Encouragement for Leaders

Leadership lessons abound … but we must be actively aware, observant, and interested in their presence to recognize them and learn from them when they appear. This article is in the memory of Bob Carlson, who influenced the world well beyond his Safeway human resources career. To me, he was first a stranger, then an acquaintance, and finally a friend. Bob stood in the light for 69 good years. Rest in peace my friend.

For nearly 20 years, I’ve been actively collecting the thoughts of people who I’ve been lucky enough to meet – even in those cases when our interaction has only been for the briefest of moments, or confined to a response on a piece of paper. In this new webinar world, opportunities to shake a hand, exchange stories and make meaningful contact with people are limited indeed.

So I was particularly struck last week, when one of the participants in “Six Core Competencies of Leadership” wrote the following (my guess is, he already thinks and acts in these ways). What he suggested he learned was, “To become a better leader by growing and thinking in different ways to create a relationship with subordinates.”

That’s a worthy goal.

What jumped off the page though were the VERBS he used in describing HOW TO GO ABOUT IT …

COMMUNICATE regularly, CREATE ways to bond, SHOW you actually care, EMPOWER employees, SHARE their personal concerns and ideas, EDUCATE, EXPLORE, SEE, and GIVE them the opportunity to perform.” (Thank you Stephen … you know who you are.)

Which brings me to my friend Bob. In him, I experienced those ideas in the flesh.

He lived in the VERBS – with the result of having a tremendous influence on people throughout his lifetime. I would call that casting a long shadow.

I hope you realize you don’t find long shadows in the middle of the day. You find them in the earliest of hours, and the latest of days. In other words, leadership and influence is built by extending yourself to others beyond regular business hours. It’s a habit, or way of life that’s always on.

Bob always had time for you. He always had another question for you. He was always interested in you and what you had to say. He always had something planned, and he was always going somewhere. He didn’t hold back, and you always knew when he was around (ask the people at Peet’s Coffee).

Too many people listen without caring. Bob did both.

So here’s to a great leader who cast a long shadow, by making the most of his life, and giving us the best of his days.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on leadership research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc., and random insights as they occur to me.

Last time we looked at the importance of independent thinking – this time around we consider the value of positive thinking – where good overcomes the bad.

There’s a big difference between good thinking, and bad thinking. (I know that sounds obvious.) But as a leader, how can you tell which is which?

Good thinking is positive in nature. It creates a positive environment for performance. It builds up and encourages. It invites participation, motivates and engages. It diminishes obstacles and provides hope. It produces positive responses, which lead to positive results. Because it has a “can do” connotation, it spurs action and effort. Good thinking lays the groundwork for good things, and proceeds real accomplishments and success.

On the other hand, bad thinking is based on negativity – “can’t do” or “won’t happen.”

In many ways the pandemic has cast a pall on the positive. Time to make a change.

How do you see things?

Our study on Improving Performance at Work shows that the environment you create has a significant impact on end results. It affects every individual, every project, every goal, every office, and every team. The best working environments create a sense of freedom to do the work, unhindered with clear objectives in mind. There’s consistency to the development of people, their ability to do their work, their empowerment, and to the trust, treatment, support, and respect they’re given.

What do you get in return?

Greater faith in upper management, for one. Good thinking gets you there.

And what can you do be doing?

“Stay neutral:” Not too high, or too low, but stay “on purpose.” Meeting leadership challenges means taking charge of your emotions and not letting negative feelings hijack your energy and commitment.

“Win every day:” What I mean by that is when you’re working, don’t take the day off. Get it? Every day is an opportunity to advance your goals. Don’t allow distractions to derail your progress. Some days are better than others, but don’t finish the day in the same place you began.

“Have some fun:” Happy and harmonious leads to highly productive.

When you love your work, and you love your people, you’re living the positive. Good thinking.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on leadership research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc., and random insights as they occur to me.

It’s a good time to consider the importance of independent thinking.

There’s a very strong cultural emphasis these days which demands that “we should all think the same way and believe the same things.”

Because, we’re telling you there’s only one right way to see certain issues. So just fall in line, don’t ask any questions, and don’t disrupt the narrative, or you will pay the price.

Seriously? That’s not leadership.

That’s a hopeless attempt to exert power, not influence. Not persuasion. Not love. Care. Or concern.

One retired Marine Corps Colonel told me, “Jerry – when I first entered the Marine Corps, I always told my boss what I thought he wanted to hear. But, once I gained some maturity, and rank, I began to speak my real thoughts. Not disrespectfully mind you … but in a manner that advanced the dialogue, and honed our collective thinking and decision making. We were better for it. It just took a while to get there.”

No one person has perfect thinking. Not a one. Smart people do dumb things all the time.

But the smartest people regularly question themselves, the facts, opinions, and assumption of others, and try to evolve, learn, and do better the next time.

Thinking is complex. Too complex to expect unquestioned agreement.

Thinking is rooted in “Diversity.” Big “D.” Diversity of Thought. Diversity of Opinion. Diversity of Facts. Diversity of Philosophies. Diversity of Values. Diversity of Study, Teaching and Education. Diversity of Life Experiences. Diversity of Spiritual Insights and Belief Systems. Diversity of Emotion and Logic. Diversity of Good and Evil.

With that level of Diversity, we all benefit and help one another.

So What’s A Leader to Do?

Figure out who you are, and what “YOU” believe in. Figure out how your beliefs intersect with the mission of the organization. Figure out how you can promote cooperative effort, and still be yourself. Figure out you don’t have to be afraid of everything, or how other people may perceive or feel about you. Just be the best YOU.

If you figure things out the right way, you’ll figure out the right things to do. And the right ways to do them. And you’ll attract support from those around you, because you’re authentic, not self-serving, but a reasonable, understanding, forgiving, fallible human being.

Leadership is meant to be liberating. And rewarding. And a challenge.

Think about it.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on leadership research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc., and random insights as they occur to me.

In this issue … we look our latest research on improving collaboration at work.

About a year ago, I took a couple-thousand mile road trip to the Northwest, which included a short stopover at my old home town. I was looking forward to visiting with friends, as well as taking my first-ever bike ride around the Apple Capital Loop Trail. This 10-mile bikeway, built long after I moved away, circles the downtown as it travels along the eastern and western riverfront shores of the Columbia River.

At one point, the trail brings you by a literal fork in the river, or more accurately … the confluence of two individual rivers – where the mighty Columbia and the Wenatchee River meet. Confluence State Park marks the spot where the joining takes place.

“Confluence.” I don’t run into that word very often. But it seems to explain an important leadership concept …

“Bringing together. Unifying. Becoming one. Merging. And maybe the best business description of all – collaborating.”

That’s what we’re trying to make happen, isn’t it? It makes me think of so many times, and so many workplaces, where people have truly struggled to get on the same page and work well together. It’s not an easy task. But you know it’s necessary.

In Order to Have Influence, Leaders Need Confluence

I’ve just finished Confluence 2020, my newest leadership study which pulls together information from 535 surveys collected over a 3-year period, and explores the nature of effective collaboration.

The most productive leaders successfully enable work to flow at its highest rate. They understand the objective is creating a collaborative “we-all-work-together” workplace, which is significantly influenced by the way they interact with others, and the way they personally think and behave. Leaders impact how this environment develops, or is stifled. They play a role in how quickly it happens, and how strong the connections are formed. They affect who participates, and how committed they are to one another.

What helps success?

Leaders succeed when they ask questions, listen, respect and value people’s ideas and opinions. And when they organize it – continually setting-up, emphasizing, and nurturing a team culture – which encourages and invites participation and fosters open communication and discussion among members. They promote healthy interaction, and they set an example by actually doing it themselves.

Even where leaders don’t consider their workforce as teams per se, maybe more like a working group or individual contributors, they still know when they widen the channels of cooperation between people, they open up the speed in which members share, grow, help, and develop one another to a positive result.

Wider channels offer a more impressive output – just as it does in nature.

So, effective leaders continually ask themselves, “Have disagreements, or overwork, or cliques, or personality conflicts, or misunderstandings, or tele-working, or something else caused our togetherness to narrow, or plug up? What can I do now to clear things away and improve the flow?” Spending some time thinking about this, and putting together a plan to address it, is a worthwhile exercise.

Bringing the work and workers together must be the goal of every leader. And, it makes it better ride.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on leadership research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Find short insights on Twitter @JerryRStrom.

With the pandemic in mind, the question is, “When are things going to return to normal?”

I believe the simple answer is that they most likely won’t. Let me explain.

It takes big things to drive big changes. If a worldwide shutdown won’t do it, nothing will. Recent events have been on such an extreme scale there will be some fundamental changes to how people communicate, work, gather, share information, do business, react and interact in the future. Not that we won’t see some of our old ways again … but we’ve been given a dramatic shove toward thinking and acting differently.

We can expect less traveling, getting into cars, or planes, and more logging on. More time figuring out how to manage a household, while balancing teleworking, teaching school, streaming information, ordering groceries, seeing the doctor online, and avoiding our neighbors. Never have homes been castles with thicker walls.

We’re sheltered-in-place for now, but many may never really emerge. It’s just too easy to sit behind a computer screen, and much less dangerous. They’ll “keep their social distance, thank you very much.” In other words, “withdraw.”

Withdrawal from one another is not a good thing. Especially leaders.

So what does this mean for leaders?

Tech does a lot, but not everything. (First of all, it won’t get you a haircut.) The main point here is that technology, and I’m talking about technology as a communications / work tool, may connect you to websites, google searches, email, chat, databases, media sources, etc. … but it is still not a substitute for relationships. Real relationships.

Forget that at your peril. Leaders need relationships to succeed.

So, as you face the future, you’ll need to figure out where technology helps, and where it gets in your way. How it does you good, and how it does you harm. When you should be efficient online, and when you should get out of your chair and go meet people. Maybe you won’t be shaking hands, but you can’t be a stranger and still be effective.

Leaders must strive for an authentic, person-to-person persona. Not just a middleman in data transfer, but a human being with a real understanding and appreciation for those around them. Introverts arise. Leaders who become experts in relationships will never be alone or lack the support of their people and peers.

Author’s note: As I walked the trail this morning, people were keeping their appropriate social distance – most still looking over as they passed by, offering a smile and a greeting – while a few made no eye contact at all, and entirely ignored everyone else. Being stand-offish and distancing yourself will not work for leaders. Ever. You just won’t have influence with people when you need it. And you always need it. Make time, even when you’re busy, to get-to-know, understand, listen to and acknowledge others.

– Jerry Strom

Twitter: @JerryRStrom. For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Find short insights on Twitter at #WordsofEncouragement.

In this issue we build on last month’s thought of leading in a way that “enables” others (rather than “bossing” them) so that they genuinely want to engage at work, enthusiastically participate, stay committed, and perform at their best.

I really don’t like being lost … or even somewhat unsure which way I should go. And, that discomfort is accentuated when I’ve traveled abroad.

Attempting to get up to speed with a new language, my first focus is trying to identify and remember the local words used on directional signs at the airport / rail station.

In France I wanted SORTIE. In Spain, SALIDA. And in London last fall, I quickly learned I was looking for “WAY OUT” as the descriptive term for EXIT.

With that in mind, I began noticing WAY OUT wherever we went. Some traffic signs instructed drivers to GIVE WAY (yield), but in only one instance did I see WAY IN at an entrance. It must have been 50 to 1 between the number of WAY OUT’s vs. WAY IN’s.

The Leadership Lesson

When we think of “Leader as WAY MAKER,” we’re confronted with the truth employees are continually deciding … “Should I stay or should I go?” (You can thank the English punk rock band The Clash for immortalizing in Rock ‘n Roll history the idea of “being unsure of what to do?”)

That’s because most jobs are not fully satisfying … and most of us yearn for something to make our lives, our work, our experiences, our days, our relationships … more fun, more energizing, more meaningful, more satisfying.

In most workplaces an undercurrent of dissatisfaction or lethargy persists. It doesn’t take too many negative workplace experiences to sour even the best attitudes (one survey suggesting after just 6 months a worker’s engagement begins waning and continues in a downward direction).

Workers check out or begin looking for a WAY OUT.

WAY MAKER

To change these thoughts in a positive direction, the modern leadership role has an essential motivational necessity – the need to be an “attractive” leader … focused on attracting people.

WAY MAKERS (leaders) need to proactively put together words, actions, policies, plans, and purposes that show people a WAY IN – developing connection and rapport.

That means making it plain and well-understood why the work is so important … why it makes such a real difference in helping people … and why they are so important to getting it done – why their individual efforts are mighty contributions … and why you appreciate each one of them personally. Show them you have a big heart for the worker! (Make sure you actually have a big heart for the work / worker.)

The WAY IN works when you believe it, live it, show it, never forget it … because it’s the best way forward and is a real difference maker when you look at results.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on leadership research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Find short insights on Twitter @JerryRStrom.

This story is offered as a way to help you become more aware, more mindful, and more effective as a leader.

When my kids were much younger, they would often blurt out “loop way, loop way, loop way” from the backseat as we were driving home and neared one of the turns to our house. You see, there were a couple different ways of going, and they were adamant they wanted to go the “loop way.”

Regretfully, too often I drove straight ahead as I pursued what I felt was the fastest, most direct route home. In truth, there was probably very little difference between the two. As most parents have experienced, I must have sometimes been just a little too tired to listen … but more often than not, as I reflect on it now, I just kept going most times because I had my preferred way of getting there, and I was the one driving.

I can see now a leadership mistake I was making that I didn’t see then.

The Rub

When you’re in charge, and have some authority, and are responsible for “deciding” for a group, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “know-it-all-ism.” Or, “my-way-or-the-highway-ism.” Or, “this-is-the-way-we-do-it-here-ism.”

Those ways are probably alluring to you, because you get what you want. (Or you think you do … so go ahead and tell yourself that few people want an indecisive, unsure leader. I agree that’s generally true.)

But, on the other hand, very few people want the other extreme either … to be continually “bossed” or coerced into always doing it someone else’s way, not thinking for themselves, or just going along. You see, most of us like to have some ownership, or control over our circumstances. And when we do, it makes our work more satisfying and rewarding (i.e. “we feel better about it”), which keeps us interested in what we’re doing.

Isn’t it also true that making work attractive is how the best leaders get the most out of their people and the work that they do? I think so.

Begin by becoming a better listener … being aware in the first place that people want to go a different way. And then, being open to the possibility there are other ways, just as good, that will get the job done and produce the results you, and your organization expect. Give them a voice. Respect their thoughts. And clear the way.

Leaders Are Way Makers

You’ll get the best from people when you open up new ways of thinking, working, collaborating, getting things done, and making progress – which goes a long way toward helping people find meaning on the job. It’s how leaders create energy, develop new possibilities, and see pathways forward.

Be a way maker.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on leadership research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Find short insights on Twitter @JerryRStrom.

These last couple of years I’ve been blessed to visit some extraordinary places, and see some things having historical, artistic and cultural significance that were entirely new to me.

The Edgar Degas exhibit at the Musee d’Orsay was one of them.

The focal point of his work – the opera.

Now I know next to nothing about opera, but Degas worked to capture the entirety of the effort – not just beauty of the performance. He painted the practice, the people, and the energy behind the scenes, which were necessary to bring the opera to life. He sought to see it from many different perspectives and angles, not a just a singular view.

Here’s the Leadership Lesson.

To truly be effective in leadership you need to have an “inclusive” vision of your organization. That means seeing it from new places and perspectives beyond your own. It’s too easy to get focused on the end-results, or just your immediate concerns, and miss the many small things that make up the big picture.

Seeing more broadly is the only way to ID things which are inconsistent or incompatible with your goals and need to be addressed before they have a negative impact.

And Then There’s This.

Have you thought about what you want your team, group, organization to become? Now would be a good time. It’s a new decade. Right?

Vision also means you have to pick something. You have to decide what you’re going to “be?” And then do something about it. So why not make a commitment to “becoming” something by beginning this year? Think. Decide. Act.

“I want a leader who can harness the energy and spirit and share their vision in such a way as to cause me to want to follow. I want my leader to know where we are headed. I want to trust their judgment. I expect the actions of the leader to be in service to that goal. Once we have a clear vision; strategies and priorities can all follow.”

Isn’t perfect vision 2020? Let’s go for it.

– Jerry Strom

For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on leadership research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Find short insights on Twitter @JerryRStrom.

A snowy Thanksgiving made for an eventful holiday this year. Eight-year old Abby and I climbed aboard a toboggan at the top of the sledding hill … and let it fly.

It wasn’t long before we were drifting off course … quickly followed by turning wildly sideways … and topped off by a rather spectacular crash half-way down the slope. Abby was fine, but for me there was a very solid smack to the ribs as I hit the packed snow and rolled to a stop. This was followed by a sheepish trek dragging the sled behind me back to the group watching below, as they just shook their heads, and wondered about my judgment.

I had to face-the-fact I’d lost control when it had been totally up to me to guide us safely along.

What Happened?

Thinking back on what went wrong, there was no obvious and effective way of steering that plastic missile. I had just thoughtlessly sat down, holding on to the rope, and thinking that would set our direction. In reality, holding on to that rope did absolutely nothing to steer the sled. Guiding it was more nuanced than that.

Be Careful What You Hold On To.

All of which makes me wonder, “How many of us in leadership sometimes hold on to the wrong things as we go along?” It doesn’t mean we do them all the time, but it does mean we can occasionally slip up, and have a bad fall.

Things like:

1. Not Listening – what you perceive as the problem is often incorrect.

2. Losing People’s Trust – don’t pretend “it’s someone else” so you don’t have to be embarrassed or admit you were wrong.

3. Dishonesty / Misrepresentation – thinking that misleading people in a small way now won’t cause a bigger problem later.

4. Assuming You Know It All / Have All the Answers – expand your views, because fresh ideas lead to bigger and better results.

5. Poor Communication – confusion, frustration, and a lack of motivation come from poorly explained goals and expectations.

6. Thinking You Can Do It All by Yourself – don’t believe you can be successful without having a competent team surrounding you.

7. Lacking Vision – stagnation, boredom, and dissatisfaction set in when people don’t feel they are going somewhere and doing something important.

Each of these seven things stood out in our “Fault Lines Survey” as the biggest mistakes a leader can make. So if you’re hanging on to any of them, even in passing, you’re likely heading toward an epic failure. Be aware, and let those things go before they lead you into trouble.

With that said … Happy Sledding and have a Joyous and Merry Christmas.

– Jerry Strom

Twitter: @JerryRStrom. For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on research on the biggest mistakes a leader can make, by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Find short insights on Twitter at #FaultLinesSurvey.

In our little, local church a couple Sundays ago … the lights were flashing on and off, the sound system was popping in and out, the computer running the video projectors was rebooting time and again, and poor Pastor Tim was trying to give his sermon from memory, because he emailed himself his text before leaving home, but was unaware the internet wasn’t working in his office.

OY VEY!

(All of this was connected to our local utility’s efforts to turn the power off when windy conditions in our dry Northern California climate increased the potential fire hazard from downed power lines.)

For someone trying to speak (and people trying to listen), those were some serious distractions. I’m glad I was there … but I didn’t get much out of it.

I’m thinking something similar is commonly experienced in most workplaces – communication failures, caused by distracted leaders.

Over the last decade of collecting surveys and studying leadership practices, I’ve seen a recurring theme which is the absolute importance of communicating well. This means, “tuning-in to the workforce, engaging them, and responding with messages that resonate with their real-life, at-work experiences.”

You can’t effectively do this if you only sparingly give people your attention. Don’t let the other demands of your job pull you away from spending time with your workers, listening and responding appropriately.

Stay Focused.

“A leader must be able to communicate in many different ways and broadly relate to many different kinds of people – assuring everyone’s ideas, thoughts, activities and decisions are always clear.”

Eliminating distractions works for everyone.

I agree with the thought, “If you’re too busy to do this … then you’re too busy!”

– Jerry Strom

Twitter: @JerryRStrom. For more information about our leadership and team development programs, please visit http://www.JerryStrom.com . Join the mailing list to receive new articles as they are published. This article is based on research by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Find short insights on Twitter at #WordsofEncouragement.