Posted on November 26, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
Are you experiencing any of these symptoms?
• You’re not motivated, feel burned out
• You’re distracted, off-focus
• You’re not following through well
• You’re not getting the results you seek
• Deep inside you want to be doing something else
• You’re blaming others, the economy, bad luck, “the system”…
** In general, do you feel your life is spinning in a mediocre existence?
Here are a few thoughts that may help…
First of all, being mediocre does have its advantages. For one, you get play it safe and not look foolish. You get to avoid risk, and safely hang within the crowd. Yet the problem is, a mediocre life is boring and requires you to bury your dreams and potential.
** Excellence is derived when we embrace the change and growth needed to attain a breakthrough level of performance, and is supported by the following mindset:
1. Embrace Stress and Discomfort. Any challenge that demands your best will create stress. The key is to view discomfort as natural and necessary for growth. Like diving into the deep end of the swimming pool for the very first time – willingly enter into the discomfort that accompanies change and strategic growth – instead of playing it safe in the shallow end where all the little kids hang out…
Be willing to push through barriers. Learn to balance stress with pre-set times of recovery.
2. Let go of Preconceptions. Change demands we embrace new paradigms and new ways of thinking. Be prepared to accept (and make) the personal and corporate changes that growth demands. Let go of what you think you know and be willing to embrace something anew. Stop being an “expert” - choose to be a novice. Remain open and curious. When you think you already know the best methods and strategies, you close yourself from the ingenuity of your own creative mind, and the creative mind of those around you.
3. Know what you really want. Have a clear understanding of what your passions are, and what you want your life to stand for and represent. Points 1 & 2 about stress and change will only drain and de-motivate you if you do not really care where the stress and change is leading you to. Working hard toward a goal will leave you unfulfilled – if that goal does not align with where you personally want to go as well.
** Excellence is derives from feeling passionate about a goal or cause, where you then able to align your God-given strengths in support of that cause, while embracing the personal growth and change needed to attain the goal.
Excellence reaches beyond what you think is possible – and it will be your belief, passion, and alignment of strengths toward that goal, which allows you to reach a new level of excellence.
Posted on November 20, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
HEAD QUADRANT:
It is with our head that we think, decide, see, and speak. Therefore, the "Head" quadrant has to do with the strategic aspects of an organization. This quadrant pertains to issues such as: executive leadership; strategic planning; policies; politics; structure; knowledge management; and so on. The symbolic person, or “archetype,” best associated with the Head quadrant is the “King” who exercises overall leadership and sets/enforces policies, standards, and organizational structures.
HANDS QUADRANT:
With our Hands we do physical work, take hold of things, touch our environment, and make signals to others. Therefore, the “Hands” quadrant has to do with the operational functions of an organization, such as: operations and operational systems; organizational capabilities and human resources; funds development and resourcing; strategic metrics to monitor progress; performance management; and project management. The symbolic person best associated with the Hands quadrant is the "Warrior" who drives forward with confident strength and competence to achieve objectives.
HEART QUADRANT:
It is with our Heart that we care for others (and ourselves), build people up, and join around common values. Therefore, the "Heart" quadrant has to do with the nurturing, relational and development forms of the organization such as: nurturing relationships and community; training and education; leadership development; mentoring; networking; teamwork and team development; and, spiritual formation. The symbolic person best associated with the Heart quadrant is the "Lover" who cares deeply for people and for their development and well-being.
HEROIC QUADRANT:
Our Heroic nature reaches out to the transformational aspects of the organization. This quadrant pertains to aspects such as: mission and deep purpose; vision for the future; heroic action and courageous goals; the deep stories, myths, and symbols that establish our identity; organizational culture; and new ways of thinking and working (innovation). The symbolic person associated with the Heroic quadrant is the "Prophet" who catalyzes deep change and transformation through a powerful sense of purpose and meaning.
** The FOUR QUADRANTS and PERFORMANCE:
Note it is mostly in the Lower 2 Quadrants – the Heart and Heroic Quadrants – where people get refreshed, strengthened, inspired and energized. The Lower Quadrants have to do with what motivates and builds people up, whereas the Upper 2 Quadrants have to do with the ability and systems to get things done. When Ability and Motivation are effectively combined, then you get Powerful Performance. Hence, the formula: Ability x Motivation = Performance
** As represented by these 4 Quadrants, healthy organizations (and teams) pursue a balanced set of individuals & initiatives which support both “wholeness” AND “effectiveness.”
(Model developed by my good friend Greg Boyer, PhD)
Posted on November 15, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
The following are ten leadership tips from Jack Welch - former CEO of GE. During his twenty years at the helm of GE, he grew it from a $13 billion company to a $400+ billion dollar empire:
1. MEASURE THE RIGHT THINGS.
“If I had to run a company on three measures, those measures would be customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and cash flow.”
2. SIMPLIFY YOUR BUSINESS BY BUILDING THE SELF-CONFIDENCE IN YOUR PEOPLE. If your company is not simple, you can’t be fast. And, if you’re not fast, your company will soon be dead. So, everything we do (at GE) focuses on building self-confidence in people so they can be set free to simplify the business.”
3. SET YOUR PEOPLE FREE TO SUCCEED.
“You’ve got to balance freedom with control, but you’ve got to give your people more freedom than you’ve ever dreamed of.”
4. SHOUT WHEN YOU WIN.
“People feel guilty about stopping to celebrate a little victory … but it lets people know they’ve won. It’s so critical to an institution. It brings it alive, gives it character.”
5. THE BOTTOM LINE IS NOT ENOUGH.
“Your bottom-line numbers are not the vision. Numbers are the product. I never talk about numbers. I talk about what drives the numbers.”
6. SPEND MORE TIME ON TALENT/LEADERHIP DEVELOPMENT.
“In most companies, the talent review process is a farce. At GE, I (Jack Welch) and my top two Human Resources people visited each division for a day. They reviewed the top 20 to 50 people by name. The talent review process…at GE…has the same intensity and importance that the yearly budget setting process has at other companies.”
7. FAIR DOESN’T MEAN THE SAME.
“Every person should be treated fairly in an organization, but every person should also be treated differently in an organization.”
8. MAKE YOUR PEOPLE SHARE GOOD IDEAS.
“What makes a company flourish is the transfer of good ideas.” At quarterly meetings, Welch insisted GE bring together the leaders of all of its businesses to share best practice ideas. “We take the best of our diversity, and proactively use it,” said Welch.
9. MEET WITH YOUT CUSTOMERS OFTEN.
Welch made a point of personally meeting GE’s major customers in the spring and fall every year.
10 TRUST YOUR GUT AND ACT.
“As a leader, I’ve learned that I rarely regretted stepping out to act on an initiative - but often regretted NOT acting fast enough.”
Posted on November 10, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
In their book, “Soar with your Strengths,” Clifton and Nelson share the example of how the Chinese have long been able to hold the Olympic gold medal in Ping-Pong.
At the 1984 Olympics, when they again captured the gold medal, the coach of the Chinese team was asked by a reporter, “Tell us about your team’s daily training regimen.”
“We practice eight hours a day perfecting our strengths.”
“Could you be a little more specific?” asked the reporter.
“Here is our philosophy: If you develop your strengths to the maximum, the strengths become so great it overwhelms the weaknesses. Our winning player, you see, plays only with his forehand. Even though he cannot play backhand, and his competition knows he cannot play backhand, his forehand is so invincible that he cannot be beaten.”
And so it is in our lives... Though we all need to properly manage our weaknesses - it will be as we continually develop and utilize our strengths that we will make the most effective and efficient progress toward our dreams and goals. Each of us have specific abilities, which if understood and leveraged, will enable us to quickly advance in almost any area of life, including our effectiveness as a leader.
In what ways are you developing your strengths lately?
Posted on November 05, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
Being assertive, in the proper setting and situation, is a great advantage – especially when it comes to your career and reaching your potential. After all, most supervisors do not care about the kind of tie you have on, or how well you make coffee. They are interested in, and are likely to remember, if you are a person who wisely and consistently shows initiative.
Whether in your career, working on a hobby, or personal goal – learning how to take initiative is the first step to achieving grander goals and attaining your highest ambitions. Taking initiative truly opens the doors of success…
**When showing initiative, remember these truths:
1) Taking Initiative Does Not Equate To Being Aggressive.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that showing initiative, or begin assertive, is the same thing as being aggressive – thus they hesitate to step out. While being an “aggressive” person can backfire on you big time – wisely and boldly showing initiative will open doors and quicken your ability to attain your dreams and goals.
Being aggressive is mean. On the other hand, being assertive is about proactively facilitating growth in yourself and organization.
2) Your Initiative Rests On Self-Confidence.
It is hard to consistently show initiative when you lack self-confidence. And the foundation for building your confidence is belief – Belief in yourself, your dreams, and what you can become.
3) Initiative Benefits Every Area Of Life.
Therefore, in your spiritual, physical, social, and mental life – work to boldly step forward by:
Seeking
Asking
Going
Moving
Apologizing
Loving
Confronting
Helping…
** Your choice to step out will pay rich dividends.
Posted on October 31, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
“Conflict Leadership” is the art of enabling a group to explore the differences that have created a conflict - and then build a process to move beyond the conflict effectively. To do this a leader must understand that a conflict is an opportunity, rather than a problem to be avoided. In The Magic of Conflict, Thomas Crum writes:
“Conflict is neutral; neither positive nor negative, it just is. Nature uses conflict as its primary motivator for change, creating beautiful beaches, canyons, mountains, and pearls. It’s not whether you have conflict in your life; it is what you do with that conflict that makes a difference.
“In addition, Conflict is not a contest. Winning and losing are goals for games, but not for a conflict – instead learning, growing, and cooperating are the desired outcomes… Conflict is rarely about who is right. It is about the acknowledgment and appreciation of different experiences, perspectives, and possibilities.”
In high performance organizations, people are continually working to resolve the ongoing conflict between the past (which defines the organization’s current behavior and performance) and the vision of what still could be. In this process of pushing for growth, conflict is bound to emerge as individuals struggle and disagree over ways to solve an issue, deal with communication, and make final decisions regarding how to move the organization forward.
To help navigate conflict, a leader should:
1) Value, and Steer, the Energy – Conflict inevitably produces energy. A leader must control and balance this energy within him/her self – and then appreciate, and steer, the energy conflict creates in others.
2) Seek and Gain Understanding – “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” A leader must carefully oversee, nurture and protect the communication process between individuals, groups, and the organization.
3) Create and Adhere to a Process - Before progress can be made in moving beyond a conflict, the parties must agree to the process they will follow to move past the confusion and toward a solution. The leader’s role is to help build a process that will allow the individuals, or group, move through the conflict in a healthy way.
4) Promote Mutual Benefit – Each individual has a style when dealing with conflict. Some “Avoid,” others “Compete,” some “Compromise,” others “Accommodate” while other “Collaborate.”
A leader should help individuals transcend their “natural” style and work toward a collaborative, win-win perspective, which meets the needs of each party. This requires an “abundance” mindset that allows everyone to move toward the best solution for everyone involved.
5) Clarify Responsibility and Accountability – This is the last critical element in leading conflict. Developing and growing beyond a conflict requires committed action and follow-through. Where individuals make commitments, and then are held accountable to make progress toward those commitments.
Posted on October 26, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
"In business and personal life, to create true integrity and lasting effectiveness you need to develop the courage to move towards the sound of the gunfire." - Dr. Martin Groder
Some thoughts on how effective leaders exhibit Courage:
1) Courageous Leaders are continually on the lookout for great ideas, not consensus. This takes courage because it is easy to get a unanimous vote to do nothing. The true test of leadership is to get the full support of your team, even when you don’t have their unanimous vote.
2) Courageous Leaders are trailblazers. They are experimenters. They stick their necks out, and therefore inevitably make a fair amount of mistakes. Yet Great leaders have the courage to take action when others hesitate.
3) Courageous Leaders patiently accept criticism. Criticism is often the price to pay for being successful. If you do not have critics, you are probably not having much success.
4) Effective Leaders have the courage to surround themselves with other leaders. Many "leaders" are content to surround themselves with followers. Truly effective leaders choose to surround themselves with other leaders - which not only lightens their burden, but enlarges their capacity and vision.
5) Courageous Leaders get over their fears. Few people step-up to leadership without being a little fearful. This is normal, for we are by nature afraid of looking silly, of people not responding to our leadership, or of casting an incomplete vision for our organization. Some individuals are never able to get over this fear, and thus prefer the safer role of a “manager.”
6) Courageous Leaders embrace risk. A person who refuses to risk change, fails to grow. The leader who prefers their comfort zone soon becomes a follower.
7) Courageous Leaders have the courage to stand up for their ideas and their ideals. Standing up for what you believe in will many times put you in conflict with others. Courageous Leaders have the personal courage to to go where others fear to tread, to face adversity, to protect subordinates from unfairness, and to stand up for values and principles when necessary.
** I personally believe the most critical component of personal (and organizational) success is Courage - in combination with a honorable and firmly held belief/vision. Without courage, success is not possible, leadership will not exist, and personal satisfaction will be hindered.
Posted on October 17, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
“If Everything Is Important, Then Nothing Is.”
Experienced leaders understand the power behind the above statement. They know if their focus is spread too thin – on too many projects or objectives – then they will not be able to effectively lead any issue. Effective leaders take time to first identify the key issues that will have the most impact on their strategic goals and long-term viability.
In doing so, leaders need to discern 2 types of matters. Issues that will provide a competitive advantage (like effective marketing, service models, financial models, innovation,...) and second, issues that will protect and enhance the internal health of their organization (like eliminating politics, retaining key employees, maintaining healthy communication channels,…)
Though such a balanced approach may be intuitive to most Executives – the reality is most leaders tend to focus on the first issue at the expense of the second. Most Executives are quickly drawn to topics that address their competitive advantage – and put off (or neglect) improvements which will enhance the overall health of their organization.
Research shows that the opposite should be the case. Studies have shown that if your organization is “healthy,” that health will more naturally lead to higher levels of innovation, service, and a growing financial bottom line. Unhealthy organizations are not able to sustain such improvements.
** Excellence is the result of good habits.
Therefore as a leader, make sure you are developing daily habits which:
1) Do not spread yourself too thin in your organization.
2) Balance your focus on both issues of “competitive advantage” and “organizational health.”
Posted on October 13, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
A CEO may think they have the power to set strategy, the authority to make things really happen, and have full access to every point in their organization.
But the following 7 realities tell the truth - what is actually the case:
1) A CEO can’t fully run a company. The sheer volume and intensity of external demands take many new CEO’s by surprise. Almost every CEO struggles to manage the time drain of attending to shareholders, analysts, board members, industry groups, politicians, and other stakeholders – Thus the wise use of a exemplary Leadership Team is required.
2) For a CEO, simply giving “orders” is very costly. Only in times of critical urgency is giving orders appropriate and valued by staff and employees. During regular business situations, order giving will suck the engagement and creative juices right out of the organization.
3) It is hard for a CEO to know what is really going on. While a CEO is flooded with information, reliable information is surprisingly scarce. This is because most information that reaches a CEO has been filtered in some way (sometimes with good intentions – and sometimes with not so good intentions.)
4) CEO’s are always sending a message. The words and actions of a CEO, however small or casual, are instantly spread, amplified, scrutinized, interpreted, and sometimes drastically misunderstood.
5) The CEO is not the boss. Although a CEO may sit at the top of the hierarchy, they still report to a Board of Directors – who are ultimately in control.
6) Pleasing the shareholders is NOT the goal for a wise CEO. CEO’s must realize that the creation of long-term value is supremely important. Quick maneuvers to increase stock prices are usually not wise.
7) A CEO is only human. A CEO’s needs to stay balanced, and connected, not only with the organization – but also with their family and community.
Some More General Lessons:
• A CEO must learn to manage organizational culture and context more than focusing on the daily operations.
• A CEO must recognize that their position does not confer the right to lead – nor does it guarantee the loyalty of those in the organization.
• A CEO must remember they are subject to stern limitations, and must resist feelings of being some type of organizational “god.”
Posted on October 02, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.
In his book “On Leadership,” John Gardner described General Douglas MacArthur as a brilliant strategist, a farsighted administrator, and flamboyant to his fingertips.
General MacArthur developed a list of questions to personally guide him in his leadership duties. ** These principles are useful for any leader to help guide them in various situations:
• Do I belittle my subordinates, or strengthen and encourage them?
• Do I use moral courage in getting rid of subordinates who have proven themselves beyond doubt to be unfit?
• Have I done ALL in my power to encourage, incenticize, and spur the weak and erring?
• Do I know by NAME and CHARACTER a maximum number of subordinates for whom I am responsible? Do I know them intimately?
• Am I thoroughly familiar with the technique, necessities, objectives, and administration of my job?
• Have I lost my temper with an individual?
• Do I act in such a way as to make my subordinates WANT to follow me? Do I delegate tasks that should be mine?
• Are there tasks I am doing I should delegate?
• Do I develop my subordinates by intentionally placing on each one as much responsibility as they can stand?
• Am I interested in the personal welfare of each of my subordinates, as if he were a member of my family?
• Have I the calmness of voice and manner to inspire confidence, or am I inclined to irascibility and excitability?
• Am I a constant example to my subordinates in character, dress, deportment, and courtesy?
• Am I inclined to be nice to my superiors and mean to my subordinates?
• Is my door open to my subordinates?
• Do I think more of POSITION than RESPONSIBILITY?
• Have I corrected a subordinate in front of others?
