Scrooge - the Leader

This is a pretty obvious choice for the NOT TO DO Leader, don't you think?

Have you seen how Bill Murray not only ignores anything to do with leadership but also with human kindness and dignity.  When the pages of the story are peeled away, the audience then finds that Bill has had not the best upbringing and forray into love, and finds his solace in being who he is....hiding from the person he could be if he could only just forgive and move on.

Sound like anyone you know?  Not only is this a story of leadership in his company, but also personal leadership - taking time to acknowledge how you live your life in the face of others. 

Watching this last week, I noticed a part I hadn't been ready to hear before - when Marley visits the first time, he talks about how he should have lived his life, how he should have seen the need to live for others.

Think about your leadership.  Do you lead for others or for yourself?  Do you have regrets about your leadership  - personal or professional?  If you do, it is not too late to change.  It is never too late. 
Take the next step and spend time with me investigating your leadership - and the potential for what it could be.  Of course, 1 hour - on me...Merry Christmas. 

Complimentary Leadership Vision Discussion

Get OUT of Your Business NOW

OK.  So I need to say this today.  This has been driving me crazy and I need to send a wake-up call out there.

GET OUT OF YOUR BUSINESS NOW!

I mean it.  You need to step outside of your business, stop working IN it all the time and work ON it!
Really, how on earth can you see what is going on, what the future of your business is or  if you are still on track with your mission by staying buried under the day-to-day tasks that really should go to someone else but you keep hanging onto them because no one else will do it like you do it - or so you think!

Can you tell I am frustrated?  I hear over and over again how hard it is to keep businesses moving forward, except there is no thought to actually checking to see the progress of the business.  When I ask how the business is being marketed or if there is a marketing plan I get 'the deer in the headlights' look.  Or, if I ask what the forecast is for the rest of the year, you would think I asked them to fly to the moon

Business needs leaders.  Business teams need leaders.
Innovation and new revenues streams come from leaders and their teams who are not afraid to challenge the status quo; from leaders who are not afraid to invest in themselves and their team to develop new ways of thinking, find new opportunities to leverage the strengths of others - inside their industry or from outside their industry.

Why are you not investing time and money in your own development?  When you develop a new product or service it costs money.  You are the extension (and sometimes, the face and the feet) of your business - why are you stuck IN it and not working ON it and ON yourself?  What is stopping you?  Are you afraid to admit you don't know everything?  Are you worried what people will think of you? Are you too busy (doing what I am  not sure) to take a few minutes to evaluate how you could be a better leader for your business and your team?  Are you afraid to find out that you could do things differently, be challenged, given new perspectives and actually have to change your old ways for new, more productive and exciting possibilities that can make you even more successful?  Now that is a scary thought!  You could actually be more successful if you decided to take action.  When will you decide to tack action for yourself.....and work on you - the best part of your business, the reason why your business exists?!

Sure, it's a rant....and sometimes I just need to get things out.  I see it often, what I have described above, and while I would go to great lengths to ask the same questions of my clients (not in a rant of course), I felt the need to share this here.

Leadership is not easy.  Leadership is action.  Leadership is developing other leaders.  When are you going to take action to develop yourself....and along the way, your business and your team?

Give or Take

Ever been in that position where an opportunity is given and then taken away just as quickly?

You are surprised to be included, puffing up with pride at the thought of the involvement you will have in this project, perhaps even as the lead....and what happens?  The opportunity dissolves right before your eyes for any multitude of reasons - lack of funding, change in priorities, a more seasoned employee is on the team.

What do you do?

...find a way to duplicate the opportunity

....run through it as if you were still in motion so that you can test out your planning and organizational skills

...discuss and see if it can be modified to a smaller version or a test/pilot - this will show your initiative along with your flexibility

...always say thank you for the opportunity and consideration - both mean a lot.

The Sound of Leadership

Do you have a tone?

Does your leader have a tone?
Is there a voice that your mom or dad used to use that would stop you in your tracks?
That's the one I am talking about.
The voice that is condescending, belittling or simply full of annoyance.

How do you handle the leader with this voice?

Well, people are simply blessed with the voices they have been given. They are influenced by their environment - where they grew up, the language and tone used in their homes, their experiences with others....what works or doesn't. So it is not really the voice, but more of the TONE and inflection.

Approaching the person with the 'voice' is not as easy as it seems. Although, the approach is a simple one - 'hey, this is how you said what you said', or 'you said this, this is how I heard it, is that really what you meant?' Let them know ...it's not easy from either end of the conversation but it will set ground rules for how you like to get your communication and you may be pointing out something that needs to be worked on by that individual...and they never knew it because of the fear they have mongered due to their tone.

Here is an exercise....listen to your tone. I have had mine pointed out to me before and while it is not fun, it is a new awareness that I now have that makes how I communicate different now than in the past.

Once you pay attention to your tone, you will automatically change the tone of the other person.

The Big Rollback

The big rollback...not really poor leadership, but could have been.

Morale is at an all time low I am told, due to the economy. This leader is beside themselves trying to figure out how to fix it. They want surveys, 360degree surveys, benchmarks for the industry, roundtable discussions with other industry leaders to see if they are experiencing the same thing. It's sheer madness he says, they cannot get out of the funk.


So, here comes the coach. My first question is....what is your mood? What is your attitude? Are you perpetuating the ' poor me' or are you pushing past it and asking...why not me? What can I do about it? What can I change?

The leader paused for a moment...well, longer than a moment, for which I give him great credit....and then he said..no one has ever asked me that before. No one has challenged me to change my perspective instead of finding excuses for the perspective I have.

I could not tell at the moment if he was happy or grateful for the challenge or not. Time will tell if he picks it up and moves forward with it. By the end of our session he was willing to consider that he could be the game changer by moving forward instead of looking for excuses for everyone.

What could have turned into a complete business debacle ( a poor leadership adventure spiralling out of control) turned into a good coaching session, where my client learned a skill to take back to his team.

Changing perspectives is not easy, sometimes you need the prompt.