Ideas-to-Action

The "Best Idea Ever"

I met the most amazing person earlier this week.  Jennifer Hale is a true expert in organizational development, leadership development, facilitation, and coaching.  Her joy and passion for helping people improve their lives and organizations radiates from her facial expressions, to the words she uses, to how she engages with people individually and as a group.  She has the unique ability to leave people in a better place than where they started.

In one of our training conversations this week, she told us about the "best idea ever".  I have thought about this idea, done some of it mentally, but never put the pen to paper. 

Life is about relationships.  We know that networking is critically important (both personally and professionally), but we often don't take the time to prioritize and invest in the relationships we want to build.  Now, we have technology like LinkedIn and Facebook to keep engaged with a variety of people who enter our lives, but...

Do you have your Top 20 list? 

Have you identified (i.e. written down on paper) the top 20 people who you want to build relationships with?  Notice, I did not say get something from (like a job recommendation or a work contract).  These are people that you are truly interested in and want to build a relationship that has 1) mutual enjoyment, 2) respect, 3) shared experiences, 4) trust, and 5) reciprocity (signs of a solid relationship from John Maxwell's "Talent is Never Enough").

You will find that your Top 20 will change over time.  Some people who were in the Top 20 will fall out, some will be added.  Always be open to new relationships.

For some people, getting to 20 is hard...stop reading right now, take 3 minutes and simply write down the Top 10 people that you want to develop deeper relationships with.  Was it who you expected?  Was it hard to find 10?  Who did you have to trade-off to get your top 10?  What are you doing today to invest in those relationships?  Do you have a plan to build the relationship?  Are your actions effective?  What could you do different?

One thought that was going through my mind as Jennifer was facilitating this week is that some people seem to treat the number of connections on LinkedIn as a "badge of honor" while others treat individuals with great honor and value.  We love to make connections through current technology.  They are easy and fast.  LinkedIn and Facebook are good tools to connect people, but then we must individually decide if we want to invest time and effort with specific people to build solid relationships.  We must take time to have conversations, not simply link to each other in the digital world.

How are you approaching networking and relationship building?  Are you investing in building solid relationships or simply created an on-line Rolodex?  Who is in your Top 20?

Jennifer, thanks for the spark...

Courageous Leadership

I am currently reading John Maxwell's new book "Talent is Never Enough".  First, I am a big fan of Maxwell's work (my disclaimer).  Second, I am really enjoying this read.  I particularly like his list about courageous leadership (pg 164)...

Courageous Leadership Simply Means I've Developed:

1. Convictions that are stronger than my fears.
2. Vision that is clearer than my doubts.
3. Spiritual sensitivity that is louder than popular opinion.
4. Self-esteem that is deeper than self protection.
5. Appreciation for discipline that is greater than my desire for leisure.
6. Dissatisfaction that is more forceful than the status quo.
7. Poise that is more unshakable than panic.
8. Risk taking that is stronger than safety seeking.
9. Right actions that are more robust than rationalization.
10. A desire to see potential reached more than to see people appeased.

Powerful.  Courageous.

...and speaking of pursuing your passion...

Maxine Clark has a great passion behind Build-a-Bear.  This story in BusinessWeek online is a wonderful little reminder about the joy you can receive (and help others create) by pursuing your passion.

I particularly like her closing comments:

Finally, you should always allow yourself to dream—and dream big—it's only through such thinking that great things happen. Don't limit yourself because you don't think your dream is attainable. You must start by believing you can truly achieve whatever you set your mind to, no matter how big it might seem. Not dreaming big enough is one of the biggest mistakes you can make—if you can't see your dream, how do you expect others to?

I have always been a strong proponent of dreaming big...or making your goals hilarious.

Doing

Hello everyone!  I am back from my unintended 6-week sabbatical.  What started as a simple delay in blog writing to "do" some work led to re-prioritization (my to do list was already long when I woke up in the morning) which ultimately led to procrastination (as I got a chance to take a breather).  Thanks for hanging with me during this time away.  Also, thanks to my friend Mark for holding me accountable to my blog commitment.

This has been a great 6-week journey of learning for me, particularly around the concept of "doing".  "Do" is a critical step in the knowledge building process.  "Do" is a key part of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, aka the Shewhart cycle or Deming cycle.  "Do" is where work is performed to execute the ideas and hypothesis defined during "Plan".  There is no substitute for "doing".

However, I have talked to many people that get stuck "doing".  They wake up each day, go to work, do the job, then get paid every other Friday.  They have a good job.  They are competent, hard workers, and the boss loves them.  Life is satisfying. 

Sounds like a great gig...here's the problem:  The world is constantly changing and we must spend time growing, developing, learning something new, and continuously improving our skills and knowledge.  Today's highly sought after skill is tomorrow's entry level position (or outsource opportunity).  We must actively manage our growth and career to continuously move up the value contribution curve.  It is about finding and pursing your passion with every ounce of vigor you have.  It is about growing yourself and helping to grow others.

Early in my career I was told that I had a choice to 1) live to work or 2) work to live.  I have come to believe that is the desperate choice of desperate people who have not found or do not pursue their passion.  A few weeks ago I was asked about the most critical characteristic I look for when hiring someone.  For me, it is easy:  passion.  A person with passion is determined, pursues excellence, is willing to learn.  Skills can be learned, but passion is fundamental to growth and adding value.  Pursuing passion nullifies the desperate choice of desperate people.

If you are struggling in the rut of "doing" and desire more, here are some questions to ponder:

• How much of your time is spent "going through the motions" of your job? 
• What have you done in the last month to grow your knowledge and skills? 
• How much protected time do you set aside each month for professional development? 
• Who is your mentor? 
• Who are you mentoring?
• What excites you?
• What do you want to do next?
• What type of work environment do you want in the next few years?
• What do you love?  and...What do you hate?

"Doing" is important, but if you find yourself trying to answer the question of "live to work or work to live", make up your mind that you don't have to make a choice.  Instead, vigorously pursue your passion and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Quickest Way to Develop Leadership Skills

I am a strong believer that leadership can be learned.  While you may be born with personality traits that can help you be an effective leader, most of the skills are learned and honed through years of "doing leadership". 

The Problem:  Companies (generally) do a poor job of developing leaders.  Yes, your company may have the requisite training classes that you attend as part of your development plan...then you go back to your day job with little ability to hone the skills you learned because of the scope of your current position.  Also, companies tend to be reactive, focusing leadership training on individuals only after they have attained a level of management responsibility.  (Sidebar: leadership in companies tends to get attributed to the organization chart.  Whoever is at the top of the pyramid is the leader.  Don't confuse positional management responsibility with the ability to lead people and organizations.)

The Solution:  What you can do to develop your ability to lead people and organizations:

1. Check your motivation.  It is OK to be ambitious, seeking and desiring leadership.  Your leadership ambition should to serve others.  Selfish ambition is wrong - don't seek great things for yourself.  If you believe leadership is getting others to serve you, then you will always fall short.
2. Find problems to solve. Your company is full of problems that people don't want to touch.  Seek out high risk problems and volunteer to solve them.  Do this as a special project, outside the scope of your day job and, preferably, for an executive that is not your current manager.  Build a coalition of volunteers across your company (not just in your work group) that are willing to tackle the tough issue.
3. Lead volunteer organizations or projects.  Look outside your company and get involved in community, charitable, religious, or other local organizations.  It is one thing to manage people that work for you (i.e. get a paycheck from you), but it is entirely different to lead people who volunteer their time and talents.  Personally, I think this is the best way to develop and hone leadership skills and develop people acumen because the people serving with you can walk away at anytime.  Employees must do the work.  Volunteers don't have to serve.
4. Spend more time doing.  There is no substitute for doing, but "do" with a focus on application of what you learned, predicting outcomes, studying the results, and making plans for next actions (hmm, sounds like a PDSA cycle).  Grab a good leadership book (John Maxwell has a bunch of them), do a little reading, then build and execute a plan to develop a specific leadership skill.
5. Get a mentor.  A key skill of leaders is to reproduce leaders.  Leadership training is best suited for one-on-one relationships.  Leaders are produced one by one, not mass manufactured from a top-tier MBA program or a company leadership training program.  A good leader will take time to instruct, enlighten, discipline, and nurture an aspiring leader on an individual basis.  Find one.  Get engaged.

There is nothing holding you back from quickly developing the skills and preparing the opportunities to lead.  What actions are you taking today to build your leadership skills?

Best Consulting Firms to Work for...

 

As many of you may know, I recently left a very long "industry-side" career in marketing and operations management to join the consulting ranks at North Highland.  Last week, I received tremendous validation for this decision as North Highland was ranked #4 in Consulting Magazine "Best Firms to Work for in 2007".  In a year when the competition for this honor is more difficult, North Highland is sitting with the classic consulting powerhouses of Bain, BCG and McKinsey.  Wow!

It was a long and difficult decision to leave a career path I have been cultivating since becoming a marketing major at Texas A&M, but one that got easier as I discovered and learned more about North Highland.  As I became more "mature" in my career, I found that I truly enjoyed and had passion for helping people and organizations overcome problems that hindered performance.  Incidentally, this is also why I started this blog. 

What I found in North Highland was a company purpose and a lot of mature consultants and leaders that wanted to do the same thing I wanted to do.  In addition to a culture that supports a holistic approach to work and life (i.e. no travel, employee owned, eat dinner with the family, go to the school play, etc.), there is an overriding passion to change the way people think about consulting.  No consulting glitz or glamor.  Simply mature, very real, highly skilled people with a strong desire to help companies and help people. 

I spoke with Dan Reardon a few weeks ago on how strategic decisions get made at North Highland.  He stressed the importance of assessing decisions through the lens of culture impact.  Growth is good, but not at the expense of culture...not at the expense of what makes us who we are.  Great effort has been made to build the North Highland caring, relationship-based culture; and great care is being taken to ensure its sustainability...something far too many leaders forget as their companies enter high growth phases.

Earlier tonight, I had to help my daughter with kindergarten project to "describe the type of work her parents do".  How do I describe my new job as a consultant?  Wow!  There are some great $50 words that are often used to describe consulting (most of which end in "ize") -- I really wanted to impress the 5-year olds!  Finally, I went back to North Highland's idea of changing the way people think about consulting and told her "I help sick companies get well".  She said, "Oh, you're a doctor."  In a way, yes.

Congratulations to all the people of North Highland that came before me, and thank you to the current leaders who put their faith and confidence in me to help carry this torch forward.