Showing posts with label Measured. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Measured. Show all posts

March 12, 2018

Tongue-Tied Silence

Sometimes in life, people are left tongue-tied. 

Too shocked, shamed, confused, or abused to speak or perhaps to even know what to say anymore. 

Maybe in the face of some horrible things that happen in life, there really are no words.

Instead, the vacant or crazed look in the eyes says it all.

People go through a lot--some of it is inhumane.

Sometimes, only tears can even begin to express what they are feeling. 

I think one thing that is important to do, even when we're not sure what to say, is to acknowledge that it is okay. 

Silence is often golden. 

Listen more, watch more, feel more, learn more, reflect more. 

Ask more questions. 

Usually, I'm told to ask at least 5 times (i'd say at least 3) to decompose to what is really going on underneath the superficial covers. 
"Tell me more."
"What else?"
"Can you elaborate?"

Sometimes, people have difficulty getting in touch with their true feelings or accurately diagnosing what's bothering them.  

It's more than okay to be thoughtful, be deliberative. 

Words are often cheap, but they shouldn't be. 

Our words should be truthful, meaningful, insightful, even righteous. 

Take all the time you need, your words are worth it. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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December 13, 2016

Balancing Change and Stability

So new leaders frequently want to come into town like a knight in shining armor riding speedily on their white stallions to "save the day." 

Being new and needing to prove themselves, change and quick results are the imperative.

The problem is that fast, quick wins can be mistakenly and superficially achieved while sacrificing longer-term organization success.  

We push people to hard, too fast, and without the underlying care and emotional feeding to duly support the rainbow in the sky changes being sought. 

People are human beings that need to be brought along in a unified manner and with a solid infrastructure and not plowed over for the sake of some short-term gains.

You can push for change so hard--you can crack the whip and you can demand what you want when you want--but rest-assured that you are leaving a great pile of destruction in your wake. 

Performance results are built by maintaining a sane balance between change and stability--pushing others to do more with less has to be replaced instead with getting out front yourself and pulling the organizational weight at a measured pace so that workers aren't trampled by the raw, unbridled ambition of the leadership. 

You may have a great scorecard of accomplishments, but they may be the tip of what is otherwise an iceberg of discontent and disaster beneath. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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June 30, 2016

Secret To Long Life

I just love this Tibetan proverb on the secret to long life

"Eat Half

Walk Double

Laugh Triple

and 

Love Without Measure,"

The rest is icing on the Tibetan cake. 

(Source Photo: Rebecca Blumenthal via Facebook)

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October 22, 2015

Measured {Leadership + Management} + Staff = Success!

So I heard from a colleague this week an argument about:

Too much leadership dilutes good management. 

AND [similarly]

Too much management dilutes good leadership.

What is this a tug of war (without the showy skirts please!)?

Or 

Can you ever have too much of a good thing? 


Typically, leaders provide the vision and managers the execution.

I don't see how it is really possible to have one without the other and have anything useful at the end of the day.

A vision without delivered execution is just another big idea.

And

Execution without a meaningful vision is just chasing your tail.

Too much leadership with grandiose vision after vision overwhelms the ability to manage a successful execution.

Too much management of the devils-in-the-details and even the best leadership vision isn't going to see the light of day.

So the conclusion:

Great leaders need to set the goal posts high but doable and then get out of the way so that talented managers can make sure to get the job done and done right.

And don't forget that it's a diverse and skilled staff that actually does the heavy lifting and need to be respected and appreciated.

Tug of war over! ;-)

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Jamie McCaffrey)
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July 26, 2012

Leading Along The Continuum

There's a cliff.  

At the bottom is a body.

What do you think may have happened?

It's a matter of how you interpret what you find.

If you think the person:

1) Fell...
--then it is viewed as an accident.

2) Was pushed...
--then it was murder.

3) Jumped...
--then it was a suicide.

Three scenarios...three different interpretations.

With our personality attributes, it's the same way--they can viewed either positively or negatively.

Is the person?
- Trusting or gullible
- Optimistic or impractical
- Caring or smothering
- Self-confidant or arrogant
- Ambitious or ruthless
- Organized or controlling
- Persuasive or pressuring
- Decisive or rash
- Imaginative or a dreamer
- Entrepreneurial or reckless
- Cautious or suspicious
- Economical or stingy
- Reserved or cold
- Methodical or rigid
- Analytical or nit-picky
- Thorough or obsessive
- Principled or unbending
- Flexible or inconsistent
- Sociable or dependent
- An experimenter or aimless
- Curious or nosy

Every good trait, can be viewed and interpreted as bad and vice versa. 

When it comes to the workplace, you need to apply good situational leadership. 

Apply your strengths with the right amount of measure along the continuum and you're golden.

Lean too far toward either extreme, and you risk becoming a poor manager. 

The better leader can apply their traits in a purposeful way rather than being controlled by them.

While the weaker one is a victim of their personality flaws.

So was it an accident, murder, or suicide?

The facts are there somewhere, but when it comes to personality much depends on how you apply it. 

(Source photo: here with attribution to NYC Arthur)

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