I Am A Rock

I love sixty's music! Yup, turn up the Rock & roll for me! I was listening to Classic Rock on TV today and heard Simon and Garfunkel singing, 'I am a rock, I am an island'

That song takes me back to darker times in my youth, when I'd been hurt by someone or a situation, and I'd sit in my room and moan along with the music and think...

I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock, I am an island!

Oh yeah - I was given to drama in those days. I'm wiser now. I understand what John Donne meant in 1624 when he said that, "No man is an island, entire of itself." Now I know that we are all connected, and that the more we intentionally band together the better the outcome.

The most important things I've accomplished, in business and life, have been in collaboration with others. In the early parts of my business career I joined a master-mind group, and for four plus years we met monthly, a full day each time, to vet each other's ideas, give input on emerging programs and proposals and challenge egotistical thinking and faulty notions. Early on we committed to uncensored honesty and I routinely left those meetings a bit shocked at the feedback, but stretched and sharpened by my colleague's observations.

Early in my coaching career, I joined a small group of coaches whose purpose was to share in large coaching contracts while supporting each other's professional growth. We strategized client relationships, brought in professionals to train us, shared leads and helped build each other's credibility and reach. This experience taught me how to bow to the wisdom of a colleague who was more experienced, and sometimes, simply more passionate than I, on a particular subject or issue.

Throughout the creative process of building programs and products, I've joined forces with designers, editors, artists and media types and I've thought of each of them as a partner, not a supplier. A fine distinction maybe, but an important one. Each partnership has brought me: (1) fresh ideas, (2) specific talent I lacked and, (3) the energy, and sometimes resources, I needed to keep me going when it was tough.

Joint ventures have their challenges; collaboration is not for the faint of heart. If you decide to throw your lot in with others you can expect a good deal of surprising information, opposing opinions, differing objectives, and those ever popular power struggles and personality conflicts. Collaborate anyway. It's the only real path away from naval-gazing and onto excellence. So, what would it take for you to join forces with two or more people in the pursuit of your goals? What stops you from reaching across the table at a networking event or meeting to say, 'Hey, let's work together.'

Remember - you can change it, we can help!

Impression Management and Role Transition - Guest Post by Diane Craig

Charismatic leaders operate in a state of continuous evolution and change. New roles, new positions, new corporations: change can take many forms. These leaders are men and women with executive presence — and they really get around. By definition, charismatic leaders are movers and shakers. They have the ability to influence or inspire others positively, by connecting with them physically, emotionally and intellectually.

And what enables these charismatic leaders to transition effectively is a keen awareness of impression management or “personal branding” that strengthens their executive presence. Far more than a solid base of knowledge and skills, executive presence includes behaviour — impression management, self-awareness, social awareness and relationship management. Then there are the competencies, credibility and trust. Of course, there’s the look of success, the dress and demeanor. Executive presence is, in a word, complex.

Impression management, of all the hallmarks of executive presence, is one of the most challenging to master. It’s the technique used to both build and impact the image others have of a person — his or her personal brand. One of my roles as an Image Consultant is executive presence coaching and my clients —from aspiring leaders to CEO’s — often consider impression management top-of-list. Coaching is recognized as the number one developmental tool for creating this personal brand. It’s not intervention or criticism I provide but feedback, through the brief but strategic alliance of trust formed with my clients.

Impression management training instills both an acute sense of self and sharp-wittedness. Body language is key for both signals given and received. Facile, nimble responses to social cues are a measure of skillful technique. People who closely monitor themselves, regardless of the situation, are called high self-monitors. They can switch on and off according to social demands and expectations but most importantly, they have learned to modify their behaviour and speech to suit the circumstances. So-called low self-monitors, by comparison, may be less observant, oblivious to their surroundings or even disdainful of withholding their true feelings.

High self-monitors do well in periods of transition or change. Because of their impression management skills, they are masters of relationship building and move easily through new territories to forge alliances. I want to emphasize that impression management, like the other qualities of executive presence, is a learned skill — there is no special gene or DNA. Leaders today are made, not born.

Detractors of impression management sometimes call it manipulative and artificial. I disagree and would suggest they really misunderstand the purpose. We’ve all seen those meltdown moments when a seemingly unshakeable politician or leader just plain loses it. Impression management training strives to prepare the individual for consistency and to minimize these moments of potential “collateral damage.”

As I watch successful leaders navigate uncharted waters, I see the benefits of impression management. By creating a personal brand, these skilled men and women are building their reputations. Promotion and its accompanying changes are a natural byproduct of this magnetic force we call executive presence. Ultimately, personal branding is a lifetime occupation.

Diane Craig: As President and founder of Corporate Class Inc., Diane has been on a 30-year journey as an image management expert. She has designed, created and implemented a comprehensive series of programs to polish the professional image of today’s business leaders. Diane has garnered international acclaim working with the who’s who in the business world. She has consulted with political leaders and celebrities, prepped guests of Royal families and prepared attendees of the G20 summit. Diane studied at the Richard Robinson Academy of Fashion Design. She refined her skills at the Protocol School of Washington and completed certificates in Intercultural Studies at UBC and the Pacific University. http://www.corporateclassinc.com

There's Wisdom in Crowds

Canadians will head to the polls, in a few weeks, to elect a new leader, or reaffirm the one we have, and south of the border CNN is already scampering after any whiff of 2012 election gossip. Both countries seem to be laboring under the same misconception - change the guy (and it's still a guy in both countries...shame on us) at the top, and the future will be secure.

It's a popular notion that all a dissatisfied country, company or church needs to do to set things right is to swap out their current Prime Minister, President or Pastor. Popular thinking maybe - but naïve, none the less. And it is, on both sides of the border time - as Maya Angelou would say 'for thinking people to think'.

In his book, The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki sites several well respected studies challenging the validity of this idea that there are individuals, however well educated, well paid or adored, who embody superior decision making abilities that can, single handedly, lead a group out of the woods every time. Instead research points to the crowd, the team or group the leader leads as having a better track record in terms of assessing a situation and collectively making good decisions.

The average tenure of a CEO today is eighteen months. Companies routinely hire men or women they deem to be superstars, pay them wads of cash and loads of stock options and then give them precious little time to wow the stockholders.

Ridiculous, says Jack Welch, twenty-five year veteran CEO of General Electric. Jack admits to making his share of business blunders but says he was grateful to have had twenty-five years to redeem himself and work out the kinks in his leadership. Today the ink is barley dry on the incoming CEO's hiring bonus before he's planning his lucrative exit; often leaving disappointed employees and shareholders in his wake.

More than once I've been working with a company and witnessed the CEO, VP or Department head buckle under the pressure of an intense business environment. I've seen them struggle behind closed doors to make the tough calls in solitude. I've wondered how much of their desire to shoulder the full burden of key decision making alone was bolstered by the board's, or their own, misconception that real leaders should be able to pull off miracles every time... and all on their own.

Good decision-making, and effective execution requires the wisdom of the group. It requires in-put from all levels, and a healthy dose of modesty on the part of the man or woman at the top. It's lonely at the top and working alone is ill advised for any leader. When change is in the air - it's the kiss of death.

As an Executive Coach I can be the confidential thinking partner you may need when the stakes are high. Remember, you can change it - I can help!

Let's Talk About Power

In the past few weeks, unless you've been living in a cave, you've been witness to the single largest turnover of power the modern world has ever seen. Not since the defeat of Hitler have we witnessed dictators humbled in such dramatic ways. Just ask Zine El Abidine, former President of Tunisia, or Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Ali Abdullah Saieh of Yemen or Muammar Gaddafi of Libya about power. I suspect their answers today might be a far cry from how they would have characterized their power even a few months ago.

Power is an interesting thing. In politics, the workplace and even at home, leaders can hold one of two different kinds of power with their subjects, direct reports or anyone in a lesser position to them. Those in authority can try to exert power over others or they can share power with people. Most of the dictators in North Africa and the Middle East are great examples of men who have maintained power over their people. They rule by fear and their ability to stay in an authoritive position hinges on their military might. Remove their iron grip and the population scatters, looking for another leader.

Companies and teams want powerful leaders, especially during times of intense change. People want a leader with vision, and a demonstrated commitment to that vision, a leader who holds his power because of the respect his people have for not only the position, but also the man. They want a leader with personal power; control over herself and her actions. Most people are looking for a man or women that they can look up to as a role model, someone they can watch demonstrate the values of the organization and not just talk about them.

Most North Americans would chafe against a Middle Eastern style dictator as their country's leader, but there are hundreds of mini-dictators in companies, communities and families all across North America; men and women who behave like tyrants on the job every day. Some of the characteristics of these would-be dictators are:

•A man or women in senior leadership who doesn't know the difference between power and authority. Power is the ability to cause or prevent an action, the ability to make things happen, the discretion to act or not act. Authority is the right to command a situation, commit resources, make decisions, and give directives with an expectation that they be acted upon. It is always accompanied by an equal responsibility for one's actions or failure to act.

•A Manager or Supervisor who doesn't know the difference between discipline and punishment. Discipline is the practice of training first yourself and then others in a particular way of behaving. Punishment is the price or penalty for breaking a rule or agreement made with another party.

•A mother who by-passes her partner when it comes to making important decisions for the children

•A father who lacks insight into his own behaviour and reacts rather than responds to intense situations

What about you? How would your direct reports, or your children, characterize your leadership? Do they see you as a leader who shares power with them, a leader who is adept at discipline and judicious when considering punishment? Do people feel powerful working with you, regardless of your title or position? We are seeing only too clearly what happens to leaders that rule by fear. If you're in a position of authority in your company, church or home...take a moment. Ask yourself, how well am I leading in my role?

How Much is Enough?

Lately I seem to be meeting and spending a fair bit of my time with what Bob Buford (From Success to Significance) would call corporate ‘Half-Timers’; those fortunate executives that have spun a good deal of success in their careers and are asking themselves an important question - How much is enough? How much success, status and money do I need to feel content, to be happy in my life?
Western business operates in a more is better culture and the path to career and monitory abundance is well lit by success gurus, executive coaches and self-help mantras. As a result, in 2010 Canada sported over 163,000 millionaire families with a YOY growth rate of 4.8%. The US boasted nearly 5 million millionaire families with a whopping 15% YOY growth rate. Not impressed yet? A million dollars isn’t what it used to be, eh? Well, last year a record 164 billionaires returned to Forbes' global wealth ranking, with 22 of those being Canadian. Not too shabby!

Westerners are in love with the idea of passion. We want to follow our passion, work at what we’re passionate about. We want to feel that fire; that excitement that comes from full engagement in what we love to do. So when what you love to do has rewarded you handsomely, provided all the creature comforts for you and your family - and maybe you don’t ‘love it’ quite like you used to…then what?

When money is no longer an issue and you’ve topped any career goal you had for yourself, interesting things happen. You begin to wonder… what’s next. Where do I go from here? What do I do now that I’m 40 something, 50ish or 60 plus and I don’t really have to work this hard any more, or maybe not at all?


This life-stage transition may just be the most challenging one of all. Some executives feel shackled by the infamous ‘golden handcuffs’ that tie them to their companies pension and benefit plans. It’s hard to leave when it’s so lucrative to stay. Reminds me of the little refrain:

“If you’re dancing with a gorilla, you can’t stop till the gorilla decides to stop.”

Several of my clients are looking at philanthropy with new eyes; they are becoming more focused on their legacy and less on conventional notions of success. They tell me that they want their lives to matter; they want to give back. Many are taking the bold step towards early retirement from their given professions to turn their attention towards work that pays less but rewards more deeply. Even some mid-career executives are realizing that their need to spend time with their families and maintain their health or experience the arts is stronger than the one to make a Forbes type list. Success exacts a price, and many aren’t willing to pay it any more.

What about you? How much is enough for you? If your life worked out perfectly what would the ‘priceless’ elements of that life be? Name your gorilla.

I coach executives in transition; I’m familiar with the territory and I’m here to help.

Here's The Truth

It happens to me all the time. I'm at an event or a company meeting talking about change when someone pulls me aside and says, "Ok, I know what you're saying, but between you and me...do people ever really change?"

Yes Virginia, change is possible. But, only if you can't live without it. Changing yourself, and that's the only real change in the end, is hard work. Most people never do it. The masses arrive on the planet, look around, decide how to get by and spend the rest of their lives doing just that...getting by. I think it's why we're so enamored with celebrity and achievement. We see what someone else has accomplished and think...I could never do that.

So, here's the truth. Change is possible and transforming yourself, your company or your team is possible. But... and there's always a but.... you can't move forward in life while holding onto everything from the past. Something's gotta go. And sometimes, someone's gotta go.

Here are a few things you can start letting go of before the too much more time goes by:


1. Let go of old beliefs that hold you back:
About who you are or who you were supposed to be
About the way life was supposed to be
About needing to know how before you begin

2. Let go of people who hold you back:
People that are negative and critical of your efforts to change
People that want you to stay the same for their sake, not yours
People who have a world view that is antagonistic to yours (keep those people who see the world differently and challenge your thinking...they're helpful)

3. Let go of your fear of the unknown. The first step you take will make some of the unknown, known.

4. Let go of believing you have to do it all by yourself. We are all in this together, especially when we are changing.

Ready? Now, take your first step! In my experience, first steps are always accompanied by fear. At the beginning, the fear is huge. But every time you take a step, the fear lessens. With every milestone you reach, the fear diminishes and you get stronger.

You've made thousands of decisions that have brought you to where you are right now in your life. Are you satisfied? Or do you want more: something else, something different, or the next level? What do you really want? Forget about being practical and rational for a moment and let yourself say it. Let yourself dream it.

If you want your team, your company or your life to be different by say, 2015, you need to start making bold new decisions today. I coach people to take bold steps. I believe you can change! Call me.

What's Your Role?

If you've been in one of my Leading Change workshops you know that I believe that business change environments dictate the style of leadership you should adopt. Business As Usual is best served by 'Champion' leaders, while Intense Change responds well to a 'Coach approach'. When groups are in Crisis people need a more directive 'Captain' in charge and Business Chaos responds well to the gentle influence of a 'Catalyst' leader.

Traditional leadership models often fall short during intense organizational change. The notion of all the really big decisions being made by the guy or gal at the top, seldom works during business as usual, and research suggests that a clearly articulated 'leader role', shared by people at all levels, seems to work best when the work is intense.

Some interesting ideas about crisis leadership have come from researchers at the US Army Research Institute who wanted to find out which leadership strategies fared best for teams working in "highly dynamic and stressful situations". For ten months they observed the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore Maryland, a world-renowned urban facility that treats more than 7,000 patients each year with severe, often life-threatening injuries.

The center's trauma teams are made up of three key leadership roles: the top-ranked position, held by the 'Attending' surgeon; the second-ranked 'Fellow' position, followed by the third-ranked 'Admitting' resident, with the players changing from day to day, week to week and month to month. A trauma team's lifetime is short - about 15 to 60 minutes - with individual leaders coming and going while the leadership positions remain rigid, but flexible.

Researchers observed that the team's active leadership role shifted frequently and fluidly among the three individuals. The researchers described what they saw as a, "paradoxical leadership system characterized both by rigid hierarchy and dynamic fluidity." They watched junior members of the triad defer in times of their own uncertainty, and more senior leaders step up, only to step back again when the junior leader could handle the situation. This dance of leadership allowed for minimal errors, shared accountability and critical on-the-spot learning and mentoring.

Could this model work in your company? Could it be that, as companies increasingly rely on interdisciplinary teams, work becomes more dynamic and issues gain complexity, that this decidedly hierarchical yet fluid and flexible model works best? Perhaps this 'tag-team', 'relay-race' approach to leadership is a best practice in the making.

What do you think? I'd love to hear about your leadership roles and how they actually get played out in a crisis.

Back to Work!

As I walked through the woods today, and noticed the trees taking on some color, I felt a bit like the woman in the commercial who see's the first fallen leaf of the season and runs screaming from the sidewalk; you know the one, she just can't cope with the notion that summer is actually coming to an end. Huh...neither can I.

This has been a banner summer for Ontario with temperatures that take you back in time to the beach, or the cottage or wherever you spent your lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. We've had the kind of weather you drift back to as you're standing in a three-foot high snow bank on a downtown Toronto street in January... scraping your windows.

So, as we collectively buy school supplies, put away our shorts and close up the cottage, and prepare to return our noses to the grindstone of real life, I can't help but wonder how the world of business will fare in this 'not quite a recovery' economic climate. How will business owners and their employees walk the line between being both courageous and cautious? How will teams innovate when their instincts may still be telling them to reign in, be careful and keep scanning the skies for signs of, well anything, that might point the way back to business as usual?

In this atmosphere of ambiguity, there is still one thing I know for sure. I know that as employees listen to the 'Big Plans' or 'New Directions' their leaders roll out for their adoption, they will be deciding whether to throw their lot in with the change; they'll be looking for:

Common Ground: People want to know if their leaders really understand them. They want to feel that you appreciate their challenges; and can relate to their situation.
Authenticity: They want to know if you're real; followers want transparency; the stakes are too high today to be kept in the dark. Feeling manipulated by your leader is intolerable when people are being asked to step up or take one for the team.
Love: Yep, love. If people are going to follow you into an uncertain future they want to know you care about them. Employees aren't as impressed with degrees and 'know how' as much as they are with your genuine interest in them and empathy towards them.

Remember, 'If you don't engage people's heads and hearts, you'll loose their hands.'

Need to review your preparedness for leading the changes that this new season of business will bring? Call us. We have assessment change tools and programs designed to help you be the Change Champion that people want to follow.

Are You the Most Likely to Succeed?

When I was in High School, every year the senior class chose a boy and girl who we thought would be the, 'Most Likely to Succeed'. We cast our votes for who we saw as having the magic combination of characteristics that would ensure career and life success. We were teenagers then and the science behind the voting was imperfect, of course. We selected candidates who were good looking and popular, more often than academically sound or ambitious. I never made the list.... ah, the tragedy!

So, what are the characteristics that make a change effort, Most Likely to Succeed?

When you're working on a project, solving a problem or loosing weight, there's nothing quite like the Big break-through. We're all looking for those dramatic surges of progress, those quantum leaps. We love the energy that comes with a major find, a timely innovation or the discovery of a brand new way of tackling an issue. Yeah...that's the key ingredient - right? Well, not exactly.

Oh, those mammoth advances happen sometimes, and we need to be looking for them and ready when they materialize. But the kind of change that lasts, is mostly the incremental kind. It comes by taking one well-considered step after another, again and again. This is especially true when you're introducing anything completely new to internal or external customers.

Here are some characteristics of innovative ideas most likely to succeed.

Stepped: These are ideas or processes that can be adopted in segments or phases. Users can ease into them, a step at a time. Even better adoption comes when customers or staff can use the new idea, product or process in parallel with what they are already doing.

Trial-able: This is when the idea, process or product can be test-driven on a pilot basis. Customers can see it in action first and incorporate it on a small scale before committing to full enchilada.

Minimal Risk: If it doesn't work, people can return to pre-innovation status. Eventually, of course, you want people to feel like they can't live without it, but in the beginning -at least in theory - it's possible to go back to zero.

Familiar: It looks and feels like things that people already understand and use, so it is not jarring to their systems. It's consistent with other experiences, especially successful ones.

Congruent: It's in line with the future direction of the team or company; it 'fits' with where other efforts are heading anyway. It doesn't require people to rethink their priorities or pathways, even though, of course, it changes things.

Ego Building; Simply put...it makes everyone look good. Enough said.

These key qualifiers leave plenty of room to promote revolutionary ideas under cover of evolutionary change. Remember, to find and grow a market for anything means tucking ideas in close to what users can adopt easily and then leading them to the next phase.

We work on crafting this type of approach in the Leaders Summit If you want to explore just how likely to succeed your change ideas are, give me a call. Maybe I can help you get voted in this year!

How to Properly Sack Someone - By Rasha Mourtada, The Globe & Mail

Ms. Grall agrees that reputation is something to consider. If you fire without due diligence, “you’ve just sent people out to the marketplace with a really bad feeling about your company.”

Like it or not, in situations where an employee isn’t performing up to par, the onus is on the employer to try to make the situation right – and to make a record of those efforts.

“You need to be able to demonstrate that you have made every effort to get training for that person,” says Ms. Grall.

Clearly documenting attempts to correct poor performance is a non-negotiable step of the process. “I’ve seen situations where the poor performance has gone on and on and then the employer is in a tough situation,” she says. “Everyone may agree this person needs to be let go, but if you haven’t documented then you could be looking at a lawsuit.”


Click here to read the entire article.

Are You Stuck?

I recently returned from the Women President's Organization's Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale where I heard some great speakers. As many of you know I'm the Chapter Chair for the WPO in Toronto, and in that capacity I'm privileged to hear the concerns of senior women entrepreneurs on a regular basis. One of the issues for all organizations is overload and burnout of key people.

Keynote speaker, Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson, spoke to us on the subject of organizations being stuck, and how they can get un-stuck. Let me explain. She reported on her research into how organization's chose, manage and succeed/or not, with projects.

She found that organizations, and in particular the senior managers, tend to overestimate their capacity for completing projects. She told of company after company where the list of active projects outnumbered people to lead them. She also commented on a universal phenomenon - that successful people routinely overestimate their capacity. She said that, in her experience, only the 'severely depressed' are accurate when estimating what they can realistically complete. This really rang so true to me.

One of the key elements in assuring success with a change project is to take a hard look at your list of competing projects. Dr. Henderson kept playfully referring to Project #26. Project #26, she said, is characterized by being that project that is:

A good project, worthy of completion
Everyone's favorite
Has been around for a while - keeps getting voted in - but not finished
And, here's the kicker - Project #26 will never get finished.

Why? Because there simply isn't the manpower to bring it home. In fact, if it did get the attention it deserves, it would become the 'overload tipping point' for the team or organization tasked with its completion.

What do you do with project #26? You kill it! That's right. Get everyone involved with it in a room- and come clean. Admit that it's not going to get done. Own up to the fact that it can't get done, and that to keep waving it in front of the poor saps responsible for it just demoralizes them. Just let it go. It'll hurt for a few minutes, and then everyone will release a collective sign of relief and turn their attention, and newfound time and resources, to the rest of the organization's key projects.

Managing capacity is a key ingredient in the success of an organization. When people tackle and finish projects and initiatives, they feel good about themselves; they feel energized and ready to tackle more difficult assignments.

Do your employees (and yourself?) a favor - take stock of the work before you. Be realistic about what will and won't get done this quarter, this year. And be brave enough to say NO to those efforts that will only drag your energy and enthusiasm down, no matter how exciting they may look to you. Sometimes it takes more courage to say no than to keep saying yes to every great idea that comes along. By being diligent about choosing among projects you'll ensure success and keep people engaged and on track.

So, what do you need to say no to?

Are You Stuck?

I recently returned from the Women President's Organization's Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale where I heard some great speakers. As many of you know I'm the Chapter Chair for the WPO in Toronto, and in that capacity I'm privileged to hear the concerns of senior women entrepreneurs on a regular basis. One of the issues for all organizations is overload and burnout of key people.

Keynote speaker, Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson, spoke to us on the subject of organizations being stuck, and how they can get un-stuck. Let me explain. She reported on her research into how organization's chose, manage and succeed/or not, with projects.

She found that organizations, and in particular the senior managers, tend to overestimate their capacity for completing projects. She told of company after company where the list of active projects outnumbered people to lead them. She also commented on a universal phenomenon - that successful people routinely overestimate their capacity. She said that, in her experience, only the 'severely depressed' are accurate when estimating what they can realistically complete. This really rang so true to me.

One of the key elements in assuring success with a change project is to take a hard look at your list of competing projects. Dr. Henderson kept playfully referring to Project #26. Project #26, she said, is characterized by being that project that is:

A good project, worthy of completion
Everyone's favorite
Has been around for a while - keeps getting voted in - but not finished
And, here's the kicker - Project #26 will never get finished.

Why? Because there simply isn't the manpower to bring it home. In fact, if it did get the attention it deserves, it would become the 'overload tipping point' for the team or organization tasked with its completion.

What do you do with project #26? You kill it! That's right. Get everyone involved with it in a room- and come clean. Admit that it's not going to get done. Own up to the fact that it can't get done, and that to keep waving it in front of the poor saps responsible for it just demoralizes them. Just let it go. It'll hurt for a few minutes, and then everyone will release a collective sign of relief and turn their attention, and newfound time and resources, to the rest of the organization's key projects.

Managing capacity is a key ingredient in the success of an organization. When people tackle and finish projects and initiatives, they feel good about themselves; they feel energized and ready to tackle more difficult assignments.


Do your employees (and yourself?) a favor - take stock of the work before you. Be realistic about what will and won't get done this quarter, this year. And be brave enough to say NO to those efforts that will only drag your energy and enthusiasm down, no matter how exciting they may look to you. Sometimes it takes more courage to say no than to keep saying yes to every great idea that comes along. By being diligent about choosing among projects you'll ensure success and keep people engaged and on track.


So, what do you need to say no to?

Where's Your CEO Going Today?

I hate reality shows...well, maybe hate's a strong word, but the contrived scenarios, the melodramatic participants and artificial cliff - hangers leave me pining for a good PBS program. But there's a new series in town that I think is fascinating.

Have you seen "Undercover Boss" yet? It's the new CBS reality series where a CEO of a major corporation goes incognito, deep into his company to see what his employee's work lives are really like. The maiden show featured Larry O'Donnell, President and CEO of Waste Management. He pulled shifts on the garbage trucks and hung out with local supervisors, all without them knowing who he really is. The end result of his foray into the lives of the 'little people' left him feeling that, things have gotta change around here. After he reveals who he is, he sets about implementing the changes, he sees the need for, and the show ends with the locals grinning from ear to ear.

Watching the interactions between the CEO and their employees, should raise some interesting questions for the senior leaders among us. Do you know what life is like for your front line employees? When was the last time you spent time with them, or invited them to a planning session or gave them an invitation to give you anonymous feedback and critique? To put a fine point on it - how in touch are you with the day-to-day realities of the workers in your company? And, if it's been a while - or maybe never - that you've made a concerted effort to investigate your employee's working challenges, how can you possibly expect to get those same employees to implement the changes you want?

The key factor in an employee's decision as to whether they will cooperate with the company's change agenda is how attached, appreciated, valued, heard and understood they feel by their immediate supervisor, and how much the company is interested in their working realities associated with the changes. Too often, when there's a change announced, management talks only of the benefits to the company and fails to factor in the 'transition' the employees will have to make in order to accommodate the new routines and processes.

Now, maybe your CEO can't / won't consider going 'undercover' and finding out for him/her self what needs to happen...but could you? Would you be willing to do some version of this with your direct reports? Might you spend a day doing the jobs of your front line employee's? I just wonder how it would affect the way you view their participation, or lack of it, in your grand plans.

Here's a challenge for you leaders out there - close your Outlook, walk out of your office, walk down the corridor and/or drive to one of your company's operational sites and spend a day. Talk to the people, not with your 'title' front and center, but with humility and curiosity. It might just surprise you what you see and hear.

If the thought of this leaves you sweating about how you'd handle the questions and feedback you might get, let me help you. Come join me, and an eager group of managers from several industries, on April 27 & 28 for a two- day coaching immersion experience - the Coaching Clinic. Let me show you how to have powerful conversations that will begin the change within the conversation itself. One of the concepts we teach in the Coaching Clinic is - if in doubt...ask. Make a commitment to begin to ask more questions and see what happens!

Veterans

As I write this it's Veterans Day in both Canada and the US and the airways are full of stories of determination, sacrifice and heroism. I think it's fair to say that, regardless of our national or political affiliation or beliefs, in our hearts, we all applaud the kind of courage it takes to be willing to risk it all to gain an important victory.

On CNN tonight, soldiers represented the major historical US military involvements from World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, Iraq and the current efforts in Afghanistan. When Lou Dobbs asked the Navajo 'Code Talker' from WWII to articulate what he thought Obama should do now he hesitated, swallowed hard and then softly spoke of the need to work towards peace. As each Veteran, in turn, gave their perspective on the current military actions I couldn't help but think how valuable their perspectives are. Each one spoke of the need for sober second thoughts and wisdom filled choices.


No armchair quarterbacks here; these are men and women who have lived it. They've been in the thick of battle and have stories to tell and wisdom to share. They've seen the enemy and faced em down. There is no real substitute for on the ground experience - in war and in leading change.

Hindsight really is 20/20.

When I get called into a company to help with a new change initiative I'm aware that there is often an underlying cynicism about how valuable the stories from the past will be in moving forward. I witness the slight rolling of the eyes as long term employees are described as naturally resistant to change and not to be counted on as Change Champions. Really?

What if we took another look? What if we honored long time employees as our 'Change Veterans'? What would happen if we asked them to share their perspectives on past change efforts, their knowledge of the enemy (change failure) and their strategies for coping with fear, stress and the uncertain future that most organizations are facing. They might just have something to share with us; they might hold a viewpoint that could inform current choices and temper risky plans.

The best way to move beyond superficial indicators of a person's ability to make change, and get to the core of their true capacity, is to assess their change style. Hundreds of organizations have done this by using my Change Style Index - an individual, self-assessment tool that reveals both transitional strengths and limitations. I designed the Change Style Index to be used in conjunction with a team or organization's change planning activities. If you'd like to find out what kind of changer you, and your team, really are - let's talk!

Who Are These People and Why Are They Driving Me Crazy?

Change initiatives bring out the best - and worst - in all of us. From senior leaders to front line staff, we often need very different things from each other to make a transition successful.

A few of the most common Dimensions of Diversity that can derail an organization's change plans are:

Values: Shaky and/or not shared by the entire group
Vision: Fuzzy and/or not embraced by key leaders
Competencies: Risk tolerance disparities among leaders
Attitudes: Resisters working along side of Change Champions
Personal Style: Thinking and responding styles colliding


I know that ethnicity, age, gender, education and such are the big markers of diversity. Fair enough, they affect many aspects of our work life. But, I think our approaches to change, both helpful and not, go deeper than that.

Personal biases towards change, risk tolerance and individual style run deeper and can cause more headaches than the obvious points of difference when groups are in transition.

The first step in leveraging differences is to make the unknown, known. Speak it, share it, and make it visible. Create opportunities for people, at all levels of the organization, to declare their perspectives and preferred approach to change. Than make the plan fit the folks!

By making differences transparent, everyone has the opportunity to get their own needs met, while learning to flex their style to accommodate the styles of others. When push comes to shove, as it often does in the throws of intense change, understanding each other is Job #1.

The tool that my client's tell me is the most helpful at really uncovering differences is DISC Personal Profiles. I've done dozens of DISC Team Workshops that are fun and interactive, and get at the core of differences among team members - highlighting how they can work together more productively. The Dimensions of Diversity list above acts as the backdrop in the workshop to understanding group norms and uncovering both strengths and gaps.

If your team is launching a change initiative, let's talk about what you're really going to need to be successful. Individual diversity can 'choke out' or 'lead the charge' to success...you get to decide!

Learned Anything Lately?

The Toronto Star has declared that the recession is officially over. Really? Whether the financial wizards at the Star are right or not, every new day brings more signs of people and routines returning to their pre-recession normal. As the financial dust is settling, the big question on everyone's mind is, of course, will the buying public adopt a new, more rational, sane approach to lifestyle purchases and debt, or will they resume their forty-year spending spree?

The recession has been tough on millions of people: lost jobs, foreclosed homes and retirement dreams have vanished. It's also been devastating for thousands of companies, and sobering, to say the least, for governments on both sides of the American border and abroad.

The big question is really this - have we learned anything from the events of the recent past? Will individuals, companies and governments change their ways? And, can we collectively learn from our mistakes? Conventional wisdom says, 'those who change best are those who must'. So, do we really need to change our ways, now that many are going back to work, credit is being extended and the fear mongers on CNN has moved on to other 'Breaking News'?

My hope is that we all transform our recessionary experiences into lessons learned. To do that we are going to need to:

Stop/Reflect: What's happened for you and to you in the past few months? Ask yourself, what's clear to me now that was hard to see a year ago? We hold more power than we're generally willing to own up to. How many times has your personal or professional history repeated itself? What part have you played in the creation of, or participation in, the recent economic storm, and what part could you play now to move yourself, your team or community forward?


Claim Your Victories: What's worked for you this past year, in spite of the circumstances? What have you done well? And, who and what helped you get through this mess? If you've weathered the past year and are still standing - then high-fives all-round! And don't - as my uncle used to say- forget to, dance with the ones who brung ya. Give a shout out to all your friends, family and colleagues that have helped you keep your stick on the ice.

Draw Some Lines: Learning from the past means bringing what you know now into your future. For a whole lot of folks, that's going to mean drawing a line in the sand and learning to live within their means and making better buying and business decisions from here on. For companies it may mean watching more carefully for 'moving cheese'. In the now famous fable, "Who Moved My Cheese?", Hem & Haw were caught off guard when their supply of cheese vanished bit by delicious bit. Maybe you were too.

So, right now - write down three things you will stop doing and three you will start doing that can ensure that those 'predictable surprises' are kept to a minimum!

Don't waste a good crisis! Make some decisions about how you want your life and career to be - then call me, and together we'll make sure you don't back over your new line.

Learned Anything Lately?

The Toronto Star has declared that the recession is officially over. Really? Whether the financial wizards at the Star are right or not, every new day brings more signs of people and routines returning to their pre-recession normal. As the financial dust is settling, the big question on everyone's mind is, of course, will the buying public adopt a new, more rational, sane approach to lifestyle purchases and debt, or will they resume their forty-year spending spree?

The recession has been tough on millions of people: lost jobs, foreclosed homes and retirement dreams have vanished. It's also been devastating for thousands of companies, and sobering, to say the least, for governments on both sides of the American border and abroad.

The big question is really this - have we learned anything from the events of the recent past? Will individuals, companies and governments change their ways? And, can we collectively learn from our mistakes? Conventional wisdom says, 'those who change best are those who must'. So, do we really need to change our ways, now that many are going back to work, credit is being extended and the fear mongers on CNN has moved on to other 'Breaking News'?

My hope is that we all transform our recessionary experiences into lessons learned. To do that we are going to need to:

Stop/Reflect: What's happened for you and to you in the past few months? Ask yourself, what's clear to me now that was hard to see a year ago? We hold more power than we're generally willing to own up to. How many times has your personal or professional history repeated itself? What part have you played in the creation of, or participation in, the recent economic storm, and what part could you play now to move yourself, your team or community forward?


Claim Your Victories: What's worked for you this past year, in spite of the circumstances? What have you done well? And, who and what helped you get through this mess? If you've weathered the past year and are still standing - then high-fives all-round! And don't - as my uncle used to say- forget to, dance with the ones who brung ya. Give a shout out to all your friends, family and colleagues that have helped you keep your stick on the ice.

Draw Some Lines: Learning from the past means bringing what you know now into your future. For a whole lot of folks, that's going to mean drawing a line in the sand and learning to live within their means and making better buying and business decisions from here on. For companies it may mean watching more carefully for 'moving cheese'. In the now famous fable, "Who Moved My Cheese?", Hem & Haw were caught off guard when their supply of cheese vanished bit by delicious bit. Maybe you were too.

So, right now - write down three things you will stop doing and three you will start doing that can ensure that those 'predictable surprises' are kept to a minimum!

Don't waste a good crisis! Make some decisions about how you want your life and career to be - then call me, and together we'll make sure you don't back over your new line.

What's Your Legacy?

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've no-doubt heard that, the 'King of Pop' has died. The tributes, memorials and media specials of the past week have shone a spotlight on a music-loving world, processing the loss of a favorite son.

It's been interesting to watch this mass farewell unfold. Like Elvis and Princes Diana before him, the life story of Michael Jackson is, minute-by-minute, morphing from being a tale of an undeniably talented, but bizarre man, into an account of an iconic star - a King. His life story is being re-written right before our TV watching, YouTube surfing eyes. Negative facts and events are being minimized, while recording achievements and triumphs are being highlighted and re-run, over and over. The Jackson family spin-doctors are hard at work and the result is a stunning demonstration of a legacy in the making.

With any change comes loss; and when the final curtain falls on a major celebrity, whether one of your favorites or not, you may find yourself feeling a sense of sadness, remembering the 'good old days'; replaying happier times.

Michael Jackson's music helped define a generation. He's a youngish Boomer who blasted on to the music scene in the 70's and deepened his star power in the 80's. He changed a generation's music landscape and now he's gone. Forever silenced. He was planning a comeback tour - no one will ever know if he actually could have 'come-back' or not. The question on everyone's lips now is - what will his legacy be? When the dust settles and the collective tears have dried, how will he be remembered?

Maybe you're a Boomer too. If so, you likely 'burst' onto the working scene in the late 60's or 70's. You may have rocketed to the top of your professional game in the 80's and 90's and now you may be easing out of the work force, or at least beginning to think about it.

Let me ask you - what will your legacy be? How will your clients and colleagues remember you? What contributions have you made to your workplace, industry or profession? And, how will your community, family and friends remember your work - and you?

Whether you plan on working only till RSP values return, or you adhere to the, retirement over my dead body philosophy, it's not too late to do something to create your own lasting legacy.

You can start today to:
Mentor younger colleagues. Those less experienced, newer folks at work need your encouragement, your support and the occasional nugget of wisdom that only age and experience can supply. Who can you take under your wing?

Document key company history and knowledge. You may be the only guy or gal left from when the company was first formed, or first went public, and you may be among only a handful of people who fully understand the rationale behind key decisions made, decisions that still affect business success today. What do you know that you need to get down on paper?

Look for opportunities to demonstrate core values. The new generation of employees is hungry for meaning and significance at work. What values have you stood for in your working career? Why are they important and who needs to see you 'walk the talk' now?

Think about it. Where do you, and your contributions, fit in the fabric of your company, industry or profession? Then do more than think about it - actively engage in legacy leaving activities. Get busy ensuring that your work outlasts your presence. Who knows, maybe your picture will be blasted across the company intranet on your last day. Hey - it could happen!

What's Changing For You?

I don't usually say much about what's happening for me personally in this ezine, but it's been an exciting few weeks for me - and I'm just itching to tell you all about what's changing in my world.

I was recently selected to be the Chapter Chair for the Women President's Organization's two Toronto groups. The WPO, headquartered in New York and boasting 86 chapters world-wide, is a non-profit membership organization for women presidents of multimillion-dollar companies.. My role as Chapter Chair is to meet monthly with these fabulous women and facilitate, or 'coax the genius' out of the group; my task is to help them grow their businesses to the next level. I'm pumped about this opportunity. These gals are savvy business women and I'm looking forward to spending time with them and creating high-value interactions for their meetings. I'm anticipating that, while I guide their round-tables, I'll have my own thinking challenged as well!


My next Big News is that I've been awarded the National Speaker's Associations' highest earned designation - Certified Speaking Professional! I've been working towards this goal for the past five years, and on July 19th in Phoenix, Arizona I'll walk across the main stage and grasp it in my hot little hand! Less than 10% of the nearly 5500 Professional Speakers in the association have achieved this level and I'm honoured to be receiving it.

Lastly, and this is the part that involves you-all - I've been listening to you. In response to your requests for services to make personal- change more successfully - we're spinning off a new web site in the fall, designed to help you do just that! The site will provide you with a truck-load of resources and allow you to join with other 'Changers' to learn more about the nuts-n-bolts of transforming, and give you an opportunity to buddy- up with others, to change what you thought you couldn't. Oh, and there's even going to be a Biggest Changer Challenge! So, stay tuned, we'll be telling you more about this exciting venture over the next few months.

Ok, so enough about me. What's changing in your world? They say that, "a change is as good as a rest", and I'm a believer. With my recent changes I've been infused with a new sense of excitement and energy.

So, what could you change that could re-boot your enthusiasm? What behaviour, habit or way of thinking and/or responding could you transform that would juice up your career or personal life? Think about it - then get busy doing it! If you want a personal guide to help you, check out my "Just Change It!" book and the accompanying Workbook. They have been designed to walk a would-be changer step-by-step through any change, personal or professional. If you get started today - where could you be by this time next month?

Crisis? What Crisis?

Just when you thought it was safe to take a deep breath...the Swine flu shows up! This has been quite a year so far...hasn't it? The United States has officially declared a public health emergency, and Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, told a teleconference just this week that more cases in Canada are, in his words, "just a matter of time."

So, let's see....we're in an economic climate we haven't seen since the 50's, we've got an ongoing terrorist threat, a looming pandemic, and, in Ontario at least, a Spring that just won't seem to commit. Hum....I think we have the making of a perfect storm here.

When a whole whack of things all become unpredictable at once, fear becomes the emotion of the day. And, savvy leaders know that, as the environment changes, their leadership style needs to change along with it. In times like these, change leadership needs to morph into crisis leadership.

What can you do for yourself and your people now?

During a crisis people need three things. They need to feel safe, the need to have hope, and they need to know that someone is doing something about the situation! Now, let's establish some foundational truths here; you didn't create the conditions that are rocking everyone's boats - but, as their leader, you do need to take steps that will help them settle down and maintain productivity at work in the middle of the storm. So, an effective response isn't one of defending or necessarily 'fixing' the situation, it's more about communicating and supporting people. Now remember, during crisis, keeping the business going is job #1.

Feeling safe at work is a basic human need. Many of your employees likely have concerns regarding their potential for exposure to the Swine flu, at work, and will want to know the steps that you're taking to ensure their well being & safety. Communicating what you DO know and what you ARE doing will help everyone's comfort level. Here are four practical things you can do to help your employees:


1. Communicate: You can't over communicate in a crisis. Communicate to your employees that you're following the situation closely and will take all necessary steps to ensure their safety and health. Oh, and watch your language. Use words like 'the situation' in place of 'the impending death of thousands' and, 'our response' in place of 'the only thing we can do', etc. Words are powerful, choose yours wisely.

2. Have a Plan: Ask people to report to their supervisors/managers right away if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms. In the US - OSHA has a special site for the pandemic influenza. OSHA recommends that, if you don't already have a pandemic flu plan, you get one- quick!

3. Review & Adjust Your Policies: Review and adjust your leave of absence and telecommuting policies and adjust them, if you need to. And, for everyone's sake - encourage employees to stay at home if they experience flu-like symptoms.

4. Utilize Your EAP Program: If you have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), remind employees that these services are available to help them cope with the stresses that often result from this sort of medical crisis.

Being pro-active in this way will give your employees hope and reassure them that you are on top of things. Your staff are adults, they know you don't control these 'situations' - but knowing that you're thinking about them allows everyone to get back to their work.

For those of you who may not know, I am certified in Critical Incident Response Debriefing and have been called into companies to help with everything from a 9/11 type occurrence to a brewing scandal. If I can be helpful to you over the next while, don't hesitate to call me. We're all in this together...