WHAT APPEARS TO BE

With everything you have to do, you can add “TRAINER” to your job title. And while you’re probably not getting paid for this work – it impacts your results every day.

“Consider the possibility that we are constantly training those around us how to act, how to behave, simply by how we” respond to them during crucial moments. (From our upcoming book, Stomp the Elephant in the Office, (Wister and Willows, 2008)).

WHAT MIGHT BE

Do you wish people would behave or function a different way? (Duh.) If so, what are the chances the reason they are acting a certain way is because you’ve trained them to act that way?

When the average person receives “bad news,” they respond in destructive fashion. They kick, scream and yell. Meanwhile, the recipient is taking copious mental notes.

• How many people have trained those around them NOT to make decisions…because in the past they’ve judged decisions as good or bad?
• How many parents have trained their children to lie…by getting angry when they learned the truth?
• How many people have trained people to give a minimalist effort…because when they gave a strong effort their results were criticized?

WHAT CAN BE

Effective people make cultivating information a priority. They know they can’t take appropriate action without full information. When they receive “bad news” they respond in a way where the other person:

1. learns from the event,
2. gets better as a result of the experience, and
3. learns they can come to you with similar information in the future.

Whether you’re getting paid for it or not, “training” is in your job description. How are you training those around you to act?

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

Put down you PDA for a second and check this out. From Fast Company, Dec ‘06, "A Day-Timers survey confirmed that instant-communications technology is making it harder, not easier, to get things done. The number of people who report feeling very productive has dropped from 83% in ‘94 to just 51% today."

Question: When your cell phone rings, how do you respond?

WHAT MIGHT BE

You’ve probably observed people duck out conversations, discontinue an email, leave a meeting, even get out of bed…to answer the cell phone.

What is the average time it takes to “ramp up” when a person returns to the task they were doing before they were interrupted? Most people report it’s minutes –  if ever.

These people are being used. They possess communications gadgets and, like the cocaine addict, crave the next “signal.” Is it possible this signal represents

• The faux sense of being needed? (Ego food.)
• Or does it reveal an addiction to information, the need to be ‘in the loop’?
• Or is it a release from the discomfort of ‘now’?

Why else are people willing to be used by their gadgets?

WHAT CAN BE

Do you find yourself afflicted with communi gadgi addictus? Take this challenge: for the remainder of this week, promise yourself that you will use your gadget – not be used by it. Because we can only focus on one thing at a time, when the signal from your gadget sounds, use it as a trigger, a reminder of how precious your focus is. Ask yourself: what focus is most important right now? How important is my attention and productivity in this moment?

As you master this, each ring of the phone will be reminder of your triumph – and a testament that human beings can evolve faster than the electronics industry.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

The Sneeze Factor phenomenon: on the first of four days of training, when an individual sneezes, typically the room remains silent, void of the traditional “bless you” response.

This is an important observation. Three days later, after getting to know each other, when someone on the same team sneezes, nearly the entire group says, “bless you.”

What’s your Sneeze Factor? Do you support others even when you don’t know them?

WHAT MIGHT BE

Most people only support others whom they have a relationship with – and a good one at that. This sort of “conditional” approach is one I used in my sandbox as a child: I’ll be nice to you if you’re nice to me.

Carrying this strategy into my adult life has resulted in being able to influence – lead – only when conditions are right.  This lame approach is like playing basketball with one arm; I’m only half as effective as I could be.

WHAT CAN BE

There are people who approach life – leadership – differently. It could be argued that they are the only ones who lead us to new possibilities as a society.

Your slice of society is the culture you work in. Around you there are individuals who aren’t waiting for others to take the High Road with them – these people take that route regardless of the conditions. These are leaders who, when someone sneezes – a person makes a mistake, they say the wrong thing or perhaps they even attempt to hurt us – these leaders say “bless you.” And in so doing they take us all to a higher level.

What’s your Sneeze Factor?

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

I recently revisited a team whom I’d partnered with 12 weeks prior. Asked, “What were your favorite memories of our time together?” one person answered, “The best part came after you left.”

My ego’s response: OOUUCCHHHH!

My healthy self’s response: YEEAAAHHH!

When you leave do things get better or worse?

WHAT MIGHT BE

There’s two ways to look at this. When some people leave things get better because the person is not around make things difficult for others. (Is this true for some parents as well?)

A leadership team, contemplating leaving the office four days to raise the bar for themselves and their organization, stated “We couldn’t possibly be gone that long!” Fortunately, their senior leader is wise. She responded, “If we can’t be gone four days what does that say about our leadership? What it says is that we need these days more than we can possibly imagine.”

WHAT CAN BE

How about you? Is your leadership approach one that inspires others, is directive and engages others…only when you’re around? (Does your ego lead in a way so others follow only you?)

Or do you take the following three steps to ensure that things get better when you leave:

1. You let others guide the ship, by using their ideas and tapping into their motivations.
2. You build accountability in others by asking them questions, rather than the old approach of holding others accountable.
3. Upon returning, you don’t judge the decisions they made in your absence as good or bad; instead, you use the decisions made as learning material for the future.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

There’s lot of talk now about ‘fun in the work place.’ But what is fun? Too many bosses get it wrong.

Here are the three most common strategies to create “fun” and the reasons why they backfire. (From our upcoming book, Stomp the Elephant in the Office.)

1. The Pizza Party Ploy – People can’t be bought, even with their stomach. This event gives them time to stand in cliques and reinforce what they don’t like about…
2. Bonus Boomerang – Competition is a healthy thing, but when you create losers at work you’re set up for disaster. Plus, what happens if the same people win each time?
3. High-Five Fakers – When compliments are conniving and enthusiasm forced, people can sense it and rebel.

WHAT MIGHT BE

But wait! Aren’t the strategies above fun things? Aren’t they effective at injecting a workplace with much needed spirit, camaraderie, and excitement? Not when they are the only strategies utilized.

Is it possible that some people have confused fun with entertained? The most productive employees aren’t confused. They know certain elements must be in place before they can have fun.

WHAT CAN BE

What do employees think is the most fun? When they excel at their jobs. Our partners in the field have found that when they build the following five qualities in the work place, they have fun.

1. Develop self-reliant, healthy individuals.
2. Build a culture that is pro-active and full of trust.
3. Establish full, free, two-way information flow.
4. Build clear, achievable, stretch objectives and execution plan.
5. Create a team identity that empowers and excites.

Build these five things and fun – and results – take care of themselves.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

It’s budget time again. A friend explained that it is a regular practice for him to forecast their productivity “far on the low side. Then, we show our bosses our numbers and they come back and high-ball the forecast. We’ve got to low-ball ours to keep their high-ball from getting too high.”

How good is your poker face?

WHAT MIGHT BE

One of the most sensitive subjects is the topic of “goals.” In nearly all sessions, participants complain that the stretch objectives they are given create disengagement – and even acts of sabotage.

One participant said, “Why do they ask us for our estimates when the only number they really care about is what Wall Street wants?”

In his book, The Great Game of Business, Jack Stack says this is like asking people "to put the numbers together that will serve as a club used to hit them over the head with in the next year."

Some organizations are training their employees to lie.

WHAT CAN BE

How much sense does it make to play poker with the company’s future?

Let’s end the poker game. Here’s what it comes down to: are we sharing full information with each other? Are people given the opportunity to see how the numbers were determined? Do they get an opportunity to see how their actions deliver numbers?

Are we telling each other the truth? If we’re not, if we’re competing against each other, how can we beat the competition?

Our observations reveal that most companies are hosting poker parties. By developing the habit of developing full, free, two-way information flow, your team can up the ante, kick the real competitors butt, and slide more chips to your corner of the table.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”?  You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

This is from a Pathways to Leadership graduate named Mike: Imagine working next to someone who bathed or showered only once a year. Feel your nose curl? Now, imagine working for an organization that worked to develop its healthy culture only once a year. As my five-year-old daughter says, “PEEEEE-YOOOOOO!”

Hurry…someone grab the soap.

WHAT MIGHT BE

In such companies the cultural stench is so foul employees are forced to work with one hand…because the other hand is covering their nose. (Is it possible there’s a connection between the 72% employee disengagement rate and an organization’s cultural hygiene practices?) And customers keep their wallets in their pockets as they fight off the stench. (Employees who have to wear oxygen masks to work are unable to devote much attention to quality.)

WHAT CAN BE

Mike and his teammates are doing business differently. In his words, because they intentionally use leadership tools, they have developed their “muscle memory to ensure a strong Wellness Culture.” This means they bathe regularly. (Stick with the metaphor, please.) This means their culture is not something that gets attention only during the end-of-the-year awards banquet, the company picnic, or during the holidays.

No. Mike’s culture (he and everyone around him are co-owners) receives attention all the time, in every interaction they have. And their customers can smell the difference.

Are you and your teammates going to take a bath today? What will it look like?

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”?  You decide.

Got a stinky situation at work? Hit the comment tab and send in your dirt. The water’s warm.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

Can you imagine having a cubicle next to John F. Kennedy? Beyond the paparazzi – consider how business would get done.

According to a survey of 4,100 employees, the priorities of job seekers are:

• 60% Challenging & Interesting Work
• 58% Recognition & Rewards
• 44% Opportunity for Fast Career Growth & Advancement
• 42% People-oriented  (SOURCE: Accenture)

Seems there’s a lot of people looking for what they can get. What happens when we wait for others to create the “conditions” that we desire? Perhaps Kennedy should have said in his famous address, “Ask what your country (read: company) can do for you!”

WHAT MIGHT BE

Far too many people have a default belief system that culture, the environment within which they work, is a bi-product of decisions made from up high. These are the victims you hear throughout the day lamenting long and poorly-run meetings, the lack of execution around them, as well as the victims and non-accountable people they have to work with. (How ironic!)

WHAT CAN BE

The wisest amongst us know that every time they interact with others, they determine the culture they function in. These are the people whom we never hear complaining. These are the people who pause before speaking and acting. These are the people who realize the cause and effect between their focus, their energy, their behaviors, and their actions.

These are the people who have everything the job seekers above are looking for because they create it themselves.

How do they do it? One question changes everything. One question changes the culture around them: “What can I do?”

That might be Kennedy in the cubicle next to me whispering, “Ask not what your company can do for you. Ask what you can do for your company.”

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.

WHAT APPEARS TO BE

Recently a friend made this discovery: tired of a colleague who was not doing their share of work, my friend found himself complaining about his colleague to the other four people on his team.

“It suddenly occurred to me,” he said, “Every time I talk about the poor performance of my colleague I am broadcasting the very thing that is driving me crazy. I’m not helping the situation. I am making the situation worse.

WHAT MIGHT BE

How often are we confronted by behavior in others that we find disagreeable? When this happens to the average person they respond by establishing their own radio station. They devote precious hours transmitting the foul message to anyone who will tune into their frequency.

Johnny Cash sang, “Misery loves company.” He was right. Soon, everyone around this person is miserable.

WHAT CAN BE

Leaders who are above average do everything they can to change the behavior. For starters, they don’t broadcast the ugly message. They broadcast messages that will move things forward. They talk about what is important. They talk about why these things are important. They share information on where they see progress. They broadcast what’s possible. They emit hope.

Most of us have one or two people in our lives who are such radio stations, who deliver such messages. We know that when we tune into them, our results and lives are better.

How do people feel when they tune into you? What messages are you broadcasting?

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”? You decide.