Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

If attitude is the rudder, then confidence is the governor and a unique blend of skill, talent and experience is the driving force.

Per Google search
Confidence con·fi·dence
ˈkänfədəns
noun
1-the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
“we had every confidence in the staff”
synonyms: trust, belief, faith, credence, conviction

2-the state of feeling certain about the truth of something.

3-a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.

What strikes me about confidence is the Goldilocks factor (too soft, too hard, and just right) but in this case it’s excessive humility, hubris and confident!

We live in a country where we typically believe bigger is better. More land to homestead, more opportunities to cultivate and prosper, bigger cars, bigger houses, somehow we equate excess with success. Confidence might be one of the rare exceptions.

Driving fast on the Autobahn in a finely tuned German car is probably loads of fun but outdriving your headlights on a rainy night with weathered wipers on any roadway in any car, is ill advised. High speed under the wrong conditions can be catastrophic.

Taking the driving metaphor one step further, if you’re just putt-putt-putting along at 35 mph on the interstate while cars are screaming past you at more than twice the rate, you’d best speed up or be run over. Being too timid in the wrong environment might be just as deadly.

“Step away from the vehicle (analogies)!”

What does it sound like when leaders lack confidence?

*That’s not my strong suit
* I don’t know what to say
* You should ask someone else
* We better give (them) a raise or (they) might leave
* It’s not my problem
* Don’t talk to my customer
* I don’t agree with the CEO’s Vision
* The dog ate my homework
* It will take a month to get that contract put together
*I’d better stay late because I didn’t get enough done today

What does it sound like when leaders are overly confident?

* I know how to do everything well
* I often speak at conferences and get the highest ratings
* I know the answers so come to me first
* My direct reports love me, they are the best in the company and I make sure they are the highest paid in every category
* I don’t have any problems
* My customers prefer to talk to me exclusively
* I could be the CEO tomorrow (why can’t everybody see that?)
* I don’t need to study/read/prepare for the interview
* You don’t really need that at all, I’d work without a contract
* I’m leaving early because I solved all the problems with time to spare

Confident leaders say:
•I know myself; my strengths, my weaknesses, how to delegate and how to deliver
•I work hard to be articulate, pragmatic and add value
•I prefer to empower my managers but mentor them and provide support so they can learn to solve issues on their own
•I subscribe to the pay for performance philosophy
•Problem solving is a team sport. Frame them properly, build consensus, gain buy-in and execute
•I look forward to working with our customers. It offers the chance to introduce team members/skills and provides growth opportunities for emerging leaders
•I support the direction of the company openly. If I have concerns I voice them privately to resolve any differences. If I cannot find agreement with Mission, Vision and Core Values, I may be best suited to leverage my career assets elsewhere.
•I enjoy learning new things and am always ready to expand my knowledge and wisdom base
•I have a need to expedite my contract agreements quickly. If our internal processes don’t support a quick turnaround, I’ll seek help from our outside legal provider so we comply with the client’s schedule as well as the risk appetite of the organization.
•I work diligently and in day tight compartments. I exercise, pray/meditate, eat well, work hard on important initiatives, decompress, support my loved ones and rest so I’m restored for another day of challenging and purpose-filled work.

Which list best fits your daily responses?  If it’s not where you want to be, what do you plan to do about it?  Will you be starting today?

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

This is really about perspective. As I walked around my neighborhood today, I could have taken pictures of the dying weeds sitting in the gutter, the flat frog remains in the street or the porta-potty’s set up by the temporary storage for the roof replacement crew dispatched after the recent hail storm.

Instead, I chose to snap shots of natural beauty all around us. Not one in a hundred would pick me out of a crowd as one who appreciates blooming flowers. Hell, even when I was a kid and someone took a dandelion and held it under my chin, I didn’t give any sense that I liked yellow, butter, or dandelions.

We see … what we choose to see. This applies to our physical environment (like flowers versus frog guts) but I’m learning, way too late in life, that there is beauty EVERYWHERE. God made all of it. Some of it seems tragic and as humans we struggle understanding the value of death and disaster. Just because we can’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s wrong, unjust or inhumane.

For instance, hurricane Harvey is pounding Houston with rain and wind. Flooding has already made things horrible and as of Sunday night, it’s predicted to get worse this week. Adversity has a place in the circle of life and it sucks when we go through it but how better to gain appreciation for better times.

Beyond the physical attributes, I think the more interesting beauty lies within each of us. We are each a miracle and despite our imperfections, our little hearts beat and our timid souls awake each day to another miracle sunrise we are blessed to experience. Most of us are way too busy to fully appreciate the beauty because we race to work to get another task completed to move the needle one tick forward. As it pertains to people, we compare what we perceive other’s lives to be with what we know ours to be.

Diversity is beauty. We are not all alike, but we are all similar. We bleed, we feel, we strive, we aspire, we love, we learn, we hurt and we heal.

Open your eyes to beauty, your heart to others, your mind to infinite possibilities and your soul to everyone who crosses your path.

Have a blessed and long Labor Day weekend!

 

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Imagine what’s going through the blue bears head…

How you doing?
What’s going on in there?
Why am I out here?

I’m back in Denver for multiple reasons but you could sum it up with one word…curiosity.

How are things going with friends and colleagues?
What is the work environment like?
How far can I take an Uber before I can’t find one back to my trip origin?
How many people can I have a meaningful conversation with while I’m here?
What industry trends should I be more aware of?
How are my competitors doing?
What should I be doing differently?
Where are the market opportunities?
Which companies possess the skills, talent and willingness to partner for a larger opportunity than what either could tackle alone?
How do we navigate industry trends, regulations and basic bureaucracy and still provide timely solutions to the clients and industry we serve?

There are a thousand and one questions running through my head at any given moment. I’m curious.

I contend that leaders are learners and you have to ask the question to prepare yourself for the answer.

One of the industry pundits I joined this week is far beyond his title. He is Chairman of his company but if you call the front desk, they will tell you he is “retired”. He had as many questions as anyone in the meeting. He hasn’t stopped learning. He is genuinely curious and still consuming data and interpreting information to make himself and the organizations he is associated with better.

Another Chairman in the room also posed questions, made assertions and conveyed a level of interest through questions and curiosity. His company provided the venue, administrative help and food to make this gathering possible. He hoped to learn something, gain knowledge or make a statement that he is still in the game…looking to contribute.

Surrounded by leaders at an industry organization function filled with volunteers simply looking to make a difference was enough reinforcement for me that curiosity is the key.

When you stop asking questions, you’ve thrown in the towel.

Have a blessed weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Webster defines redemption as: The act of making something better or more acceptable.

While in college, I took a class more than once if my achieved letter grade was below an acceptable level. I had to demonstrate that I reached a certain mastery of the concepts taught in order to move forward. If you never went through this yourself, Congratulations!

If you are familiar with this process, you likely pushed your preconceived capabilities or you sloughed off, maybe drank too much, worked your way through to pay for school, started a family before you could afford them or some derivation of the common events listed above. Congratulations for having gone through it!

I never envisioned going through this life-lesson route once, let alone again. Academics and life having some direct relationship? Hmmmm.

Is it possible that even after reaching the executive leadership level in an organization, that a new opportunity be presented offering reconciliation of scorched earth created by former decisions required to perpetuate a previous business? If that is God’s plan, it is. As if he is saying, “Do it again. This time, be better.”
-to your family
-to the people you influence
-to ALL of the stakeholders involved, regardless of their predisposition…

Everything happens for a reason. Your life is a set of experiences that prepares you for what’s next. As they say in Dale Carnegie training, “practice makes permanent”.

Reflecting back on my time on earth, specifically while holding leadership roles…
I didn’t shake every hand every time every day. (Not a politician)
I didn’t make everyone feel they were special (Not Oprah Winfrey)
I didn’t convert every brilliant idea into billions of dollars (Not Elon Musk)

But,
I did commit to a series of challenges that most sane people would have walked away from, and most did.
I did commit to finishing what I started.
I did point out the true potential of the people and organizations I encountered and refused to buy in to the same excuses they used themselves to take an easier route and concede before the race was over.

This time, I’ll do it with noticeable compassion and demonstrated empathy.  Do you need a hug?

Save yourself the trouble and show how much you care before you try to change the world. Otherwise, you’ll be destined to repeat it … until you get it “right”.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

No profane words were used in the creation of this blog.

I was 14 when it really started. Today, we hear stories of 4 year old children…and ultimately their parents…reprimanded at daycare for simply repeating choice words heard at home. Maybe even played out with some body language for dramatic emphasis. Comparatively speaking, I’m a novice. In reality, my inspiration was survival.

I was driving a gravel truck working alongside grown men, a black swan trying to fit in a game of white swans (I thought it would have been flock, too). One particularly crusty old man (call him Bud for the story sake) seemed to be offended by my presence. We both had spots on our face; mine were pimples and his were basal cell carcinoma. I thought we were kindred spirits. Bud probably just smelled like spirits.

It had rained the night before and county road shoulders get soft and aren’t all accommodating for two loaded trucks passing each other. Bud crowded the crown (no center line stripe in rural Minnesota) and I got sucked in like it was quick sand. This incident triggered a stream of profanity from both drivers and my boss/father/rescuer who had to back up his loaded semi half a mile to pull me out.

I still blame Bud because even at 14, I sensed intention which he denied vehemently later when questioned by my protective boss. His disposition was vocational and mine was innocent, naive and dutiful. Frankly, I was tickled to spend time with Dad. The myth, the legend, the self-made man who seemingly willed his way through the work world. Easily the hardest working man I ever knew…and I just wanted to make him proud (Eh, Freud?).  Hard to do that from an f’n ditch.

In order to do that, I had to perform, in order to perform, I had to fit in. In order for a 14 year pimply-faced kid to fit in, I swore, like it WAS my job.

I found little empathy or humor from the gravel pit masters. So I listened, I mimicked for approval’s sake and I carved a sliver of approval by cussing like…a truck driver.

Many people are offended by the language abuse for whatever reason; preference, religion, intelligence. I recognize I leave an impression when I use it for impact, for emphasis or a throwback to playing to the crowd for approval.

In the future, I plan to watch more carefully what I say. Discretion is important to exercise when it concerns matters of the tongue. As leaders, we have a megaphone (or live mic) placed in front of us at all times, whether we see it there or not.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

If ever I lacked time to write a quick and sticky thought, it is this week. However, this regular contribution to my weekly journal of interesting leadership tidbits has been marketed as “tenacious” so I best suck it up and convey some gritty wisdom.

I started a new gig this week and as I’ve told a number of my new colleagues, I’m enamored with this place. I am genuinely excited!

•I respect, empathize with and support the CEO in his mission to make this organization world class
•I have purpose doused in significant challenge
•The entire team of peers have substantial talent, drive, intelligence, professionalism and preserve ample energy for humor, albeit with a hint of wasabi-like irreverence
•The environment has been uber welcoming and associates are already seeking my input, insight and opinion
•The vernacular regarding exceptional client service, professional accountability, excellent operational performance, and nimble adaptability inspires me
•Finally, there is room for improvement

The leadership landscape in this corner of commerce is almost irreconcilable:

*I’ve worked the network and the companies who have it all figured out (or at least the outward projection would convey that) have little time or opportunity for a seasoned vet to occupy a genuine leadership role.

*This industry continues to consolidate like we saw yesterday where one behemoth bought another (Jacobs to buy CH2M – for those don’t track this industry). They will be shedding talent at a pace similar to the AECOM + URS deal.

*Political uncertainty combined with legislative gridlock makes me wonder if the government will ever get out of their own way, let alone mine.

My point with all of this…

You have to have a place to practice your craft if you’re going to stay lucid and effective.

I am blessed to be given the opportunity to lead with other leaders, iron sharpening iron.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Whenever you have to visit multiple providers with MD, PhD or DDS at the end of their name in a given week, it’s probably not a good indicator of what your quality of life has been.

On the other hand, we are pretty fortunate in this country to have access to specialists that allow us the opportunity to maintain a high quality of life.

I’m reminded of the current debate on healthcare languishing on in Congress and it makes me wonder, what’s the right thing? There seems to be as many opinions as there are people affected.

Our household has endured a tremendous amount of heartache in the past two years with health insurance providers; cost, access, pre-approvals, clerical errors, pharmaceutical idiosyncrasies, etc.
-and I am fully aware we are among the fortunate.
•we have pretty good coverage
•we have access to competent professionals
•we have the means to pay what insurance doesn’t

What does that say about the state of healthcare in this country? Is there something missing here? Or are our expectations unrealistic regarding degree of service compared to the associated cost?

I grew up believing you get what you pay for. Specialists cost more than generalists and when you really need a specialist: heart, brain, cancer, or pain…you need a specialist…or you suffer.

While I am writing this blog, I hear national news in the background talking about a “skinny repeal” and the ultimatums that senators are laying out about whether they will vote for a new healthcare bill. The lack of leadership displayed by our elected officials is appalling, especially on this issue.

John McCain came back from Arizona to vote Tuesday just to move the senate forward after being diagnosed with brain cancer. He lit up his senate colleagues in a lengthy rant, calling for compromise and essentially accusing them of a lack of leadership…but then said he wouldn’t vote for the bill in its current form. From my perspective, he almost got it right.

You can’t tell me he wasn’t reflecting on healthcare while it impacts him so directly today and his future given the diagnosis.

Leadership requires doing things that may not win the popular vote but is considered by the majority to be the right thing. Several senators, regardless of party affiliation, are putting their own skin or the party platform ahead of what the American people need. This is not leadership, it’s self serving and avoidance of the tough conversations with their contingency that should take place after they vote for a national improvement, not a state centered bill.

The human brain responds five times faster to negative news than positive according to author Don Rheem, CEO of E3 solutions. In that spirit, I point out Congress’ inability to compromise and pass legislation this country desperately needs as an example of what not to do.

Leaders think bigger than what’s immediately in front of them. They look forward and lead with conviction. They are not concerned about their own welfare until they know others are taken care of.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Have you noticed how quickly we tend to leap to judgement?

•situations
•locations
•each other

We are all subjected to an onslaught of messaging that encourages us to place a value; financial, contribution, aesthetically pleasing or otherwise…on virtually everything we encounter. Have we forgotten some of the golden rules to live by?

-Assume noble intent
-Do not judge a book by it’s cover
-Innocent until proven otherwise

-We judge others by their actions yet we judge ourselves by our intentions. {Hmmm. Read that one again.}

How about “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37 NIV

Does this assume we don’t assess, compare, measure and hold accountable for performance?
Nope.
However, I believe the complete answer may lie in the subtlety of the definition and intent.

Webster says a judge is “one who gives an authoritative opinion”.

So, what makes you an “authority” on whatever it might be that you are judging?

Been there, done that?
-Once or twice?
-Seven times?
-Hundreds of times?

My personal belief is that we, as a society in whole, have grown intolerant of anything we haven’t experienced or don’t fully understand and we don’t understand what we refuse to take adequate time to familiarize ourselves with.

Trust your gut … but take the time to perform the diligence necessary to properly assess, validate, and calibrate. Snap judgements might satisfy the desire for immediate feedback (you’ve been Pavlovian trained to salivate for…) but you will assuredly miss treasures that persevere despite the broken world they may come from.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Perhaps the single best book I’ve been introduced to on leadership is written by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, titled “The Leadership Challenge”.

The authors highlight Five Practices of exemplary leaders I’d like to share with you.

The Five Practices aligned with the Ten Commitments of Leadership are:

•Model the Way
-1. Find your voice by clarifying your personal values.
-2. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.

•Inspire a Shared Vision
-3. Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.
-4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.

•Challenge the Process
-5. Search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, and improve.
-6. Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes.

•Enable Others to Act
-7. Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.
-8. Strengthen others by sharing power and discretion.

•Encourage the Heart
-9. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.
-10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.

The book is a must read.
The summary above should be committed to memory.

What it says to me is … build an environment where the people around you can be their best self everyday if they choose then make sure you don’t get in the way of their aspirations and development with policies and procedures that send different messages.

Set clear expectations for performance because people want to know how you define success so they can interpret it for themselves and take action accordingly.

Communicate with people. Open your heart, make yourself vulnerable, transparent, flexible, responsive…emote. If someone is asking the question in your organization,
“Do leaders really care about me?”
-What I deal with day-to-day,
-my dreams,
-aspirations,
-challenges,
-concerns?

Be assured that
“Good leaders do.”

Remember what Abe Lincoln said,
“Whatever you are, be a good one.”

The framework shared above is what I would call a good start. Buy, read and put into practice the principles in the book.

Lead on.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

I’m not a chemist and pH balance is not my forte’. I’m just a guy who notices things and when they make me curious or chuckle, I write them down.

I’ve had the good fortune of being home most days the last few months so I walk our dog, take her to the vet, spoil her rotten so she’s here and happy when I’m not. She’s Mama’s shadow, snuggle buddy, snack hound and furry baby. You get the picture.

We have new neighbors. Seem nice enough and they have a large, older, female yellow lab. It let’s us all know when her Mom and Dad aren’t home. I couldn’t help but notice after the new neighbors moved in, their grass started dying.

I also noticed that when OUR dog soaks the grass, it grows faster than the area around it.

The other day at the vet after a $1300.00+ dental bill followed by a $350.00 check up and “other maintenance”, the vet asked me the question, “Would you say her quality of life is good?”…are you shitting me? I coughed a little, smiled and said “Definitely.”

Now we all know that dog breeds have typical behaviors, typical ailments, and typical life spans. The longer they live with us the more attached they become. Simply put, pets enrich our lives. We don’t want that to stop so we extend their presence as long as possible, usually disregarding the price tag.

Pets are a $60B+ industry in this country alone. (This figure is staggering but at least I know I’m not the only one taking out a loan every time I visit the vet.)

So I have to ask the basic question, when you pee on the proverbial lawn, are you killing it or do you make it grow? Does the reflected quality of your life enhance the life of your organization or does it kill it off? When you walk out of a room after sniffing around, wagging your tail and leaving behind…pearls of wisdom…were people happy you dropped by or just happy you left?

If an honest answer isn’t the one you want, what are you doing about it?

Have a blessed weekend!