Getting to Neutral

He was on the fast track. Brought in to the organization to help turnaround a woefully ineffective department. His arrival was filled with high energy, creative ideas, and a level of brainpower not seen in that department before. Fundamental problems were tackled, poor performers were moved out, and a new team was born. Everything was on the right track.

Until it wasn't anymore.

Being Really Smart is Good

Our specialized world has seen the role of generalists fade into history. Whether we're talking about information technology, engineering, health care, human resources, or a host of other professions, it is rare to see someone who can jump from role to role and not only understand the details, but also create valuable work product. 

When we find leaders that are bright enough to understand the details of a job and have the interpersonal skill set to bring the team along too it's terrific. This combination of brainpower and personality can make all the difference in the life of a team.

Being Unable to Understand Boundaries is Really Bad

We all struggle to work with people who are really bright, yet lack the leadership awareness to understand how crucial interpersonal skills are when leading others. How can this be? Perhaps the most important leadership skill of all is the ability to communicate effectively. So where have we failed the bright minds that can contribute so much, yet end up failing miserably because they can not interact with others? 

Whether they are socializing too closely with their team members, participating in office gossip, or clearly showing who their "favorites" are, these leaders ultimately fail due to their inability to understand how important boundaries are in the workplace.

Should the organization tell new leaders that they aren't supposed to socialize with their direct reports? Is it a secret that playing favorites will ultimately bring down the leader, not the people who aren't on their favorites list? Isn't this obvious?

 

Being Humble is Really Necessary

So how does the leader attempt to salvage an almost impossible situation? The first step is understanding that they are wrong. Simply because they are smart and have a vision of how things are supposed to be means nothing. 

Crossing the line with the team negates the innovative ideas, breakthrough thinking, and opportunities further down the line in their careers. Everything stops until self-awareness kicks in.

The second step, and most difficult of all, is to publicly acknowledge their failings. This is where most leaders bristle at the thought and fall short of the potential for turning their situation around. You see the world loves giving people second chances. We all watch as tearful apologies are aired over and over on television. Why do we watch? Because we get a level of satisfaction from knowing we were right, they were wrong, and now things can get back to normal. Right?

How About You

The long and painful process of recognizing personal failure is not easy to get through. The only real goal is to hope that through a sustained effort of publicly apologizing to the team, truly changing behavior, and improving one's interpersonal skill set that one day that leader will get to a level of neutral with the team. Neutral isn't sexy, but it beats the heck out of failure.

I'd love to hear from you.

  

No Excuses.

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Thoughts Are Mine...No Kidding

"Thoughts are mine."

Ever seen that tag line? I've used it. I've kidded myself that it actually meant something, as if it was some sort of disclaimer that magically separated me from my role when I used social media. Seriously?

Of Course They Are
Consider how odd this phenomenon is...you've set up a social media account, you've populated the profile with a list of your nifty little interests, dropped in a couple of hashtags, and even included your latest pic. Then to top it all off you add the infamous words "thoughts are mine." Really? What does that mean exactly? I used to think that I knew. It meant that I was not speaking on behalf of my employer, I was simply going to use the Internet to blast my views on a variety of topics for all to see...including my organization's employees. Simple. No harm done. It's just me.

It's hard to be a social media rookie.

Of Course You Represent Your Employer
This realization can be viewed as a significant constraint on your personal life. It can cross the line between personal and professional boundaries and severely limit what you can and can not say. It's almost as if....well...

"It's almost as if we're trying to hide something. Why else would there be so much paranoia around a simple tweet or post?"

Leadership Means You're Actually Accountable
Imagine that? Being responsible for what you say and do because you're a leader. Shocking! Now before everyone gets all twisted around on this, I do realize we're all human and are allowed to have our own lives outside of work. I sure as hell do (uh...hockey anyone?) But if any of us believe we are able to live some sort of parallel private life away from all of the responsibility, authority and success we've worked so hard to achieve then we're poorly mistaken.

How About You

Do you have the courage to embrace your role and be mindful when integrating social media into your whole life? Or, are you so worried about a tweet that mentions a great happy hour or a heavy metal song that you're going to stick with posts about accounting principles?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



pic courtesy of simplyzesty

Professional Boundaries Get In The (My) Way

I learned a lot about boundaries in graduate school.  I studied social work which has turned out to be incredibly valuable training in a world based on effective relationships.  In school we talked about not getting too involved, keeping our distance, not telling others what to do, but rather helping people find their own way.

Well…ahem…that doesn’t necessarily translate to real life now does it?

But I Know What To Do

This is really the challenge when it comes to professional boundaries, isn’t it?  We want to jump in and help.  But it’s more than that…we want to solve the other person’s problem.  Now we’re getting somewhere!  Results we can see, feel and experience.  Aren’t we terrific?  Damn right we are.  Except we’re not living that person’s life.  They are.  And that makes the whole thing so much more complicated.

Where Is That Boundary Anyway?

Have you ever said something and immediately wished you could pull those words right back out of the air?  Me too.  Lots of times.  It seems to me that moment of panic comes as we realize we’ve just crossed the proverbial boundary line. 

If only there was some sort of flashing beacon that let me know: Danger, Stupid Moment About to Occur!  But alas, no such tool is available outside of ourselves.  We must rely on personal discipline to recognize when that boundary is approaching.

Think With Your Ears

The strategy that has proven most effective for me is to focus on what I'm hearing as the other person shares their story.  The danger is to jump ahead inside our head and begin preparing our solution for them.  It’s not that we won’t come up with a useful idea that they may in fact try out.  But if we begin formulating a plan before we’ve heard everything that is being shared with us, we risk at a minimum offering advice that is off-base; or worse yet, insulting the person because we don’t fully understand their situation.  Leverage the power of listening in your boundary awareness work.

How About You

Are you going to “help” someone today?  If so, do you plan on being a know-it-all?  Or, will you be the one that takes the time to listen, connect, and leverage the relationship building opportunity at hand and avoid crossing that ever-moving boundary line?

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

pics courtesy of  watiyusuf and wl4j4life