Executive Creates Steady Improvement Over Time

Executive creates steady improvement over time. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?  Small improvements over time add up. I recently wrote about this in "How to Improve Your Leadership". One organization has shown that it is possible and they have the proof to back it up.

The Friendly Society Private Hospital has been named leading employer of choice in the private healthcare sector within South East Queensland, Australia.

Friendly Society Private Hospital team members are provided with attractive remuneration packages, generous salary packaging options, tax free dining, flexible and family friendly rostering, bulk billing for employees and their families via the Afterhours Medical Service and an incredibly strong commitment to ongoing education, training and professional development.

Independent research firm, Best Practice Australia reported that 84% of Friendly Society Private Hospital employees firmly believe the 'Friendlies' is a "Truly Great Place to Work".

Best Practice Australia uses a model based on 5 Types of Culture … from Blame to Success, with the leading Culture being that of Success. This Type of Culture is very close-knit, cohesive and focused with a large number of employees feeling engaged and optimistic about the organization's future.

What put the 'Friendlies' in the Culture of Success category?

The employees who work at the Friendlies say,

•    there is a strong sense of purpose and direction
•    people have high levels of confidence and trust in Executive Management
•    people are optimistic about the hospital's future
•    there is a climate of trust and respect amongst employees
•    there is a friendly atmosphere throughout the hospital
•    the Friendly Society Private Hospital is a Truly Great Place to Work

That is a pretty high endorsement.

And it appears they got there by focusing on what they wanted and steadily moving toward it. The leadership set benchmarks and just kept moving toward them. They weren't struggling for quantum leaps but apparently knew that a steady persistent movement in one direction would build a strong culture and a solid foundation for success.

That's what I advocate for in 52 Solutions for Those Who Need a 25 Hour Day. Persistent, focused action on a number of simple concepts will result in huge improvement and sustainable success over time.

As Jaqui Parle, Executive Director of Best Practices Australia notes:

These results are outstanding for the Friendlies. Having surveyed this hospital five times over the past ten years, it is quite obvious that the cultural change journey has worked. The approach by executive for steady improvement over time (as opposed to large quantum leaps), has really paid off for the hospital.

Well done to the leadership and staff of the Friendlies. Read the whole article. It's a good news story.

Renewal, A Lesson from the Soil

Rest is a natural starting point. It is not the end. It is the beginning. Farmers understand the value of letting land lie unused for a season. It is called lying fallow. The ground has a chance to renew without the stress of demanding crops. Neglect this principle of lying fallow, and sustained high yield can only be achieved by the constant and significant addition of fertilizer to replace the deficiencies in the soil.

Alice and I once drove by thousands of acres of lush, productive, garden cropland. The earth was dark, and we remarked how much we would like a few truckloads dumped in our garden. Then someone informed me that the earth was actually dead. It had basically lost its ability to perform. Its only function now was as a medium to contain the plants. It was the heavy fertilization that really fed the growth. The land never lay fallow. It was so pushed to produce that it died as a useful soil. It lost the ability to produce on its own.

The experience of far too many leaders is similar to that land. While others applaud the good results and the crop looks great, the worker is left feeling barren from having done too much for too long without stopping to renew. Fallowness is vital to regain a sense of peace, balance, and renewed focus outside of the hectic rush to meet the needs of people and tasks. Push forward in self-importance and deny or diminish the need and there is a price to be paid.

Once successful governments need to lie fallow to regain their perspective.

Writers need to lie fallow to find new material and a new spring from which to draw.

Teachers need to lie fallow to regain a love for their calling and those they teach.

Leaders need to lie fallow to once again understand their people and priorities.

The list goes on ...

If you have been driving hard for a long period of time, you require this vital period of renewal. It does not necessarily mean you have become ineffective at what you do. It does mean that you realize the importance of taking steps to ensure you do not slip into ineffectiveness.

The length of time or even the frequency are not to be dictated. Each leader and their context vary. What is to be encouraged, and in many cases insisted upon is that each leader take such a time in order to remain at their best.

The Importance of a Master Plan

Never underestimate the importance of a master plan.

Creative people who are committed and involved generally start out with a clear idea of what it is they feel compelled to engage in. Once they start, they begin to see all sorts of further exciting possibilities. Their creativity feeds on more ideas. Less clear are the ways and means to accomplish all of them simultaneously.

If that original vision, the one before all the other exciting possibilities came along, is not regularly reviewed, it can be neglected and lost in a sea of activity. Eventually personal energy is so diffused and unfocused that something collapses.

The original and probably quite uncomplicated vision is replaced with multiple goals, time lines, demands and expectations that require more and more personal resources from the leader. It leaves the creative depleted and the initiative in shambles.

Adding more and more layers of activity, and it may be very fine activity, isn't a great strategy.

Developing a master plan to guide decision making and the allocation of effort is a great strategy.

I want to highlight the importance of having a clear and crisp written plan of what it is you wish to accomplish and how you will accomplish it. Having that master plan in front of you will allow you to gauge other ideas that come along and be able to dismiss or park them for another day. It will allow you to allocate effort efficiently. It will keep you focused on the objectives and dramatically improve your chances of experiencing very significant success.

Top 10 Ways to Lose Business

Your thinking will probably determine how you behave.  The Top 10 Ways to Lose Business are all mindsets, ways of thinking that can be disastrous. They need to be pulled out like the weeds in a garden.

Keep these ideas about your prospective clients in your mind and you will most certainly lose business. Follow the advice and you may see your business skyrocket. Develop a mindset for success.

1.    Too small for my services:

Small may just become bigger. And small may know bigger or be eventually bought out by bigger. Never underestimate the size of what you are looking at. Don’t judge by the building. Deal with the person. They may be the one who can bring you a lot of business even if they never personally initial a deal for their own company. The influence of your new friend may serve you well for many years to come.

2.    Too big to ever retain me:

Without asking you’ll never know what might have been. Remember, someone else will ask. Behind the corporate structure are people who need to get a job done. Be the professional you are and bite off a big chunk. Offer what they need. Tailor it by listening carefully. Big chunk – big rewards.

3.    Just another sale:

Another sale? That was just the greatest transaction ever done. Give them value beyond what they every imagined from you and cash in on the future business. Hum drum stops with “duty done”. Excellence builds value for the future. You won’t be just another professional come and gone, but a long-term professional alliance that can make their company great.

4.    An interruption to my day:

What a day for golf. Sunny. Too much to do to be bothered following up that lead? When a prospect turns into an interruption day after day, you’re in a rut. Either you’re afraid to make contact or your work habits need to be checked out. Shake out of your lethargy. Get a coach to work with you and get you on track again. Enjoy leisure from a position of success not avoidance.

5.    Too much work:

“I’ll just work my tail off for this, and get didly squat for it.” Work won’t kill you, but work smart. Zero in on what’s important. Many spend too much time on details with little real importance. 80% of the real productive work will probably be fleshed out in 20% of the time. Is it managing your time that’s challenging or managing yourself? There is a big difference between creating extra work and creating more time to be productive.

6.    My only hope:
Desperation is like a plague. It sucks the emotional energy right out of you. Your presentations will be like therapy 101 to the client. Learn from every presentation that didn’t fly and make the next one that much better. Operate from a place of strength and confidence in your ability. Hopefully, this isn’t the only deal you’re working on and it won’t be the last.

7.    Too professional to want to listen to me:

You’re a professional. You have training, expertise and a history of experience that they, no matter how professional, do not have. Offer your unique expertise to the client. Do you know their field? Perhaps not. Do you have to? No. You have to know your field. And if they need your services then go for it. Act what you are, a professional.

8.    A waste of my time:

They just won’t be interested. How do you know? What facts lead you to believe that? Let the customer be the judge of how they’ll receive your efforts. You be you, and do your excellent best. This attitude of defeat before battle is a wasting one. Every presentation you make sharpens your knowledge, skills and hopefully your attitudes towards your success.

9.    An easy sell.

Never underestimate the smarts of your prospect. Get your facts complete and present them well. If there is any hint of condescension you could be in big trouble. Treat every prospect as the only prospect that may ever come your way. Respect their dignity and you could be compensated well for it.

10.    The competition probably has it:

Who says? Like everything before this, it’s all in your mind. Until you take the action that can lead to the result, you just don’t know. Unlock this key insight in yourself. You are a professional. Professionals act until there is “proof” that the competition has it. Keep giving the client value with your name attached.

Make a decision right now to deal with self-defeating thinking.

First Quarter 2009 Views About Leadership

A new snapshot is out on first quarter 2009 views about leadership. According to Towers Perrin's Workplace Watch, a new quarterly report on employee opinions, "favorable views about leadership — the top driver of employee engagement — are down in some key areas:

• Most notably, the percentage of employees agreeing top management provides a clear sense of direction dropped significantly, to 63% from 71% in the fourth quarter of 2008.


• The percentage of employees agreeing that top management provides effective leadership also declined to 50% from 56% at the end of 2008.


• In addition, only 69% of employees agree that they clearly understand their company's broad goals, down a striking 10 percentage points from 79% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The report compares the first quarter of 2009 with the preceding five quarters and was culled from the opinions of 650,000 employees across a spectrum of organizations, world-wide.

The authors lay out a strategy for leadership to address employee engagement during this time.

• Get leaders out front to talk with employees about the business environment and how the organization is responding, as well as the long-term vision and what the organization stands for.


• Involve employees in efforts to manage costs to help them feel like active contributors.


• Communicate consistently and candidly about both short- and long-term objectives.


• Listen and gather input from employees.


• Promote development opportunities so people can see a future for themselves worth working toward.

Considering the economic climate, several positive signs also emerged from the report. Worth the read.

Difference Between Corporate Coaching, Counseling and Mentoring

Here is a very good article outlining the difference between corporate coaching, counseling and mentoring. In my opinion it is well worth the read as you consider how coaching is used within your organization. "Coaching" as a professional term has of course become a fad word over the last number of years, easily bandied about in almost every circumstance you can imagine.

In general I would suggest that for leadership and executive coaching, you look outside the organization for a Coach. This ensures objectivity when it comes to your company or organization and its goals and priorities. The executive coach concentrates on you and has no reason to 'look over their shoulder'.

Here is the article.

10 Beliefs You Must Change to Deal with Burnout Part 2

There are 10 beliefs we must change to deal with burnout. Here are the last five. To review:

In this area, knowing what to do and actually doing it are usually poles apart for most leaders and business executives. That’s because we are tied to certain beliefs that are actually contributing to our level of discontent and discouragement and holding us back from sustainable solutions.

We don't change because we believe something to be true.  It may be something about us, our family, our job or our situation. Whatever it is, it has a hold on us and it's going to take some honest examination and serious intention to dislodge it.

Here are the last five beliefs.

Belief # 5 - We believe change means crossing a strongly held moral line. There are all sorts of invisible lines we don’t want to cross and expectations we feel we cannot betray. They may be spiritual beliefs, work expectations, community commitments or anything tied to strong interests, attitudes and values. Somehow it would be an admission of weakness (or outright failure) to admit that we are experiencing stress and to say that we need to find new ways of reaching our objectives.

Belief # 6 – We believe other people’s expectations are more important than our well-being. We don't want to disappoint people who are expecting us achieve certain things and behave in defined ways.  We have bought into performing for others, sometimes even those long gone. We manage our image so that they will be pleased with us.  Because we don't want to disappoint them we continue on in a course of action that is actually doing us harm.

Belief # 7 – We failed in the past and we don’t believe we can make change last in the future. We may previously have taken steps to reduce the stress we were feeling only to find that in a short period of time we were right back in the same old patterns again.  In other words, it didn't work the last time, so why should I try it again. Truth is, we don't know how to go about making it work and last. We need workable strategies.

Belief # 8 – We believe saying ‘no’ is bad behavior. We lack personal boundaries and the words to protect them.  Boundaries are like fences around our property.  They stop other people from using or abusing what is ours. If we have no fences, anyone can throw anything they want on our property, and chances are, they will. We need to rebuild personal boundaries that protect our time, emotional energy and involvement.

Belief # 9 - We believe we will be exposed. Revelations of strained relationships, lack of engagement and ineffective work will be probing and embarrassing, showing weakness. Inaction banks on the assumption that no one will discover the real me.  It believes that if they did discover the real me, they wouldn't like what they see. In fact, they will probably appreciate us that much more for having the initiative to turn our situation around.

Belief # 10 – We believe in the high that adrenaline gives us. We have become addicts. Facing the daily stress pumps adrenaline, and adrenaline is a drug. It gets us off and going and responding to the challenges of the day.  But too much of it can be harmful. Daily life needs rhythm, periods of activity followed by periods of renewal and rest where adrenaline levels can return to normal. Our minds and bodies need a healthy lifestyle to support sustainable effectiveness.

Maybe reading this will lead you to further insights about yourself. It will take an admission that these things are true before you're able to make progress. If we can change how we think, we can make different decisions and take better actions.

And that's what it's going to take to beat burnout.

10 Beliefs You Must Change to Deal with Burnout Part 1

There are 10 beliefs we must change to deal with burnout.

In this area, knowing what to do and actually doing it are usually poles apart for most leaders and business executives. That’s because we are tied to certain beliefs that are actually contributing to our level of discontent and discouragement and holding us back from sustainable solutions.

We don't change because we believe something to be true.  It may be something about us, our family, our job or our situation.  Whatever it is, it has a hold on us and it's going to take some honest examination and serious intention to dislodge it.

Belief # 1 – We believe change will be too uncomfortable. We resist because we have become complacent about our current situation even though it hurts. We are familiar with the pain, but we fear the unfamiliarity of change more, so better to stay with something we already know than have to experience and embrace the unfamiliar. The pain hasn’t become severe enough to cause us (or force us) to step out into the unknown.

Belief # 2 – We believe our odds are in favor of a catastrophe. Upcoming catastrophe, worse than the current situation, could affect our position, finances influence or career.  Again, the focus is future.  Something ‘might’ happen. Most of our catastrophic thinking has no basis in reality. It is at best assumption and doesn’t fully account for positive actions we can take to alter the seemingly dire consequences.

Belief # 3 - We believe the current situation might go away. We’re kidding ourselves.  We sense the reality but we’ve convinced ourselves that somehow this all might magically just disappear.  The only problem is it doesn't. It hasn’t in the past and it won’t in the future. It’s a great avoidance trick. Wait just a little bit longer … maybe, just maybe this whole thing will be gone. In reality it’s time for action.

Belief # 4 - We believe there are no solutions. We're trapped.  The lot is cast, and we have very little control over it.  No matter what we do or don't do, there will be very little chance of any change taking place.  Of course this is a very fatalistic way to think and totally incorrect. When we begin to believe there are no solutions, we lose hope and start being drawn in to a vortex of despair and a lack of forward moving thinking and action.

Belief # 5 - We believe change means crossing a strongly held moral line. There are all sorts of invisible lines we don’t want to cross and expectations we feel we cannot betray. They may be spiritual beliefs, work expectations, community commitments or anything tied to strong interests, attitudes and values. Somehow it would be an admission of weakness (or outright failure) to admit that we are experiencing stress and to say that we need to find new ways of reaching our objectives.

To be continued ...

How to Improve Your Leadership

Want to know how to improve your leadership or your productivity? One percent at a time ...

Who says one percent isn’t significant? A one percent gain may seem modest but it’s measurable. Over time a series of one percent gains add up. And combined with other coaching successes, their multiplying effect can be impressive.

Jesus told an old friend, “Only one thing is necessary.” One simple thing … paid attention to, can make a big difference.

A one percent improvement is very achievable, even for busy people. One percent a month over ten months is a ten percent improvement. Ten percent is significant.

You can make one percent improvements. Like achieving anything, you must be intentional about it. You must make a decision to do it. Once you do, you will find out that you can achieve significantly more. Imagine what this means to the projects, programs, causes and career that you really care about.

For example, at the beginning of every coaching engagement, our clients begin to work through our book, 52 Solutions for Those Who Need a 25 Hour Day. From the 52 practices that can improve personal effectiveness, they choose the two or three that if implemented, can make the biggest difference in helping them move forward their priorities. This includes simple practices like:

• Conquering the to-do list


• Embracing failure


• Preparing for people who don’t understand


• Rejecting busyness as a bragging point


• Planning for the unexpected

From then on throughout our coaching engagement, the routine is simple. Parallel to our coaching, clients identify and implement better thinking, habits and practices week after week. When one of the 52 becomes habit, they turn attention to another. It isn’t long before clients experience even greater effectiveness, less stress and better results.

We can all do better. The wisest leaders get this and they move forward. Revisiting and reapplying basic strategies and techniques drives greater personal, professional and organizational effectiveness and creates space for renewed vision and energy.

Paying attention to basics reaps dividends in work, life and leadership. It may seem simplistic to challenge an executive, leader or anyone else to make a 1% improvement, but the results are worth any feeling of embarrassment it might foster. So I am challenging you to make a 1% improvement. Use my book 52 Solutions if it will be of assistance.

Go on to make a whole series of 1% improvements and pretty soon you will see a significant difference in how you work and what you achieve. By the way, I am not embarrassed. I know you will like the results.

The Best Leaders Share One Quality

There is a type of leadership that isn’t much talked about. In spite of this fact many enterprises succeed because of it and others fail because of its lack.

I call it ownership leadership.

What is it?
Why is it important?
Where do we look for it?

If something is carried through to a successful completion it is usually because key people have taken ownership to make it happen. We see it all around us.

A new business owner is willing to do what it takes to make their fledgling enterprise successful. They make the investment of time, money, expertise and energy … usually lots of time and energy. They are passionately involved in every decision. They are willing to wear many hats to get the job done.

Projects that serve communities often have highly dedicated people. They serve up burgers, plant flowers, start early and stay late. And the list goes on.

• Ministry leaders who are full of compassion for the people around them


• Parents who are absolutely dedicated to having their children reach their potential


• Citizens who feel so strongly the need for change that they run for election


• Youth organization leadership who spend endless weekends and evenings serving kids


• Volunteer coaches who collect, taxi, mentor and cheer on this year’s team

Alice and I practiced it. For 10 years we set aside daily business and provided leadership for a youth and family camp. We adopted it as our own. We took care of it as we did our own home and property. We put in the hours to make sure it looked good and worked well to accomplish our mandate. We worked with and felt for the hundreds of staff who came and went.

We took pride in the camp. It was a reflection of us and what we felt the organization stood for. We wanted to be ready for inspection at any time. We felt we had been given a stewardship that we were accountable for and we took that very seriously.

If it required starting early, sometimes very early, that’s what happened. If it meant being up late, and in the summer it did, that’s what happened. We took ownership because we believed in the purpose and loved the people it served.

Ownership treats it as if it were your own. Ownership isn’t because one has to, but because one wants to. Ownership is powerful. It makes things happen. Ownership is loyal.

You probably know wonderful stories of men and women who were ready to give themselves for something they believed in. We all have those causes. And when engaged we throw ourselves into the task. We take ownership.

If you are in leadership, find people who are willing to take ownership of an area. They don’t wish to reign as supreme ruler, but they are ready to step up to the plate, work with others and reach toward inspiring goals.

All too often we search for a warm body to carry out a task. They work away at their job. They have to. It’s required. But their heart isn’t in it. Their passion isn’t engaged. They didn’t step up and say, “Pick me, pick me.” The warm body approach is one way, but there are better ways.

1.    Give jobs to people who have a passion to do them
2.    Take on the relatively unknown person who steps forward with good ideas
3.    Don’t take just anyone. Ferret out any hidden agendas
4.    Know the strengths of your people and challenge them to rise to the occasion
5.    Don’t be so quick to fill a position to get a project completed. Wait for the right person
6.    Be very clear in where you are going and how you wish them to get there

Ownership leadership is responsible for much of the good you see come out of small nonprofit voluntary organizations. It may be harder to detect in a for-pay environment but it is there also. Identify those people and keep them.

An objective, a plan and engaged passion is powerful. Never underestimate the value of finding the passionate person or driving forward with those dreams that engage your own deep sense of ownership.

My New Book, The Cover Story

My new book, 52 Solutions for Those Who Need a 25 Hour Day, was listed on Amazon yesterday. Of course I'm eager to tell you about what's in it. I really do believe it should be a required reference every day for one year by every person who wants to be more effective at work or in leadership. It is a practical book. Obviously, I suggest you purchase it. But that's not the story today.

You can get that information and purchase the book at

http://www.gewood.com/52-Solutions.html

What I do want to share today is the story of the cover. Yes, it's black. Just like the picture shows.



In fact it looks like the big version of about 125 other covers I have in my office ... the covers of my little black books.



I always thought it would be great to have one of my books look like one of the constant companions I have carried with me for so many years. My little black books contain almost any kind of information you can imagine. Notes from a meeting, measurements for a project, quotations from books, a list for the grocery store, brilliant thoughts I don't want to lose. It's all in those books. I refer to them often. I can find information from years back very easily.

When it was time to design a cover for 52 Solutions,  Sandi came up with a great idea of putting a graphic that resembled a little black book on the cover. We lived with this idea for some time. (You might be able to make out the word  "Memo" in the top left corner and an actual page of notes as background).



Of course it came time to get the idea to a professional designer. We ultimately chose Lindsay Henry from Michigan. She has some really great work out there. We liked it, liked her energy and liked her.

Lindsay and I have history. I watched her grow up. She and Sandi are great friends. She became a graphic designer just like her dad, Mike Landgraff.

We have one other important experience in common. For 10 years, Alice and I were Directors of Beacon Bible Camp. During that time, Lindsay came as summer staff. She got first hand experience of Woody's little black book. Morning assignments often came out of those books. One was always tucked in my back pocket for ready use.

I guess it should have come as no surprise then, that Lindsay would suggest to Sandi that she might have an alternative cover for us to consider for the book ... a book about being more effective, staying organized and using time more wisely ... a book that had similarities to the reasons I always used my little black books.

With minor exceptions, that suggestion was the cover you see today. It looks really cool when you have it in your hand. It looks worn, thumbed, well used ... just like we want it to be when you use it for a year.

That's it. That's the story of the cover. Thanks to Sandi and Lindsay for working on it and producing something that really did achieve my original dream for a cover.

Make sure you get 52 Solutions. It should be on hand and used every day.

And as for the next book that is in the works ... it will probably have lots of color on the cover.

Effective Leaders Use Five A's to Achieve Goals

1. Effective Leaders Know Their Aims

Know what it is you are working to achieve. Outline the goals or targets to be reached. Accurately define what success will look like. How will you know when you have reached your prescribed targets? If you don't know where you are going, how are you going to get there?

There are two parts to this. First, define your direction. This is the general focus of your efforts, to move in a certain direction, along a certain path. Secondly, define any destination. Moving along a certain path may be all you seek but if there are specific targets (destinations)  that need to be reached, define these as well. You will recognize them because they will be able to measured in some way.

• My aims are to ...


• This is the direction I am committed to heading ...


• These are the specific objectives I will reach ...

2. Effective Leaders Are Models of Awareness

Be aware of your starting point. Where are you at right now? What knowledge, skills and attitudes are you bringing into this project? What is the current environment? What factors can move you forward? What factors can hold you back? What do you need to do about each? If you have a positive forward moving attitude, you will probably make good progress.

Know what needs to happen. Create a clear plan for moving forward. Being able to refer to the Master Plan will serve you well when the project starts to drag or becomes unclear. Clarify what potential barriers to success might be and how you will handle them when they come up.

To achieve awareness, gather all the data that might influence moving forward. Some will be objective, hard information and some will be subjective, like your feelings and attitudes. The more clarity you have prior to ever starting a project the better you will be able to execute.

• These are the things within me that will affect success ...


• These are the external factors that could influence what will happen ...


• This is my Master Plan for moving forward ...

3. Effective Leaders Always Work to Create Alignment

People and process need to work together to achieve targets.  Personally, you and any others involved in this project need to be 'on the same page', with clear common priorities, day-to-day action plans, to-do lists, accountabilities and means of measurement. You need to be in alignment, all moving in the same direction, with common purpose and synergistic behavior.

Each person needs to take ownership of their part in what needs to happen.
Create physical and process systems that will best support success each step of the way. Rearrange, re-allocate or  re-assign, do whatever is needed to assure that the way things are done and the systems that are in place, actually are focused and working together to create the best possible environment for achieving your goal.
People ... process ... all pointing the same direction, focused on the same goal, working independently but acting synergistically  to build and maintain momentum until the desired outcome is reached.

• Here is how I feel about being fully committed (taking ownership) of making this happen ...


• I will bring these people, policies, programs, procedures and processes into alignment, so they all work together to achieve the goals ...


• These people have truly taken ownership and are in alignment with making this happen ...

4. Effective Leaders Take Daily Decisive Action

Start. It sounds simple but projects often fail because those who 'own' them never get started. They just think about them. Maybe fear of some sort holds them back.  At its best, getting engaged and getting going means that awareness is in place and alignment is in progress.

Take daily decisive action to keep moving forward. The systems you put in place mean that your daily planner shows clear times for focused attention on the project. Distractions are refused or limited. Progress is being made. The right things are happening.

Action is about effort. It's work. Temporarily it may mean some extended hours of efficient concentrated work. This is not flailing around. Because you know exactly where you are going, it is the most directed kind of effort.

• My first steps are ... and I am taking them.


• Here are the action steps I will take this week ...


• Today I have dedicated ... hours to this project.

5. Effective Leaders Let Go and Make Needed Adjustment

As things start to happen, evaluate results. As new information comes to light, monitor, measure and discuss. If adjustment is needed, make it. Respond quickly to get back off rabbit trails and modify less than satisfactory results. Continuously make improvements that move you toward desired outcomes.

When you realize (gain awareness) that your thinking was wrong, change it. Don't doggedly hang on to a pet assumption when doing so will only slow you down or worse, stop progress altogether. If the thinking can be adjusted rapidly, the systems and results will follow.

• What will help me recognize when changes need to be made is ...


• I just did an attitude check and I realize that ...


• These adjustments will result in ...

Leaders want to get things done. They understand the effect each of the five A's have on moving forward. All five need to operate simultaneously. And when they do, good things can be accomplished in optimal amounts of time. This is what effective leadership is all about.

Do You Belong to The Cult of Busy?

Most status symbols sit like trophies, close and conspicuous. Often they tarnish, wear out, need maintenance or lose significance as time moves on. Their purpose served, we give a fresh input of time, energy and money to refresh or replace them. Occasionally, it becomes all too apparent that the energy put in to attain and maintain comes at great cost to the possessor.

I’ve been thinking lately about a modern day status symbol that demands a major toll from those who have it. It’s the status symbol of ‘busy’. Busy fills its purpose easily enough. It beckons to all who will turn, “Look at me. See how busy I am. Look how committed I am.”

Did you ever notice how so many conversations over the years seem to be opened with some discussion of how busy someone is?  And I venture, at least for some of us; it betrays more than just the accepted lifestyle of the day.

My wife Alice is trying to collect all of the old public school readers from our early grades.  We were taught to read following the life of Dick, Jane and their dog Spot. Imagine their current discussion around the topic of being busy.

“Look, Jane” said Dick, “Spot is happy. Happy, happy Spot.”
“Dick” said Jane “Spot is happy you are here. You are not here much any more.”
“I am busy,” said Dick, “I am too busy to play with Spot.”
“Oh” said Jane, “See Spot now. Spot is sad. Sad, sad Spot.”
“I will play with Spot some day”, said Dick “The man next door says I must be very important. I work all the time.”
“Work, work,” said Jane, “You are very important.” “Work, work, work.”
Spot sat near the door and looked sad. Poor, sad, Spot.

There is a way to determine if you are grasping for this modern day status symbol. Try this test. Stop making any references to people about how busy you are for the next month. No hints, and no dragging yourself around. As far as you are able, let no one see or know the hours you put in.

Notice your personal reaction to this. If you find it a struggle not to tell others about it, you may have been using your attachment to this posture as a prop for something else that is going on.

Much better you get your energy from knowing how valuable you are without any outside prop to hold it up. Busy is one thing, but busy as a bragging point to hold up a sagging view of yourself is another. Clear the clutter and make a commitment to get rid of this status symbol from your life. It’s one you can do without.

Get your energy from doing excellent work in a satisfying time and fashion. Get your energy from finding smarter and more effective ways to move your business, community service or life, forward. Take the pressure off everyone around you, for whom you set a surreal pace. This isn’t about them. It’s about you. Admit it and deal with it by developing a better approach to life and work.

Wouldn’t it be something to let others pay homage to the cult of busy while you get some time to play with Spot? It sounds more balanced, effective and visionary to me. And I’ll bet Jane or Dick will go along with the idea too.

The Importance of a Master Plan

A Master Plan is crucial to success.

No vision - no master plan. No plan - no action .. or at least ineffective action. And no action - no results. No results - no benefit delivered. It's a pretty simple trail to follow.

Take the time to plan.

The time spent developing a master plan that stretches out some distance in the future will pay off handsomely.

Master plans need to be flexible to respond to new developments or opportunities that may open up. Taking the time needed to develop and update a good plan will assist in decision making at every meeting for years to come.

Do you have such a comprehensive plan?  What would it take for you to develop a 10 or 20 year plan?

Take the time to discuss any philosophical reasons you may have difficulty doing this. How will you make your plan responsive to new directions, yet fixed enough to serve as the major tool for future development?

If a vision answers to 'what', a comprehensive plan answers to 'how'. A good plan is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound - SMART.

A master plan doesn't bind. It frees.

Take action on developing or revisiting a 20 year plan. It will stretch both your thinking and the possibilities. Work with your Coach on creating the framework for this comprehensive document.

Coaching a Board, Knowing the Players

The experience of coaching a board comes in a lot of flavors. There are boards for every organization imaginable. They range from the simplest of community groups to the most sophisticated of corporate enterprise.

One can run into some real resistance while coaching boards. It is not because people are trying to be obstinate and unhelpful. It's because they have a way of thinking lodged in their psyche and it needs to undergo a shift.

My job as an executive coach is not to make the unwilling change their mind. My job is to assist the willing to see their potential blind spots, take ownership and initiate their own change.

Here are several reasons people show up on boards and the primary shift of mindset they are going to have to undergo in order to make an increasingly significant contribution.

For what reason are they on the board? What mindset may have to change?

• Personal - This individual is on the board because they are a supporter of the leader or founder. They need to shift from individual to group.


• Involved - This person is actually involved in the work the board oversees. They must shift from doing to directing.


• Donor - This is a donor who has give substantially to the organization. They must shift from thinking only finances to thinking big picture.


• Skill Set - This individual is on the board because they have particular knowledge or skill, like law or accounting. They need to shift from specific to general.


• Obligation - Somebody felt obligated to this persona and moved that they be on the board. They will have to shift from observer to participant


• Founder - It's obvious why they are there, but is it best? A shift from controller to team player needs to take place.


• Respected - Someone respected this individual as a wise leader. They will need to shift from giving all the answers to be a consensus builder.


• Balance - This person was brought on the board to "balance" age, gender or opinion. They will need to shift from contrarian to team thinking.


• Yes Man - Or women .. these individuals are handpicked by the leader. They need to shift from being defenders to being contributors.


• Experienced - This individual is seasoned in what the organization is doing. They may sit on other boards also. They need to shift from leader to visionary.


• Quality - This individual is noted for a particular quality like articulating a vision or troubleshooting. They need to shift from intermittent manager to leader.


• Bridge - This person was brought on the board to form a bridge with some person or group of people. They need to shift from one issue mentality to big picture thinker.


• High Profile - This man or woman is on the board because they are successful, powerful and have influence.  They need to shift from ruler to servant.


• Nice - This is a very nice man or woman who couldn't say 'no' and let their name stand for election. They need to shift from ambivalent to fast learner.

If you are one of these  people, the board needs you to acknowledge your blind spots, change and step up to be a whole different contributor. This really applies to any of us on boards. Who will say there isn't room for improvement when we see any of these mindsets creep into our own thinking.

What’s Your Recipe for Success?

Try this tested recipe.

• Preheat to where you’re ready to change.


• Add someone who is committed to helping you reach your goals


• Mix in your biggest challenge or largest dream.


• Add some honesty in seeing yourself as you really are, generous amounts of openness to learn, try and experiment, and a heap of readiness to take action to achieve your goals.


• Add a generous amount of stepping out of your comfort zone.


• Stir with structure, accountability, acceptance and care.

Voila ... a business or life change that is done to perfection.

(It works!)

Leadership and Priorities

Exceptional leaders understand the difference between results and priorities.

Results are what happens. Priorities are those few things that will make the biggest difference. Results may or may not achieve priorities. Getting results drives activity. Achieving priorities drives effectiveness. Getting results may or may not satisfy. Achieving priorities always satisfies.

Results are meant to achieve priorities just as activity is meant to achieve results. Activity, results, priorities.

The primary focus of poor time management techniques is solely on results. The primary focus of good self-management techniques is on priorities. Good time management is always preceded by great self-management. Managing your time to achieve the best results will come when you understand what priorities those results are meant to achieve.

If you are to be an effective leader, you must understand those few things that are most important for you or your organization to achieve. There are probably two or three things which will make the biggest difference to advancing your purposes ... just a few simple things, maybe one thing.

This handful of priorities are the touchstone of all other activity. They determine what activity should or should not be allocated time and resources. Activity and the results it produces should further these priorities. If the results do not further the priorities, adjustments need to be made. Change the activity and thereby change the results. Precious and limited time is allocated to achieve results. Make sure those results are furthering the priorities.

Leadership starts with understanding the priorities.

Elmer Wood, Farmer, Custodian and Executive

You can see his tombstone in Cold Springs Cemetery on Manitoulin Island. Elmer has been gone for over 20 years now. The more I have thought on the life of this man and the part he played in my own, the more thankful I am.

To my knowledge he hasn't been mentioned in any books on leadership or management. He isn't quoted from the stage at high priced seminars and executive functions. Elmer started out a Farmer and ended up a Head Custodian. Beyond his local area, few people know his name, where he lived or what he did.

And lest anyone should turn up their nose with smugness, I can tell you with some assurance that if you work on and display the qualities that Elmer Wood displayed, you will be successful in work, life and leadership.

Elmer Wood ... farmer, custodian, executive and ... my father:

• He made decisions that would affect the future, well-being and success of our organization (our family)


• He carefully thought things through


• He consulted with others, particularly key stakeholders (my Mom and me)


• He made the tough decisions (to leave the farm)


• He believed he could do better (and did)


• He was confident in his ability to learn new skills (and did)


• He never gave up


• He never looked down on others for their choices


• He took advantage of open windows of opportunity (and succeeded)


• He calculated risk and reward (and chose both when it meant positive outcomes)


• He held up a new vision for us to move toward


• His priority was those he cared about most


• His friendships and community mattered


• He stayed positive during stressful times (and there were more than even I know)


• His conduct commanded the respect of those around him (to this day I still hear about him)


• He didn't beat around the bush but got to the point


• He knew his priorities and sacrificed for them


• He gave his responsibilities one hundred percent effort (a model of taking ownership)


• He didn't shy away from work


• He made smaller dollars stretch further (again, probably more than I even know)


• He understood what he could change and what he couldn't (and changed or accepted it)

If you are an executive, you know these are the very qualities that are needed day in and day out. Amazing isn't it, what we can learn from such a man? And these everyday leaders are all around us, if we care to see and acknowledge them. They have been role models, perhaps never attaining high worldly positions but standing as beacons for the generation that followed them.

I hope when all is said and done, I can stand at the mirror and say,
“Mirror, mirror on the wall. I am my father after all.”

Why the Training and What the Motivational Speaker Said Didn't Work

You and I both know that it is easy to spend hundreds of dollars to listen to a high powered motivational speaker. You have probably invested many thousands or maybe even millions of dollars in providing training for your organization over the years. What has come of it? Really, what have you got to show for it? What has been deliberately integrated into life, habit, improved performance, results and success?

Over the space of your career, you’ve probably already personally spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours just listening. You got pumped up, quickly scribbled down a couple of great ideas, resolved to make incredible breakthroughs, bought the books and recordings, came home, and several weeks later ….

Well, you know the rest of the story. You never had someone to partner with for your success, so …

nothing happened.

• No one to bounce your ideas off.


• No one to help you identify your blind spots.


• No one to give you a different perspective.


• No one to be accountable to.


• No one to hold up your vision when you let it slip.

That's where the power of executive coaching comes in.

A seasoned Coach won't ask you to spend thousands of dollars just to listen … because effective coaching is not a one way relationship.

What an accomplished Coach will do is ask you to commit to making an investment in yourself, an investment to accomplishing the things you have always wanted to achieve and becoming the person you have always felt you could be - an investment in changing how you think and how you operate - a commitment of time and energy focused on YOU ... supported and challenged and tested and held accountable with their professional support ... until ... you make those breakthroughs and nice ideas become habits and habits become success.

The price of that capital investment in YOU is slight compared to the dividends it will pay at work, at home and doing the things you feel passionate about doing in your community.

And, BONUS ... you can use the Coach to turn what you learned from the high powered motivational speaker and from the company sponsored training into deliberate, sustainable action. Training with follow-up coaching can be absolutely powerful. It's a two for one ... for you and your company.

Ownership Leadership, the Changing Face of Corporate Performance

Corporate coaching is about creating a shift from requiring to inspiring.

It nudges aside a workplace model where people exclusively receive direction, they are required externally ... to a model where people take ownership, they are inspired internally. This is much more powerful. Motivation levels are higher and performance is strengthened.

In this 'ownership leadership model', people have greater motivation to change those assumptions, attitudes and behaviors which are barriers to their own performance and organizational success. They take ownership for carrying out those things they have some passion about and that will impact their future positively. It encourages personal responsibility, stronger self-leadership and results in better bottom-line results for the organization.

When 'what you do' (requiring) is out of sync with 'who you are' (inspiring) there will be diminshed performance and unreached potential. To the degree you passionately bring all that you are to your work, you will be engaged and willingly seeking to improve in all areas of work, life and leadership.

People make a commitment to their work. They receive a paycheck and bonuses. This is a strong incentive to provide good service to the company. However, commitment is not as strong as ownership. Ownership engages the whole person. It adopts the the aims and tasks as one's own. Where there is a climate of encouragement to grow that is underpinned by a true respect and relationship, ownership can florish.

Ownership is encouraged by constructive feedback that focuses on what is possible and supports efforts to eliminate barriers to success, achievement and growth. It allows the leader to articulate and troubleshoot assumptions, attitudes and actions that have become limitations to moving foward.

Ownership leadership finds the strongest and best people consistently rising to the challenge, improving on past performance and maintaining an attitude that looks for new possibilities.