Leadership Quote: We Must Lose Sight Of The Shore…

Leadership Quote: We Must Lose Sight Of The Shore…

 

Opt 3 June 29This month’s leadership quote:

“We must lose sight of the shore,if we do in fact, hope to discover something new.

-Gary Belmonti

Today’s quote came from one of my Vistage CEO group founding members. We have been on a transformation journey in this group and Gary is a member of the guiding team. Our group launched nearly eight years ago and most of us have been together for more than half of that time. In the early days, this group went through Bruce Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development and for several years was high performing.

Over the years, we learned that groups, like individuals, can become complacent and develop bad habits. To return to high performing, groups and teams must go through transformation and back through forming, storming, norming and performing.

And, as Gary reminds us, we have to let go of the shore, let go of what is familiar, if we are to discover something new. Transformation is not going back to what was; it is moving forward and discovering what high performing means today.

Elisa K. Spain

Leading Isn't Easy

Leading Isn't Easy

Opt 8 Jun 22

I can hear the response now, “Well of course it isn’t easy, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it”. Yes I know, and when those difficult moments arise, and we are in the midst of, “not easy”, this is an important reminder.

Recently I was reminded of a personal leadership moment, several years ago, that I am hoping by sharing, will inspire you.

I was in a multi-vehicle car accident last week. Fortunately everyone involved walked away. Minor whiplash and vehicle damage were the only consequences. And, this accident should never have happened…

Two of us were sitting in traffic, in two separate lanes. The driver that caused the accident was an elderly gentleman, who was on oxygen, and could barely stand up, much less drive. My guess is he was either disoriented or passed out. Not easy to rear end one car, and then rear end another car in another lane!

One of the hardest things my sister and I did was take away my Mother’s car keys. She didn’t speak to me for a year; and this situation reminded me to pat myself on my back for doing it. I remember the deciding moment was when a friend of mine said, “How are you going to feel when she runs over a 5 year old?”

So what is the leadership lesson in this?

Sometimes, we have to make decisions where no option is a good one. Either choice we make has negative consequences, and yet we have to choose. And when we choose the more strategic option, the short term pain may be higher. Easy to say, hard to do.

 

Elisa K. Spain

Sometimes Things Are Not As They Appear

Sometimes Things Are Not As They Appear

Opt 4 June 15 (2)

We make assumptions daily, mostly about other people. These assumptions enable us to take shortcuts and keep us moving forward. Or so we think.

  • We assume a person attended or didn’t attend an event because…
  • We assume a person responded to us a certain way, because…
  • We assume a person took an action or didn’t take an action because…

What if instead of assuming, we, as CEO’s and leaders, paused and asked:

  • What is the reason you made this choice or took this action?
  • When your customer complains about “service”, do you probe to understand what is really going on?
  • When we see something, as the TSA reminds us, do we say something?
  • When an employee behaves a certain way, do we ask what is going on?

When I was a young driver, I learned this leadership lesson from a police officer who pulled me over for passing him on the right, when he and another officer were stopped – blocking both sides of the road. He asked me why I passed him. My response was “I assumed you were going to be there for a while and I wanted to get to my destination”. His reply, “When you assume, you make an ass-u-me”.

I often think of this encounter when I rush to judgement.

Elisa K. Spain

 

Crawl? Walk? Run? Fly?

Crawl? Walk? Run? Fly?

Opt 5 June 8

Hard to know when to walk, when to fly, when to run or even when to crawl. In this fast paced world we live in, our tendency is to default to run. And, my sense is, there is a place for each.

The challenge is to let things unfold at their own pace. Here are some questions I ask myself, when I remember to pause, to determine what pace fits best with the given situation:

  • If I am feeling a sense of urgency, what is driving it?
  • If I slow down the pace, what benefits/costs will result?
  • If I speed up the pace, what benefits/costs will result?
  • What will happen if I choose to observe rather than act for some time?

Elisa K. Spain

 

Growth Doesn't Have To Be A Lonely Path…

Growth Doesn't Have To Be A Lonely Path…

 

2014-06-01Join us on June 11th, to learn more…

All the economists are reporting steady growth and I see it in my Vistage groups. For the first time, in a long time, members are focused on expansion. And, they are cautious, the Great Recession is still fresh in our collective memories.

Here are some of the questions I am hearing:

  • How does a business expand without shouldering the capital burden alone?
  • Is it possible to continue to grow and  begin to diversify and take some money off the table?
  • My management team is in for the duration; how do they begin to put skin in the game?
  • As the business has grown, my partners and I have different personal goals, how do we resolve the financial challenges associated with this?
  • I want a sustainable enterprise that continues on beyond me; how do I finance my retirement and accomplish this goal?

With these questions in mind, I had a conversation with a friend of mine at Duff & Phelps and this led to an exciting seminar in Chicago on June 11 to answer these questions. Duff has assembled the top experts on private financing to address these questions in an interactive session with open dialog.

For those of you who will be in Chicago on June 11, here is a link to register. If you can’t make it and want the transcript, let me know.

Elisa K. Spain