Equipping Leaders for Life

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on “commitment” and its importance to building trust.  Making commitments to one and another and living up to these commitments is absolutely critical in building trust.  We touch on this in our post “The One Thing that Changes Everything” which to learn more about trust we encourage you to read.

Bigger picture wise, I’ve been reflecting on how “commitment” shows up in our culture today and its potential influence on the generations to follow.  Honestly, it’s my experience that we live in a culture that, in general, does not honor commitment.  Yes, if we ask the average person walking down the street if the honored their commitments, they would likely respond “absolutely”.  But really, are we truly honoring our commitments?

Let me set a little context.  First, in conjunction with our friends at Zarvos Leadership & Coaching, we coach five levels of commitment.  They are:

1. “I don’t care”
2. Wishing, hoping, and wanting
3. Trying
4. Committed “Unless”
5. Committed “Whatever it Takes”

(more…)

This past week in one of our advisory boards, we were discussing the topic of “integrity”.  The question was posed, “Are you and your business operating with integrity?”  Now, I don’t know about you, however, I am guessing a high percentage of the folks reading today’s newsletter would answer this question as “yes”.  However, before we answer this too quickly, let’s think about it a bit further.

First, we must define what “integrity” means.  The Merriam Webster Dictionary de­fines “integrity” as:

1. an adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : INCORRUPTIBILITY
2. an unimpaired condition: SOUNDNESS
3. the quality or state of being complete or undivided : COMPLETENESS

Now, let’s break that down a bit further:

• Incorruptibility – de­fined as being incapable of corruption: not subject to decay or dissolution: incapable of being bribed or morally corrupted.
• Soundness – free from injury or disease: free from flaw, defect, or decay, free from error, fallacy, or misapprehension.
• Completeness – having all necessary parts, elements, or steps: brought to an end.

Well, I don’t know about you; however, when we start to look at “integrity” through this lens, these are some pretty high standards to uphold.  As a matter of fact, could anyone of us truly operate in integrity 100% of the time looking at these definitions? (more…)

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a Truth@Work webinar with Donnie Smith, CEO, Tyson Foods. Let me simply say, WOW!   In today’s culture, it’s sometime difficult to discern wise counsel when it comes to leadership.   There is an abundance of information and people claiming to have “best practices”, however, do they truly have “fruit on the tree”? So, when you get an opportunity to listen to someone like Donnie Smith, it is truly impactful.

Given this and as a testament to Donnie’s humility, he began the presentation by acknowledging right up front that he’s just another man and there is nothing special about him.  With his southern accent, he says, “Donnie Smith is just eat up with normal. There is nothing special about me, but there is something special about the Lord I serve.”

Much of the context of the webinar was about how Tyson Foods has created a “faith-friendly” culture. If this is of interest to you, I am more than willing to share more on this topic with our partnership with Truth@Work. However, today, I want to focus in on a couple of key points Donnie made that stood out to me. (more…)

Looking at your business or personal relationships, what is that “one thing that changes everything?” That one foundational “thing” that, if done correctly, will explode the growth of any business or personal relationships. Vice verse, if done incorrectly, it will destroy your business and personal relationships over night. Taking it even deeper, it can make or break you as an individual having self worth. What is it? It’s The Speed of Trust!

Intuitively, most would acknowledge that trust is important. However, how big of an issue is it and how impactful is the “speed of trust”? Stephen M.R. Covey’s book, The Speed of Trust, does a fantastic job of capturing the essence of trust and its impact.

Looking at an organizational level, Covey provides the following statistics:

• “Only 51% of employees have trust and confidence in senior management.
• Only 36% of employees believe their leaders act with honesty and integrity.
• Over the past 12 months, 76% of employees have observed illegal or unethical conduct on the job – conduct which, if exposed, would seriously violate the public trust.”

Looking at relationships, Covey says to consider the following:

• “The number one reason people leave their jobs is a bad relationship with their boss.
• One out of every two marriages end in divorce”

What about on an individual basis.  Covey states: “consider the percentage of students who acknowledged that they cheated in order to improve their odds of getting into graduate school.

• Liberal arts students – 43%
• Education students – 52%
• Medical students – 63%
• Law students – 63%
• Business students – 75%”

Do you think that these students simply cheated just this one time to make the cut? I seriously doubt it. And, they say if you cheat once, it’s always easier to cheat the next time. Deep down, how do you think these students are doing today with respect to “self-worth”?  There is a strong correlation, guaranteed. Folks, trust is HUGE!

What’s the economics associated with trust? I’ll let you read the book and learn a much more comprehensive overview of the cost of trust. However, a formula which Covey offers is:

“Decrease Trust = Decrease Speed Increase Cost

Increase Trust = Increase Speed Decrease Cost”

Seems intuitive, right? But is it really a problem for you personally in your organization and your relationships. We work with a lot of organization, have a variety of relationships with individuals, and our experience is consistent with many of the statistics being shared above.

So, what do we do with this “crisis of trust”? Covey outlines “The 5 Waves of Trust – Self Trust, Relationship Trust, Organizational Trust, Market Trust, and Societal Trust.” Notice that the first wave starts with “self trust”. In the book, Covey discusses how “self trust” is gained, or lost through, “The 4 Cores of Credibility – Integrity, Intent, Capabilities, and Results”.  I believe it’s important to recognize that many think if you’re an honest person, or a person of integrity, you are “trustworthy”. Well, Covey challenges this and contends that “trustworthiness” is actually the combination of these 4 cores. For example, I might be the most honest, best intentioned individual you know; however, you likely wouldn’t trust me to do brain surgery on you or a loved one. Clearly, I don’t have the capabilities or results which would build this type of trust.

Moving on into the book, Covey outlines The “13 Behaviors” which will significantly enhance your ability to establish trust in both your personal and professional relationships. It truly is a great read and I encourage you to click through and get your copy.

In his LIFE Success talk a few weeks ago, Kirk Brittles, discusses Covey’s Speed of Trust and the great impact that trust has in all of life’s relationships. “Trust is built as you speak openly and honestly in a tactful manner. Developing an ‘I’ve-got-your-back’ attitude will help create a ‘Speed of Trust’ with everyone you associate with. Taking pride in yourself and your actions and being up-front, open, and honest when you make a mistake will only help you in the long run.” This success talk is one of many other talks existing in the LIFE compliment of products that we recommend plugging into and sharing with your teams.

With all of this talk on trust, I would be remise if I didn’t briefly go down the path of “trusting” and “distrusting” individuals. The question I get asked frequently is: “What do you do with a non-trustworthy individual?”  My response is, you have to find a way to bring trust to that relationship. At the point you bring mistrust, you become part of the dysfunction in the relationship. Mistrust occurs when you don’t stop and deal with the conflict or issue immediately with the person(s) involved. This topic is far beyond the scope of today’s message and there are multiple resources we would recommend in the event you would like to learn more. Please feel free to contact us for more specifics.

So, while I haven’t offered a lot of actionable content, I hopefully have given rise to the importance and impact of trust. Additionally, I have offered a few great resources to plug into to continue to assess, learn more, and take actionable dialog for personal development.

Please feel free to go to our blog and comment on this post or any of the others to provide and seek input from our community.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

When working with businesses and individuals we often ask our clients to answer the following questions: “Who am I, What am I, Why am I”. We always want to get to the core of these questions early on in the relationship. Experts will tell you that successful people always have clarity of their “values” and “personal purpose/mission”.

The stories of how this has helped people are numerous and the most relevant story to me is my own personal story. Without getting into all the details, I would tell you that there were some events which transpired in my 30′s that started me down a path of truly seeking to understand what “success” looked like for my life. In 2008, I left what some of the world might view as a “successful” corporate position due to the economic downturn. In the initial 40 days after leaving this position, I had the gift of time to reflect on the questions “Who am I, What am I, Why am I” as well as “What does ‘success’ look like to me?”

You see the world would have told me a Director’s position in a midsize corporation with a six figure income, a nice house in one of the area’s most prominent neighborhoods, a second home on a lake with a boat, being a state championship quarterback who married a high school homecoming queen, having two children (boy and girl), and a golden retriever all looked like we were “successful” and “living the dream”. This isn’t to say there is anything specifically wrong with this lifestyle.  However, at the time, I was out of balance. Furthermore, I couldn’t really articulate what “success” looked like nor my personal “values” and “purpose/mission”.

During my 40 day journey and the months following, I continually worked to clearly answer all of these questions. What I first discovered was that my life had been out of balance as I was not in alignment with my core values. While I would have told you God & family were at the top of my values, my actions previously were not supporting these values. These values and relationships were present in my life, however, would tend to get displaced at times due primarily to a “lack of time”.

When reflecting on my purpose/mission, I can’t say that I ever really spent time prior to my 40 day journey reflecting on the importance of being able to articulate this purpose in a personal mission statement. Yes, I would have told you that raising a family, living a Christ-like life, and giving 100% to my work were what I aspired to do; however, what does this look like! And why weren’t these things truly fulfilling me?

So, when we say our business mission is:   “Arnold Business Advisors LLC prides itself in aiding businesses and individuals in truly defining what ‘success’ looks like and building strategies to achieve this ‘success’.” It is our intent to aid individuals and their teams in answering these questions and realizing the connection they have toward achieving results in whatever area of life they aspire to have.

There are multiple techniques to aid people in their discovery of “values”, “personal mission statement”, and definition of “success” which we utilize. One of our favorite tools comes from The Ken Blanchard Companies which is a process Susan Fowler developed for the Situational Self Leadership. For your benefit, we have linked it here for your reference.

At the end of the day, once you have all of this defined, one of the next steps which is often difficult to achieve is that you must “believe” in what you’ve put down on paper. Unfortunately, life gets in the way often, and we run across obstacles that are not in alignment with our “values” and “mission” and will challenge us to the importance of these values and mission. That’s why my wife has created the poster below which is on the wall in my office. This serves as a daily reminder as to “Who am I, What am I, and Why am I?” Even better, it serves as a reminder of what other are seeing from the outside which is priceless.

Being well grounded in your “values” and “personal mission” now allows you to have a strong foundation for evaluating visions and dreams. For example, my values are God, family, honesty, integrity, and freedom. My personal mission is “to utilize my listening and problem solving skills to lead people in the discovery of their purpose and the intentional fulfillment of that purpose.” Now, let say that I have an opportunity for a contract with a Fortune 500 company which will allow me to earn $1.0M over the next year that requires me to travel 75% of my time. Based off my “values” and “personal mission”, what do you believe my response should be to this opportunity? While I remain open to possibilities, it’s not in alignment and therefore, I should not accept this opportunity.  (I do have a few other thoughts of what to do though!)

If not already, we truly encourage you to take time to go through this process.  Even if you already have, it is helpful to repeat such that you can continually refine.  As indicated above, this normally evolves over an extended time of reflection.  It’s also helpful to have outside resources involved as they generally see things in us we don’t see.  We welcome the opportunity to be one of those resources.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

PS…Enjoying today’s newsletter, however, having difficulty in applying it toward a business context?  See our post The Cause for an example.

Are you investing in your employees and yourselves personal development? Or, with the economy, is this an area you have consciously cut back?

In a recent article from The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), executives report a slight decline in learning development funding.  In spite of this, they still acknowledge the importance of investing in employee learning and development.

“The findings in our latest State of the Industry Report clearly demonstrate that executives and business leaders know their investments in employee learning and development are keys to survival, recovery, and future growth,” says Tony Bingham, President and CEO of ASTD. “Training and the reskilling of the workforce is a strategic driver for companies worldwide. We are encouraged to see that, despite economic uncertainty, business leaders know learning matters.”

The report shares that on averages, businesses invest $1,081 per employee for learning and development.  The specifics of these investments vary; however, a large percentage is invested in external resources in the form of workshops, seminars, and conferences.  While these environments provide value, learning development effectiveness and retention can be a concern for leaders.  Many have experienced sending their employees off to a 2-3 day seminar, their returning “fired-up”, only to watch this energy fizzle within weeks of the seminar.

So, what’s an effective alternative?  The leaders at LIFE have hundreds of years of combined experience and are recognized among the world’s top leadership experts.   LIFE has “systematized” a process for providing and reinforcing world-class leadership development.  Businesses and individuals are finding this “systematized” approach to be a much more effective means of provide personal development which is retained.

Here is a brief overview of LIFE:

“The LIFE business launched with the purpose of providing world-class leadership materials to business executives, entrepreneurs, corporate climbers, pastors, church leaders, administrators, community service leaders, public servants, teachers, parents, and anybody who will find themselves in a position to lead. When it gets right down to it, leadership is for everyone. Nobody will be able to make their way through life without needing the draw upon the toolbox of leadership. Sadly, many people lack these tools and therefore get to live with the consequences of being ill-equipped. These consequences include missed opportunities, unfulfilled career aspirations, financial woes, and broken relationships.”

It doesn’t take long to do a bit of research to find that investing in an entire year’s LIFE subscription is considerably less than a 2 or 3 day seminar.  Yes, for as little as $50/month, individuals are seeing dramatic changes in their business, organizations, families, and overall relationships.  Click here to read some of their testimonials.

As members of LIFE, we are plugging a variety of leaders into this leadership development system.  With a simple email or phone call, we can get you started with a LIFE subscription that includes a 30 day money back return policy on all its products.

Want to learn more? Please contact us today!  We guarantee you will not be disappointed.  Also, make sure you ask about The 3 for Free program!

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Is your team dysfunctional?  How do you know? Did you know that we offer a simply online assessment such that leaders and their teams “know” their current situation?

Yes, for a small nominal fee, we offer an online assessment and debrief.  The assessment tool we utilize is Patrick Lencioni’s, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, online assessment which team’s all around the world are utilizing and finding great value.  Lencioni states:

“The Online Team Assessment provides a tangible, measurement tool for the Five Dysfunctions of a Team model. The Team Assessment report offers customized data outlining a team’s strengths and weaknesses, recommendations for overcoming potential dysfunction and specific instructions for debriefing the results.

Since 2004, approximately 50,000 individuals have gone through our Assessment. A variety of teams—from Fortune 500 executive teams, to NFL coaching staffs, to school principals and their teachers—have used and benefited from the Assessment. With only 38 questions, this tool provides a quick, effective snap-shot for team performance. “

Click here to see a  Sample Team Assessment Report .

For your reference, fees are dependent on the size of the team.  Typically, individual assessments, a summary report, and debrief with your organizations main contact is completed for $1499.  A small investment in your team to “know” the true health of your team. For more details, please contact us.

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!

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