Category: Thought Leaders

A wise and valued mentor of mine (aka ED) drew my attention to one of the biggest challenges we face in attempting to accomplish important things. ED helped me understand that in most cases, the executive team and the mid-management leadership all share the same vision for the outcomes they espouse. He posited that almost always the differences of opinion spring from each level’s expectation around the appropriate pace of the action steps to be deployed in pursuing the vision.

ED shared that wisdom with me 30 years ago. My work and observations since have only underscored the astuteness of his guidance.

Thus, one of the trickiest pieces for us as leaders (regardless of level) is to build teams and systems that can and will move at the pace we need in order to chase that worthy and noble vision (producing the outcomes that provide evidence of our success).

Let’s get to it! (Sooner than later.)

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning. 

“Failing forward” is a phrase we hear with some frequency. And, it makes sense.

IF we are bold… 

     IF we take risks to achieve ambitious and important things… 

          IF we step out of our comfort zone… 

There will inevitably be some fails. 

But, then what? What do we do with that failure? It can make us less, or it can make us more. The choice is ours. A good recovery recipe for when it didn’t go like we planned:

• Assess critically and objectively what went wrong. It often helps to have a valued, wise, and nonjudgmental other to assist in this process.
• Accept responsibility for the failure. Own it. Don’t play the blame game, the only-if game, the poor-me game. 
• LEARN from the failure. Be intentionally reflective about how the unpleasant experience is gonna make us better.

Then……………………tee it up again!

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning.

Grand plans and lofty projects are often hatched as result of stakeholder conversations. Most of them look and feel extremely important. Some are.

Far too often they are codified (in a three-ring binder) and put on a shelf, usually somewhere in the Boss’s office or on a buried page of the website.

Then……………………..they die.

Why? Some reasons that plans/projects die:

• No one is assigned to lead and be the champion of the project.
• The project “champion” has little or no authority act upon.
• Resistors (there are always resistors) are given too much moxie.
• Insufficient, or no, resources are allocated to the project.
• Forecasting the barriers and challenges never happens.
• The plans (which usually mean significant change of some kind) never get consistently and clearly communicated.
• The plan/project is never, or rarely, monitored after the initial crafting.

I have long been convinced that the day we stop learning and growing is the day we put our first foot in the grave.

If that is true (or even close to true), then how might we be measuring our growth?

Learning new skills?

Finding a new way to serve others?

Reading in unfamiliar genres?

Experiencing completely novel stuff?

Engaging with people we don’t know (especially some who don’t look and think like we do)?

Taking classes (even if we already have full transcripts)?

We each get to choose whether or not we’re gonna grow, and the metrics of that growth. The scariest option of all is choosing both no growth and no metrics.

Yep, we can start anew today…

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning. 

TONS have been written and produced in the interest of unlocking the keys to successful leadership. We’ve all read, seen, and heard the voluminous advice and admonitions.

In my profession of education we often refer to the “knowing-doing gap.” It’s that void between the valuable knowledge we’ve acquired and the actual application of that knowledge in some meaningful way.

Many impactful leaders I’ve observed over the years implement a plethora of powerful strategies that move the organizations they lead toward the goals they desire. They know the stuff, but applying it effectively seems elusive.

The MOST effective leaders, however, disproportionately spend their time, effort, and resources on two things (I’ll call them the Success Twins).

What are those Success Twins?

• Vision – Clarity of direction and intention is communicated relentlessly, in simple terms, across all internal and external stakeholder groups and platforms. Those leaders make persistently clear Why we’re doing what we’re doing, Where we’re going, and How we can tell how well we’re doing.
• People – These superb leaders major in knowing and understanding the team members, growing and developing them tirelessly, and placing them in roles that fit them and serve the organization well. No resource in the organization is more potent (or more destructive) than its people.

Most of us want to be able to have some influence.

Being able to influence others sometimes serves us personally (con men/women are notable and obvious examples). Sometimes, being able to influence others serves our team’s interests/positions (professional negotiators and many political leaders fit into this category). In notable (too rare) instances, being able to influence others toward a common greater good seems the underlying motivation (exemplary Servant Leaders wear this mantle).

Observing, listening to, and reading the works from that Servant Leader category reveals some powerful levers they skillfully use when “moving” others:

• They emanate a genuine disposition of CARING. They do care, and aren’t afraid to show it.
• They practice active and powerful LISTENING, ensuring that the “other” is heard, and heard well.
• They show EMPATHY in their interactions, both through trying to understand the “other” and expressing it openly.

Perseverating on past mistakes and fails can become an anchor.

Failure can mire us in doubt and misgiving and hesitation. Or, it can propel us toward betterness.

Some ways we can use the past as launching pad instead of an anchor…

• Focus on who we want to be, not on what we did or didn’t do.
• Assess carefully and articulate clearly what we think caused the fail, rather than focusing on the result of the fail.
• Don’t forget to acknowledge the wins and successes.
• Modify our behavior — resource allocation, engagement strategies, expenditure of time, etc. — toward achieving the outcomes we desire (which almost always means a “change” in previous practice).
• LEARN from the mistake/fail through examination and LEARN toward the corrective plan of action. Reflective practice, daily and intentionally, is key.

I recently read Servant Leadership at Work: Caring About People and Getting Extraordinary Results by Kent Keith (2024).

My top takeaways:
> A Servant Leader’s mindset centers on ethical, practical, and meaningful.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Get to Know Each Other as People.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Understand Colleagues’ Life at Work.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Are Ethical – They Treat People Right.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Create Strong Communities at Work.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Help Colleagues Grow.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Help Colleagues Find Meaning at Work.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Help Colleagues Beyond the Workplace.
> Impactful Servant Leaders… Care About Everyone the Organization Touches.
> Find the potential – in people and processes – then optimize that potential.
> Humans are one of 50 million known species. We are part of (not apart from) nature.

My favorite quotes:

Per Robert Greenleaf: “Love is an undefinable term, and its manifestations are both subtle and infinite. But it begins, I believe with one absolute condition: unlimited liability! As soon as one’s liability for another is qualified to any degree, love is diminished by that much.” (p. 2)

Winston Churchill is quoted as saying that ‘courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.’” (p. 51)

“Simon Sinek says that as the leader, “you’re not in charge, you are responsible for those in your charge.’” (p. 95)

This book was an excellent read. Well worth the time for any who choose to be more effective Servant Leaders.

*If you’d like to read more of nc’s blatherings, go to nc’s Recursive Learning.

Organizational dysfunction is a tenacious beast.

Here are some of the culprits:

• Lack of Transparency – Healthy organizations, on the other hand, make a habit of full disclosure, honesty, and transparency with ALL stakeholders.
• Pretending – Healthy organizations, on the other hand, look the “elephant in the room” squarely in the eye, and name it openly. Then, they deal with it.
• Pettiness – Healthy organizations, on the other hand, have a persistent habit/norm of NOT letting the business become “personal.” Wearing feelings on sleeves is no way to accomplishment great things.
• Comms Voids – Healthy organizations, on the other hand, have systems in place to keep information, decisions, and expectations flowing like a steady stream. Brevity, precision in language, and consistency in communications rules! Informed teams are teams that have and feel the freedom to attend to the work.
• Freedomlessness – Empowered and healthy teams, on the other hand, feel the freedom to troubleshoot problems, innovate, dissent, and dialogue. Backroom politics are marginalized and disincentivized.