My first real job out of college was at the Covey Leadership Center.  The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People was just beginning to be a worldwide sensation. Truthfully, when I first started working at the Center I was a bit skeptical of Stephen Covey.  Did he really walk the talk? Was he really as wise as his public persona suggested?

Recently a client asked me about my experiences at the Covey Leadership Center.  During that conversation I realized that I had learned so much from Stephen, teachings that went above and beyond those found in the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People.  I would like to share those lessons with you.

1. Believe In Yourself And Persevere

What you might not know about the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is that few people embraced the idea when it was in its early stages. Some colleagues even disparaged the concept. But Stephen knew he had something important and he needed to get it out there in the world.  As legend has it he took a second mortgage on his house to invest in the book.  Even if the mortgage story is apocryphal, we know he believed in Seven Habits so much he risked a great deal even in the face of adversity.  He kept with it, refined the concepts, and as they say the rest is history.

2. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

Stephen the leader and educator was serious about his material and tough on himself.  He had a deep-seated sense of purpose and spoke with gravitas about the Seven Habits work.  But Stephen the man was fun, easy going and humble.  He was the first to downplay his brilliance and tell you that he did not create anything new. (Although of course his brilliance was how he put it together and made it accessible.)

A story from Stephen’s home life circulated the Center while I was there, and it really struck me.  Apparently when one of his grandkids smeared peanut butter on his head at the dining table–instead of getting uptight about it–Stephen added some jelly and a slice of bread.

At the office we younger employees would sometimes compete to see who could do the best Stephen impression. One day he walked in on one of these contests. Instead of getting angry he insisted we keep going and that he would help rank the performances. Needless to say our performances were a bit more subdued after that.  But this was an amazing lesson to me to stay humble and maintain the ability to laugh at yourself.  Do not take yourself too seriously no matter how big or important you–or others–think you are.

3. Make It About Other People

I find it alienating when certain leaders, speakers and consultants these days make it all about themselves. As individuals and organizations it’s as though we can’t get enough of celebrity or manufactured gurus or rockstars. Ours is the society that created the “selfie stick”, after all.  But I still believe that real leadership is about service and humility.

I was in the audience once when Stephen got a standing ovation after a speech.  He really rocked it.  Off stage he seemed a bit annoyed and pensive.  When someone asked him about it he said that he thought he did a bad job.  In an effort to contradict that assessment, someone pointed out that he got a standing ovation. He gently said, “All that means is that I made it too much about me and not about them.” Wow, that was powerful to me.  To this day I strive to make my work about others. One of my favorite leadership quotes is from Zander and Zander’s Art of Possibility which is: “Leaders make other people powerful.”

4. Take Time to Connect to Everyone

At times, Stephen seemed larger than life. Back then he was the guru of gurus.  Yet he would always stay and talk to people after presentations and take time with anyone during breaks if possible.  Usually it was his personal team that would rush him away after an extended period of time visiting with audience members because he literally needed to catch a flight.  I saw him interact with all levels of people at his company. He knew that everyone had a story and everyone had something to offer.

Even when he didn’t really have the time to spare he was always patient and kind.  I can remember one time in particular when I grilled him about the origins of a concept in the Seven Habits.  Despite being on his way to a meeting he stopped to explain the genesis of the concept. He did not just make time for the “important” people.  In this way Stephen sent the message that we were all important.

5. Love is a Verb

Seven Habits classes were anchored by Stephen’s cornerstone videos.  All of the teachings from those videos are powerful.  But the one that has had the greatest impact and has served me the most was this: Stephen shared a story of how an audience member at one of his presentations privately confessed that he and his wife were having marital problems.  Stephen remarked “Love her.” The man said that although he wanted to stay together for the kids, the spark had gone.  To which Stephen responded “Love her.” The man insisted that Stephen was not really tracking with the situation.

Stephen explained that love is not a noun but a verb.  Love is action, service and caring.  Love the noun is born out of love the verb. If you want the feeling of love, produce it by loving the person.  He suggested one reason a mother loves her newborn immediately after delivery is because that mother has sacrificed and nurtured the baby for nine months.  This is a lesson that is so near and dear to me that it guides both my personal and professional life. Love is a verb.

6. Depth and Authenticity Ultimately Prevail

Stephen would mesmerize crowds when he spoke.  The audience would hang on every word.  But stepping back you would notice that Stephen Covey was not actually a superstar speaker nor overly charismatic. He would break many speaking rules. Sometimes he would pull out chapstick in the middle of a presentation in front of thousands of people and apply it to his chapped lips without really knowing it.  And yet he moved people.

We live in a world of ersatz personalities that entertain for a moment then fade away.  But Stephen and his content was so deep and authentic that his legacy is still strong today and the Seven Habits is still one of the most-read and recommended business books of all time.

7. As a Leader, People Are Always Watching You

I have this saying I like to share with clients: “You leave a legacy every day whether you realize it or not.”  Whether it is good, bad or in-between, you are leaving your legacy every day.  As a leader everyone is watching and taking their cues from you.  For example, when I was starting my career at Covey Leadership Center I would pay close attention to Stephen.

I wanted to know if he was the real deal. I wanted to be sure he was walking the talk.  And thankfully, Stephen was congruent with his message.  You are watched everyday by your employees.  And they rarely miss a beat.  (And trust me, even if they miss something the company grapevine will keep them apprised of your actions.)  Employees want to know if the leader is worth it. Worth the best they can give.  If they think they can trust you and that you are looking out for their best interests they most certainly will give their all.

When Stephen died in 2012 he left a hole in many people’s lives, including my own. Yes, he really walked the talk.  Today I still use all the principles from The Seven habits of Highly Effective People as well as the lessons I’ve shared in this article.  They are foundational to everything I do with business and in life as well.

If you are a manager who struggles with giving constructive feedback, I can almost guarantee you are making these mistakes. And if you continually fail to deliver direct and effective feedback, you are going to find out–if you haven’t already–that the consequences are time-consuming, expensive and even detrimental to your career and reputation as a manager.  Of course, it is crucial to deliver praise for a job well done, but for the scope of this article we will focus specifically on constructive feedback.

You’ve seen all different styles from other managers.  You know: the hard-ass, the cheerleader and perhaps worst of all, the manager who hopes by some miracle the problem behavior will go away on its own. But giving effective feedback is a core responsibility of any manager.  Being good at it is a “must-have” and not a “nice-to-have”.

So forget about trial and error. Instead, learn from my mistakes and successes.  Save yourself a lot of time, grief and frustration. Become a better manager who can deliver effective constructive feedback.

Mistake #1: Thinking the Feedback Conversation is a Negative Thing

If you think this conversation is negative by nature it will color how you deliver it.  The receiver will sense this and be more likely to receive it negatively.  Instead, embrace the idea that “Feedback is a Gift”.    I can’t stress this enough: the purpose of feedback is to help people get better.  The only time feedback can be considered negative if it is given too late to make a difference or if it is given with the intent to harm.  So it is critical to reframe your mindset and realize that you are serving the other person by giving them feedback. This is a positive conversation even if it seems difficult.

Mistake #2: Hoping the Problem will Fix Itself

I made this mistake more than once when I was starting out. So let me spare you the pain. Instead of hoping the person will magically fix themselves it is your responsibility as a manager to take charge and do your job. Take a simple but powerful lesson from the Andy Griffin Show: Nip It in the Bud.  Have the performance conversation as soon as you see that someone is off the mark.  Waiting only implies that what they are doing is good work and it will be harder to unravel as times goes by.  You’ll see much better results.  Every manager I know who hopes things will get better on their own ends up paying for it sooner or later.

Mistake #3: Not Giving Feedback As close the Event As Possible 

Too many managers give feedback so far after the behavior or event in question that the conversation loses its efficacy.  Behavioral Science teaches us that feedback given immediately following the action is by far the most effective.  If you give someone feedback on something they did a week or two ago, they will have a hard time even remembering what happened. Most managers are very busy themselves, but you must prioritize having the performance conversation in a timely fashion. Do not miss the window of opportunity.

Mistake #4: Not Being Specific About What Good Performance Looks Like 

If a direct report continues to underperform when you feel that you have given timely feedback, then you have probably not been specific enough. Next time, do not assume that your report knows what high performance looks like.  Be painfully clear on what a good job would look like and see if you don’t get better results.  It is your responsibility as a manager to communicate clear expectations.  Ambiguity around objectives is a recipe for poor performance.  By being specific you give your employee the best chance of reaching that goal.  Know that it is your obligation to communicate what success looks like!

Mistake #5: Flinching or Backing Away from the Message 

This is a moment of truth for a manager.  They have delivered specific and timely feedback.  But the employee seems hurt, burnt or even angry.  At this point it is critical to hold your ground. Not in a punitive way but in a way that communicates you believe everything you just delivered.  And that you believe feedback is a gift–remember Mistake #1?  Unfortunately most managers sense the emotion of the employee and flinch.  They back off the message.  Feeling sorry for the person or trying to soften the blow by blaming other things going on in the company is not compassion.    When a manager does this the power of the feedback is lost forever.  If your feedback was sincere and in the spirit of helping the person succeed, you must stand your ground.  Ultimately it is the most generous thing you can do.

Mistake #6: Not Setting Up a Follow Up 

This happens frequently.  It is poor leadership to walk away from a feedback conversation without having scheduled a follow-up.  Depending on the importance, risk and complexity of the problem, it is imperative to set up a time to meet again with the employee to track their progress.  If the issue is critical to the team it may even be necessary to check-in on a daily basis until the performance is up to standard.  If the issue is a slight modification it may be a weekly check-in.  Either way you must set up the follow through. Do not let the check-in be by default after the situation has gotten worse and you are notified by someone else.  Which leads us to…

Mistake #7: Forgetting Accountability

I’ve saved the best for last. That is because far too often accountability is left out of the feedback conversation.  This renders the feedback conversation impotent.  This mistake happens because the manager assumes that accountability is implied or so obvious that it does not have to be explicitly discussed.  Wrong!    Without accountability feedback has no teeth.  So discuss the natural consequences with the employee either if they bring their performance up or if they fail to improve.  At the next follow up reflect what you are seeing.  If it is improvement be sure to share that to reinforce the behavior.  And if there is no or little improvement be ready to share this as well and have further discussions about how to get things on track.  And remember to discuss the natural consequences if they do not get back on track.

As a manager, giving performance feedback on small and big things is a core responsibility.  Remember that giving feedback–both praise and constructive–is a good thing as the purpose of it is to help the employee succeed and be great.  Think about the times in your life when you had a great boss, coach or teacher who was both supportive and firm on your performance.  He or she pushed you to be even better than you thought you could be.  You now have the opportunity to do the same for your direct reports.

Give yourself a pat on the back for paying attention to this article. Now that you know the top seven mistakes and how to avoid them, you will be well on your way to getting the best out of your employees (and yourself).  So take this newfound knowledge and confidence and start delivering effective performance feedback today!

Being a CEO or any senior executive can be a very lonely job.  You often have the weight of the world on your shoulders and you are constantly navigating the unknown. People treat you differently and sometimes this is nice and sometimes you just wonder if they are hiding the truth.  You and a select few hold secrets that you really shouldn’t even tell your spouse. This can weigh heavily on executives.

And then you have to realize that this is part of the territory.  This is why you’re in charge and get paid the big bucks. Yet too many CEOs these days want to enjoy the benefits of the position while offloading the not-so-pleasant stuff.  Sometimes CEOs may do this unintentionally.

In this article I share some realities that every CEO should face and embrace in order to radically improve their leadership.  Easy?  No.  Important?  Very.

1. Get Out of Your Routine and Get Back into the Business–Stop Pretending!

A CEO called me in to perform a diagnostic of the sales process in his organization.

I asked if he could describe to me what the sales process and conversations looked like. What he described was an educated guess and fairly convincing if you were not paying close attention.  He drew conclusions from experience leading sales many years ago and from what he learned of sales at MBA school.  He prescribed solutions that made it clear that he had not been on a sales call in a long time and was disconnected from what was happening out there.

The truth was that the sales landscape has evolved for a variety of reasons including changes in the market, technology and best practices. And as you know, business is changing faster than ever before.

Yes, it’s imperative that CEOs trust aspects of the business to the people that were hired to do the job.   In fact I spend a lot of time working with CEOs on letting go of micromanagement so they can focus on strategy. But this is not about living in the details.  It is about ensuring you have a sense of what you know and do not know and being honest about that.

To avoid becoming disconnected like the CEO in the story, remember to walk around the warehouse, spend quality time with those helping to run the business on the daily, or consider observing a sales call to stay sharp and grounded in reality.  Keep yourself honest.

2. Actively Demand Feedback and Leverage It

Reality Check Time: if you are an executive you are likely not getting enough or accurate feedback.  Are you actively requesting unfiltered feedback? Moreover, do you act on the feedback in order to combat the sense of futility that may prevent employees from providing feedback in the first place?

I often tell executives that you know you have made it when employees laugh at your jokes when they are not remotely funny.  Most of the people you oversee are probably way too intimidated to share their take on things. This may not necessarily be your fault but it is your responsibility to meet them more than halfway.

I have seen this throughout my career as a consultant, executive coach, and an employee myself.  I will interview people about how the CEO could be more effective and they have legitimate and constructive commentary.  But when I ask if they have ever shared this with the CEO they sheepishly say no.  They are either scared of some form of retribution or they are apathetic because they don’t believe it will make a difference.

Great leaders actively request feedback from their direct reports, coaches, other CEOs or really anywhere they can get it.  One fantastic CEO I used to coach made it a condition of employment to give her honest feedback.  Do not forget that most people who give feedback give it with good intentions.  It is a gift—even for an executive.  The feedback might be right on the mark or simply another unique perspective that paints a more complete picture of reality.  Either way it is valuable to you. As a leader you need to reach out and get this feedback.  In so doing, you will get information that will improve your performance and you will also gain more trust and loyalty from your people because they will admire you for taking on this exercise.  You will also model a great feedback culture, which is extremely valuable.

How you receive the feedback is of critical importance.  When someone takes you up on your request and is brave enough to speak up to the big boss, they have really put themselves out there.  This is the crux.  If you are open to the feedback you will create a long-term feedback loop that will serve you well. If, however, you are defensive, rationalize your behavior or get angry, you will have just cut off feedback from this person permanently. And probably from a number of others as they inevitably hear about the episode.

By hearing feedback you are not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with it, you are simply taking it in as a data point.  Be sure that you really understand the feedback and what might be behind it by asking additional questions for clarity and nuance. This will not only ensure you get the most out of the information, it also communicates that you are genuinely interested in the feedback and open to more.

The other key to this is that you sit and reflect on the feedback.  Take it for what it is–no more, no less–and make the appropriate adjustments. Remember that people’s perception is their reality so the changes you may need to make might be managing expectations or perceptions.  Or there may be something you are doing that is limiting your effectiveness as a leader.  If this is the case, make the change.  Often these changes are simple and can be fixed relatively quickly.  Very rarely do these changes require deep psychological reframing and behavior modification. So please try to enjoy the feedback as it only makes your learning curve steep and your leadership more effective.

As a CEO, be aware of these pitfalls:

• By default, people will be afraid to give you feedback
• Root out the brown nosers. When someone kisses up to you, they are almost certainly withholding important information about what’s going on in the business, as well as information about your effectiveness
• Do not “hold court” in a meeting! Holding court means you show up to enjoy the sense of being in charge and doling out direction, telling stories and superficially getting things on track.  Back off and allow room for your team to tell you if the emperor is naked or if the company is on fire.
• You may not be as beloved as you think or hope. Test to see if people are laughing at your bad jokes by telling one and observing the reaction.
• Do not mistake fear for respect. Respect for your role and for you as a person is appropriate.  But scaring people to get things done is not sustainable or effective in the long run.

3. Overcome the Fear of Being Exposed

Deep down, most CEOs and executives have experienced the feeling that they might be imposters not fully equipped for their role. They worry that sooner or later they will be exposed as frauds.

Of course most people feel a version of this at certain points in their lives.  And not only is this normal, in the right dosage it is a good thing.  It means that you have respect for your job and serves to keep you on your toes. Insecurity is a part of the human construct and like most things in life it is what you do with it that makes all the difference. However, when this feeling is overpowering it can only lead to bad leadership.  There are essentially two ways to take on the challenge of the fear of being exposed.

The first way, and the poor way, it to work very hard to deny, bury or rage against your insecurity.  This manifests in a variety of ways. The worst is when leaders go on the offensive, using their power to impugn and intimidate their employees so to keep them at a safe distance.  Otherwise it manifests as detachment, playing it close to the chest or deflection—all of which are ineffective approaches.  In all cases it kills the learning curve and poor results follow.

The second, more effective way to deal with the fear of being exposed is to:

• Acknowledge that this is a normal part of being a human–everyone at one time or another wonders if they have what it takes
• Keep this fear in its place and use it to your advantage by focusing on the gravity and respect for the role you hold and fueling your learning and development
• Let go of the idea (probably self-imposed) that you have to know everything and be right about everything. You will not lose face by admitting you were wrong or do not have all the solutions. In fact people will respect you more and will be able to contribute more if you do this. (And if you pretend you know everything, your reports will make fun of you behind your back.)
• Laugh at yourself and do not take yourself too seriously—take your job seriously but not yourself
• Take on the challenge of self-awareness and self-mastery
• Always be learning

————

Practice these three things and your leadership effectiveness will improve dramatically. Even if they seem obvious, reflect on them in the context of your own actions and behaviors.  As the saying goes: common sense is not always commonly practiced.  You owe it to yourself and those that you lead to be the best leader you can be.  Stay tuned for more tips like these in future articles here.

I hope you’ll pass this along to any CEO or leader whom you think could benefit from these three tips. Please provide feedback in the comments about how this may–or may not–have worked for you.

Companies  have to up their game in terms of recruiting if they want to be effective and land the best out there.  Here are a few actions that can have significant impact:

1. Job Descriptions

I am coaching a top-level executive right now as he prepares to switch jobs.  He always comments how poorly written the job descriptions he sees when reviewing possible positions.  And this is true in most cases.  The majority of job descriptions have been recycled so much they all appear the same and quite frankly are outdated as well.  Plus they usually aren’t written in a way that inspires passion. You can either do a full rewrite to the standard job description or add an addendum that speaks the very essence and excitement of the job.

2. Evaluate Your Recruiting Process

Another missed opportunity is the ability of organizations to really evaluate the recruiting process so that it is user friendly and enticing to potential candidates.  This means that it should be fluid and have points of value-add throughout the process unique to the company.  Equally important is the positive attitude and helpfulness the HR professional shows throughout the process. Remember, particularly in the beginning of the process, the HR person is the face of the company to the recruit.  I have had clients tell me that they had cut of conversations with organizations just because the HR recruiter was either so unprofessional or just plain lackluster.

3. Good Recruiting = Good Selling

Internal recruiters and hiring managers really need to have an intimate knowledge of the company brand and must be able to exude the brand with excitement when working with potential job candidates.  Do not forget to leverage the unique reputation of the company and reinforce that message throughout the recruiting process.

4. Networking for Recruiters

Just as I tell my coaching clients in job transition that the best jobs are usually found through their networking efforts so this is true for finding the best talent.  Organizations needs to be active in a variety of networking groups.  By doing this, you will have created informal access to great candidates and contacts.  And this expands to the use of networking tools such as the ever increasing importance of Linked-in.  The days of simply posting a job are long gone.

If organizations start going after great talent after the economy ramps up it will be too late.

Look at the companies who are moving forward, such as Google with its release of Plus. Great companies control their own destiny.  And yes they might stub their toe now and then but they succeed even when things do not go well by “failing forward” meaning that not only do they learn from their mistakes but their mistakes come out of a proactive effort to improve things beyond the status quo.

I am not advocating boldness for the sake of being bold or reckless, but I am saying that good companies have aggressively surveyed and scanned the environment and are re-inventing themselves to deliver an appropriate response.  And these are the companies who have the head start and will lead in the future.

Below are seven bad but tempting approaches to avoid when deciding on strategic direction.  The thing that all of these approaches have in common is that they give the appearance and sense of action but are really non-committal and passive in nature. If you are in a “wait and see” mentality you are no longer in the game; you are watching from the sidelines.

1-Being Faux Opportunistic- Being opportunistic is a good thing. But you have to be opportunistic within your strategy and in a proactive way.  Just saying “we should be opportunistic” as a strategy is saying very little if there are no boundaries or active searching in place.   You can only get there by having clear plan that allows you to adjust it and take advantage of unanticipated opportunities.  Being opportunistic does not mean we wait until an opportunity comes to us and we will grab it. It means putting things in motion, making things happen and being in the right place at the right time to leverage good circumstances.

2- Dabbling- When it comes to strategy, companies must resist the temptation to only “dabble.”  Dabbling is weak and only in an extreme exception can be productive.  If you want to try out something you may as well commit to it.  Of course you still need to plan, monitor, evaluate success and adjust, but give it a real try.  Without strong intention you are better not even attempting it.

3- Avoid answering the hard questions unlit a later time. I have been around too many executive teams these days that are tempted to keep deferring the real tough questions until later.  In looking back, many executives will tell you that they responded slower than they should have to the economic turndown hoping that it would end soon or not be as harsh as it was looking to be.  The tendency in this scenario is either denial or a form of analysis paralysis, always requiring endless discussion before taking a stand. Take on the tough questions, as they do not magically go away. Remember, hope is not a strategy.

4- Solving non-critical problems. This is another wrong turn.  I have seen executives and executive teams get all excited and hyped up solving problems that are peripheral to the real challenges of a company.  This scenario gives the sense that you are doing something of value when there is little payoff — not to mention the fact that you just wasted a good deal of time and energy.

5- Going Nostalgic- referring to, explaining, or defending the past. By nature great companies are always looking forward.  They appreciate and are rooted in the past, focus on the moment but look forward particularly when it comes to strategy.  There is little gained in direction setting when time is wasted referring to, explaining, blaming or defending the past.  This usually comes out when someone gets a little defensive about prior decisions. You should learn from and build off the past but the past shouldn’t limit the way you analyze the future.

6- Providing critique instead of providing solutions. As you know this is a pet peeve of mine, executives thinking that their greatest contribution to the company is being critical of ideas without proposing any solutions.  And what can often happen in a strategy session is that this approach becomes a communal experience ending in a feeding frenzy of sorts. Beyond the critique of solutions being offered be prepared to spend more time in creating the best way forward.

7-Embracing designed vagueness. This means throwing out impressive sounding platitudes without the detail or clear direction to make them meaningful.  For example I will often hear that the company should have ‘managed growth” because growth at all costs is bad and that no growth is bad.  Sounds great on the surface — and hard to argue with — but what direction does that statement really provide? So do not stop at platitudes: explore and define the actual ideas underneath.

So how do you avoid the approaches above?  Often by just putting them out there you take away their power and willingness of people to utilize them. Some organizations will identify these traps and call their peers out on them when any of the approaches are being employed—sometimes with gentle words and sometimes with a crumpled piece of paper.

It is imperative to choose a direction because by choosing a direction you now have an actual course to correct.  Your direction should be clear and strong but at the same time not inflexible or untouchable.  By avoiding the above temptations a direction that is intentional and deliberate can guide your company, even in the toughest times.

Focus on Essential Business Performance and Roll with the Rest

It is amazing to see so many executives focused on the non-essential aspects of the business.  Even through the downturn I have observed a resistance to dealing with the real issues. Too many executives are focused on the non-core issues. Others have fallen into the trap of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.

I am sure that part of this came out of the effort to gain a bit more control in a very unstable world and volatile market.  Getting your hands around some minor issues must have provided a level of satisfaction.  But of course this focus is counterfeit

And this trend did not stop at corporate initiatives but spilled over into employee leadership.  Too many executives started to focus on peripheral behavior of employees. Again, it was tempting to become nitpicky instead of bringing a sense of calm and control.  When it comes to your reports and employees, figure out what is non-negotiable (specific performance goals and behavioral expectations) and roll with the other stuff.  Be hard on results not on people or you will lose them.

Increase Employee Motivation by Seeing Them as Brilliant and Good

These have been negative times for many businesses, And it is easy to let this negativity spread. But leaders are expected to set the right tone and be positive, especially through tough times.  This is an essential aspect of what it means to be a leader.  Be careful not to let your anxiety spill over into how you view your employees.

The temptation here is to see your employees as things, cogs in the machine to be manipulated to meet the business goals.  Do this and you will force them to abandon you.  If you see them this way they will sense this both at the conscious and subconscious levels.  A significant part of getting the best out of your employees is to see them as brilliant.  Employees have this way of stepping up to meet your expectations.  If you see them as a pain or as a nuisance far less important than everything else there will be a self-fulfilling prophesy in play.  But if you see them as great and as part of the solution there is a much better chance that they will live up to that expectation.

Get Excited about your Business Strategy and the Future

If you as a leader are not excited about the future how will anybody else be excited? Do not fall into the trap of running your business as an academic exercise.  If  only it were as easy as the business simulations that you participated in at business school. Your excitement and hope for the future will help get the positive energy flowing again and will supply the fuel for your employees to push through tough times.

Your business is not a mechanized contraption. It  is made up of people, people who can bring the “x-factor” to overcome obstacles and innovate your organization to new success.  Today, visible leadership is as important as ever.  And please do not think enthusiasm is just about being a cheerleader.  You should express your optimism in your own style. It’s not about faking it; it’s about finding your authentic expression of optimism and enthusiasm.

Focus on the core, get the best out of your people by expecting the best, and get the whole organization excited about the future by being excited yourself.

For many years now I have been a big proponent of organizational Mission Statements and yet at this moment I find myself telling some of my clients to

“Stop it already with the Mission Statements!”

Seriously, the mission statement is something that I have felt so strong about for many years, and now I am telling companies to stop doing it.

Why, you might ask.  Well, it is not so much that that Mission Statements no longer have an important purpose because they do; but it is that their purpose, like so many things in business, has been corrupted, diluted, and adulterated. Companies are wasting way too much time developing anything but a real Mission Statement

Writing a Real Corporate Mission Statement

A real mission statement is something that is supposed to be meaningful, an anchor and standard by which to make decisions, run the business and engender engagement.  But now most mission statements mean very little. In fact, some of the worst companies out there have the most beautiful, poetic and inspirational mission statements around.  This is because their mission writing exercise had little to do with  identifying and articulating what the company is at its best.  It rather was an exercise in prose to make something that sounded good to check it off the list.

A real mission statement comes from deep inside the collective of the organization.  It should be the real purpose and driver of why the organization exists.  But through the years instead of reaching deep down for mission creation, organizations find themselves in endless and mindless wordsmithery, arguing semantics and trying to make something sound great instead of creating something meaningful and valuable.

Too often the mission statement is written to sound good to the external market instead of becoming the anchor and reason of the organization’s existence.  Then add a few people from the Marketing department and it becomes nothing more than a new tagline for the company.  At that point it has degraded into an ad campaign, as opposed to something that shapes the company.

Testing for an Effective Mission Statement

The efficacy of the Mission Statement is not measured by whether it is inscribed in a gold plaque with fancy backlighting posted in the main lobby of the corporate office. Or if it each employee has memorized it according to a company mandate.  The real test is if it is influencing employees’ action every day, anchoring decisions large and small.  Too many companies make their mission statement after weeks of mind-numbing work and then never refer to it again.  At best, it is taken out once a year at the strategic planning meeting for a quick review.  If this is the case, the company should just stop pretending that they have an authentic mission.

The check-points for an effective Mission Statement are these questions:

1. Does it clearly and explicitly express the purpose of the organization?
2. Does it call employees at all levels to action? (in how they work and in the decisions they make)
3. Is the Mission Statement used as the backbone to make strategic choices?
4. Was it made to ‘impress’ the outside world or it is raw and bold, rallying the people inside the company to make sure it is actualized?
5. Are your employees motivated and willing to commit to it?

And the 6th checkpoint might be: “Is it original and bold?”  This is because every company now has the terms (in one way or the other) “best in class,” “employer of choice” etc. in their mission statement. That is SNORING-BORING and non-differentiating. You will know when your mission statement is right when you connect to it at a visceral level.

That is all well and good and makes a lot of sense and is even inspirational. But the challenge with any presentation like this is how to make it reality.  The workplace is not a neat and tidy place nor is it always inhabited by people with pure motives or high maturity.  All those cool diagrams on the whiteboard and bullet points may sound so lovely and truly resonate with us but life is not a safe white board or auditorium.  This however does not negate any of what is being said.  The key then is to take what is being presented and make it work for you as a leader.

Step one is to always be clear on the goals.  Without this foundational step, things become unraveled and turn to chaos.  As a leader, be sure to be clear on the standard in excruciatingly vivid detail.  Too many leaders are more interested in keeping control and managing the people towards results when in fact it is much better to manage the results and lead the people.  But this is scary to the lesser manager because in the end they know the buck stops with them.

The rule then to unleash the autonomy, challenge, mastery and the ability to make a contribution for your employees is to be crystal clear what the results are and how those results are non-negotiable.  And you as a leader in turn must let go, go with the flow or even laugh at all the rest.

This is related to my maxim that “All leaders must be in control without being controlling.”

You do not want to waste time and demotivate your employees on the ticky tack stuff.  Let them be who they are and let them approach things in their own way.  But only and always be uncompromising on the results.

Of course when you go to a well run meeting that has a purpose and stays on that purpose, it feels awesome, empowering and dare I say invigorating.  But today I just want to call out those people who use meetings to defer Decision-Making. I have been observing this more and more over the past years.  Managers will have a meeting on a very important subject and it just does not seem to go anywhere, it just meanders.  Now, I am not talking robust brainstorming or intense discussion, I am talking about meaningless rehash or conversations about non-critical issues for the sake of…I really do not know what.  But it seems that the manager does not want to be decisive and make a decision.  There is such a hesitance these days with so many managers to make a decision and move forward—this is very weak.

And the capper is that these managers will hold meeting under the false pretense of getting everyone’s input or trying to build consensus. (And don’t even get me started on the bastardization of Consensus Building.)  Both of those things are good and important but if you already got them, no need to go back over and over.

So, if you are a leader who might be using meetings to delay decision-making, please stop!  Be honest with yourself about this.  Artificially delaying decision-making creates a whole array of issues including timing issues of original challenge, disengagement of the team, loss of momentum and a backlog of other decisions that you have to make.  Get good as being decisive and learn a variety approaches to decisions-making.

If you are in a meeting that feels like its sole purpose is to be an accomplice in deferring a managerial decision, be bold and help the manager frame the issue, identity a decision-making process, and move forward.  Be comfortable with respectfully asking the purpose of the meeting and about relevant milestones regarding key decisions.

How to balance challenge and skill

Here is a diagram from psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” that illustrates the balance of challenge and skill that make satisfying work satisfying:

Perhaps some of you reading this are horrified that I am ratting you out to your boss. Nope. I’m not suggesting that managers work their employees harder. That’s not the point. If anything, I’d like to see managers team up with workers to identify and create that optimum “flow” state in every workday. It might result in more work; it might result in less. In either case, it will result in good work and satisfied, loyal, healthy employees.

The workflow conversation

The first step is for managers and workers to have a frank conversation about workflow. In order to make this conversation productive, everyone will need to drop the overworked act. You know what I’m talking about: the conversations about how busy and overextended you are. “Busy-busy-busy.” “Crazy day, huh?” “Whew, I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm.” Even if you really are overworked, this conversation makes it feel like good workers are the ones who are stretched beyond their limits. It gets competitive and encourages dishonesty.

Employees who are avoiding this conversation have good reason to be nervous. Companies that are looking to cut jobs may be on the hunt for underworked workers. So how about turning this into an opportunity to shine? “Hey, boss. I can handle more than you are giving me, and I’d actually like the challenge. Can we brainstorm some other projects I can take on?”

Ideas for how to grow as a manager

On a human level, the most important thing is not to let your job turn you into a vortex of stagnation. It is important to continue growing, taking risks and challenging yourself – even if that means cutting into your evening TV viewing.  Here are some ideas:

• Exercise. If your job doesn’t get your heart racing, a good cardio routine will do the trick. You need this sort of thing to stay healthy.
• Adopt a hobby. Take that creative writing course, or voice lessons. Join a chess club. Do something that makes you a more well-rounded, interesting person.
• Get personal with co-workers. Finding things to appreciate about your employees and discovering stuff you have in common, can make the day go by faster.
• Challenge yourself. Find a work-related challenge and go after it. How neat can you get your office in the next two hours? How many people can you sign up for a food drive?
• Consider restructuring. You may be happier converting your job to a part time or work-from-home scenario. If your employer sees the logic of cost-saving that goes with restructuring your job, they may go for it.
• Snap out of it! Most important: Break up your routine, so you can break up your thinking about what is possible and get yourself re-engaged.