The Flaming Cavalier

 

It happened last week on my drive from Portland to Spokane, WA.   I was cruising at a crisp 78mph along I-84 thinking about the cool work ahead when I was passed by a teal colored Chevy Cavalier.  Hmmmm…. Upon further inspection I noted that the teal mini-beast was sporting a very unique rear window motif.  Across the bottom of the window, a line of brazen flames adorned the glass.  Centered at the top of the window was a white outline of a little butterfly.  Huge flames and a butterfly.  Hmmmmm…

Then it donned on me: I know the driver.  You do, too.  It’s the boss who torches all that lives on their team with their horrific, biting threats and ego-hot pokes all under the guise of “leading the team to perform”.   Just like a blast from a blow torch, the exchange is one-way, oppressive and destructive.  Incredible talent is scorched by these hot heads daily and often it takes a long time for that talent to grow back.  Oh, and the butterfly?  That is the pin hole of light that shows up when this person sitting in a leadership seat (note: I can’t call them a leader now, can I?) says some ridiculous fib like “we value or people” in some fleeting, politically motivated moment.  Huge flames and a butterfly.  Hmmmmm…

This whole month I have been working with dozens of talented leaders to hone leadership skills that engage the team and their untapped talents.  It’s about conversations, relationships, respect and recognition.  Simple recognition.  So many good things are happening every day in our work environments yet in our stress and haste we often only find time to flame and poke at the mistakes.  Simple recognition.  Get some.

It takes less than 30 seconds to recognize a job well done.  What is the power in those 30 seconds?  In the new book, Closing the Engagement Gap, the authors offer, amongst other gems:  “when workers see their managers really get what they‘re doing to help the company and colleagues succeed and take the time to acknowledge it, employee engagement can soar.  This approach can also help build teams of high performers.”   Only a fool would turn down that return on a 30 second investment.

Yes, we learned how to turn the heat up by engaging team members instead of flaming them this month.  The application of our learning is paying off… with big business results.  The teams are more engaged, the customers are, in turn, more engaged, and the cash registers are ringing in record numbers.  Check that, Mr. Flaming Cavalier.  Your torch-toting days are numbered.

Walk away from the computer now and go recognize a great behavior/ result you want repeated.  Watch what happens to your team…and your scoreboard! 

Help us all get better.  Share your recognition story here.

The 80/20 rule: application #256

 

It is right up there with the trusty Leatherman… the nifty thing you can count on: the 80/20 Rule.  While I am not a fan of “Rules”, this one works well often.  For example, for the past month or so I have been testing my own application of the 80/20 Rule in the field while working side by side with dozens of leaders.  My observations can be summed like this: 80 % of the “coaching” we offer our team members delivers 20% of the results.  Scanning my past 30 (gulp!) years of leadership experience, I found this “Rule” to hold true.  Hmmmmmm.

Reflect for a minute.  When does most of the “coaching” occur in your organization: “pre-game”, “during-game” or “post-game”?  Survey says: post-game.  I offer that the majority of “coaching” in our organizations is done AFTER the event, project, month, etc.  (annual reviews, anyone?)  So, if 80% of our coaching time is delivering 20% of the result, what is possible when we take on the “pre” and “during” coaching with intention?  Goldmine!  The nuggets in sum:

Pre and during

• Clarifies expectations and success metrics
• Defines milestones
• Celebrates small wins
• Navigates obstacles
• Helps team stay focused on the summit
• Results are created

Post

•  Offers recognition
• Identifies behaviors to replicate
• Highlights lessons learned
• Results are in

Don’t get me wrong.  “Post-game” reviews have benefit.  For bolder results, ask yourself this: what if 80% of the possible results your team may achieve is in your “pre” and “during” coaching hands?  I offer that it is.

Look, tens of thousands of hours of coaching take place well before that last minute play of the game.  The magic play drawn on the clip board with 1.6 seconds remaining cannot compare to the countless coaching moments it took everyone to get to that last important play.  I think we have some choices to make.  We can make commentary on the post-game scoreboard (a.k.a. ESPN at 3 a.m.) or we can bring our talent forward and radically improve the readiness and the execution capability of our team… coaching right there, in the mix, beginning well before the tip off.

20% of you will take action here… and that will likely deliver 80% of what’s possible.  I know where I am putting my money.  How about you?

Silent Steel

 

You are tough… you are strong… a business warrior with the mettle to withstand any challenge that does not kill you, right?  Do you really stand alone?  Let’s dig down deep for a minute.

In this week’s ramp up to Mother’s Day, I have been thinking about the confidence, perseverance and support it takes to push ahead.  What is beneath our feet and around us that steadies us when we question ourselves, our unique talent, our capability?  Often it is our Moms, our partners, our best friends, our colleagues who stand for and with us… and there are others.  The silent presence of those who believe in us propels us forward.  There are people who are not there but they are always there.

I submit that there are those who support you whom you don’t even know.  It is possible that you are currently unaware of an interaction you had with someone that impacted them so greatly that they have become a fervent supporter of YOU.  Think about Mitch Albom’s book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven.  (If you haven’t read it… do).  Unseen connections you are having with people now may be much more powerful than you realize.

Silently, there are people who stand for you.  They are a strength you don’t see.  You are one, too.  YOU are a source of strength for others… a presence of steel they can count on when fear or doubt overshadow them.  You may not know who they are.  It doesn’t matter.  Know this: you are someone’s steel.  Be ready.  Always be ready.

          “A warrior is not something you become.  It is something you are, in the moment, or something you are not.”   – Dan Millman

Remember who you are every moment.

… p.s. thank you, Mom, and others, for being my steel.