Back on Line

I’ve been off line for a few years, focusing on my day job responsibilities. I thought it was time to start blogging again, so here I am.

Over the past three years, I’ve had the joy of meeting Kyle Mercer.  Kyle is the creator of Inquiry Method, a simple concept with powerful opportunities.  The essence of Inquiry Method is asking, open, honest…even childlike honesty..questions to help others better understand their “truth.” “Truth” meaning their true feelings and the reasons for their behaviors or actions.  This has profound application in the workplace, at home or anywhere else in our lives.

The key to effective Inquiry Method is creating a relationship with the other person so they feel totally safe to give you real and honest answers.  Answers to questions such as, “What prevented you from doing ____?” or “Why do you feel that way?”

Over the next several blogs, I will share more about this amazing approach…to life and the wonderful impact it has had on my life.

Earning “This”

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So many movies have wonderfully classic lines that transfer beautifully into real life.  One of my all-time favorites is from “Saving Private Ryan.”  Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks, leads his platoon through numerous deadly battles with the Germans,  on their mission to find Private Ryan (Matt Damon) so he can be sent home.  Ryan’s four brothers had been killed during D-Day.  Captain Miller and what’s left of his squad finally find Private Ryan.  With Ryan at their side, they fight one last and particularly gruesome battle against a much larger fortified German division.

[Spoiler Alert]  At the end of this battle, Captain Miller is shot and is slumped over and dying when Ryan comes to his side.  Miller pulls Ryan’s ear close to his mouth and with his last breath, says to Ryan, “Earn this.”

The next scene shows Ryan, as an old man, crying at Miller’s grave, with Ryan’s family trying to comfort him.  Ryan then asks his wife of many years if he’s been a good man.  He wanted to be sure he earned the sacrifices made by those who helped save him many years before.

On a much less dramatic, but nonetheless relevant level, each of us have or likely will be given second chances.  A job saved; A marriage saved; An illness overcome.  These are examples of second chances.  We each know what ours are…or will be.

When that second chance comes, earn it.

Be a much better spouse.  Don’t just tell but show your husband or wife how much you care.

Be a better parent.  Spend the time and emotional energy to demonstrate your love and responsibilities towards your children.

Be a better employee.  No longer take for granted what you may have previously thought of as entitlements.  Bust your hump to achieve all that is expected of you…and more.

While many of us likely won’t have colleagues give their lives to save us, most of us will have friends, family or co-workers sacrifice a lot for us.  When they do, make them proud.  Show them it was worth their effort.  Appreciate their sacrifice.

Earn it.

Conquering Fear

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Last week was the annual Fort Lauderdale to Key West yacht race.  It is 168 miles of open ocean racing for professional and amateur sailboats.  We have participated in our boat, Ocean Dancer, 6 of the past 7 years.  We have finished 2nd, third and “out of the money” each time…until this year when we won.  It was a triumph of determination for a crew that sails only a handful of times each year.  It was a conquest of fear for me.

Throughout my life, I have feared the water.  I never learned to swim, I avoided pools, lakes and certainly the ocean.  My drive to be part of a team and enjoy the camaraderie, pushed me to sail.  I didn’t tell anyone about my fear of water or not knowing how to swim.  Once the skipper found out, he required me to learn to swim before I could sail again.

So, at age 53, I took my lessons and learned to swim.

In order to do well in this race, let alone win it, you must sail the boat to its limits, throughout the day and night and day, in scary conditions.  For 21 hours and 8 minutes (our total elapsed time in the race), you are working the boat to extract as much speed as possible.  In winds of 25 knots (about 30 mph) and gusts of 35 knots, waves between 6 and 10 feet, throughout the day and throughout the night, it is scary.

But conquering these fears, gives the confidence to conquer other fears that lie ahead.  Fears of professional success, longevity and health, loving relationships…all become more tamed.

Choose a lifetime fear.  Conquer it.  Tame the others.

My Department, Inc.

As a manager of one of your company’s departments, whether a “line” department such as customer service or a “staff” department such as accounting,  you may fear that your department will be “outsourced.”  It happens all the time.  When it does, in most cases it is because senior management has determined that your department’s function can be performed better and cheaper by another company.

Certainly, labor costs, particularly overseas, play a big factor, but that is often not the biggest reason that your department fell short.  In most cases, it was because your department, and you, got too complacent.  Your attitude, and therefore the attitude of your team was, “we’ll try to do our best but since we are part of the company they have to use our services.” Well, you were wrong and now its too late.

Leaders of internal departmental functions that have, instead, embraced the philosophy that they must constantly prove that they truly deliver the best value to their company, generally thrive.  These department leaders think like entrepreneurs.  They benchmark their competition, external companies that provide similar services for a fee.  They constantly measure their own performance against these benchmarks, maniacally striving to lead the pack.  They seek out and implement best practices.

In short, they think of their own departmental function as an independent company that must retain their customer through excellent performance and clear value add.  They are the CEO of their Department, Inc.

The Right Kind Of Leader

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Those of us who strive to be great leaders often ask ourselves, “What is the most effective leadership style to have?” Should we be directive, providing very detailed, specific direction and maintaining tight controls over others? Should we be more guiding, providing direction while encouraging involvement from the other and taking the time to answer questions and explain our decisions? Perhaps we should use an even more supportive style, collaborating with others to set goals and have others truly participate in decision making. Or is it best to be more delegating, giving maximum freedom others to do their job the way they feel they can best achieve their results?

So which one is the right one? Each of them of course can be very effective and each of them can also be highly ineffective. The main determinant of which style to use is which style or combination of styles is best for the person or persons you are leading in that particular situation.

Let’s take the same person in two different situations to see what leadership styles would be best for them in each case. Janet is a highly-experienced customer service supervisor who has worked in your company for ten years. She is very familiar with all of your products and systems and has hired several hundred reps throughout her career. You need her to hire a new rep. What style should you use? Should you give her very specific direction such as, “Create a job description with these exact responsibilities and requirements, ask these exact five interview questions, make sure I see every resume you like and don’t like…” This will likely frustrate her as she clearly knows how to hire reps. Perhaps a more delegating style would be more appropriate, such as, “Please hire another rep by next month and keep me informed of your progress and any assistance you may need.”

Now let’s put Janet in a different situation. You are taking her on a tour of your new facility that will open soon. She has never been there but you have on numerous occasions. All of a sudden, the lights go out. It is pitch black and the building is quickly filling with smoke. It is your responsibility to lead her to safety. Should you use a similar delegating style and simply say, “You know what to do, good luck?” Should you be collaborative and discuss your opinions about why the building is on fire and what she thinks the best route out should be? No. Here you should be very directive and say something like,”Do exactly what I say. Get on your hands and knees and crawl ten paces forward. Make a right turn and go another five paces. Push open the door and roll into the street and you will be fine.”

The point is that different situations require different leadership styles, even for the same person or persons you are leading. The best leaders are Versatile Leaders. These are leaders who can apply various styles based on the situation and what is needed by those they are leading.

There are two critical skills needed to be an effective Versatile Leader. The first is the ability to identify what leadership style is best for the person(s) you are leading in that specific situation. The second is to effectively apply that leadership style, or combination of styles.

So next time you are asked to name the best leadership style, particularly if it is an interview question, you will know that it is a Versatile Leadership style…One that uses the style or styles best suited for a particular person or persons in a particular situation.

The Situational leadership model was introduced by Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey in the ‘60s.



Who Can Vote

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Though voting is a precious privilege that is bestowed on most citizens, it shouldn’t be.  Each vote makes a difference but in order to be allowed to cast your vote, you MUST be, at least, minimally informed about for whom or what you are voting.  Only using criteria such as looks or name, without knowing anything meaningful about your candidate’s views on issues important to you, allows your vote to count just as much as someone who made an effort, even a small one, to learn about their candidate’s stance and their candidate’s opponent’s stance on important issues.  That’s not right.

I propose that in order to qualify to vote for a candidate or a proposition, the voter must first pass a very basic test to determine if they understand the proposition or understand where each candidate stands on a few of the major issues at hand.  This test can be administered in the voting booth as a precursor to the actual vote.  There would be a very short test (one to three questions) for each office and proposition on the ballot.  Passing the test allows the voter to vote on that particular office or proposition.  Failing the test disqualifies the voter.

Regardless of your politics, liberal, conservative, libertarian, green, etc., at least be informed.

While this would likely significantly reduce the number of votes counted, at least the election would be determined by people who know at least something about the candidates and issues.