clarity

I missed a meeting on Wednesday.  It's not that I forgot about it; I had a gathering of College of Business students that had been set up for three weeks and this meeting had been set up for two weeks.  It was supposed to be a 10-minute check-in meeting with the team of which I am a part...and the meeting went for 45 minutes and included a major announcement that affected us, our budgets, our programs, and our people.  And I missed it.

I checked in quickly with one of my colleagues...I then checked in with another colleague...and then checked in with another colleague - and each time heard a different story.  By the time I checked in with a fourth colleague, I knew two things: 1) I had most of the information I needed now that I had talked with four different people; and 2) I still wasn't sure what the message was and what we really were supposed to do.  UGH!  And all this after our team went through Patrick Lencioni's new book The Advantage which emphasizes over and over again the need for CLARITY.  In fact, the book has three chapters that are entitled create clarity, over-communicate clarity, and reinforce clarity.  Double UGH!

For me, the questions were two fold: first, did we all know exactly what it was we were supposed to do (the short answer is NO); and secondly, would we all communicate the same message to our teams (again, the answer was NO).  Let me think out loud here about how to best get clarity in a team...However, before I provide my regular list, let me state that the issue of clarity does not lie only with the team leader (though it is her responsibility that it finally happens).  Team members need to ASK for clarity if it is not provided by the leader - and they need to take on the responsibility of ensuring that they all have the same message and deliver the same message.  So read this list through the eyes of one who leads a team...and one who participates in a team.  Here goes (and of course these are in no particular order):

1. Take the time prior to the meeting to think through the message that needs to be communicated, even to the point of writing it out.  Putting words on paper and distributing that paper ensures that everyone sees the same message (how they deliver it is another issue).
2. Write ideas and thoughts up on the board so that everyone sees what verbiage begins to stand out.  Let those be the words that guide the communication across the organization.
3. Check with the team and ask if they all understand what is to be done or said - it might not even hurt to ask them to repeat it out loud.
4. Use a checklist - there is no shame in writing things down (what you are going to say...what needs to be accomplished...who needs to do what).  People who brag about keeping everything in their heads probably aren't taking in enough information on a daily basis.
5. Ask the team if it is clear to them what they are supposed to do. Just because you understand it does not mean that the rest of the team understands it.
6. Do not rely on one form of communication   If you said it in a meeting, follow up with an email.  If you sent it out in an email, follow up with a meeting.  Walking around from office to office and seeing if the individual members of the team understood what they were supposed to do would accomplish many things.
7. Don't be afraid to say "I do not understand."  And that's true for the team leader as well as the other team members.
8. Be authentic, direct, and relevant (this courtesy of Patrick Lencioni).  The more important the message, the more need there is to be this way.  
9. Be sure that you as a TEAM have agreed to what the message will be and ensure each other that you will do what you said you will do.

The above list seems very basic, but we all know that confusion around poor communication happens all the time.  Take some time today and this week to consider whether or not you are creating CLARITY or CONFUSION...and take the steps necessary to get better at this.  Not only will your team love you for making this happen, you life as a leader will be much easier in the long run.

the power of ignorance

Ignorance is defined in the dictionary as having a lack of knowledge, education, or awareness.  If that is the case, then I was the epitome of ignorance at a meeting I recently led...and came out the better for it.  Yesterday I began my role as Chair of the Board for Austin ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition).  I have served on the Board for about 18 months (we are a newly formed 501c3 in town) and I accepted a position on the Board because I have a heart and passion for serving the homeless.  Little did I know that I would be asked to be vice-chair and then assume the role of Chair 18 months later.  As I ran the meeting yesterday, listening to those on the Board who have been involved in this issue for years...who are connected to city politicians...who live in and understand the pulse of Austin...I quickly realized (as I have known for a while) that they all knew more than I did.  So what else could I do but shut up and listen...and as Chair of the Board keep everyone on track as much as possible.  I gotta tell you - the meeting went really well.  We dialogued...we learned...we made decisions...we moved the organization forward...we walked out with a plan for action.  I felt really good about the meeting.

Fast forward several hours to a faculty meeting of the College of Business which I also was leading.  The first topic was about teaching, practicing, and assessing skills to prepare our students for the workplace.  I know a lot about this subject - I read about it, I do it in my classroom, I talk with others about it...in fact, I'm pretty good at it.  The meeting was a disaster!  And you know why?  Because I believed I was an expert and talked too much.  I truly believe that the meeting would have gone better if I would have been more ignorant of the subject matter.

So what did I learn?  I'm not yet convinced that ignorance is bliss, but I am convinced that the less I talk and the more I allow others to talk so I can learn from them is a good thing - especially when running meetings.  I think it was the Apostle Paul who wrote something about how knowledge puffs up - and love builds up.  So I am going to continue to learn (one of my natural ways of being) and maybe even become an expert in some fields (especially ending homelessness). And when I become the expert, I will continue to act as if I am ignorant, allowing others to bring their knowledge to the table.  When that happens, I think I will be happier...I think others will be happier...and I think (no, I know) that more will get accomplished for the greater good.

colleagues

I like to talk about collegiality - the art being collegial with ones colleagues.  But what does that really mean? and why are colleagues so important?  The Free Online Dictionary just told me that the term "colleague" refers to people who work together in the same profession - no duh!  The term comes from the French where it refers to people who are chosen together - as if they were picked at the same time to be on the same team.  I think that may begin to put some more meat on the bones of this term...but let me try to take it a little bit deeper.

When I consider the term "colleague" I think more about the type of relationship that is built between the people who are chosen to be on the same team. This is not just someone who works with me...this is someone who works WITH me - and whom I work WITH.  To have a colleague is to have a trusted partner - one who is willing to work hard to accomplish the task to which all of us are called together.  This is a person who has similar goals...similar outlooks on life...similar aspirations...similar views of the world...and a similar work ethic.  This is someone who respects me...who respects other team members...who respects the mission of the institution...and who respects the idea of what it means to be a team.  This person is willing to sacrifice self for the team...is willing to be open and honest...is willing to do the hard work needed...is willing to stand up for what is right...is willing to speak truth to power...is willing to take a bullet for the team (and other team members).

All that being said, I also believe a great colleague is one who is a strong individual...who has a strong opinion and is willing to share it...who stands up for what they believe is right...who is striving to move ahead in their lives...who wants to be recognized for their hard work...who sees the world different from me...who has different goals than me...who is a maverick...who is an innovator...who is ahead of the curve...who believes there is more to the world than just this one institution...who has a global vision...who can sometimes even be a pain to the rest of the group.

And finally, I believe that a great colleague is one who is able to recognize the paradox of what it means to be a great colleague and, when slipping on either side of the slope, is willing to ask for forgiveness from the team; and also, in recognizing that paradox, is able to render forgiveness to me when I slip on either side of the slope.  Maybe that's the key to collegiality...that the art of being collegial with colleagues is the art of giving and receiving forgiveness...over and over again.

re-framing touchy-feely

Last week I wrote about my team, The Provost's Council, having been through a retreat and beginning the task of building ourselves as a team...and the risks involved in becoming a strong team.  Part 2 of that retreat happened this past Wednesday when we shared with each other behaviors everyone did to improve the team's performance and behaviors everyone did to derail the team's performance.  It was not an easy exercise...but seemed to be incredibly beneficial to the team.  I was sharing this exercise with someone and they made the comment that the team on which they serve aren't into those type of "touch-feely" exercises.  I immediately felt a little bit defensive and asked the question, "What other term could we use rather than touchy-feely?"  Similar to the idea of "soft skills," touchy-feely has an incredibly negative connotation and many people (and teams) would see anything consisting of touchy-feely as a waste of time.  The exercise we as a team went through this past Wednesday was nothing close to a waste of time...nor was it easy and soft...nor was it something one does when they have nothing else to do...and it was certainly not (at least in the accepted sense of the term) touchy-feely.  It took time...it took hard work...it took courage...it took humility...and it took strength and will.  I don't think any of those terms are (or should be) associated with touchy-feely.

So how might we re-frame the phrase "touch-feely when exercises or events we do as a team?  Here are some random thoughts off the top of my head:

• team building
• encouragement
• strength building
• bonding
• soul searching
• exposing the dark side
• persona completing
• relationship strengthening
• leadership capacity
• self awareness
• building team awareness

The next time I hear someone say to me that they do not like to or need to engage in touch-feely exercises in their team, my arsenal of replies will include:

• "so you don't want to use all of the tools available to your team to make it better?"
• "so optimum team performance is not important to you?"
• "so everyone on the team is fully developed as a leader?"
• "so the team is self-aware enough to monitor when it makes good and bad decisions?"
• "so you would rather have a team that is less encouraging of one another than it can be?"
• "so you don't want to build the leadership capacity of the team?"
• "so you believe that everyone on the team is always making decisions from the purest motives possible?"
• "so don't you want your team to be better tomorrow than it is today?"

If you have the need to keep using the term touchy-feely, I suppose that's okay.  Just be sure to say it in such a way that it exudes a positive connotation for team building...which leads to a better functioning team...which leads to a team getting more accomplished...which leads to a fuller living out of the organization's mission...which leads to healthier communities and a better world.  I don't know about you, but if The Provost's Council begins to function at the level we all believe it can as a result of the exercises we have been going through, then I'm all for touchy-feely...whatever that might mean!

the risk of team

Last Friday, the team of which I am a member (officially entitled The Provost's Council) went on a retreat to build ourselves as a team.  We brought on Jim Blanchard of Strategic Positioning to function as a facilitator and used The Birkman Profile as a tool as well as concepts and ideas from Patrick Lencioni's newest book The Advantage. Special thanks and a shout-out to our teammate Tammy Stewart for allowing us to gather at her family's cabin on Lake Travis.  For many people, this type of setting and exercise is a bore and a dread.  Having to get all "soft and fuzzy" drives some individuals crazy.  I happen to like the setting once it gets going - but there is always some fear and trepidation in me as I am driving to the event...mostly because I never quite know where it is going to go.  You see, there's always that moment in these settings when each person has to decide whether or not to TAKE THE RISK to either tell about themselves or comment on someone else.  So the question we have to ask - and answer - is whether or not it is worth the risk to build the team...and then whether or not building the team is worth the risk.

A couple of reasons on why its RISKY to work on the aspect of building a team:

• you have to be vulnerable
• you have to allow others to be vulnerable
• you have to hold yourself accountable
• you have to hold your teammates accountable
• you have to hold your boss accountable (assuming he or she is a member of the team)
• you have to listen to other's comments about what you add to the team
• you have to listen to other's comments about how you distract from the team
• you have to tell others what they add to the team
• you have to tell others how they distract from the team
• you have to be willing to take the fall as a team
• you have to put on your team hat and remove your position hat

You will notice that the above list has a lot of "you have to" in it...I am never a fan of being told I have to do something, so my caveat here is that I suppose you can choose not to do these things - and there is a RISK associated with that decision as well.  It will be interesting watching whether or not everyone on The Provost's Council chooses to engage in the "have to's" or not over time.  My belief is that the more everyone on the team engages in these behaviors, the faster the team will function better...and a better functioning the team, the more that gets accomplished...and the more that gets accomplished, the better the mission is served...and the better the mission is served, the more healthy our communities are.  At the end of the day, if I believe in the mission of my institution, the more I have to take the responsibility to engage in behaviors that will lead to a stronger and more fully functioning team.  I'm ready to take the risk...are you?

what don't you know about yourself?

Yesterday in class I gave my students the opportunity to assess the course - what they learned, how the different tools impacted their learning, and what they most liked/disliked about the course as a whole.  The final question I always ask on these course evaluations is "What should the instructor know about himself that he might not know?"  This always gives me a chance to talk about the Johari Window and help students better understand the need for reflection and feedback.  While most students are very kind, there are always a few students that point out things that give me pause to think and reflect on what I do, whether it be how I conduct myself in class, how my clothes look on me ("your tie always shifts to the left") or how I am perceived by different types of students.
For me, this is an important question from which I can learn - and an important question from which my students can also learn.  Having to reflect on the an aspect of someone else's life that may not be known to them - and then having to write that down - helps one critically look at and think about their own life.  My students have to decide whether or not what they see in my (especially that which is hidden from me) is of value enough to them to put on paper and let me know.  They are questioning their own values and beliefs and then putting words to them in a way that I will need to understand (I have to remember that a lot of what the answers to this question tell me is as much about the student as it is about me). I also believe that through having to think about and answer this question my students learn  how to ask for and accept feedback.

Now comes the hard part - am I willing to listen to and accept what my students tell me about myself that I might not yet know?  Two examples of what I am wrestling with based on yesterday's feedback:

1. Over the past several semesters, more and more students keep telling me that I do not recognize the amount of influence and impact I have on students (I think they mean that in a positive sense) - and truthfully, I don't recognize that impact...I do what I do in a passionate manner because that's who I am. That being said, when one knows they have that type of influence, how will they use it?  My current definition of leadership includes the phrase "stewarding the power given to one to influence others towards a goal that impacts the common good."  I am wrestling with how to best use that influence to make an even bigger impact on those who study and learn with me.
2. I ask a lot of questions in my classes, probing deeply with students to get at the heart of an answer.  I will often put students on the spot, sometimes having them stand to share their answers; I believe this is good practice in getting them comfortable speaking in front of a group.  I always get feedback from a few students (this semester was no exception) that my technique of asking questions embarrasses some students and makes them afraid.  I really wrestle with this, wanting to create a safe classroom for all and working to move students to the next level of their thinking and building their competency of speaking in public.

All that being said, here is what I would say to all leaders:

• provide opportunity for those around you to give you feedback on those areas in which you might not know about yourself - you will learn and they will feel heard
• be courageous enough to hear that feedback and consider what might need to be changed (remember that what you are hearing is also them telling you about them)
• let others know what you heard and how you have changed as a result of their feedback (I always start every new course by going over feedback from the previous class)
• encourage your team to do this with each other by giving them a venue and a tool in which to do so
• embrace the opportunity for feedback - when people come to me and tell me something they appreciate about me, I will often ask them WHY they appreciate that - it gives me a chance to learn more about myself and about that person
• tell your best people that you NEED them to give you honest feedback on a regular basis, especially on those items of which you are not aware

That's all for today...we head into finals next week so everyone is busy writing finals, studying for finals, and then grading finals.  So you may or may not hear from me over the next few weeks, but I will be looking at the world through leadership lenses, hoping to find more and more ways to THINK ABOUT LEADERSHIP for 2013...

are you prepared for losing your job?

This past Monday I had the privilege to address a group of close to 100 people at the Austin Job Seekers Network, a ministry of Hill Country Bible Church.  Led by former Dell executive Craig Foster, this group of men and women meet every Monday hearing from inspirational speakers and learning skills to employ in their search for the next position.  Being in between jobs - at any age - cannot be any easy thing.  I have a new appreciation - and a profound respect - for these people who wake up every morning wondering if "today will be the day."
One of the things that stayed gnawing at my brain through the rest of the day was how I spend my time - day in and day out - thinking of ways to better prepare my students for their careers and callings, whether it be their first job out of college or to improve their standing in their current positions; and how I probably never think about what I need to do for my students to prepare them for when they lose their job.  As I pondered this issue, I came up with a list of things I would teach in a new course entitled, "Getting Ready for Unemployment" (not sure it would be a highly enrolled course).  Here are my ideas, that I am sure all of us can use...just in case:

• start building your network NOW, and keep it fresh - remember its just now who you know, but really who knows you. Get in front of the right people; start meeting with people today;  and don't lose touch with some of the more important people in your Rolodex
• learn to use social networking - I have seen more and more people using LinkedIn and Twitter to make connections and find positions. Find your sweet spot in the massive world of social networking and start using it on a regular basis
• get comfortable talking with people - that first interview is critical if you want to be considered for a call back.  Practice, practice, practice this skill...it does not necessarily come easily
• start saving today - having a backup of cash will allow you to not panic in the search process and help everyone on your family be a little more relaxed
• develop resiliency - the road to finding another job can be long and hard.  Being patient; being able to deal with rejection; and staying the course are all a part of the job search
• learn how to ask for help - for those of us who have been successful in life, this can be very difficult.  The cult of the "self-made person" permeates our culture and keeps us from being the best we can be.  Start NOW asking for help so when you are a little more in need, it is not so difficult to do so
• believe in the power of hope - this is not an "I wish it would happen" hope but a powerful hope that believes in the possibilities of the future.  For me, that hope lays in my faith and the understanding that there is a God who loves and cares for me.  Hope gets people through really hard times
• become comfortable with the human condition - instead of blaming yourself or others for tough times, understand that "life happens" and no one in particular has it out for you.  It's not karma; it's not something you did or didn't do; it's not that God has it out for you...sometimes life happens to you and to me - and we have to live through it.
• build a killer resume - find a great resume writer, build a powerful document that highlights everything great about you, and then keep it up to date.

I learned a lot by being with this great group of people, but by far the greatest lesson I took away from my time a the Job Seekers Network was that when people in need come together around a common purpose, great things can happen.  Watching them support one another...watching them cheer one another on...watching them struggle together...and watching them just BE together gave me hope - hope for each of them, hope for myself, and hope that this community knows how to care for its people.