So simple, but the best things always are...

Driving home yesterday I began to really ponder some of the questions and concerns of the day.  One of the comments yesterday that was a common thread throughout the day was “I don’t know what else to do.”  I hear it come out of my mouth more than I care to admit.  But through a series of conversations and some quiet time I wanted to share a simple but profound truth with you.  I didn't come up with this truth, though I would love to take credit. This truth is universal.  It doesn't matter what situation or circumstance in life or business you come up against, this truth will apply.   It is a simple truth to hear and understand, but it is a truth that has to be exercised daily.  Are you ready for it? 

Nothing in, Nothing out.

That’s it.  I told you it was simple.

Nothing in, nothing out.  Basically if you are always relying on what you already know, you never cross over into new ways of thinking or new ways of doing those things where you “don’t know what else to do.”   Yes, here comes the shameless plug for reading more books, because books do give you an opportunity to learn something new.  Sometimes it isn't even something new as much as it is a reinforcement to something that you already knew but had let slide.  It isn't just books though, it can be videos or webinars or mentors.  Sometimes it is talking to people in a completely different industry to pick up a different perspective.

Nothing in, nothing out.  If you don’t put gas in the car continually you will eventually run out and get stuck.  The same is true with leading.  If you don’t take time to fill that leadership tank, you will eventually run out of gas and get stuck.  What happens when you get stuck?   Usually you end up frustrated.  If you are stuck on the side of the road out of gas, you probably curse the car and the last person that should have filled the tank.  But reality is that person responsible for filling the tank is you. 

Are you frustrated?  Sounds like it is time to fill up again.  Nothing in, nothing out. 

Friendly Fire or Assassination

Why is it as humans we tend to be cynical, non-trusting and jealous of anyone that outperforms us?

That was meant as a rhetorical question with a dose of sarcasm for those that don't catch on quickly.

I see it on a daily basis.  Because someone is better at a task than we are we automatically assume they must be cheating the system.  If someone is able to produce more, it must be because they aren't doing things by the book.  There's no way that you could be taking good care of our customers and be done that quickly.

I have no doubt that regardless of the task or the industry the thoughts and actions are the same.

Think about it.  A new employee starts.  They come in with a certain amount of excitement and anticipation.  They very likely came from a job that they didn't like or feel appreciated in.  They want to get started on a good foot and earn the respect of their peers and supervisors.  So they perform, and usually perform well.  Many times performing better than the "old timers."  And rather than encouraging that behavior we take pot shots at them.

As old timers, we don't like being shown up.  We don't need some young whippersnapper coming in and making us look bad.  We protect our turf.  Initially we try to persuade the newbies on "how WE do things." We try to get them to conform to our lower standards.  Sadly most old timers are pretty good at this.  It is after all how we were initially treated.

It's a lot like the hierarchy in high school where the freshman is scum and not entitled to an opinion, whereas the senior rules the halls and can do no wrong.  As you progress through the ranks from freshman to senior you slowly learn how to treat those younger than you as though they are incompetent and incapable of an intelligent thought.

But even worse than trying to coach newbies into slowing down to our level, we start taking direct shots at them in an attempt to keep from having our own weaknesses exposed.  We do it in a friendly way initially by just making management "aware of a possible problem."  Usually we don't have anything to support our assumption other than the need to protect our weakness.  We justify it by the fact that we are looking out for the company, but are we really?

Before I go too far to the extreme, I will admit there are times where people don't perform at an appropriate level and need to be dealt with.  In those cases we shouldn't look the other way, but should confront things head on. But that is usually the exception rather than the rule, at least where I work.

When friendly fire doesn't work, we break out the big guns and go into assassination mode.  We nit pick everything they do.  We gossip about them.  We form our cliques that the newbies can't be apart of, hoping to somehow shame them into performing below their capabilities.  Sadly we are pretty good in assassination mode.

How cool would work be if instead of being jealous and trying to hold others down to our standard, we swallowed our pride learned from each other, regardless of how old or young the individual is.  How much could we learn from a fresh set of eyes or someone who isn't stuck in the pattern of doing things a certain way just because that's the way we've always done it.

Do you learn from star performers or are you on the sidelines taking aim?  Just a thought.

Motives Trump Outcomes

Do you ever feel like you made the right call at the time, but once things play out realize that it could have been done differently?  If you're a manager I'm sure you have.

That's the thing about being a leader.  You are forced to make decisions with limited information.  The key is to take the information that you have at the time and make the best decision at the moment.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

If you ask 10 people how they would have handled a situation you will end up with 10 different methods.  Some better than others and maybe even better than your own.

In the end though it isn't about the decision made, but about the motive behind the decision.  When motives are right, you can screw up and still be okay.  But conversely if motives are out of whack, you are in trouble even if everything goes right.

As a manager you are going to make the wrong call occasionally.  Where you intend to protect, you end up hurting.  Where you intend to encourage, you end up demotivating.  It happens.  Apologize, learn from it and move on.

Life is short.  Don't waste it on the "could have been's", but invest it in the "what will be's."

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

I remember that was a phrase I used to hear as a kid growing up.  Don't really remember one particular person using it more than another, it was just a common phrase.  Even the movies at that time seemed to  be scripted on that premise.  Rocky, Rambo, Die Hard all embodied the essence of that phrase with their lead characters.

As I was thinking about that phrase it dawned on me that I don't hear that phrase much anymore.  That made me stop and wonder why that is.  I came up with a variety of reasons, many of which could be debated but that isn't the reason for this post.

As a leader you have the privilege to lead in good times and the responsibility to lead in the tough times.  I think that sometimes as leaders we want the prestige when everything is going right, but aren't tough enough to hold it together when things become challenging.

To a certain degree I think we see leadership like the video games we grew up playing.  When things aren't going the way we want, we go for the reset button and want to start over.  But life isn't a video game and there isn't a reset button.  Tough or not, we have to push through.

We as leaders must learn to display a toughness especially when things get tough.  We have the responsibility of setting the tone for our teams.  If we are weak, the team is week.  If we are tough, the team is tough.

I don't know about you, but I need to get going, because that is the tough do!

Create or Allow

I have been reading a great book from Dr. Henry Cloud called Boundaries for Leaders.

There is a lot of great insight in this book, but early on in the first few chapters is nugget of truth that is worth the price of the book.  Dr. Cloud points out that as a leader we either get what we create or what we allow.

It is easy to breeze by a statement like that.  But if you stop and think about it for a moment, that statement pretty much sums up our entire life, not just our leadership.

You get what you create or what you allow.

One side of that statement requires an active role of participation.  You have to have a goal in mind, a plan in place.  You have to know what you want and be willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

The other side of that statement is more passive in nature.  The old "whatever will be will be" mindset.

Creating puts you in the driver's seat and forces you to take responsibility.  You become "ridiculously in charge" as Dr. Cloud points out.  The alternative is take whatever comes your way and always play the victim.

Are you going to create or are you going to allow?  The choice is yours.

Your Best Time

Who gets your best time each day?

For the purpose of this post I am referring to your time at work.  I would agree that our families should get the best of our time everyday.  You and I both struggle with maintaining the work/home balance in our lives.  But my focus today is on those 8, 10, 12 hours that you put in "on the clock."

I know personally as a boss I am constantly bombarded with things that need my time.  It goes with the territory.  As a leader you are the one that people look to when they have questions.  You are one that people look to when a decision needs to be made, especially the difficult ones.  You are the one that sales people call on, and visitors want to talk to.  You need to be available to mediate problems between co-workers and be around to listen as people share their problems (both personal and work related).  You have emails to respond to and stats to look over in addition to a whole host of other things.

All of these things are an important part of being the boss and you should have time dedicated to deal with them.  But in order for you to be effective and continue to grow as a leader you need to make sure that you don't allow these things to dictate your schedule.

Seth Godin in a recent blog shared an interesting point of view.  He referred to it as paying attention to someone else's agenda.

I know for me it is easy to get sucked into someone else's agenda.  I like helping people.  I like being the go-to guy.  I gain a sense of satisfaction from it.

But is that the best use of my time and skills?

Yes and No.

It's not so much whether all of these things should be a part of my day, as much as making sure that these things don't control my day.  There is an old saying that basically says a lack of planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.

Learn to protect your time.  Schedule "open" hours for dealing with day to day stuff, but don't be afraid to close your door every now and then.  It's great to help others solve problems, but it's also okay to turn off the phone and emails and allow people to think for themselves every know and then.

Who is getting your best time each day?

Mr. Know It All

Like any role in any company, being the boss has it's good days and bad days.  Days where you love what you do, and days where you look and question, "What did I do?"  

I know for me the challenge is staying productive on the right things.  I am good at a variety of things.  I make it my goal to know at least a little bit about everything I can.  Don't misunderstand me, I am not claiming to know it all, though I am sure I come across that way at times.  I just make it my aim to know enough to be of assistance to others.

But being the guy that usually knows the answers (or can quickly Google it) means that I am interrupted a lot.  People look to me to help solve their problems.  At first this is good, it solidifies my position in the company and makes me more valuable.  You know the thought process, "the more that I know the harder it is to get rid of me."  

This thought process is great when you are aspiring for a promotion, but what about when you are the boss? Is having all the answers serving you well?  Is giving the answers rather than allowing others (forcing others in some cases) to find the answer for themselves helping you or hurting you?  

Give a man a fish and he eats for the day, Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.