2012 | It's Worth Noting

Leadership

I do not trust you

December 18, 2012

You probably trust most of the people around you. You trust their character, morality and ethics. You would leave them alone with the cash register or let them watch your kids. This is what most of us have in mind when we talk about trust. There is another type of trust that is just as important although rarely distinguished or discussed. Where we frequently lack trust is in someone’s competence. We do not have confidence in their skills or abilities. We are not concerned they would steal or act immorally, but we are worried that they would mishandle the task or responsibility. Whether you are the delegator, or the one being delegated to, we owe it to one other to actually talk through why there may be a lack of trust. Unaddressed, the assumption tends to be that there is a lack of trust in character, morality or ethics. If this…

Leadership

Have your team follow people, not plaques

September 19, 2012

You see them everywhere. Plaques up on the wall emblazoned with the company mission and values. They are even in many homes, lists of rules, values or platitudes to live by. There is nothing wrong with the plaques. Most of them look nice and communicate important messages about why a group labors together and invests in relationships. They communicate a set of standards to get everyone on the same page. The plaques are not bad. They are just not very effective on their own. What if instead of plaques, you put up pictures of people, historical or even better, coworkers in the office, with relevant captions to communicate the desired message? An easy example would be a picture of Lincoln with a caption such as, “Be honest like this guy” or “When life required him to fight a war, he went to the library and learned how do it.” A…

Leadership Productivity

The importance of operating below your capacity

April 27, 2012

How often do you hear, “I’m giving one hundred and ten percent!” It’s said with pride. It communicates dedication, focus and drive. We say it about work, school, relationships and more. But there’s a problem. In many instances we’re committing more time, energy and other resources than we truly have to give. We consistently fall short of unreasonable expectations. Moments out from under the heavy weight of overcommitments are rare and too brief. The problem isn’t just the extra ten percent. The problem is the extra twenty percent. To show others that we’re more dedicated, more productive or can juggle a dizzying amount of obligations, we give up something really important: whitespace or capacity. What if you reoriented your life to only commit ninety percent of your capacity, whether measured in time, resources, energy, etc. What if you intentionally held back ten percent to create space to think, reflect or…

Leadership

The Toxicity of Compromise

June 20, 2012

Compromising has a pleasant connotation in most people’s mind. When compromises are reached, we assume parties with differing opinions made concessions and settled in the middle. It is the civil and selfless way to resolve disagreements. We applaud and pursue it. But should we? Few talk about the unhealthy side effect that develops in environments where compromise reigns. The problem with routine compromise is that people naturally evolve toward advocating extreme positions. You learn that a decision or outcome will always settle out somewhere in the middle of the two positions argued. To adapt and compete, each side advocates a more and more extreme position to ensure the compromise either remains in the middle or more closely aligns with the desired outcome. It is a game we learn to play and play well, but it is subtlety destructive. Consider everyday politics. Politicians and parties are locked in a tug of war,…

Productivity

The importance of a stop doing list

August 21, 2012

I’m a fan of to-do lists. Whether on paper or digital, I find great peace of mind knowing that what I need to do is written down. Marking off the tasks is a satisfying visual indicator of apparent progress. While extensive to-do lists are not for everyone, there’s a complimentary list I keep that I believe is for everyone, though few seem to have: a stop doing list. We’re rarely honest with ourselves, or those around us, about our limited capacity. We behave as though we have an unlimited ability to expand our time and energy for work, relationships, volunteering, social engagements, etc. The trouble is that if you do not regularly decide what you need to stop doing, from the mundane to the material, you’ll find yourself perpetually overextended because as more comes in, nothing goes out. What if this evening at home, or tomorrow with your colleagues, you…

ExcludeHome Reviews

Are you satisfied with your story?

October 3, 2012

Last Spring, my wife and I attended Donald Miller’s Storyline conference in Nashville, TN. After reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years together, we began to evaluate whether we were living a compelling story, one that reflected our Christian faith, intrigued us and would engage our children in the years ahead. More than any of the other life planning resource we had been through, Miller’s tale resonated with my wife and I in a way that really spurred reflection and action. Since reading the book almost two years ago and attending the conference this past Spring, we made a number of changes from a new vocational pursuit to moving houses and many other smaller adjustments along the way. Most recently, we finished up our life plans in the form of storylines, which we are now revising and working to merge (helpful when you are married). If your life was turned into…

Leadership

Why transparency in the workplace is so threatening

November 26, 2012

We have a natural aversion to being naked. We love to wear clothing fashioned from our many strengths, accomplishments and victories. We shy away from exposing our weaknesses and explaining the real reasons we behave like we do. Being transparent gives other people leverage. They can exploit us. They have seen us naked. So how do you overcome the threat and fear? Mutually assured destruction. Organizations that want to enjoy the benefits of a transparent environment, one in which team members extend trust, collaborate around strengths and interact based on reality, must be transparent from the top down. Leaders must be transparent first and ask their teams to follow. Once leaders prove their commitment to transparency, those who fear it have all the assurance they need to know that transparency will not be used as leverage or to exploit or embarrass them. Doing so would expose the leaders to the same. If…

Leadership

Pursue talent like you pursue customers

October 24, 2012

Pursuing customers is common sense for any business. Without profitable customers, a business cannot exist, but customers cannot be acquired overnight. Everyone knows it takes a lot of time and effort to advertise, market and cultivate relationships to turn prospects into customers. So why do so many businesses assume acquiring talent is completely different? Too many business only worry about finding good candidates when they have a job opening. Remember, these are the people who produce the products, services and experiences for all those hard earned customers. Customers are too important to your business to only go looking for them when you need more revenue. If you start then, it is probably too late. In the same way, good employees are too important to your business to only go looking for them when you have an empty chair. How much better would your team become if you began to pursue…

Leadership Productivity

Buying into lies about running late

January 4, 2012

First off, let me be upfront that I’m often guilty of running late, so what I share here comes from self evaluation. I have committed to solving the problem because as you’ll see below, nothing good comes of running late. I hope my observations about lies I bought into over the years will help you, or someone you share this post with, resolve to be prompt instead of making others suffer the consequences of running late. Perception is reality in this arena. If you have a reputation for running late, it’s because it’s well deserved. Self-denial will not help you get better. Failure to be prompt is disrespectful and communicates that your time is more valuable than someone else’s. Your time is not more valuable that someone else’s whom you’ve made a commitment to. Failure to plan for traffic, know how to get where you’re going, plan on time to…

Leadership

What can you teach me?

January 21, 2012

About two years ago, I asked a new friend of mine to join me for lunch. I had just celebrated my daughter’s first birthday. Gene Ellerbee had just celebrated his 70th birthday. I was upfront about why I wanted to get together: Gene was the father of five daughters. In his more than 45 years of marriage and raising children, Gene had a lot of lessons to share. I knew that Gene’s insights could spare me missteps in fatherhood, marriage and my career. Over plates of succulent barbecue, Gene began to share how to be a good father to daughters. We discussed balancing time with multiple children and modeling a healthy marriage. He shared how loving your wife well is a key component to loving your daughters well. We talked about dating your daughters through their teens and leading them into a relationship with Christ. He reflected on mistakes he…