Better, Better, Maybe Not?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

The notion that we can constantly make ourselves and our companies better, in theory, is a great idea. But when does it become too much?

For me, the best way to answer this question is to notice our strengths and work to enhance them. In my Vistage work and as a leadership coach, I refer to this as discovering and working in our genius.

Sometimes we become so focused on achieving that we are never able to appreciate who we are or what we and our people have already accomplished. When we’re constantly reaching, rather than occasionally being satisfied with what we have in front of us, that’s a recipe for perpetual dissatisfaction.

For me, the best way to avoid the “better, better, better” trap is to ask the following questions:

  • What are we, as a company, already good at? Are these the things our customers value?
  • Among the things most important to our customers, what are we good at and what do we need to do to become excellent at these?
  • Of the things we are not good at and striving to improve, what can we outsource, or simply stop doing?

Once we know and understand what we are good at, and focus on that, not only do our companies and our people become more effective, we become more satisfied and ultimately become better leaders.

What Our Vistage Members Want You to Know

Vistage Works

Elisa K. Spain

How Does Your Company Handle Conflict?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

Which of these describes your culture:

  1. Conflict is out in the open; we respectfully disagree in meetings and discuss the issue until we reach resolution or acceptance
  2. Conflict is handled by the boss; we all agree in the meeting and then lobby our position to the boss afterwards and he or she resolves the conflict
  3. Conflict is buried; we all agree in meetings, whoever is the leader decides and if we disagree, we keep it to ourselves

If your company operates under either #2 or #3 above, what is the cost?

  • What new ideas or innovations are being lost when people are afraid to speak up?
  • What is most important to you as a leader, being right or being effective? How does this show up in how you respond to conflict?
  • Are high potential team members giving their all somewhere else in their life? Or even leaving to contribute somewhere else?
  • How much are you leaving on the table that might be there for the taking, if people argued for the best answer?

What Our Vistage Members Want You to Know

Vistage Works

Elisa K. Spain

The Meaning Of Labor Day

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

When the first nationally recognized Labor Day was celebrated in 1894, the day consisted of a street parade sending up a message of “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” (in the words of the AFL). We have come a long way since then. Today most employers focus on offering opportunities and benefits to attract and retain talent; as a result, the need for unions has diminished and few remain.

Yet we still celebrate the day as a national holiday. Perhaps it is simply tradition, or the acknowledgment of the end of summer. Or a reminder to celebrate how far we have come as a nation of leaders and followers, where two-way communication has become much more the norm than work place “negotiations”.

So, as you enjoy your family barbecues, or however you celebrate the day, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself:

  • As a leader, what can I do tomorrow to let each member of my team know they are valued and are essential to our success?
  • As a follower, what I can do tomorrow to let my boss know what else I can do to add value to the success of our company?

What Our Members Want You to Know

Vistage Works

Elisa K. Spain

What Exactly Is Vulnerability?

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

 

I have received several comments about last week’s blog, so I thought I would continue the dialogue.

Here are some of the questions:

  • Does vulnerability have to mean showing emotion?
  • It’s okay for a woman to have tears and talk about feelings, but still not okay for men?
  • What’s the difference between showing vulnerability and showing weakness?
  • How do we, as leaders, coach the leaders we work with on how to show up both confident and vulnerable?

Great questions. In fact, this was a discussion at my last Vistage CEO meeting and here are a few of the stories I heard from them and from others who responded to my blog. Please share yours.

“I was a relatively new leader of a high growth business. We missed our numbers one year, and up in the front of the room, I teared up when I shared the news to my team. I definitely felt shame.. and the team rallied, each leader coming up to me to commit to what they would do to make sure it didn’t happen again.”

“Having entered the two most emotionless organizations -West Point at age 18 and Marines at age 22-, in some way hardened me to emotional outward signs, and especially as a small unit infantry combat commander in Vietnam; we had to suppress and not show any emotions despite what we may have felt internally. The problem being that to show emotions to the 18-19 year old young Marines that we led wasn’t viewed as something commanders did and we worried that emotions might enter into the brutal things we had to do in the infantry…. In our generation it wasn’t considered ‘Marine like’ to show emotion—which of course led many of us to suppress PTSD feelings.”

“I have been working on culture in my company. Frustrated with the lack of progress, I stood up in front of the entire leadership team, all levels, and told my personal story, my values, my expectations of myself as a leader. Wow, what an impact it had; people began to ‘get it’. And yet, I discovered that my two senior leaders, both women, struggled with this. They said they work hard to be “professional” and to them showing or talking about feelings was weak and unprofessional.”

For all leaders, it is important to have followers trust our message. As such, there is a fine line between appearing vulnerable, yet confident, and appearing weak.  These stories speak to different ways to address this challenge.

For me it’s something like this,

 

Vulnerable is I am human, I make mistakes, I admit them, I learn from them and I move on
Weak is I am uncertain, I don’t trust myself, I don’t know what to do.

 

The War For Talent (Or Is It A War ON Talent?)

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

Two important statistics begin this discussion…

  • Starting in 2016, more people will be leaving the workforce than entering it
  • By 2020, 46% of all U.S. workers are predicted to be Gen Y

Thus the foundation for the war for talent, or what my friends at large companies are calling, ‘the war on talent’, as in competitors targeting and soliciting our top talent.

Not since World War II, when soldiers were leaving the workforce to fight, have we experienced a shrinking workforce. Moreover, with millennials soon representing 46% of the talent, this war for talent must be fought strategically, with different methods and different incentives than before.

Continuing the theme of execution as the driver of success and hiring the right people being a key part of execution, successful leaders are taking a two-pronged approach, focused on retention of older workers AND attraction, retention and incentives for younger workers.

In short, the war for talent is a competitive war with the same goal as winning business, i.e. getting your unfair share of the market.

We have begun conversations in all my Vistage groups on this topic. Here are some creative actions I am hearing; please share yours.

  • Apprenticeship – once reserved for the trades, today Vistage members are starting to create positions for apprentices to learn the expertise of seasoned executives before they retire.
  • Project Time – Google began this practice as part of their innovation culture; other companies are adopting a variation to give millennials the opportunity to make an impact early in their careers.
  • Social Impact  – Gone are the days when matching contributions are enough; companies who make a social impact attract Gen Y workers.
  • Long Term Incentives – As young executives start families, companies that offer “golden handcuffs”  retain their executives through the business cycles. While common in the large corporate world, these incentives are beginning to show up in middle market companies. Offerings include deferred compensation, stock options and stock grants.

 

Elisa K. Spain

Consensus Gives You Beige

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

When a leader asks for input and then makes a decision, the result is vivid color, i.e. a better decision. It is a better decision for lots of reasons.

First and foremost, your team feels valued when they are asked to participate in the decision process.

Second, there is value in the wisdom of crowds; many times the group will surface ideas that the leader hasn’t thought about. As a Vistage Chair and leadership coach, I see this happen each month during the executive sessions I lead with CEOs and Key Executives. This, of course, is why nearly 20,000 people around the world are members of Vistage – because we know the value of seeking input from others.

Where it all goes awry, is when we seek consensus either from our team or from our Vistage group (or our family, friends, etc). With consensus all the colors get mixed together, resulting in a dull beige, i.e. a mediocre, watered down decision.

Sometimes this may be okay, when the goal is more about participation that it is about making decisions. The key is being mindful of your goal.

So, the next time you are asking for input, ask yourself, “is it vivid color I want or is beige okay?” And, if it is color you want, don’t settle for beige. Make the final decision yourself.

Elisa K. Spain

 

 

Oops, I Wish I Hadn't Said That, I Wish I Had Done This….

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

Back in elementary school, when playing sports, we often were allowed a ‘do-over’. As we got older, coaches and teachers stopped allowing this. The ball had to be played where it was. I suspect the reason for this was to “prepare us for life”. And, so we learned, no ‘do-overs’, if I screwed up or forgot to do something, too late, can’t fix it.

  • While, there must be rules in games (no way to score if there are not), does everything in life have to play by these same rules?
  • What if when we said something we wished we hadn’t, we simply went back to the person and said, “I am sorry, I wish I hadn’t said that, what I wanted to say is this…”
  • What if we wanted to do this, we went back and simply did it?

In short, what if we started with the premise that nothing in life is irreparable or irretrievable, except death. While certainly words matter, see my blog of this same name (Words Matter), actions speak loudly and ‘do-overs’ are a great way to take action and demonstrate intent. Another way to think about it… it’s not what you do, it’s what you do next.

Elisa K. Spain

 

 

Who Gets To Decide?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

Just about every leadership book and every leadership speaker talks about the importance of allowing people to fail. The concept is: true delegation does not occur unless and until I allow people to make their own decisions, take their own risks and succeed or fail on their own.

Easy to say, hard to do, on so many levels. Some of the common questions are:

  • How much risk should I allow them to take?
  • What if I am certain they are making the wrong decision; a decision that is going to cost me money, put the company at risk, put the person at risk, etc. How can I simply look away and allow the failure to occur?
  • How many failures are okay?

Lately, I have come to realize this question, who gets to decide, applies in our business life and in our personal lives. It applies to our children and to our aging parents. Just recently this realization was brought home to me with the following stories.

The teenage son of a friend is more focused on sports than on his homework, a familiar story. Mom says, “we have to make him do his homework”. Thus ensures a fight between mom and son. Dad says, “let him suffer the consequences if he chooses not to do his homework”. Who gets to decide? Who is “right”?

The 89 year old father of a friend has cancer. His actions indicate he is confused about what he wants. He says he is willing to get treatment, but he misses his appointments. He lives alone and refuses a live-in caregiver, or even a visiting caregiver. Prior to the diagnosis, he was cognitively in fine shape. Son says, “we have to make him go for his treatments”.  Daughter says, “if he wants to be alone, doesn’t attend his appointments, doesn’t return the doctor’s phone calls, it’s his decision to make, not ours”.

Back to the three questions above…

  • How much risk should I allow them to take?
  • What if I am certain they are making the wrong decision, a decision that is going to cost me money. How can I simply look away and allow the failure to occur?
  • How many failures are okay?

Which choice is the more courageous one? Who gets to decide?

Elisa K. Spain

Are You Favoring The Heroic Over The Prudent?

by Elisa Spain1 Comment

 

We worship winners – especially those who demonstrate leadership, confront a crisis and prevail. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as the hero did not create the crisis in the first place.

But what about those who keep crises from erupting at all?

Who are the UNSUNG heroes working for you (and helping you avoid the ditch)?

Who are the wise that simply do the right thing, rather than the bold thing?

Are you only recognizing the “heroes” in your company, and ignoring those who help you avoid the storms altogether?

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

Entrepreneurial Success Is Not About Taking Risk

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

 

There is a long held belief that successful entrepreneurs are high risk takers. In fact, the common lore says, “not only do they take more risks, they are successful because of it.”

Over the last 15 years I have worked with over a hundred entrepreneurs, first as a business advisor and then as a Vistage Chair. My experience tells me otherwise.

Here’s what I observe:

  • Successful entrepreneurs follow the same practices the Great by Choice CEOs follow in Jim Collins’ book.
  • They have a clear vision of where they are headed.
  • They hire top talent and their employees understand their vision.
  • They invest in opportunities that support their vision.
  • They only invest in opportunities they understand, and where they have experience or vision, that gives them reason to expect the return they are seeking.

Finally, successful entrepreneurs have an instinctive sense of timing. It is this instinct, coupled with the discipline outlined above, that sets successful entrepreneurs apart.

Perhaps to the outsider who doesn’t see what the entrepreneur sees, it is this instinct that appears as taking high risk.

 

Elisa K. Spain