Management Craft

Most Important #Coaching Habits from #Stillpower @danielpink

My pal, KC, alerted me to Dan Pink's latest post called The 4 Most Overlooked Attributes of Successful Coaches which pulls from Garrett Kramer's book Stillpower: The Inner Source of Athletic Excellence.

Check it out, I love the list and explanations, especially the 4th one, which is "when in doubt, they turn to love."

While these deeper connections are somewhat common in the world of athletes and their coaches, it is less so in the business world between performers and their coaches. Why? The role is essentially the same, or it should be. Coaches, good ones, are driven to help performers excel, succeed, and grow. What are they driven by? Love, hopefully.

If our work is fueled by duty - it will be responsive but not proactive.

If our work is fueled by habit - it will be regular but not catalytic.

If our work is fueled by ambition - it will be flashy but not illuminating.

If our work is fueled by collegiality - it will be friendly but not go deep enough.

But when it is fueled by love, anything is possible.

Stop Copying Me! @rajsetty #innovation

While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, it usually doesn't work when copying another company's products or services.  To be truly successful you need to innovate.  Without innovation, you're just playing catch-up.  Raj Setty has a wonderful mini saga about imitation (click here to check it out).  So come up with your own great ideas and let the competition chase after you!

BTW - this idea applies to management, too. We all need to invent how we will lead based on our strengths, our team's strengths and needs, our situation, and our intentions. If there is another manager in your organization who seem very successful, copying him or her will not likely work for you. Great managers come in so many shapes and sizes and this is the way it ought to be.

Have You Met the New Boss?

Getting a new boss can be a time of great uncertainty.  You're never sure how differently he/she will want to do things and if he/she has big plans for the office.  And whether he/she will like you and the job you're doing.  But while you're obsessing about whether things will go smoothly for you during this time of change, what's been lost is that the new boss has it even tougher than you.  The new boss has a whole new company/department/group of employees/way of doing things to get used to while you only have a different boss.  Steve Roseler brings up this great point in a recent post and reminds us that the most important question isn't "How is this going to impact ME?" but "How can I help you?"

Check out Steve's post here.

I would also add that being proactive about helping and getting to know the new boss is good for you, too. Think about the first time you went to summer camp and you felt nervous and unsure. The first people who reached out to you became your most prized buddies. It is always helpful to build connections with managers and co-corkers early.

Who is waiting for you? #management

Although patience is often a virtue, many of us run a quart or two low. We anxiously await information, decisions, calls, and answers. We toss and turn and imagine far out worst-case scenarios.

Waiting stinks.

As managers, people are often waiting on you. Do you appreciate the anguish or stress that you might be causing?

Take the initiative this week to reach out to the folks who are waiting on you and help your team members who are waiting on people in other departments. Even if you do not know the answer or if you have not yet decided, any update will be welcome and will help tame the production of unlikely assumptions.

There are some folks - we all know at least one - who make people wait FAR TOO LONG. The world seems to revolve on their cues. We don't like working for or with these folks because it's not enjoyable when we cannot move forward. Withholding information is not power - it is hassle and therefore reduces your actual impact and power (because people will not respect you).

Follow-up is key. If you are overwhelmed and don't have a good handle on your deadlines, seek help. Having too much to do is not a good excuse for leaving people hanging.

The preceding message was prompted by recent events. I have observed the mental and physical toll that waiting has caused a few friends. Generally focused and motivated, they are struggling to have impact and are walking around like zombies. All because they are waiting for important decisions and answers that could and will likely change their careers.

If you are feeling stressed that is caused by your response to waiting, find a diversion. Take on small things and get them done. Talk to a friend. And don't be afraid to follow-up and ask for the information you need. Sometimes people do not realized what a big deal it is to you.

The is so imaginitive. Show it at your next meeting. #TED

I love this! Every now and then I run across something that shows imagination to the power of 10. This TED video from Shea Hembrey will surely expand your thinking about what's possible and even more important, what might be worth trying. Imagine what it must feel like to live through such an open lens of possibility. Wow, I wanna go THERE.

"Transform self by making it more complex." Grt quote from #flow

I love this passage in Csikszentmihalyi's classic Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

"In our studies, we found that every flow activity, whether it involved competition, chance, or any other dimension of experience, had this in common: It provided a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality. It pushed the person to higher levels of performance, and led to previously undreamed-of states of consciousness. In short, it transformed the self by making is more complex." pg 74

Sometimes these experiences are not at all pleasant while engaging in them - for example, while addressing an angry crowd, searching for victims in a disaster, climbing K2 during a blizzard, coaching a smart but clueless team member, lifting heavy weights, fighting a fire, etc. In fact, flow experiences are often not pleasurable at the time, but become among our most rewarding and valued experiences.

I love the part of the quote "sense of discovery...new reality." What might you engage in this week or month that has these qualities?

And for all the managers and leaders out there - might connecting with people become a flow experience? It certainly could if it were to become a goal of yours (like a real goal, deeply held, not just a goal that we put on a list because it sounds good/reasonable) and if you were driven to make each interaction better than the last.

Rediscovering Wonder and Resoluteness #ted #creativity

I love this TED talk from artist Janet Echelman. Along with being fascinating and beautiful, what struck me about her story is the lengths and depths she went for her work. As we head into the weekend, I will leave you with this question: To what would you apply this level of perseverance and passion?

Individual Ownership the Key to Interdependence? @drbret

Did you ever wish you could just wave a magic wand and improve how well you do your job?  Well, I don't have a magic wand for you but I do want to pass along 10 keys to real responsibility courtesy of Bret Simmons.  Bret discusses how to fully take responsibility for your job performance and suggests that when we demostrate this higher level of ownership, we can build stronger relationships (our true vehicle for getting things done).  Take a look at Bret's list and see what the keys can unlock for you. I love #8:

8. Be trustworthy as well as trusting of others.

I find that many people remain stuck on this one. And all the media stories about slime balls and scoundrels does not help. I was telling my husband that if aliens watched our new programs to determine what kind of a species we were, they would conclude that we were idiots! Which is not true, but the new often highlights the lowlights of humanity.

Even so, we cannot do our best work without mutually trusting relationships.

I Promise I Won't Forget My Promise @professorford

We all have a To Do list but what about a "Due" list?  This is a list of promises we've made.  I've broken promises.  I fully intended to do what I said I would but I let other things go first and the promise got pushed back and ultimately forgotten.  The mental garbage associated with these dangling commitment is bad enough, never mind that it means we have let someone down. Ugh. Jeffrey Ford discusses in his blog about how our integrity is tied to keeping our word.  Check out his post here and share it.  Creating a due list is a great idea - so much more useful than a to-do list!

When a vacation is not. a.k.a. I need to get away from my gadgets!

With Summer finally here, many of us are thinking about a vacation and planning trips to the beach, sight-seeing, and visiting relatives.  But are these going to be true vacations where you unplug from your work and focus on family and fun?  Peter Vajda on the Management-Issues blog discusses the reasons so many people no longer leave work behind when they go on vacation.  Some are afraid their job won't be there when they get back and that's understandable.  But really, is there anything more sad than someone missing an incredible sunset in an exotic land because they're busy yakking on their phone about this month's financial report? No. Been there, done that, and I cry when I see the shirt.

I agree with Peter when he says that "The upsetting fallout of living in a "vacation is work" world is sacrificing one's personal sense of independence and the abdication of precious healthy, rejuvenating, soulful and relaxing time."

Click here for Peter's post and leave your work behind the next time you're on vacation.

I have started taking baby steps toward a real vacation by leaving the iPhone, iPad, and iBook off and in my home office for one day of the weekend. Feels quite strange and I like it.