You ARE the Boss of You!

“At the end of the day, if you’re a professional athlete in track and field, you are the CEO of your company.” ~ Carl Lewis

I just read a Sports Illustrated article about Usain Bolt, comparing his success to that of Carl Lewis.  Then today’s comic talked about track and field.  What’s going on, am I missing something?  Oh yeah, the Summer Olympics opens this Friday!!!  Time to cheer for our team(s) and to pull together for a few weeks of water cooler talk about the amazing things to come.  Did you know that the vast majority of those athletes actually struggle to pull together the money to compete?  They actually often PAY to do their job, not the other way around.  How’s that for dedication to a cause?

I often ask people on my team, “If this were your company, and you were investing your money in it, how would YOU solve this problem?”  If we all had that view when problems came up, our actions might be a little different than “I’m getting paid to be here, it doesn’t affect me.”  I’m not saying that’s our default attitude, but we may occasionally find ourselves in a situation where we can do the easy thing, or we can do the hard thing (i.e. what we’d do if it was our money/company/future).  Whatever you can do to motivate your team to think along the lines of door #2 will only help the company, and, in the end, your own bank account, too.  Remember, it’s not just about us, it’s about the tens of thousands of people calling us for help every year.

Speaking of track stars…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

Be afraid, Make a choice, Get it done!

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with the fear.” ~ Rosa Parks

Wow, I love it when I stumble across a powerful quote like this one from Mrs. Parks.  I read it, and thought “Yup.  True Story.”  Whether you’re headed for your first battle, deciding to make a major life change (selling your house, moving away from Mom & Dads), or just decide to finally stand up to a poor leader and/or bully, you’ve probably experienced this truth.  When the worry, fretting, and fear is done, and you decide to DO IT, if you’re like me, you probably take a deep breath (maybe say a cuss word or 2), square your shoulders, and get on with it.

Leaders, when you’re debating a course of action with your team, be sure that you let everyone talk about what their concerns are.  Have a few devil’s advocates in the room, poke holes in the idea, ask how it can blow up… then make up your mind.  Once you’ve decided to do it, your job goes from “debate team leader” to “cheerleader”.  The decision is made.  From now on the attitude needs to be:  “Of course we’re going to get there!”  There will be obstacles, but you considered them, do deal with them.  Lead positively.  It will happen (even if you’re still a little worried in the back of your mind that it won’t).  Don’t let your team see your doubt, if you have any.  Never let them see you sweat.

Speaking of fear…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

Ask in order to know the best value.

“There is no such thing as absolute value in this world.  You can only estimate what a thing is worth to you.” ~ Charles Dudley Warner

Value is indeed variable.  One million dollars, about one million dollars in family heirloom jewelry, and about one million dollars worth of horse farm and horses don’t have the same value to different people.  If this was an inheritance, and there were 3 heirs, splitting the 3 items in thirds might be much less value than giving each of the 3 heirs what they want.  One might love the horse farm, one might want all of thve jewelry, and the third might be a struggling college student who could love the money!

Leaders, keep this in mind when negotiating contracts, or when working on improving morale among your team.  One employee might love the idea of telecommuting, while another might know that it would be a disaster, with the dogs and family making noise at home.  One might value a small raise a lot more than flexible working hours, or vice versa.  How do you know which motivational scheme might be most valuable to your team?  Well, you just have to ask.

Speaking of estimating…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

Having a pair of rose-colored glasses around your neck isn’t always bad.

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” ~ John Ruskin

We get ½ inch of snow in Atlanta, and the parking lot that results on all major streets makes the national news.  You get 6 inches of snow in Syracuse, and drive home from work excited that you’ll be able to take out the snowmobile for some recreational trail riding.  Rain on a summer weekend in Georgia is cursed for ruining the weekend plans.  A weekend’s worth of rain in California is celebrated due to the 4 years of drought!

Like the weather, leadership is about perspective.  You can look at the failure of a program as an embarrassing mark against your career, or you can celebrate leaving the program because it was inefficient and we have a better use of the same resources toward more effective programs.  You can look at your opinionated employee, the one who is always challenging you as a “high maintenance” employee, or you could celebrate them for the new ways that they help you to see things.  I’m not saying always look at work through rose colored glasses (for only a fool does that), but don’t forget that you have them hanging around your neck when you need them.

Speaking of the weather…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

Jump on the optimism A-train!

“A healthy attitude is contagious, but don’t wait to catch it from others.  Be a carrier.” ~Tom Stoppard

Colin Powell said that “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”, and spent his career building a team that supported each other and had a spirit of generosity when wondering about the motives of others.  I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few people who were on General Powell’s team, and they all backed up the things that the General wrote in his book about treating others with respect, and having a positive outlook when dealing with challenges.

All day long, I’ll take an employee who is willing to catch a healthy attitude, but I’d prefer one who is the carrier.  Getting enough carriers on a team negates the bad work that can be done by one Debbie Downer.  Because Debbie loves nothing more than to gripe about something, and have others jump on her bandwagon.  When she is met by people who roll their eyes at her, and otherwise rebuke her attempts at bringing everyone down, then she’ll be quiet (at worst), and might just catch the bug, and get pulling in the same direction with everyone else.  Once Debbie Downer turns that frown upside down, not even Billy Bummer can resist jumping on the A-train!

Speaking of catch…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

An optimistic 3-quote day.

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” ~Edgar Allen Poe

“Optimist:  Day dreamer more elegantly spelled.” ~Mark Twain

As leaders, we must stoically deal with challenges while, at the same time, dealing with them as the “glass half full” folks.  The quickest way to get your group into a gloom-and-doom death spiral is to say “it’ll never work”.  Relish the challenges that the world throws at you.  You probably have been to get where you are now, so be sure to keep it up, and teach your up-and-comers to do the same.  As one of my favorite quote factories said:

“Perpetual Optimism is a force multiplier” ~Colin Powell.  (it’s a three-quote day to make up for the long holiday weekend!)

Speaking of words from Edgar…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

Whose face do you see in the mirror?

“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.” ~Earl Nightingale

“I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five.” ~Steven Wright (I never miss a chance to add in a bonus Wright quote!)

There’s likely people in your life who, when you see them coming, you say “Oh, no, here comes Debby Downer.”  You know that you’re in for a 15 minute gripe session about everything from Debby’s aches and pains, to the woes she’s having with her family, and finally, she’ll gripe about work, the boss, and those that work around her.  She’s one of those people that if you see her before you see her, you duck down, and hide until she is out of sight.

On the other hand, you also know Smiley Sue.  She’s always got a smile, is happy to help you when you ask, and just brings an air of positivity with her wherever she goes.  With Sue, YOU go out of YOUR way to walk past her cubicle, ask how the family is (because you know she’s going to give a stellar review).  Sue brings a little sunshine into the day of everyone that she interacts with.

So, I gotta ask you – when you look in the mirror, which one of these two do you want to see looking back?

Speaking of a mirror…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

You’re not the boss of me!

“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss.  The leader leads, and the boss drives.” ~Theodore Roosevelt

Leader: “We’ve got to figure out how to get these budgets balanced.   I’ve got some ideas, but let’s hear yours, as you know your department better than I do.”

Boss: “I need you to cut your expenses – here’s what I want you to get rid of.”

Leader: “I understand that everyone wants time off that day, but we have a company to run.  Give me some creative scheduling so that we can keep the company running while letting the most staff possible use the time off that they’ve earned. Maybe you can look at seniority, or those who have the vacation days, but you make the final recommendation.”

Boss: “No, you can’t take that day off, and only the first 5 who asked for the day off can get it.”

Leader: “Get some volunteers to help me move all these boxes to the storage room, please.”

Boss: “I want all those boxes moved in 30 minutes.”

Maybe both techniques achieve the same end, but who do you want to be working for?

Speaking of Boss

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

Get back up and march on – it’s what we do.

“In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.” ~ Winston Churchill

We’re all perfect, right?  We’ve never thought that our first choice wouldn’t happen.  We’ll have a million dollar job by the time we’re 25 years old, have fame and popularity fall in our laps, AND be professional athletes, too, right?  No?  Well, when Plan A didn’t happen, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, and marched on towards a happy life, and reasonable goals.  That’s what life is about.

As leaders, there will be times when you want to do some initiative, something that will win you fame and popularity in the workplace.  Then, some bah-humbug scrooge supervisor (yours truly, or others), says “Weeelllll, did you think about the reputational risk of X?” or “We don’t really have the money to invest in that idea right now, but it’s a great idea for 2016!”.  This is surely disappointing, but a good leader will accept it, understand that it’s not an indictment on your ideas or skill set, and march on with whatever the plan is.  It’s important, as leaders, to show a united front to our front-line troops.  The worst thing for a corporate culture is when board room differences are apparent to the folks that pay our salaries – the line staff.  At best, they have to choose sides.  At worst, they assume that we don’t know what we’re doing, so why should they try hard, if we’re not even united in our vision? On the other hand, a united leadership team, pulling in one direction towards a shared, and well communicated vision, is much stronger than the sum of its parts.

Happy Friday, People!

Speaking of alternative…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com

When an alien kicks your butt – get back up!

“You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage, and with the best that you have to give.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

For some reason, this quote brought to mind the end of the first Men In Black movie.  There’s this big alien, and he just ate Tommy Lee Jones’ character (strangely, at his own request!).  Will Smith then gets the snot knocked out of him by the alien bug, but keeps getting back up, and going back for more.  He could have stayed down the first time the bug sent him flying through the air into a pile of pipes, or the second time when he was thrown against a metal dumpster full of cockroaches.  However, he knew that if he didn’t get back up, well… there goes the neighborhood, along the lines of the planet that Darth Vader blew up in Star Wars.  The world was counting on him, even if most of them didn’t know it.

As leaders, the future of the world probably isn’t relying on our getting back up when business throws curve balls at us.  We do, however, get hit with challenges that seem pretty big to us, and maybe they knock us down for a bit.  But we have to shake them off, get back up, and give our best efforts at overcoming the challenges. The world may not be counting on us to succeed, but our customers who are brave enough to call and ask for help have to know that we have our game faces on.  WE need to be sure that our teams and are ready to give them the best help that we can possibly give, because we may be the only ones who can save our customer’s world (family, job, house, sanity, whatever).

Speaking of meeting…

Rubes cartoons used with permission. www.rubescartoons.com