Category: Leadership

Talk About It

The Danger of Assuming They Know

“They know that”. Possibly one of the most growth-stunting phrases in a leader’s mind. We tend to assume that others know what we know. The ideas have floated around in our own heads or in closed-door meetings for weeks (or months, or years), but they’re coming out-of-the-blue to others. We have to talk about them rather than assume others already share our head space.

Talk About What?

Here are some things you might be under-communicating because you assume others already understand them: Continue reading Talk About It

The Tensions of Leadership

Embracing Essential Tensions

Sometimes, tensions are a good thing to get rid of. Sometimes, getting rid of tensions can be dangerous. But the ones we keep need to be managed well if we’re to get the benefits that only healthy tensions can bring.

In his book, Building the Bridge As You Walk On It: A Guide for Leading Change, author Robert E. Quinn defines an unusual, but insightful model of leadership. To Quinn, leadership is a temporary psychological condition that we move in and out of. In our “Normal State”, we tend toward maintaining our own comfort. Whenever we move into the “Fundamental State of Leadership”, we embrace different mindsets that equip us to lead well.

The Fundamental State of Leadership

Figure 1 describes the four characteristics of this leadership mindset and illustrates the tensions that exist between them. Continue reading The Tensions of Leadership

Empathic Change Leadership

Navigating the Emotions of Change

Change is hard. Leading others through change is harder. Coercion and manipulation might seem the easy way, but you’ll pay a high cost in the long run. Using good leadership skills to inspire and support them through the changes will get you through with fewer casualties.

Paving the Path through Change

States of ChangeChange involves three states (see Figure 1). Have you ever tried to use a map
when you don’t know where you’re at currently or where you’re trying to get to? A map is pretty useless in that case. Continue reading Empathic Change Leadership

Skills to Create Culture (Part 3/3)

Building Safety, Sharing Vulnerability, Establishing Purpose

In the first two parts of this series[1], we looked at Building Safety and Sharing Vulnerability. Now we’ll look at Establishing Purpose, the third of three culture-building skills defined by Daniel Coyle in his book, The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Group.

Establishing Purpose

It’s great to have a sense of community that makes us safe and willing to share vulnerabilities. But then the question remains, why are we here? We want to know that we’re fulfilling some sense of purpose, making a meaningful difference.Establishing Purpose

Motivation involves channeling our attention to get us from where we are to where we’re going. To be fully motivated we need to be clear on both our starting point and our destination

But just stating the facts, here’s where we are and here’s what we want to achieve, isn’t enough to fully engage human motivation. Nothing modifies our perceptions and motivations as powerfully as stories. Continue reading Skills to Create Culture (Part 3/3)

Skills to Create Culture (Part 2/3)

Building Safety, Sharing Vulnerability, Establishing Purpose

In Part 1 of this series[1], we looked at Building Safety, the first of three culture-building skills defined by Daniel Coyle in his book, The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups  Now we’ll look at the second skill, Sharing Vulnerability.

Sharing VulnerabilitySharing Vulnerability

Successful groups manage to get past the posturing and politicking that prevents average groups from synergizing their intelligence into something greater than the sum of the parts.  When we buy into the myth that strong leaders don’t reveal their weaknesses, we immediately limit the contributions we’ll get from every other member of the group. People value being needed, and a leader who admits they need help creates the space for others to bring out their best. We’re not talking about milk-toast, namby-pamby, undecisive leadership. We’re talking about leadership that is confident enough to humbly recognize that others hold pieces to the puzzle that we lack. Continue reading Skills to Create Culture (Part 2/3)

Skills to Create Culture (Part 1/3)

Building Safety, Sharing Vulnerability, Establishing Purpose

Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs is the longest tenured active coach in any major U.S. sports league. He’s led the Spurs to all five of their NBA Championships. Popovich is a hard-core authoritarian with a volcanic temper, known for yelling and cussing at his players. How does he achieve unparalleled success and the deep respect and loyalty of his players?Building Safety

Contrast Popovich with Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos.  Hsieh is generally known for saying less than anyone else in the room. Yet he, too, fosters success and loyalty.

It’s clear that personality isn’t the key.  So what is? Continue reading Skills to Create Culture (Part 1/3)

When You’re Not So Little Any More

The Past Won’t Take You Forward

Remember the Good Old Days?  It was just you and a few employees. We all shared in the excitement of our successes, the misery of our failures, and the anxiety of the unknown. But we were in it together. Everyone knew what the others cared about, what they Good Old Dayswere good at, and what they weren’t. And we all did whatever it took to succeed.

Communication just happened automatically. No need for organization structures and policies and complex systems. We hardly needed to write anything down.  When something needed communicated, we just talked.

And it worked! Look how successful we’ve become!

But Now…

Continue reading When You’re Not So Little Any More

Building Bench Depth

Building Depth by Building Breadth

It’s partly because they are so rare that “overnight success” stories of unicorn company founders attract so much media attention.  And all that media attention inspires hordes of other young people Bench Depthwho picture themselves on that next magazine cover.  I congratulate the fractional percentage of them who make it!

The more common path to success involves developing expertise and gaining experience that increases their value to the organizations they serve. Continue reading Building Bench Depth

Love Thy Employees

Not Just Loving What They Do For You

Love in the Workplace

If you’re looking for advice on workplace romance, this isn’t it.Workplace Love

We’re talking about leadership, so let’s see the connection between leadership and love.

Since both words have numerous definitions, let’s clarify the definitions we’re using here:

Leadership:  Helping others reach their full potential.  See https://enlumenls.com/defining-leadership-success/ and numerous other articles on this site for a fuller understanding of leadership.  If you’re seeking your personal success and the success of your organization, the best way to achieve those is to focus on the success of those you depend on to make them happen.

Love:  Making choices to put the good of another ahead of our own.  Although many uses of the word “love” emphasize emotions, recognizing love as a choice that results in actions (and sometimes feelings also) puts it into the realm of something we control rather than something that happens to us.  I find that to be a far more meaningful use of the word. Continue reading Love Thy Employees

My Competence Is My Enemy

When Strength Becomes Weakness

Your hard work, education, and self-discipline have paid off. Congratulations for rising to a position of authority and leadership! People respect you. Your competence is often sought by others, both within your organization and by others in your industry and even outside your industry.Competence Tug of War

But now you’ve hit a plateau. The opportunities are there but you can’t seem to grow your organization fast enough to meet the demand. You recognize the bottleneck is leadership. You can’t find enough skillful leaders that you can trust to make good decisions. So every issue gets pushed up to a few very busy people.  Maybe it’s only one person: You. Continue reading My Competence Is My Enemy