Which One Are You?

“Knowing who you are allows you to be who you’re
not.”

- Anonymous

Last week, I taught a two-day course called “Maximizing Team Effectiveness,” and in one of the early exercises, I split the group up and asked one half to draw “management” while the other half drew “leadership.” Once we got past the raised eyebrows (“You mean I have to draw in this class?”), I saw lines and boxes on the management side, and stick figures on the leadership side. I asked each person to tell me which one they consider themselves to be, the manager or the leader. Without exception, they all said, “leader.” However, based on our conversations and each person’s self-identified personality traits, I’d say that most of them were more natural managers than leaders.

I’m not sure why people gravitate towards the label of “leader.” It is just as important to have strong leaders in an organization as it is to have capable managers. The two have very different skill sets and perspectives, and I believe that one comes more naturally to us than the other.

There are many definitions that seek to separate the two. Peter Drucker says, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” You might say that leaders manage change, whereas managers control process. Author Steven Covey wrote: “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success. Leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” I agree with these statements, but none of them helps us determine where we fall.

Here’s a simple question to help you evaluate your preference for management or leadership: Are you more concerned with getting things done, or are you more interested in growing people and the organization? Those who answered the former come from more of a management mindset, and those who answered the latter tend towards a leadership mindset.

Since we need both managers and leaders in our organizations, people often feel compelled to practice behaviors from both sides of the fence. This is where knowing who you are can help you to be who you’re not.

If you tend to be a natural manager, you might develop a leadership mindset by answering questions such as:

- What’s the big picture?
- What trends have I observed, and what might they tell me about the situation?
- What is the long term result we’re trying to achieve?
- What are the possible courses of action we might take?
- How might those actions impact our future?

If you tend towards leadership, you may develop a management mindset by answering these questions:

- What are the facts in this situation?
- What details are most crucial to our success?
- What can we learn from past experiences about our present situation?
- What observable clues can tell me whether we’re on track?
- What action can we take right now to achieve short term results?

I use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® personality assessment to help my clients learn more about their natural preferences and blind spots, and if you’re curious to know more about yourself, I’m happy to help. And I know that everyone’s got their own theories of what constitutes a leader and a manager, so I’d love to hear them!

Here’s to consciously and confidently moving outside of your comfort zone...Cheers!

How to Get off the Tail End of the Whip

“The responsibility for change...lies with us.”

- Alvin Toffler

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how leaders can engage their people in the development and execution of organizational change through group problem-solving. Doing so would not only relieve the leader’s burden, but would also help their team feel more involved in the change process and less like they were “on the tail end of the whip.”

But what do you do when you feel like you are the one “on the tail end of the whip,” especially when the resulting change (or lack of change) may significantly impact your career? I just happen to have a couple of clients who are experiencing that very feeling right now.

Though career coaching is not my specialty, I recognize the feelings of dread and frustration that these individuals are experiencing, and I also know that the overall effect is a crippling inertia--a total disinterest and inability to move forward on the things that matter most to them. They feel powerless and vulnerable, dependent upon the organization to which they have given their loyalty. They may even fall prey to cynicism, which can be defined as “optimism with a broken heart.”

The good news is that this inertia is temporary--positive movement can start once people reestablish a sense of control. If you find yourself in a similar situation, you’ll want to answer these key questions:

1) Who can fill you in on what’s happening in the organization?
Without information, we make up our own stories. We entertain the fear of office politics squeezing us out, we see evil intentions when we read too far into someone’s innocent statement...we want information, even if we have to fabricate it. Our most dramatic sides come out, as we weave tales of deceit and manipulation that might lie in our future.
Action: Listen to the story you are telling yourself. Cut the drama, and ask for the real scoop from a reliable source.

2) Who may be influential in the decision and do they know what you can do for them?
First, you’ve got to know what you can do for your organization. These questions may help:
- What types of problems do you enjoy solving?
- What are you really good at doing? Of those things, what do you enjoy doing most?
- How do you want to contribute to this company or another company?
This action may be a little uncomfortable if you do not enjoy self-promotion. Think of it this way: wouldn’t they like to know what you bring to the table before it’s too late...before they make a decision that might cost them a valuable asset (you)? Ideally, you’d work for a leader who knows these answers already and is working hard to put you in the best place possible. However, no one can promote you as effectively as you can promote yourself.
Action: Answer the questions above and secure a meeting with an influential decision maker so that you can share your insights with him or her.

In the end, the organization’s leaders will make a decision, and regardless of what that decision is, you will always make your own decision. You may make the decision to stay, or you may make the decision to look for employment elsewhere. And if they’re too slow in making a decision, then remember...you still get to make your own decision!

If you need a little more encouragement to take the next steps, I invite you to check out the article by Curt Rosengren, 8 Basic Career Truths.

Here’s to taking responsibility for your own change...Cheers!

Don't Be Afraid of the F-word

“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

How many times have you fallen into that “vulgar mistake?” I could write a list a mile long, recounting all of the times that I mistook someone’s disagreement with me for a personal offense.

Perhaps that explains why I often recoil at the sound of the F-word: Feedback. Cognitively, I know that feedback is simply information, and that I get to decide what I do with it, but somehow it ends up feeling like a persecution. I enjoy receiving feedback when I ask for it, but I don’t know anyone who likes to be on the receiving end of this statement: “I’d like to share a little feedback with you.”

I don’t know many people who like to be on the giving end of that statement, either. We don’t want to be the persecuted or the persecutor. Yet, feedback provides essential information, especially to leaders. It tells us how our actions have been perceived by others--something very few of us can see for ourselves.

My challenge to you, then, is to be a model recipient of feedback. When you do this, others will be more receptive to feedback because they have seen you being more receptive to it. And when you invite others to give you feedback, you’ve taken a traditionally one-way mode of communication (senior to direct report) and made it a two-way exchange of ideas.

It is a challenging proposition for a leader to ask for feedback. First, the information received is often based on criticism of your past actions--not easy to hear. Second, even if you are willing to entertain opinions that contradict yours, people may be uncomfortable sharing them, fearing that somehow their words will be used against them. If you do not have access to a confidential feedback process (such as the online 360-degree assessment tool we use at worldAWAKE), take a different approach:
· Gather some informal feedback. You may do this by observing others’ reactions to you over the course of a week, or by asking a trusted mentor to share her observations of you. You might also reflect on past performance reviews and look for commonalities.
· Choose a behavior (or related set of behaviors) to improve that you believe would significantly enhance your relationships or performance. I use a simple framework to guide my clients’ development decisions. If you would like suggestions on what behaviors to consider, please e-mail me at jenn@worldAWAKE.net.
· Invite a few colleagues to assist you. Who is most affected by this behavior and sees it on a regular basis? Enlist the support of a handful of people above, across from, and below you in the organization who will be able to provide useful, insightful information on your progress and opportunities.
· Focus on the future. Instead of asking for feedback on what went wrong in the past, ask your colleagues to give you suggestions for how you can improve.
· Be specific. Instead of asking a peer, “How could I be a more effective member of our team?” focus the conversation on your desire to improve in a specific area: “How could I communicate with members more effectively so that they respond to my ideas with more open minds?”
· Follow up. Ask your colleagues for more suggestions on a regular basis and share your recent successes with them. Let them know how you’re implementing their ideas.

Here’s to your continued development and to never making that vulgar mistake again...Cheers!

Straddling the Line Between Arrogance and Self-Doubt

“To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.”
- Benjamin Franklin

Last week, I listened to a company’s President talk with his large sales staff about the sometimes boring performance numbers from the previous year. The company was doing well, blah, blah, blah. After describing the data points on a few charts and sharing a couple of small changes that would take place over the next year, he turned the stage over to the Cofounder/CEO. The CEO then revealed a new and exciting product release--one which was made possible by the President’s behind-the-scenes orchestration of a ground-breaking partnership, and the crowd went wild.

Afterwards, the President asked me a question. “I was backstage when she made the announcement, and I couldn’t tell if people were excited about the new product. What was their reaction?”

Perhaps he was fishing for a compliment, or perhaps he really was unsure about the reaction. Either way, I know that he didn’t publicly take credit for the hard work he had done. There seemed to be an honest humility about him.

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last, talks about what he calls Level 5 Leadership--the blend of “extreme personal humility and intense personal will.” I’ve met a lot of people with intense will, and not a lot with extreme humility. So, can you teach someone humility? As I look at “humility” a bit closer, I see it near the midpoint on a continuum from arrogance (on the left) to self-doubt (on the right). Just right of center is humility, and just left of center is confidence.

I believe that a leader must straddle this line. Here are a few practices that you can incorporate in your own leadership style, along with some action items to get you started:
· Know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Leverage your strengths and do the things that you are truly gifted at doing. Be aware of your weaknesses so that you do not allow them to become your Achilles’ heel, and therefore undo the successes that you and your team created.
Action: list your three to five strongest strengths and three to five weakest weaknesses. Check out the book Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton, or the audiobook version.
· Play up the strengths of others. Those weaknesses of yours are someone else’s strengths—give them the opportunity to use their strengths and openly appreciate them when they do.
Action: Look at your list of weaknesses, and identify one person per item who shows strength in that area. Find a way to tell them that you’ve noticed it. You'll get insights into this by reading Go Put Your Strengths to Work by Marcus Buckingham or by listening to its audiobook version
· Get a bigger perspective on your accomplishments. Take stock of your successes and realize the exceptional effort and talent you employed to make them happen. And remember the analogy of the turtle on the fencepost: he didn’t get up there all by himself. We’ve all benefited from people who have given us support when we needed it most, and we’ve also felt a little extra boost from unseen blessings or luck.
Action: After you’ve appreciated yourself for the good work you’ve done, send a short and sincere note of thanks to at least one person who supported you. For a fun way to send this note via e-mail, try this reputable site for e-cards.
· Use a little self-deprecating humor. This special brand of humor allows you to be both confident and humble at the same time: confident in that it does not emanate from low self-esteem, and humble in that it shows that you are aware of your own flaws.
Action: Consider experiences that revealed a flaw in you. Imagine that each flaw is the punch line to a joke, and file it away for the next time you give a presentation to a larger audience and need a little ice breaker. For example, if you’re not the world’s best speller, you might say something like, “Although I’ve worked at Initech for over 10 years, I still can’t spell IT.” For some fun tips on how to use self-deprecating humor, take five minutes to read the short article by Scott Ginsberg.

Here’s to your continued development...Cheers!