Today I found myself in an awkward situation during a three-way conversation with my wife and our adult son. His weekly phone calls are a Sunday afternoon ritual, a time to catch up on the work week, sports action, and upcoming plans. I confess that many weeks I am too quiet and too easily distracted. Today it was the Indy 500 race muted in the background and an urge to take a nap that caused the problem. I found myself startled to realize at one point in the exchange that everyone was waiting for my response and my brain was nowhere to be found.
Multitasking has been touted by many as the ultimate tool for improving efficiency in the workplace. Yet recent studies have shown that the very idea our brains can effectively manage multiple tasks at once is a myth. Even if we did somehow become proficient at chatting on the phone while answering email would you want to be the person on the other end of that conversation? As my personal story illustrates, a simple lack of focus during the conversation resulted in a moment of dissatisfaction for everyone involved.
Imagine if each of us viewed our capacity to offer full and undivided attention as energy – energy that could transform everyone and everything around us? We have all experienced this gift at some point in our lives. As a child I remember the joy our family dog felt when any of us provided her with the love and undivided attention she craved. Later I was mesmerized just to be noticed by the young woman who would someday be my wife. Nothing else matters in these special moments because of the focus we experience at the hands of another.
In my executive coaching I find it isn’t always easy to remain focused on the needs of the other person. This is especially true when the conversation drifts or the person takes longer than I might like to share their story. But I also know the joy of being so focused during the session that my client leaves feeling empowered or emboldened by our time together. The latter only happens when I am willing to harness the energy of my attention so those moments can transform.
There are so many distractions clamoring for our attention; from commercials to emails and tweets to text messages. Our minds seem to crave the excitement of being “occupied” with activities. Yet the very thing we all crave deeply – relationships – can only be fully realized if we focus and commit our attention to their development. If we start small, by simply doing one thing at a time, perhaps we can learn this valuable skill. Our next weekend phone call will be the place where it starts for me.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Hypocrisy in the Workplace
Hypocrisy is defined as the act of persistently professing beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that are inconsistent with one's actions. In our modern-day society and the competitive environments often found in business and political arenas hypocrisy has become deeply entrenched as an acceptable way to live and work. Leaders frequently find themselves promoting a public position or persona that is incongruent with their private practices. Even when caught in this deception, they may still espouse the virtue of their own character while quickly deflecting blame or attention toward others.
Cyclist Floyd Landis has been touting his innocence for nearly four years since he was stripped of the Tour de France crown in 2006 for failing a doping test. This past week he came clean by admitting he had cheated yet immediately pointed the finger of accusation at seven-time Tour winner, Lance Armstrong. Does Landis’ admission of guilt now give him credibility to point out perceived deceptions by others? In simple terms, his actions these past four years were built on a lie and now his condemnation of others for behavior that he engaged in is hypocritical.
The temptation to maintain a façade seems overwhelming at times. Perhaps that is why so many leaders in sports, politics, religion, and business are hypocrites. Al Gore condemns global warming but lives in an oversized mansion and flies around the world on private jets. Mark McGuire stoically declares he never took steroids before a congressional committee only to admit in recent months that he did use banned substances. Congressional leaders lay blame at the feet of Wall Street bankers while failing to acknowledge their own version of financial collapse known as Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. The list of hypocritical behaviors and those who perpetrate them could fill this blog for the next few months.
Am I being hypocritical by mentioning public figures without calling attention to my own prejudices? It’s an appropriate question and one reason I chose to write about this subject. In the work I do to prepare and coach others it would be easy to pretend that I have figured out how to be an effective and inspirational leader. I could tout success stories and point to the results I have achieved in my personal and professional life. But I have chosen a different path.
Most of my classes include examples of recent and past failures, current personal struggles, and a willingness to admit when I don’t know the answer to a tough question. In my coaching I try to model vulnerability by sharing fears and doubts with those who share their struggles with me. I’m sure there are places in my life where prejudice and hypocrisy still wait to be revealed. You probably harbor similar beliefs and opinions. The challenge leaders’ face isn’t how to keep these secrets hidden from view but rather to muster the courage to admit they exist and publically acknowledge how difficult it is to be transparent and vulnerable. We may even need to repent and choose a different way.
Hypocrisy has been called "the tribute that vice pays to virtue” (François de La Rochefoucauld, Maxims). That seemly innocent connection invites us to accept hypocrisy as a necessary part of the social exchange that takes place in the workplace. But in so doing we may corrode the well-being of those who continually make, or are forced to make, use of hypocrisy in order to maintain power or position. It’s time for leaders at all levels to “come clean” without pointing fingers at the other person. I wonder how that will turn out.
Cyclist Floyd Landis has been touting his innocence for nearly four years since he was stripped of the Tour de France crown in 2006 for failing a doping test. This past week he came clean by admitting he had cheated yet immediately pointed the finger of accusation at seven-time Tour winner, Lance Armstrong. Does Landis’ admission of guilt now give him credibility to point out perceived deceptions by others? In simple terms, his actions these past four years were built on a lie and now his condemnation of others for behavior that he engaged in is hypocritical.
The temptation to maintain a façade seems overwhelming at times. Perhaps that is why so many leaders in sports, politics, religion, and business are hypocrites. Al Gore condemns global warming but lives in an oversized mansion and flies around the world on private jets. Mark McGuire stoically declares he never took steroids before a congressional committee only to admit in recent months that he did use banned substances. Congressional leaders lay blame at the feet of Wall Street bankers while failing to acknowledge their own version of financial collapse known as Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. The list of hypocritical behaviors and those who perpetrate them could fill this blog for the next few months.
Am I being hypocritical by mentioning public figures without calling attention to my own prejudices? It’s an appropriate question and one reason I chose to write about this subject. In the work I do to prepare and coach others it would be easy to pretend that I have figured out how to be an effective and inspirational leader. I could tout success stories and point to the results I have achieved in my personal and professional life. But I have chosen a different path.
Most of my classes include examples of recent and past failures, current personal struggles, and a willingness to admit when I don’t know the answer to a tough question. In my coaching I try to model vulnerability by sharing fears and doubts with those who share their struggles with me. I’m sure there are places in my life where prejudice and hypocrisy still wait to be revealed. You probably harbor similar beliefs and opinions. The challenge leaders’ face isn’t how to keep these secrets hidden from view but rather to muster the courage to admit they exist and publically acknowledge how difficult it is to be transparent and vulnerable. We may even need to repent and choose a different way.
Hypocrisy has been called "the tribute that vice pays to virtue” (François de La Rochefoucauld, Maxims). That seemly innocent connection invites us to accept hypocrisy as a necessary part of the social exchange that takes place in the workplace. But in so doing we may corrode the well-being of those who continually make, or are forced to make, use of hypocrisy in order to maintain power or position. It’s time for leaders at all levels to “come clean” without pointing fingers at the other person. I wonder how that will turn out.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Down but Not Out
On Friday night the Philadelphia Flyers made some history with their 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semi-finals. By winning four games in a row the team completed an improbable series win after trailing 3-0, a feat accomplished by only two other teams in NHL history. For now, the Flyers can stake their claim to the biggest comeback in the history of any Philadelphia sports franchise. Oh, by the way, can you tell I’m a fan?
I promise this posting won’t be a recap of the game or the series. Since my thoughts typically focus on leadership issues I want to offer a few brief observations about the lessons I noted as the Flyers battled back from the brink of elimination. What did they do that ensured success? How do we respond as leaders and organizations when we face similar circumstances? Can a sports metaphor translate into the workplace or the boardroom?
The first thing I noticed as the team fell behind early in the series was their attitude. Hockey is a sport where a bad bounce, a surprise deflection, too many penalties, or a simple defensive breakdown leads to a scoring chance or a goal for the other team. The Flyers experienced their fair share of these circumstances in the first three games and yet their attitude didn’t change. They felt like they were playing well enough to win and knew that sooner or later their system would produce some goals and victories. As injuries mounted they didn’t complain but simply recognized the need to dig deeper or step up their play to overcome each new obstacle. Leaders must understand the important role their attitude plays in setting the tone and pressing ahead, even when challenges seem insurmountable.
Hockey is perhaps the best example of a team sport. Because of the speed, physical nature of the game, and variety of skills required, no one player can deliver a victory for his team. Believing in one’s teammates becomes paramount when facing adversity. It might have been easier to blame the goalie or a line-mate for the level of their play but the Flyers never did that. They acknowledged their failures and celebrated their successes as a team. Throughout the series, post-game interviews often reflected this confidence and trust in each other. Business leaders and their teams will struggle during hard times if they make the situation about themselves when things are going well or blame others when things are falling apart. Trusting team members and believing in each other could be the difference between losing and finding ways to come back.
A final thought about the Flyers and leadership. Their captain, Mike Richards, isn’t known for his fiery rhetoric or in-your-face discipline. He tends to model leadership by his level of play on the ice. As organizational leaders become further removed from the people they lead it is harder for those followers to observe how they conduct themselves every day. This situation is often magnified when the company is on the precipice of failure. Leaders in these circumstances sometimes try to insulate themselves from the very troubles and anxiety being felt by employees and others. A better strategy would be to model the winning attitude and never quit spirit you hope to instill in the team. That’s what Flyers leaders did throughout the Boston series.
Tonight the team will face a new set of challenges as they try to win one more series before the Stanley Cup finals. I’m optimistic because they have shown fans they know how to handle adversity. I believe they can do it because they believe in each other and their coaching system. Regardless of the outcome, my respect for the team has never been higher because they have reminded me that being down is not an excuse for being out. It’s a lesson worth remembering for years to come. Raising the Stanley Cup will just be a bonus.
I promise this posting won’t be a recap of the game or the series. Since my thoughts typically focus on leadership issues I want to offer a few brief observations about the lessons I noted as the Flyers battled back from the brink of elimination. What did they do that ensured success? How do we respond as leaders and organizations when we face similar circumstances? Can a sports metaphor translate into the workplace or the boardroom?
The first thing I noticed as the team fell behind early in the series was their attitude. Hockey is a sport where a bad bounce, a surprise deflection, too many penalties, or a simple defensive breakdown leads to a scoring chance or a goal for the other team. The Flyers experienced their fair share of these circumstances in the first three games and yet their attitude didn’t change. They felt like they were playing well enough to win and knew that sooner or later their system would produce some goals and victories. As injuries mounted they didn’t complain but simply recognized the need to dig deeper or step up their play to overcome each new obstacle. Leaders must understand the important role their attitude plays in setting the tone and pressing ahead, even when challenges seem insurmountable.
Hockey is perhaps the best example of a team sport. Because of the speed, physical nature of the game, and variety of skills required, no one player can deliver a victory for his team. Believing in one’s teammates becomes paramount when facing adversity. It might have been easier to blame the goalie or a line-mate for the level of their play but the Flyers never did that. They acknowledged their failures and celebrated their successes as a team. Throughout the series, post-game interviews often reflected this confidence and trust in each other. Business leaders and their teams will struggle during hard times if they make the situation about themselves when things are going well or blame others when things are falling apart. Trusting team members and believing in each other could be the difference between losing and finding ways to come back.
A final thought about the Flyers and leadership. Their captain, Mike Richards, isn’t known for his fiery rhetoric or in-your-face discipline. He tends to model leadership by his level of play on the ice. As organizational leaders become further removed from the people they lead it is harder for those followers to observe how they conduct themselves every day. This situation is often magnified when the company is on the precipice of failure. Leaders in these circumstances sometimes try to insulate themselves from the very troubles and anxiety being felt by employees and others. A better strategy would be to model the winning attitude and never quit spirit you hope to instill in the team. That’s what Flyers leaders did throughout the Boston series.
Tonight the team will face a new set of challenges as they try to win one more series before the Stanley Cup finals. I’m optimistic because they have shown fans they know how to handle adversity. I believe they can do it because they believe in each other and their coaching system. Regardless of the outcome, my respect for the team has never been higher because they have reminded me that being down is not an excuse for being out. It’s a lesson worth remembering for years to come. Raising the Stanley Cup will just be a bonus.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Leadership and Culture
This week I was reminded on a couple of different occasions about the impact of culture in the workplace. My definition of culture is “an informal combination of behaviors, values, and attitudes that define ‘how we do things’ at work.” Although we may not talk about culture as a group or work team, most of us feel some pressure to act in a certain way with each other. Group culture has an impact on our behavior, attitudes, and satisfaction with our job. Some of us may “feel at home in our culture” while others may feel like a “stranger”. Culture affects how fast work gets processed, how we treat those outside the team, how detail-oriented we are, and how willing we are as a team to take risks.
Group culture comes from a variety of places. It can be strongly influenced by the behavioral or personality styles of the group leader or leaders. Sometime it is the most pronounced behavioral styles within a group that determine its culture, such as a strong need for results or a preference for harmony. The type of work a group does or its goals and mission can also shape its culture. Many not-for-profits will have a culture that stresses caring or empathy over logic and analysis. Even cohesion or tension within the group can create a culture.
What a work team values, deems important, rewards, or criticizes are often by-products of the team’s culture. In a culture where independence, directness, and results are rewarded those persons who prefer a more thoughtful pace or practice a concern for people may be under-appreciated or misunderstood. A culture that rewards enthusiasm, creativity, and passion might be critical of those who prefer caution, introversion, or rules. While none of these cultural influences are wrong they can serve as barriers to anyone whose behavior or preferences differ from the majority.
Leaders can use these cultural understandings to be more effective in managing and leading. If your group culture values high quality output, dependability, and punctuality then be aware that you run the risk of also being less innovative and more inflexible. Customers who value your attention to details may become frustrated by your slow turnaround time or unwillingness to consider new ideas. Without teaching your team to adjust their behavior you run the risk of losing valued clients.
Sometimes leaders need the help of outside resources to uncover the cultures that are often second-nature to us. We could benefit from inviting different behavioral styles to join the team and paying attention to their perspectives on problems and issues. Being open to ideas that aren’t part of our team culture can yield positive results for everyone involved.
Try to imagine your workplace team looking into a mirror. What reflections of themselves and their own behaviors will they be willing to see and acknowledge? How can you, as their leader, model openness to behavioral styles that may not fit the cultural norms? Is your workplace culture preventing the organization from adapting quickly to marketplace changes or creating anxiety because you aren’t focused enough? It’s time to recognize the important role culture plays in our work environments and adapt as needed to ensure long-term success.
Group culture comes from a variety of places. It can be strongly influenced by the behavioral or personality styles of the group leader or leaders. Sometime it is the most pronounced behavioral styles within a group that determine its culture, such as a strong need for results or a preference for harmony. The type of work a group does or its goals and mission can also shape its culture. Many not-for-profits will have a culture that stresses caring or empathy over logic and analysis. Even cohesion or tension within the group can create a culture.
What a work team values, deems important, rewards, or criticizes are often by-products of the team’s culture. In a culture where independence, directness, and results are rewarded those persons who prefer a more thoughtful pace or practice a concern for people may be under-appreciated or misunderstood. A culture that rewards enthusiasm, creativity, and passion might be critical of those who prefer caution, introversion, or rules. While none of these cultural influences are wrong they can serve as barriers to anyone whose behavior or preferences differ from the majority.
Leaders can use these cultural understandings to be more effective in managing and leading. If your group culture values high quality output, dependability, and punctuality then be aware that you run the risk of also being less innovative and more inflexible. Customers who value your attention to details may become frustrated by your slow turnaround time or unwillingness to consider new ideas. Without teaching your team to adjust their behavior you run the risk of losing valued clients.
Sometimes leaders need the help of outside resources to uncover the cultures that are often second-nature to us. We could benefit from inviting different behavioral styles to join the team and paying attention to their perspectives on problems and issues. Being open to ideas that aren’t part of our team culture can yield positive results for everyone involved.
Try to imagine your workplace team looking into a mirror. What reflections of themselves and their own behaviors will they be willing to see and acknowledge? How can you, as their leader, model openness to behavioral styles that may not fit the cultural norms? Is your workplace culture preventing the organization from adapting quickly to marketplace changes or creating anxiety because you aren’t focused enough? It’s time to recognize the important role culture plays in our work environments and adapt as needed to ensure long-term success.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Some Things About Fred
My youngest brother, Fred, died unexpectedly in 1987 at the age of 28. I’ve never written much about him or his life except for the eulogy shared at his funeral. What prompted me to introduce him here was his ability to make work art. Perhaps I should clarify. You see, Fred was an artist whose personal gifts extended far beyond the canvas or the clay. His gift was the ability to change the people around him. Let me try to explain.
Most of us think an artist is someone skilled at their craft – a painter, poet, songwriter, singer, sculptor, or novelist. Fred was well trained and skilled in his craft of graphic design. He attended art school, earned his degree, and established a business in Philadelphia. His clients appreciated the creative, high quality logos, posters, brochures, and other items he produced for them. But did that make him an artist?
My brother was an artist because of how he interacted with everyone he met in the short time he was given on this earth. I remember his love of life and passion for living it. He paid attention to his young nieces and nephew (my son) at every family gathering engaging them in playful fun and encouraging their own talents. Fred wasn’t bound by the need for approval or perfection. He generously shared who he was with everyone, knowing some probably wouldn’t understand.
I doubt if many leaders view their work as creating art. After all, we don’t show up at our desks with a paintbrush, a stack of sketchpads, or a lump of pottery clay. Is there art in answering the telephone, solving a customer problem, or chairing today’s meeting? Are you changing how people feel about themselves or about your company by how you treat them? Is the work you do insightful or bold, imaginative or brave? Do you generously share of yourself and your gifts with others?
Fred deserves to be recognized for the special way he approached life and business. The talents he had made him a competent employee and entrepreneur. The materials he created provided a livelihood and earned him a loyal following. The person he was made him an artist. I appreciate this leadership lesson from my “little brother” and hope it will encourage everyone who reads this blog to find the artist within you and be brave enough to let it out.
Most of us think an artist is someone skilled at their craft – a painter, poet, songwriter, singer, sculptor, or novelist. Fred was well trained and skilled in his craft of graphic design. He attended art school, earned his degree, and established a business in Philadelphia. His clients appreciated the creative, high quality logos, posters, brochures, and other items he produced for them. But did that make him an artist?
My brother was an artist because of how he interacted with everyone he met in the short time he was given on this earth. I remember his love of life and passion for living it. He paid attention to his young nieces and nephew (my son) at every family gathering engaging them in playful fun and encouraging their own talents. Fred wasn’t bound by the need for approval or perfection. He generously shared who he was with everyone, knowing some probably wouldn’t understand.
I doubt if many leaders view their work as creating art. After all, we don’t show up at our desks with a paintbrush, a stack of sketchpads, or a lump of pottery clay. Is there art in answering the telephone, solving a customer problem, or chairing today’s meeting? Are you changing how people feel about themselves or about your company by how you treat them? Is the work you do insightful or bold, imaginative or brave? Do you generously share of yourself and your gifts with others?
Fred deserves to be recognized for the special way he approached life and business. The talents he had made him a competent employee and entrepreneur. The materials he created provided a livelihood and earned him a loyal following. The person he was made him an artist. I appreciate this leadership lesson from my “little brother” and hope it will encourage everyone who reads this blog to find the artist within you and be brave enough to let it out.
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