David Dye, Author at Let's Grow Leaders

Managing Change: How to Cultivate Forward Thinking Leadership

David Dye — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 10:00:33 +0000

Your leadership success depends on your skill at managing change and embracing the future

Are you hanging on to a familiar way of doing your work or leading your team because it’s comfortable? If it’s been a year or more since you experienced a significant change for yourself or your team, you might be missing out on great opportunities to build morale, build your career, and enjoy your work. Managing change is critical for your success—too much change, too quickly creates instability. But resisting natural, healthy change will prevent growth and stagnate your team.

Resisting Natural Change

Off the east coast of North Carolina and Virginia, a set of barrier islands known as the Outer Banks stretches over a couple hundred miles, guarding the inner sound from the worst of Atlantic storms. On a recent visit, our brother-in-law Steve, who’s visited these beaches and dunes for decades, took me on a driving tour and pointed out some changes he’s seen over the years.

He pointed across the road at a five-foot rise of sand you could walk across in a few steps. “To climb that dune, you used to have to work at it and scramble on all fours. It was huge.” We drove a little further and earth-moving equipment worked to keep blown sand from obliterating the narrow strip of asphalt road as the wind seemed to fight to reclaim and reshape the island.

Then he showed me the Oregon Inlet where private deep-sea fishing boats enter and leave the sound. “In the early 1800s the inlets all closed up and there weren’t’ any islands at all. It was a straight stretch of sand. Then, in 1846, a hurricane carved out the inlet. These days, sand keeps filling it in, and they have to dredge it out regularly so the fishing boats can get in and out.”

The Outer Banks are a land of change. And it takes an incredible amount of work to prevent that change. And some day, given a big enough storm, the change will probably happen anyway.

The visit reminded me of the mountain west where I grew up. In the mountains, lodgepole pine forests evolved to burn periodically. Quick burns opened the forest floor to new plants, refreshed the soil, helped cones to disperse seeds, and prevented disease or insect infestations. Decades of fire prevention along with climate change, created huge, intense burns and stands of diseased dead trees. Resisting that natural change came at an enormous cost.

Resisting Business Change

You’re certainly familiar with companies like Blockbuster and Kodak who resisted change and faced extinction. It’s easy to shake your head and wonder how those leaders could have let that happen.

But the CrowdStrike bug that crashed Windows PCs, snarled airlines, and interfered with hospitals’ ability to access patient records had a similar cause. Microsoft tried to shift its approach to security two decades ago, but regulators prevented them from doing so.

Why?

Because the software giant had always allowed open access to their computers’ kernel and some companies had built their entire business model on that access. (Access that Apple and Linux have never allowed.)

When Microsoft tried to do what Apple and Linux have done, the companies who relied on kernel access went to regulators who ruled in favor of the status quo, rather than allowing developing technology to address the situation. And that decision created the conditions that allowed the CrowdStrike crash to happen. (For a full analysis, check out Ben Thompson on Stratechery: Crashes and Competition.)

Again, it’s easy to point the finger at regulators who get stuck in time and cling to the way things are.

But intentional change isn’t easy.

Build Your Ability to Lead Change

In our research for Courageous Cultures, 67% of respondents reported that their manager was stuck in “that’s the way we’ve always done it” thinking.

And you don’t have to look very hard to find places you might be stuck. I’ve been guilty of these at times:

Holding on to a team member that you should promote or give other opportunities outside your team—because you don’t know what you’d do without them.
Hanging on to team member that you really should move off the team—because then you’d have to find someone new and train them.
Continuing the stale team-building activity everyone loved five years ago—because it always worked before.
Refusing to decide—because going one way or the other will take effort.
Resisting new ideas from team members—because hearing them out might mean you don’t have the answers you thought you did or will require you to act.
Hoping against all evidence that the recent changes you’ve experienced will “go back to normal” – because acknowledging the change will require energy and effort to explore a new path forward.

But ignoring or resisting these moments of natural change won’t work forever.

The status quo’s comfort and ease are illusions. If you don’t invest in managing change, the changes will happen to you.

That team member will leave. Or they’ll stay and everyone else will leave.

Your credibility suffers. Your career lags. And you’re stuck frantically trying to do what used to work, working harder, with more stress, and missing out on what’s possible.

Two Questions to Find the Flow and Know What’s Next

One of the easiest ways to lean into natural change is to ask yourself this question:

What are you up to?

As a team leader, manager, or executive—what are you getting up to?

Is there a problem you’re trying to solve?
Are you helping your team to grow?
An opportunity to explore?
Some improvement or process you’re implementing?
What are you learning?

When you’re up to something, you’re managing change. You can’t help it. You’re moving, flowing, and growing. Once you’re up to something, you can start managing change:

Challenge yourself and your team to answer strategic or these UGLY questions to uncover possibilities:
Ask your team for their I.D.E.A.s.
Consider competing values and priorities.
Make decisions about what matters most.

When you get up to something, you collaborate with natural change and create the future, rather than have it happen to you.

A second question you can ask yourself to find the flow of natural change is:

What’s happening in my industry?

No matter what kind of work you do, there’s something new to learn. Technology changes. Trends shift. Someone somewhere is innovating. And it’s easier than ever to learn what’s happening.

You might not apply what you learn immediately. Changes in the business environment, shifting tastes, or new AI applications may not affect your work tomorrow (though they could).

But knowing what’s happening and being informed will give you the perspective to be better at your work and be a better leader for your team.

What if My Boss Isn’t Managing Change and Doesn’t Want To?

If you want to get up to something or start learning more about what’s happening in your industry, but you worry that your boss just wants you to “focus on doing what needs to be done,” there are two possibilities:

You need better results.

We’ve worked with many leaders who were eager to get up to something new, but weren’t succeeding at their current work. You’ll be much more influential in selling a new idea or approach if your current work is solid. Master that, then build on your success.

You’re doing well and your manager fears change.

If you can objectively show your success, but your manager still wants you to limit your focus to doing what you’re asked, they might be the one hanging on to what they know.

In this case, keep doing your work well—and get up to something anyhow. You’ll have opportunities—the world needs more thoughtful, innovative problem solvers than ever. “Just shut up and do your work” isn’t a path to the future. What you learn will serve you and your team.

And you don’t need permission to learn.

Your Turn

Managing change is a critical leadership skill. Sticking with what’s familiar feels safe and comfortable, but change is inevitable. You can lean into change and become a more innovative, creative, and adaptable leader by taking initiative to move and actively learning.

How about you? We’d love to know one of your favorite ways for managing change and leaning into the future.

And if you want to help your team or organization drive innovation and improve results:

The post Managing Change: How to Cultivate Forward Thinking Leadership appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Help Your Boss Stop Wasting Time with Bad Delegation

David Dye — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 21:24:31 +0000

Episode 237: Do you ever get frustrated that your manager wastes time with bad delegation? They ask for something to be redone over and over, never seeming to know what they want? Or they change their mind after you’ve already finished what you thought they asked for? In this episode, David gives you practical tools to help avoid these frustrating moments and build a far more effective, collaborative relationship with your leader.

How to Help Your Boss Stop Wasting Time with Bad Delegation

(02:07):

A question of bad delegation?

Alright, today’s question comes from a manager named Declan, and that is not Declan’s real name, but we’re going to use the name Declan here. And conversation with Declan. Declan was pacing back and forth and fuming, and here is a synopsis of what he said. He said, I busted my ass to get this done, made sure it was perfect and I met every one of the projects requirements. I met with my boss today and she blew it off. She’s a world-class, bad delegator. So I asked, okay, what’d she say exactly? And he let out an exasperated sigh. She looked at what I’d done and she frowned, and pretty soon she says, well, this isn’t what I wanted, but it’s what you asked for. Yeah, but I don’t like this. It’s not what we need. We need to do it differently. So Declan says, did exactly what she asked, but then she criticizes the work and makes me start over. I’m so over this, she’s just going to waste my time. Why bother trying? So later went and talked to Declan’s manager and her perspective was a little different. She was grateful for Declan’s work, but she was also a little confused why would he be satisfied with something that doesn’t do what we needed to do? So Declan was frustrated, but so was his manager.

(03:29)
So let’s take a look at why your manager might waste time with what you perceive as bad delegation, because at the heart of their frustration, Declan and his manager, at the heart of all that frustration and disappointment with one another, there is an expectations conflict. Declan felt like he had clear parameters, he knew the assignment and he gets to work. He expected that by fulfilling those parameters, he’d done good work and that his manager would acknowledge that work. And if you’re like Declan, that probably all makes sense and I can be like Declan in this scenario. And if you’re like Declan, when you delegate, you probably think through the success criteria. You give someone clear outcomes to meet, and when they meet those outcomes, you’re satisfied. You may go for another level, you may iterate, you may do some other things, but that’s how you operate and you would expect other people to do the same. And when they don’t, it feels like bad delegation.

(04:25)
I like to say in David’s world, this is how it works, but we don’t live in David’s world because there’s other people. So what’s, and we don’t live in your world either. So what’s happening with Declan’s manager, she’s got different expectations. Her expectation likely includes the opportunity to iterate, to see something before she can respond to it and know if it’s going to work, if it makes sense or it meets the needs. Her mind. The goal is we need to do what matters most here. So for this kind of leader, their ability to see and touch a work product is crucial. And once they see and feel it, then their brain fires up. It starts making connections, and sometimes those connections result in those fun last minute enhancements that keep everyone working way past deadline, but do genuinely make a better product or service. Other times seeing and touching that work product makes them realize just how much something different will better meet the teams or the customer’s needs. So they scratch everything out and start over, but they couldn’t have told you that before they saw, touched and felt something tangible. So if you’re like Declan’s manager, you probably hope the first iteration that you get, it’s going to meet your expectations, but often you’re going to get something that disappoints you. It didn’t meet expectations you didn’t even know you had until you saw something that didn’t meet them.

(05:54)
So if you’re Declan, and again, my sympathy here for parties because I have definitely been Declan many a time where even sometimes I’ll create something that I’m like, wow, I’m solving this problem. I’ve built this solution, check this out. And then a manager or somebody will say, well, well that’s interesting, but why doesn’t it do this? You’re like, you didn’t even know it existed until five minutes ago. How are you questioning it or criticizing? And they’re not necessarily, you’ve just given them an opportunity to see and respond to something different. So if you’re a manager and you’re delegating, you’re dealing with and you have that tendency like Declan’s manager, please make sure and acknowledge their work. We’ll talk about that a little bit later in the show here. But let’s start with Declan. How do you help your boss stop wasting your time with bad delegation? So there’s some steps that you can take to help align expectations, lower your frustration, and keep your boss from wasting your time.

Solutions for Bad Delegation

(06:55)
The first is to clarify intent. So the next time your manager brings a project to you, ask about their intent. You might recall the past situation even and bring it up and clarify your intent for the conversation. For example, hey, last time we worked on a project like this, I put in lots of time on it and then you wanted to go a different direction. So my intent here is to ensure I understand what you’re looking for upfront and minimize those kinds of frustrations. Is this a project like that where you’d like something to respond to, or do you see it as being complete and finished the first time? If they clarify that, they need to see it in order to know for sure. Now you know how to proceed. Set up a timeline that allows for iteration and an initial draft or a proof of concept, which we’ll talk about in a minute.

(07:46)
Next thing you want to do is draw out the details. Draw out as many details as possible about what the task will achieve. And this is critical. It’s not enough to get specific details about what they think they want. Ask them what it will do, what will it accomplish? How will it improve the customer’s experience or your team’s efficiency or whatever the goal is, focus time on the outcomes they want to achieve. Once you know those outcomes, you’re able to ask questions and to help them think through the details. And that will in turn reduce the number of iterations you need to make. And it also establishes you as a more strategic thinker, which is a nice side benefit. So draw out those details by asking about the outcome. What is this thing going to achieve? What’s it going to do?

(08:35)
Then next is to focus on a proof of concept. So if you clarify success criteria and you work hard to build a perfect solution might be time to try a fresh approach. You can save time and frustration by starting with a draft or a proof of concept instead of delivering a finished product, start with a light version. What’s a draft of the task that gives your manager something to respond to? Give ’em enough detail that you can ask, is this on the right track? Is this feeling good to you? As you draw out details, you might hear your manager say things that feel ambiguous like it needs to sing, or I want it to have youthful enthusiasm. Those can be very frustrating if you’re kind of a detail oriented person because those are subjective standards that can vary and they fall into the category of I’ll know it when I see it. It’s not bad delegation, it’s a personality difference.

(09:24)
So give them something to see before you go to all the effort of building something that isn’t what they ultimately want. And again, with sing or youthful enthusiasm, draw out the details, clarify what they’re going for there. Or sometimes even you can find other examples. Let’s look at some things by comparison. What is something for you that sings or that has that youthful enthusiasm? And you can start to compare and maybe draw attention and bring out some examples that way. All right, number four, explain the trade-offs, and we talked about this in our previous episode, is even when you clarify intent, draw out the details and focus on a proof of concept, you’ll still have moments of frustration where your manager asks for more changes their mind or wants to go in a different direction. And so you get frustrated and you’re asking yourself, I don’t have time for that.

(10:14)
They understand what they’re asking and as we said, the answer is often no, they don’t. They’re living in a world of possibilities and guiding the team to create a future that doesn’t exist and that’s their job. So you need to help them understand the trade-offs. Just spell it out. Here’s what we can do, and here’s the trade-off that will require. Now when you have that conversation, your manager might decide the current version is sufficient or that another project can wait, or they’ll find more resources, but they can’t make any of those decisions unless you give them the information. So those are four steps to help you with your manager to avoid bad delegation, clarify the intent, draw out the details, focus on that proof of concept, and explain the trade-offs. Now, what do you do if you are more like Declan’s manager and you are the bad delegator? You’ve got a frequent need to respond and iterate.

(11:13)
First piece of advice, be clear about that from the beginning. Let your people know that that’s how you operate, and that’s going to help them to draw out the details and to focus on proof of concept rather than thinking that they’re done and they can move on to the next thing. They’ll be able to budget time and mental energy for enhancements or a full restart when that’s needed. If you don’t tell them that upfront, you’re setting them up for disappointment and frustration. Also, when you respond to a work product said this earlier, manage your communication so you aren’t critical of their work. Telling someone who’s poured their heart into doing what they thought you’d ask that their product sucks. It comes across as criticism of their work, but I know you don’t mean it that way, or at least I’m hoping you don’t mean it that way. (If you did, that would certainly be bad delegation.)

(12:00)
So you can try something else like, Hey, this is exactly what I asked for. You did a good job building that out. And as I’m seeing it, I’m recognizing this won’t work the way we’d hoped. Here’s what I’m seeing. What would you add? So you’re acknowledging their work and acknowledging the outcomes it needs to achieve and then inviting them into the process of moving forward. That kind of response empowers your people, it avoids demoralizing your team, and it includes them in the problem solving. So Declan, thanks again for bringing this question to us. I really appreciate your vulnerability and transparency in sharing it because I know that these are frustrating situations. And for everyone listening, you can help manage the frustrations that come from a boss who wastes time with bad delegation by taking responsibility for your communication with one another, align expectations by clarifying intent, drawing out the details, provide a proof of concept, and explain the trade-offs. And together you and your manager are going to build far more effective products, services, and projects with a lot less wasted time, and you’re on your way to being the leader you’d want your boss to be. Until next time.

The post Help Your Boss Stop Wasting Time with Bad Delegation appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Your Leadership Journey with Tim Lupinacci

David Dye — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 19:39:25 +0000

Episode 235: If you want to be an effective human-centered leader, you’ve got to keep learning and growing. In this heartfelt episode, Tim Lupinacci, CEO and Chair of Baker Donaldson Law Firm shares his leadership journey and how you can invest in continuous learning and personal growth. We discuss the value of learning from leaders in different industries and applying their insights to your work.

Tim also shares his experience starting a nonprofit called Everybody Leads, which focuses on empowering individuals and underserved communities with leadership skills. He discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the need for leaders to prioritize their own well-being and resilience. Tim encourages you to invest in yourself, seek feedback, and be open to making mistakes and learning from them. You’ll get practical tools for a leadership journey of continuous growth, resilience, and empathy.

Episode 235: Your Leadership Journey with Tim Lupinacci

05:23 – A Career-Altering Mistake: Hear how one catastrophic project failure led to a critical moment of self-discovery in the leadership journey of a young lawyer.

06:33 – The Power of Belief: Discover how simply believing in someone’s leadership capabilities can fuel their confidence to actually take the helm.

06:47 – Fighting the Imposter: Learn how combating the internal voices of self-doubt can help pave the way to become a more effective leader.

07:21 – CEO Confessions: What’s it like for a CEO of a big law firm to admit dealing with imposter syndrome? Find out how vulnerability can actually be a strength.

How to Make Room for Your Growth and Development

08:03 – The Leadership Bestseller List: Ever wondered where to start your leadership education? Get recommendations for must-read books from the 90s that are still relevant today.

08:49 – Turn Your Car into a Classroom. How optimizing a daily commute with audio books led to unexpected solutions to work problems. And can further your leadership journey.

09:20 – The Weekly Coffee Chat: How informal weekly discussions about leadership led to an internal culture change in a law firm.

09:40 – Leaders Teaching Leaders: Hear how inviting other firm leaders to share their journeys not only educates the team but also enriches the one who started it.

09:59 – Continued Education. Resources to keep you updated and relevant in your industry.

10:18 – TED Talks and Leadership. Why do industry leaders watch TED Talks, and which ones have made the most impact?

15:30 – The start of Tim’s nonprofit – Everybody Leads

21:16 – Why starting with data is crucial for diversity and inclusion in leadership.

21:48 – The light bulb moment that changed the way leaders approach audits and team dynamics.

22:31 – The significance of ‘co-owning’ in leadership and why you can’t afford to ignore it.

22:50 – The delicate balance between being a decisive and collaborative leader in a flat organization.

24:40 – An alarming trend: Why managers are more disengaged than employees for the first time ever.

25:23 – How increased client demands and internal complexities are shaping the future of your leadership journey.

26:20 – The CEO’s personal approach to mental health and how it influences leadership.

27:01 – The essential need for in-person meetings in a remote world.

27:54 – Senior leaders’ struggles with dual roles and how mini-sabbaticals could be a solution.

Managing Overwhelm

28:51 – Critical advice for those feeling overwhelmed in their leadership roles.

29:34 – The ‘daily discipline’ that helps the CEO manage his priorities and responsibilities.

30:20 – How adopting the concept of a Sabbath, love for the arts, or other restorative practices can be a game-changer for leaders.

37:17 – The skills and mindset shift to help you move into more strategic, senior leadership.

45:11 – A powerful phrase when making unpopular decisions: “Can you help me better understand your point of view?”

Connect with Tim

Bakerdonelson.com

Tim Lupinacci LinkedIn

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Your Greatest Leadership Opportunity with Germaine Hunter

David Dye — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 10:00:03 +0000

Episode 234: Leaders and managers face an ever-expanding level of complexity and demands on their time and skills. At the same time, there’s more of a need than ever before for managers to truly connect with their people – often across geography and time zones. These are big challenges, but they also present a leadership opportunity for leaders who can show up with transparency and vulnerability. In this episode, Germaine Hunter, Chief Diversity Officer for GE Aerospace, gives you the tools to lead well, serve your team, and do meaningful work.

Your Greatest Leadership Opportunity with Germaine Hunter

5:40 – The critical role of listening and empathy to make the most of your leadership

11:35 – To lead well, start with your data. What does it tell you?

14:52 – Next, build relationships with key stakeholders, influencers, and people who have their pulse on what’s happening. You can confirm (or not) what the data tells you.

18:22 – Why it’s helpful to actively ask for what you need to know.

20:36 – Challenges confronting managers today. More complexity combined with the need to lead with real empathy. All in increasingly remote and matrixed organizations.

28:11 – Solutions to these challenges give you a big leadership opportunity

30:12 – Why your focus on delivering outcomes and your technical expertise are critical.

32:58 – How leading with humility and transparency work in practice.

37:22 – Why transparency is so rewarding when talking with a manager who evaluates your performance

40:50 – Germaine’s Powerful Phrase for Dealing with Workplace Conflict (another Leadership Opportunity)

43:29 – Finally, a summary of Germaine’s advice to make the most of your leadership opportunities

Connect with Germaine Hunter

Germaine Hunter LinkedIn

The post Your Greatest Leadership Opportunity with Germaine Hunter appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

How to Lead Through Chaos without Burning Out You or Your Team

David Dye — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 10:00:09 +0000

To lead through chaos, clarify what matters most and define reality for yourself, your team, and your manager.

When you feel completely out of control, tossed back and forth on an ocean of rapidly changing priorities, reactive pronouncements from senior leaders, and an insurmountable list of priorities, it’s natural to expect your manager to solve the problem. But they can’t help until you take responsibility. When you take the initiative to lead through chaos you’ll give your team the confidence they need and protect them (and yourself) from burnout.

Exhausted

“I just don’t know what to do.” Alan’s desperation was palpable. “It’s crazy around here. No one seems to understand what’s going on. We’re getting contradictory directions from senior leaders. I’m trying to be a team player and do whatever they ask, and my team’s been hanging in there, but they’re about to break. I’m going to lose them to other jobs or PTO because this is making them sick. And I’m exhausted too.”

He shook his head and sighed. “I feel bad for my manager, they’re in a hard place and there aren’t any easy decisions, but I can’t seem to get them to make better choices. I don’t know how much more of this we can handle.”

There’s No Help Coming

One of the reasons for Alan’s fatigue is that he was relying on other people to solve his problems. It’s natural to want your managers to solve those challenges and figure out what needs to happen next.

But they can’t.

They don’t know what you know. They’re not experiencing your problems and challenges. And they have problems of their own.

That’s not an excuse – it’s just reality. You’d have the same issues if you were in their position.

To successfully lead through chaos, you must embrace the fact that no one can solve your problems for you.

Time to Lead

Your manager can’t solve the problem for you. But that doesn’t mean they can’t or shouldn’t help.

They can help, and often will, but the only way they can help is for you to lead first – to stop waiting for help to arrive, to take responsibility for yourself, your team, and the situation. That’s what it means to lead through chaos.

When you take ownership for the situation, you won’t be thrown back and forth by the waves of whatever reactive policies come down every four hours. You’ll have clarity about what needs to happen. You’ll be able to give your manager the information they need – even if it’s uncomfortable. And you’ll provide the trust and confidence your team needs to do their best and avoid burnout.

Regain Your Calm and Lead Through Chaos

There are five steps you can take to re-empower yourself, your team, and lead.

1. Let Go of Villain Stories

Your manager didn’t wake up this morning planning devious ways to make life difficult for you and your team. He’s a human being, trying to get through some challenging circumstances, the same as you are. And she might not be as assertive or solution-focused as you wish, but that’s the humanity part. You’re not perfect either.

Holding on to stories about villainous or incompetent your manager is only keeps you stuck. You remain a victim and you can’t lead.

So let go of the stories and re-empower yourself with your ability to take responsibility and act.

2. Clarify What Matters Most

As you take responsibility, your first job is to focus on the outcomes that truly matter. Not what is comfortable for you or your team, not whatever objectives your manager is passing through from hour to hour…what actually matters most to the success of your business and your customer?

One way to answer this is to think about six months or one year from now. Once this wave of chaos passes by (hopefully) what will you and your senior team be happy you accomplished? That’s what matters.

3. Prioritize What’s Possible

When you have limited time, limited resources, and strained emotions, and tired people, you must focus relentlessly on what you can actually do. If there are sixteen possible outcomes, what are the three or four that you can truly achieve?

This step is uncomfortable for many managers. They don’t want to say they can’t do something – it feels like an admission of weakness. It’s not. In fact, it takes strength and humility to acknowledge what you’re capable of doing. Pretending you can do what you cannot isn’t strength, it’s foolishness. It’s lying to yourself and others.

Have the courage to genuinely assess what you and your team can do.

“Pretending you can do what you cannot isn’t strength…”

4. Connect with Your Team

Next, it’s time to focus on your team. This is one of those moments where landing in the “and” of a combined focus on results and relationships makes a big difference.

Be real about the facts, the challenges, and the outcomes you need to achieve. Acknowledge the rapidly changing environment and the overwhelming number of priorities you face together. Then bring their focus to what matters most.

What are the most critical habits, activities, and outcomes they need to achieve in the time available? And what are the “nice to do” when time permits?

With that clarity in place, share your confidence in their ability to make it happen along with how you will manage up, deal with the pressures, and provide cover for them to do their work. They need to have confidence that you have their back, are advocating for their best, and that when you bring a new priority to them, it is truly important.

5. Communicate with Your Manager

Now it’s time to talk with your manager. Show up to these conversations “landing in the and” of confidence and humility. This usually isn’t a one-time communication. It’s an ongoing series of updates, one-on-ones, and conversations. In these conversations you’ll need to be clear about:

• What Matters Most: “These are the priority outcomes that I believe are most vital to the organization. Would you agree?”
• Limitations: “In order to achieve X and Y, I may not consistently be able to do Z.”
• How You Are Leading and Managing the Situation: “My team and I are close to burnout and I’m going to manage our hours to help maintain their health and productivity while we achieve those top priorities. Here’s what that looks like…”
• Ask for Input: “That’s my approach. I’m curious if you see anything critical that I’ve missed or have suggestions on achieving the results within these limitations?”

When you share this information and ask for input, it is possible that your manager will say something like “That’s nice, but that’s not acceptable. You’ve got to achieve X, Y, and Z.”

When this happens, don’t argue. Instead, agree.

With empathy, you can say something like, “I totally agree. It’s not acceptable, it’s just what it is until we can resource differently. And, I’m totally open to your advice about how we can do it differently. Or, if there are other priorities we can trade-off that would allow for X, Y, and Z. Do you have any thoughts?”

Now, you’ve taken responsibility for your circumstances. You’ve done the best you can to manage the situation and, you’ve informed and equipped your manager to help you, rather than waiting for them to magically figure out what you need. You’ve also given your manager the information she needs in order to problem-solve and advocate for you and your team.

You communicate all of this calmly, confidently, respectfully, with empathy, and with the humility to learn and consider other approaches.

Your Turn

When work feels totally out of control, how do you take responsibility and lead through chaos? What are the key decisions you make and communicate with your team and manager?

The Hidden Power of Vulnerability: Why Great Leaders Dare to Be Wrong

David Dye — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 10:00:18 +0000

Why Is It So Hard to Be Wrong? Vulnerability is the Gateway to Growth.

You’re an experienced leader with a track record of success. You’re brilliant at what you do, and you’ve got where you are today because you consistently have the answers. But could this need to have the answers stop you from achieving even more? I’ve had a couple of experiences recently that reminded me of the vast power of vulnerability for a leader’s (and my) growth.

A Selfish Question

Recently, after Karin Hurt’s TEDx Rockville presentation (the video won’t be available for a couple of months), I was talking with Haley Foster, who has coached hundreds of TEDx presenters. As we talked, I posed a leadership and culture question that has confounded me for decades. (I’ll save the question itself for another time.)

As you might expect from Haley, she said, “That would make an excellent talk.”

“I don’t think so,” I shook my head. “I don’t have an answer yet.”

Haley looked at me. Intently. “So what if you don’t have to have an answer? What if you were to share the question with hundreds of smart people who could all work on the answer?”

Her words hung in the air. As much as I’ve sought an answer to this question for many years, I realized the truth in what she said. Avoiding the vulnerability of others’ answers and keeping the question to myself was selfish. If I don’t share my unanswered question, none of us can benefit from potential answers.

Feet Gloves, Vulnerability, and Being Wrong

One more example: in the last two years I’ve fallen in love with trail running. But after a couple of stubbed and broken toes, I’ve been struggling with a pesky problem: blisters.

I’ve tried almost everything (including diaper cream—don’t judge, it works. It’s cheap but messy!)

Several times people suggested toe socks. Yes, the socks that look like gloves for your feet. I hated the idea of individual toes in little toe socks. In fact, they gave me the creeps. But…I’d never tried them.

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in front of a pair of toe socks at REI. The socks were on sale. And looking at them, I realized that my dislike for them was an assumption, not based on any experience. So, I bought a pair and tried them out. Turns out, they were great!

Does it take vulnerability to admit you’re wrong? That you’ve deprived yourself of a simple solution because of your blind stubbornness?

Yes. But I am glad to tell you I was wrong. I’ve since bought two more pairs to have them in steady rotation.

The Leader’s Paradox: To Lead is to Learn

You’re probably used to having answers and making decisions. And having those answers was a vital part of your early success. But let’s face it – the people you lead, the ones who are on the front lines, will often know more about the nitty-gritty of the work than you. That’s their job, and they’re good at it. Their experience is more recent.

So, the question is, can you learn from them? Can you show up with vulnerability and admit, even if it’s just to yourself, that you might be wrong? More importantly, can you change your mind based on what you learn?

Vulnerability to Embrace Change: The Key to Unlocking Your Full Potential

In a recent podcast conversation with Oscar Trimboli, he defined true listening as “the willingness to have one’s mind changed.” I love that definition so much. There’s so much to learn when we ask a good question and truly listen. (And I strongly recommend this episode with Oscar – you’ll never look at listening the same way again!)

As a leader, you’ve built your career on having answers. But the most transformative leaders aren’t just answer-givers, they’re question-askers. They’re vulnerable enough to learn something new. To be proven wrong.

You may never try toe socks, and that’s okay. But can you admit when you don’t know, or when you’re wrong, and learn from these moments? To show up with the humility and vulnerability to change your mind when faced with new information.

Your Turn

Are you ready to unlock the next level of your leadership potential? Show up with the vulnerability to change your mind and learn something new, even if it means admitting you were wrong.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments (or drop me an email) and let’s celebrate the times you’ve been wrong and learned something new from it. It’s in admitting our mistakes that we learn, grow, and become leaders who truly make a difference.

The post The Hidden Power of Vulnerability: Why Great Leaders Dare to Be Wrong appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Give Everyone a Chance to Speak and Be Heard at Work

David Dye — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 10:00:59 +0000

Use these powerful phrases to ensure every voice can be heard at work

As all of us strive to create a more human-centered and inclusive workplace where everyone can feel comfortable being who they are, leaders have a unique opportunity to help voices be heard at work.

Whether you’re in a formal leadership position or are participating on a committee, in a meeting, or on a project team, you have a role to play. You can help everyone have a chance to speak and be heard at work, whether you’re in charge of that scenario or not.

When every voice is heard your team will make better decisions, you’ll surface and solve problems earlier, you build engagement, ownership, and productivity. These scenario-specific powerful phrases will help you build an inclusive and effective culture. Here are phrases to use during:

Idea Generation
Group Discussions when People are Quiet
Group Discussions when People are Ignored
Decision-Making with Missing Stakeholders
Decision-Making with Unclear Ownership

Where Does the Silence Come From?

Even with good intentions, it’s easy for teams to ignore, speak over, or inadvertently silence some people.

Energetic extroverts can get rolling and make it hard for the quieter folks to find an entry into the conversation.

Knowledgeable, passionate introverts who start talking can turn into steamrollers when they’re enthusiastic. People turn to the known subject matter experts or, lacking experts, the team members who have the loudest opinions.

Then there are the societal dynamics that affect teams and organizations. In the United States, women can be interrupted more often than men. People of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities may not be asked for their input or listened to at the same level as others.

In global teams, people from the company’s home country can have more of a voice than others. Lower socio-economic groups, less expressive cultures, or members of a recently acquired company can all face hurdles to be heard.

And these all-too-human tendencies don’t include more overt discrimination and favoritism.

It takes work to overcome these barriers to collaboration, trust, and effective teamwork and give everyone a chance to speak and be heard. And, this is something you can do whether you’re leading a group directly or as a member of a team. The first step is to cultivate awareness of everyone’s voice. Once you do, then it’s time to use your voice to help everyone be heard at work.

Powerful Phrases to Give Everyone a Chance to Speak and Be Heard at Work

There are several scenarios that can lead to unheard voices. Choose an approach that’s appropriate for the situation you’re in.

Scenario: Idea generation

During traditional brainstorming exercises, it is common for those with the most positional authority or passion for the topic to dominate the conversation. To get everyone’s voice into the mix, you can use a two-step process of silent writing first, then randomize the ideas, and the group shares them.

In an in-person setting, you might do this with note cards or sticky notes. In an online setting, you can use a shared form, document, or whiteboard. Once the ideas are in the room, then you can build on them.

If your group hasn’t done something like this before, here are some phrases you can use to introduce the subject:

“I’m curious if we can try a new technique here?”
“I’ve come across this way to generate more ideas, more quickly – can we give it a try?”
“I think we’ve got an opportunity here to level up our brainstorming, would you be open to use it?”

Scenario: Group Discussion with Quiet Participants

During a discussion, you notice that some members of the group aren’t speaking or sharing their thoughts. Or, they’ve tried, but are being talked over. Here are phrases to address these situations and call your colleagues into the conversation.

“I noticed that Diane was starting to say something…Diane, what were your thoughts?”
“Dillon, we haven’t heard from you on this topic. I’d love to know what you think about how it will…”
“Germaine, you have some experience with this, I’m curious what you think?”
“Vivian, as you’ve been listening to this conversation, what’s coming up for you?”
“Anish and Paula, how do you see it?”

These phrases give people an opportunity to contribute. They may not feel that they have something meaningful or worthwhile to share. When that happens, it’s okay. They know you invited them into the conversation. However, if that voluntary silence happens regularly, on a range of topics, it’s worth checking in individually to see if there are factors preventing them from engaging and make sure they can be heard at work.

Scenario: Group Discussion—People Ignored or Co-opted

In energetic or heated conversations, some people may speak, but have their ideas ignored or claimed by others. While effective teams build on one another’s ideas and everyone contributes selflessly, this requires an atmosphere of trust and respect. If that environment of trust and respect doesn’t yet exist, you can help. These phrases help build a culture of trust and respect for people’s ideas:

“We interrupted you, please, will you finish your thought?”
“Before we continue, I want to make sure we acknowledge [person] for that perspective. That was very helpful to move our conversation forward.”
“We didn’t allow [person] to finish. I know we’re excited – and we need to make sure we’re getting everyone’s best thinking into the room.”

Scenario: Decisions—Missing Stakeholders

When people make decisions at work, important stakeholders can be left out of discussions. Hopefully, they weren’t consciously excluded. More often, people are absorbed in their usual way of doing things and didn’t think about who else would have a meaningful perspective on the decision.

Here are phrases you can use to give missing stakeholders a chance to speak and be heard:

“This decision will affect [group], have we got their input yet?”
“This will require significant time and people from [group], do we know their capacity right now?”
“It looks like we don’t know how [group] will view this. Who can we ask to make sure this works for them too?”
“To make the best decision here, we need input from [group]. Who can we ask for their perspective?”

Scenario: Decisions—Who Owns the Decision?

Another common challenge in decision-making that limits collaboration and prevents people from being heard is a lack of clarity regarding who owns the decision.

When the owner of the decision isn’t clear, people get frustrated and shut down. If you’ve ever heard someone say “I don’t know why you ask our opinion, you’re just going to do what you want anyway,” this is either a lack of clarity about who owns the decision (or an insincere request for input).

There are three common decision owners at work: a single person, a team via vote, or a team consensus. If you aren’t clear about who owns a decision, here are phrases to help clarify the owner and how everyone can best participate:

“I’m unclear how this decision will be made. Are we voting? Using consensus? Or will you make the call on this one?”
“Are you looking for a majority rule here or would you prefer a choice everyone can live with?”
“It seems to me that we are not the ones making this decision. Is that right? And, if so, is it our role to make a recommendation to the person or group that will make the decision?”

Your Turn

Your team, department, and organization will make better-informed decisions, solve problems faster, and be more innovative when everyone has a chance to speak and be heard at work. Even better, you’ve built a culture where everyone can show up as themself, be comfortable, and contribute their best.

Whether you’re leading the conversation or participating in a group, you can increase collaboration and ensure the contribution of every voice by using these eighteen phrases.

Why Your Team Can’t Innovate When You Want Ideas and Try to Help

David Dye — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 10:00:38 +0000

When Your Team Can’t Innovate It May Be Because of Your “Help”

New ideas have a life cycle. Many senior leaders jump in to help their teams refine, grow, or prune an idea before they’re ready – and as a result, their teams can’t innovate at all.

Idea Killer?

I have a confession to make.

I’ve been an idea-killer.

It’s not that I don’t want new ideas, solutions, and innovation. I didn’t callously shout “that’s not how we do it!” No, my problem was different.

It came from trying to help in the wrong way at the wrong time. Someone would bring me an idea and I’d jump in with all the possibilities. The three distinct problems we’d need to solve. How we had similar solutions already in place. Most of the time, that was the end of the idea.

And I know I’m not alone. Many leaders and managers, in their desire to be helpful, show off their vast knowledge, or shortcut to a faster solution, will give quick answers when team members ponder “what-ifs.” I’ve done this more times than I care to admit.

How Well-Meaning Leaders Extinguish Ideas When Teams Can’t Innovate

As we work with leadership teams to help them build a Courageous Culture filled with teams of innovators, problem-solvers, and customer advocates, we’ll often hear that their teams won’t solve problems on their own and lack creativity.

When you watch what happens in these organizations, people will often have ideas—and then senior leaders swarm that seedling of an idea and pick it apart, tell the team what they’d missed, and what’s already happening. The swarm of input crushes the idea and spirit behind it before the team can learn more or experience the joy of innovation.

And I get it—from an experienced leadership perspective, you want to help. There are five different perspectives you’ve learned through your experience that are relevant and that the team hasn’t considered. You can see the potential in version 3.0 of their idea, and you jump to that, asking if they’ve considered incorporating x, y, and z. You’re also sensitive to time—after all time is money and if you can shorten the learning curve and get to a better idea, faster, doesn’t it make sense to get there as quickly as possible?

Not necessarily.

Or at least, not now.

When Your Team Can’t Innovate—Pay Attention to Idea Life-Cycle

When your team’s new ideas meet with a flurry of input, criticism, or overwhelming additions, they can’t innovate. The new idea drowns before it can grow. And people give up—it’s just not worth it to try.

Think of ideas like an apple tree. When the seed first sprouts, that tiny seedling needs enough room to grow, put out a few leaves, and get some roots down to anchor it in the soil. It wouldn’t make sense for you to prune or shape a seedling or look for apples. It’s not ready yet.

Give that tiny seedling time to grow, however, and it will develop strength as it faces wind and rain. Eventually, it will be big enough and strong enough that you can shape it and prune it—and doing so will make it healthier and help it produce more apples.

Nurture the Birth of Ideas

Your team and their ideas have a similar life cycle.

When your team can’t innovate, pay attention to what happens in the early stages of ideation. Is there room to explore and grow an idea? Can they experiment and try ideas at a small scale to see what works, what they hadn’t considered, and how to get the information they need to contribute better solutions? To make mistakes that won’t cripple the business, but that help people learn and grow?

Real learning grasps the essential elements, understands “what happens if,” makes new connections, finds new solutions, and creates new visions. Be careful not to squelch creativity and risk-taking by trying to help too much or jumping ahead too soon.

Recently I interviewed Olankunle Soriyan, author of A Love Affair with Failure, and he captured this tendency to paralyze ourselves or our teams by focusing on perfection before we’re in motion. “If you wait to release an iPhone 14 and all the features it has today, you’ll never release the first edition.”

“If you wait to release an iPhone 14 and all the features it has today, you’ll never release the first edition.”

-Olankunle Soriyan, A Love Affair with Failure

How to Help When Your Team Can’t Innovate

Here are three strategies to help nurture new ideas and people who are learning how to innovate:

Provide context and clear criteria

When someone on your team has an idea, they likely are thinking only of what the world looks like from their perspective. Help them grow and make it more likely their idea can have a meaningful impact by sharing context and clear criteria. What is happening in the organization, the environment, or the industry that they need to be aware of? What are the boundaries within which they can play as they implement their idea? Where do you or the organization most need a good idea?

One of the most powerful ways to equip your team with criteria to help them contribute meaningful ideas is with our I.D.E.A. model. What makes an idea interesting? Doable? Engaging to stakeholders? And what are the next specific actions they recommend?

Learn more about the I.D.E.A. model here.

Respond with Regard

How you react to incomplete, unusable, or half-thought-through ideas has a huge effect on whether you’ll ever get useful ideas. When your team can’t innovate, pay attention to your response to the ideas you hear.

Start with gratitude for the act of contributing. For example: “Thank you for thinking about how we can improve in this area.” Note: You are NOT thanking them for their specific idea or even telling them it’s a good idea. Celebrate their effort.

Next, add information – this might be additional criteria, context, or even how their the idea is already in use. Give them enough information that they can continue exploring, growing, and making connections, but not enough to drown them. (Think of that apple tree seedling – it needs water to grow, but not too much.) If their idea can’t work right now, this is the time to let them know why.

Finally, invite them to continue thinking, contributing, and to refine this idea. This is critical to give people the same chance to learn and grow that made you the expert you are today. As they gain experience and think through their concepts, they’ll gain strength and be ready for the pruning and shaping stage of innovation.

Here’s more on how to: Respond with Regard

Reward Failure

This may sound strange, but let’s think about the concept of rewarding failure for a moment.

If your people take a risk, but you only reward the risks that succeed, what will happen?

People will naturally stop taking risks.

By their very nature, risks mean uncertainty of success. By only rewarding the risks that work out as hoped, you communicate that you don’t actually want creativity and innovation; you communicate that you’re only interested in a “sure thing.”

Avoiding loss is human nature. Most people in your organization will therefore choose to do nothing, rather than risk your censure for a creative idea that doesn’t work.

The solution to this problem is to reward behaviors and attempts. Some organizations take this concept to a grand conclusion and annually give an award for “The best idea that didn’t work.” Others describe every new initiative as “an experiment” – a term that clearly communicates the desire to learn from the effort and acknowledges the reality that it may or may not work out as intended.

Your Turn

When your team can’t innovate, but you really want new ideas, make it safe to experiment and take risks. Avoid the temptation to swarm a new idea with too many corrections and criticisms. When you celebrate creative behaviors, attempts, and even failures, you make it OK for the effort to not work and for everyone to learn something along the way—and you’re that much closer to the game-changing ideas you do need!

I’d love to hear from you: what’s your most effective way to help new ideas thrive?

The post Why Your Team Can’t Innovate When You Want Ideas and Try to Help appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

How to Leverage Your Skills with the Most Valuable Leadership Practice

David Dye — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 10:00:54 +0000

What’s your most valuable leadership practice?

At the start of our work together, we’ll ask leaders and managers around the world for their most valuable leadership practice. There are several answers that consistently rise to the top, including clarity, vision, encouragement, communication, listening, empathy, and support.

These are certainly valuable. And when we ask the tens of thousands of leaders and managers we’ve worked with about the most valuable practice they’ve learned through our work together, one of the most frequent answers is to “Check for Understanding.”

Check For Understanding: Ensure that everyone in a conversation is on the same page and has a shared understanding of what they discussed to save hours, days, and weeks of headache, heartache, and frustration. (For more on the valuable communication tool: look at Check for Understanding)

But What’s the MOST Valuable Leadership Practice?

I love the “check for understanding” and I do think it’s one of the highest ROI practices you can use…

But, if I had to choose one practice that adds the most value and leverages everything else you do as a leader, I would choose a word that lacks glamor. It’s not flashy or charismatic. But it will be the deciding factor in your long-term success.

What’s the most valuable leadership practice?

Consistency.

Showing up moment by moment, day after day, project after project with the same skills, character, and commitment.

Why Consistency?

I’m training for my first ultra-marathon of about 33 miles over hilly trails.

You can’t train for a race like this in a day or a week. It takes months of consistent training including running, strength work, and stretching for your body to adapt and grow to meet the new demands.

Me consistently wondering how I’m going to finish this 17-mile training run

Your team and organization are similar. Day-to-day consistency and accountability in a few practices will do far more good than multiple pronouncements and intentions.

Just like the body adapts to physical training, your team will adapt to practicing good communication when you practice it daily, bring one another back to focus when you forget, and celebrate success.

Then do it again the next day.

The same is true for any meaningful team behavior or leadership skill. Your team needs your encouragement consistently. To hold one another accountable every day. They need clarity of outcomes and priorities all the time.

Why Consistency is Rare and Valuable

You’re probably nodding and saying “Yes, yes, consistency – I get it.”

But consistency is valuable and multiplies every other leadership practice because it is so rare. It’s easy to encourage your team when you’re excited, results are fantastic, and everyone feels good.

It’s more challenging when you’re distracted, stressed, overwhelmed, or bored. Inconsistency undermines any good intention you share or initiative you begin. But showing up consistently builds trust.

That’s why we recommend developing a habit of using one leadership skill before adding the next.

(It’s also why meaningful leadership development programs combine spaced learning over time with action learning—where participants apply what they learn.)

The Most Valuable Leadership Practice – Your Turn

Consistency isn’t flashy. There’s no hack or trick to it. But showing up repeatedly, and doing what works, will build trust, strength in your team, positive habits, and success.

So yes, commit to checking for understanding, scheduling the finish, investing in development conversations…

And commit to the most valuable leadership practice: consistency in your chosen skills. It makes all the difference.

I’d love to hear from you: How do you maintain consistency in the practices that matter most for your success?

The post How to Leverage Your Skills with the Most Valuable Leadership Practice appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.

Don’t Get Lost or Hurt: The Vital Role of Leadership Strategy and Tactics

David Dye — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 10:00:35 +0000

Balancing leadership strategy and tactics is critical for leaders at every level of an organization

When you don’t pay enough attention to strategy, you and your team end up lost in a wilderness of meaningless, unproductive busyness. However, when you don’t pay attention to tactics and effective management, you create needless conflicts, frustrations and hurt feelings. When you embrace effective leadership strategy and tactics, they’ll work together to help you, your teams, and organization thrive.

Leaders and managers often struggle with the difference between strategy and tactics or vision and operations. But they are both vital to your success and don’t have to be complicated.

The Danger of Focusing Only on Strategy

This weekend I went for a long trail run. The terrain was rocky with roots snaking across the trail. I kept a close eye on the ground and placed my feet carefully. Then I caught up with two women on the trail ahead of me.

I called out a friendly “passing on your left” and as they moved over to allow me to pass, I focused on the trail ahead where I would pass them, and I sped up.

And that’s when one of those roots caught my foot and I tripped, falling down in an inglorious pile of dirt, blood, and embarrassment.

In looking at the trail ahead, I lost focus on the ground beneath my feet.

That’s the danger of focusing on strategy or vision (the trail ahead) to the exclusion of the operational and management realities you face today (the ground beneath your feet).

The trail demanded attention

Tactical Questions to Help You Avoid “Injury”

Operational tactics (looking at the ground beneath your feet) include clear communication, a shared understanding of success, healthy professional relationships, and consistent accountability.

When you lack these elements, your team will experience the “injuries” of frequent conflicts, frustrations, and misunderstandings that derail productivity and quench morale. Here are several vital questions to help focus on the tactical aspect of leadership strategy and tactics:

Does everyone know what success looks like?
Does everyone know what specific behaviors are critical to achieving that success?
Have you checked for understanding to ensure everyone has the same understanding?
Are you consistently communicating critical messages and concepts five times, five different ways?
Do you schedule the finish with clear discussions and mutual appointments to conclude tasks and projects?
Do you and your team hold one another accountable for commitments?
Do you acknowledge and celebrate success?
Does your team know how to discuss and resolve day-to-day conflict, dropped balls, and misunderstandings?

For more on these critical leadership questions and competencies, check out Leadership Skills: 6 Competencies You Can’t Lead Without

To help your team with tough conversations, check out How to Provide More Meaningful Performance Feedback

The Danger of Focusing Only on Tactics

Back to the trail…I got up, brushed myself off, and continued to run. Twelve miles later I took a new trail I’d never explored. I was determined not to fall again, so I watched the ground closely.

When I reached the end of the new trail, I turned around, confident I’d counted the number of branching trails I’d passed and that I could get back easily. But I was tired, hadn’t looked at a map, and I’d been watching the ground so closely that I hadn’t paid enough attention to my surroundings. I took a wrong turn and I was lost.

In looking at the ground beneath my feet, I’d lost track of where I was and where to go.

That’s the danger of focusing on tactics and operations (the ground beneath your feet) to the exclusion of strategy and vision (the map and the trail ahead).

Lost and Wandering

Strategic Questions to Help you Avoid Getting “Lost”

Strategic clarity and vision (looking at the map and the trail ahead) include understanding the big picture, why you’re doing what you’re doing, and how your team’s work contributes to the whole. In addition, a shared vision (picture of where you’re going and what it will feel like to get there) inspires and energizes your team.

When you lack these elements, your team will get “lost” in business. Their work might be precise and done well, but it’s not meaningful—it doesn’t move the team or outcomes forward. This type of meaningless work saps morale and wastes precious time and energy. Here are several questions to help avoid getting lost in unproductive work as you focus on the first element of leadership strategy and tactics:

Why do we do this?
And ask again, up to five times… why do we do this?
What is our organization or team’s purpose?
Do we have a shared vision of success for our team? (What does it look like, feel like, and what is happening when we are at our best, doing our best work?)
How does our work contribute to the bigger picture? (That bigger picture can be your customer, the organization, or society beyond the business.)
What is changing in the world, our industry, technology, employees, or our customers so that we can understand and respond?
How will our customers, client, or world be better because of the work we do?

For more on connecting your team to the “why” in your work, check out Strategic Planning Tool: How to Engage Your Team in Better Conversation

To create more clarity and ensure everyone understands what matters most: Creating Clarity: Strategic Activities For Human Centered Leaders

To help your team make these connections and build a foundation for high performance: How to Build a High-Performing Team: Ten Vital Conversations

Resolving the Tension Between Leadership Strategy and Tactics

Many leaders and teams get into arguments and conflict as they struggle with the need to “look at the map” and focus “on the ground beneath their feet.”

The reason for many of these disagreements is that most of us have a natural tendency to focus on one direction or the other. Some people are natural visionaries, looking at the horizon, seeing into tomorrow, and inspiring people to come on the journey with them. Other people are naturally good at operations and ensuring everyone is on the same page, connected with one another, and doing their work well.

Obviously, you need both for any team or organization to do meaningful work and make a difference. What is obvious and self-evident for you will not be so clear for your colleague with a different gift.

In most discussions, the best way to resolve the tension between leadership strategy and tactics is to start with strategy. Where are we going? Why are we going there? How will we and our customer/client be better off as a result?

Once you’ve clarified the strategic goal, then focus on how you will achieve it and the leadership practices that help the team operate smoothly.

In your own leadership, commit to a weekly habit of strategy and tactics. If you’re strong tactically, schedule time at the beginning or end of the week to re-examine why you’re doing the work you’re doing and ensure it aligns with the big picture.

If you’re strong strategically, ask the tactical questions and ensure you haven’t let communication or accountability lapse while you’ve looked at the horizon.

Leadership Strategy and Tactics – Your Turn

A mutual focus on leadership strategy and tactics helps you and your team do motivating, meaningful work without morale-sapping frustration.

I’d love to hear from you: how do you balance leadership strategy and tactics, ensuring you don’t lose focus on one or the other?

The post Don’t Get Lost or Hurt: The Vital Role of Leadership Strategy and Tactics appeared first on Let's Grow Leaders.