AWARENESS

Sep

2020

Learning From the Leader of Lessonly

I was on a ZOOM meeting with the CEO of Lessonly. Before meeting I read his book Do Better Work which is a quick read with some great leadership and communication concepts to apply.

Max is now the CEO of a thriving organization, but like most busines

s owners he had his bumps along the way. Before starting Lessonly he launched another company which lasted a year and ten months. Out of that failure he learned one of his biggest leadership lessons which he discusses in his book: “share before you are ready.”

New leaders may think they have to have all the answers which leads us to the trap of never sharing ideas. This, Max realized, is not an effective strategy because we limit our ability to learn from others and therefore have a more whole picture.

While talking he shared three ideas that guide his leadership.

Wholeness

In America, Max suggested, we battle a perfectionistic culture where we judge situations, others, and are not honest with ourselves. This perfectionism at times causes us to deny realities about ourselves such as our greed, envy, and controlling tendencies. A healthier way to lead exists though.

When we lead with the idea of wholeness, we are accepting our humanity. Human beings are average, above average, and below average in various aspects of our lives. When we lead from a place of wholeness we have the emotional self-awareness that helps us develop a healthy culture.

Symmetry in Behaviors and Values

Remember learning about symmetry? What something looks like on one side is the same as on the other. Max referenced this idea of symmetry in our behaviors and values. As leaders our behaviors and words must be consistent through modeling the behaviors we desire.

“If you want people doing something you better show up and do the thing.” Max Yoder

I dove deeper on this to understand how he sees this lived out as the CEO of the organization. As we discussed this, Max shared a few key principles to create this symmetry:

Model – When he engages his employees, he models how he would want them to behave whether that is in relating to a customer or one another
Avoid Special Logic – The idea that the rules are different for him and his direct team than for the rest of the organization. When special logic exists consistency will break down and therefore credibility and trust.
Transparency – Willingly and openly share what is relevant to the team. Leaders do not need to be share everything because not everything is relevant, but share what the team needs to know in order to maintain credibility and trust.
Healthy organization – This happens through taking care of the people in the organization. If you want to learn more in detail about how they create a healthy culture, then read about their communication process in chapter five of Max’s book Do Better Work.

Awareness

The third principle leadership principle Max came from reading the book A Failure of Nerve. In this book he learned the idea of emotional triangles which states that with any interaction with others there are the two individuals and oftentimes an issue or another person. (To understand this more in depth go here to read Max’s blog)

As leaders we are not responsible for other people’s issues, but we do need to be aware of their existence. In order to uncover the real issues we must ask clarifying questions to gain a better understanding of the situation. These questions help us clarify the context and therefore be able to connect and lead others more effectively.

After learning Max’s principles, where do you need to grow? What is one step you can take today in becoming a more whole leader? Do you want to lead more effectively in your work and home life? If so and you have not received my free leadership ebook on the topic then go here to get it today. In the meantime, lead well.

May

2019

How Aware Are You?

Not too long ago in our home my three boys had become infatuated with Corvettes. My oldest is creating plans in his mind on how he is going to save up for his corvette.

While listening to my sons talk frequently about these cars, they also pointed them out while we are driving. It seems like there has been a sudden increase of corvettes around where I live. Also I have noticed a sudden increase in silver Honda Odyssey vans like what we have. . . . or has there been an increase?

As we drove around town I noticed another Corvette recently and it struck me that people are not buying more, but I am more aware and tuned into their presence. I wonder what would happen if I were more aware in my leadership. What does this look like?

As leaders we have many stress points. Many people want attention or have questions, there are administrative duties that need attention, and decisions that must be made which impact multiple lives. These are just a few and do not account for the stress various personal stressors. You may be aware of all these stresses and responsibilities . . . or not.

Where is your awareness?

Awareness is a greater perception or knowledge of a fact. For example, if you have never heard of moose tracks ice cream you may not have noticed it at the ice cream shop or store before, but now that I have mentioned it you are going to be more aware of it. Maybe you will even buy it.

In your business what are you tuned into? Are you only focused on the urgent demands and emergency situations? Is the most important item on your agenda the urgent item? Emergencies occur and our plans are interrupted in life and work, but are we maintaining awareness of the important needs in our lives. Are we only aware of our families when an emergency occurs and at all other times work takes precedence?

Daniel Goleman helped people more clearly understand the idea of self-awareness in his book Emotional Intelligence. This is when we are tuned into our emotional state enough that we can adjust our emotions and prevent ourselves from saying and doing what may hurt others and ourselves.

What does all this have to do with leadership? When we are aware of our environment, ourselves, and others it helps us lead more effectively. The question is, do we know what takes most of our attention? Are we allowing the urgent needs to consume our mental space to push out important leadership thinking time? Do you need help in increasing your personal awareness to think at a higher level as a leader? If so, contact me for a no cost thirty-minute coaching experience so I can help you think into your results and achieve breakthroughs in your leadership.

Jan

2018

The Pain of A Lack of Awareness

I had the opportunity to give my oldest son a unique experience. At this point in his life he wants to be a pilot so I had a friend who provided an experience for us in a four seater plane.

As we were getting in the plane everyone had boarded the plane and I was the last one to get on. I rounded the corner to get into the plane and my head smacked into the wing of the plane since they are not very far off the ground as you can see in the picture of one above. After trying not to shout an expletive and letting the stars clear I quietly got in my seat in the rear of the plane with no one else knowing anything happened.

As I sat in my seat watching my son experience flying a plane I was pondering how often in my life I am blindsided just like I was by that wing. Life happens and at times the obvious catches me quite off guard just as that wing had.

You see, I knew the wing was there, but maybe I just needed a simple reminder to duck (which I had done on the other side by the way) to avoid an unnecessary thump.

What does all this have to do with leadership?

Awareness – according to the “google” dictionary is “knowledge or perception of a situation or a fact”

What do leaders need to be aware of as they lead?

People – are there people whom you work alongside and/or lead who blindside you because of inadequate communication? Do you unintentionally blindside others for the same reason? Who are the key influencers that help move your organization or team forward? Do you need to help them increase their awareness of the influence they have or can have within the organization? Are your people in the right seat on the bus as leadership expert Jim Collins describes in his book Good to Great?

Processes – are there systems within your organization, department, or team that slow down effectiveness? Do you have processes that help work flow smoothly and effectively? Are you aware of the processes that exist within your organization either organically or intentionally? What processes do you need to create or evaluate? Do you need to educate others on processes that will improve work flow and overall organization, group, department, or team effectiveness?

Situation – author Dennis N. T. Perkins in his book Leading at the Edge says “instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality.” Leaders are continually looking ahead to see where the group can go and tend to be quite optimistic, but are you aware of reality still? You may want to engage in a high cost project, but you don’t want to be hit upside the head because you do not have the appropriate cash flow to support the venture. Leaders must see both the opportunity and the reality and that requires awareness.

I look at this limited list and think these three items are overwhelming and there is definitely more to be aware of as a leader. I can’t do this type of thinking alone . . . I need help . . . someone who will ask me questions and help me think into my situation. Maybe you feel the same. If so, contact me and let’s have a free 30 minute coaching session to see how I can help you lead yourself and others better. Increase your awareness or you may have more than just a bump on your head like I received from the airplane wing.