1st Coaching Meeting with a 1st Year CEO…Where do we begin?

I met with Jack for the first time today. Jack is a first year CEO of an international nonprofit who's been in position for six months. After a few minutes of catching up, I asked the first question to begin of our time, “What's keeping you from fully being engaged in your leadership?" We launched into a conversation about the issues he was facing as a 1st year CEO and discussed his priorities, uncovering his benchmarks for the next 36 months. We included the financial measurements as well as the potential staff growth of his team. We identified the critical areas that, if addressed, would significantly impact organization's growth. 

Our conversation included identification of the top 3 issues that he should be prioritize in leading the organization. Then we began discussing the areas that are consuming 60-70% of his time and attention. You can probably guess that the two lists were not an exact match. In fact, they didn't match at all. As Jack's coach, I knew that was the first focus of closing that leadership gap. 

Succession planning was also put on the table, and we began to think through the possibilities of hiring and training his replacement long before it's due. This caused our attention to focus on developing a bench and what that might look like in representing and leading the organization. At or near the forefront of every CEO's mind is the Board, its structure and governance, and who he would be bringing on in the next 6 months to a year. How new board members will be sourced and vetted are key factors. Finally, we talked about his predecessors, their style of leadership and the legacies they left behind. We covered a lot of ground with a one-hour discussion.  

After laying the framework of all that Jack was managing, we narrowed our focus.  We laid out three questions to identify areas that needed further clarity.

1. Where does Jack need greater confidence? His answer was confidence in himself and his abilities. He is beginning to feel the effects of leading. He understood there was coming a time when the honeymoon would be over, and he would have to make decisions and tough calls that could ultimately alienate or isolate him. The new leadership luster will wear off which may affect his approachability as well as his ability to engage his team in open dialog, once it's viewed that some of the discussions may have consequences. How will he respond? What does he need to do to stay steady and strong? What support does he need around him so that he doesn't waver when it gets tough? How will he ensure that his eyes and ears are open to truth in sorting through tough decisions?
2. Where will the organization go under Jack’s leadership? What will the team need from their leader? What are his strengths, and what are the areas that will stretch him, the areas where he will need to rely on the expertise of other staff or that he will need to personally develop in order to become the leader the organization needs. He shared that he has a tendency to fall into analysis paralysis thus turning his greatest strength of critical thinking into potentially a significant weakness. He instinctively knew that some of the key team members in the areas of business development and technology if the organization was going to grow. It is vitally important to know the key team ingredients for fostering growth. He also recognized that in order for him to be successful in his new role as the leader of this organization he needs to get out of the office and interact with staff members and key partners around the world.
3. Who's your customer? As the discussion progressed, I learned that this was not the model of his predecessor. Past leadership focused more on fiscal responsibility, which was certainly essential, and less focus was placed on connecting with global team members. This part of the conversation led me to ask if he knew who the customer is? After a long pause, it was evident there was some question in his own mind.  But the answer soon came that it's the associates who are in the field. I then asked him if his staff and board would agree with that answer? There was even a longer pause. The answer has significant implications.  Understanding who your customer is and who you are trying to reach will help you identify where your priorities and your focus needs to be and how to best utilize your energies and resources.

Leading Change 

Fiscal responsibility and organizational efficiencies are foundational to the job of leadership and necessary for a healthy organization to run well. Without them many organizations have ceased to exist. Yet if the organization is to see the kind of significant growth Jack envisioned over the next 36 months, some of the leadership models were going to have to change. This could very well be disruptive to the expectations and culture of the organization that he was now appointed to lead. Jack does not need to face these changes alone. 

His pathway to successfully navigate these changes will require him to lean into his closest mentors and proteges. Given all of the opportunities, challenges, and issues that he is facing as a leader, he knows that the key to success is having people speak into his life and his leadership so that he will be able to lead effectively and, in some cases, he will need to speak into his team, customers, and key partners in the same way.

All new organizational leaders find that the pursuit of clarity is hard work. Given the many complexities organizational leaders face, how do you find clarity in your priorities, your planning, and the overall purpose of your organization?  How do you develop the team so that you are all working toward obtaining a vision, accomplishing a mission, and seeing the goals attained?

Find a Way to Navigate the Changes and Challenges You’re Facing Today

Like Jack, you need experienced mentors and other peers to speak into your life.  This is a critical factor to the success of a new leader, especially when you have to start making decisions that can make the journey feel very lonely. In the end, everyone celebrates success. But the road getting there may require changes that are often difficult in the moment. How do you stay steady in the midst of such difficulty in such a way you don't lose confidence in yourself and your team members?. Will you move further into isolation, or will you identify your blind spots and insecurities and courageously face the hard choices that will help you grow as a leader. The first step is determining who is going to help you along the way. 

If you’re a first year CEO facing new challenges that are stretching you beyond your capacity to lead, hope and help is only one conversation away. 

Making the Right Move for Wrong Team Member…and the Cost if You Don’t! Part 1

The number one issue I have seen among leaders and the issue that carries the greatest emotional weight that often clouds objectivity is letting go of a key leader on your team. As an executive coach, I’ve had a front row seat to seeing the most brilliant strategists and effective leaders who have lost themselves under the emotional weight of losing someone who is critical to their team, or at least their role is critical to the team and the organization's success.

Most leaders know the enormous weight of the responsibility and need for patience when allowing a key leader to settle into their role. Yet, after an undefined appropriate amount of time, the key indicators are not trending positive, or projects are under performing, it becomes evident this is the wrong person for the position. Most often we hire somebody who performed with excellence and delivered exceptional results in their discipline in one or more organizational settings. For a variety of reasons they have failed to gain traction in our environment.

The weight of this issue for most leaders, more often than not, comes from the loss of confidence in the individual in whom they had personally placed so much trust and hope. Leaders hire people in the confidence that they have all that is needed to be successful in the position. Having been so persuaded, we adopt them into our corporate family, nurture them into the culture, and give them the tools and resources needed for success. We have personally sponsored the new hire into the organization. The idea of cutting ties with a member of your team brings a sense of personal loss. Facing the daunting task of replacing any high profile leader carries with it a heightened sensitivity to utilize an improved vetting and decision making process. The thought of having to find the replacement and start the process all over again with the prospect that the next person hired may not work out can be overwhelming.

I have found, in hundreds of hours of coaching and working with teams in off-site settings, a leader instinctively knows when it is time for a transition to happen. Certainly, there are protocols that determine the appropriate amount of time to allow for the individual’s performance to improve or for adjustments to be made to his or her role and/or responsibilities.  Yet, in the end, I have seen again and again, that leaders have an instinct for when it's time for a transition. The question becomes what will that leader do when they know what the right decision is and when will they take action?

When a leader delays in doing the right thing, the weight of the issue grows with each day, week, and month, making it harder to step forward and act objectively. This leads to our emotional malaise as leaders and allows the dysfunction within the organization to spread. Delay could also cost the organization critical leadership talent at the lower levels as those people lose confidence that the matter will be addressed. We can be confident in the fact that if we're seeing nonperformance, it has already been the subject of water cooler conversation in the organization. At some point, this emotional weight and lack of decisive action creates a toxicity that is felt throughout the culture of the organization.

If you are that leader who is in that place and know you need to let one of your key team members go, then let's get grounded. First we need to evaluate the cost of this decision or your indecision. As a leader, ask yourselves these questions:

• What is the cost of the emotional and mental energy that is likely preventing me from moving forward strategically in the department with the under performing leader?
• What is the cost for the rest of my team who is having to tiptoe around the issue rather than being engaged as a highly performing team?
• What is the cost within that specific department where that leader is not meeting their goals or objectives?

Take a Step in Right Direction

Take time to think! Spend a few minutes thinking through these things will bring clarity.  Writing down a note, even if it's on a napkin, gives you an opportunity to evaluate the time, money, and resources the delay in this decision is costing you. Find a person or peer group that is a safe place to verbally process and gain feedback .

After you've had to time to count the cost, seek clarity, and the perspective someone you trust you're ready for action. Part 2 of Making the Right Move will give 4 Steps towards a healthy transition. 

Fortune 500 Company Engaging With New Conversations

From HR to Coaching, a major insurance company launches a brand new team for connection and engagement. 

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to present my new book The Conversationalist to group of 28 Birkman consultants in training for their certification. The book is about engaging in meaningful conversations and will be published in September. Sharon Birkman Fink, the CEO, was very kind in her endorsements.  Her comments opened the doors for further discussion after my talk at their reception.  Birkman has an amazing team of 5000+ consultants. I’m amazed at the diversity and depth with this community of associates. I had the opportunity to get to know a few of the consultants attending the training from around the country. 

One team of four colleagues was from a Fortune 500 insurance company. They collectively averaged almost 20 years of serving in Human Resources. They have obviously seen significant changes within the organization and among their people of that period of time. Their leader, a veteran of 29 years with the company, has a renewed sense of excitement as they are launching a new effort for HR. She has taken the lead in launching a new coaching initiative within organization that is gaining momentum. 

The team represented the best of HR. All had been personally selected for this new initiative. Yet, all were uniquely gifted to serve from their strengths and experience. They moved to a quiet corner during the reception and invited me to join them as they shared their excitement and talked about the challenges of the coaching launch. There were many questions that came to them as they thought through implementation. Some of the key questions were:

• Do we match Birkman styles with those we are coaching or do we need to view people from a different perspective?
• How do we solve the constant internal conflict of managers who are in roles for which they are not prepared or simply don’t have the personality for it?
• How would you integrate the Birkman within our coaching team? 

After listening to questions, the discussion, and challenges they were to hoping to address I heard 3 themes. 

1. Gaining Trust - Skepticism is a challenge to overcome in a high stress organization. People in HR often are viewed as more restrictive than empowering.  Introducing another new program and tool may not gain support or be carried out. What keeps this initiative from being the latest programme du jour?
2. Realigning Team Members - Call Center Challenges. The nature of the work has its ongoing stress, let alone putting people in management positions for which they're not ready, creating additional tension. Determining when team members are not ready or not a fit needs to be high priority. The resulting attrition, low morale, and a disengaged culture only brings low performance.
3. Going Deeper for Real Change - Solving a problem with a program and policy is one approach. The coaching team wants to get personally connected to key managers to be in a position to impact their attitudes and actions. Whether they are reassigned or resourced they want to develop their people and help improve the overall culture, performance, and engagement within the company. 

The following is a potential 12 Step Weekly Engagement Strategy for a 90 Day Organizational Coaching Pilot using the Birkman 

1. Review the "How to Talk with Them" worksheet to learn their style. Determine their preferred style of Direct, Indirect, Task, or People (Unless you “read” people very well, we must be students of our colleagues by learning how to approach them. Our style may be very different than theirs.) 
2. Start with Strengths and Interests
3. Clarify Career Alignment for Roles and Responsibilities 
4. Discover High Need and Stress Responses 
5. Identify Conflict with Team Members and Constructive Pathway Toward Respect 
6. Create of Growth Plan for Leveraging Strength on the Team, Greater Self Care, and Mitigating Stress Points 
7. Create a Communication Strategy for weekly Actionable Reminders Personalize to the Managers 
8. Train the Managers Towards a Coaching Mindset within their Team 
9. Transition the Disengaged to Positions Better Designed for Profile 
10. Begin with the Birkman for all new Team Members and Communicate the Culture and Coaching Mindsets within the Onboarding
11. Measure and Celebrate the Growth and Engagement within your Organization and Culture 
12. Reevaluate and Adjust for the Next 90 Days Using Real Stories of Change from the Pilot 

These 12 steps represent an approach and a investment that will yield a return of engagement. The new coaching team will have to contextualize these 12 steps for their organization.

What If?

• What would happen if every leader made a commitment to be this intentional about developing their people and teams?
• What would be the impact?
• What’s the impact if you don’t?

If you'd like to discuss creating an engagement strategy for your team let's start a conversation today. Contact russell@leadersadvance.net

A Good Coach

A Coach will help you discover your priorities, define a roadmap, then move you toward that reality.

A Good will help you pay attention to your priorities!

Coaches help draw out from the individual the best solution. A Coach may already have drawn their conclusions and perhaps possible solutions. They discipline themselves to wait to give their advice until they have discussed the possibilities with you.  Before a coach shares their insights, they ask questions like, “what do you think are your options are at this point?” Coaching often starts with an objective person who can listen in order to soundboard a variety of options. Talk through each option to a favorable conclusion. Then once a discovery, declaration, or conclusion is determined, a good coach will help guide and define an actionable plan. A coach will ask...When will you take action? What’s holding you back? What help do you need? When will you be finished? Then a good coach knows how to get your unstuck and moving! A coach will remind you what motivates you moves you!

A Great Coach will walk with you until those priorities are a reality!

Do you have an executive life coach?

Navigating Difficult Decisions...Making the Tough Call

The grit of a leader is defined by their ability to make the tough call.

King Saul faced an army of Philistines in front of him with his army behind him “quaking with fear”. They were hiding in caves, thickets, and rocks (1 Samuel 13:5-7). He was waiting for the prophet Samuel to come give guidance and prepare the offering to the Lord. The threat seemed eminent and his army was beginning scatter. He waited 7 days then the pressure was too great. In his moment of panic and compulsion he administered the priestly work of the burnt offering.

Samuel comes into the camp, as the embers are burning low, to see the King consumed with fear and desperate for the Lord’s favor. Saul took matters into his own hands. Overwhelmed with fear of the threat of defeat and disapproval of his men. Such an act of disobedience revealed the heart and character of the king. Saul did the right thing but in the wrong way. Samuel would say “you acted foolishly.” His action cost him the kingdom (13:13-15).

No leader wants to be the fool. Rather most leaders desire to act in wisdom. Yet the pressures of real life circumstance can take the wisest of leaders make them the fool. Let us not be the latter.

How do leaders make critical decisions based on unclear, uncertain, and imperfect criteria, information, and people? Consider how you’ve been impacted by both wise and unwise decision from your leaders.

It’s even greater when you consider how many decisions you have made over a lifetime both in wisdom and in other ways.

What’s a story of how you were impacted by an employer’s unwise decision?

For our segment today, we'll be talking about the leader's discipline of making the tough call and navigating difficult decisions. The context of this segment comes from a series of coaching conversations with leaders navigating some very difficult decisions.  We’ll focus on one in particular.

A few weeks ago, I went on a hike with John, who's an international leader on the executive team at a major Christian nonprofit. John provides leadership and oversight for two-thirds of the organization’s 3,000 team members.                   

Recently, their local newspaper reported that they would be laying off some of its staff. It was a setback that led to some confusion, because the organization had a track record of consistent growth. When I talked with John about the leadership decisions that were required, that ultimately led to the layoffs, he shared with me that the shifts in the value of the U.S. dollar had diminished the value of a significant portion of their donations, much of which came from foreign currencies. When you look at their overall revenues as an organization, the international portion represents a significant amount of money.

The net result was a significant impact on the overall budget that could not be foreseen. While people were continuing to give as they had before, the value of their giving had been impacted by the value of their currencies against the US dollar. What was the leadership team to do?

The challenge of management is always striking a delicate balance between resources and mission. Leading through a time of diminished resources brought a number of tensions to the fore. Were they going to take across the board cuts against established budgets? Should they slow down the critical work of their mission by taking on fewer targeted beneficiaries? Would they take from reserves set aside for times of crisis? Should they reduce support staff which would surely impact the work going on in the field?

They ultimately decided to evaluate systems, processes, and people that were underperforming and impacting the performance of the rest of the organization. Perhaps this was an opportunity to, not only reduce costs, but at the same time improve their overall performance as an organization. In hindsight several months later, the difficult decision of eliminating some staff positions, addressing some performance and cultural behavior challenges, combined with completing a process review across the board ultimately led to an organization wide improvement of overall efficiencies and health. There is no assurance of timing for another currency valuation cycle so long term measures needed to be implemented rather than tweaking here and there to institute temporary fixes to just get us through the next few months.

What had the potential to create an apathy within the organization, in fact, energized both the leadership team and the organization helping them to develop healthier culture and behavior patterns. The communication and execution of that transformation could be the topic of additional case studies, but for today, let’s deal with the issues of identifying and dealing with issues that threaten the life of those organizations we are charged with leading.

As a leader, what are the disciplines that help you navigate difficult decisions? How do you make the tough call in the midst of uncertainty?

 

Given the facts that you have, if you were in the position of John and his compatriots on the leadership team, how would you have navigated such a difficult decision?

 

Discover Your Life Purpose! 8 Circles, 7?s, and 1 Change for the Year!

During 2011 I was in a significant career transition. There was a gap in my daily working reality and my passion to influence leaders. I felt the ache from the inside out. I knew something had to change, but that gap seemed impossible to bridge.

I was trying to do the right thing by working my job to pay the bills yet feeling like I was meant for something more... Maybe you can relate? How could I transition from a career, an industry, and a business that I operated for 15 years? The simple answer...Discovering Clarity, Calling, and Coaching into my purpose.

Sounds simplistic but the process required more courage and personal growth than any other time in my life. I'm grateful that I had some amazing people speaking into me and encouraging me to move forward. During that time a statement emerged that today reflects my purpose for coaching with leaders.

Moving Leaders from Inspiration to Impact in their areas of Influence

Discerning, defining, and acting on your life purpose can be overwhelming without help. Here's a great tool to simplify the complexity of capturing and communicating your life purpose. Many leaders I coach are clear on defining their circles yet after some discussion they discover quickly they don't often align. Maybe it's time to recalibrate. Maybe you don't need a massive career move like I experienced but you may need to make some adjustments.

7 Questions!

1. Do you love what you do? What do you love to do?

2. Can you define the gap?

3. Where does your Passion, Mission, Occupation, and Vocation intersect?

4. How do your Character, Abilities, and Compassion intersect?

5. What makes you feel alive doing what you love that meets a need in another person's life?

6. Who are the people in your circles to help you align your purpose?

7. What changes need to happen?

Take some reflective time to answer these 7 questions and define these 8 circles. Start with using words or phrases to keep it simple. You may find some categories easier to define. I encourage you to press into the areas that may be a challenge. You may need feedback from friends and family. After you have defined these areas now identify the gaps. Brainstorm on some ways to bring your circles together.

Make One Change!

If these circles don't connect for prolonged seasons it leads to stress, fatigue, and often burnout. You risk losing your joy and zest for life. If you've felt some of these symptoms in the last year I encourage you to act on your discovery. Creating a plan to move towards alignment. Start today with a commitment for one Change on your calendar that you can act on your purpose.

If you need help, find a trusted friend, coach, or mentor to get you moving! As you move forward in clarity and change I'd love to hear your progress in the comments below! Enjoy the discovery!

Your change may inspire others to do the same!

Coaching in the Crossroads

Maybe you are at a crossroads today! As I coach with leaders I've noticed intersections that are continual challenges. Here’s what I've observed, there are 5 coaching categories that identify the needs for most leaders. See if any or all represent where you find yourself today.

1. Stuck In Your Own Head - Leaders Have Blind Spots and Need a Fresh Perspective
2. Stretched Thin and Stressed Out - Preventing Burnout, Evaluating Commitments, and Righting Wrongs
3. Strategic Soundboarding - Processing Big Ideas in an Safe and Objective Environment
4. Sustainable, Scalable or Saleable - Plan and Position Your Business for Growth
5. Succession - Knowing When it's Time for a Change of Leadership

Bonus - Sanity of Support - You've Hit a Leadership Ceiling. You’re Experiencing the Insanity of Doing Same Thing with the Same Team Expecting a Different Result. Stop Spinning!

Look at the list again. Now, take a quick inventory on a scale of 1-5. 1 if you’re good or 5 if you need help now! Each of these areas may represent a significant pain, potential, or priority to you. How you are navigating through the issues may be influencing other areas of your life. Here’s another list that I have found as 5 primary talking points for coaching my clients:

1. Habits (Practices and Disciplines)
2. Health (Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual)
3. Time (Organization, Productivity, Recreation, Free)
4. Money (Income, Spending, Debt, Investments, Retirement)
5. Relationships (Family, Friendships, Church, Community, Work)

A mature leader will know when they are at a crossroads. These are defining moments that require an honest assessment of reality, objective counsel, and trusted friends. Every leader faces one of these intersections on their journey.What kind of help do you need today to navigate your next decision?

Stimulating Curiosity

Colorado is my home. It's the land of many colors.

Sunrises and big vistas inspire us with brilliant color. Color brings light, scope, and perspective to life. Color opens the eyes, the senses, even stirs the heart. Like the color in a breathtaking landscape so can it be with a colorful conversation in relationships...certainly among family and good friends but also in your work life as well.

If we're honest, many of our daily interactions have faded to grey. It's business as usual, predictable, and bottom line. Even in our meetings or worse team retreats they can feel almost black and white.

Curiosity stirs creativity, creativity stimulates interests, interests spark inspiration, inspiration ignites ideas, ideas fire conversation, and conversation spurs relationships. Then teams mature, culture grows, organizations move, customers join, products distribute, services deliver, profits yield, and curiosity impacts a market and society.

What's the cost of color? Maybe it's time to stimulate some curiosity. Bring some creative color to your work life. Let us know if we can help stimulate the conversation.

Join the Advance! Moving Missional Leaders Forward!