Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Crash and Burn Leadership

Wait, what?

We're leaders. We don't have time for anything ever, let alone ourselves, right? 

We care for others!
We care for our teams!
We care for our CEOs!
We care for the employees!

We...crash and burn. That's what we do.

We crash. 
and. 
burn.

Give Give Give
What is it about being a dedicated leader that makes us all feel like we're supposed to work ourselves into oblivion? I mean, seriously...sometimes over the years I've pushed myself beyond what would be a reasonable limit.

And for what? How many of us were recognized for arriving at 6:00am everyday? I know the answer.

None of us.

But, wait a minute. Those early hours, late nights, and weekends diving into that task list paid off for us! We were on top of our workload...connected with everybody...and executed on time, every time.

But at what cost?

Self Care is Beast Mode
For those of you that believe self-care is a soft cop out I have news for you.

"There is no glory in pushing yourself so hard 
chasing an imagined super-hero image 
that you have nothing left to give. 
You've simply failed."

The real "A-players" of leadership focus on a lot more than their Inbox and task list. Here are a few things that make it to the top of their priority list:
- spending time listening to the employees
- exercising
- intentionally slowing down
- reading
- eating (reasonably) healthy
- meditating or praying
- networking for the sake of connecting, not for pure professional gain
- reading (a real book or a digital one)
- taking time off

...and you can continue to add to the list...


How About You
Do you matter enough to your organization, your team, your family and to yourself to go all beasty with your own self-care? It's not going soft...it's actually stepping up in a profound and impactful way.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Thursday, November 15, 2018

The Great Unsaid

"Oh, yes...he has always acted that way. It's just part of life here."

"She does that all the time...her team has learned to work around her."

"When he gets in one of his moods, look out!"

"She's always rude and interrupts..yet we hold everyone else accountable for that."

All Quiet on the Corporate Front
We've all experienced this bizarre phenomenon. Leaders are allowed to behave poorly, yet we're fast as lightning to hammer employees who act the same way.

What holds us back from speaking up? Do we actually believe our career path will be compromised by leading? Could we be ostracized from our peer group for addressing the very public skeleton in our shared corporate closet? 

"It is perhaps the greatest failure of leadership...that is... to passionately espouse the values of the organization, and fail so miserably to hold it's leaders to that standard."

Speak Up or Fail
Consider what happens to the front line employees when leaders are allowed to behave like fools:
- morale tumbles
- engagement evaporates
- turnover rises
- revenue dwindles

Why would we ever wish for these things to happen to our organizations? Yet, when we remain silent on leadership behavior, we are stating quite loudly that we WANT these terrible things to happen. 

There is no in-between stance...if you do not speak up and coach, counsel, or discipline poor leadership behavior, you are in fact endorsing a dark and painful course for your company.

How About You
I don't even have to ask...you already have the name of the person in your head that fits this post. So, what will you do the next time they 'do their thing?" Perhaps stare at your shoes and hope they stop talking; or, have a very direct, professional, and purposeful discussion with them?

I'd love to hear from you.


No Excuses.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Influencer

What comes to mind when you hear the term influencer? Is it a prolific blogger or motivational speaker? Perhaps it's a celebrity or someone 'larger than life?' Maybe it's someone with a ba-zillion followers on a social channel?

While those labels have merit, they are far from what I now believe a true influencer actually is.

You Are Bigger Than the Internet
I'm not even sure I was aware of the term 'influencer' before the age of the Internet and social media. But I had important influencers in my life ranging from family members and teachers, to college professors and leaders in the workplace.

They made a tremendous impact on my life, and no one had even heard of something called a tweet yet.

You Are More Than Your Job
As I moved into formal leadership roles and later senior management positions, the impact of my own influence started to become clear. Not only did I have 'automatic influence' simply because of my authority level, I found that I had the ability to make a difference personally with my colleagues and team members.

That is powerful!

When influence becomes a responsibility instead of a chase for followers, one's mindset begins to shift. 


How About You
Consider the individual moments in your life...with family, friends, colleagues and peers. Those little encounters, private coaching moments, shared insights and bold decisions are what really define being an 'influencer.'

What do you think?

I'd love to hear from you.


No Excuses.

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