TRUTH

Nov

2021

Learning Leadership from A CIO

I was sitting in Starbucks across from Andy Dalton, the CIO of CREA an organization based out of Indianapolis. This is a man who has served multiple years in the non-profit sector as well as in the marketplace in multiple roles. We started our conversation discussing the difference leading in those two arenas, but I will save that discussion for another day.

A large portion of our time I was learning the key leadership principles that have helped him lead over the years. His principles are rooted in what he calls his coaching style of leadership which I will discuss in further detail in a later blog. Let’s dive into his key principles.

Understand Your People

Because of his coaching style of leadership Andy has found it critical to understand the people he leads. As a non-profit leader for over a decade he did not have the power to let people go. He had to develop the true skill of a leader: the ability to influence. Zig Ziglar once said:

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

This idea applies to understanding your people as a leader. When we seek to understand and meet the needs of those we lead and not seek to get, then we will be able to inspire them. As we know our people we can more effectively lead and motivate them.

Build Trust

I would suggest this is the linchpin to his leadership approach because we discussed this idea at length. One of the many ideas he mentioned was living out the open-door policy. We have all been there, someone comes in and we are busy. Do we stop, look, and listen to the individual talking to us? When we do, we build trust because they see we care enough to stop and listen.

I explored with Mr. Dalton other ways to build trust and some of the following suggestions surfaced:

Plan mutual experiences with your team
Share about personal experience with what you are asking them to do, for both trust and credibility
Delegate in a way that demonstrates trust and not micromanagement
Believe they are giving their best
Advocate for them

These are some of his suggestions which provide an excellent list to evaluate how we are doing at building trust with those we lead.

Speak Truth with Grace

In her book Radical Candor author Kim Scott discusses the balance between challenging directly and caring personally. This is the tension Andy discusses when he suggests speaking truth with grace.

Each of us leans by default one way or another. Some of us have no problem speaking directly, but may need to season it with a little care and grace. On the other hand, others may want to please people so much they shy from speaking truth. A healthy leader will learn how to navigate the tightrope of speaking truth with grace.

Understanding Yourself

One trait of highly effective leaders is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings: empathy. Andy has found that as leaders understand themselves and are more self-aware it enables them to be more empathetic with those they lead. I would suggest the hardest person to lead is the individual we look at in the mirror every day. As a leader we must journey within to understand our triggers to be able to empathize with others when they are emotionally triggered.

I realize this is a warm and fuzzy idea, but essential. Leaders who empathize with others also resonate with those they lead. This emotional intelligence helps us connect with those we lead. When we connect people are more willing to follow us.

How are you doing in each of these areas? Need help thinking into any of them? Contact me for a 30 minute no cost to you thinking partner session to help you grow in one or all these areas and therefore lead at a higher level. Lead Well.

Nov

2021

Perception in Leadership

I was talking to a business leader one day and we were discussing the challenge of perception. One of my early jobs I got frustrated because a leader was telling me the importance of being aware of perception, but I was confident in my character so why did this matter?

Where this becomes a problem is when perception and reality are different. As a leader if the perception of you and who you really are don’t match this creates problems. At times a seeming mismatch may be intentional.

Let me illustrate, when I was a strength coach I was perceived as mean and hard. I would suggest that was by design because I wanted to create a focused and disciplined atmosphere. Some athletes were able to get to know me outside of those times and realized I was not always that way. Occasionally the situation or role requires us to behave slightly out of character. The key is to be authentically ourselves on a personal level even when the role requires an approach that may seem out of alignment.

Let’s look at this from an organizational level. Every situation has three lenses to look through and hopefully what others see is the third lens.

My Way Lens

We are all tuned into the same radio station every day until we choose to change the channel. WIIFM: What’s In It For Me? Because of our human nature we tend to think about ourselves first and how a choice benefits us. We may not think about it consciously, but we consider it.

If we are honest, we all think our ideas are great because we thought of them. If we continually think “my way is the right way” we limit the opportunity to learn from others. We have A perspective, not THE perspective. When we get stuck in this mindset people perceive us as arrogant and difficult. Ultimately being stuck here will limit our results.

Your Way Lens

Our teams contain multiple personalities of various strength. Someone may be completely opposed to your “great idea” which is healthy. Where a leader can get stuck is if they allow this strong alternative opinion to dominate and possibly overpower the leader’s perspective.

When leaders allow others on the team to control decisions in an unhealthy way this creates a perception that the leader is passive. A good leader will listen to the input of others and create an atmosphere where the best answer for the organization can be discerned. If the leader only listens to your way and their way is not considered, we have not yet arrived at the final lens.

The Truth Lens

Somewhere between your way and my way exists the truth. Imagine two siblings fighting. Each believes their perspective is correct. Only after listening to both sides can you determine the truth of what really is best for both of them and then help guide them to a healthy solution.

To create an accurate perception let both sides share and determine what the truth is and what is best for the team. Once you know the truth you will be looking through the best lens possible.

Some say perception is reality. Have the patience and wisdom to hear both sides, ask lots of questions and determine what the truth is. When you know the truth as a leader it sets you free to make sure perception and reality are in alignment. When this happens you have a healthier team. What do you need to do today to step into truth with your team? Need help creating an environment for open dialogue? Contact me to discover how The Leadership Game can open communication on your team. Lead Well.