Equipping Leaders for Life

One of my favorite authors is Patrick Lencioni.  I find all of his books to be very easy reads and truly applicable to leaders ranging from billion dollar corporations to small business owners looking to improve their leadership skills.  Glancing at my book shelf today, I was reminded of Lencioni’s, The Five Temptations of a CEO.

The fable in this book tells the story of Andy, CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation, who runs across Charlie, an old man in a janitor suit, on a late train ride home from the office.  Charlie engages Andy in a conversation which is quite thought provoking and unveils The Five Temptations of a CEO.  The following is a summary of these temptations which Lencioni provides:

“Temptation #1: Status

Strategy for Overcoming: Focus on results

* Publicly commit to measurable results

* Evaluate your success based on these results alone

Temptation #2: Popularity

Strategy for Overcoming: Hold people accountable

* Confront direct reports immediately about behavior and performance

* Clarify expectations up front to make confronting direct reports easier

Temptation #3: Certainty

Strategy for Overcoming: Provide clarity

* Set public deadlines for making key decisions

* Practice making decisions without complete information around less risky issues

Temptation #4: Harmony

Strategy for Overcoming: Establish productive conflict

* Draw out differing opinions and perspectives from staff members

* Engage in and allow passionate discussions about key issues

Temptation #5: Invulnerability

Strategy for Overcoming: Build trust

* Acknowledge your own weaknesses and mistakes

* Allow direct reports to see your human side”

I enjoy this book for various reasons; however, the story involving “a janitor” is definitely a highlight.  You see, years ago in leading a manufacturing facility, I had one of those life changing conversations myself which involved a janitor.  Following a meeting with the leadership of the union representing that facility, I was cornered walking out of the room by one of their representatives.  He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Chris, you truly believe the janitors job is just as important as your job, don’t you.” To this I reply, “Absolutely!  We may have different roles on the team; however, mine is no more important than any other.”  This man’s recognition and approval of my servant leadership style was a cornerstone for me as a leader.  Also, validating this approach is that particular team’s realization of a 400% improvement in profitability within a 18 month period.

So, can you really learn something from the janitor?  When is the last time you tried?  You see, most leaders are too focused on Temptation #1:  Status that they would never dream of spending time with a janitor.

Feel like challenging me on this one?  Don’t worry, it’s not the first time.  For you Colts and Peyton Manning fans, you likely could make a case that Peyton’s role is far more important than the janitor who cleans the locker room.  Based off the results we are seeing on the field this year without Peyton, the evidence may support this thought.  However, is this really the truth, or could there be another possibility?  What if the janitor didn’t do his/her job?  Go ahead; play that one out.

So, do I really believe that that the janitor could have lead the turn around of a facility or quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts?  As one whom studies and coaches individuals and their teams in the area of leadership development, I would pose to you that this is the wrong question.  Clearly, some leaders are gifted and continually are pursuing excellence over and above others they lead.  The question is do these leaders have the humility to roll up their sleeves, clean a few toilets along the way, and acknowledge the contribution of everyone on the team.

For a more in depth review and information on Patrick Lencioni, The Table Group, and his books, click here.

Need an assessment of your team’s performance and how your personally doing on these temptations.  We have a process that will help and would love to discuss.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

“LIFE (Living Intentionally For Excellence) is a movement of entrepreneurs dedicated to raising the bar on themselves and their communities for life.  Consistent success is never achieved without a goal of excellence.  Often, people choose pleasing means and then accept whatever means are necessary to achieve it.  Winning is for the few, but anyone can choose to be a part of that few – the few who will do what it takes to win – the few who choose the live intentionally for excellence.”  pg. 188 LIFE by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward

LIFE is a business system combining world-class intellectual property in the areas of Leadership Development, Personal Development, Community Building, and LIFE Coaching which serves individuals and communities who are Living Intentionally For Excellence.

We presently are seeking business partners who are hungry, teachable, ambitious, and honorable to lead the launch of LIFE which begins on 11/1/11.   Click here for additional information and contact us to further discuss.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to read Chris Brady’s book, RASCAL.  In this book, Brady defines key characteristics of a Rascal Leader and even has a self-assessment for testing your “rascalinity”.  Brady’s humor and passion clearly make this book an easy read and his heart for freedom is readily apparent.

In particular, one of the things that I related with this book and wanted to pass along to you is “The Battle Plan – The Productive Loop.”

As you will likely recall, Arnold Business Advisors LLC mission is aiding businesses and individuals in truly defining what “success” looks like and building strategies to achieve this “success”. Substituting the word “success” for “dream” in the loop, we offer the following.

Brady states:  “Rascals start out ignorant like everyone else.  They simply don’t know what they don’t know about a certain subject, and they may not even realize they are Rascals.  But then new information finds its way into their consciousness, either through a good book, a friend, a life experience, or whatever.  The new information suggests a path toward accomplishment, a route of opportunity, an idea to be tried.”  Or, in our terms a “picture of what ‘success look’s like’”.  From this, the process begins.

Whether it’s someone looking to find a new career, start a business, partner with a new business, increase sales, work through a difficult relationship, raise their leadership capabilities, increase team effectiveness, or many other circumstances, individuals become aware of the possibility of “success” and normally immediately are skeptical. Things like, “I’m not good enough to do that” or “we’ve tried that before” come to mind.  However, then, “curiosity” is raised leading to a process of “learning”, followed by “excitement” to a point where we need to take some “action”.  But, prior to this “action”, we have that critical step of “overcoming fear”.

Assuming a Rascal “overcomes fear”, they immediately transition into action which enters the “Productivity Loop” and progress is seen.  However, our experience is that many don’t “overcome fear” which leads to “inaction, becoming paralyzed and frustrated” to a point where they meet the “Fork In The Road”.

You see, it’s not the initial lack of overcoming fear that diminishes our dreams or picture of success, it’s at the “Fork In The Road” that most experience the “make it or break it” decision. Will we “wimp out” or, as “Rascals”, will we reengage in our dream and press on to a point where we find ourselves in the productivity loop and having the experience of “Being In ‘The Zone”!”

Brady states: “‘The Zone’ is a concept that describes a peak performer in a moment all their own, where they are doing exactly what God built them to do, to the best of their ability, with all of their faculties aligned and intensely focused.”   It’s that point at which we’re hitting on all cylinders and seem invincible.  I’m sure you have experienced it at points in your life.

So, how are you and your team with being “Rascals” and operating in “The Zone”?  What’s your “rascalinity” score?

It’s our experience, which Brady also comments, that most need a coach or mentor to continually stay in the Productivity Loop.  He states that this coach or mentor should “have fruit on the tree” and not just “academic knowledge” for aiding in Rascal development.  For this reason, we mentor with those who “have fruit on the tree” and provide the same for our clients.  Would you like to further discuss? Click here to email.

Dare to be a Rascal and have a FANTASTIC day!

Best regards,

Chris

P.S.  For more blogs on fear, click here.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to read some of Ken Blanchard’s books and share time with a few leaders in one of his organizations.  One of the things which has become quite obvious through my studies is why Ken finds himself at the top of the leadership development community.  From the beginning, with The One Minute Manager and Situational Leadership to now, Ken and his teams have aided thousands of organizations on implementing the principles of what is often referred to as “servant leadership”.

Most recently, I was reading Blanchard’s book Whale Done – The Power of Positive Relationships. This is the story of a man named, Wes, who found himself visiting Sea World to “get away” from his draining corporate job.  During this “get away” Wes encountered a life changing experience.  After observing a SeaWorld show with killer whales, Wes asks the lead trainer, Dave, the question, “What’s the secret?  How do you trick these animals into performing for you?  Do you starve them?”  With much surprise, Dave shared principles the entire team of trainers learned from Shamu, one of the world’s largest killer whales.  Taking it a step further, Dave reveals that these same principles learned from Shamu are principles leaders all around the world are implementing with their teams.

So, what do killer whales have to do with training humans? More than you think!  As the story relates, and has been demonstrated by many organizations adopting principles, Blanchard outlines, “WHALE DONE” leaders and their organizations consistently outperform “GOTca” managers.  WHALE DONE leaders are focused on improving relationships by building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting energy when things get off track.  Emphasizing this “power of positive relationships”, Blanchard notes “You can’t punish a 9,000 pound Orca Whale, and then expect the trainer to get in the water with him.  Just as you can’t beat on your work team and expect them to improve their productivity at the end of the quarter.”

While the concepts discussed in this book seem quite simple, they tend to be more complex to implement.  For example:

“The WHALE DONE Response

·         Praise people immediately.

·         Be specific about what they did right or almost right.

·         Share your positive feelings about what they did.

·         Encourage them to keep up the good work.”

Simple…right?  Well, when is the last time you heard your boss, spouse, parent, coach, etc. provide you with this type of WHALE DONE response?  It may have been awhile.  This isn’t a criticism of these folks. It simply is that our culture tends to have been raised by “GOTca” managers.

These are the types of leadership principles and many more like them which we study daily and work with businesses and individuals to implement.  As a matter of fact, we encourage you to stay tuned for an upcoming announcement associated with our recent partnership with two of the world top leadership gurus.  Developing leaders and their teams is clearly our passion and we’re focused on continuing to surround ourselves with the world’s top leaders in order to best support businesses and individuals we serve.

If you would like to learn more about “servant leadership” or High Performance Leaders and their Teams, please contact us.  We would be glad to offer books, CDs, personalized coaching, and strategic consulting services to anyone sharing our passion.

In reading this past week Leaders Without Borders by Doug Dickerson, I was reminded of one of my favorite visualizations of teamwork.  It is the “V” formation used by flocks of geese in teaming up to fly.  My friends at Bright Launch have done a good job summarizing a few facts which we would like to pass along to you today.

• “Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of each other.
• Fact 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it. Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
• Fact 3: When the lead bird tires, it rotates back into the formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it. Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, or resources.
• Fact 4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and to encourage the heart and core values of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
• Fact 5: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock. Lesson: If we have as much sense of geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we’re strong.”

Source:  http://brightlaunch.com/resources/blogging/team-work

How’s your team doing with these fundamental principles?  We’d love to aid in your assessment and future development!!

Have a FANTASIC day!

When you go to McDonalds, why do you go there?  Is it for the great hamburgers?  Maybe the great icy coke, thick shakes, sundae’s, or apple pies?  Or, maybe, it’s none of these and it’s really about the “experience”.  The “experience” of convenience, kids playing on the playground, consistency of how the food tastes, clean bathrooms, and more.  So, when it comes to the “experience”, how do you describe this to someone?  Simply put…you don’t! Really, you have to “experience” it for yourself firsthand in order to “get it”.

Well, the same holds true with High Performance Coaching.  You don’t “get it” until you “experience” it. Whether you’re looking to grow profits, create a culture of excellence, learn how to influence people, be a better husband/wife, or improve other aspects of your life, the process is very similar.  And, a key part of that process is having a catalyst, change agent, coach, or non-biased third party to act as a sounding board, maintain a focus on vision, push you for commitment, provide accountability, as well as many other aspects of support.

As an example, we recently had a conversation with an owner who was of the typical, “I don’t need someone to tell me how to run my business” mindset.  After several months of coaching with their Team, this individual admitted that they were initially of this mindset; however, believe our contribution was one of the best things that has ever happened to their business.  We hear this same story over and over once people get past the initial resistance and choose to start to engage in the “experience” of High Performance Coaching.

By the way, we should mention that we also pay for and value this type of “experience”.  While we are continually learning more and more about coaching, success, leadership, and other aspects of personal and team development, we too still need someone or, in our case, teams of individuals coaching and mentoring us as leaders.  We pay as much, and in many times more than, our clients for these types of services which has aided us in seeing revenues increase 31% and profits increase 57% this year.

Arnold Business Advisors LLC provides a wide range of coaching experiences for businesses and individuals. Our client portfolio is diverse and includes international coaching clients. We don’t claim to be the least expensive option for coaching services; however, we do focus on “success” and exceeding expectations.  What this looks like is normally a significant multiple of our fees.

Are you ready to test the waters on this “experience”?  Your one click or phone call away and we guarantee satisfaction.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Best regards,
Chris

As many of our followers are aware, we are members of Truth@Work which is a non-profit organization founded in 1998. Their focus is to develop products, programs, and services designed to help Christian business leaders integrate their faith into the marketplace.  This past week I had the opportunity to participate in one of my most favorite roundtable discussions.  It is “12 Words That Will Change Your Life & Business Forever“.

So, what are those “12 Words” that could be so instrumental in turning around your business and have been so impactful in the lives of many?  Well here they are:

“Nothing to Lose.
Nothing to Hide.
Nothing to Prove.
Nothing to Fear.”

In the content, which can be viewed in Truth@Work’s sample curriculum link, Ray Hilbert, CEO, Truth@Work challenges business owners to “imagine living a life and running/leading your business/organization leveraging these ’12 Life and Business Changing Words.’”

“How would your relationships be different? How would your family be different? Your marriage? Your interaction with employees, customers, vendors, prospective clients, even your competitors?”

If you’re like most, you wrestle greatly with these words. How could anyone imagine running their business with a mindset that they have “nothing to lose” when dealing with “employees, customers, vendors, prospective clients, even your competitors?” And then there is “Nothing to Hide” — You want me to share and disclose everything to my customers?  And, “Nothing to Prove” – How do I differentiate myself without promotion?  By this point some may say “this is absolutely ridiculous.”

In the video, Ray discusses an analogy of living “closed fisted” versus “open handed.”  Imagine you’re living “closed fisted” or “attempting to control” circumstances in your life or business.  How are these control issues manifesting themselves in circumstances?  When we’re living “closed fisted”, we do have “perceived” control of the employees, customers, marriage, finances, etc..  However, what happens if someone comes along and wants to make a contribution to these circumstances?  Living “closed fisted” doesn’t allow for others to contribute. Stating it another way for those who have a belief in God, living “closed fisted” and attempting to control our circumstance doesn’t allow for Him to bless our business/lives.  Vice versa, if we live “open handed” or “palms up”, we do run the risk of others “taking” things away; however, we also have a much greater opportunity for others to contribute and bring possibility to the circumstances.  Working with High Performance Leaders and their Teams as well as knowing many Truth@Work members, I could share numerous stories of where people have made the shift from living “closed” to “open” and have seen remarkable results.

Still having a hard time believing?  Well, let me share a personally story. In October 2008, I was downsized after having an extremely successful career in Corporate America.  It was shortly following that I met Ray Hilbert and heard him share these “12 Words”.  Most that knew me at the time would likely say that I had a huge heart; however, I attempted to control situations fairly regularly.   It was during that same meeting where Ray discussed “What is holding you back?  — Fear” which can be seen in an earlier blog post. It was at that point that I made a conscious decision to truly focus on living my life “open handed” with a servant leader heart and launched Arnold Business Advisors LLC. I enrolled in a non-faith based transformational workshop at Zarvos Coaching and Consulting which further allowed me to get conscious of control issues in my life and a lack of trust in His provision.

Like most start-ups, we wrestled in the first couple years.  Revenues in 2010 were $3K beyond our target which we find interesting that they would be so close not having a clue at the beginning of the year as to how we would achieve them.  YTD 2011, our revenues are up 24% and profitability is up 57% over the same period last year.  Our revenue target for 2011 is 20% greater than 2010, and we once again do not have agreements in place coming close to supporting these types of numbers.  That being said, the numbers I have shared are the numbers and, to date, the calls, agreements, and payments have always come at the right time.

Adding to this, we won’t get into all the particular at this point; however, a couple months ago, there was one last piece of the puzzle that we were attempting to “hold on to” which our Truth@Work group challenged us on.  The next couple days, we made a conscious decision to start living “open handed” with this area as well.  The very next day was when I received a phone call which has now developed into a business opportunity for my wife, Lisa, and I to jointly launch an additional leadership development business in the very near future. In parallel with this, our clients have similar stories and are seeing remarkable results when leading their organizations with more of an “open” mindset.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, we strongly encourage you to wrestle with these “12 Life & Business Changing Words”. We also want you to know, you can’t do this alone! Find yourself a group like Truth@Work or a coach/mentor which will look you in the eye and have those tough conversations.  The benefits are truly PRICELESS!  As mentioned above, we’re still looking for that next client and would love to discuss possibilities.

As always, we appreciate your support.  We also hope that you have enjoyed this new newsletter format as it was formulated from last months survey feedback.

Thanks again, and have a FANTASTIC day!

Best regards,

Chris

PS…Want to learn more about Truth@Work and/or being a Chapter President?  Click Here

Dear Friend,

Based off feedback from our community over the past several months, we have been working to narrow the focus of our newsletter and overall brand.  As many are aware, we are “more than a coach” with our core competency centering around a process for manifestation of results.   We are passionate about inspiring leaders and their team to breakthrough challenges that they are facing.  Normally this involves a process of getting people “conscious” about dysfunction, or limiting beliefs, and setting clear intentions on consciously manifesting results.  It’s been our experience that this process yields returns well beyond what most envision.

That all being said, we need your feedback to continue to improve.  The following link is a newsletter survey.  If you’re like most, you typically receive multiple newsletters and we don’t want to be just another newsletter to fill your Inbox.

Please Complete This Survey

We know that the completion of this survey takes valuable time away from your day and we want to take this time to thank you in advance for helping us out by completing this survey.

Thanks for our continued relationship and have a great day!

Best regards,

Chris

Yes, it takes a lot to admit it; however, it’s true.  Mom always told me if I couldn’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.  Well, I have since learned that words spoken with the intent of building others up is a good thing and these words are offered with this intent.

We haven’t come across a leader or team who isn’t dysfunctional.  What we do see in a lot of situations is that leaders, and their teams, are not “conscious” of these dysfunctions.

A great book in aiding in the identification of some dysfunctions is Patrick Lencioni’s, The Five Dysfuctions of a Team.  “This gripping fable centers on Kathryn Petersen, an old-school CEO who comes out of retirement to accept the monumental task of transforming a dysfunctional group of high profile, egocentric executives into a cohesive and effective team. With an amazing gift for building teams, Kathryn forces her colleagues to confront the behavioral pitfalls that destroy most teams and adopt the five characteristics of a truly cohesive one.” You may view a summary of the five dysfunctions by clicking here.

Foundational to Lencioni’s “five dysfunctions” is the “absence of trust”.  We typically see “trust” issues in every organization which is why our role as an independent, non-biased coach is important. Some say trust is built over time.  Our experience is that this process can be greatly accelerated with the right assistance.

In addition to trust, we have experienced the fruits of team’s getting “conscious” of all these dysfunctions and developing strategies to minimize these dysfunctions on countless occasions. Our core competency is in accelerating the “getting conscious” process and bringing practical solutions for minimizing these dysfunctions resulting in the manifestation of High Performance results.

In their book, Lead Like Jesus, Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges provide “lessons for everyone from the greatest leadership role model of all time”.  One of these lessons centers around “EGO”.

Yes, we all have one and we all likely could use “The Twelve Steps of EGO Anonymous” discussed in this book.

Whether in a biblical setting or aiding businesses and individuals in a secular setting, our High Performance Coaching process is fundamentally rooted in the characteristic of servant leadership.  In order to be a servant leader, one of the first steps we need help in is the acknowledgement that we have an EGO problem.

So you say, what’s an EGO problem?  My experience is that it primarily involves my pride, wants, needs, and drive for “success” negatively impacting those whom I have been given the opportunity to influence. I will also note that as much as I value being a servant leader, my EGO gets in the way routinely which is why I surround myself with other servant leaders and coaches who provide insight and accountability.

Is it time for you to enroll in a twelve step process?  We’d love to discuss further.