Leadership Culture – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Reimagining the Heart of Leadership

Posted January 11, 2021January 11, 2021
by admin

People will follow a leader with a heart faster than a leader with a title – Craig Groeschel

I once read the story about a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application that asked, “Are you a leader?” Being honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No”, and returned the application, expecting the worst.

To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.”

One of the hardest things for new and aspiring leaders to learn is that leadership is not about titles or positions. It’s one of the hardest things for veteran leaders to remember.

I don’t have to tell you that we live in a divisive culture on many fronts. My focus in leadership is not to get into the weeds of what divides us, but rather in the context of those things, point us in a better direction.

Reimagining the heart of leadership begins when we make shifts to the following five areas in our lives. This list is not an exhaustive one but rather a starting place on the journey.

Reimagining the heart of leadership begins with humility

In my 30+ years in leadership, the most inspiring and most memorable leaders I’ve come to know are those who lead with humility. During this time, I have met my fair share of leaders who live it, and I’ve met those who talk about it but whose actions are far from it. How about you?

I like the way Paul David Tripp defines humility. He puts it this way, “Humility means you love serving more than you crave leading.” The day your desire to serve others is greater than your desire for recognition, power, or a position, is the day you can reimagine what the possibilities of your leadership are. Click To Tweet

Reimagining the heart of leadership begins with empathy

One of the defining characteristics of your leadership is the ability to translate empathy into action with your people. A seasoned leader can relate to the one just starting out and can serve a valuable role in his or her leadership development.

“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes,” said Daniel Pink, “feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes.” As an empathetic leader, your possibilities are endless.

Reimagining the heart of leadership through empathy will move you from being an observer of your people to being a developer of your people. Empathy is a great instrument in your leadership toolkit.

Reimaging the heart of leadership begins with your attitude

The game-changer in your leadership has been and always will be your attitude. In the culture in which we live it’s easy to be cynical or discouraged. Many have lost hope.

Reimagining the heart of leadership happens when you realize that you will never rise above the attitude you have. As John Maxwell said, “The greatest day in your life and mine is the day we take total responsibility for our attitudes. It’s the day we truly grow up.”

You and I have a choice as it relates to our attitudes and we must do everything within our power to protect it. No one can do it for you. It’s an inside job so be intentional when it comes to attitude changes you need to make.

Reimagining the heart of leadership begins with relationships

Relationships are essential in leadership. They matter now more than ever. If we’ve learned anything in the last year during this pandemic, we’ve learned that people have an innate desire to be together.

Relationships certainly look a lot different now as compared to a year ago. But the need for them is greater than ever. Click To Tweet

Reimagining the heart of leadership begins when we all remember that it is through relationships that we grow, reach our potential, and accomplish more than we could ever have imagined by ourselves.

Reimagining the heart of leadership begins with transparency

One of the greatest challenges you will deal with as a leader is that of transparency. Many leaders tend to be guarded. They don’t like the vulnerability that comes with it and tend to build walls that too few are able to see above.

Mother Teresa gave us this advice, “Honesty and transparency make us vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.” And this is the call to leadership that we need today.

Reimagining the heart of leadership begins with an understanding that we are all works-in-progress. And so long as we remain humble and teachable our transparency will set us free to be who we are as we strive to be all God created us to become.

Are you ready to reimagine the heart of your leadership?

The Cardinal Point Leadership Podcast is coming in January 2021! The Cardinal Point Leadership Podcast is for leaders young and old. My desire is simple – to cut through the clutter and deliver leadership content that is relevant, practical, and useful. Here we will talk about leadership development, employee engagement, servant leadership, and much more.

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Three Attitude Adjustments to Make Before Christmas

Posted November 29, 2020
by admin

An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of the superior personality – Brian Tracy

In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit so Linus said, “Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.” Ouch!

Have you ever known a person who, like Charlie Brown, can take a festive event like Christmas and turn it upside down simply because of their attitude? I have and they are no fun to be around.

But the truth of the matter is this: 2020 has been a year like no other. And while most are not going to be sad to see this year come to a close end, it’s important to remember that in many ways, our attitudes can make us or break us.

As we head down the stretch to close out this year, now might be a good time for an attitude inventory and make some adjustments where necessary. Here are three questions to reflect upon.

Am I thankful?

Despite the challenges that came your way in 2020, nothing will reflect on your attitude more than knowing and remembering what you are thankful for right now. During a pandemic, it’s easy to focus on the negative and find things to be upset about. I get it. But during the season we are now in, perhaps it’s time for some perspective that is greater than this snapshot in time.

Charles Dickens aptly put it this way, “Reflect upon your present blessings- of which every man has many- not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” I believe this is a good reminder for us all. Be thankful.

Am I serving?

I have found over the years that the surest way to get my mind off of my troubles is by serving others. In leadership this one of the greatest lessons you will learn – it’s not about you. If you find your attitude waning this holiday season, let me encourage you to look outside yourself and renew your sense of purpose by serving those in need.

Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way,” Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”. The day your focus is on others more than it is on you is the day your attitude begins to shift for the better. Serve others.

Am I hopeful?

One of the underlying foundations of a positive attitude is hope. Hope sees beyond the present circumstances and holds to a greater sense of purpose and meaning that might temporarily be eluding you. Let me encourage you to press on anyway. Allow me to encourage you to believe that despite what your present circumstances look like to remember that your faith is not based upon what you see but on what God sees. Click To TweetIf there’s ever been a time for hopeful leaders it’s now.

In his book Unshakeable Hope, Max Lucado writes, “The question is not, will God keep his promises, but, will we build our lives upon them?” And this is what will cause your attitude to be strong in the good times and the bad, Never lose hope.

Final Thoughts

Here’s what we know – life happens-the good, the bad, and the ugly. While we can’t always control everything that comes our way, we can control our attitude. When our focus is on being thankful, serving others, and being hopeful it can help keep our attitude healthy and strong.

The Cardinal Point Leadership Podcast is coming in January 2021! The Cardinal Point Leadership Podcast is for leaders young and old. My desire is simple – to cut through the clutter and deliver leadership content that is relevant, practical, and useful. Here we will talk about leadership development, employee engagement, servant leadership, and much more.

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Employee Engagement in the Pandemic Era

Posted November 12, 2020
by admin

Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work. – Horace

A new report issued by the Gallup organization sheds new light on the state of employee engagement in the midst of the pandemic.

The report states that those who are “highly involved in, enthusiastic and committed to their workplace-has dropped back (from a previous high of 40%) to just slightly above the pre-COVID-19 rate of 35%, to 36%”. The report goes on to say that “the percentage of workers who are “actively disengaged”–those who have miserable work experiences and spread their unhappiness to their colleagues–in this latest survey remains the same, at 13%”.

Two more noteworthy takeaways from the report say that the largest decline in employee engagement was among those in managerial or leadership positions and that the drop was also sharper for people working on-site versus at home and among blue-collar or service workers. The drop was larger for men than women.

How do these findings stack up against what you know and are experiencing at your place of work?

To be sure, the COVID pandemic altered the way in which we work, collaborate, and daily find satisfaction with our careers. It’s been challenging on multiple levels. And as leaders, we know and understand that the challenges presented to many at the beginning of the pandemic continue with us today.

We realize that the challenges of employee engagement will vary from business to business and from person to person. Here, we want to offer some tips for leaders to help you process what’s taking place and give you some encouragement going forward.

Acknowledge where you are today

It can be overwhelming to think about slips in employee engagement merely by looking at survey results. Before you embrace the results of this or any other survey, embrace what is true and peculiar to your people and in your organization.

Acknowledge what is true about your organization and build from there. At the end of the day your numbers may reflect something direr, it may reflect something more positive, but either way, start with where you are at.

Focus on managers and leaders

As stated in the report, the single largest drop in employee engagement was among those in managerial and leadership positions. If engagement is waning among your managers and among your leadership team, then it is incumbent upon you to get ahead of it and figure out where the deficiencies are. Before you can stop the disengagement among all of your employees, you must stop it among your leaders. Click To TweetDuring this time, worry less about the cosmetics of it and focus more on content and relationships.

For each day and week that goes by without correcting the course, it only moves you further in the wrong direction. Rally around your management team and give them the support they need. This will not only help them but they in turn will be able to plug the holes elsewhere.

Acknowledge that these are not normal times

While it is tempting to want your company leadership, management team, and even employees to get back to work as if things were normal, they aren’t. This expectation just adds to the stress and disengagement you are experiencing in your organization. When we are stressed, we easily become distracted from the tasks we need to focus on and turn our attention to the very thing that is causing us stress.

Acknowledging that things are not normal and helping your entire organization accept that work will look and feel different for the foreseeable future goes a long way in alleviating stress in the workplace. Be transparent in communicating where the organization is right now, what the projections are for the short-term, and what your strategic plan is to mitigate the negative impact that COVID has on your workforce. Solicit input from your teams as to what they need in order to perform during this stressful time.

A little gratitude goes a long way

This is no time to take your people for granted. Everyone is operating under less than optimal circumstances. Your teams have had to adapt, in the blink of an eye, to new ways of getting work done. While engagement may have taken a hit during this time, how many of your people have stepped up to the plate?

Showing your gratitude for their hard work during times of stress and uncertainty will go a long way. When you make your people feel appreciated, you gain loyalty and a renewed commitment to their responsibilities. Click To TweetShow enthusiasm toward them and the vital role that they play in the success of the organization.

Final Thoughts

Employee engagement is waning and we are all wrestling with the challenges of how to work and collaborate effectively during the COVID pandemic. As a leader, it is your responsibility to step into the gap, reach out, and provide support and encouragement during this stressful and uncertain time. Your company leadership, management team, and employees need to know that you are in this with them more than ever. Your positive and inspiring leadership during this time of hardship will result in improved loyalty, morale, productivity, and yes, even engagement.

Check out these additional resources on employee engagement by Doug and Liz:

Maintaining Culture Remotely

Moving From Buy-In to Engagement: Why Buy-in May Not Be Enough

7 Reasons Why Your Leadership Style is Causing Workplace Drama

Read more from Liz Stincelli at http://www.stincelliadvisors.com/

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Three Signs That Pride is Impacting Your Leadership

Posted November 5, 2020
by admin

Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. – Ann Landers

A turtle wanted to spend the winter in Florida, but he knew he could never walk that far. He convinced a couple of geese to help him, each taking the end of a piece of rope, while he clamped his vise-like jaws in the center.

The flight went fine until someone on the ground looked up in admiration and asked, “Who in the world thought of that?”

Unable to resist the chance to take credit, the turtle opened his mouth to shout, “I did.”

Just as it was for the turtle, pride can be the source of your downfall in leadership. To be sure, we want to take pride in our work and do the best we can, but it’s another thing to allow pride to become detrimental to our leadership.

What does runaway pride look like on a day-to-day basis and why does it matter? Here are three traits to watch for.

An arrogant attitude

This is perhaps the most noticeable prideful trait you’ll display among your peers. To you, it’s a sign of confidence that says you believe in yourself and that you are in control. But an arrogant attitude in leadership does not come across that way to the people around you.

An arrogant attitude hurts your leadership because it sends the message to those around you that you think you are better than everyone else and gives off an air of superiority. Click To Tweet This, in turn, makes it much more difficult for your people to approach you or seek out your help for fear of ridicule. Drop the attitude and give your people a break.

An out of control ego

While an arrogant attitude may be the most noticeable prideful trait, an out of control ego can potentially be the most damaging. When your ego is out of control, over time your behaviors become more irrational. You eventually come to the place where you think everything is about you and take credit for things that you had nothing to do with.

An out of control ego not only hurts you as a leader, it also hurts those around you. When your team members are subservient to your ego and not focused on the mission, everything is in jeopardy. Get your ego in check. It’s not about you.

An overbearing management style

When an arrogant attitude and an out of control ego join forces the only possible outcome is an overbearing management style. This, of course, is the by-product of a leader who isn’t self-aware enough to notice what’s taking place. The result of this can be devastating to the people and to the organization unless the leader changes course.

The people who work under an overbearing leader will ultimately leave. They almost always do. This is why pride can be so detrimental to your leadership and is why you must always guard your heart.

Final Thoughts

It’s normal and natural to take pride in our work and pursue excellence. As leaders, you must be on guard not to allow pride in your work to become pride in your heart. When pride takes root in your heart, your leadership will always suffer.

As leaders, we must walk in humility and remember that it’s not about us.

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Three Truths About Encouragement in Leadership

Posted October 29, 2020
by admin

How do you know someone needs encouragement? They are breathing. – S. Truett Cathy

A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry.

A few people gathered to see if he was okay and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter.

Then he turned to the group and said, “I care twenty-five cents worth. How much do the rest of you care?”.

In many ways, encouragement is the lifeblood of leadership. So long as you are around a person who’s breathing they need encouragement.

While it may not be hard to imagine what your organizational culture would be like without encouragement taking place, imagine what the possibilities would be like if it were? The challenge in leadership as it relates to encouragement is to be as generous as possible.

Encouragement is the lifeblood of any organization. Here are a few reasons why you need to pass it along.

Encouragement can be a game-changer

A word of encouragement given at the right time can make the difference between success and failure for the person receiving it. And in some cases, it’s not so much the uplifting word spoken that made the difference, but the timing of it that turned things around.A word of encouragement given at the right time can make the difference between success and failure for the person receiving it. Click To Tweet

It’s been said that everyone is facing struggles we know nothing about. You never know how your word of encouragement can give a person that extra dose of confidence to continue on and not give up. Never underestimate the power of a kind word.

Encouragement is a unifier

Just as gossip and office politics tends to divide, encouragement sets the bar at a higher level. Encouragement tends to bring people together in a way that destructive words never will. Your organization will grow stronger and healthier when words of encouragement are at the center of your conversations.

If you are looking for ways to bring your people together, look first at the way in which you communicate with your people. Click To TweetBringing your people together begins with words of encouragement. So long as your people know you have their backs it makes every other conversation better.

Encouragement builds relationships

One of the benefits of encouragement is that it builds bonds between you and your people. It’s easy to come together over words of encouragement, but the relationships that emerge from it are where you can really make improvements. This is where you can take your people to a higher level and out of their comfort zones.

Developing relationships takes time and commitment. It begins with the power of your words. Encouragement for the sake of encouragement is always good. But at some point, you want to take your people to a higher level. Encouragement sets the table to do so.

Final Thoughts

If there’s ever been a time for encouragement in the workplace it’s now. Many of your colleagues and friends are hungry for an encouraging word of support. Be the voice of hope. Be the voice of understanding. Be the voice of encouragement that others need.

Who have you encouraged today?

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Cultivating Culture

Posted October 14, 2020October 14, 2020
by admin

Every time you reinforce the culture, you reinforce the fabric of the company. – Arthur M. Blank

How’s the culture in your organization? The question is not meant to be a subjective one based upon your preconceived ideas of what you think it ought to be or how you see it. That focus is too narrow. The answer is and must be more inclusive and broad.

Your role as a manager and leader within your organization is critical to the culture in it. A study by Gallup reports that 70% of the variance in team management can be traced back to their managers behavior. In addition, only four in ten U.S. employees strongly agree that they get to do what they do best at work. Over half are actively looking for a new job or are open to one- and when they do land a new role, 91% of the time it’s with a new company. So, again, how is the culture in your organization?

How we as leaders cultivate culture within our organizations is an ever-present challenge and opportunity. A hands-off approach to building culture will not work no more than an overbearing presence can boost morale. Is there a better way?

I was intrigued as I read a review in Inc., of the forthcoming book Good Company by Home Depot co-founder Arthur M. Blank. I won’t give away all the details of the review, but I will share what he identifies as the most important question you can ask your employees: Is this organization worth your life? If the answer is yes, Blank explains, “it’s an indication that the company’s culture is thriving, and that it’s employees feel confident in making the best decisions for both the customers and the company.”

How can you reinforce the culture in your organization? What are some practical , even small things, that can make a difference? Here are a few ideas for starters.

Focus on ‘we’, not ‘me’

It takes a group of dedicated individuals who are willing to set aside personal agendas to advance the team. As Babe Ruth said, “ The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You can have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” Hire the best talent you can find, but instill the concept of teamwork from the beginning. Click To Tweet

Play to strengths

It’s already been alluded to, but your people will thrive best when they do what they love. There’s a fine line between cross training and cross contamination. Your people will thrive when they are free to do what they do best. When this happens you won’t have to manufacture a healthy culture and morale, it will take care of itself.

Prioritize relationships

Healthy relationships are the backbone of your employee relations. Your employees are the face of your organization and create the bond with your customers. If relationships are weak then the links to the most important people you serve will be strained. Every part of your cultural and customer experience will rise and fall on relationships.

Clarify values

Your values must be clear to your people. They can’t have buy-in to your organization without it. Roy Disney put it this way, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes much easier”. Your people must know the ‘why’ of their work and why it matters to the marketplace. If your people are confused then so are the people you are trying to serve. Click To Tweet

Have each other’s backs

Loyalty within your organization goes a long way in building culture. When you have the backs of your people and stand by them, they will not soon forget. It’s an essential part of your leadership that will see you through the good times and bad. No organization is immune from adversity, but every organization can endure it when the people in it have each other’s backs and stand united.

Final Thoughts

Cultivating culture in your organization is a process. It takes time and commitment from all those in it. Acting in good faith and with open communication are essential to your success. What the culture in your organization looks like all depends on the level of commitment of the people in it. It all starts with you.

Preorder your copy on Amazon

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How Indecisive Leaders Hurt Morale

Posted July 8, 2020
by admin

Indecision may or may not be my problem – Jimmy Buffett

A story is told of former president Ronald Reagan once had an aunt who took him to a cobbler for a pair of new shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, “Do you want square toes or round toes?” Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days.

Several days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker replied, “Well, come by in a couple of days. Your shoes will be ready.” When the future president did so, he found one square-toed and one round-toed shoe! “This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you,” the cobbler said to his indecisive customer. “I learned right then and there,” Reagan said later, “if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.”

Indecisive leadership is a crippling character trait for leaders. When your organization needs clear direction and decisive action, a waffling leader can cause more harm than good.

With so much at stake, why do leaders waffle and struggle with decision making? Three primary reasons come to mind.

They lack clarity

Leaders who struggle with decision making may lack the necessary clarity needed to make the necessary decision. Rather than making the wrong decision, they make no decision at all.

They lack confidence

In some situations, leaders withhold decision making because they are not confident enough in their own instincts. Rather than take a risk and make a decision, they play it safe and everyone is left dangling.

They lack consensus

In some cases, leaders withhold decision making because they don’t have a consensus on the best path forward. Rather than offend a few with a decision, the leader demoralizes everyone by not making one.

So what is a leader to do? How can a leader overcome this agonizing dilemma? Here are a few ideas.

Trust your instincts

A confident leader will trust his or her instincts in times of decision. Deep down you have a strong intuition that guides you. Trust it.

Invite input

Decisive leaders are informed leaders. Those most affected by your decisions should be the first at the table of discussion. As it’s been said, “the person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom”. Welcome input, but make your decisions on principle, not politics.

Clarify your values

The worst thing you can do as a leader is to make a decision for the sake of making one. Roy Disney was right when he said, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier”. When making a decision make sure it aligns with your values. If not, don’t do it.

Check your motives

First and foremost in your decision making should be what’s best for your organization and people. If you are making decisions to gain popularity or to gain favor with some to the detriment of others you are sowing the seeds of low morale. You must have the best interest of the team at heart and not just a few.

Final Thoughts

Leadership is about making hard decisions. Indecisive leaders make it harder–on themselves and those they lead. Your path forward begins by acknowledging what your indecisive tendencies are doing to your leadership and how it’s impacting the morale of those you lead.

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Taming The Squirrels in Leadership

Posted May 17, 2020May 17, 2020
by admin

Leadership has less to do with position than it does disposition. – John Maxwell

In this space last week, I shared with you my great disdain for squirrels. In case you missed it, I am an avid birder and my backyard is somewhat of a bird sanctuary. That being said, my yard is also a haven for those pesky and unwelcomed squirrels who come and wreak their havoc and leave.

Over the years in leadership, I have discovered that there are plenty of squirrely characters that can be found. And unlike the squirrels in my yard who are not capable of being tamed, your approach to the various squirrely characters that you come across in leadership is another story.

What are the characteristics of the squirrely types of people in leadership? For the sake of context, let’s recap the main points from part one:

First, they are self-serving. They are only in it (any place of work, business, etc.) for themselves. They make decisions based only on what’s good for them. Their motives are not hard to figure out.

Second, they stick together and sow discord. Negative people tend to attract negative people in the same way as positive people. If left unchecked, negative people will ruin morale.

Third, they are indecisive – until they’re not. These squirrely types lack direction, vision, and a sense of purpose. That being said, they drive everyone else crazy.

Finally, they destroy to get what they want. In short, they are not team players. They are only in it for themselves and they don’t care about the consequences of their actions.

So, how do we tame these squirrely people in our organizations? Here are a few thoughts.

Train them early and often

Leadership development is the key to success for those squirrely members of your team. Having the skill sets to do a job are not necessarily the same as the skill sets needed to be a productive team member. Click To Tweet So long as you are content with the squirrely team member simply because she can do her job with a high degree of proficiency but is otherwise a toxic person to be around, then you have some serious leadership gaps to fill.

Don’t look the other way when it comes to squirrely behavior simply because someone can do the job. People who can do the job are a dime a dozen. If they aren’t compatible with other team members, they can be replaced. It’s on you as the leader to train and help them reach their leadership potential.

Hold them accountable

So, you have a squirrely person on your team, now what? As you train and work with this person, hold them accountable for their growth and development. Work with them on a growth plan both personally and professionally. Help them see the connection between the two – how they compliment each other. As they begin to grow and develop in their leadership skills they will gain new confidence and increase their value to your organization.

When people in your organization have a clear picture of the value that others bring to the table, it creates trust and momentum. Click To Tweet When your people trust each other and can create together, it’s magical. But each team member has to be valued, trusted, and held accountable.

Give them margins to fail and succeed

Let’s face it – we may not all be squirrelly, but we all have our quirks and pet peeves. I do. But, as we work with those squirrely people in our organizations, let’s put their value in perspective.

Not all squirrelly people need to be written off. They just need to be given opportunities. And sometimes, like us, they fail, stumble, and get it wrong. But isn’t this every successful leader’s journey?

Everyone on your team - the squirrelly and the quirky, can add value and help move the ball forward. They just need to be given a chance - some grace. Click To Tweet Will all of them pan out and remain with you? Perhaps not.

But as you train and raise up leaders and hold people accountable, the odds are in their favor if you work hard.

Final Thoughts

It’s been said that leadership is a journey, not a destination. See the journey for what it is – full of opportunities to grow and develop as leaders who make a difference in their world. Embrace the misfits and the squirrely people along the way. There’s room for the willing, the accountable, and the teachable.

Additional reading resources:

We Wait Too Long To Train Our Leaders by Jack Zinger

Link: https://hbr.org/2012/12/why-do-we-wait-so-long-to-trai

Are You Leading By Example? by Doug Dickerson

Link: https://www.dougdickerson.net/2020/04/08/are-you-leading-by-example/

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Harnessing the Power of Common Ground

Posted March 22, 2020March 22, 2020
by admin

No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it. – H. E. Luccock

I read a story about a family in New York who intended to raise cattle, so they bought a ranch out West. When their friends visited and inquired about the ranch’s name, the would-be rancher replied, “I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q. One of the sons wanted the Flying-J while the other liked the Lazy-Y. So we’re calling it the Bar-J-SuzyQ-Flying-W-Lazy Y.

“But where are all your cattle?” the friends asked. The would-be rancher replied, “None survived the branding.”

While the story does have a humorous component to it, the sad reality is that this scenario plays out on a regular basis all the time. It doesn’t happen on a ranch. It happens in businesses and organizations where its people have failed to find common ground.

In his book, The Leader’s Greatest Return, leadership expert John Maxwell states, “You need to find common ground with potential leaders, which is less about ability and more a function of attitude.” He’s right.

But why is common ground so hard to find and maintain? Here are a few reasons that quickly come to mind.

Individual agendas – We want it done our way and we are not willing to bend
Unchecked ego’s – We think it’s all about us
We have unhealthy relationships – We view each other as competitors rather than colleagues. Internally there’s an us vs. them mindset that’s killing the culture.

Finding common ground is but a beginning to building deeper and healthier relationships within your organization. It’s where trust, loyalty, and respect are established. With it, the sky’s the limit. Without it, you’ll always be scratching your head trying to figure out why you’re stuck and not making progress.

So how do you find common ground? It’s not as complicated as you might think. Here are a few suggestions.

Ask more, talk less (this is where the buy-in happens)

One way to harness the power of common ground is to ask questions. Seek out feedback from all sectors of your organization. The more you ask, the more you will know. That much is a given.

But by asking questions you are also inviting more buy-in and participation from your people. Finding common ground is a discovery that begins simply by talking less and asking more.

Seek first to understand (then be understood)

The difference between a smart leader and a not-so-smart leader is that the smart one wants to understand others before being understood. Click To Tweet As a leader, when you invest the time to get to know your people – what makes them tick, understand on a deeper level what they do, how they do it, and why – then it opens up a whole new level of understanding for you as a leader.

Also in this is your ability to understand their needs on a more personal level. It’s not just about knowing their requests or their frustrations, but why it matters and is so important to them. When you seek to understand, you are laying a strong foundation of common ground.

Prepare the path (to a brighter future)

It’s not an uncommon desire on the part of a lot of people to want the path cleared for them. But when you prepare your people for the path then they can tackle any obstacle that arises on it. This is done when you and your team have found common ground.

When your people, at every level, are empowered, trusted, given the ability to make decisions in real-time, it’s a game-changer. Click To TweetThis can only happen and be successful when you’ve dealt with individual agendas, unchecked ego’s, and have built healthy relationships. It’s a must if you want your team to share common ground.

Final Thoughts

Harnessing the power of common ground can transform your organization when you approach it with a humble attitude and right mindset. Your people will learn the value of being on a team with a purpose. As a leader, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that it’s not about you.

Common ground is a game-changer. Find it. Protect it. Live it.

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Five Questions Every Employee Should Be Able To Answer

Posted January 12, 2020
by admin

Our lives are shaped by the questions we ask. Good questions lead to good outcomes. Bad questions lead to bad outcomes. – Michael Hyatt

A friend once asked Isidor I. Rabi, a Nobel prize winner in science, how he became a scientist. Rabi replied that every day after school his mother would talk to him about his school day. She wasn’t so much interested in what he had learned that day, but she always inquired, “Did you ask a good question today?”

“Asking good questions,” Rabi said, “made me become a scientist.”

How’s your workplace culture? It’s a subjective question perhaps, but one that’s important nonetheless. A good leader cares about it.

Your workplace culture is the sum of all the people who have bought-in not only to you as a leader – but to your organization-, your values, your service, your product, and the contributions you are making because your organization exists. If your people have no buy-in or sense of ownership, then your culture is going to suffer as well as your impact.

In light of this, here are five basic questions your team members need to be able to answer. These questions are a reflection of their personal investments as well as their understanding of what it means to be on your team.

Why am I here?

Your employees need to be able to answer this question at the beginning of their tenure in your organization. Without a clear understanding of how they fit in and why they fit in, your people will never reach the potential for which they were hired. Click To TweetBut it also helps them clarify internally the reason they chose to come on board in the first place. If they don’t have a good answer to this question then chances are they have no good reason to be there.

The question of why am I here speaks to their motives.

How do I add value?

Everyone in your organization wants to know and believe that they make a difference. They want to be impact players. They should be able to identify ways in which they add value and know that they are not being taken for granted. No one person can do it all by themselves, and everyone’s contribution matters. Your employees need to be able to clearly and confidently identify the tangible ways they add value to your team. Their sense of belonging is riding on it. Click To Tweet

The question about value speaks to their contribution.

What is our purpose?

Fundamental to the success of your team members is a clear understanding of what they are doing and why they are doing it. Your mission and vision must be clear. Your employees need to be able to answer this. If they can’t, they are exposing a much deeper issue for you as a leader. Employees with no knowledge of the greater purpose to which they serve reflect a dereliction of your leadership. If your people don’t understand their purpose they will have a hard time finding their place.

The question of knowing your purpose speaks to understanding your ‘why’.

What sets us apart?

In addition to knowing their purpose, your team members need to know what sets their organization apart from their competitors. Most businesses – be it a coffee shop, retail store, school, financial services, etc. are a dime a dozen. Knowing what sets you apart goes beyond memorizing a mission statement that’s in a cracked frame in the break room. It’s about the relentless pursuit of excellence in everything you do.

The question of knowing what sets you apart speaks to your values.

Are we still growing?

Everything you do depends on the answer to this question. Your employees may fully understand why they are there, how they add value, what your purpose is, and what sets your organization apart; but if your organization has grown complacent then you are vulnerable. Having the right answers is a good thing, having the right mindset is better. If your culture has stopped growing, then it’s time to disrupt things and get back on track. Click To Tweet

The question about growing speaks to your future.

Final Thoughts

A good leader will ask great questions. Not for the sake of asking questions but to gauge the heartbeat of your organization and to know your people. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions. Don’t be afraid of the answers.

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