Taming the Grawlix

Posted on by Scott

girl-2584728_640Odds are, you’ve never heard of a grawlix; but I bet you’ve seen one. They’re mysterious yet extremely common. They’re hard to describe, even though they are instantly recognizable. You could have one in your home or office right now.

This is a grawlix: #@$%*!

In 1964, Mort Walker coined this term to describe the series of symbols cartoonists use to represent profanity. Expressed in speech and thought balloons, the grawlix helps readers understand the pain, anger, or frustration felt by their favorite characters in the Sunday morning comics. When a fictional individual has a hard time expressing the negative emotions welling up inside, the grawlix is there to fill in the gaps.

Unfortunately, real life doesn’t come with a grawlix. When we feel strong negative emotions coming on, it’s no laughing matter. And while a bit of profanity might make you feel better in the moment, it does nothing to address the underlying cause. To move forward, you need to dig a little deeper.

Start by naming the emotion. Are you feeling angry? Are you frustrated? Does sad or guilty best describe your mood? Perhaps you are anxious, nervous, or just unsettled. Putting a label to your specific emotion helps put you back in control, allowing you to devise a plan for addressing it.

Next, zero in on the source. Identify the root cause – the action or inaction that led you to feel this way. Was it something you did? Are you feeling let down by others, or could it be a combination of the two? Write down the steps you believe it took to arrive at this point.

Now, cross out any steps that you can’t control. You see, often our anger, frustration, or anxiety comes as result of another person’s behavior. We expect them to act a certain way, and when they don’t our emotions take a turn for the worse. We enter a spiral of negativity, focusing on who wronged us, or disappointed us, rather than taking responsibility for our own future.

The secret to taming the grawlix is to act. Focus on the one person’s behavior that you can control – your own. Refuse to let your mind dwell on what could have been. Forget what others should have done. Create a plan of action for yourself. And execute it.

When you take responsibility for your destiny and take concrete steps to pursue the future you want, you’ll find little use for the grawlix. Unlike a Sunday morning cartoon, you won’t need a series of random symbols to express how you feel. My guess is you’ll have better things to say.

The Dreamers of Day

Posted on by Scott

achieve-1822503_640All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. –T.E. Lawrence

I love a good quote, and this is very possibly my favorite. T.E. Lawrence (you may know him as Lawrence of Arabia) led an interesting life. He was an archeologist, a member of the British Army, the Royal Air Force, and the Foreign Office. He was a military liaison during the Arab Revolt, a POW, and an author. He experienced and accomplished things most people can only dream of.

Like Lawrence, I too am a dreamer. I am optimistic about the future and my place in it. And like Lawrence, I want to be a day-time dreamer. I don’t to end my days here on earth with a lot of unfulfilled dreams. I don’t want to waste my potential simply dreaming about making a difference; I want to be a man of action.

This is the time of year when lots of people make resolutions…to lose weight, exercise more, or spend quality time with the family. Other resolutions involve our career. We might resolve to be a better leader, a better employee, or a better coworker. We might dream of getting organized, being more proactive, and more productive.

But history has shown that the vast majority of resolutions fail. Within a month or two, the promises made at the start of the New Year will fade from memory. They were but dreams, with no real intent behind them.

To be the kind of dreamer Lawrence talks about, you can’t just think about your goals. You can’t just come up with a half-hearted plan. You have to be more intentional than that. You have to act. You have to step into your dream with open eyes.

Dream. Plan. Act.

The dangerous men Lawrence alludes to aren’t reckless. They aren’t out to cause harm. The reason they are dangerous is that they actually do what they say they are going to do. Most people never muster the actions needed to back up their words. They don’t act on their dreams, so when someone actually does – it’s scary. We feel threatened, intimidated, maybe even embarrassed by our own lack of dangerous-ness.

My challenge for you this New Year is to join me in becoming dangerous. Let’s act on our dreams with eyes wide open and make them possible.

What’s Your Plan? (Part 3)

Posted on by Scott

implement-2372179_640Developing a strategic plan is a significant accomplishment. Most teams never get to the point of creating a step-by-step road map for success. Those that do improve their chances of achieving their goals exponentially.

But plans are meant to be executed. All of your team’s efforts in creating a great strategic plan are wasted if nothing ever gets done. Sadly, a great number of plans are simply filed away and forgotten. To avoid this from happening to you, you need to address three aspects of plan execution.

  1. FOCUS. I think it was Mike Tyson who said “no plan survives a punch in the face.” Every plan encounters opposition. There will be barriers. There will be setbacks. There will organizational changes that no one anticipated. How do you keep competing priorities from interfering with execution of the plan? How do we overcome the tendency to lose sight of the plan (any plan) in order to address the inevitable fires that pop up?

Things you can do:

* Set clear boundaries. Block out dedicated time on the calendar for working on the steps of your strategic plan. Keep other things from encroaching on your work by making them taboo during the allotted time.

* Communicate. Don’t just assume everyone is focused on the plan. Review progress during your team meetings. Ask for updates and encourage discussion around best practices.

* Create habits. Ramp up the focus to level 11 for a short period of time to help establish new habits critical to the success of your plan. You can back off once performance becomes routine.

  1. MOTIVATION. Even the most excited supporters of a project will start to lose momentum after a while. Yet motivation is a key part of a successful strategic plan? Plus, it’s linked strongly to things like profitability, customer satisfaction, and employee retention. How do you keep the team energized? How do you ensure each individual gives their part of the plan their best and doesn’t default to just going through the motions?

Things you can do:

* Give up control. People are motivated by autonomy, so where possible, allow them to choose how they complete their part of the plan.

* Give them the tools. Ask team members what resources they need to perform at their best, then work hard to see they get them. Nothing motivates like knowing your leader is behind you.

* Give them some competition. A little friendly contest might be just what the team needs to stay motivated. Spice things up by introducing periodic short-term incentives based on the activities in your plan.

  1. ACCOUNTABILITY? Yuck. This is probably the most hated word in all of management. Few leaders embrace this aspect of their role. However, top performers actually thrive in an environment of strong accountability. When everyone is expected to play by the same rules, the team is freed up to focus on succeeding. So how do you keep the team – the entire team – do what they are supposed to be doing?

Things you can do:

* Set clear expectations. Let the team know, in no uncertain terms, what acceptable performance looks like. Speak to the behaviors you want to see, not just the results.

* Praise the good. When you witness someone engaging in behavior that moves things in the right direction, let them know about it. People will give you more of what you praise them for.

* Address the bad. When you witness someone engaging in behavior that moves things in the wrong direction, let them know about it. Don’t assume it will stop. Letting things slide is tantamount to praising it.

As the leader, your job is not to just develop a strategic plan, it’s to see that it gets executed as well. Execution is actually the most important part of the plan. A poor plan executed well is worth more than a brilliant plan executed poorly. Make sure to keep your team focused, motivated, and accountable.

Why Leaders Address Conflict Head-On

Posted on by Scott

leader-e1471893072992If there’s one aspect of the job that managers do their best to avoid, its conflict. Ideally, things would always run smoothly in the workplace. Each person would do their job, goals would be aligned, and differences would magically work themselves out. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. In fact, one study found that the some managers spend up to a quarter of their time working to resolve conflict. That’s a lot of time devoted to an activity that’s simply not a lot of fun. Because conflict resolution is so mentally and emotionally draining, a lot of managers choose to ignore it. They simply look the other way.

It is a lot easier to pretend conflict doesn’t exist. I know several managers who are really good at it. They ignore the fact that key employees aren’t performing. They use deflection to convince others (and themselves) that the team’s poor performance isn’t really theirs to address. They talk a good game, but, like the Emperor parading around without clothes, there’s nothing of substance to see. They’ve mastered the art of conflict avoidance. But according to executive coaching firm Assiem, there are significant repercussions to ignoring conflict.

Ignoring conflict damages morale. Employees who perceive they are being treated differently aren’t happy campers. If you hold some accountable, but not others, moral suffers. If one manager does the right thing, but another doesn’t, morale suffers. It doesn’t matter what you say. It’s what you do that communicates. Ignoring conflict fuels the fire of employee dissention.

Ignoring conflict kills productivity. Top performers thrive in an environment where the leader addresses conflict. When others are allowed to get away with poor performance or bad behavior, those top performers see the disparity and lower their level of effort. Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, your team will only rise to the level its lowest performer.

Ignoring conflict lowers customer service. Employees who feel supported and valued will support and value the customer. Those who feel abandoned will do the bare minimum and leave their customer feeling abandoned as well. It’s not uncommon for disgruntled employees to share their frustration with customers they trust. This leaks the issue outside the team, impacting the company’s reputation immeasurably. Even worse is when a customer witnesses first-hand a leader who fails to address an issue unfolding in front of them.

Ignoring conflict hurts retention. Left unaddressed, workplace conflict will drive some employees to leave. Usually, they are your best ones. They won’t announce their intention. They’ll just make up their minds that leadership has failed and look for another team – a better team – to join. One day, you’ll look up and they’ll be gone, leaving you with the low performers you’ve decided to tolerate.

Ignoring conflict impacts your credibility. Your employees talk about you. You know that, right? As the boss, you are in the spotlight. You are a constant subject of conversation amongst your team members, and your credibility rises and falls with each story they share. You can’t stop it, but you can determine the types of conversations they have. Are they sharing their pride in working for a manager who addresses issues, or are they discussing your latest failure to lead?[Tweet “Leaders acknowledge conflict and address it head-on. Ordinary managers don’t.”]

Conflict resolution is not fun, but it is a necessary and critical part of the manager’s job. It’s a key part of what turns a manager into a leader. Leaders acknowledge conflict and address it head-on. Ordinary managers don’t. Odds are, there’s a conflict brewing on your team right now. Name it, tackle it, and watch all of the negatives listed above turn into positives. Watch morale improve, productivity increase, service rise, retention woes reverse, and credibility grow. Choose the path less traveled. Choose to lead.

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3 Ways to Hold Yourself More Accountable

Posted on by Scott

achievement-1238472_640During a recent webinar series, I likened managers who avoid accountability to the leader in Hans Christian Anderson’s tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” In this story, two charlatans tell the emperor that they are master clothiers. They offer to make him a beautiful suit like none he has ever seen. Furthermore, they say, the cloth they use is so light and soft that it actually appears invisible to anyone not smart enough to appreciate its uniqueness. The emperor, unable to see the non-existent fabric himself, parades through the streets naked; attempting to ignore the murmuring of the crowd and trying to convince himself that everything is ok.

Accountability is a huge problem for many people, especially those in positions of authority. Many are uncomfortable with holding their teams accountable, so they avoid dealing with issues in the hope that they will resolve themselves on their own. Of course, they rarely do. Meanwhile, employees grow more and more frustrated with leaders who ignore the obvious, convinced they are doing the right thing.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring various aspects of accountability. I’ve presented the concept of conducting a team health check to get a feel for how the members of your team feel about the state of accountability. Remember, top performers thrive in an environment of accountability. [Tweet “Top performers thrive in an environment of accountability.”]

Then I presented the concept of the “former performer.” These are people who once set the standard for performance, but some reason have turned into speedbumps for the organization. Rather than take control of their own performance, they have become victims of circumstance, always offering an excuse for their lack of forward progress.

Last week, I wrote about the methods teams use to hold themselves accountable. Winning teams never rely on a single star to pull them through. It takes everyone committing to the vision and expecting the best from themselves and those around them to win championships.

Today, I wrap up this series on accountability by offering three ways individuals can introduce more personal accountability. We all want to do our best work. We all want to achieve our fullest potential. But too many times, we fall short due to a lack of personal accountability. We may find it easy to push ourselves appropriately in a group setting, but left to our devices, it’s all too easy to let things slide.

I personally fall into this category. Despite my best intentions, I often find myself procrastinating. I put off important projects and wind up struggling to produce at the last minute. Sometimes this works to my advantage (I tend to have my best ideas under a time crunch), but it is always stressful and I never feel like the work I produce is my best. I need to be held accountable. So for those projects where I don’t have another person whose job it is to provide external accountability, I use these methods to create it.

  1. Find a partner. During my sophomore year of college, I enrolled in a weight lifting class. I felt that this would be a great way to get in shape and develop an exercise routine. Unfortunately, the only class available was at 7:00 am – and I am not a morning person. I soon skipped enough classes to earn a warning form the coach. Another classmate received the same warning and we decided to become workout partners. We agreed to hold each other accountable for making it to class and making up those we’d missed. By working together, we managed to pass the course. Finding someone who shares the same goals, and even the same struggles, is a great way to create partnerships that help you both succeed.
  2. Create a competition. I like to win. I’ve found that a little friendly competition is great way to push myself into completing tasks I otherwise wouldn’t. My kids and I used to do this all the time when it came to housework. None of us enjoy cleaning house, but staging a race to see who could get their dirty clothes to the laundry room fastest makes the job fun. During camping trips with our Boy Scout troop, I’ll offer a reward for the person who picks up the most trash around camp. We always leave the place cleaner than we found it. Try creating a mini-rivalry with someone else and use the spirit of competition to boost your accountability.
  3. Go public. One method that has worked for me many times is to announce my intentions publicly. When I set a personal goal to reach 10,000 daily steps for the first three months of this year, I told a lot of people I was setting that goal. I gave them permission to check on my progress at any time. I knew that keeping that goal to myself was an easy way to let myself off the hook should an obstacle come along. Because I knew others would be asking to see my results, I did what it took to reach the goal. There were nights when I could be found walking in circles around my yard or a hotel room in order to get the last few steps in before going to bed. Without that accountability, I know I would have given myself permission to fall short. Thanks to that accountability, my streak continues well past the initial three month goal.

Like so many aspects of leadership, accountability is a skill. Some may have a natural inclination for it, but we can all develop it. Those who choose to ignore this critical aspect of personal and team leadership, never fail to suffer. Like the emperor parading around in non-existent clothes they become the object of contempt and derision. But those who commit to accountability, both for themselves and their teams, enjoy the benefits that only come from top performers consistently giving their best.

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