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Developing Leadership Grit (Part 4) Tenacity or Tension

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

  • Dictionary.com

Tenacious people don’t rely on luck, fate, or destiny for their success. And when conditions become difficult, they keep working. – John Maxwell

Pablo Casals was considered the greatest cellist to ever live. When he was 95 years old he was asked why he continued to practice 6 hours a day. He replied, “Because I think I’m making progress.” 

Be it an accomplished cellist like Casals or any other person who mastered his or her craft, it requires a higher standard of grit to go there. 

Baseball great Ted Williams was known as a “natural hitter”. Once when he was asked about this natural ability, he responded, “There is no such thing as a natural-born hitter. I became a good hitter because I paid the price of constant practice, constant practice.” And herein lies the difference between those excel in their craft and those who remain stagnant and get left behind. It’s tenacity. It’s grit.

One way this grit can be explained comes from the ten thousand hour rule from Malcolm Gladwell. He spelled it out in his book Outliers. The jest of the rule is this: it takes ten thousand hours of intense practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials.

While some have attempted to debunk Gladwell’s ten thousand hour rule, the underlying application is that the secret to success in any endeavor is an unparalleled degree of tenacity to achieve it. Grit is the common denominator.

In this fourth and final installment of developing leadership grit, allow me to recap the leadership grit principles presented thus far:

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give up or Grow – Your leadership will have moments of testing. And ultimately it will be your indomitable spirit and grit that will get you through the tests of leadership that you will face.

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Resilience or Retreat – Through grit, we develop and grow as leaders. When we join forces with others, we share the load. Your journey is not meant to be traveled alone.

Leadership Grit Principle # 3 – Ingenuity or Insignificance – Grit survives and thrives with ingenuity. We must play the long game and be open to change and new ways of doing things.

And now, the final principle in this series. 

Leadership Grit Principe # 4 – Tenacity or Tension

In the end, you will either set your course as a leader with tenacity or you will live in the tension of unrealized potential. 

Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” And this is often the source of tension and frustration with many leaders. They start strong but they don’t finish. The task is left undone. The dream never materializes. And this happened not because they lacked intelligence, talent, or necessary skills. It happened because they lacked grit. 

Developing grit goes hand in hand with finding your passion. People who are passionate about their work and life’s calling tend to be grittier. They know the cost and are more willing to pay the price for their success. Let’s face it – it’s hard to be tenacious about things we don’t care about. 

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, grit is the difference-maker between those who thrive and those who get by. Grit will take you further than intelligence alone. Grit is a game-changing secret weapon that will take your leadership to a new level. 

It’s time to get gritty.

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

Resource:

To learn more about the power of grit, I would encourage you to order and read this book by Angela Duckworth.

Click here to order your copy on Amazon

Developing Leadership Grit (Part 3) Ingenuity or Insignificance

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

  • Dictionary.com

Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another. – Angela Duckworth

As with many innovations, the originator of 3M’s sticky yellow Post-its didn’t know what he had at first. Researcher Spence Silver was curious about what would happen if he mixed an unusual amount of monomer into a polymer-based adhesive he was working on. The result was an adhesive that would “tack” one piece of paper to another and even restick, without leaving any residue on the second piece of paper.

The company had no use for the adhesive until 3M chemist Arthur Fry began having problems in the choir loft. The slips of paper he used to mark pages in his hymnal often fluttered to the floor, leaving him frantically searching for his place. Then he remembered Silver’s adhesive. Fry’s better bookmark soon metamorphosed into the handy Post-its that have become fixtures in offices and homes around the world.

Today, 3M is valued at more than $100 billion dollars and I’m sure Post-its is one of the main reasons why.

Throughout this series Leadership Grit, we’ve looked at how grit separates lasting leaders from those who are like shooting stars- brightly on the scene for a while before they burn out. Grit is the difference-maker.

Before diving into the new leadership grit principle, let’s recap what’s been presented to this point:

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give Up or Grow Up

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Resilience or Retreat

As you develop your leadership grit you will be faced with those choices. Developing grit is a process and is something you develop over time. So let’s take a look at our next principle.


Leadership Grit Principle # 3 – Ingenuity or Insignificance

The Post-it note was developed in part by an act of ingenuity. It had been tinkered around with inside the company in the beginning, but it was the ingenuity of one of its researchers – in attempting to solve a problem, that put the idea for the Post-it over the top as a successful marketable product.

Post-it notes were not the only invention that was stumbled into by accident. Did you know that penicillin, the slinky, corn flakes, Teflon, and popsicles are among numerous inventions that were created by accident? 

 

As it pertains to the role of grit in your leadership or in any other venture, ingenuity or creativity is essential. Being able to look at things in a new way or light is crucial to your success. Click To Tweet

 

Angela Duckworth is perhaps the leading voice on the topic of grit. In her acclaimed book, Grit – The Power of Passion and Perseverance, she states, “ When you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them. When you stop searching, assuming they can’t be found, you guarantee they won.”

You are never more than one moment of creativity away from an idea or solution that can completely change your course for the better. But those moments will never come for you if you give up. Grit in leadership is digging deep and sticking with it even when others have long since given up. 

A best practice for developing grit is to play the long game. Be open to searching for new or different solutions to the challenges you face. Harness the power of a shared grit mindset that pulls together the best and brightest around you. It’s important that as a leader you have a grit mentality, but it shouldn’t operate in a vacuum. 

Grit survives and thrives with ingenuity. Without it, it can lead to insignificance. As Duckworth says, “Without effort, your skill is nothing more than what you could have done, but didn’t”. Grit will require effort, but it will always be worth the effort.

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

 

Developing Leadership Grit (Part 2): Resilience or Retreat

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

  • Dictionary.com

It always seems impossible before its done – Nelson Mandela

As an aspiring young writer, she was just six years old when she wrote her first book. It was a story about a rabbit. Her first novel came along at the age of eleven about seven cursed diamonds and the people who owned them.

As a divorced single mom, she was once so poor that she relied on welfare to make ends meet. If ever there was a person with the odds stacked against them, it was her.

Yet in spite of all of the adversity and hardship she faced, she had an indomitable spirit within her. Yes, J.K. Rowling had grit.

Her Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone manuscript was rejected twelve times by the Bloomsbury London Publishers. Yes, you read that right – the book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published.

Since then, J.K. Rowling’s books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide in 80 languages. Her net worth is estimated at more than $1 billion dollars.

From humble beginnings to one of the richest women in the world, J.K. Rowling is a profile in grit. 

Rowling once said, “I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do ever- was write novels”. And it was grit, in the face of twelve rejections and a myriad of personal challenges that allowed her to do just that. Her contributions through her books instilled a love for reading in a whole generation of children and adults alike.

In your leadership, there will come a time in which you will have to face down your fears and rejections. It will take grit. Most goals and dreams require it. Click To Tweet


As I stated in the first article in this series, developing leadership grit is a growth process. My best advice? Begin with the basics. Before diving into the next principle, let me remind you of leadership grit principle # 1 – Give up or grow up. If grit teaches us anything it’s this – when adversity comes our way this our choice. We can throw in the towel and quit or grow in our leadership and face our obstacles. No one promised smooth sailing which means that sometimes grit is the best card you’re holding in your hand and if played right is all you need.

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Develop resilience or retreat

In leadership, as in life, you will have to develop resilience in order to succeed. Even then, you will have setbacks and failures- just like J. K. Rowlings who was rejected twelve times before her first book was published.

In his book, Failing Forward, John Maxwell states, “Successful people have learned to do what does not come naturally. Nothing worth achieving comes easily. The only way to fail forward and achieve your dreams is to cultivate tenacity and persistence”.  And this is one of the hallmarks of grit – doing what does not come naturally.

The challenge here is not to see resilience simply as raw emotion or willpower. Think how different your outcomes would be if you saw resilience in a broader context if attached to your life’s greater purpose. 

Would your outlook be different if you saw resilience, not as a survival mechanism but rather the life-blood of healthy relationships, mutual accountability, and a purpose greater than yourself? How do you think this would impact you as a leader? Your organization?

Here’s the key- by myself my resilience has its limits. But when joined together with like-minded people the energy is multiplied. By myself, I might have a few wins. When joined with others, I can have many.

At the end of the day, you can choose resilience or retreat. Your choice will make all the difference in the world.

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

 

Developing Leadership Grit: Give Up or Grow Up

Credit: Google Images

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

  • Dictionary.com

“Most God-ordained dreams die because we are not willing to do something that seems illogical” – Mark Batterson

“I don’t call meetings for that.” Those six words blindsided me. It was a sucker punch that I didn’t see coming. 

Those words came off the heels of what was considered by all other accounts a most successful week. I was fresh out of college and serving in the first church of my young life in ministry. Admittedly, I was green and was cutting my teeth, as it were, and had so much to learn. But at least during this week, I was killing it…or so I thought.

We had just closed out a week of festivities at the church. Parents and students alike told me that it was the best one they’ve ever had. At the close of the week, I was exhausted but feeling good about what we accomplished.

When the pastor, my boss, asked me to come by his office when I was done, I was feeling confident that he was going to congratulate me on a job well done. 

I entered his office and took a seat. I was not prepared for what came next. Everything that I had imagined it would be like in ministry and every dream attached to it would be challenged. 

My work for the sake of heaven was about to take an unexpected detour through hell. My professors didn’t prepare me for this.

For the next thirty minutes, he torched everything that he could think of and then some. Surely there was smoke coming out of his nostrils and fire on his tongue. He didn’t hold back. When the verbal beat-down was complete, he was challenged as to why he didn’t have anything positive to say about the event.

And that’s when those six words – “I don’t call meetings for that” changed everything. I sat in stunned silence. It was his prerogative to call it as he saw it, and my place to listen- as painful as it was.

As a young leader, this was my wake-up call and my first lesson in developing leadership grit.  It was my watershed moment. 

In leadership, you will have watershed moments when you have to face down your fears, overcome rejections, tune out the haters, defy the critics, do something illogical, and stand firm on the hill of your God-given dream. It will take grit. Buckle up.

In a series of articles to come, I will share stories that will challenge and inspire you- stories of grit. I first had to start with mine in hopes of inspiring you to believe that there is life on the other side of the hell you may currently be walking through.

Developing leadership grit is a growth process. My best advice? Begin with the basics.

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give up or grow up

In the aftermath of that event, I had a choice to make. Give up or grow up. And while I didn’t enjoy what I went through at the time, it awakened an indomitable spirit within me. I eventually parted ways with the pastor, but not with my dream. It was larger than him.*

While this story is uniquely mine, you may be reading it as you recall a watershed moment of your own. Others of you are going through a struggle right now. Let me encourage you to keep the faith. 

Your leadership will have its moments of testing. And ultimately, it will come down to the grit and indomitable spirit within you to get through it. In those moments, you have a choice to make- give up or grow up. Get growing!

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

*Moving forward in life (developing grit) includes an underlying tenet of my faith – forgiveness. I couldn’t be where I am today with unforgiveness in my heart toward him or anyone else.

Burnout: Is There More to it Than Meets the Eye?

 

Credit: Google Images

Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long. – Michael Gungor

A first-grader became curious because her father brought home stacks of work from the office each night. Her mother explained, “Daddy has so much to do that he can’t finish it all at the office. That’s why he has to bring work home at night.”

“Well then,” asked the child innocently, “why don’t they put him in a slower group?” 

While meant to be humorous, that story is a reflection of reality for many. The work never ends. There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get it all done. The stress is real. Burnout is inevitable. Can you relate?

But is it really the daily number of hours a day that you work that is the primary contributing factor to the source of your burnout? 

The results from a Gallup report indicate that while the number of hours people work each week does matter, burnout risks increase significantly when employees exceed 50 hours and climbing even higher after 60 hours. A foregone conclusion, right?

Would you be surprised to learn that the survey found that it wasn’t the number of hours worked that caused the burnout? It was how people experienced their workload that had a stronger influence on burnout than hours worked. 

According to the survey, engaged employees who have job flexibility tend to work more hours per week than the average employee, while reporting higher well-being. When people feel inspired, motivated, and supported in their work, they do more work and that work is significantly less on their overall health and wellbeing. 

The top five factors that correlate most highly with burnout in the Gallup survey are:

  1. Unfair treatment at work
  2. Unmanageable workload
  3. Unclear communication from managers
  4. Lack of manager support
  5. Unreasonable time pressure
Credit: Gallup

We know that burnout is real. 76% of the respondents to the survey report experiencing burnout on the job at least some time. Have you?

Leaders can make a real difference when it comes to how their people experience their work and as a result improve their personal wellbeing. Here are a few considerations.

Make the environment a priority

It’s not the work that your people shy away from. They shy away from toxic environments that hinder them. When you make the environment in which your people work a priority then you will cut down on the stress, burnout, and the other negative effects that flow from it.

Rightfully empower your people

Take a holistic approach to leading your people. There’s more to your people than their skill sets and the work that they produce. Think in terms of the whole person and seek out additional ways to serve them. When your people are empowered to work in a healthy environment and live healthier lives (mentally, physically, spiritually) they will thrive. 

Intentionally be aware

Your degree of awareness makes a difference. But unfortunately, it’s a trap many leaders fall into. Most leaders are not wired to notice warning signs of burnout and by the time they do, it can be too late. As a leader, you can better serve your people by being more proactive not just about the environment that you create but in the relationships you develop. Don’t leave it to chance, make it a priority. 

Share accountability

When one suffers, all suffer. When everyone on your team takes responsibility for the well-being of your workplace environment and the well-being of its people, then the cases of burnout and stress can be reduced. In order for that to happen, everyone must take ownership. Shared accountability equals shared responsibility. When you have each others’ backs you can have everyone at their best.

How are you improving your work experience?

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

 

Employee Engagement: Creating Space for Engaged Employees and a Healthy Culture

A new e-book from Doug Dickerson and Dr. Elizabeth Stincelli

This new e-book is a collaborative effort of our shared passion for healthy workplaces and engaged employees. Stay tuned for more details!

 

Embracing Courageous Leadership (Part 3) – Developing a Courageous Leadership Mindset

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It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. – E.E. Cummings

I read a story about Leonidas, the King of Sparta. He was preparing to take a stand with his Greek troops against the Persian army in 480 B.C. when a Persian envoy arrived. The man urged on Leonidas of the futility of resisting the advance of the huge Persian army. “Our archers are so numerous”, said the envoy, “that the flight of their arrows darkens the sun.” 

“So much the better,” replied Leonidas, “for we shall fight them in the shade.” Leonidas made his stand and died with 300 of his men. Needless to say, his courage was misplaced.

In this series, I’ve made the case for embracing courageous leadership. We’ve looked at what it is not, what it is, and now, developing a courageous leadership mindset. With it the possibilities of your leadership are unlimited. Without a proper understanding of it, you could go down like Leonidas. In short, we need to get it right.

Credit: Google Images

In her acclaimed book, Mindset, Carol S. Dweck writes, “When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world (the world of fixed traits) success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other (the world of changing qualities) it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.” And this is where the first steps of developing a courageous leadership mindset begin.

Developing a courageous leadership mindset is a growth process that begins in your comfort zone and stretches you into something new. The process and journey must be embraced to go there. Here are a few ways how.

Acknowledge where you are in this moment

As you begin to develop a courageous leadership mindset, you must first acknowledge where you are on the journey. Everyone has a starting point and for each of one, the view is different.

As a young leader, I remember making the transition from what I studied and prepared for and putting it into practice in the marketplace. It was intimidating at times. But I was out to prove that I was smart and talented. But I also lacked a certain amount of courage to find my own voice because I was part of a culture of fixed traits. It was stifling. 

Embrace a different mindset

If you are ever going to get out of your comfort zone and develop a courageous leadership mindset, you will have to begin to make some shifts. In our world of fixed traits and familiar ways of doing things as leaders, there must come a time in which you take responsibility for your growth, not look back, and burn the ships. 

Your courageous leadership mindset is first and foremost an inside job. From there, it impacts every decision you make as a leader. Click To Tweet With a courageous leadership mindset, you are taking responsibility for your growth and development and the outcomes you desire. 

Become a courageous leader

The point I want to emphasize here is that your growth and path to developing a  courageous leadership mindset is a process. It takes time. As you move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset things for you as a leader will begin to look different.

Becoming a courageous leader will be subtle at first but before too long your attitude will be different and how you look at things will change. The people who intimidated you before will no longer have that power over you. Courage will begin to take root. 

Final Thoughts

Growth is liberating and having a courageous leadership mindset is powerful. Combine these two and your potential is unlimited. Believe in yourself. Embrace the mindset. Trust the process.

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

Embracing Courageous Leadership (Part 2)

Credit: Google Images

Having courage does not mean that we are unafraid. Having courage and showing courage mean we face our fears. We are able to say, ‘I have fallen, but I will get up.’ – Maya Angelou

Often when we ask for a person’s signature, we call it their “John Hancock”. This is because of the fifty-six signatures on the Declaration of Independence, one stands out above the rest. That signature belongs to John Hancock. He was the first to sign the declaration and he signed it in a large and legible script so that the king of England could read it without using his glasses.

Hancock wanted it to be very clear where his allegiance lay. His commitment to his country was so clear that when King George III offered amnesty to all who would cease fighting, John Hancock was among the select few who were left out of the offer. 

Hancock’s signature was bold, emphatic, and courageous. 

In leadership, courage is a character trait that is necessary in times like this. And in this series of articles, I began with what courage is not. Let’s recap:

  • Courageous leadership is not placing your popularity over your principals
  • Courageous leadership is not passing the buck
  • Courageous leadership is not always about playing it safe
  • Courageous leadership is not about kicking the can down the road

So let’s take a look at what courageous leadership is and why it matters. Next week, I will conclude this series with a lesson on how to develop a courageous leadership mindset.

Courageous leadership is guided by values

Knowing your values and living them out are two different things. A courageous leader not only knows his values but consistently lives them. Courage will be called upon at times to live them when an easier way forward can be found by compromising them Click To Tweet. Courageous leadership steps up and opts not for what is convenient but for what is right.

Courageous leadership embraces fear as part of the journey

It’s not that leaders relish fear and desire it, but they recognize that there will be times on the leadership journey that it’s a reality. Courageous leaders don’t shy away from it but find within them a way to push through because they know what’s on the other side of fear is worth it. Courageous leaders are not defined by theirs fears, but they are fueled by them.

Courageous leadership empowers others

Courageous leaders know that the key to success is not found in what they do alone, but in how they empower those around them. They understand that when they mobilize, equip, and empower their people, they can go farther, do more, and share more successes. 

Courageous leadership embraces big dreams

Courageous leaders don’t settle for small dreams. They embrace the idea that big dreams are worth the struggle and overcoming the fears of attaining them is much better than the comforts of playing it safe. 

Courageous leadership is not distracted by critics and small thinkers

Courageous leaders will be met by critics and small thinkers who will attempt to hold them back. As a courageous leader, you will have to press on despite it. But to get from where you are today to your destiny tomorrow, will require courage to do it. And at times, it will require courage to leave them behind. 

Final Thoughts

Courage in leadership will take you places you wouldn’t get to otherwise. Embrace it with humility and confidence. It will change the dynamic of your leadership.

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

Embracing Courageous Leadership (Part 1)

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You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. – Aristotle 

It was the Roman statesman and scholar Marcus Cicero who said, “More is lost by indecision than wrong decision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity. It will steal you blind”. The words of Cicero are as true today as they’ve ever been. 

Is it possible that the lack of courageous leadership is creating a leadership vacuum marked not by the lack of great ideas and ability, but characterized by inaction and a lack of courage?

Former President Ronald Reagan told a story about the time when he was a little boy buying a pair of shoes and the cost of indecision. An aunt had taken him to a cobbler to have a pair of shoes made for him.

The shoemaker asked him, “Do you want a square toe or a round toe?” The young Reagan hemmed and hawed. So the cobbler told him, “Come back in a day or two and let me know what you want.” 

A few days later the shoemaker saw Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about his shoes. “I still haven’t made up my mind,” he answered. “Very well,” said the cobbler.

When Reagan received the shoes, he was shocked to see that one shoe had a square toe and one shoe had a round toe. “Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson,” said Reagan years later. “If you don’t make your own decisions, somebody else will make them for you!” 

Lacking courage as a leader at times is nothing new. But the consequences of it must be clear. Ryan Pendell did a great job diving into the topic not long ago in an article for Gallup entitled Do Your Managers Lack Courage? 

In it, he makes the point that while low-courage leaders can be held in high regard by both leaders and team members-mostly because they never stir up problems. But ultimately, they do not serve their teams well–and they don’t serve their leaders well either–because they aren’t being honest with anyone. Pendell says, “Low-courage managers fail to provide the kinds of support that employees need to get their work done.”

And herein lies the need for courageous leaders. In this first part, I will shed light on what courageous leadership isn’t. In part two, I will share insights on what it is. In part three I will share insights on how to develop a courageous leadership mindset.

Courageous leadership–what it isn’t:

Courageous leadership is not placing your popularity over your principles

Courageous leadership is grounded in your principles and values, not the whims of those you serve. Your first obligation is to affirm your core values, not your ego.

Courageous leadership is not passing the buck

Courageous leaders accept the responsibility that comes with the territory. They make difficult decisions and are willing to face the music. 

Courageous leadership is not always about playing it safe

Courageous leaders understand that sometimes to move forward you have to set your fears aside and take that first step.

Courageous leadership is not about kicking the can down the road

Courageous leaders understand that eventually, decisions have to be made. You can only kick the can down the road so far until you reach a dead end. There must come a time for action.

 

Final Thoughts

Indecisive leaders can paralyze organizations and harm morale. But with courage, a leader can be a catalyst for change and progress. It’s time to be courageous!

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

Click here to listen to The Cardinal Point Leadership Podcast

 

Seeing The Best in Others

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She had a way of seeing the beauty in others, even, and perhaps most especially, when that person couldn’t see it in themselves. – J. K. Rowling

I read the story of a young boy who worked in a factory, but he had an intense desire to be a singer. When he turned ten years old, he took his first voice lesson which procured a less than encouraging remark from his teacher, “You can’t sing. You haven’t any voice at all. Your voice sounds like a wind in the shutters.”

His mother, however, believed that he could learn to sing. She was very poor, but she hugged him and said, “My boy, I’m going to make every sacrifice to pay for your voice lessons.”

Her encouragement and sacrifice for her son proved to be invaluable. He became known as one of the world’s greatest singers. His name is Enrico Caruso. 

I like this story because it represents such an important leadership quality that is needed today. On a personal level, we know that we will never rise above the way in which we see ourselves. But contrast this in how you view others. Do you make it a practice to see the best or are you only finding fault?

When I was a young boy in grade school, I struggled as a student. I was diagnosed with dyslexia which made learning a challenge on many levels. The diagnosis was helpful in getting to the root causes for my academic struggles and receiving the help I needed.

One person responsible for that help was Mrs. Strong- my 4th-grade teacher. She instilled a confidence in me that was lacking along with an inferiority complex to match. But it was her perseverance in working with me that began a process of helping me to change my mindset which subsequently helped me academically. The changes didn’t happen overnight, but the seeds were planted that brought me to where I am today.

Seeing the best in your people is an important first step in adding value to them. Your people will never be moved or helped by your silent observations. So what can you do as a leader not just to see the best in others but to help move them from where they are today to a place of greater meaning and purpose in the future? Here are a few suggestions. 

Build relationships

You can only see the best in others up close. When you build relationships with your people you will be more prone to see the best and finer qualities in them. It’s also through that relationship that you can identify areas that need improvement. But because you first built a relationship, you now have the credibility to see both and add value.

Build trust

The relationships that you have with your people will be different from person to person. But when it comes to calling out the best in your people it must be based on trust. Seeing the best in others is just the beginning  Helping people grow to new levels begins when they trust you because trust is the currency of relationships Click To Tweet. Don’t ever underestimate the importance of trust. It’s the best way forward.

Build with patience

Seeing the best in others and calling it out is invaluable to your people. It’s a morale booster and confidence builder that’s always appreciated. However, you must think long-term and pack your patience as you help your people grow. Seeing the best qualities in your people doesn’t mean those qualities are polished or perfected - it simply means you recognize them. Click To Tweet As a leader, your job is akin to seeing the diamond in the rough. Now that you’ve found it, you can begin to refine it. Be patient with the process.

Build for the right reasons

Growing and developing leaders around you-seeing the best in them, should never be done with selfish motives or intentions. If your angle in seeing the best in your people and developing them is for your own benefit down the road, then perhaps you should reassess your motives. Seeing and wanting the best for your people should first and foremost be about making them a better leader. The residual effects that come ought to be secondary to helping that person reach his or her full potential.

Are you seeing the best in others?

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

Listen to Doug’s podcast at https://anchor.fm/cardinalpointleadership 

 

 

What To Do When Things Aren’t Working

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Leaders need the courage to acknowledge when something isn’t working. – Mark Batterson

One of the challenges in leadership is having the awareness of knowing when things aren’t working. Acknowledge it too late and you may not recover. But having the ability to see things as they are in real-time with the courage to change can make all the difference between success and failure. This sounds simple enough, but is it?

Take British Airways for example. Profiled in a TinyPulse blog post, they were credited for their ability to change during a difficult transitional time. After a massive merger some years ago, British Airways faced difficultly managing itself and bring a decent service in the aftermath.

The article states, “It wasn’t until its privatization and the incorporation of the new chairperson…that the company started to enjoy positive momentum-and increase their profits accordingly.” British Airways is not alone in its ability to acknowledge when things aren’t working and making the hard decisions to make things right. But not every story has the same outcome.

An article in Collective Campus highlighted 10 companies that failed to innovate resulting in business failure. One of the companies was Polaroid. When the digital camera revolution began, they were behind the curve in adapting to the times. The article states, “Falling into the ‘success trap’ by exploiting only their (historically successful) business activities, Polaroid neglected to explore new territory and enhance their long-term viability.”  And herein lies the challenge in leadership.

Two distinctions emerge when analyzing the differences between the companies who succeeded and those who failed. Here are two key takeaways. 

Companies that succeeded embraced change

The TinyPulse article stated that 70% of change initiatives fail as a result of bad management, poor implementation, or even back luck. But companies with the ability to adapt to change do so because they are thinking long term. 

Companies that failed relied too much on past or current success

Polaroid had a long-standing history dating back to the 1930s. For many decades they had few competitors. But when the digital age arrived they were too slow in adapting and were ultimately left behind. 

Measuring what’s working and what’s not is critical to your success. Here are a few ways to do it.

Evaluate honestly

Many metrics go into how you see your business and your current posture in the marketplace. Be careful not to look at things through rose-colored glasses. Acknowledge the good, identify what’s not working or underperforming, and stay informed. Surround yourself with people who will tell you what you need to hear not just what you want to hear. In the end, what you need to hear is all that matters. Click To Tweet

Know your competition

Many of the referenced businesses that failed did so not because they didn’t have a good product. They failed because they underestimated the competition and the speed of change. By the time they got around to it, it was too late. In addition, don’t look to your competition to set the pace. Make it your mission to be early adopters and set the example for the rest.

Don’t settle

Many of the businesses failed because they relied on past successes to carry them. This is a prescription for disaster. You must constantly be improving and innovating. The work and innovation that got you to where you are today likely won’t be enough to sustain you long term. Click To TweetKeep learning and improving. Be aware of coming trends and position yourself accordingly. In short, never settle for where you are today.

Get to the root causes

It’s important to know what to do when things aren’t working. But more importantly, you need to understand why it isn’t working. You need to know things like how much ground you lost before you made the discovery, what warning signs did you miss, what changes need to be made to keep it from ever happening again, etc. Get to the root causes so that you don’t make the same mistake again. 

Final Thoughts

When things aren’t working it doesn’t mean failure is inevitable, it means a correction is needed. Get out in front of it quick and lead the way.

 

©2021 Doug Dickerson

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