BLT #22: Does Your Shadow Strike Fear . . . Or Inspire Excellence

Because everything we say and do is the length and shadow of our own souls, our influence is determined by the quality of our being.

                                                                                                                    -  Dale Turner
 
There is a story about a man who complains to his therapist that there is a person, very much like himself, that is following him everywhere.  He can't escape the presence of this person and he is threatened and scared by him.  Whatever he does, this man mocks him.  The therapist asks whether he has sought help from the authorities to keep this man from bothering him.  The man simply replies, "You don't understand, my shadow is with  me in everything I do - how could I possibly get away from him?"
 
Every leader must recognize that you too cast a shadow you cannot escape, for good or ill.  That is right, you are a leader.  Now, when I say 'leader' I do not mean "CEO" or "Chief / VP / Director or Manager of anything."  I do not mean to point to a block on an organization chart.  Leaders are everywhere, even in the very chair you occupy as you read my words.  If you don't see yourself as a leader let's change that right now.  There, you are one.  If you interact with people and have an opportunity to provide insight, learning, direction, caring, help or results of any kind, you are a leader.  You may be excellent at leading or poor, and that is the point of this thinking today.
 
You see, each of us casts a real shadow like the one our friend on the therapists sofa.  But we also cast a figurative shadow with every word we speak, every email we send and every decision we make.  Students of middle school mathematics learn to calculate the length and area of a shadow cast by an object.  They can also work backwards to tell you about the object based on the size and shape of the shadow. 

Your shadow is much the same.  People who are touched by your shadow either are energized by it, or simply blocked out from the sun.  You either build up and clarify or you tear down and muddy the water.  Your shadow either stays on the surface or reaches to people's souls.  Your shadow either takes, or gives.  Much like our math students, people can - and do - tell much about you by looking at your shadow.  The energizing (or frightening part if you've never thought about it) part of this is that your shadow touches people every day!.
 
Here are some thoughts I'd ask you take into this day - to choose to cast a shadow that builds; that energizes; that makes people better for having been within it.
 
1.  Think about your shadow?  Before you leave your office/cube/desk/truck, before you answer that email, before you call your client you must think consciously about the shadow you are casting.  This is particularly important when you are having difficult conversations that require candor and resolution.  Difficult things can be done in such a way - with proper thought - that others feel that they've been treated fairly, openly and honestly.  Your shadow will leave an imprint - don't leave it to chance.
 
2.  Think and speak well of others.  I believe it's impossible to cast a shadow that builds others up without generally thinking well of people, what they're doing and who they are.  If you are in the habit of thinking or speaking poorly of anyone, put that away - it's beneath you.  You must also develop the ability to rise above petty discussions.  I once was with a group who had begun tearing down another executive.  I pointed out a couple of very valuable traits of that person and, voila!!, the negativity ended. 
 
Negative energy dissipates quickly in the presence of someone who won't permit it to exist.  Be that person.  Negativity and cynicism is lazy thinking - it's easy.  You have to sometimes look for the good in people so do it. 
 
3.  Find Opportunities to say 'YES.'  I've been known as a problem solver.  People have come to feel that I can be given just about any business problem and I will find a way through.  I've not known why that's the case until I began writing this.  I believe it starts with seeing every problem as solvable.  It might not be a straight line and there may be many competing interests but I know there is a balance to all of it -  I just have to find it.   Having a positive attitude about problems  and challenges - isn't that what work is??? - casts a shadow of opportunism and propels others forward.
 
Today is the day to begin shaping your shadow and the impact it has on those around you.

It's Not Your Budget . . . It's An Investment

That's right, somewhere in your organization budgeting for next year has already begun.  As budgeting cycles seem to begin earlier and earlier it seemed appropriate to write today about a perspective on something near and dear to executives and managers everywhere: "What's going to happen to my budget next year?"  Now, I recognize that the last 2 years have wrung much of this concern out of people.  But the discussion is still there.  Rather than wondering how much it will increase over last year, the concern has simply moved to how much it might be reduced.

There are two problems with this question, one is a problem of perspective and the other is a problem of leadership.  Let's tackle perspective first: the idea that it's yours at all.  It is not.  It never was and never will be.  It's not about you.  If you are not there does the department cease to exist for that reason?  Did it increase momentously the day you arrived and just because of it?  Your firm has determined - for the time being - that the function you manage requires some allocation of it's limited resources to ensure delivery of results for it's customers.  That's all.  It's just a number.  Your client doesn't know what it is and doesn't care about anything but getting results / service / satisfaction from you.

The second, and in my view more significant problem is one of leadership.  Do you sit around waiting for the finance people to tell you what your resources will be?  Do you begin dropping hints that service is going to suffer if your department's budget is reduced, let alone failing to provide the increased resources you are asking for?  I've heard these arguments and I can tell you from experience they (1) aren't accurate and (2) suggest a lack of commitment to results.

There is an opportunity for you to change - forever - the way you and your business peers look at budgeting that will release you from the death-spiral conversations of the past and increase your engagement and results.  Interested?  Here are three steps to budgeting freedom.  They are difficult but not complicated.

1. Understand deeply your organization's strategy, current performance and the role you and your team play in it.  Do you really grasp how your business is performing against the most critical measures?  Understanding this can help you anticipate future actions that may be taken  if earnings are down, expenses trending the wrong way or there is a change in focus.  We all want to believe that our function/team/role in the equation is absolutely mission critical and should be treated as a fixed cost (unless you want to increase it).  I worked for a wise man once who said something that stuck with me: "At some point, every expense is a variable expense."  I want to tell you he's been proven prophetic in my career more than once - and you know it to be true as well.
2. Look at your budget as an investment in the business that requires a return.  No matter what the number you are given, your mission critical results must be delivered to clients without whining about it.  This perspective helps the leader on two levels.  First, it helps you communicate with your team in a positive way when things get difficult and it helps you focus on the parts of your organization that are the most critical to your mission.  Your budget is no longer cut, but rather the company can only invest so much in what you do.  Secondly, and maybe most importantly it helps you think of your area of responsibility more strategically.  Are we doing the right things?  Can we make a bigger impact by focusing resources differently?  Can I actually argue that I should give some of the investment back because I can get the results with less money, raising the ROI of my team?
3. Challenge your team to think as if they are a supplier rather than a department.  So much of what's wrong with our thinking inside companies today is due to a lack of competition.  What if you started thinking like your company had a choice: it can buy from you or from an outside firm?  It's a little bit of mental gymnastics but you can get good at it.  You will research outside businesses to see what they're doing.  You'll have ideas pouring into your office.  Oh yes and one other thing - you will have to start marketing your results to the organization.  You're the top sales person for your corner of the world, so you have to make it happen.

Someone will make these decisions in the coming weeks - how much influence will you have and how will you lead your team through it?  Don't catch your budget, pitch your investment.


 

BLT #1 - Do What Needs Doing

We don't know each other yet, so here's a story that will change your day. I hope it brings you back again.

When I received my first job offer many/some/several years ago, it was the most thrilling moment of my life to that point. My pay was doubling from my 'pay rent while your in college living with three other guys' job and I would be working for a real honest to goodness company that people had actually heard of. So, naturally I decided to play hardball with the HR director and waited all the way until my ability to breathe had returned to practically yell "YES!!!" into the phone. Now I had to tell someone. The first person I called was my dad. He's a serious, well read man who thinks about everything he says and he stuck to the script on this call. When I told him the news he thought for a moment then offered me the following: "Son, I am proud of you and happy for you. I want you to remember that no matter your title or job description, always be ready to do what needs doing."

I've shared that story many times and, turns out, have lived by it my entire professional life. But I didn't realize until well into it that there are two parts to '...do what needs doing'.

First, you have to be ready to jump in and help out when asked, regardless of who is asking. Boss, colleague, neighbor, friend, spouse. But let me ask you: are you really willing to help when asked? Does your response say 'you betcha' or 'well, I guess so'? Make it your business that people are glad to ask you to help them.

The second part of '...do what needs doing' didn't come to me until I realized that people don't readily ask for help. My dad was also telling me that you actually have to go and look for what needs to be done - it often won't come find you.

You've got a day that's about to get started, or are right in the middle of and I want you to do 3 things today before you put your head on the pillow tonight:

1 - Find something that needs to be done that no one has asked you to do and do it. Take out the trash, deliver faxes to the lady who never picks hers up, fill the flippin' stapler at the copy machine, make the report better by adding your insights (yes, you've got some and you know it), write up that recommendation for a new training class.

2 - Look at your own job and make it better - right now. There have to be 5 things on your desk that you're just doing that way because that's how Madge showed you to do it. Improvements can be made so go ahead. Make it better, snazz it up, make it cool, have fun with it. (warning: if you work in a highly regulated business, don't just stop/change doing stuff on a lark - it might be the law).

3 - Go ask someone what else you can do to help them. After they pick themselves up off the floor and steady themselves back into their chair, they will be glad you asked and may even take you up on it. Oh yeah, and you might have to stay later today because you asked, but that's price of helping someone else - and it's worth it.

I need a refill - have a great day.