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Off the Bench: Get On the Field

10/20/2016

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The insanity of work is at an epidemic level.  Our own work suffers. If we're honest, quality and innovation have been replaced by minimal effort delivered as quickly as possible.  We're doing the easy things fast to feel productive when the impact we are making is minimal. Perhaps this is why companies are reorganizing and trying to change cultures.  I do not believe organization structure change helps if the people in the organization are addicted to busy-ness.  Bold leaders are stopping and asking what can be done to minimize busy-ness. 


Want help taking back your own energy and power? Bring our Power of You learning experience to your team. We’ll focus on each individual, help each person craft a better way to choose the appropriate emotions, help them learn to focus and get back to their personal ‘stable’ base more quickly- allowing them to be more effective at work. Schedule in 2016 for the special rate of $10,000 + travel for up to 15 learners. Connect with Brittney for more details or to add this to your calendar. bhelt@russellmartin.com , 317-475-9311 x3.
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Lead as a Whole Person

10/18/2016

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Unhealthy, unhappy people cannot lead.  As an immature leader I used to believe that it was dishonest not to share all my worries and feelings with my team.  Now I realize that as a leader I have to carefully choose what is in the best interest of my team, not MY best interest.  Clearly, all teams are looking to their leader to lead them. Uncertainty and stress can scare the team, and the leader must find a way to be authentic and optimistic.  Leadership is a difficult task and a serious meddling in people's lives.  This sacred work must be taken very seriously.

Emotional Intelligence is the secret sauce of leadership.  First, clarify what your strengths are in the following three:



  • Self-Awareness  - know when you are experiencing an emotion and why
  • Self- Regulation - know how to calm your emotional state down when appropriate
  • Empathy - see and know the emotional state of others


Of these three, I find empathy the most challenging.  With our customers, any combination of these three can occur.  The good news is that your emotions are a personal call to action - you telling yourself that something needs to change. Learning to listen to that inner voice is critical to great leadership.  Emotions are a muscle, that with practice, are easily grown.


There are many EQ assessments and programs.  I believe emotions are the critical drivers of awesome and terrible leadership.  Businesses are starting to pay close attention to the EQ of their leaders and teams.  My advice is to start simply - focus on just these three.  We're all prone to trying to do too much, and the same can happen in growing EQ.

Check out the Behavioral Intelligence Assessment we love for only $75 (normally $150) Use Code: OCTLF16- offer valid until 10/31. 

In addition, leaders need to make sure that the people they lead are healthy.  It's hard enough to exercise, sleep, eat well and manage emotions effectively.  And it's also the leaders responsibility to be aware (empathy) of the signals from members of their team that all is not well.  The leader may not be the right person to intervene in every problem and he/she is the right person to coach and direct to the best resources. 
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Know Your Purpose

10/13/2016

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​When the world of work pulls you off center, it's important to have a way to intentionally get back to being a great leader. In projects, we use the following questions to stay on track:

What will we have after we do this project that we don't have now? 

What impact will this project have on the organization if we do it right now?  

In my personal life, I like to use my personal Purpose Statement.  I use this in many of our leadership interventions and I like to use it as a mantra.  It's 3 PM and I have not gotten enough done (my opinion) today.  My head is spinning from checking off tasks.  It's time to get back on track:

  • Move away from the computer and take a few deep breaths. 
  • Pull your shoulders down, tap your right hand to you left shoulder, left hand to right shoulder a few times. 
  • Close your eyes (if you're comfortable, it's not necessary) and notice five sounds.
  • Notice five things you can see.
  • Look inside, and think about five physical things you can feel.
  • Repeat your Purpose Statement to yourself while you breath.


Here's how to create a Purpose Statement:  simply choose three verbs and a noun and make it into a meaningful sentence that you can easily memorize and repeat as needed.   Here is mine:


I ignite, affirm and sustain learning in self and others. 



Remember, this is your reason for being on earth. No pressure, right? Of course, since it is yours, you can change it any time you want.  Get your team together and do this as a team (the team's Purpose Statement) then help build each other's.  I guarantee that the time you invest will create great value.  


NOTE: Submit your purpose statement using the form to the right and win fabulous RMA merchandise! 

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Mitigate Busy-ness

10/11/2016

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Everyone is too busy.  For great leaders, busy is an opportunity to do great things more effectively than others. For poor leaders, busy is an excuse to be ineffective.  Victims cannot be great leaders.


As I was watching Andrew Luck work his magic at the end of a Colts (loss) game, I was struck by his ability to see the whole field and then instantly switch to a laser focus on the person he was passing to.  In this case, unfortunately, a Denver player was able to sneak up on him and interrupt the play. Had he been seeing the whole field at that point, he might have been able to avoid the tackle.  However, he would likely not have been able to accurately make the pass.  Great leaders intentionally pick what they will focus on.   Bad leaders let every interruption interrupt their brain. 


Our brains are not built to jump between multiple points of focus.  Write down 25 random words. Give yourself a minute or less. Turn the list over.  Quickly write down what words you remember.  You'll notice a couple of things from memory theory:


  • You'll remember the first and maybe last word you wrote down. 
  • You'll remember any strange words.
  • You'll remember emotional words.
  • You'll group words together that make sense.
  • Words that don't have pictures (for example, love) will be more difficult to remember.


Focus requires intention.  Chunking, pictures and other memory techniques are required for our brain to remember more than 7 +/- 2 things.  Bad leaders have a to-do list that has 100 items on it to get done today.  Great leaders have 1-3 imperatives for the day.


NOTE: More details on mitigating busy-ness in the September Learning Flash

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Grow Your Talent

10/6/2016

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As a Leader, your job is to grow the leaders of the future.  How much of your day is doing versus leading?  Many of us have to balance both, but leadership is less measurable and is often neglected.  Do any of these benching mindsets sound familiar?

  • ​This is an emergency, it will be easier to do it myself than explain it to someone else.
  • No one else is as effective as I am, so I really can't delegate.
  • The customers prefer that I be involved. 

I am shocked at how many of our large and small customers have no succession plan.  Mission Critical business knowledge is at risk. Aggressive hiring has created a revolving door of employees.   Someone is trying to hire your staff right now, or you have the wrong people.  The old adage "people leave bosses" is still true.  Your annual engagement survey is not sufficient - by the time you see the results, the people will have left. 


Establish a process for growing talent.  There are only three main actions of growing talent:

  • FIND
  • ENGAGE
  • GROW

When you are looking for a new employee, FIND is the process of picking the best candidate for the specific job.  If you are still hiring great people and not looking at how they'll do in the job, you're backwards.  If you do not use Job Benchmarks to hire, your bias is creating churn. 


ENGAGE is another word for onboarding.  There is a critical window (some say 1 day) within which an employee decides whether or not they like their job.  Poor leaders are too busy to drop everything to enable new employees.  Instead, the new person is spending days on boring compliance training or unstructured meetings with people who are too busy to meet with you. Or the new employee is thrown into the deep end with no help and no hope.  The expense of this behavior is staggering to a business. Instead, leverage the Job Benchmark to create a unique onboarding plan for new employees, provide a mentor and get them to work.


Finally, learning can't just occur at the hiring point, although that seems to be the new norm.  To get promoted and move up in the company, if that's your goal, requires learning new strengths and competencies.  The Career Plan drives a Succession Plan (GROW).  Who are the leaders ready to replace you so you can move up?  The process repeats for every job move: FIND (the job or employee), ENGAGE, GROW.  


NOTE: More details on this approach in the August Learning Flash, and in our book to be published in 2017 Talent GPS.  If you are interested in being a volunteer editor of this book written by Brittney Helt, Michelle Baker and me email us, info@russellmartin.com.

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Leadership: Stay in the Game (Don't Get Benched)

10/4/2016

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As the NFL season kicks off, there's always fascinating drama about which players will make it, sit or disappear entirely.  I'm not a big fan of football, but I am always interested in the interaction of people and leaders.  Clearly, top players have amazing natural talent but they will all tell you that it was hard work and focus that got them in the game. 

In the non-football world of work, similar dances occur all year.  Many of my customers are in the midst of change. Concurrently, large companies are flattening, increasing the span of control, 'making offers' and demoting.  Hiring is also occurring with new leadership replacing the old.  'It's going to be REALLY different' is the rallying cry.  Even here are Russell Martin & Associates, we are looking at new approaches and questioning everything we spend time and money on. A place in the GAME is never guaranteed.   I'm 'wicked old', so I've seen and lived this cycle many times before. Here are my thoughts about getting benched or staying in the game as a leader.

  • Grow Your Talent
  • Mitigate Busy-ness
  • Know Your Purpose
  • Lead as a Whole Person

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