Category Archives: Leadership

Upstream Solutions

Too often when problems arise we treat the symptoms and not the root cause. Dan Heath wrote a tremendous book called “Upstream” and introduces practical ways to identify opportunities, overcome resistance and make a change.

When entering a new organization look for the champion, the individual that needs to repeatedly step in and “save the day”. Many organizations cherish and reward the champion. In Upstream thinking organizations, there are no champions. The true champions have focused on eliminating the problem from occurring in the first place. You can also look for the frustration – tension between teams or individuals.

We are introduced to some reasons that leaders do not take the time to move upstream. 1) Problem Blindness. You know when everyone tells you that in this industry or in this company that’s how we have always done things. That’s the tunnel vision that comes from companies that have existed for years and have become complacent with current performance (anyone heard of Blackberry?).
2) Lack of Ownership. That is someone else’s responsibility. I like to tell teams that the leak may be in the other end of the boat but if the boat goes down, well we are all going down.
3) I’m too busy and I can’t deal with that right now. Let’s work on that another day.

To succeed in moving upstream and making change, leaders must focus on the following: 1) Leaders must detect problems early. 2) Leaders must target leverage points in complex systems. 3) Leaders must find reliable ways to measure success. 4) Leaders must pioneer new ways of working together. 5) Leaders must embed their successes into systems to give them permanence.

This is a great read for any leader struggling to get results and dealing with the same issues over and over again.

Newton’s First Law (Law of Inertia)

Newton’s first law (the law of inertia) states states that if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force.

Being an Engineer, I love when we can apply laws of physics to our daily lives and leadership journeys.

Perfect time to understand this law with the NHL hockey playoffs on right now. You get the player cruising into the other teams area, focused on the goalie and where to shoot the puck, when WHAM!!!!! Out of nowhere comes a 200 lb hockey player focused entirely on you and how best to stop your motion. This is a force that is difficult to get away from and following the impact, you learn a lesson you will not too soon forget.

Now, in our personal or leadership journeys it is very easy to maintain status quo – either at rest or following a straight line. It is very rare that a 200 lb man will crash into you and remind you not to eat that sugary treat, drink one more cocktail, continue to think of ways to become more efficient even when your company is profitable or look for ways to engage your team members and help them grow even after a recent promotion. It comes down to each and every one of us to continue to improve every day. We have been given an opportunity to exist in our current state on this planet for a limited time.

There are so many opportunities in life to seek out information, techniques and better ways of doing things. We are bombarded with blogs, books, articles and tips of the day. It is up to you as a leader to continue to look for ways to improve, either by searching out information or coaches that can help in your journey. The force required for change can come from within or can come from outside. Think of the case when your Doctor tells you that if you don’t veer from your current path you may reduce your time on this planet. Or when your supervisor tells you that status quo is not an option and without change you may be looking for a new job.

Be the force necessary to make change in your life.

Level 5 Leadership

If you haven’t had a chance to read Jim Collins, make a point to do it at some time. Jim introduces the concept of Level 5 Leadership.

Good to Great: The Level 5 Leader – Borden's Blather

Jim found that Level 5 leaders have humility, and they don’t seek success for their own glory; rather, success is necessary so that the team and organization can thrive. They share credit for success, and they’re the first to accept blame for mistakes. Collins also says that they’re often shy, but fearless when it comes to making decisions, especially ones that most other people consider risky.

Level 1: Highly Capable Individual

At this level, you make high quality contributions with your work. You possess useful levels of knowledge; and you have the talent and skills needed to do a good job.

Level 2: Contributing Team Member

At Level 2, you use your knowledge and skills to help your team succeed. You work effectively, productively and successfully with other people in your group.

Level 3: Competent Manager

Here, you’re able to organize a group effectively to achieve specific goals and objectives.

Level 4: Effective Leader

Level 4 is the category that most top leaders fall into. Here, you’re able to galvanize a department or organization to meet performance objectives and achieve a vision.

Level 5: Great Leader

At Level 5, you have all of the abilities needed for the other four levels, plus you have the unique blend of humility and will that’s required for true greatness.

Gresham’s Law

Gresham’s Law: The Bad Drives Out the Good As Time Passes

Gresham’s Law was first applied to economics. In ecomomics, Gresham’s law is a monetary principle stating that “bad money drives out good”. For example, if there are two forms of commodity money in circulation, which are accepted by law as having similar face value, the more valuable commodity will gradually disappear from circulation.

Whenever coins containing precious metals have been used along with base metal coins of the same denomination, both legally accepted as tender, the bad coins have driven the good coins out of circulation. Gresham’s Law is named after Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579), an English financier in the time of the Tudors.

One practical application of Gresham’s Law and perhaps the most important is to avoid becoming part of systems where good behavior cannot win due to the nature of the law. There are certain companies and organizations that lack the “policing” necessary to keep systems of behavior on the straight and narrow, and thus bad behavior gains a hard-to-replace foothold. While it’s admirable to be the “cleanest shirt” in a pile of dirty laundry, certain areas of human life do not allow the clean shirts to win. As a leader, when you do observe behavior that is not acceptable, it is your duty to deal with it and not reward it. If you do, over time bad behavior will drive out good beahvior.

People and Characters – Good Versus Bad | Straight Talk

Risk Management

In the excitement of a looming opportunity, decision makers are infamous for concentrating on what a strategy could do for them if it succeeded and not enough, or at all, on what it could do to them if it failed. “What future events could make this plan go wrong?” and “What would happen to us if it did go wrong?”

Complacency

Complacency – Unconcerned by things that should concern them, and they may neglect their duties. Satisfied with the current situation and unconcerned with changing it, often to the point of smugness.

It is so easy to get relaxed and into the groove of doing the same thing every day and expecting improvement.

When was the last time you were complacent about wearing seatbelts? When did you just stop paying attention to them because they didn’t seem that important or you were distracted by other things? The answer is probably never. You either have formed the habit of using seatbelts or you have not. If you have formed the habit, you automatically buckle the belt, regardless of your complacency, sense of vulnerability or other distractions or priorities. If you have not formed the habit, you may buckle up only when you are concentrating on the need for such precautions (or not at all).

Windshield or Rear View Mirror

When you are setting out for a drive, how often do you only look at the rear view mirror to get to your destination? Not too often I am guessing. The results may not be favourable. So why do we look backward at events in our life, yes it is good to learn and adapt but let’s look forward.

30k+ Rear View Mirror Pictures | Download Free Images on Unsplash

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

The Upward Spiral

There has been quite a bit of negative news recently that has contributed to a downward spiral of negativity. A downward spiral occurs when we choose to pile negative news upon negative news. I prefer the upward spiral and placing positive news upon positive news and there is plenty of positive news to share. Be thankful for the small things in life. It comes to the “Power Of One” – each and every one of us has the ability to contribute positively vs negatively.

Only You Determine Your Definition of Success

Music Monday: A Song for Our Times – Put Your Hands Up – Borden's Blather

Hands up if you hate peer reviews….I thought so!! Whether it’s a great athlete or a great comedian, the truth is the same. The better they get, the less they care about results. That’s not to say they don’t care about winning, or about success—of course they do—it’s that the longer you do something, the closer you get to mastery, the less external results matter in terms of measuring progress.
The comedian Dave Chappelle has talked about how he hardly even cares about the crowd anymore, and definitely not the money. What matters to him is doing the thing, at getting closer to perfecting his craft—even if it’s in ways that the audience can’t even notice.
Early on in a career, because we don’t know much about it or ourselves, we use proxies to measure ourselves. We care about the critics or we care about stats or we care about getting this honor or that one. But the better we get, the more it becomes clear to us how little control we have over those things. The more experience we get, the more it is evident how little our best work actually correlates with getting those external achievements.
As Marcus Aurelius writes, “Ambition means tying your well-being to what other people say or do. Self-indulgence means tying it to the things that happen to you.” But real success, real mastery, real sanity? That, he says, comes only by “tying it to your own actions.”
The better you get, the more you are able to tie your identity to the only thing that matters according to the Stoics: your own choices, your own work, your own judgement. Everything else? The better you get, the less it matters.

BE CONFIDENT IN WHO YOU ARE!

Life Is A Journey (So Treat It Like One)

A number of years ago our family went on a hike, 100 miles through the Highlands of Scotland. Being a trail hike (on a trail that we hoped was well marked), we had some planning to do. The five rules we set out for ourself were:
#1 – Pick a destination and have a direction.
#2 – Learn the terrain and prepare for the weather.
#3 – Find some good travelling companions.
#4 – Be ready to course correct and innovate along the way
#5 – Pause along the way because there may be nothing at the end of the road.

#1) Pick a destination and have a direction – it is very easy to get lost on the journey. Take some time to map out your path and have a goal in mind. We all have different goals in life – some personal, some professional but what do you want to accomplish? Draw a map if you need to, identifying stops along the way.

#2) Learn the terrain and prepare for the weather – sure, Scotland is known for it’s challenging climate but not every day is like that. And just like life, there will be ups and downs – be prepared for it all. All storms will pass.

#3) Find some good travelling companions – Make sure you are surrounded by people that will lift you up instead of tear you down. Did you know that your values and ability to enjoy life are most affected by the five closest people around you?

#4) Be ready to course correct and innovate along the way – you never know what challenges will come your way. It may be something simple like blisters, but if you don’t take care of them and prepare, your journey will be ruined.

#5 – Pause along the way because there may be nothing at the end of the road. Too often we set our goal and race to the finish, missing all the sites along the way. Take some time to pause and enjoy the stops along the way.

Learning To Lead

Learning to lead is a life long journey