How do you create a work environment that brings out the best in people, accomplishes great things, and doesn't require sending all your employees to a Tony Robbins seminar? Here are a few tips. Let people know if they are meeting expectations. This assumes, of course, that the expectations have been clearly identified, communicated, and accepted. If they have been, leaders owe to those they lead to let them know how they are doing. Unfortunately, many companies wait for the annual review; by this time, many items that could have been fixed with a mid-course corrections have developed into deeper issues. Be kind to people. Kindness is a sign of respect. Many leaders in the corporate environment equate kindness with softness. It's too "touch feely" to be kind. If you're too kind, people will walk all over you. Nothing could be further from the truth. When people know you truly…
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Passing along a great article by Daniel Harkavy entitled "Bifocal Vision Required." In many ways it's similar to what's known as the "Stockdale Paradox." From Wikipedia: ********** "I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade." When Collins asked who didn't make it out of Vietnam, Stockdale replied: "Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart." Stockdale then…
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As anyone who invests in the stock market knows, greater risk equals greater potential. That potential could be a huge return or a colossal failure. To minimize the potential for loss, one would by necessity reduce the risk involved. Take this same concept and apply it to innovation. Truly innovative people and businesses understand that to achieve greater levels of creativity requires a high tolerance for risk. As John Ortberg once wrote, to walk on water one must get out of the boat. This involves risk. You might sink! The product you launch might fail. Your illustration might bomb. Attached to risk is fear. We are afraid of what we don't know or don't understand. We are afraid of failing. So what do some folks do? To reduce fear, they reduce risk. It's natural. But it's not the best route to innovation. Safety and creativity don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. It's…
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Which kind of leader are you? The Wannabee. This person wants to be a leader or an entrepreneur or a church planter or a ... fill in the blank. Why? Because it's the cool thing to do. It's trendy. The wannabee doesn't have a personal sense of mission that is driving his or her decisions. Without a deeply-felt sense of purpose, the wannabee drifts from conference to conference looking for what is currently in style. The Knowitall. Most of us have known a know-it-all. This is the person who has an answer to everything and therefore doesn't seek out the answers of others. The knowitall already has it figured out. What may be projected as confidence is really insecurity -- and a fear that they will be found out. At the root of the knowitall is pride and an emphasis on "I". The Sponge. How can you discern a sponge from a…
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