Circle Up! Lead From the Huddle

Posted on by Scott

Hands-In-e1448857238616Paul looked across the line of scrimmage at the other team. He glanced at the scoreboard and then at the stands; full of friends and family, all anxiously awaiting the next play. Then he scanned the faces of his teammates. Each one stared intently at Paul, eager to receive his instructions. It was 1892 and, as captain of the Gallaudet University football team, Paul Hubbard felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The two teams were fairly evenly matched. Defenses on both sides had had little difficulty in thwarting any big offensive moves. But that came as no surprise to Paul. It’s easy to anticipate your opponent’s next move when they spell it out for you. You see, Paul and his Gallaudet Bison teammates were all deaf; so were the players lined up across from them. Gallaudet and their rival school were both universities designed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Naturally, plays were relayed using American Sign Language. All you had to do was watch the quarterback’s hands, and you knew exactly what play he relayed to the rest of his team.

Paul suddenly realized that, unless he could devise a way to communicate with his team in a manner that prevented their rivals from seeing his signs, this would be a very long game. So he stepped back from the line and motioned his men to follow. Then he arranged them in a circle facing each other and relayed his instructions safe from prying eyes. In other words, he initiated the first football huddle.

Today, huddles are an expected part of any football game. In fact, just about every sport has adopted the huddle as way to bring the team together between plays. It’s a great way to share time-sensitive information, gain consensus, and boost motivation. Smart business teams also understand the value of the huddle. Teams that take advantage of opportunities to huddle routinely report increased productivity, camaraderie, and job satisfaction.

The thing I like most about the huddle is that it happens on the field – right in the midst of the game. When you’re in the middle of a huddle, its game time. There’s no time for practice. No time for debate. It’s all about execution. Once the huddle breaks, the game is on. That makes the huddle the most important meeting a team will ever have.

If you haven’t tried huddling with your team, maybe now is the time to give it a shot. Even if you currently utilize the huddle, you might want to check out Arina Vrable’s tips for running an effective team huddle. She provides some great ideas for incorporating this strategy into your daily routine.

  1. Keep it short. Shoot for no more than 15 minutes. You need to get out there and score some points.
  2. Keep it moving. This is not the time to make long-term plans. Focus on what’s needed to succeed today.
  3. Keep it going. Don’t let the practice die because it feels awkward at first. Like anything else, team huddles take some time to get right.

Leaders consistently ask me to help them with tips for motivating the team. I’m a long-time believer in the power of huddles to keep teams informed, focused, and accountable – all essential elements to motivation. Practiced consistently, a 15 minute huddle can dramatically impact the outcome of the day.

Committed teams look forward to the huddle. They see it as part of a game-winning strategy. And once the huddle breaks, every player knows exactly what they’re supposed to do in order to win. So what do you say, quarterback? Ready to win this game? OK then…circle up!

How to Make Someone’s Day

Posted on by Scott

trophy-e1448234345798Thursday morning I received an email from someone that changed my entire day. It was unexpected. It was unsolicited. But it was amazing. I’ll just share the first line.

“You may not know that you are appreciated or that your message resonates with others; but it does.”

You know those days where nothing you do seems to work? The days when none of your conversations go the way you want them to? The days when you start to question your own effectiveness and ability to make a difference? Well, this wasn’t one of those days. It was turning out to be one of those weeks.

It was only three sentences long, but this one email changed my perspective in a second. It didn’t just make me feel good; it made me feel great – like I’d won first place in a contest I didn’t even know I had entered.

You’re likely familiar with Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of needs. First presented in 1943 as part of a paper he titled “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Maslow’s hierarchy categorizes five stages of human development. Curious about what drives people to behave the way they do, he identified five different levels of human growth.

Level I is made up of basic survival needs – Food, shelter, air, etc. Without these, we cannot physically survive. Maslow calls these Physiological needs. One they are taken care of, we can turn our attention to satisfying our Level II need – safety. This group of needs encompasses personal and financial security as well as general health concerns.

Levels III, IV, and V start to get complicated. They are, respectively, Love & Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. As humans, we have a strong urge to feel accepted for who we are, to feel good about our place in society, and to believe we are achieving our highest potential. The surprise email I received last week sure gave me a boost in all three of these areas.

I’m betting something like this has happened to you. In the midst of a tough period – a time when you were doubting yourself or feeling unappreciated – someone reached out and gave you a lift. They had no idea how important their words would be. They had no way of knowing just how badly you needed the lift. They were just saying “I appreciate you. Thanks for what you do.”

Somebody out there needs to hear that from you.

This week, as you prepare to gather with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, take a minute to think of someone you could reach out to with a word of encouragement. You don’t have to write a book. You don’t have to spend a lot of time searching for the perfect way to say it. Just let the words flow.

I guarantee you’ll make someone’s day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

To Uncover Your Team’s Potential, Dig Deep

Posted on by Scott

Moai_at_Rano_Raraku_-_Easter_Island_5956405378-e1447374867392Growing up, I was fascinated by far-away places; still am. My parents subscribed to National Geographic magazine and I eagerly looked forward to each issue, knowing that opening the cover would reveal a variety of stories about strange cultures and new discoveries – all accompanied by the most incredible photographs. From my room in Madison, Tennessee each article transported me to another place and time.

One of my favorite stories was about Rapa Nui, more commonly known as Easter Island. It’s the planet’s most remote island; 3,000 miles from the coast of Chile and over 1,800 miles from the nearest inhabited island. It’s famous for the hundreds of giant stone statues, called “moai,” scattered around the landscape. For centuries, people have been trying to understand how the locals were able to carve these statues, how they were able to transport them, and what they were meant to represent.

Many of the moai became buried over time due to flooding and landslides. In fact, it was only a few decades ago that archeologists, excavating around some of the larger statues, discovered the moai were full body statues rather than just large heads. Digging below the surface revealed not only a more fully formed sculpture, but traces of paint and carvings that had been protected from erosion. Each moai was found to be unique, possessing its own set of characteristics, rather than a clone of the same model.

Unfortunately, too many leaders view the members of their team the same way we used to view the moai – just a bunch of heads, all cut from the same material with little to distinguish one from the other.

Whether it’s due to a lack of time, a lack of opportunity, or a lack of interest; we tend to look at the people around us in terms of what’s easily visible. We make judgement calls based on a cursory glance at only the most basic information. Rarely do we dig deep enough to discover the unique traits someone brings to the table. I mean, how much do you really know about the people in your own organization?

You probably know quite a bit about those operating in your immediate vicinity – those you interact with on a daily basis. You work closely together, have lunch, share personal anecdotes from the weekend, and even develop friendships. As these close relationships grow, you naturally learn more about their capabilities and interests.

But what about those outside of your inner circle? How much do you really know about them? If your perception of someone is based on a limited set of interactions, say a few email exchanges or telephone calls, then you don’t have the full picture. If you make assumptions of their potential value based on a narrow scope of work that’s readily available, you have no way of judging their true potential.

Effective leadership involves digging deeper. It requires learning about what lies beneath the surface. Of course, that takes time. It takes effort. It takes commitment. But then, that’s leadership.

As scientists learn more about the moai, they also learn more about the long-lost civilization that created them. An entire culture lies underground, waiting to be discovered. Who knows how the world might be enriched and expanded with just a little digging?

“Moai at Rano Raraku – Easter Island” by TravelingOtter is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Knowing When Not To Quit

Posted on by Scott

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Earlier this year, social media lit up for a few days after a University of Oregon runner, Tonguy Pepiot, narrowly lost the men’s steeplechase event at the Pepsi Team Invitational. It was back in April and Pepiot, well ahead as he approached the finish line, slowed down and raised his arms in celebration of his apparent victory. But while Pepiot slowed down, another runner, Meron Simon from the University of Washington, stepped on the gas. Simon closed the gap and thrust his chest through the tape, winning the event and leaving Pepiot both confused and defeated.

“Run through the finish.” It’s something coaches around the world repeat time and time again.I heard a version of it many time (and shouted it some too) during my son’s time on his school swimming team. It’s a message you’d think would eventually get through – especially to those competing at the elite level. And with video of Pepiot’s faux pas preserved on YouTube, surely nothing like this would happen for a long time, right?

Wrong.

Just ask Ben Payne. He slowed down at the finish of the 10,000 meter Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia on July 4th. As Payne lifted his finger in victory, Scott Overall of Great Britain caught up and stole first place by 9/100ths of a second.

Or ask Olympic hopeful Molly Huddle. At the IAAF World Championships held in in Beijing in August, she had the bronze medal of the 10,000 meter race nailed down. She slowed down to celebrate and teammate Emily Infield blew by her to grab the last spot on the podium.

For some reason, there’s a temptation to coast as you near the end of the race. For those in front, perhaps there’s a desire to conserve energy for the next big event. Maybe those in back have a hard time believing the distance can’t be made up. Maybe everyone just gets tired.

Of course the same holds true for those of us competing in business. . Especially at this time of year, people tend to take their foot off the gas. The holiday season always seems to signal it’s time to coast.

But just like an athlete, there’s benefit to running through the finish. Who’s to say stopping now guarantees a win? Who’s to say it guarantees a loss? The only way to know for sure is to run all the way. Postpone the celebration or mourning until the final results are posted.

Here are a few tips for finishing the year strong:

  • Develop micro-goals. Take the ground you have yet to cover and break it into smaller, more manageable chunks. Need to sell 100 widgets between now and the end of the year? Turn that into a weekly or daily goal and put your energy into achieving that.
  • Focus on behaviors. Identify the specific actions you need to take in order to close the gap and work to execute those. Keep your mind on performing consistently and let the results speak for themselves.
  • Ramp up the motivation. It’s easy to stay energized an excited during the opening laps of a long race; but it’s down the stretch – when you’re tired and ready to give up – that motivation is critical. Give yourself and your team a needed boost of encouragement to keep the pace until the very end.

Last minute finishes are very exciting – as long as you cross the line first. Make sure to find yourself on the top of the podium by finishing strong. Run through the finish. If you need some help finding your second wind, don’t hesitate to call. I would love to help you celebrate a victory.

Ready, Set, Goal!

Posted on by Scott

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This morning, I opened the door to let the dogs outside and was greeted by the brisk air of fall. Cooler temperatures have arrived (finally) and leaves are starting to change color and fall. Halloween is now behind us and the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are quickly approaching.  It’s that time of year folks …

Goal-setting time!

That’s right, it’s time to start setting goals for 2016. Sure, we still have two months of 2015 left, but your strategies for finishing the year out strong should already be defined and well under way. Regardless of how this year looks to be shaping up for you, now is the time to put pencil to paper and map out a plan for the next one.

Goal-setting can be a tricky business. Set your goals too high and you risk demotivating staff while setting yourself up to fail. Set them too low and you might disappoint your shareholders and create apathy amongst the troops. The key is to find the sweet spot – goals that present a stretch, but are attainable.

If you are responsible for setting goals – whether it be for the business, a particular team, or just yourself – here are a few ideas to guide your thoughts as you zero in on that sweet spot.

  • Take a look at past performance trends. Is there a pattern to your performance over the past couple of years? Do customers tend to follow certain patterns? Where has new business typically come from?
  • Take a look at the marketplace. What factors might influence your existing and potential customer base over the next year? What’s happening in the local economy? Are businesses optimistic about their short-term future? Are conditions emerging that might shape the way consumers view what you have to offer?
  • Take a look at the competition. Who are the major players in your space? What have they been doing that might impact your plans? More importantly, how much of their business would you like to steal next year?
  • Take a look at the industry. Are there changes on the horizon that will impact your ability to grow next year? Are there opportunities or restrictions (personnel, technology, marketing, or strategy-based) on the horizon that need to be considered?
  • Take a look at yourself. Do you have what it takes to perform at a different level next year? Does your team? Are you willing to invest the time, energy, and resources necessary to move things to a new level?

As you and your team start to play with some initial numbers, take stock of the feelings that come over you. A good goal will have the following impacts:

  • It represents significant growth – staying flat or doing what you did this year isn’t growing.
  • It scares you a little bit – but not so much that it makes you want to run away from it.
  • It forces you to think about doing things differently – the same old tactics won’t get you there.
  • It pulls the team together – everyone should be invested in meeting it.
  • It’s attainable – everyone agrees that, while a stretch, we can do this!

Too many leaders approach the goal-setting process as a necessary evil. But don’t shortchange the process. A set of well-though-out, well-defined goals provides the marker everyone should be working toward. Proper goals set everything else in motion – training, coaching, strategy, marketing, accountability, recognition – everything. You can’t afford to approach goal-setting as a check-the-box-and-get-it-done exercise.

Of course, if I can assist in any way as you make your way through the goal-setting process, I’d love to help. I’m here to help you be successful. That’s my goal.