VISION

Jul

2019

Presidential Leadership

John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Abraham Lincoln. What do these three men have in common? We can pair them up and see some commonalities, but the following statements reveal their major commonality.

Before 40,000 people in the Rice University football stadium President John F. Kennedy proclaimed:

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

Within the Illinois state capital after being selected to be his party’s representative for the senatorial race Abraham Lincoln stated:

“A house divided will not stand.”

On Thanksgiving Day after mourning the sudden loss of President Kennedy the now President Johnson shared:

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose. I am resolved that we shall win the tomorrows before us. So I ask you to join me in that resolve determined that from this midnight of tragedy we shall move toward a new American greatness.”

Three different men with various commonalities in their histories, but each of them did what every leader must do: have and share their vision.

Kennedy’s Vision

President Kennedy set a clearly defined target that by the end of that decade we would put a man on the moon. He set into motion a plan that he would ultimately not see personally come to fruition, but that is what leaders do. They proclaim a clear, bold goal, and move toward it recognizing they may or may not realize it during their lifetime.

Lincoln’s Vision

Through many failures and defeats this president had a clear vision of what ultimately would need to occur. Abraham Lincoln saw before his time that in order for this young country to survive it must be unified. In a statement that was not politically correct at the time he set the course for what would ultimately define his leadership.

Johnson’s Vision

On the heels of a national tragedy this president proclaimed hope in a great America. He cast a vision of what America could become. Within his time in office he and those he led enabled legislation to create a society that was more equal and empowering for all. Did he realize the totality of this vision, no, but without his leadership many may not have the freedoms they experience today.

Each President had a picture of the future, but he did not hold it in. At the appropriate time he declared it and took steps to move toward fulfilling it.

It has been said that without vision people perish. What is your vision for your organization, team, family, or life? Have you stated it aloud so others can hold you accountable? Take time to clarify your vision today and if you need help thinking into your vision and your personal leadership results contact me for a complimentary thinking partner session. Lead well.

Mar

2019

Leadership Lessons Learned

I had the opportunity to learn from some great people last week at the International Maxwell Certification event. I learned from John Maxwell, Carly Fiorina, Dr. Cialdini and more. I wanted to share some of the principles I learned from my experience so you too could learn and grow.

Refresh Yourself

Carly Fiorina shared a key to effectively leading is finding people who lift you up. Life is full of critics and encouragers. Those we spend more time around will influence our energy level. Negative people drain us while others bring life to us. Who is in your life that will lift you up when you are down and help you recharge your batteries? What habits help you to recharge?

Vision

While sitting in on a session led by Mark Cole, CEO of the Maxwell Enterprise, he discussed gaining clarity on your personal vision. One of the many statements he made that impacted me was “people need to determine who they want to be before they determine what they want to do.” We are human beings not human doings with that in mind we need to get clarity on who we are in order to live and lead at our full potential. Having clarity on our strengths, passions, and purpose will enable us to say yes to the best and no to the rest. There was so much more in this area, but I’ll have to share that another time.

Leaders vs. Managers

During the session with John Maxwell and Carly Fiorina they discussed how managers produce results within existing restraints and conditions while leaders change restraints and conditions and challenge the status quo. Both are necessary and after reflecting on this idea I realized often I function as a manager because it feels safe instead of appropriately pushing boundaries and leading. Leadership requires courage and I know this is an area for my growth.

A Leader’s Focus

“Leaders don’t focus on position or title, but make things happen.” How often do people think if they get the title or corner office then they are a leader. This simply is not true. We develop our leadership ability as we move toward a goal and bring others along in our pursuit of this common vision. Leaders think and act to get results. Thoughtful action should be the leader’s focus.

The Gap

“The widest gap between successful and unsuccessful people is how they think.”

John C. Maxwell

We go to the dentist and he or she encourages us to regularly floss our teeth to keep the junk out. John presented the idea of “mental floss.” Do we regularly clear the garbage from our brain because how we see something often is how we see everything? This ability to guard our thoughts and focus our thinking on the right things impacts our ability to achieve success.

These are just a handful of the lessons learned from my time at the International Maxwell Certification. I didn’t have the time to include Dr. Cialdini’s seven steps of influence or steps of pre-fluence. I hope these stirred your thinking as you read them. Which of these do you need to apply? How can you live and lead to your fullest potential today? Write down one application from these ideas and implement it within the next 48 hours. If you need help thinking into your results contact me for a coaching session at no cost to you. In the meantime, lead well.

Dec

2018

Orchestrating Leadership

I was in a Junior High Gymnasium with hundreds of other parents packed into the stands watching our children perform the holiday concert. Fortunately I was not sweating profusely as this would have surely bothered the people around me.

As we watched this concert the band played one song that really intrigued me. The song did not necessarily pique my interest as much as watching the percussion section. This particular song was entitled “Nightmare Before Christmas.”

During the song a few percussionists ran back and forth to various styles of drums, bells, cymbals and even multiple random sound effects. I watched in amazement at how they could manage all those various roles and execute with perfect timing so the song sounded as it should. This is when it struck me that I was seeing a picture of leadership and teamwork at play.

A COMMON VISION

Just like with any group, organization, or team there has to be a common purpose everyone is working toward. In this case each individual had to contribute their part at the right time, in the right way in order to blend into the overall sound. We all know when someone makes a miscue in a concert and ends up embarrassing themselves. On the other hand, when everyone performs their role at the right time in the right way you have a beautiful symphony. As leaders we must provide the vision and the best roles for each individual.

PRACTICE

Whether we are selling a product or service, instructing a team or individual, speaking in front of a group of people, or participating in a band we have to practice. A leader’s practice comes with thinking ahead and creating a plan. Let me illustrate.

During a coaching session recently, I was discussing the vision of a specific department in an organization with a leader. Our conversation provided an opportunity for clarifying the communication of his vision to his team. This conversation was a business leader’s version of practice. Leaders must create space to think into their communication and leadership the same as band members must practice their skills.

FULFILL YOUR ROLE

What would happen if the trumpets decided they did not want to follow the music and just played whatever and whenever they wanted? The conductor would be quite mad and embarrassed. Creativity is essential, but once the vision is clear and the plan is agreed on everyone must do their part to fulfill the vision. When we fulfill our specific role and purpose to the best of our ability, we add tremendous value to the group.

What is the band you are a part of? What is the common vision you are pursuing? Is that vision clear in your mind if you are the leader or do you need to spend time thinking and clarifying it . . . kind of like practice? What is your part in the orchestra of that plan? How can you use your strengths in that role to help make the fulfillment of the vision even greater? Do you need help thinking into these questions? If so, contact me for a complimentary coaching session. In the meantime, lead well.

Mar

2018

What a Car Show Taught Me About Leadership: Part I

A short time ago my son was in his room listening to a local radio station when he burst into my office excited about something. He really enjoys cars at this stage of his life and he heard about a local car show and he wanted to see. I checked out the cost and after seeing it was more than I was willing to pay I asked him if he was willing to pay for his ticket. Without hesitation he said “yes!”

A couple days later we get our tickets from the auto parts store that was sponsoring the event and drive downtown to attend the experience. Personally I am not as excited about looking at cars as my son, but we walk around and see cars ranging from classic cars to exotic race cars such as Lamborghinis. I must confess I did enjoy the experience more than I anticipated (it did help I was able to buy some fudge at a vendor).

During our time I was looking at photographs of a car in front of me that showed the process of rebuilding the car. I was intrigued so I asked him how he did it. After a brief conversation I found four principles from rebuilding a car that can be applied to leadership either personally or professionally.

Vision – In order to take something that looks to the common person as worthless and turn it into a display to be admired one has to have a clear picture in their mind of what the final result will look like. In order to lead anything one must have a clear picture of what the final result looks like.
Passion – Angela Duckworth discusses in her book Grit that a person who has grit or toughness exhibits two characteristics and one of those is passion. In order to take a rusted-out car and turn it into a showroom exhibit one has to have a lot of passion for the project. If your vision is going to come to fruition as a leader there must be passion that will fuel it or the vision will die from a lack of energy pushing it forward.
Strategic Plan – as I talked to the car owner I heard a plan that he had to implement in order to get a car with a rusted out bottom to become what eventually was a car that could be driven. This was not a random plan, but a specific process where certain aspects of the car were rebuilt first in order to get to the next step. As leaders we may have a vision and passion, but we must have a plan to follow which will have to be adjusted and will not be perfect. The plan will keep us focused on the purposeful work we need to accomplish so we lead intentionally.
Daily Action – One of the biggest concepts that arose from my brief conversation was that in order for him to accomplish this car rebuild he took daily action. He didn’t complete the project in one weekend. He did a little bit on a regular basis over a couple years. I know I get really impatient and want the vision fulfilled yesterday, but I need to remember that in order to accomplish anything worthwhile it will take daily habits that help me climb up the hill to my desired result.

As you look at these four principles where do you need to grow? Do you have a clear vision for what you are leading and are you passionate about it? If you have those is there a strategic (not perfect) plan in place? What is one daily action step you and your team need to take in order to fulfill the vision? Finally, who will hold you accountable to this next step? Keep leading well both at work and home with passion, vision, planning, and daily action and who knows what you will accomplish.

Jul

2017

Leading or Lubricating Tires?

I have had the opportunity to work in a few organizations. While in these organizations the term “squeaky wheel leadership” has come up at times. I was curious about this concept and one day as I discussed it with a friend I had to ask myself: what causes this type of leadership?

Anywhere there are two or more people there is the potential for politics and jockeying for individual agendas. This is a reality of all organizations, for profit, non-profit, heck even in my own family (especially on movie night). People need to be heard and their input needs to be valued, but what causes only the whiny complainers to be the ones that somehow directly or indirectly drive leadership decisions?

For example, if I am a sport coach and I decide to change our off-season training from how we have done it for years there will be push back. Usually in this situation there are four types of people: early adapters, hesitant adapters, late adapters, and stubbornly resistant. The last two are usually the ones who will push back on the changes and often be very vocal. Now I can’t ignore them completely, but I have to continue to drive the change forward while trying to help the slow adapters understand the benefits. When I get the team to a point where the majority are supportive of the change to the point that the stubbornly resistant either participate or find a new team I know I have led well.

This is not how it always works though. I would suggest two reasons why we start lubricating the “squeaky wheels” instead of leading.

We are managing, not leading – a manager concerns themselves with systems, processes, and just keeping the process moving smoothly. These individuals are critical to overall organizational success. On the other hand a leader sees the bigger picture and knows where they are trying to go and can help others see the vision and participate. When they work with “squeaky tires,” they help them understand the bigger picture, not just keep them happy and therefore possibly prevent the overall vision from moving forward. The coach in the illustration above would talk to the late and stubborn individuals to help them see the big picture and encourage them to participate or move on. This takes courage.
Lack of Vision – imagine playing archery and not having a clearly defined target. How will you know if you are having success? Maybe just by letting others define it for you or base it on what feels right at the moment. This would be a frustrating game of archery. When you have a target, you can see what you are aiming at and how close you are to success. This is vision. If a leader fails to have a clear vision they will not know how much attention the “squeaky wheel” needs to receive. It may be a minor nuisance that will not impact the bigger picture or it could become a large roadblock to accomplishing the overall goal. A leader will only be able to discern the amount of attention it needs by having a clear vision in his or her mind.

So do you lead or manage? Are you spending your day primarily putting out fires or strategically moving the team/organization forward? Do you have a clear vision? How can you grow in this area? Keep leading and growing every day and hold your vision.