Leaders Execute

I had the privilege of hearing Chip Madera, renowned speaker and organizational development expert, speak again for the second time in one month. This past week, he talked to us about leadership and execution and his message really stuck with me. We were a bunch of healthcare leaders in the audience and if you know healthcare, you know that the industry is going through a boat-load of changes.

But, going through change is not a good excuse for not executing. Leaders need to be the example. As Chip puts it, we are the “keepers of the culture.” It starts with us and it is up to us to lead it. If we don’t get this right, we will not survive because “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” If we don’t keep the culture, our employees will create it anyway and it won’t be the culture we want because if we’re not part of it, they will know that pretty quickly.

We cannot continue blaming employees and trying to hold them accountable without first holding ourselves accountable. I constantly run into leaders who complain about their employees not performing but they never actually do anything about these employees. If we want A players, we need to pick A players, we need to grow A players and we need to be A players. Only when we start looking within ourselves can we start leading and executing for our teams and our organizations.

To lead a culture that people will follow and buy into, we need to connect with them. We need to be able to relate to them and to meet them where they are. As the workplace gets more chaotic and stress levels rise, leaders are challenged with channeling their emotions while maintaining operations and leading people. This is no small task but where leaders often fail is the people part. They begin to drown themselves in the day-to-day and neglect their teams.

Chip challenged us to “fall in love with our people again.” He didn’t mean this literally, of course, but we need to take a step back and remember that we chose to accept leadership positions and that decision comes with specific responsibilities to our people.

So, have you reflected about your leadership lately? What are you going to do to reignite your passion for people and execute, particularly the culture?

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We Create Our Comfort Zones

I’m over the excuses for why people don’t get things done or take chances on themselves. At a minimum, on a weekly basis, I’ve been finding myself engrossed in conversations about productivity, change and/or success. They seem to always include excuses as to why people “can’t” do something. I’m in an industry of constant change and quite a bit of chaos so lately, the common excuse is “I’m not comfortable.” This is one of my favorites. It’s right up there with “I don’t have time.”

It’s one of my favorite excuses because it’s ironic to me. People talk about comfort zones like they’re magical things that just exist without effort. They assume that everything else that is not already in their comfort zone will remain in their “uncomfortable zone” forever without the possibility of movement.

Here’s a reality check and some good news: everything in our “uncomfortable zone” can become part of our “comfort zone.” A comfort zone is a completely fabricated concept. We made it up! Everything in our comfort zone was moved there because we got used to things that we were uncomfortable with at first.

So, it’s funny to me when I hear this as an excuse for not trying something new or not living out dreams. I pretty much get this excuse at least from one person every time I propose a new change or project, “Lotus, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this.” My answer usually? “Awesome! Neither am I! Let’s get comfortable with it!”

Recently, I invited a coworker to join a Twitter chat since she wanted to find a convenient way to learn from other organizations without having to attend conferences across the country. She told me that she isn’t part of the generation that is comfortable with social media and that I’m better at it because I grew up with it. She was shocked when I told her that I went off Facebook until recently, that I didn’t really use LinkedIn until 2011 and that I didn’t even get a Twitter account until 2013. I told her my story about how terrified I was to start writing and going social. It definitely was not in my comfort zone. In fact, I still don’t think it is in my comfort zone, but I do it anyway. She got herself a Twitter account and met a couple awesome people in the industry already!

Comfort zones don’t just happen to us. We create our own comfort zones. There’s so much that I’m intentionally working on adding to my comfort zone. What are you trying to add to your comfort zone? When are you going to purposely take a chance on YOU?

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Want to succeed? Ask questions!

Ask questions! That is my one piece of advice to all new employees. Heck, start asking questions before you get the job. The traditional interview process is no longer relevant. It’s not a one-way Q&A session anymore. The Q&A goes both ways now. Ask your new employer questions that are meaningful to your decision process. This will help both you and your potential employer make a better decision about whether or not you would do well in the job, in the organization and on the team.

Once you start a job, it is just as important to continue asking questions. No one knows everything even if they tell you they do! I’ve heard all the excuses and assumptions:

  • I’m scared I’ll sound stupid.
  • I’m afraid they think I should know the answer to that already.
  • I don’t know who to ask.
  • I don’t want to bother them.
  • They’re so busy. They don’t have time to answer my questions.
  • I probably don’t really need to know that right now. I’ll ask if I ever have to know.
  • If I needed to know that, they would tell me so I don’t need to ask.
  • I’m sure someone else will ask my question.
  • I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.

Well, guess what? These are all actually very valid concerns and feelings. But, guess what else? They don’t need to stop you from asking questions and growing yourself and your career.

  • So, someone thinks you sound stupid. Who cares? You still gain something out of getting the answer. Who’s problem is it that they think you sound stupid? It’s not your problem.
  • Maybe you should know the answer but if you don’t, keeping quiet isn’t going to get you the answer.
  • If you don’t know who to ask, ask everyone until you find out who the right person is to ask.
  • If people are bothered by you asking a question, that is their burden to carry, not yours.
  • Everyone is busy, including you, I’m sure. You’ll be more productive if you ask and so will they because they know you’re getting your work done.
  • Growth is about learning as much as you can so even if you don’t need to know it, ask questions about things you want to know.
  • Never assume that someone is going to look out for you. You need to ask questions proactively rather than waiting for people to give you all the information you need to do your job.
  • Again, you’re going down a very uncertain path if you’re waiting for someone else to ask the question you have. What if they do it when you’re not there and now you don’t have the answer?
  • Maybe you will figure it out eventually but wouldn’t it be nice to get the answer and figure it out now?

I instill this in my team and in all the employees I work with every single day. The ones who ask a lot of questions have become the go-to people in the organization. They always seem to have the answers because they always ask the questions.

So, let me ask you a question: are you going to start asking questions?

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Plan a fun but productive in-service day

I feel like I’ve planned hundreds of in-service days but the truth is that it never gets any easier. It only gets harder every time especially if it’s with the same team. I don’t want them to be bored so I need to make sure that every time I plan one, it is going to add value to their work, their careers or their lives.

Let’s take a step back. What do I even mean by an in-service day? This could mean a lot of things. When I talk about an in-service day, I’m referring to a day set aside at least a few times per year where a team gets together, preferably off-site (not at work), to reflect, reenergize and strategize. There are so many reasons why having in-service days is so important:

  1. It’s time to do team building, for us to get to know each other better and for us to work better together.
  2. It’s time to recharge and get excited about our work again, or maybe more excited than we were before.
  3. It’s time to engage in some reflection, remember why we do what we do (mission and vision) and get refocused on our core values.
  4. It’s time to plan for the future (strategy) without interruptions from our day-to-day work in the office.
  5. It’s time to learn and grow as individuals and as a team, to gain new knowledge and skills and to make improvements to products, services or processes.
  6. It’s a time to clarify expectations and get everyone on the same page.

So, how do I plan a fun and productive in-service day? It’s just like planning any event. It takes committing time to it and depending on the goal, some resources.

Venue and Food

It’s important to pick a venue away from work. If an organization has a big budget, these in-service days could be more extravagant but it can also be done for a very low cost. I plan most of mine at free venues like the local library, park district or village hall.

Be sure to serve breakfast, lunch and snacks. Depending on the agenda, these days can feel very long. If budget is tight, do it potluck style and have everyone bring in their favorite things to share.

Agenda and Presenters

Prepare an agenda and communicate it ahead of time. Determine estimated times for each topic as well as presenters or facilitators. Give the presenters and facilitators ample time to prepare their content and return it to be organized appropriately.

Be sure the agenda includes a good mix of fun activities and productive discussions and that these are alternating on the agenda throughout the day. If all the fun happens in the morning, the audience will be bored by lunch time.

Technology

Of course, ensure that all technology works appropriately. Confirm that a laptop, projector and all cords are available for use.

Be sure to incorporate technology into the day too, when possible. This can be in the form of polls, quizzes or games on a mobile phone, videos or interactive iPad activities. Don’t set “no cell phone” rules, please! It’s almost 2017! Use their phones to your advantage to engage them!

Learning and Activities

Plan learning opportunities and activities into the day. There should always be some sort of professional development to help the team gain new insights, knowledge, skills or experiences.

Be sure that learning opportunities are interactive, not one-way. Don’t lecture!

Celebrate

Don’t forget to celebrate! Not only is it a long day but if it is productive as planned, the team deserves some down time. Take them out for a happy hour. Informal team building is just as good as formal team building!

Be sure to thank the team for their participation and engagement throughout the day.

It’s planning time! Dive in and plan a first or next in-service day to increase employee engagement and team building.

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