Did I Delegate Or Did I Abdicate?

Did I Delegate Or Did I Abdicate?

by Elisa Spain1 Comment

Opt 1 Mar 23

 

Here’s a simple test to know if you have delegated or abdicated.

At what point in the process will I know if my expectations were met?

Hmm… guess that means if my intention is to delegate, I must take the following 5 actions:

  1. Clearly outline my expectations
  2. Check-in to see if my expectations were understood
  3. Agree how both progress and outcome will be monitored and measured
  4. Agree when and how progress will be reported
  5. Agree when and how progress will evaluated and adjustments made

You might be asking yourself at this point, “seems a lot of process; do I have to do this every time I ask someone to do something for me?”

This decision of course, is yours to make.

Meanwhile I will share a personal story that happened years ago and reminded me of the value of following these five steps, and following the DIME Method, whenever I assign work to someone else. 

I emailed a document to my virtual assistant, asking simply, “please clean up this document and send it to FedEx to make into a poster.”  What I had in my head was a black and white, 24×36 printed document that I could roll up and take with me to a meeting and then throw away at the end of the day. The cost of this type of document is about $5.

When I arrived at FedEx, my bill was $100 and what they had ready for me was a full color, 24×36 printed document, mounted on a board and laminated.

Which do you want? And, have you made that clear?

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

All That Matters Is Culture

All That Matters Is Culture

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-strategy-structure-culture-image26561510The theme in my Vistage CEO and Key Executive Groups for 2014 is “All That Matters is Culture”. Each meeting, the host shares a bit about how this applies in their company. Here are some of the comments I have heard so far…

  • We have a “can-do culture”. When I interview prospective employees, I ask questions that tell me how the person has demonstrated this in previous jobs.
  • Our core values reflect our culture. I have articulated ours to each employee and I am asking employees to tell stories about actions that have been taken that demonstrate how these core values resonate for them. For example, we have a value of integrity, I want to hear stories about how employees have made choices that reflect the integrity choice. I publish these stories so other employees see them.
  • We have a lot of temporary employees. When it comes to culture, I treat them the same as the full-time employees. I want them to know our culture and feel good about working for our company.
  • We share our core values and our culture with our customers. The more they know about us, the more effectively we can serve them. Similarly with our suppliers, when we share common values with our suppliers, we deliver a better product.
  • In the past, I had some talented people who didn’t fit our culture. It was difficult to make the decision that these people had to go. And, once I made this decision, the performance of the rest of team improved exponentially.

I will add to this list later in the year. Meantime if you have stories to add, please click on comments.

Elisa K. Spain

 

Laws Of Success: The Three Secrets…

Laws Of Success: The Three Secrets…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Still life of pen,glasses and business file on tableWorking with CEOs and senior executives as both a coach and advisory board chair, I have had the opportunity to observe both those that are successful and those with unrealized potential. While their businesses and their personality styles are all different, when I distill it down, those that succeed share the following three traits:

  • Tenacity
  • Discipline
  • Hiring the best people – paying them and treating them well

Tenacity – The willingness to stay with it, even when there are setbacks. As Winston Churchill said so well, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Discipline – Successful leaders ruthlessly manage their time, ensuring they ALWAYS carve out time to think and plan and learn. It is so easy for each of us to get caught up in the tasks of the day; successful leaders don’t. They make time to stay close to their business and rise above, stay current and focus on opportunities. And they make time for mental and physical fitness. Every successful leader does this their own way, and every one of them does it.

Hiring the best people AND paying and treating them well – Talented people want to work for talented people. And… the pool of talented people in each industry isn’t large – it is those that find the talented people, pay them and treat them well that succeed. The definition of “well” varies by individual, the leader that understands this and responds to the needs of their key people leads a successful company.

Seems so simple, doesn’t it? Just three things to do.

 

Elisa K. Spain

 

 

Delivery ALWAYS Matters…

Delivery ALWAYS Matters…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Businessman testing a microphone about to make a speach at a press conferenceWhen the stakes are high, we prepare. Whether it is a presentation to a large audience or a meeting with a key client or prospective client, we know we will be more successful if we prepare.

  • What exactly does it mean “to prepare”?
  • When aren’t the stakes high?
  • When we focus on content and not on our audience, are we really prepared?

Last week, I had the opportunity to hear a speaker and deliver a presentation of my own, where in both cases, the content was outstanding and yet the message was not received well by most of the audience. These two experiences reminded me of two important facts:

Delivery always matters – It’s not enough to prepare our content. It is at least as important to consider the audience, prepare our delivery and adjust midstream as we read the audience reaction. Not easy to do, and yet, critical to having our message heard.

Prepare for every interaction as though the stakes are high, because they are – Every interaction with another human being, either as a group or with individuals, matters. When we are fully present, we listen, we adapt and thus can be effective.

 

Elisa K. Spain

Why Now?

Why Now?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Hand writing Time to Adapt concept with red marker on transparent wipe board.Continuing the beginning of year theme of strategic planning. The question is, why diversify my business now, when everything is going so well?

Anyone who has hired an investment advisor knows, all of them advise first and foremost, to build a diversified portfolio. And, despite all the data supporting the long term benefit of diversification, some investors believe they can time the market. There are LOTS of stories in the investment press about the risks and consequences of market timing.

Those of you who are frequent readers know that my background is in financial services and investments and I often compare running a business to managing an investment portfolio. And, as with some stock market investors, when it comes to our businesses, we frequently ignore our advisors and the diversification advice they give. We have a great product or service, we are making money, we think “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?”.

Over the years, I have worked with a number of businesses and watched this process unfold…

Business is great, there are industry measures that indicate the product or service is maturing, but business still remains strong. Then suddenly (one could argue it wasn’t suddenly), it isn’t strong anymore, in fact, the business has gone from significant profits to losses, seemingly overnight.

The thing about income statements is they are lagging indicators. If we ignore other key indicators, especially the external industry trends, it is easy to be lulled into market timing behavior. And as with market timers, by the time the CEO realizes the market has turned, it is often too late to adjust without incurring significant losses.

As you continue your planning for 2014 strategic actions, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself the following questions:

  • What are the trends in our industry; where is our industry in its business life cycle?
  • How does our product/service compare to others in the industry; are we a leader or a follower?
  • What is our current level of product/service diversification; where would we like it to be?
  • What new product or service can we begin development on this year that will replace our core offerings in the future?

 

Elisa K. Spain

How Do You Know When It Is Time To Go?

How Do You Know When It Is Time To Go?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2014-01-03 Stay or Go iStock_000019444473XSmallWhether you are a business owner, a professional manager, an advisor – or anyone who is engaged in an enterprise for an extended time – how do you know when it is time to go?

“Nothing is forever”, the old saying goes, and yet sometimes, perhaps even frequently, we stay too long. We watch professional athletes stay past their prime; and we participate in the debate about term limits for our congress; and yet, when it comes to our own engagements, how often do we look inward and debate our own need for term limits?

When I was negotiating my exit from the corporate world 15+ years ago, I remember a conversation I had with a friend. My friend asked me what I was going to do if I didn’t get the deal I wanted. My answer was, “I guess I will stay one more year”. Her response, “How many more years are you going to say, one more year?” It was in that moment I realized, it was time for me to go, regardless of the outcome of the negotiation. And… because I had made my decision to exit, I of course, handled the negotiation more effectively.

While this topic comes up every now and then with executives and business owners I coach, it surfaces mostly in a time of frustration. I wonder if instead it might serve us to ask ourselves this question as part of our annual strategic planning. What if, as part of strategic planning, every business owner or executive answered the following 5 questions:

  1. What did I give to the business, other than my time, this past year?
  2. What did I get, other than $$, from my engagement in the business?
  3. How do my answers to #1 and #2 compare to previous years?
  4. If my give/get has declined, what do I need to do to change this and do I have the passion and skill set to do it?
  5. If I didn’t lead or own this business, what would I be doing instead?

My noticing is, that if we have asked these questions in the past and have stopped asking them, we may already know that it is time to go…  

Elisa K. Spain

A Tribute To A Great Man, Who Also Was A Good Man

by Elisa Spain1 Comment

Those of you who know me have heard me talk about my Uncle Leon as a model for a life well-lived. He died this past week, at age 95+. I will be attending his funeral on the day this blog publishes. It seemed fitting to write this tribute to him on this day.

Balaji Krishnamurthy, one of my favorite Vistage speakers, talks about L3, Leadership, Leverage and Legacy. For me, Uncle Lee accomplished all three.

He was an entrepreneur who, in his early twenties, founded the nation’s first convention exhibition business, Mannecraft Exhibition Services. In the beginning he worked with department stores to “exhibit” their store windows. Soon thereafter Mannecraft was setting up conventions across the country. When the company was acquired by a public company in the early 80’s, he agreed to retire at age 65.

Retirement for Leon was investing in young entrepreneurs, providing financing and wisdom to grow their companies. He worked on-site, hands on, with these companies. At the same time, he was fully engaged with his philanthropic efforts.

He was a leader in the Miami Beach chamber of commerce and Kiwanis and was recognized multiple times by both organizations as “Man of the Year”. When it was time to renovate the Miami Beach Convention Center, Leon led the multi-year project – pro-bono.

Leon always said he had only one regret, that he was not able to attend college. His parents could only afford to send one of their three children and his older brother, because he was older, got the opportunity. So… he started a scholarship fund to sponsor young people wanting a college education without the funds to go.

As a child, Uncle Lee was always on my side; and as an adult he has been the person I most want to emulate. While he was always there for advice if I asked, what I learned from him was more from what he did, than from what he said.

A few years ago my cousin and I were talking about Uncle Lee and she asked me, “what do you think you have learned from him?” As I reflected on her question, I created this list of seven “Leonism’s”. He made each of these seem easy and yet for me they are aspirational words.

7. Accept what you cannot do and do all of what you can.

6. Stay active, physically and mentally.

5. Make new friends all the time.

4. Move on – learn from mistakes.

3. Live in the present.

2. Forgive – yourself & other.

And, #1, Make the people around you feel special.

Uncle Lee was loved and admired by his family and everyone who was fortunate enough to know him. When he turned 95, over 100 people, of all ages, showed up to celebrate the man who, as my aunt said so well, “was someone people didn’t just want to know, they wanted to be”.

I will miss him and his legacy will continue to inspire.

Elisa K. Spain

Leading What We Don't Understand

Leading What We Don't Understand

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

2013-12-01 Who What iStock_000017953256XSmall

 

I have hesitated to jump into the Obamacare website discussion, however it provides such a great leadership lesson that I feel I have to. The lesson is this, even when I don’t understand, when I am the leader, I must lead.

Sounds obvious and yet, so often when it comes to technology and other unfamiliar areas, CEOs choose not to lead. In fact, otherwise effective leaders when they find themselves in situations where they lack familiarity, hire experts and then fully abdicate responsibility for leading these experts.

My sense from reading the press, is this is exactly what happened with the Obamacare website. If you read Kathleen Sebelius’ (Head of Health and Human Services) background, she has held many leadership roles, including Governor of Kansas, and at one time was considered a potential presidential candidate. Yet, at least from what I read, despite her strong leadership background, she hired experts to build the website, left them to figure it out and then hoped for the best outcome.

As Ms. Sebelius discovered in the most public way possible, even experts need to be led.

So, how do we lead when we lack familiarity? I was discussing this question recently with one of my Vistage CEO clients who had hired an expert to install a new ERP/CRM system, here is what we came up with:

  • Accept that it is my job, as the leader, to monitor and evaluate when I am responsible
  • Ask for a project plan with specific measurable milestones and agree on a regular meeting schedule to monitor these milestones
  • Ask questions, and when I hear an answer I don’t understand, assume more information is required, and ask more questions (rather than assuming I don’t understand because I am unfamiliar)
  • Ask the people on the line what they are concerned about
  • Get enough information to know when naysayers are change-resistant or if course changes must be made

What else would you add to this list?

Elisa K. Spain

What Are You Willing To Give Up?

What Are You Willing To Give Up?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

White finish line text and lane on red running trackWhat are you willing to give up to get what you want? This is a question I often ask my Vistage members and coaching clients.

One of my favorite books on marketing, admittedly an old one, is The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Ries and Trout. For me, many of these 22 laws are relevant to life as well as marketing. Law #13, The Law of Sacrifice – You have to give up something in order to get something, resonates for me in making life choices.

What I notice in my conversations with my clients is those that are willing to let go of something…. are those that move forward. They invent the new products, hire the person that is going to make the difference, take the next job or start the next business. These people are willing to give up something to get what they want.

The ‘give up’ may be something we believe, it may be fear (of failing, being wrong), or simply a comfort level with what we have or what we know. The ‘give up’ may be tangible, dollars that may end up as a sunk cost; or accepting that a long term loyal employee is not going to be the one to take the company forward.

In short, when we are talking about giving up something to get what we want, the key questions are these:

  • How much do I really want the “something” I say I want?
  • What am I willing to give up to get it?

Elisa K. Spain

Trust Your Gut For The No…

Trust Your Gut For The No…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

survey with exceeded expectations checkedOften when we are buyers, we find someone or something we like and then work to find data (experience, accomplishments, etc.) to convince ourselves why this person or this product is something we should buy.

When it comes to interviewing for key candidates, Vistage speakers, Barry Deutsch and Brad Remillard, recommend we take a more structured approach to interviewing to improve our hiring success. They recommend we start the process first by clearly defining the success factors for the role and then asking the candidate to tell us stories about how they have achieved this success in the past and how they will do it for us.

It dawned on me recently that this approach works in many (most?) situations when we are buyers. After all, when we are hiring, we are buyers.

So, am I saying no gut at all? All data? No. Absolutely, there is a gut to every decision we make, and in most situations, especially when we are buyers, trust your gut for the no. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. When hiring, it’s the behavioral questions that help us learn if a person is a cultural fit. If a person’s style, ethics or values don’t fit, it doesn’t matter if they can do the job.

When committing our time or buying a product, isn’t it really the same key question?

  • What are my expectations (success factors)?
  • What is the data that supports that my expectations will be met?
  • Then the gut question: How does this feel?

Elisa K. Spain