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.

Bosses Are People Too

President, Vice President, CEO, COO, Manager, Director, Team Leader, Supervisor; these are just a few of the titles that we have to answer to on a daily basis.  Some of these positions seem to carry more esteem than others and if you are like most, one of your goals in life is to have one of these titles.  To be...The Boss.

As we are moving through the ranks towards a leadership position we tend to share the illusion that the further up the ladder we climb, the easier it will get.  While I wish I could tell you this were true, in good conscious I cannot. 

Being the "Boss" is hard work.   If you think it is hard to work for your boss, try trading places with them for the day and being the boss.  

Society views the boss as someone that should have all the answers all the time, and never be wrong.  They should be smart without being condescending, funny but serious, caring but not to involved in people's lives - all at the same time.   They need to know how set lofty goals that make their boss happy, but lower goals to make their reports happy. They are required to motivate, encourage, correct and reprimand, but still maintain an upbeat demeanor and smile at all times.

The reality is that most of those traits are a great goal to work towards, but they are unrealistic of us to expect of others.  The truth is that most of us don't hold ourselves that to that high of a standard.  

And therein lies one the major flaws in life.  We expect more of others than we expect of ourselves.  We tend to be really good at justifying our own actions when we miss the mark, but we love to tear someone down when they miss the mark.  Sort of like the old saying goes, that we tend to judge ourselves by our intentions, while judging others by their actions.  You can't have it both ways.  You either judge everyone by actions (hint - this will leave you disappointed most of your life) or you cut people some slack, believing that their intentions were good.

Bosses are people too.  We can jump to conclusions and easily assume the worst of a situation, or even worse than that, we can assume the worst of people.  I dare say to a degree that is just part of human nature.  But I want to encourage you today to take some time to see the best in those around you, especially your boss.  If they are anything like me they aren't perfect, but are trying.

Now get to work!  You don't want your boss to find you slacking off.