Side Step Leadership

"I'm happy to do whatever you want me to do."

"Oh, I'm ready to jump in at anytime, just tell me what you need."

"I fully support this move, what would you like me to do?"  

Talk is Cheap
We've all heard these comments...often times from leaders in our organizations. Perhaps we've even said them ourselves. 

They appear to be well-intended expressions of support, right? Real team-players stepping up to help...right?

Not so fast.

Let's take a moment and think about the people in our companies that take action first versus offering to do "whatever." That feels different. 

Their impact is very different.

They make things happen. They not only connect with us on what needs to be done, but they actually take steps to get things done.

It's Always Action That Wins
Maybe I've become cynical? 

Maybe I've heard too many expressions of support to my face, only to learn that same 'support' is non-existent when it comes down to making decisions and taking a risk?

Or, maybe I have a new level of insight about people? 

They love being seen as helpful and popular, but are rarely strong enough to tackle big issues that involve risk.

Yes. I believe that is true.

How About You
Are you someone who not only offers support, but immediately jumps into the fire to get things done? Or, are you much more comfortable offering support all day long, and then heading home feeling good about yourself and your "support?"

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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The Inability to Respond

As Human Resources leaders, we care deeply about leadership competencies in two ways:

- The first, is putting forth the effort to identify, develop, and implement them. 

- The second, which is BY FAR the one we immediately forget, is to hold our leaders accountable to live up to those competencies.

Things Happen
Every day we're challenged as unexpected circumstances arise. These aren't necessarily 'bad things' but they do require attention. Our attention.

For example...new initiatives are planned and launched...milestones must not only be met, but a significant amount of effort must go into reaching those milestones on schedule...

But somehow, things aren't moving along as they should.

Another example...outdated policies and practices are identified that no longer make sense (think anything your organization has written relative to social media, employer brand strategies, or sharing content)...yet, somehow, no one ever gets around to being courageous enough to challenge the old-school thinking in the compliance department... 

So yet again, things aren't moving along as they should.

Not Unwilling...Just Unable
Back to leadership competencies. We write them. We agonize over the exact words that will represent what our organization values most in our leaders. We roll them out through training and communication plans, and ultimately integrate them into job descriptions.

Why then, after all of that effort, do we allow leaders to avoid living up to them? How is it that so much high quality work can be so quickly squandered when "leaders" appear to choose not to follow through and execute?

I submit that it is for one simple reason. It's not that they don't want to do the hard work. I am convinced more than ever, that many leaders simply can not do it. 

The over-inflated arrogance they carry with them consistently crashes and burns for all to see when projects do not move forward. 

They can not respond to the challenge, and when leaders are unable, they no longer deserve to serve in that role.

Harsh? Honestly friends, I don't think so.

How About You
Take a look at your leaders, and compare their behavior with the leadership competencies you've committed to as an organization. Who consistently misses the mark, despite intervention, support, and 'fresh starts?'

Something to think about.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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New Year, Old Challenge

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward."
- Amelia Earhart

The start of each year is often filled with self-reflection, motivation to create change, or a list of 'goals' for the months ahead.

Perhaps this year, we should all focus on one simple task in our work lives...

...making decisions.

Indecisive leaders are perhaps the most frustrating, ineffective, and candidly useless members of the team. 

They don't add value, because they never make a decision. 

They don't command respect because no one is really sure where they stand on the issues. 

And, they don't instill confidence in their teams because their employees see the fear of failure in their eyes every single day.

How About You
Which leader in your organization do you need to reach out to this year to help make the decisions required in their role? Go to them today. Have an open and honest conversation...and help them realize their full potential this year.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Scared to Death

"Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things."
- Peter Drucker

I feel like I've been a rule-breaker in human resources leadership for many years. Ours is a profession filled with policies, rules, SOPs, laws, regulations, and a hell of a lot of scared HR pros.

Scared to make decisions.
Scared to be bold.
Scared to 'get in trouble.'
Scared to take risks.
Scared to be different.
Scared to put it all on the line.
Scared to try new things.

Friends, it seems like HR is scared to death.

What Is Up With HR?
What is it that holds HR professionals back? What could possibly be so pervasive that nearly an entire profession is mired in writing policies, saying no, avoiding all risks and yet still consider themselves as contributing?

I don't get it.

I've met a growing number of HR pros who are all about making an enormous difference in their organizations. Why isn't everyone in our profession clambering to get to the front of the innovation line?

Enlighten me friends! Who is leading the way in HR?
- in the US
- in Europe
- in India
- in Australia
- in New Zealand
- in China
- in...well...everywhere else!

How About You
When did you make the transition from scared to fired up? What made the difference? Was it an inspirational colleague; a progressive CEO; or maybe a new corporate culture that made it "okay" for you to be what you always knew you could be?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Remember Why You Started

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
- Albert Einstein

Grey, not Black and White
Think back to when you finally broke through and landed that first big job. Whether it was in leadership or not, you soon realized two important things:
- the greater the responsibility you have, the greater the impact you can make
- the greater the responsibility you have, the greater the pressure coming at you from all directions

Finding the balance between the these two things, and not losing your energy and enthusiasm can be a challenge!

The pressure, unclear road ahead, changing dynamics in the workplace, and self-talk inspired depression can often get in the way of why you started down this path in the first place.

Acceptance and Action
There is a fairly straightforward way to deal with these pressures however; one that is often overlooked.

Accept them.

Whether or not something "should be this way" or "should be that way" we must accept the reality that the world is not going to operate exactly the way we think it should.

Accept them.

Feeling frustrated with our colleagues once in a while, wishing we could have avoided a communication failure, or believing we should have removed a poor performer sooner are all normal. Getting ourselves all worked up however, or worse, spending extra time lamenting it all is incredibly counterproductive.

"When we accept the fact that the world of work is never going to be perfect, we free ourselves to remember why we were so excited about work in the first place." 

There are still many opportunities to make a difference. 
There are endless chances to impact another person's life. 
There are no limits to what we can do.

How About You
What is getting in your way as you think about work? Have you allowed yourself to become so frustrated that you spend your days feeling down and depressed? Or, will you decide to accept that we all have our failings, but they should never stand in the way of why we love what we do?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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The Rise of Our Demise

I'm troubled today.

The growing gap between common sense and the world of corporate noise is keeping me up at night. Our list of projects doesn't seem to slow down...that is a good thing. However, the faux expectations that are placed on many in the corporate world simply do not make sense in 2016. 

Work
Why are we working for our organizations?
- To achieve personal career goals at the expense of others?
- To cover our own backside when times get tough?
- To gossip and stir the proverbial pot instead of standing tall and leading?

Um, no.

Leaders get paid to make ethical, positive, and sometimes risky decisions. They are not paid to join cliques and ramble endlessly about why things can not get done. Yet for some reason personal behavior changes when the power suit and bling wanders from conference room to conference room all day long. 

You know I'm right.

Lead for Real
Why is this happening? What could possibly motivate so many bright minds to somehow get off track and slip down this path? Candidly, an embarrassing path!

The answer I believe is simple. The link between being "smart" and being able to actually "lead" is grossly overestimated. 

The end result is that bright people receive opportunities to move into positions with greater and greater responsibility, but are ill-prepared to lead for real.

Committing to leading for real requires much more that talking about it...complaining about others to justify personal failures...or gossiping.

How About You
Take a moment and be honest about your situation. What are the challenges you're facing today? Are you part of a clique...er, I mean close group of colleagues that you complain to about everyone? Do you have the courage to accept that you might have some work to do on your self?

If so, I have no doubt that you will lead for real very soon. Let's get after it!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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The Morning After

I spend a lot of time focusing on action in my work. Building plans, developing complicated and sensitive relationships, and making decisions quickly to keep a long list of priorities moving forward.

Lots of time, energy and words invested in my daily life.

Action
One of the greatest leadership failures in my opinion is when a decision is not made. The never ending quest to ensure success; or rather, lack of mistakes, is a clear signal that the leader is anything but one. 

The ability to make timely decisions is a mandatory competency for leaders today. (It has always been this way!) But sadly, we see many who show their fear of leading with phrases like "review" or "take a closer look at" or "we'll follow up on that" instead of deciding.

Why invest so much time and energy into a plan and not execute it?
Why set expectations with your colleagues and not meet them?

Words
The ultimate test of any leader is their ability to deliver. If you have a terrific plan and never execute it what is your worth as a leader?

Nothing.

If you talk up how great things will be once you set your plans in motion but never actually build those plans let alone launch them, what is your worth as a leader?

Nothing.

If you are the classic all talk no action member of the team what is your worth to the organization?

Absolutely nothing.

How About You
The words we say are powerful. They represent who we are and what we do for our organizations every day. Don't be the one who wakes up the morning after it's all slipped away and wonder what happened.

Don't just talk about the work, get started. It doesn't matter if the plan is perfect. Get started now before a different decision is made about who the organization believes in to lead the way.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Jam Session...HR Style

When I was younger…much younger…I played in several rock bands. We were okay (that's a bit of a stretch), but it was certainly fun. Singing and playing for several dozen to several hundred people was a thrill. As I reflect back now I can see that even if the quality of our music was not going to land us a record deal, we created a tremendous amount of energy simply by being focused on the same goal. Through hours of rehearsals and live performances we were able to get people, and ourselves, fired up.

Why can’t that same jam session feel carry over into the workplace? Specifically, why can’t HR have its own jam session of sorts to create some energy around the employment experience?

Well my friends, I'm here to tell you it can.

That's Too Touchy-Feely

It seems to me that when old school leaders are faced with the reality that they must connect with their teams in a meaningful way (read here => they have no idea how to do it) they default to criticizing those skills as being soft and mushy. In reality the only thing soft and mushy is...well...them.

Getting out and connecting with people, greeting them with a smile and a loud hello, remembering their names, and stopping to chat if the moment is right are all hallmarks of a confident leader that can be trusted. The leader who is simply too busy to make eye contact and come out of their office to show their human side becomes a mystery to the employees. Hence the term "empty suit."

"How in the world are employees expected to trust, follow, and help to implement changes if they've never met or even seen the leaders who are driving the change agenda?"

How About You
As an HR leader do you show your enthusiasm for your work? Can your staff tell? How about the employees that don't report to you, but are part of the larger organization? You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be real.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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