Leadership

Sep

2018

Confessions of Bad Leadership

The morning was still cool and the sun had barely come up so the atmosphere was not too thick with humidity. I was excited though because I got to tear up things.

I am the early riser usually in my home and I got to go to the local Rotary garden that our family helps take care of. Today was a little more enjoyable because I got to dig up the broccoli that had been planted and harvested over the past four months.

At first I was yanking the broccoli out of the ground by hand, but my back and body quickly reminded me I am no longer in my twenties so I retrieved a shove to help the process. As I was pulling out the broccoli plants and tossing them into a pile to haul off I was struck with a question: why is it as leaders we find it much easier to tear down than to plant and allow time for growth?

As I pondered this question a few ideas why I find tearing down easier than allowing growth to occur came to mind:

Impatience. Quite frankly I can be extremely impatient with the process of planting seeds and waiting for them to grow. When I used to coach athletes on a daily basis it felt much more efficient to yell across the room for them to be quiet and stay on task. It may work for a moment, but I found if I took the time to understand what motivated that individual who often was off task and planted seeds to help them see a bigger picture I got improved results.
Selfishness. Let’s be honest, we like to see results and when we pull up plants or tear down a building for a construction project the results of our work are quickly evident. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see results, but what if we are trying to get results at the expense of another person’s well-being. Daniel Goleman coined a phrase called the “amygdala hijack.” In simple terms this is when we blow up at another person and we behave completely irrational. Selfishly we may feel better because we “blew off some steam,” but in the long run we will have a lot of messes to clean up from our over-reaction.
Ease. The process of tearing down an object is much easier than building or allowing time for growth. I did not have to think about what plant to pull up or where to put it. The labor was fairly mindless. On the other hand when planting the garden you have to bend down and put the seeds in a particular area and dig up each hole. You have to think about where to plant the seeds and how to space them. I know, not too physically laborious, but it requires more mental energy.

As a leader launching a project or program or planting seeds of growth in the lives of those we serve either at home or work requires energy. Tearing people down, unfortunately, is quite simple while creating an environment for growth takes great planning, care, and persistent work. As leaders do we plant seeds of growth with the people around us or unintentionally tear them down? What is one way you can create fertile soil to develop great leaders by creating a culture of patience, selflessness, and comfort with being uncomfortable? Need help thinking into that? Contact me and I’m glad to help. Lead well at work and home.

Aug

2018

Being Mentally Tough

Maybe you have heard the phrase “be tough” as a child or even as an adult. What comes to mind when you hear this word? Is it some braggadocios, loud-mouthed individual who listens to no one? Maybe it is the silent, stoic, emotionless individual with a cowboy hat just for effect. Maybe you see an unflappable individual amidst emergency such as a firefighter urgently, yet calmly racing to fight a fire.

This concept is discussed in homes, at work, and definitely in the sport arena. Former Duke basketball athlete Jay Bilas wrote an entire book entitled Toughness. The book is full of concepts related to the idea of toughness as it relates to trust, preparation, communication, commitment and more. His legendary coach said the following about toughness:

“We are not born tough,” Kryzewski said. “We may be born into a great family situation, or a difficult family situation that forces or conditions you to be tough, but we aren’t born that way. Toughness comes from how you handle your experiences, what you learn from them, and how you are guided through them by others in your life.”¹ p.5

Coach K suggests that toughness comes out of how we respond to our situations and how we learn from them.

Toughness appears to be a mindset we develop over time as we learn through the challenges of life.

This concept has been studied on a more objective level. Angela Duckworth spent years both in management consulting and education. After years teaching seventh graders math, she went to graduate school to study who is successful and why. In her book Grit she discusses what she found which seems to agree with Coach K on some level. She found a “gritty” person is someone who has a combination of passion and perseverance. IQ did not determine nor a person’s upbringing or background as she studied Scripp’s Spelling Bee participants, West Point students, and at-risk youth she had worked with.

a “gritty” person is someone who has a combination of passion and perseverance.

In her TED talk² in April 2013 she says in order to build grit one must have a growth mindset. This is an approach to experiences and life similar to what Coach K talked about above. When challenges come, what will you learn from them?

As a leader, how do we grow in grit? Similar to how one grows a muscle. . . get uncomfortable. Put yourself in situations that force you to exercise perseverance. Surround yourself with people who have similar passion, but think differently and will stretch your thinking. Bring people in your life who will help you process your challenges and learn from them such as a coach or mentor. Continue to pursue your vision with great passion and never give up just because the road gets bumpy. As a friend of mine once told me about relationships, “enter the mess.” When we enter the mess and stay we will grow in toughness and as a person.

What do you need to do to become tougher at home and/or at work?

Bilas, Jay. Toughness. Penguin, New York. 2013.
https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance?language=en accessed Oct. 11, 2016

Aug

2018

Leadership Seasons

I was listening to one of my mentors, Mark Cole who is the CEO of all of John Maxwell’s companies through The John Maxwell Team and he was describing something I had not thought of before: seasons.

Many of us strive for balance in our lives, but it seems to allude us. Maybe the answer is because we cannot ever accomplish that. When I heard Mark suggest that idea I was both discouraged and freed. I have a wife and three children. As the dad I do not feel the same tension as my wife who some days must feel like someone is pulling at every limb on her body between three boys saying “mom” and the fourth saying “honey” and all of us following it with a need based question. As a man I feel the tension of providing, being a good husband, being a good father, leading well in every area and more. I want balance, but after listening to Mark I think I need to re-frame my thinking.

When we had three children under the age of five my wife and I were in a physically exhausting season trying to meet our needs and the needs of our children. We are rapidly entering a season of mental exhaustion as our children approach and enter the teenage years. If you have or have had a teenager you know this tension quite well. As leaders at work and home we have seasons that can be compared to the four seasons many of us may experience.

Winter – This is the time in leadership where we are trying to get clarity of what we are trying to accomplish. This time may be very slow from a business building standpoint because we don’t know where to start. We may feel mildly depressed and frustrated because we don’t know where to go. This is the time of planning and preparing because Spring is on the way.
Spring – This is a very busy time. Think of the farmer, during this time they continually plant seeds. They are not seeing any results, but they have the plan from the winter and now are hard at work helping others understand and spread the seeds of the plan often with long hours of hard work. As leaders this is a time of growing relationships, gaining momentum, and sharing the vision like a farmer spreading seed. This time is exciting, yet exhausting, but Summer is coming.
Summer – I live in Indiana and occasionally up toward Chicago. In the summertime during July and August all I see around me are cornstalks. As a leader the work in summer changes because now is the time to do the reaping work from the seeds that have birthed fruit. This is when you are delivering your services, managing the staff, spending time developing people and implementing the plans necessary to fulfill the vision you have for work and home.
Fall – In the Midwest this is a beautiful time as the leaves change color and it paints the landscape. As a leader this is the time where you see the vision come to fruition. You are seeing the material and immaterial benefits of all the thinking and work you did during the other seasons.

BUT

Winter is coming so embrace it, accept it and continue to lead well in each season.

What season are you in? Are you striving for perfect balance which happens only momentarily or do you need to see the season you are in, embrace it and determine how to lead well at work and home in this season? When you decide the season you are in, what adjustments do you need to make so that you can lead well both at work and home? Lead well friend.

Aug

2018

What I Learned From A Leader in Healthcare

I was sitting across a woman with years of leadership in an industry where she had to quietly battle in the beginning to obtain her leadership position. She would not say it that way, but as I listened to Kathy Krusie I saw her quiet, authentic, humble, determined battle to continually become the best leader possible.

Kathy presently is the president of the North Region of Community Health Network which is a regional health system based out of Indianapolis. This is her most recent stop of many leadership roles within healthcare. From the very beginning Mrs. Krusie wanted to affect change in the business of healthcare and has fulfilled leadership roles in hospitals of multiple sizes in Iowa, Texas, and Indiana. She has served as COO, CEO and various other leadership roles.

At the start of our conversation she revealed the path she took was not the traditional route for females desiring to enter administration. This was a male-dominated industry at the time, but she found some keys to enable her to enter leadership positions.

Growth and Development are critical. Because she desired to affect great change, she saw a great need to continue to grow and develop to reach her full potential. This drive to grow and develop was motivated by a selfless passion to support the organization versus a drive to pursue her next promotion.
Take Initiative. Mrs. Krusie did not wait for opportunities passively. She would look for opportunities and then ask for the responsibility. If she saw a need, even outside her comfort zone, she would approach her superiors and suggest taking the lead. At one hospital she served in a role outside of her normal skills because she saw the need, and that area improved dramatically under her leadership. She didn’t wait to be asked, but saw the challenge and asked to be given the responsibility. That is leadership.
Mentorship. During our conversation Kathy said there were men who were willing to teach and mentor her. What caused this? Not that this should be surprising. I believe one of the reasons was her willingness to understand her bosses and their desires and she sought to support it. If she had constantly been trying to pursue her agenda my guess is these men (or any boss) would have been less likely to help her.

These were the keys to her advancing in an environment that in the beginning she was a minority in, but there were three keys to her leadership even now that she highlighted. The first you may have already picked up.

Service. As we could see through her principles for growing and advancing she always sought to serve. Throughout our time I could sense a woman who models the attributes of what Jim Collins calls a “Level 5” leader. She has an intense desire for excellence and I could also sense her passion, but also a humility that she realizes leading well means serving others.
Respect. This idea came out of the concept that her role is to empower the thousands of care givers she leads. Kathy demonstrates respect to the front-line workers by encouraging and allowing them to solve their own problems because they understand the problem from their vantage point better than she does. She also models this by being willing to do what she asks of them. For example, she moved out of the parking garage just like the rest of the staff were expected so patients can use it. Doing this in the frigid winter months just like her employees is a small example of both respect and humility.
Authentic. This is the one word which Kathy would say describes her leadership philosophy. What does this mean for her as a leader? Authenticity is a match between personal and organizational values in a manner that leverages personal strengths to match the organization. Kathy summarizes authenticity this way: “stay true to yourself and your values and do not compromise to climb the ladder.”

Sometimes as leaders the climb seems overwhelming as I am sure it did for Kathy in the beginning, but she provides us with principles for overcoming obstacles and then leading well consistently. What about you? Which of these principles do you need to grow in based on where you are in your leadership journey? Are you leading with authenticity and leveraging your strengths to serve those you lead or who lead you? If not, what is one thing you can change today to lead better tomorrow? Keep climbing, leading well and let me know how I can help you in your journey.

Jul

2018

Youth Sports and Questions about Leadership

Ever since my kids started being involved in sports activities I have helped coach them. Selfishly I do it because I don’t want to sit and watch . . . I’m a doer so I’d rather help. Now with my youngest it has felt like herding cats since he is in the early elementary stage, but with my older two boys I have come to enjoy it a little more.

I remember as a child as I continued in my sport it got to be more serious and not quite as fun. That is the normal progression and each individual has to determine at some point in their “career” if they love the sport enough to continue when the next season comes. I appreciate that increased intensity and competiveness especially since I tend to be naturally competitive.

My children are not at that level yet and as I coached my middle child’s basketball team I had a rewarding experience. First, I am horrible at basketball. I am so bad that I missed a layup at 7^th grade tryouts as a kid. I didn’t just miss it, but launched it up over the top of the backboard. Needless to say I was in over my head coaching 4^th – 6^th grade basketball players.

I realize I don’t have to be a basketball genius to coach this age of kids, but need to be able to teach them some of the fundamentals. Our first game we looked like a herd of kindergartners running around and not knowing what to do. I soon realized I had to tap into my resources and learn how to coach better. I attempted to improve my coaching each week and slowly saw the team improve as well.

By the end of the season a thought became the central theme of our team. This was not about performance and making shots or blocking shots or rebounding. Three ideas became our theme: focus (quite hard at times for squirrely young boys) teamwork and best effort. Our team was full of individuals of varying abilities and when I began to emphasize above all else these three ideas the boys started to play better than they had all season to the level they beat one team they had not all season and came within a basket of beating another.

What does this have to do with leading?

At home, what are we emphasizing? Do our children feel like our love for them is based on how they perform in sports, school, activities, etc.? I am sure that is not how any of us feel about our love for our children, but do we unintentionally send that message?

I think about how many times I discipline my children (which is necessary) for bad behavior. Do they think I only love them when they are well behaved? What would happen if I intentionally highlighted when my children act with great character and make great choices? When they are involved in activities what would happen if I first address whether they are acting with great sportsmanship and effort and as an afterthought discuss performance?

At work, do those we lead get positive feedback only for great performance? Do they know we care about them beyond just performance? Do we slow down enough to know what else is happening in their lives? As they know we care maybe their performance will improve.

Leading is a challenge. At home, I know I need to be more aware of what I say to my children about their activities to emphasize who they are over how they perform. I want my children to have the right character when they enter the real world as well as achieve to their fullest potential. Am I being the example to model that? In every area I lead, am I valuing character alongside performance? What about you? What do you emphasize in your leadership at work or home? Share it below.

Jul

2018

Three Leadership Lessons from Founding Fathers

My oldest son can make some decent money now that he mows lawns. With that money he has purchased fireworks and is all set to have a “party” with his friends after the fourth of July. I think he is more excited about this than I am only because I don’t want to be the reason for any destruction in my neighborhood.

As I think of fourth of July I went back to a book I read years ago by Donald Phillips called The Founding Fathers on Leadership. Will you reflect with me for a moment on what we can learn about leadership from those who freed America from the tyranny of Great Britain over two hundred years ago? Three themes arose which are simple yet and powerful reminders of how we can lead better at work and home.

Vision. According to Phillips, John Adams in early 1775 created a list of ten things that needed to occur before they could declare war. He had a vision for being freed from Great Britain, but why did he not just give a rousing speech to rally everyone first? Phillips reminds us “Leaders act for certain goals that represent the values – the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations – of the people they represent.”

As a leader one must see the big picture but have concrete goals that point those led in the direction of accomplishing that vision.

Teamwork. John Adams had a plan, but he and the other founding fathers needed a team to accomplish such a lofty goal. Phillips says, “More people with talent, skill, expertise, and drive were needed . . . who would take risks, act without waiting for direction, and request responsibility . . .”

With any audacious goal a leader sets he or she will need to gather a team to fill in the gaps where he or she does not have the strengths.

As evidenced in the founding fathers, the team should not be simply followers, but other leaders who seek responsibility. This kind of team using their strengths to fulfill a common vision can accomplish great work.

Courage. This small band of men was entering the unknown with a dream of freedom. They were facing the largest Navy and they had to build a Navy. Their military was not nearly as organized as their enemy. Phillips records multiple risks the military leaders took to defeat the British in battle that ended in defeat, but heavy created casualties to the British. As they looked at this lofty goal of freedom these leaders had to boldly take each step not fully confident of the result yet consumed by the vision which encouraged them to continue to fight.

What about you? Do you have a large enough vision for what you lead and your life that you need a team? Is this vision a burning desire that gives you courage to step into uncomfortable and possibly scary areas you have never been? What do you need to do today to move closer to your vision of freedom in your life? Let me know how I can help you in your journey of growing as a great leader at work and home.