Leaders: Time to Wash Your Windows

Photo Credit Richard Chicoine iCopyright 2009

The Essential Leadership Question

What if every leader spent 2 minutes a day asking themselves one essential question. What would that all important question be?

Let me share the back story before we get to The Big Ask.

At a leadership event last week, the final presenter summarized the key messages of The Five Temptations of a CEO by Patrick Lencioni. He noted that this fable is an easy read, but, as all things which seem simple at the outset, the complexity surfaces in the urge to reflect on personal experiences related to the content. Reflection is fundamental leadership tool which unfortunately, takes a back seat to the daily grind.

Lencioni suggests that higher level leaders make authentic, consistent choices. He advises leaders to:

1. Choose results over status

2. Choose accountability over popularity

3. Choose clarity over certainty

4. Choose productive conflict over harmony

5. Choose trust over invulnerability

Results. Accountability. Clarity. Productive conflict. Trust.

Easy enough, but how do leaders really know that these are the standards they set for themselves: consistently, over time, authentically and passionately?

How do the people who follow them, repeat the mantra?

I could name a hundred leaders who fall into the category of “not” making these choices.

They have egos that drown out the potential of employee engagement in important projects.

Their need to be recognized by the community at large overshadows the white lies that cover up their accountability for financial decisions.

They do not listen to the part time staff person who deals with customers’ complaints, because “those people” with the gripes are only the minority. They let teams fall further into dysfunction because the surface story of the organization is covered in smiles and conflict is taboo.

They rarely say, “I was wrong” or “you are right”.

These leaders are stuck in their own blind spots. They might find more opportunities to wash their windows

- to really see the world around them.

On the other hand, I’ve been led by some of the best of the best.

Because of their leadership, I’m a better follower as well as a better leader. They’ve let me face the fire and go for “impossible” results;

held me to task when I offered excuses;

asked for the what and the how and the who instead of allowing a poorly executed strategy to be the starting point.

They have given permission for us to disagree, to engage in a productive conflict but more importantly, they have taught others to negotiate well and communicate clearly.

They have encouraged everyone to make mistakes, admit failures, discover breaking points, as well as to ask for help and support.

These leaders recognize their blind spots, and move toward self-discovery habitually.

?

So, possibly there is one essential question, if asked often enough, that would change how leaders lead.

Let me suggest this one as The Big Ask:

“Why should anyone be led by me?”

I’d like to leave that, with you.

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Maggie Chicoine specializes in “Strategies to Think Ahead”.

Maggie posts her MagOhZine blog weekly at www.theideasculptor.com

Her popular column, The Tuesday File, appears in www.lakesuperior.com regularly. Maggie is an experienced professional speaker, master of ceremonies and master coach as well as Lead Facilitator for Leadership Thunder Bay.

Twitter her @ ideasculptor or contact at 1 800 587 1767 or maggiechicoine@gmail.com

Comments more than welcome! I'll donate a loonie for every comment to a local charitable organization. Unless authorized, your comments will not be published.

Einstein's Mother At Your Meeting

Real Questions for Real Meetings

Bored at meetings?

Here’s a challenge for you. Count the number of questions that are asked around the table. Divide the questions into three categories:

1. The grade six grammar “open probes”, starting with the W’s
2. The questions that end in “yes” or “no” answers
3. And the summary type questions, such as “so what you’re saying is....?”

If you’d like to be even more ambitious, record who asked the question. Did everyone have a turn? Who took over the meeting? How meaningful were the questions in moving the dialogue forward to an end result?

My point is, meetings cost money. A lot of money. Add up the salaries of everyone at the table, the cost of the room, the coffees and lunches, the mileage and even the time it takes to write and distribute agendas and reports. Is this investment worth the result?

If you’re already thinking, “No, it’s a simple waste of time”, then you might consider the role of questions in transforming the essence of your meeting.
At times, the obvious question just needs to be asked. Typically, decision making is based on assumptions. Assumptions can lead to flawed solutions. Questions clarify. A good example is Lois Lane, who never did ask Superman if he knew Clark Kent.

Apparently, Albert Einstein’s mother Pauline asked her little dyslexic genius, “What good questions did you ask today?”. She’s the kind of meeting participant I’d like to have at the next strategic planning event.

Questions, carefully designed, can bring out the best in people. Questions are at the heart of employee engagement: commitment, truth, integrity and innovation. They are the foundation of dialogue, especially when they are aimed at gathering more information.

Try “Tell me about...” as a substitute for “who, what, when, where, how”. Eliminate “why”. Why? People get defensive instantly.

If your organization is considering the cost of coffee as a potential budget item to eliminate, there’s a better solution.

Look to the structure and dynamics of your meetings, specifically how your conversations happen. Who is asking what?

Ask each other what’s important, and better still, what’s most important? The right questions will lead to the right people, making the right decisions, for the right reasons, at the right time. Albert Einstein’s mother seemed to be onto something, didn’t she!

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Maggie Chicoine is a Master Coach, experienced facilitator and professional writer. She can help you to design meetings that are effective, efficient and fun. She guarantees that no one sleeps! Follow Maggie on Twitter @ ideasculptor.

The Tuesday File appears in LakeSuperiorNews.com weekly. Reach her at 1 800 587 1767 or www.theideasculptor.com

Rock Em, Sock Em but Pre-Plan

How to Never End Up Between a Rock and a Hard Place – Again

Time to read, and re-read: 10 minutes
Time to process and act: a few hours

Call it angst, torment or even just worry. When you’re stuck in that tight spot and nothing seems to make sense, how do you emerge? Bruised from battle or wiser for the effort – or both? Like this photo of a birch tree valiantly growing through a crevice on the shores of Lake Superior - purposefully posted sideways - it's hard to keep our perspective "real".

Let me suggest that you prepare in advance. Chances are, you are going to be in crisis situation, or have a deep decision to make at some point! Pre-planning can simplify even the worst of events. If you’re not ready right now, print off this page and keep it with your important documents for future reference.

This method, using 3 key questions about prioritizing important issues or ideas comes from the field of Developmental Coaching. When you judge your own thinking, you set limits on the possibilities available to you.

These 3 questions open up the process for you, so that, in effect, you are working backwards to your top priorities. I like the way author Stephen King refers to the “Boys in the Basement” as the judges who trash new ideas. By being aware of your internal garbage can, you are already on track. The 3 questions move you forward.

Here’s how to proceed.

Example: To keep this example on the lighter side, let’s say that you are trying to decide whether or not to leave your current employment and venture into entrepreneurship. Or, perhaps you are considering retirement, yet something is holding you back. Trying to quit smoking or lose weight? No matter what the problem, the 3 questions work.

Question 1: What’s Important?

Using a large notebook and coloured markers – a technique which gets a message to your innovative and abstract right brain – you list as many “important” features of entrepreneurship – retirement – health. Work on one problem at a time! So if you’re thinking about starting a business, stick with that and don’t confuse the boys in the basement by trying to simultaneously quit smoking.

At this stage, however, remember that your job also affects your family, your quality of life and spiritual expression, your hobbies, your vacations and obviously, your finances. If it’s important to you from any aspect, jot that information down in point form. Key words, no more than 7 words per item, tell your story. Be as specific as possible.

You don’t have to do this at one sitting. Try to add to the list at different times of the day, especially when you are either really relaxed, or very frustrated. Have fun, play; don’t take yourself too seriously!

When you have recorded 100 items, it’s time to move to Question 2, “What’s Really Important”

Question 2: What’s Really Important?

Using another coloured marker, circle or underline no more than 20 items from your first list. You must start to make clear choices. At times, combining one idea with another will create a burst of new thinking. Open yourself to bubbles of creativity while you are working on these lists. Add to the original list at any time.

Record the 20 items, on a separate pages, and elaborate on each. Ask yourself more questions, such as, “When this happens, what will it feel like, sound like, taste like?” “Who can help make this happen?” “What are the consequences if this doesn’t work out?” “What’s the cost? Financial? Relationships? Energy?” “What will become easier? More difficult?”

You’ll find that your thinking leads to 5 categories:
1. Financial, money issues
2. Mental, intellectual, emotional elements
3. Physical health and wellness
4. Relationships and social connections
5. Things you own and have to maintain


Question 3: What’s Most Important?

From the top 20, find the most important items. These represent your “heartbeat”, the things that make you tick, that you are reluctant to give up.

Circle them, using another colour once again. Try to narrow down the list to no more than 5 items. Three is optimal.

There are beliefs and truths embedded in the core of these choices. List these beliefs. Ask yourself, “How do I know these beliefs are true?” “What assumptions am I making?


Target Your Actions

This short list becomes the “bible” you follow. You know you are on track when your behavior matches your intentions. Let me just say that again, in case you are speed-reading. Your behavior, what you do every day, must match your intentions consistently.

Say, for example, that one of your most important choices is to increase your health and fitness. You intend to get out of bed at 6 am, and then exercise for 30 minutes. You are into the program for 2 weeks, and then you are scheduled for an out of town assignment. While you’re away, you don’t have time to follow your routine. When you return, you are tired. You think about getting back on the treadmill or out for a walk, but something seems to be holding you back. Is your behavior matching your intention? When the truth be told, is health and fitness really one of your MOST important choices?

Start over.

TO DO: Set measurements and timelines. Track your items daily. Be very specific. WSD (write stuff down); keep using the big notebook! Adjust your actions according to what is happening in your life, just don’t give up on your promises to yourself.

Stick with clear intentions, honest actions and steadfast movement in the direction you have chosen. Remember your commitment to yourself.

One More Example: “Sweet, Spirit-centred Simplicity”

With a bit of practice, you can shorten your 3 priorities into a mini phrase. Mine is: “Sweet, Spirit-centred Simplicity”. When I need to make a decision, whether it’s about grocery shopping or working with a corporate client, I ask myself: Is this sweet – does my intuition say yippee? Is there fun involved? Is this spirit-centred – am I acting according to my beliefs and values? Is this simple – are there hints of chaos involved? Is this too complex to break down into clear steps?

That’s why I don’t go grocery shopping on Saturday afternoons, and perhaps why I choose a small independent grocery store. Give me easy parking, short line-ups, smiling cashiers and fresh produce, and I won’t even look at the difference in prices. My beliefs and assumptions about life and work are mirrored in my shopping habits. They also apply to my entrepreneurial career, and my relationships with family and friends.

When you know what’s most important to you, life gets easier, work flows and relationships prosper. You can sleep well at night, knowing that you are functioning in the moment, instead of trying to herd cats and line up your ducks. What’s most important becomes your reputation and, in time, your legacy.

If you have questions, or need a coach to coach you through the questions, all you have to do is post a comment. No strings attached.

- Maggie

This Cracks You UP

Pay Attention to What Cracks You UP!

You know how sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time and something totally absurd happens and it turns out to be one of the funniest things you’ve ever seen and then you keep telling the story over and over again until you’re now celebrating your 100th birthday and the same thing is still funny?

OK, I broke the “Say It in Seven™” rule for the opening sentence. But here’s the HOW TO… that unplanned, seemingly insignificant episode stuck with you because you are open to the possibilities.

The “C” words in the Idea Du Jour (see column on the right) – your leverage points – all refer to the positive effects of allowing more space in your filters.

My recommendation?
1. Ask yourself more questions – that’s a coaching secret – and don’t rush with the answers. Simplify. Look for the obvious. Crack yourself UP by combining and canceling, colouring and cooling down. Don’t rush (this process)….hush………….

2. Listen. Don't talk so much. Watch as well as hear. Listen for the obvious; sometimes what's most obvious is most invisible.

3. Write stuff. Every day. Comedian Red Skelton wrote lists every single night before going to sleep. Everyday comments and happenings became his inspiration. Even if it doesn't make sense today, someday it might.

As a coach on call, all you have to do is email me and I'll send you a complimentary checklist of questions. Maggiechicoine@gmail.com .
BTW, subscribe to this feed (see below, way below!) and you'll get these leverage points automatically every Tuesday.

Keep on cracking,
Maggie
www.theideasculptor.com