Monthly Archives: May 2012

Thursday Thought – The Amazing Roz

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Note: Each Thursday I will post a little something to inspire us to finish the week strong. These posts will be either a quote, a piece of art, or short video. Congratulations, you made it over the hump and let’s finish the week together.

I am finishing up the Book Titled, “Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean” by Roz Savage.  As a rower myself I was drawn to this book, but it is a story for all of us.  Her personal story is amazing moving from a successful corporate job to joining a rowing race across the Atlantic in 2005.  She raced solo – inspirational stuff.  Roz has been rowing across oceans ever since and is an active environmentalist. I can not recommend her book and story enough.  Check it out for yourself (links above).

In a recent commencement speech she delivered three main messages:

  1. “Be mindful of the stories you tell yourself about who you are – they will define what you achieve”.
  2. “Determination, Dedication and Discipline can get you a heck of a long way, and you won’t get far without them”.
  3. “There are two kids of fear – one kind that will help keep you alive, but also a second kind that stops you doing the things you want to do – so let go of the fear of failure if you want to live fully”.

Here is a video of Roz’s story.  And as Roz says, “Let’s stop drifting and start rowing.”

My F Score is Low, Should I Worry?

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Years ago a former boss walked into my office and said, “I just got my assessment results and my feelings score in zero.  Should I worry about that?”   He was talking about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and he came to me since I previously worked in HR/OD and used the MBTI assessment often.

What was I to do?  My boss who was not a bad guy was concerned about his assessment score and what he thought showed that he had no feelings.  While I could have had fun with him, I did the right thing and assured him that there was no issue at all.  The MBTI measures psychological preferences on how people perceive the world around them and make decisions.  Someone with a low ”Feeling” score still has feelings, but they generally have a preference to make decisions based on “Thinking”.  This thinking approach can be more detached and logical and works to decide using established rules.

I am not here to detail the MBTI assessment tool and the research behind it (goes back to Carl Jung).  I invite you to read more if you so wish (see link above).  For this post today though I want to focus on that interaction with my old boss and some lessons for leaders.

  • First as leaders we need to recognize that there is a range of personalities with people.  MBTI and other like assessments work to give us a framework and common language for us to talk about our differences and similarities.

  • There is no right personality type for leadership or any position. All types are equal.  The research is clear that we can not use such assessments to predict job success.  My MBTI type is very different from other leaders I have worked with and all of us are successful.

  • A good mix of different types while challenging is best for a team.  Different view points and focus is key for any work team.  The “creative tension” found with different types discussing an issue can and really should lead to better thought-out decisions.

  • A common language is always a good thing including our personality types.  MBTI and other like assessments give us that common language.  I caution folks though to assure you get a qualified facilitator to help interpret the results and put it into context of your team of folks (each with own type).  This common language can lead to a deeper understanding of the strength of the team and how to use the best of all involved.

Who am I on the MBTI preference scale?  Ah maybe full disclosure at a later date, but for now my feeling score is very high and yea, my thinking score is much lower.  As such that interaction with my boss years ago worked out well.  He was genuine in his curiosity and he respected our different approaches to decision-making based on our preference for thinking or feeling respectively.  The fun part was weeks later while we were dealing with a workplace issue, he looked over at me and said, “You are “F” ing me again”.  Yes, I was and together we discussed the different facets of the issue and worked out a solution.

Leadership Lessons From Little League Baseball

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“Hi, my name is Michael and I coached Little League Baseball for six years.” 

That line is either a confession or my opening line at a group therapy session (maybe both).  For those of you that know, it is a rewarding experience to be involved with a Little League Baseball Team especially as the manager.  You quickly learn that you are the leader of a small community of people, the players and their families.  You are all in this together and everyone looks to you to bring them success.  Yes managing a team is very demanding and challenging.  I had my low points.  I had some amazing high points.  Through it all I developed personally as a leader and more importantly I helped, in some small way, to develop the kids as leaders in their own right.

It is early May and Little League is in full force across America.  It is a great time to look back and remember the lessons I learned from my years as a Little League Manager.

In my last year managing I remember sitting in the dugout during a game with my two coaches and we just sat and admired the kids playing hard in the middle of a tough game.  I saw true leadership on the field from several kids. They spoke up and communicated.  They encouraged and they even coached each other.  As coaches we talked about how these kids are future leaders. It was cool to recognize our impact on them.   These kids experienced bad defeats and wonderful, come from behind, victories.  I am convinced that they learned much from these highs and lows and their involvement  with a team.

Here are some additional leadership observations from my time as a Little League Manager:

  • In baseball there is practice time and game time and coaches have little impact once the game starts.  We are there to prepare the kids in practice to perform during the games.  During the game itself we can have some impact, but it is there for the boys to perform.  For us in business we certainly have more say in the game performance, but we are served better if we do a good job to prepare our staff to lead and make their own decisions “once the game starts”.
  • Kids (and grownups) will surprise you.  I experienced several amazing situations where I tried a kid as pitcher during a game even though in practice he did not pitch well.  What was the difference – to start the kids in question really wanted to pitch.  They reminded me often.  Also, there is something about the game when concentration is so important.  Some kids just could not focus well during practice (and yes we tried), but they brought it together for the games.  As the coach I certainly reminded them of how they could be even better with more focused practice.   As leaders we need to prepare people and then give them a chance to perform.  Trust me, you will be surprised too.  Your next starting pitcher may be sitting on your bench.
  • Politics are always present.  You have a choice on how you address politics as a leader. A leader needs to remain solid in his or her beliefs and approach and know you have the support of key folks.  Just like in the work environment, politics exist in the intense environment of Little League Baseball.  One of the techniques I used with problematic administrators, difficult coaches and demanding parents was to follow the line, “keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer”.  I worked hard to find common ground with difficult people while coaching baseball and I remember these lessons today back in the office.
  • Encouragement and focus on continuous learning will take your far.  As coaches we are teachers.  Leaders encourage through a variety of means and celebrate the little successes.  The small successes from my ball players served to build to bigger contributions later.   As a sports coach for youth players you need to be creative in how your celebrate the little things as well as the big victories.  I made it a point to acknowledge many small contributions to our victories as well as the obvious big contributions such as the game winning hit.
  • Remain in charge, but let others share decision-making.  As my players gained experience and grew older (I coached kids up to age 14), I worked to pull them into decision-making concerning the game plan and in-game decisions.  I could veto their ideas, but they knew that I wanted to hear from them and respected them to share.  If I decided on a different path I told them why.   Now how is this different from how we should run our workplace and work with our staff?

Hopefully many of you reading this post have experience in coaching youth sports.   In America and other parts of the world Little League is huge.  I have to imagine that soccer (futbol) may serve as a similar testing ground for leadership too, both for the coaches and the players involved.  Let me know of your experience with coaching youth sports and your own related leadership lessons. 

Effective Communication: Step into the Circle

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I attended a meeting recently and saw something different as I entered the room.  Instead of the typical long rectangular conference table there were just chairs arranged in rough circles, one within the other (see illustration below).  Immediately I knew this meeting was starting well.  As leaders we can not dismiss the importance of room layout for group discussions (a.k.a. the dreaded business meeting).  I learned this lesson from my days as a corporate trainer: step into the circle to maximize your communication.

What I mean by “step into the circle” is the deliberate process to step forward as a means to get both physically and psychologically closer to your audience.  This act can aid your message and help you to engage the audience.  This is not just for a presentation with you as the main speaker.  This communication approach is great for regular meetings that may include different speakers.  The room set up allows for this movement and approach to communication.   By stepping into the circle you are announcing that “I have the floor. Listen to what I have to say.”

Why is this communication approach effective?  It starts with visibility.  all eyes and ears are focused on the center of the room and guess what, you are it.  There is room to move within the central area and you should use it to your advantage. Walk and get closer to folks as you speak and they speak.  Work to channel the conversation to others by moving across the floor to the other side.

Here are some other advantages of this communication approach:

  • Control the energy of the conversation.  By standing in this middle ground you remain the central entry and can, by movement, engage different parts of the room.
  • Establish a level of equality. There is a level of equality with these circular room seating arrangements.  Think of the Knights of the Round Table.  Think of so many native people who typically talk in a circle.  All have a voice and can join the conversation.  As the leader, you start in the center and can invite others to take the space to speak as well.
  • Establish deeper discussions and even dialogue.  Your intention may be to reach a specific decision in your meeting or it may be to assure your message is heard as the leader.  Your intention may instead be to gather a group to talk about an issue and see where the discussion takes you.  This can be a full dialogue with a suspension of outcome and working together to discover.  The circle is nearly a requirement for this level of communication.
  • Enhance your presence.  All of us have “presence” of different sorts.  As leaders we need to work out our best expression of our own unique presence.  This presence serves us during these discussions in business meetings or other gatherings.  With a meeting circle you have a platform to show and use your presence.  In general this is enhanced by standing and moving vs. the traditional seated behind a table.  This circle room arrangement requires the speaker (leader) to stand and move.

Years ago I was conducting a presentation skills class.  In those days we typically set up a U Shape table and chair arrangement for our meetings.  Each of the students I taught never broke the apparent force-field that was at the entry of the front of the U Shape table setup.  I worked to convince them that their message and interaction with the audience would be enhanced if they broke the seal and stepped “into the U”.  As folks tried it as we ran practice presentations, they commented afterwards that they felt the difference.  They connected more; they showed off their own unique presence; they controlled the room energy and most importantly, they were heard.

I have mentioned it before that humanity has forgotten more than it has learned.  Add stepping into the circle as something forgotten by modern society.  Native Peoples know this power and many of our teachers today understand it too.  Pull people or students into a circle and let the communication flow.   If you work in a business environment even a highly corporate environment, I bet you can find opportunities to get the right room and forget the tables.  Arrange the chairs into the circles and when ready … step into the center and be the leader.

We keep moving folks, moving together. 

Thursday Thought – Movement

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Note: Each Thursday I will post a little something to inspire us to finish the week strong. These posts will be either a quote, a piece of art, or short video. Congratulations, you made it over the hump and let’s finish the week together.

Leadership involves movement.  We influence others to take action.  We take action.  We step forward.  Here are a few quotes to inspire us to move forward and take action.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tsu

“The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Never confuse movement with action.” – Ernest Hemingway