key here. People want to accomplish big goals and have depth to their relationships, but only if this is easy. Being out of one’s comfort zone is not acceptable.
Competitive culture – if results are very important but people are not as important, then this is your culture. This culture has a strong focus on results and not a high focus on relationships.
Cut-throat culture – results are all that matter. If your character flaws such as selfishness or outside issues are overlooked because you get results such as wins or lots of sales, then you are part of a cut-throat culture.
Constructive culture – a balanced focus on both results and relationships. People are willing to work hard toward common goals and develop solid relationships.
Championship culture – this culture has a strong and clear sense of their mission and purpose. They have very clear goals and have a strong desire to achieve them. Both members of the team and the leaders are intentional about building strong relationships with one another to the point of being lifelong friends.

I have shown you Mr. Janssen’s definitions which are focused on a sports environment, but can easily translate to another environment. Where is your culture now? Where do you want it to be? What needs to change in order for you to get there? Most likely, if you are the leader the first changes must happen with you. What steps will you take today in order to create the culture you want tomorrow? It starts with one step. In the words of NIKE . . . Just Do It!

Sep

2017

Empowering or Dumping?

Are you tired and overwhelmed? Do you feel like you have too much on your plate? Do you lead a large organization, a small business or just a team of some sort? What do you need to do in order to get some of the work off your plate? . . . Empower others.

What is empowerment though? Is this simply handing off an assignment or task to someone else and telling them “just do it.”? Actually that is what I would call “dumping.” Dumping is the boss who doesn’t want to do a certain task and simply hands it off to someone else with no explanation why or how it fits into the bigger picture. Some bosses are experts at dumping stuff off their plate onto those they lead with no support or vision for the task.

In talking recently with some small business owners we discussed this concept of dumping versus empowering and they came up with a few principles that demonstrate a leader is trying to empower and not just dump.

Intention – when a leader is handing off a task to someone else they should take time to explain why they are giving the individual this responsibility. Maybe by someone else doing this task it enables the leader to have time to help grow the business and meet the needs of more customers and employees. Another reason would be to help the individual grow through entrusting them with greater responsibility. These are only two possible intentions which the leader may have.
Give the person power – em-power – give power to the individual. If a leader entrusts a task to someone then they need to set clear expectations with a clear vision for the bigger purpose of the task. After that, the leader needs to resource the individual with all he or she needs to accomplish the task. Clear expectations help the individual know the boundaries they are to work within and what the ultimate result looks like. Without resourcing the individual may feel he or she does not have the necessary tools for success.
Gratitude – This may seem to be a simple concept, but simply thanking the individual up front and showing gratefulness for the time they are about to put in on the task can help improve the results you get from the person. When we are appreciated for what we do it makes us want to put greater effort into our work.

When you look at these three areas what is your intention when you give a task to someone else? How can you give more power to those you are entrusting responsibility to? What are some specific ways you can show gratitude for a person’s work? Maybe you need to take a moment and ask those you lead if they feel empowered to do their job. What action step do you need to take today?

Sep

2017

Leadership Lesson from a Miserable Run

I enjoy exercising. Mainly at this stage of life I exercise to manage my eating addiction. I kind of like food . . . especially sweets. I do not enjoy running though, but I occasionally run for about 20 minutes. One day I got up and wanted to get my workout done without going to the gym so I could return home to help my wife before getting work done so I went on a run.

When I run I do not want to hear myself pant so I usually have my music with me. Less than five minutes into the run my music was not accessible. Oh, I forgot to tell you that while I was running there was a light drizzle which was tolerable.

Light drizzle, no distraction of music and then my cranky right knee starts to ache. I wasn’t far from the house I could have turned around and quit, but I am stubborn and I like my desserts. I continued slowly plodding along and then I turned the corner and the drizzle was now blowing in my face and extremely annoying.

At this point I am starting to ask myself why I am doing this when I could have gone to the gym and used the elliptical in dry conditions and been distracted both by my music and a book. (Yes, I read when I am on the elliptical) At this point I am halfway through and I just keep running.

I turn another corner so the rain is no longer blowing in my face and I am nearing the part of my run where I give my joints some relief by running in the grass. I contemplate staying on the concrete and asphalt, but I don’t. I take my first step in the grass and squish. My socks are now soaked, I am getting wetter by the moment and am miserable just wanting this run to be done.

Since I have nothing to do other than think I start to ponder how this experience relates to leadership. . . I know I’m strange. When we lead we may have an idea of what we are getting into. We may start with great enthusiasm and have all the tools or we may start with faith entering into the unknown.

No matter how we start, trials and challenges will come. Leading a family we don’t know what tragedies big or small are going to hit our family emotionally, physically, socially, economically or anything else. Leading at work we don’t know what obstacles will prevent us from closing the deal, advancing the cause, helping people work at the highest level, etc.

As a leader at work or home we all have a choice. Even within the first five minutes of my run I had to choose will I persevere or quit? There has been a slowdown at work and we are experiencing increased pressure to perform, persevere or quit? The business you are building is not happening as quickly as you want, persevere or quit? Our marriage hits a bump, will we persevere or quit? Raising children is not as easy as anticipated: persevere or quit?

A man who was living for a great cause had great adversity on his journey and he said in part “I will press on toward the goal . . . “ Will you press on, trudging through the difficulties to ultimately accomplish the goal? I hope you do so that you can realize your full potential.

By the way . . . when I did finish I felt a sense of accomplishment . . . so now I could eat dessert later.

Sep

2017

Are you laboring in the right area?

When I was a kid I had a little hamster named Henry. He was one of my only pets. He was cute and furry and we let him run around once in awhile . . . much nicer than my evil parakeet we later brought into our home. If you have ever had a hamster you know they will run around on the wheel in their cage. Well Henry did this quite often, but he ran on the outside of the wheel. We knew when he was running because that wheel squeaked loud!

One New Year’s Day I woke up and looked over and Henry looked very asleep. I don’t know if he had a crazy New Year’s Eve or what, but Henry was no longer with us.

As I reflect on this it makes me think. I don’t know when my last day will be. Am I running like a hamster on a wheel or am I intentionally filling my days with purpose? Am I simply chasing the urgent and getting nowhere or am I purposely and intentionally pursuing life focusing on the important as much as the urgent.

Years ago I learned the concept of the four quadrants. I referred to it in a post previously, but I will review them briefly. They are divided into urgent and important and to illustrate you can see below.

Important

And

Urgent

III

Important

NOT

Urgent

And

NOT Important

And

NOT Urgent

Henry, my hamster, I would argue lived in quadrant I of important/urgent. I wonder if he thought he was actually accomplishing something as he ran on top of his wheel each day. This is where we run through our days answering e-mails, texts, or other communication and responding to everyone else’s problems. Somedays I wonder if I am just the hamster and running busily, but am I productive?

A continual example of when I live in quadrant II is when my boys are fighting for any number of reasons, but in the process it usually gets to a fever pitch of screaming for mom and/or dad. At that point the crisis becomes urgent, but probably not that important because the reality is one child is simply trying to get the other in trouble or if I give it enough time they will figure it out on their own (but I may have to repair drywall afterwards). How much time are you spending in this quadrant?

In our information age I can easily wander into quadrant IV. Checking my personal e-mail account I constantly get tempted to click on some news teaser which really does not matter and does not help me move closer to my ultimate goal. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and more all have their value but usually suck me into the not important and not urgent unless I have an intentional purpose for being on that platform.

The final quadrant is where we develop ourselves, but is also the most neglected. Quadrant III is where we pay attention to creating space to take care of our bodies with proper exercise and nutrition. We take time to think into how we will intentionally go through our day. We engage with material that stretches our thinking and helps us grow. Spiritual disciplines fit into this quadrant as well. This is the quadrant where we may work ahead on projects, plan special events with our family and more.

As a parent and as a leader where do you spend most of your time? Being that in the States it is Labor Day weekend as I write this, where do you labor the most? What Quad III habits do you need to develop? Who will help you to develop the right habits to grow as a leader in these areas? The small disciplines make a huge difference in helping us lead from a more balanced perspective.