One of the most interesting findings was that great managers share the following beliefs.

• People don’t change much.
• Don’t waste time trying to put in what was left out.
• Try to draw out what was left in.
• That is hard enough.

After reflecting a bit, these seemed true enough, and yet they gnawed at something deep inside of me. Maybe it was my save the world mentality. Perhaps it was my version of the American dream. Whatever it was, these ideas challenged my belief that people can learn and do whatever they put their minds to.

It was after some time that I realized these ideas aren’t about what people can do, but rather about what people choose to do. People can change; they just don’t most of the time. Maybe that’s why I so enjoy stories of people who do transform themselves against long odds.

This insight raises an interesting question about the role of a manager. Is it to develop employees or is about helping people discover their gifts, talents, preferences, etc. and then finding a good match for them? It’s probably a little of both.

For many problems and with many managers, there isn’t a lack of information. They are amply equipped with more than enough theories, processes, tools, principles, techniques, and reference guides to deal with the situation. And yet they don’t. The challenge isn’t in providing more know-how. It’s inspiring people to apply what they’ve already learned.

Here’s an example. I offer a workshop on meeting facilitation skills. In it I describe all the best practices that effective meeting facilitators use to create positive results. People shake their heads in agreement. Many of the ideas they tell me they already knew. And yet, they fess up that they don’t use these techniques, and many of their meetings go off the tracks. Why? The usual suspects are lack of time, support and self-discipline.

So what’s the right question? For most of us there are two questions.

1. Why don’t I use what I’ve learned?
2. What would help me start using what I know?

While these questions are primarily meant for work, they apply in other aspects of our lives too. Is there anyone trying to lose weight that doesn’t know the secret is decreasing calories and increasing exercise? If we already know this, why do we keep pursuing the next “big idea” in weight loss? Again, lack of information isn’t the problem.

I don’t pretend to know the answers to the two questions I’ve posed. Perhaps I can start by working on myself. If you think these questions are worth answering, ask them now. And when you’ve discovered (or perhaps already have) something worth sharing, I hope you will add your insights in the comments below.

Photo by CarbonNYC

Once a friend interviewed me for a school project. His assignment was to talk with someone who was self-employed. My answers to his questions were supposed to help him understand the world of an entrepreneur. An unintended consequence was that in considering my responses to him, I gained new insights about myself.

At the end of the interview, he asked me what I’ve learned from being out on my own. I wanted to provide him with something important and meaningful, perhaps even profound. At first, all I could come up with was nuts and bolts things that most people quickly figure out after going into business for themselves. And then an idea began taking shape in the back of my mind. It grew clearer and clearer until finally I could share it with him.

I told him I learned to create my own definition of success. For me this had been difficult to do because I had focused on traditional success stories that I read of in business publications. The definitions were pretty consistent. The successful business person…

• Works hard and long.
• Grows the business aggressively.
• Makes sacrifices and does “whatever it takes.”
• Has single-minded determination.

The problem with this list was that it didn’t fit my values. This left me with two choices: Accept failure or create my own definition. I chose the latter. It’s a work in progress, but I believe my success is defined something like this…

• Add value.
• Enjoy what I do.
• Keep learning and growing.
• Stay healthy.
• Be a positive influence on those around me.

While this list will likely continue to change, one thing will not. Whatever I put on it will be my idea of success and not someone else’s.

Have you ever noticed how quickly a baby learns? It’s phenomenal, especially when considering how long it takes to learn something new as an adult. How come babies learn so quickly? Here are two possibilities. 1) Everything is new to babies. 2) Babies don’t look at the world through the filter of previous experience.

Try to remember a time when you learned something important. What were you doing and how did you feel just prior to the “big aha?” It’s likely you were doing something new and challenging when you made your discovery.

If you want to learn as quickly as a baby learns, put yourself in a baby’s environment. Find a place where you’re not the expert. Put yourself in situations where you don’t know the language, don’t know the rules, haven’t created any filters, and can’t seem to do anything right. In this type of environment, learning will come quickly and easily. You’ll have no choice.

Need ideas?  Take a trip to a foreign country. Wander on down to visit with the folks in IT. The Legal Department might provide a similar experience. For me, a trip to the fabric store with my wife would provide a sufficient challenge. It’s all about getting uncomfortable. If you can’t think of where that might occur, just start wandering aimlessly. You’ll know it when you feel it. Then you just need to stop, experience, and starting learning.

Last week I went to an organization that requested a one-hour workshop on resiliency. It was promoted inside the company as a short, lunch-time seminar for anyone who was interested.

This topic has been very popular as of late. With a rash of downsizing, salary cuts, hiring freezes, re-orgs, and process changes; employees tell me they are pretty stressed right now.

Besides the HR person who booked it, only five signed up for the workshop. Of those, only one other person showed up. The three of us had a fun and meaningful conversation on the topic. I quite enjoyed myself and believe the other two found the workshop to be a valuable use of their time.

Following the session the HR manager and I were scratching our heads, trying to figure out the reason for such low attendance at this workshop and others like it that have been offered during the past couple years.

Since I’ve been reflecting on this problem, I thought other leaders with training responsibilities might be interested in a list of the possibilities. Can’t say which apply within this organization or yours, but I bet many of the following problems contributed to the low attendance.

1. Poor publicity.
2. Everyone is too busy.
3. Everyone thinks he or she is too busy.
4. Everyone wants to be perceived by others (especially the boss) as too busy.
5. No encouragement from managers to attend.
6. Training is considered a perk rather than a necessity.
7. People believe they already know everything they need for their jobs.
8. History of boring, poorly delivered workshops.
9. Topic isn’t obviously relevant.
10. Offered on employee’s free time (i.e. lunch hour).
11. Scheduled at bad times of the month or bad times of the day.
12. Everyone’s afraid that attending is a sign of weakness or deficiency.
13. No incentive for attending.
14. Fire-fighting culture that doesn’t value prevention.
15. Leadership has strong bias for short-term results.
16. Isn’t mandatory.

That’s all the ideas I can come up with. What would you add to the list? And more importantly, what have you done to overcome some of these?

Photo by Max Wolfe

• inspire results, rather than try to force them?
• prevent problems, instead of always just reacting to them?
• look for and implement better ways of getting things done?
• model courageousness, helping others follow their example?
• develop the people around them, strengthening the organization?

Leadership isn’t defined by salary, size of office, or title on a business card. It’s defined by one’s ability to make things happen through others.

In today’s complex organizations, where work is as likely to be accomplished in project teams as it is through traditional workgroups, leadership has become a highly valued but often scarce resource. An organization’s success depends on its ability to discover and nurture leadership potential in every part of the organization.

Since 1998, LaForce Teamwork Services has offered a program called The Leadership Expedition, tailored to meet the needs of emerging leaders. These may be people who have been recently promoted. It could be a new project manager. It might be somebody who already demonstrates outstanding leadership qualities.

The Leadership Expedition takes participants on a journey to explore the meaning of leadership in their lives. The major goal is to help participants uncover answers to four key leadership questions:

• What’s good leadership look like?
• How do my leadership skills compare to those found in outstanding leaders?
• What kind of leader do I want to be?
• What will I need to do to become the kind of leader I want to be?

The Leadership Expedition is a series of six hour sessions spread over seven months. The participants meet with the facilitator every other month. Between meetings, they work on individual and group projects.

The group project gives participants the perfect opportunity to try out the new leadership concepts they’ve been exploring. The project typically takes the group 2-3 months to complete. If successful, the group learns a lot more about leadership and the organization benefits from the project’s outcome.

By the end of the journey, the participants will have explored the meaning of leadership, had a taste of leadership, and been left with a desire to undertake another leadership expedition on their own.

Want to discuss developing emerging leaders in your organization, click on the contact tab and let’s talk.

Parents often ask their children, “What did you learn in school today?” It might be interesting if your children responded with, “Gee Mom/Dad, we’d rather hear what you learned at work today.” How would you respond?

Sometimes it seems like learning is only something children and teens do during the school years. Not anymore. Life throws many changes at us. If we don’t keep learning, we quickly fall behind.

For example, suppose computer skills weren’t taught when you were in school. Now computers not only play an important role in education, they touch every aspect of our lives. So what do you do? You have two choices. You can either accept the fact that you don’t understand computers or you can start learning now.

Continuous learning doesn’t have to involve a lot of extra effort. Many important lessons aren’t learned in the classroom. They can be found in your daily routine. The trick is recognizing and applying them. If you want to be a life long learner, you might begin by asking yourself, “What did I learn today?” each night before bed. You are probably learning more than you realize.

Photo by krossbow