Leadership

There are a few absolutes in this world but one of them is this: at some point I will offend you, and at some point you will offend me. 

So as leaders, what does that mean? It means two things:

1- We have to lead from above

2- We have to lead from beside

Let's break these down: 

We have found that a bridge that connects two frustrated parties are clear systems.  As a leader, a way to lead from above it to create these systems, so that the work we are doing is measured objectively by those systems and not by people's emotions or opinions.

How then do you lead from beside? Without harping on this because I know we talk about it a lot....people need to be heard. 

We often think we are great listeners, but what does that really mean? Great listeners are intentional to:

• Schedule time to listen

• Listen to understand, not to respond

• Listen without judgement

• Ask powerful follow up questions 

In what areas can you and will you commit to being a better listener?

Identify people in your organizations who need that and then create a plan to make sure it happens. 

Systems, paired with culture will give you an organization that is healthy and thriving. If your team is in need of that, let us know.

Take Action

It's one of those things we just can't allow. There are a few phrases clients will say and we immediately make it known to them that they will never be saying them again.

One of those is "oh, it will work out, I'm a pretty lucky person.”

No, no, no. In the work world we do not rely on luck to make sure things happen. 

You may have heard the phrase "you create your own luck.” Here's the problem: it’s an oxymoron because to create is active and luck is passive. So we're going to take that phrase and we are going to throw it out and never use it again, deal? 

If there is something we want to accomplish, we are going to have to go out and seek out opportunities. Opportunity requires action and we know this: action is our friend. Action provides us confidence, experience, wisdom and opportunity. 

Think of the people that you know who are really successful... did they sit around and wait for things to drop in their laps? They didn’t, and neither should we. 

As Thomas Jefferson says, "I'm a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it that I find.”  Let's be like Thomas Jefferson... go out there, work and find the opportunities that we are looking for. They are out there waiting for you. Don't sit around and wait for them.

If you would like more how-to tips about how to create your own opportunities, head over to the Business Lab Podcast with Laine Schmidt.

Core Values

There is an easier way to make decisions. 

Most companies spend a lot of time on their mission and vision statements. We need those; keep doing that. There is an area that gets missed though, that when clarified, is a great benefit to everyone in your organization.  Core values...are yours defined?

We have discussed in previous posts the meaning behind mission and vision.

Mission is what we do.

Vision is what we want.

Values….that’s what we are. 

Choosing three to five characteristics that identify your company can be hard, but we do not stray away from things that are hard.  It's worth the time to sit down with your team and identify the key characteristics that are at the core of why and how you do everything. 

The values of Laine Schmidt Coaching are: Commitment, Community and Quality.

Some other ideas for you:

Amazon: Customer Obsession, Operational Excellence, Passion for Invention, Long-term Thinking

Chik-fil-A: Serve, Better Together, Purpose Driven, Pursue What’s Next

Yahoo: Excellence, Innovation, Customer Fixation, Teamwork, Community, Fun 

What this is going to do for you: it's going to help us save time on decision making.

For example, you're ready to bring on a new team member, the question is, are they in line with our values?

Or, you're ready to implement a new program or a new project. Is it in line with our values? 

Psychology Today came out with a study that showed we make approximately 35,000 decisions a day. Imagine how much brain power that's requiring. 

What if we could cut that in half by giving ourselves a tool by which to make those decisions? Our values, our home base. 

When we partner with companies to help them walk through this process, it’s a sure bet that there is transformation in the way they work and get results. 

If your team is interested in identifying your values, let us know. 

Say No

You can do it, but should you?

Your colleague asks you if you'll cover a shift for them and you say yes, but how are you going to feel after you commit? 

Or, you have a great marketing plan for your new product... which is already selling really well. You can market it this way, but is that the best use of your time and resources? 

Throughout the day we have so many things coming into our brains: ideas, people who need things, and all those things are good, but it doesn't mean all those things are helpful and necessary for what we're trying to accomplish.

Join me as we trim the fat and learn to say “no.” So much of where stress comes from is the feeling of not having control. This is one area where you absolutely have control. 

Sometimes we fear that if we say “no”: to something, the world will stop spinning. I have a secret for you: everything is going to keep going and everyone's going to be fine.

What you need to do is keep your focus. When we say “no” to extra things and we stay in our lane, what happens is we're less stressed, we're more productive and we can enjoy things outside of work, knowing that when we are working, we are working well.

Do you feel like you have a hard time staying on what you need to do? Give us a call...we love helping people learn how to say “no.”