Tag Archives: change

Expanding on Rules for Living

Leadership Skills, Personal Development, , ,

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The Dalai Lama has 17 rules for living.  One of them is that a person should travel to someplace they have never been before at least once per year.  The more I pondered this; I felt that this was a bit limiting.  I am fairly sure that he was focusing on the traditional view of this thought; traveling and experiencing a location that you have never been before.  But, there is a more philosophical approach to this “rule.”

Look at this creek.  It could be near your house, on your way to work, or off a mountain trail.  You may see it every day.  Is it the same? It changes moment to moment.  Even how you look at it changes.  Today it may be peaceful.  During a storm, it may become deadly.  One day gray, and blue the next.  You can be standing at the exact same physical location, yet you have never exactly been there before.  You have changed, and the place has changed.  The key is being aware and recognizing the changes.

As a leader, a person must continue to grow.  A leader must be able to see the changes around them, and interpret how those changes impact the situation.  The creek may be calm and serene one day, and present hidden dangers the next.  It is changing its environment, and as a result impacts the plants, animals, and people around it.  Similarly, our daily actions can have the same impact.

Your mood, your reactions, your comments, and your actions, whether you are aware of them or not affect those around you.  A smile can improve a person’s day, and you may never know.  A laugh or a kind word with the cashier as you go through the lunch line may become contagious, and those that follow may see the afternoon in a positive light rather than a negative one.  Snap at the toll agent as you go through the tollgate, and you may impact dozens of individuals later that day.

We are part of the whole.  We don’t see ourselves as having an impact unless we do something “big.”  Sometimes it is recognizing how the small things influence our growth and those around us.  We tend to go from one project to the next, or one event to the next, and fail to see the wonder and life around us.  We miss living while waiting to live.

 

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Are we in for a major disruption?

Leadership, Uncategorized,

Just read an article by Steven Sinofsky (@stevesi) (Disruption’s Long, Slow, Complex Journey).  And serendipitously had just come across a number of “do you remember” posts – AOL, Blackberry, etc.  Add to this, the business news of the bidding for Yahoo! and the retail trends of the first part of the year, and you start to think that there is a major change coming.  But, the real question is what is it and what is it going to look like?

Here in the United States, we are seeing signs for a major disrupting event.  It could be in how we shop – the big box stores are consolidating, the name brand retailers are shrinking, and how we spend our money is changing.  It could be in how we travel – we are seeing an aversion to lines and there is a change in where we travel.  It could be in how we educate ourselves – the classroom is changing, how we fund education is changing, and our view of what is needed is changing.  We are seeing it all around us – political campaigns are not following the traditional rules, the television executives aren’t making the same types of orders, and how the “experts” to behave with more money in our pockets did not happen.

It is becoming more and more apparent that something is happening.  We just don’t know what it is and the “experts” can’t tell us. So, as leaders we must be able to be flexible and now may be the time to try that something new as it might just be the “next big thing.”

What happens now?

Personal Development, , , , , , , , , ,

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If you look at the calendar and the milestones in people’s lives, May and June are months of major significance.  In the United States, graduations from high school and college are common events as well as the beginnings of marriages and new careers.  These events are culminations of long-term planning.  (Even if you didn’t realize it at the time.)  And, once the excitement of the celebration is over, you may be waking up feeling lost and adrift.

What happens now?  Some may be lucky enough to already, have another long-term goal or may be working on one.  For example, you just graduated and are planning on pursuing a higher degree; or are working, and now are turning to focus on that next big project or promotion.  But, for others, all of a sudden you achieved what you were after and then…….  Well, it is time to figure out what’s next.

How does one go about it?  Many of us know the usual goal setting steps (or do we?) and how to state a goal.  Zig Ziglar gave us seven; Bradley Foster gave us ten; and Wikihow gives us ten.  We are told our goals need to be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and have a timeframe.  But, the steps?  Let’s look at Zig Ziglar’s seven, because most of the versions are similar:

  • State the goal
  • Set a deadline
  • Identify the obstacles
  • Identify the people, groups and organizations that can assist
  • List the benefits of achieving the goal
  • List the skills needed to attain the goal
  • Develop a plan

Okay, but what is the goal?  What is the next step? How do I tell what my next goal should be?  What am I being called or driven to do?  It is this unknown that sets a person adrift.  Because once we are able to articulate what it is we are after or where we are headed; the usual goal setting wisdom and attributes help us.  And, it is the easy part: developing the long-term plan on how to achieve it.  The conventional wisdom does nothing for helping us assess what it is we want to achieve.

Determining the direction or the next personal goal requires self-awareness, introspection, and self-assessment.  One has to take some quiet time and think about what makes them happy; what they like to do; and if they could wave that magic wand what would be their perfect world.  One method may be to PREP: pause, re-assess, evaluate and prepare.  The pause step is the most critical, one needs to stop and think about those serious questions.  One needs to fuel the imagination, and one needs to picture what that future state may be.  This is a very difficult thing to do as we don’t necessarily like to look into ourselves, and finding the time to do this with all of our day-to-day pressures adds to the complexity.

Yet, it is essential because if we don’t, we will remain adrift or someone else will be making these crucial decisions for us.  This leaves us unfulfilled, and miserable.  It is critical that one steps aside and think about what is it that drives us, what is it that we want to achieve, and how do view my personal success?

How to get to this point?  We know that we need to be able to state the goal, picture it, and articulate it.  But, what methods or techniques do we use?  There are some tried and true ones:

  1. Where do you want to be in a year?
  2. Where do you want to be in three years?
  3. Where do you want to be in five years?

These are a bit stale because they are used as interview and annual review techniques; so we tend to give “pat” answers or the ones that the person asking the questions want to hear.  And, this still requires a person to have a longer term view.

Other questions may seem strange, yet can provide deeper insight;

  • What do you want your high school reunion summary to say?
  • Why should you be invited to speak at a graduation ceremony?
  • What words would you like to have on your headstone?
  • How do you want ___________ (your mother, your spouse, your colleagues, your friends) to describe you?
  • What things don’t you want to be said about you? (Sometimes it is easier to look at the negative than the positive.)
  • If you could choose one accomplishment, what would it be?

These questions will help you to paint a picture of that elusive long term goal.  Once, you have that the rest is just a paperwork exercise to outline the path.

Transition & Re”creation”

Uncategorized, , , , ,

According to the calendar, it is May.  And, May generally is a time of transition – end of a school year, graduations (high school or college), weddings may be in the air, and people are beginning to thing about a summer vacation or recreational activity.  For some the weather is finally starting to feel like the grip of winter is leaving and you can transition from indoor to outdoor activities.  So, there are lots of things that are vying for our attention. 

May is also a time where your leadership skills may be challenged, dusted off, or reach a new level.  Because May is a transitional month, you may have to rely on your personal skills to help you through the transition.  If you are graduating, you may be transitioning to a new job.  If you are in academia – you may be preparing for a sabbatical or a summer research push.  If you are industry, you may be thinking about summer field work, manpower issues, or interns.  You may also be facing personal life changes moving from a single person to a married one.  Transitions imply change – and successfully navigating change requires good leadership.

Even if you are not facing a significant transition – chances are there is someone close to you who is.  Thus, you may be called on to mentor that person.  Mentoring requires good leadership.

May then is a great time to think about your leadership in transition.  What are you specifically doing to improve your leadership skills?  What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the year?   How are you progressing on those goals?  Have you grown as a leader?  These are questions you may want to take a bit of time to think about.

On May 3 – I had a chance to sit in on a graduation ceremony at two year college, which led me to think about these questions.  And, I also began to think about how I personally could make an impact as a leader.  What actions – not just thoughts or words – could I do to bring about the change that I wanted to see?  In that graduation ceremony, I noted a number of things.  One was demographics – while there were some significant positives – the number of older students, the number of students in general and the support group present – the demographics were not what the should have been.  The group should have been even more diverse.  This means there is still work to do – and we as leaders need to do something – to see real change.

Second – was the concern that each and every individual there was facing a transition. Some where going straight to the workforce.  Some moving on to work on higher level degrees.  But, the fundamental question was – were they truly prepared?  As leaders, it is incumbent on us to help, encourage and mentor individuals through these significant transitions.  We have to be the role models, and the support groups.

Third – was the meaning of this transition. For some of the students, this was just a brief stepping stone or a mile marker.  But, for others it was a sign of achievement, sign of determination, a huge accomplishment.  I saw graduates that were the first in their families to ever receive a degree.  For one student, it took 14 years to get her Associates. She took one or two classes at a time – got her girls through their Bachelors before she finished her Associates.  She is a role model for the next generation.  Each story behind the graduate is different.  Each spark that drove that particular individual was different.  But each one had someone behind them that said – you can do it.  As leaders – we need to spread that spark a bit more.  We need to think about those little conversations that provide the encouragement.  You never know if it is the one thing that gets that individual over the hump and help them achieve.

Leadership is not just a hypothetical topic in a book.  It is not words on paper.  It is not a speech.   It is a push, a prod or an extra fifteen minutes.  It is a practice.  It is action.

So, as you plan your summer – think about what actions you as a leader can take to help the person next to you.  

“Hope is not a strategy”

Leadership Skills, , , ,

This phrase has quickly become cliche’.  But have you ever really thought about, what it is saying?  First let’s look at the entire quote:  “Because ‘change’ is not a destination, just as ‘hope’ is not a strategy.”  This quote was made in a speech by Mayor R. Giuliani in 2008.  Of course it was political in nature, but it has been picked up in the day-to-day business lexicon and is now used at those annual “pick-me up” meetings, stockholder addresses, and in those routine development meetings.  So, let’s use this bit of political sarcasm as a bit of leadership acumen and reflect on exactly what and how we can use it to our personal advantage.

As with most profound statements there is reality, truth and depth.  This is the case here as well.  Let’s take the two parts of the quote – “change is not a destination” and “hope is not a strategy” and examine them.  Both are essentially factual statements.  If you look for Change, USA in Google Maps – you find there is no such location (there is a Change’, France – but I am sure it is not pronounced the same way.)  And, certainly it is clearly understood that the Mayor was not referring to a physical place.  Those of us in the business world know that change is difficult and requires a great deal of planning and work.  So, change for change sake is not worth the resources required nor will it work without a clear vision and destination in mind.  Change is a process, it is used to achieve a goal.  But the goal must be clear, and the benefits must be understood by all if it is to be successful.  People by their vary nature are resistant to change.  “Who moved my Cheese” is an excellent book (and a quick read) if you want to explore the philosophy behind change and how people react to it.

How about the second part of the quote – the one that is getting frequent use?  “Hope is not a strategy.”  A strategy is defined as the science or art of employing/implementing plans or methods to obtain a specific goal or outcome.  For most of us, a strategy has become more of a process by which various action items are framed to achieve a specific goal.  For example:  if the company or organization wants to be the “premiere provider of great stuff”, the strategy is the specific action steps outlined by the organization’s planning group or development team that have been decided based on the available resources (or missing resources) that need to be achieved in order to get to that state (as it was defined by the organization).  Thus, the strategy becomes the guide book for a period of time used to achieve a goal.

So, clearly “hope” is not a strategy as it lacks substance.  It lacks framework.  It does not have actionable parts.  There is nothing to build upon.  It is ephemeral.

Think about all that motivational training you have had over the years.  Those goal setting instructions.  The feel good speeches.  All of them have something in common – they tell you that you can’t achieve your goal without having some sort of plan.  But, what they don’t tell you is “how to define your goal”.   Sure, they say – think about where you want to be in five or  ten years. However, if you are like most people there are two problems with this: 1) you don’t have a clue what the options are and 2) you haven’t even figured out what you want to be when you grow up.

Here is where the word “hope” helps.  If you recall from your Greek mythology, when Pandora opened the box, she let out all kinds of evils, dreads, and despair.  Yet, there was one thing in the box that could counteract these things – hope.  Have you ever looked at the definition of hope?  It is not very concise nor does it truly convey its meaning.  Hope is defined as a feeling that what is wanted can be had.  Not very helpful, yet we all know what hope is.

So, how does hope help?  Think about your hopes.  You may hope that you are going to find a cure for cancer, or hope that you will live comfortably until you are 110 years old, or hope to climb Mt. Everest.  These “hopes” define your aspirations.  They let you dream for the stars.  They are not grounded in the framework of your current situation.  They change your thinking and allow you to define the future.

Hope allows us to see possibilities.  Hope allows us to visualize. Paints the picture – you have to do the rest, set the goals, and develop the plans to get you there. No, “hope is not a strategy” but it helps define the destination.

And Winter is suddenly upon us…

Leadership Skills, , , , ,

Most of the U.S. is about to be gripped by winter weather throwing us headlong into the winter season, whether we like it or not.  These weather changes force most of us to change our normal routines, and may even have greater impacts like canceling events, trips, and completing specific tasks.  Yes, Mother Nature sometimes has to come out and announce that we aren’t always in charge.

 

For leaders, we can use this as a learning experience – finding leadership principals in a place where you least expect them and maybe even provide you with an opportunity to practice some new and/or rusty skills.  For example:

–          Adaptation – I once had a colleague that said they would never hire a person who did not at least play a video game at some point.  His reasoning was – that you can plan for several possibilities, but the game usually results in an unanticipated or an unexpected change that forces you to adapt.  Winter weather forces us to adapt to changing conditions, availability of resources, and sometimes how we have to accomplish the task. (How are you going to get that project done, if the network is down? Or, you can’t physically make it to the meeting in Chicago?)  As leaders we all have to adapt to rapidly changing conditions.  So, use this time to practice a bit – do you have a Plan B or C or D?

–          Reflection – When you are stuck in the airport due to a flight delay – how do you use that time?  Or, all of a sudden you don’t have to take that trip or go to that meeting – how do you fill the void?  You might take this time to do a bit of reflection.  As leaders, we need to build in time to our schedules to reflect on how things are going. What resources could have been better used?  Do you have the right tools?  Use these unexpected down times – to start practicing the art of reflection.

–          Listening – In the din of all the noise, preparation, and chaos of the season – there are times when the office is empty or you are walking to the car and snow has created a hush.  You might reach into your toolkit and really start listening to the important things.  Because of the noise you may have to really focus – thus you are practicing listening in the extreme.  Similarly when you get the extreme quiet – you need to focus on the individual sounds – again practicing listening at the opposite extreme.  Use this time to sharpen that underutilized skill.

I am sure you can find some other leadership skill opportunities – networking at holiday parties, practicing patience, and renewing a sense of excitement and wonder.  Take this opportunity to look for ways to improve your skills, while dealing with the challenges that life places in front of you.

Enjoy this time – it is a time of awakening and growth.