ThanksLeading 'Part 2' #wisdomwednesday #leadership #thanksgiving #givethanks
Remember as you are giving thanks for all the family, friends and blessings in 2015, that when you return to work next week, continue your efforts of leading by giving thanks. Make it a goal for the rest of this year and on into 2016 to cultivate a legacy of thanking, rewarding and recognizing those that sincerely deserve it. I think you will find that 'thank you' are two of the most powerful words a leader can use to truly show great leadership.
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Cornerstone Learning!
"ThanksLeading" #leadership #thanksgiving #givethanks
Thanksgiving is just one week away, where we spend time with family and friends, reflecting on all the things we are thankful for. This next week, prior to celebrating Thanksgiving, try leading with “thanks”. What a great time to express thank you to all those that help you and your organization achieve success all year long.
“ThanksLeading” examples:
· Send a note home to the families of your direct reports saying; “thank you for the time that is sacrificed at home in support if our work. We just want to let you know how much we appreciate your family”.
· Say “thank you” to those unsung departments or individuals that support you and your team that we might take for granted.
· Tell a customer (internal or external) “thank you” for their partnership and business.
· Express “thank you” to your team for the opportunity to be their leader and the trust they instill in you.
I can’t think of a better way to get in the spirit of Thanksgiving than by “ThanksLeading”. Just try it and see what impact it will have on you and even more importantly those you say thank you to!
Stop Managing! #Leadership #Management #Howwouldyoulikeit
Stop Managing!
Think about it, do you want to be managed? What if in your next team or staff meeting you asked your people, “How many of you want to be managed?”? How many do you think will raise their hands? I can already tell you not one of them will.
No one wants to be managed, including you. But our title is manager! Processes, projects, time lines etc. need to be managed. When we start managing our people, we build a culture and environment of compliance and complacency. They wait for you as their manager to tell them what to do and then the next thing you want them to do and so on...the cycle repeats. And if something doesn’t go well the response is often, “Well that is what I was told to do”.
The next few blogs will highlight opportunities to stop managing your people, but for now I want you to think about this: If I reported to me, would I say to others “I am being managed by my boss.”? Remember, no one wants to be managed, including you!
Defined by Actions, Judged by Reactions #wisdomwednesday #leadership
Everyday, each one of us adds to our personal legacy by how we go about our interactions with people. On some days, that legacy is impacted positively, and unfortunately, on other days we detract and negatively impact our legacy.
As we go through each day, right or wrong, we are defined and judged by others. Often how we handle daily situations defines us and hopefully those descriptors might include things like helpful, innovative, and professional, a true team player. If we consistently display these behaviors they begin to define us an individual.
Until that one day, that one situation, when we have had enough or other pressures get to us and we react! We react in a way that is a far departure from how people define us. In that moment we might become defensive, dogmatic, and blunt, or react in a harsh manner. When we react in this way we are now going to be judged by others. Is that fair? Probably not. But that is human nature and that reaction will have much more of an impact than you can imagine or see. So while it is natural to react to situations, how we react in that moment can and will further define us.
The challenge this week. Take note of how people might define and judge you by your actions and reactions. The good news about a legacy…it can be changed and cultivated to what you desire with time. You can begin today defining your legacy by, in some cases, just reacting differently.
Are You Disruptive? #WisdomWednesday #Leadership #Leaders
Organizations today need more disruptive leaders. Not leaders that create more drama or upheaval but leaders that are willing to be disruptive, challenge the norm and that never settle for the status quo. Comfort and compliancy are the enemies to innovation and agility.
Both organizations and people can easily become stagnant and comfortable while the world around you accelerates and passes you by, and most that get passed by will tell you they never saw it coming, at least not this quickly! Just ask any traditional taxi cab company and their drivers or the former managers and employees of Blockbuster Video, they will tell you their worlds have been rocked by the disruptive leaders out there that think beyond “what we have today is working well” and “that is the way it has always been done in our industry!”
Start today to be more disruptive in your thinking and develop a healthy disdain for the status quo! Ask the questions that very few leaders dare to ask; “Why do we do it that way?”, “What else is possible?”, “What are we missing and what we should we be thinking about that we are not?”, “How do we move from continuous improvement to continuous innovation?”
Become a role model for productive, disruptive leadership and who knows, you might just change an industry!
Ask Me I Will Engage, Tell Me I Will Comply #WisdomWednesday #Leadership #Management
As leaders, the choice is ours. We can tell our people what and how to do their jobs and for the most part they will do it. They listen, they act and then they wait. They wait for you to tell them what to do next. Certainly, there are times the 'tell' model can be useful, for example, when communicating simple tasks, training on something new or different, or critical tasks where failure can lead to disaster. However, when you continually tell, you create an environment of compliance. Most likely your people will smile and seemly be glad to do the work. But when they go home or talk to one another they say things like “I can’t believe they expect me to do that!” or “I am so tired of being micromanaged!”.
However, if you ask someone what and how they can accomplish success, they engage in thinking and assessing, they initiate action and follow-up. Define success of what you want or need and then ask, “What options do you see?”, “What is your recommended path to success?” and just see what you receive in return (in addition to more committed and engaged people)!
Your challenge this week – Ask - don’t tell, and see the difference!