ELEPHANT ALERT!

Recently, a top leader told hundreds in the audience, “We need to correct course. I made a decision on a strategy last year – and it has alienated some of you. That wasn’t my intention. I take full responsibility and apologize.”

The person sitting next me inspired the title of this blog when he said, “That bailout was nicely done.” 

The US government has confessed that the economy is screwed up. Time is so short, that rather than take the typical route of finding blame and scapegoats, they agree that a corrective course of action is needed immediately.

Here’s the elephant in the office: Do you work with someone who has made a mistake, but refuses to accept responsibility for it? Consequently, they carry around a “fog of disillusionment” that repels even innocent bystanders. It takes a gas mask to have a meeting with such people!

Remarkably, it takes one simple act to clear the air – and get back to work.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Making an apology – taking responsibility – is a powerful leadership act. And while it’s easy to identify those people we work with who have the “fog of disillusionment” around them, consider that you, too, have such a challenge.

Are you ready to conduct your own bailout? With whom do you have a troubled relationship? It may be time to say, “I apologize. I take responsibility.” (If your ego has a grip on you, you can add, “I apologize for my part.”) And of course, it’s illegal to add “…but you need to take responsibility too.”

Bailouts save sinking ships. And they immediately put relationships on a course to greater productivity.

Bailouts are in vogue. Why not conduct your own?

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

There’s an old saying that if you squeeze an orange you can expect to get orange juice. The pressure for higher performance is significant. Stress, adversity, ambiguity…it can seem to mount every day. Do you feel like you’re getting squeezed?

And when you’re squeezed – what comes out?

Here’s the elephant in the office: You may laugh at the above question. Most likely this is because you’ve worked next to people who, when squeezed, emit some not-so-pleasant material.

Isn’t it ironic? When things become difficult, when the pressure mounts, some people and teams deliver their worst.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

As you grow older, as your responsibilities and the pressures mount, what are you discovering about yourself? Do you like what you are delivering for your peers, your family – and yourself?

When the numbers aren’t where you want them to be, does your response reflect your deepest values? When you’re tempted to cut corners, do people see your highest level of integrity? When you get home at night and you’re exhausted, does your family see you shine?

At this point in your career, do you appreciate and admire who you have become? And are you excited about who you are you becoming?

Regardless of your answer to the above question you can celebrate – because asking yourself these questions begins to build the awareness that is necessary to create the changes you want to make.

This week pay attention. The next time you feel the pressure mount, the next time you feel the squeeze, ask yourself, “How will I respond in a way that is congruent with who I want to be?”

It is how you respond to pressure that people discover who you really are.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

I’m sorry. That’s what I’d tell the elderly woman who glanced at her boarding pass, then grimaced at the shuttle – which I was on. She moved hesitantly toward the door. She wasn’t going to make it. The door began to close. It nearly shut on her. With what looked like tears, she backed up.

If I had put my arm out, the door would have re-opened for her. But I hadn’t. Instead, I stood there. And did nothing.

I put my head down; I was in a hurry to deliver a training on how to make a difference in the workplace.

Here’s the elephant in the office: There are people who think a stage is necessary to make a difference. Yet, the idea that making a difference requires an event, such as church or a day of volunteering, robs humanity – us – of revealing our greatest heritage.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

I can assure you your disappointment in me does not eclipse my own. Four years later I remember that woman’s face – and the promise I made when those doors shut: forever more the airport would be my personal “make a difference” arena.

Airports used to be my “get-through-it-as-painlessly-as-you-can” place. But it’s different now. I relax (yet I’m never late). And I seek opportunities to serve – which are never in short supply. Women carrying their infant children, a car seat and two bags; angry customers who are transformed by a “is there anything I can do?”…they are everywhere.

Ironically, I remain selfish: In the end, the greatest gift is mine. By seeking to make a difference my travel experience is dramatically enhanced. And so is my work.

And I wonder: does it take an airport?

Where will you fly today?

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

What are you doing when no one is looking? Is your character intact?

An employee of a world-wide organization spoke to an audience about his company’s CFO. “I saw Ed do something that significantly elevated my respect for him. I was about to leave the men’s room when I saw Ed at the sink. He’d just finished washing his hands. And then you know what he did? He grabbed a towel and wiped off the counter. He was cleaning the bathroom! How many CFO’s do you know do that?

“It showed me in an instant how much he cared about our company. And as a result, I care more, too.”

Here’s the elephant in the office: A lot of bosses attempt to scheme their way to respect. They use rhetoric and grandiose gestures to communicate how much they care. They rely on pompous, rehearsed acts to “model” what they think leadership looks like. And then when the spotlight is no longer on them, they slip to someone else.

This leaves their credibility slithering across the floor; and a disenfranchised workforce mumbling, “Get real.”

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Ed reminds us that we follow leaders not because of what they say or do, but because of who we believe they are. And when “who they are” is virtuous, significant things happen.

Are your values important enough to live them all the time?

It’s true: “Good guys finish last.” And be assured that “good guys finish first” is equally true. As the number of those who consistently live out of their values grows – and it is growing – the world is assured of brighter days.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?