Category: Organizational Culture

The WORD for 2021

For several years, I’ve had a practice of choosing a focus word for each year. Sometimes this word resonated deep within me, and other times it was purely practical.  The last several weeks I have been reading, researching, praying, listening, scrolling, and genuinely seeking a clear word for the upcoming year. My word for 2021 is…. wait for it…. RELATIONSHIP!

This word impressed upon me early, but I wasn’t sure it was right. After all, relationship isn’t the strong motivational word one typically associates with a focus word. However, as I ruminated longer and more deeply on the idea of relationship, it was abundantly clear that RELATIONSHIP is definitely an appropriate word for the year 2021. 

Humans are social animals.  We need relationship with other humans.   Unlike wild animals or machines or even artificial intelligence, human beings are actually enhanced by relationship.  We work harder, are more engaged, and are happier when in healthy, strong relationship with those around us. Whether in the workplace, in your personal life, or in your own soul, relationship helps human beings thrive. 

Relationship impacts all areas of our lives for better or worse.  Teams with good working relationships are more productive.  Focus on relationships with the people at work, and you will become a better leader. Families with strong personal relationships are stronger.  Focus on relationships with your spouse, children, parents, or other significant family members, and you will create a bond not easily broken. Author Heather Stillufsen said that walking with a friend can be great therapy. Focus on relationships with your friends and enhance your emotional health. Focus on relationship with your God and find the inner peace that may have been missing from your life.

Regardless of the setting, there are a few guiding principles to enhance any relationship:

Be Gracious – No one is perfect.  Give grace to mistakes.  Allow space for mistakes and misunderstanding.  You will want the same when you make a mistake.

Put in the Work –  Human beings are complex, which means relationships can be complicated.  Take the time and put in the work needed to grow your relationship.

Focus on the Present – Be present when present.  Turn off your phone, stop multi-tasking, pay attention to who is in front of you.  A strong relationship is worth your focus.

My word for 2021 is Relationship.  What’s your word?

The Dangers of Complacent Leadership

Every day, I walk by an ugly green couch in our den.  It’s nearly 20 years old and should have been thrown away years ago.  Nevertheless, it still sits there in our den.  Why? Because my family will not let me get rid of it.   It may no longer be an attractive piece of furniture, but it is the most comfortable couch we own and the perfect place for a Sunday afternoon nap.

As I look at that old, ugly couch, I can’t help but think about how our leadership skills can be a little like that couch.  Sometimes, we have skills that are old and outdated.  We follow ideas that are no longer useful in today’s organizational culture.  Yet, we are reluctant to discard those skills and ideas because they are comfortable.  We know them well, and they fit.  Beware!

Comfort can lead to complacency and complacency can be dangerous to leadership.

Complacency lures us into a sense that everything is fine, making us unaware of pending problems or deficiencies.  Great leaders are incredibly aware of themselves and their teams.  They know their values and are intentional with their actions, proactive rather than reactive. Conscious, purposeful leadership is the opposite of comfortable, complacent leadership.   

Old couches may be comfortable, but old leadership skills are not.  Wake up your leadership with continued development.  Create a leadership library with books on pertinent leadership topics, attend workshops and conferences to understand current leadership development, and build a network of leaders to gather ideas and influence.   You will find that the new can feel just as comfortable as the old.

Naptime is over; wake up and lead!

A View from My Window

There’s a world out there. Open a window, and it’s there.

Robin Williams

It’s May 2020 and unless you have been sleeping under a rock, you know that the world is in the midst of a pandemic that has people both fearful and excited, working from home and working harder than ever, confused.  I told myself I wasn’t going to write about this situation.  There are literally hundreds of articles about crisis management, leading during change, and working with new technologies.  But, I can write about what I know…. I know people and I know leadership.

A few weeks into the stay at home measures, a friend of mine suggested I take a look at a Facebook group called A View from My Window.  The entire social media content consists of pictures taken by people of their current views.  I’ve seen photos of Greek islands, Italian villas, and seaports in Croatia.  My scrolling has given me a view of Texas thunderstorms, tornadoes over the Great Plains, and even hospital rooms from the office of essential medical personnel  It’s been pure enjoyment and respite from the conflicting news reports and confusing data otherwise streaming in the media.

Some of the most interesting pictures are those that focus on a single subject – a beautiful red flower or a solitary tree in a field.  I’ve been thinking about the view from my leadership window.  Do I see the beauty in the individual or am I only looking at the wider angle?  We are called upon to be visionary leaders; however, sometimes the vision can block our view.  Vision is important to leadership, but a focus on the individual is critical to leading.

Do you see the team member whose home feels more like a prison than a workplace?  How about the office clown who is missing his audience?  A team is only as good as its players and players need a coach, especially when our plans have been altered and purpose obstructed.  There are a few things you can do to make sure your view is as clear as your vision.

Look Up – Look up from the reports, budgets and market analysis necessary to organizational success to invest in success of the human capital in front of you.

Look Deep – Look close at the players on your team and see them as individuals not only participants in a greater game.

Look Inside – Look inside and be clear about what you see.  Both vision and view must begin within the leader.

Take a look … what’s the view outside your window?

Manager – Leader – Coach: Who Are You?

The answer is all of the above.  Different situations call for different roles.  Leaders wear many hats and it is your responsibility to determine which hat to wear in each situation.  Let’s take a look at a few things that might help you understand the differences between leadership roles and help you choose your hats.

Manager – the Decision Maker

We’ve all seen the quotes “managers do things right and leaders do the right things” or “managers focus on things and leaders focus on people,” and there are many more just like those. In fact, I have my own take on this idea in my LinkedIn profile (feel free to check it out).  The truth is leaders sometimes manage and managers often lead.  When your team has a problem and needs a quick decision, they need someone who understands the system, has knowledge of the process, and can direct action quickly – a Manager. 

Leader – the Visionary

Leaders are able to see the future and take their teams into that future.  This doesn’t mean leaders must be the most creative or innovative members of their teams.  While creativity and innovation are valuable, the greatest visionary element is curiosity.  Visionary leaders ask questions like what is next? What could we do better?  They also have the innate ability to lead their teams in finding answers to those questions.

Coach – the Mentor

As the wife of a football coach, I know how much coaches pour into their players.  In an organizational setting, leaders serve as coaches to individual members of their teams, encouraging them to grow personally and professionally.  The coaching process leads individual team members into the discovery of their own strengths and guides them toward victory – achievement of their goals.

Leading people requires a variety of leadership skills with the ability to discern which skills are needed in different situations. Be bold, be brave, and step into those situations with skill and passion.  Remember, your people are counting on you.

“Leadership is not a position or title, it is an action and example.” Donald McGannon

The Danger of the Leadership Plateau

There are no limits.  There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.  

Bruce Lee

The great leadership expert Bruce Lee was absolutely right – you must not stay in the plateau places.  The greatest danger of the plateau is that it simply feels so comfortable.   In fact, it feels so comfortable you may not even realize you have plateaued.  Leadership plateaus let us move into autopilot and relax into familiar patterns.  Moving from one situation to another, one decision to another, one person to another without the need to think about the next step.  Comfort isn’t wrong, and every leader needs a chance to rest into their leadership on occasion.  But remaining on a leadership plateau will never move you forward in leadership; nor does it provide the engaged leadership needed by those being led.

There are four things leaders must do when facing a leadership plateau:

EXAMINE yourself and your leadership – Recent research revealed that 86% of senior leaders found making time and space for reflection critical to their leadership success[1].  Intentionally setting aside time to reflect on leadership decisions creates better decision makers.  Examining important interactions and critical conversations changes the way we lead people.  Considering future leadership roles provides direction to leadership growth and development.  Personal examination increases understanding of one’s leadership strengths and characteristics, allowing leaders to lean into those strengths while working on areas needing growth.

EXPAND your network of professional relationships – Successful leaders maintain a broad network of professional relationships to enhance their leadership skills.  By intentionally building relationships with a variety of people, leaders gather experience and learning that is strategically designed to benefit their leadership growth. By sharing information and experiences, individuals learn from each other and develop personally and professionally.  If you find yourself regularly seeking leadership advice and coaching from the same person or group, you may want to expand your professional network.  Developing strategic relationships is important to continued leadership growth and prevents stagnation.

EXPLORE new opportunities to stretch your leadership – Complacency is the enemy of growth.  When we settle for what we know, we fail to grow.  Seeking stretch opportunities requires leaders to leave their comfort zone and risk failure.  This is scary as hell.  However, accepting these stretch opportunities develops new skills and insights that often cannot be learned in any other context.  An added benefit is that stretch assignments spark new excitement and interest in our leadership roles and create leaders who are more engaged.

We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change. 

Sheryl Sandberg

EXIT a bad situation – In some instances, the only way to move off the plateau is to actually move.   This may appear drastic, but sometimes removing oneself may be the only way to escape a bad situation, a bad leader, or a bad work culture.  Remaining with an organization that does not value you or your leadership will drag both down.  It’s not always possible to simply walk away from a position.  However, when the leadership plateau is the result of a toxic environment, every additional moment should be spent seeking the means to leave that environment. 

Leadership should never be boring.  Leadership should be moveable, changing, and exciting.  Leaders must take responsibility for their own leadership growth by intentionally engaging in the leadership development process.  Jumping off the plateau and heading out on the path of leadership makes you a better leader, and your leadership growth impacts everyone around you. 

[1] Karavedas, J. (2019). Becoming leaders: A phenomenological study of how mid-level leaders in Christian universities develop leadership skills.

Your Leadership Heritage

“To remember where you come from is part of where you are going.”         Anthony Burgess

Armed with a little information from a second cousin in New York, plus anything we could glean from ancestry.com, my husband and I set out this summer to trace his Greek heritage and, hopefully, discover the birthplace of his grandparents.  We had been told that there were three cafes in the small village of Ihalia, and a distant cousin owned one of them.  We struck gold at cafe number three when we met a lovely young lady adept at using Google translator.  Within a short time, we found ourselves chatting with a taxi driver friend of hers – a guy who knew a guy.  

He asked us to follow him and we did.  He led us outside the town, over the old bridge mentioned by the New York cousin, and up a dirt road with three stone houses.  My husband was drawn to the dirt road.  He knew.  The three stone homes were all abandoned but still standing strong.  With his cousin on FaceTime, my husband walked the dirt road and confirmed our find – this was his grandmother’s childhood home, built by her father and nearly destroyed in an earthquake several decades ago. 

Walking out of the path, we notice our taxi driver friend talking animatedly with a gentleman outside a modern-looking house across the street.  Crossing the street, we were introduced to my husband’s cousin. FAMILY! Our new cousin was the grandson of my husband’s great uncle, and he was just as excited as we were to discover more family. 

This excitement grew when our new cousin brought out several large sheets of paper on which were written something that looked like an organizational chart.  This cousin had been working on the family tree for the last two years, filling in what he could and leaving blanks where he had no information.  Nick’s grandmother’s name was written in pencil on the line with her siblings.  There was nothing written under her name – blanks. It was surreal to watch Nick work with his new found relative to add his father’s name, his aunts’ and uncles’ names, and then his own name to the Greek family tree.  

This is a great story, but what does it have to do with leadership?

Our past is what made us who we are today.  There is a theory in teaching called the Constructivist Theory that states learning occurs by building upon one’s experiences.  We construct our knowledge from each of our experiences, and these experiences build together to create understanding.  In other words, all of the jobs we’ve had and all of the roles we’ve played will figure into the leader we become.  They all help to construct our knowledge of people, of work, and of leadership.  

Let this story be a reminder – Never forget where you’ve come from.  Remember, …

  • the jobs you’ve had along the way from your first job at the ice cream shop to your biggest leadership role 
  • the work culture that made you feel alive and helped you thrive
  • the leader who saw something special in you and pushed you just a bit further than you thought you could go

You are constructing your learning about leadership, building your understanding of leadership.

As you lead others, remember your leadership heritage impacts them too.  They are constructing their own leadership learning and writing their own leadership stories.  You play the leading role in your own leadership story, but you also play a supporting role in someone else’s story.   Let your leadership heritage write a beautiful story for both you and those who follow you.

The Picture is Real

We walked through the small village amazed at every turn.  We explored the streets and alleys, taking the time to turn here, look there, stop and see something over there.  Walking down a narrow set of stone steps, we turned to look, and there it was – the blue domed, white buildings of Santorini, Greece.  It was as if we had stepped into a picture. It was almost spiritual. Rarely, do places resemble the vision in your mind, but Santorini not only resembled my mind picture, it was better.  

Taking in Santorini was amazing – reality was so close to the pictures.  The experience also made me think about the picture I portray to those who see me lead.  Is my leadership like the picture in people’s minds? Beyond leadership authenticity, does my leadership walk match my leadership talk? As one who writes about leadership; there is an expectation that I live out my words.  My words cannot be simply words, they must reflect my leadership actions. Santorini brought this concept to life.

Matching the leadership walk to the leadership talk is essential for every leader.  Others need to be able to trust that your leadership is a real part of your being, and you believe it.

Authenticity is more than speaking, it is also about doing. Every decision we make says something about who we are.

Simon Sinek

Thinking about leadership as a picture of your character gives a whole new meaning to the term “leader.”  We should challenge ourselves to allow our leadership to reflect our true selves. If you don’t mean it, don’t say it.  If you can’t live it, don’t promise it.

Leadership looks different on each person. Be sure that your leadership actions clearly depict the leadership picture you have painted for others.

The Leader’s Bookshelf

Readers are leaders and leaders are readers.  We’ve heard it since elementary school. While it may seem trite, it’s true.  The best leaders I know read and study leadership. They read about other leaders, they read about ideas, they read about theories…they read about everything.  There is a diverse mix of books on my leadership bookshelf – some old favorites and some brand new reads. All are useful to my development as a transformational leader,  Here are a few of the favorites on my shelf.  

The Leadership Challenge  by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

This is the gold standard of leadership books.  Kouzes and Posner combine both practical knowledge with their years of research on leadership to form their model of leadership – the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.  The five practices are: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. Developing these leadership skills develops leaders.

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

Her 2011 Ted Talk on vulnerability was only the beginning for Brene Brown.  She is one of the best known authors on vulnerability, leadership, and relationships.  With many best sellers to her credit, Brown has successfully moved her career from the academy to the global market.  Dare to Lead is the latest edition from Brown’s pen, and it’s as strong as the others.  Providing an extra push for leaders, this book is perfect for those needing encouragement and confidence to continue along this leadership journey.

Lead From the Heart by Mark Crowley

Crowley’s book is an easy read.  He shares the story of his life and how he rose from scared child to transformational leader.  Crowley shares significant facts and data about employee motivation, but I found his discussion of the way the heart “thinks” to be profoundly interesting.  According to Crowley, engaging the heart of employees is the key to leadership success.

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves

If the heart has a brain, Bradberry and Greaves book about emotional intelligence makes people aware of how to use it.  Emotional intelligence is far more than controlling one’s emotions. It calls for an understanding of how thoughts and emotions interact and an awareness of triggers and effects of one’s own emotions.

The Politically Intelligent Leader by Patricia Clark White

Dr. Pat White was instrumental in designing the Doctorate in Organizational Leadership program from which I graduated.  When a professor requires their own book for a course, I usually roll my eyes, assuming its a method for boosting book sales.  Dr. White’s book is the exception. Her vast experience in leadership allows Pat White to draw upon personal examples to illustrate the struggle between competing priorities and personalities within organizations to guide leaders in understanding how to develop and utilize their political capital. 

The next books on my shelf will be Tribes by Seth Godin and Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader by Herminia Ibarra.  Neither book is new, but both offer continued opportunity for development along my leadership journey.

So, what are you reading?

Stuck in the Middle with You

I’ve written several times about leadership and all the places leaders have influence.  I believe leadership occurs at all levels – from entry level to the C-Suite.  Everyone has potential to be a leader.  To grow into greater roles, a person must manage their influence and use it to lead in whatever position they hold.   None of this is new news.  I’ve said it.  Others have said it.  We all know it. 

So why do we still get hung up on titles and why are we still dissatisfied in our current positions?  I wrote an entire dissertation on developing leadership skills in mid-level leaders.  If simple leadership at any level is enough, what’s the point and was all that work in vain?  Truth is – maybe it isn’t enough. 

As I walked across campus today headed to a meeting with others in similar middle level management positions, I was reminded of a recent conversation in which I lamented a lost leadership opportunity that did not come my way and my desire for greater roles.  Although my mind understood that leadership in my middle position was valuable my heart understood it wasn’t my fulfilled desire.  It struck me that my unrest might have something to do with the description “middle level.” 

Think about it; it’s the middle.  The middle is rarely used in a positive manner –in the middle between a rock and a hard place, stuck in the middle with you, in the middle of no where.  In most areas of popular culture, the middle doesn’t seem like the best place to be.  Most people in the middle are stuck there by chance and not choice; they are hungrily waiting for a chance to get out.  It’s hard to lead from a place you are trying to leave.

How do we make the best of it?  A couple months ago, I wrote about five things necessary to lead in the middle and move forward from that place.  One of those things was go the extra mile – over deliver.  This is extremely important to those in the middle – it’s also extremely difficult.  Middle leaders must seek opportunities to do strong, promotable work that benefits the organization in order to prove their value and heighten their impact.  But they must carry out their action in a manner that is not self-seeking or desiring recognition. Is this even possible?

Motivation is key.  This impacting work must benefit the organization and not exist solely for the benefit of the leader.  Work that is self-promoting and inconsiderate of organizational goals and mission is easily seen for its egocentric nature.  True leadership impact is best achieved through authentic leadership designed to move the team and organization forward and not simply benefit the leader.  Any leadership benefit becomes a byproduct rather than the original product.

My challenge to all of you Middle Leaders is this – check yourself, and check yourself often.  Find your WHY.  As Simon Sinek said,

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.  What you do simply proves what you believe.”

You were originally attracted to the heart of your organization, its mission.  Don’t forget it; instead, let it be your motivation and your impetus for continuing to give all of yourself.  Remember why you are there and why you care.  I cannot guarantee you will receive a promotion.  I cannot even say your work will be noticed. I can promise, however, that you will find renewed love for your work and purpose in whatever position you are in.

Personal Reflections on Lessons Learned from Leadership Fails

My best successes came on the heels of failures – Barbara Corcoran

It’s often said that we learn best from our mistakes.  This is particularly true in leadership.  Leadership situations are unpredictable and often call for spontaneous decision-making.  While each of us can draw upon wisdom gained from past experiences and emotional intelligence gained from personal growth, we may still miss the target on occasion.  Reflecting on the lessons learned from these leadership fails is the best way to make sure to get it right the next time. 

Most leaders understand the organizational impact gained from empowering team members to pick up a project and run with it.   However, knowing when to let someone run with the ball and how far to let them go can be tricky to navigate.  I remember a situation in which a team member had some pretty good ideas but they appeared too far out of the comfort zone for our organization.  In fact, I remember one 20-minute conversation based on “thinking outside the box while remaining in the box.”  What does that mean anyway?  It turns out, he was right.  It was time to push our organization a little further than it was comfortable.  Rather than stifling this team member’s creativity, my role should have been to help organizational leaders understand the need to take risk and see the possibilities.  I am happy to say that team member is still with the organization and has been doing great things to move it forward.

Another complicated situation is conflict between a team member and a customer. Team members want your support and customers firmly believe they are always right.  Usually, neither party is all right or all wrong.  In one instance, I had a team leader who had been given authority over a particular project.  Exercising that authority, the team leader assigned a large penalty due to the customer’s mistake.  Both parties brought the matter to me to mediate; neither felt they were out of line.  After thorough review, I agreed with the customer believing the infraction did not warrant the penalty assessed.  This caused significant animosity between the team leader and me, which was never fully repaired. I believe my decision was the right decision, but I could have handled the situation better.  First, if there were restrictions on the team leader’s authority, I should have made that clear from the beginning of the project.  Also, once conflict began, it would have been beneficial to step in earlier before the situation progressed too far (although there were some challenges in this case that made that impossible).  As such, I was brought in to “clean things up” and had little opportunity to work out a better solution.

The most difficult leadership situations can involve those who lead you.  My largest leadership fail falls under this description.  Understanding how to address a conflict in leadership is of utmost important to leaders at all levels.  In my specific situation, a project had been removed from my oversight without explanation.  I had received superior reviews up to that point from within and outside the organization.  I had even been promised additional projects based on my handling of the specific project.  My direct supervisor could not provide explanation as to why the project was being taken from me and only offered promises of opportunities in other areas.  Her responses made it clear she was being directed from someone above her, and I chose to confront that person.  I made several mistakes during this confrontation – 1) I allowed my emotions to lead the confrontation; 2) I put my thoughts in writing (email) rather than meeting personally; and 3) I made insinuations that the situation was politically motivated.  Each of these was a mistake, but together, they could have spelled disaster.  Fortunately, this person is an amazing leader.  She was able to model true leadership through a discussion that followed my poor confrontation choice.  While I never received a solid explanation for the decision, I gained a significant lesson in managing people in distress and handling leadership conflict. 

Zig Ziglar said, “If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.”  I would add that if you haven’t failed in leadership, you may not be leading.  None of us is perfect, and fortunately, perfection is not required of leadership.  Leaders who are vulnerable enough to admit their mistakes and learn from them are successful leaders.