Leadership – Page 9 – mardihumphreys.com

Failure is Fuel

Have you heard phrases like fail forward, fail fast, or fail often? They are meant to redefine what we label as failure. You know setbacks are inevitable, so why do you feel like a failure when you don’t get the results you expected? This mindset makes you afraid to take risks or try anything new. Did you know the Wright brothers crashed eight planes before achieving flight? It isn’t really failure you fear; it’s the judgement of your manager and coworkers. How do you get over that?

Reframe

Instead of viewing failure as a negative outcome, regard it as valuable feedback. Think of every task as an experiment. Analyze your failed results as objectively as possible by asking: Where did the process go off track? What change needs to be made to get the desired outcome? Ask your team for their insights. Set ground rules for constructive evaluation and be open to their perspectives. Inclusion cultivates a supportive environment which is key for building the confidence necessary to take calculated risks. Growth requires stepping outside of your comfort zone. Life-long learners realize the need to reframe perceived failure as a learning tool. When you take on challenges that align with your organization’s goals you either succeed or learn. Think of either result as winning.

Reflect

You may not want to immediately ruminate on a project that spectacularly crashed and burned. So, take a beat then ask your team, what did you learn that you want to repeat? What do you want to eliminate? How can you integrate these changes into the process? Setbacks are building blocks for continuous improvement. Use this new knowledge sharing to adjust your strategies and improve your future performance. This process helps your team build resilience which is essential for bouncing back quickly from failures. Success feels good, but the lessons you learn when calculated risks fail stick with you longer.

Reconstruct

Instead of expecting something to work. Expect it not to. Build margin into your timeline for multiple tries, edits, or iterations. This takes some of the pressure off to get it right the first time. When a project doesn’t work out the way you wanted, take the opportunity to adjust your team’s mindset. It is not a reflection of anyone’s abilities or worth as a person. It is an opportunity to develop skills and perseverance. Begin by breaking the goal down into smaller tasks and tackle each one step by step. Celebrate each successfully completed step, document your progress, then move to the next. You will have a record of both your team’s achievement and history. This is a useful reminder that what you did before, you can do again.

Embracing failure as fuel for improvement is a gradual process. Be patient with yourself, stay persistent, and maintain a positive mindset. Successful people fail. A lot.

What strategy do you employ to learn from perceived failure? Please share in the comments.

Too Much Information

Access to information 24/7/365 is a double-edged sword. You can find out whatever you want whenever you want, but you also have a clamor of opinions presenting themselves as facts. Data doesn’t lie, but it can be manipulated to reinforce whatever cause a person or group is promoting. How do you sift through all the noise of both too much and conflicting information to find the truth?

Credibility

Look for reputable and authoritative information outlets. For example, academic journals, long-term experts in the field, or news outlets who have won awards for investigative reporting. Assess your source’s credentials. Do they have a history of accuracy and unbiased reporting? Cross-reference information from different sources with varying points of view to get as close to a 360 degree understanding of the topic as possible. For example, look for at least three sources that agree on the problem to be solved and each one offers a different solution. Be mindful of potential biases in the information offered. What is your source’s motivation for delivering this data to the world? Consider the perspectives, motivations, and potential conflicts of interest of your source. For example, is a tobacco company paying for the study whose data alleges smoking cigarettes is good for your health? Examine your source’s claims with a critical mind. Does it pass the logic test? Does the conclusion they reached seem reasonable or do they state unsupported theories as facts?

Context

Examine information through the filter of your specific question. Some information may be accurate but does not directly apply to your situation. For example, COVID-19 changed everything. If the research is from 2019, is it still relevant today? Apply critical thinking to the evidence and supporting data for each piece of information you find. For example, are results of a study easily verifiable? Is empirical evidence, or other well-conducted research easily accessible? Look for specific statistics, experiments, or studies that both support and counter the claims being made. Look for the section of the study that states the who, what, when, where, and how it was conducted. Assess the methodology, sample size, and potential limitations of the research. If the information is based on scientific research, has it undergone rigorous peer review? Typically, peer-reviewed studies are scrutinized by independent experts which increases their reliability.

Consistency

Look for patterns and similarities in the information from diverse sources. If multiple reliable sources consistently come up with similar facts or conclusions, odds are the information is accurate. For example, is there consensus among a majority of subject matter experts? Engage your inner skeptic. Question the information. Look for alternative explanations or counterarguments. Be aware of logic traps, implicit bias, or propaganda techniques that can distort truth.

Uncovering truth is an ongoing evaluation and an iterative process. It requires humility and willingness to rethink when new and often contradictory information emerges. If you stay curious, seek diverse perspectives, and remain open-minded to continuously reassess your conclusions, you may be surprised at how often you discover the truth.

What decision-making criteria do you use to navigate conflicting information to arrive at a reliable understanding of the truth? Please share in the comments.

Spending the Summer

How is it Independence Day already? If you’re going to take a summer vacation, the season is half over. Yes, travel is pricey, but there are ways to mitigate the expense. Here are a few strategies to stretch your hard-earned money.

Plan for Spontaneity

If you don’t have your heart set on a certain destination, then start with your budget. Your vacation has categories like transportation, accommodations, food, and entertainment. Assign dollars to these categories, but keep in mind that the price things cost changes every day.
Prices follow demand. If you can vacation at an off-peak time and place, (e.g., Tuesday – Thursday in Columbus instead of Friday – Sunday in Orlando) then travel and lodging will be cheaper.
Use a travel app (Travelzoo, Skyscanner, Hopper, etc.) to research discounts. Enable notifications so you are alerted when the price of flights and hotels goes down. Check your loyalty programs. Do you have points to use?
If you choose to fly, check your airline’s baggage policy before packing your suitcase. Can you fit everything in a carry-on? If so, you can avoid excessive baggage fees.
What is going on at your destination? Is there a fair or festival? Is there a ballpark offering a discount day? Is there a coupon for a museum tour? Does a local restaurant offer a kids-eat-free-with-adult-purchase option? If you can plan your itinerary around deals on entertainment and eating, then you can save a lot of money.

Go Further Together

Can you vacation with family or friends? If you travel in a group then you can divide the costs. For example, if you drive, you can carpool and take turns paying for gas. If you stay in a hotel, you may be able to negotiate a group rate. Or, check out websites like Airbnb or VRBO for alternatives. What about renting a house? When you have a kitchen you can all chip in to buy groceries. You can either take turns cooking or you can make meals together instead of eating out every day. When you do eat out, look for locally-owned restaurants to support. Restaurants catering to tourists often charge more for the same meal options. Choosing local serves multiple purposes. You get to experience both the culture and cuisine of your destination and you’ll save money. You will save even more money if you can either walk or take public transportation to get to the eatery. Research the available options while planning your trip.

Short and Sweet

If you don’t have the time, money, or patience to deal with the chaos going on in the travel industry right now, then at least take a break with a staycation. If you are into camping, some state parks have no-fee options. Or take a day and do something you don’t usually do like go to your local art museum, or take a hike at a nearby Metropark, go to a movie theater and attend the first showing of the day, relax with a book at your neighborhood pool, stay all day at an amusement park including the closing fireworks show. You can have a good time and stay within your budget.

What you are doing to get away this summer? Please share in the comments.

I Will Follow

Every year Father’s Day reminds me of my dad’s impact on my leadership journey. Dad is my stepfather. He and Mom married when I was fourteen years old. I was happy Mom found someone to share her life with. I was not happy to add another authority figure to mine. But, Dad rarely told me what to do. His authority and effectiveness depended on his relationship with me. He was an influencer. He still is.

Being an influencer at work, even if you don’t have a formal leadership role, can significantly impact your team’s dynamics and the outcomes of your projects. Here are three ways you can become one.

Communicate

Taking a page from Dad’s playbook, accelerate your influence through active listening. For example, you notice your coworker, Rhonda, is struggling. Use 3P listening to help her.

Ponder: Ask open-ended questions that prompt Rhonda to articulate her struggle.
Posture: Make direct eye contact, uncross your arms and legs, and nod your head. These non-verbals are signals to Rhonda that you hear and understand.
Point: Repeat back to Rhonda what you heard her say. You saying it out loud helps Rhonda put her thoughts in order. Finally, ask Rhonda if you heard her correctly. She now has new options to explore and you to thank for them.

When asked to be a resource, be generous in sharing your knowledge, skills, and experiences. You influence your team through effective communication to foster understanding, collaboration, and trust.

Build Relationships

Speaking of trust, business moves at the speed of trust. Being inclusive is good for you both professionally and personally.

Recruit coworkers to your team who look, think, and act differently than you. In meetings, encourage everyone to contribute to the conversation. Recognize and appreciate them when they do. Provide teammates opportunities to showcase their abilities.
Facilitate collaboration across departments. For example, would it be useful for your team to have an ask-me-anything meeting with someone from Compliance?
When conflict arises, (notice I said when and not if) throw water on the fire instead of gasoline. For example, let’s say your team’s last three projects were precariously close to missing their deadlines. As diplomatically as possible, ask your teammates Rodney, Rhonda, Randy, and Ramona why. You discover problems like: Rhonda couldn’t create the PowerPoint for the client presentation until Rodney wrote the report. Rodney couldn’t write the report until Randy gave him the statistics. Randy couldn’t submit the statistics until Ramona pulled the data. This new information allows the team to adjust the flow so it works for everyone.

Your ability to handle adversity and maintain your composure influences your coworkers to cultivate a cooperative environment.

Change Agent

Exercise your emotional intelligence and lead by example. What behaviors do you want your coworkers to exhibit? Professionalism? Enthusiasm? Follow up? Do you exhibit those qualities? Influencers are dedicated, honest, and optimistic. If you show up and convey these qualities every day, you inspire others to follow suit. For example, at the end of each project, do you have a follow-up meeting for continuous improvement? Do you ask your team, what went well? What didn’t? What do we wish we would’ve done instead? How can we do that instead-thing next time? Offering to streamline processes, suggesting innovative ideas, or encouraging low-risk experiments influence your team to confidently present their ideas to the group.

Leadership is not exclusive to designated positions within your organization. If you influence people, they will follow you. If people follow you, you are a leader regardless of your title.

What do you do to positively influence your work team? Please share in the comments.

Shepherd Not Superhero

Superhero movies are out in full force with more to come. You walk out of the theater and into work ready to be the superhero for your clients, but resist the temptation to swoop in and save the day. You are not the Tatooine farm boy Luke Skywalker. You are the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. In other words, your role is to guide your clients to make wise choices that make their organization thrive. Here are some key steps you can take to play your role effectively.

Where Are They?

You and your client are on a journey together. Your itinerary starts with where your client is and ideally ends with where they want to be. Conduct a comprehensive analysis. Help your client objectively evaluate their current business situation, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). Identify areas for improvement, growth, and competencies to build on.

Where Do They Want to Go?

Your client’s goals represent the destination you want to reach. Work with them to gain a deep understanding of their business objectives, long-term ambitions, and key performance indicators (KPIs). This knowledge helps you narrow all the ways they could reach their goals down to the best ways to reach them.

How Will You Help Them Get There?

Coach – Form a team made up of players from both your organization and theirs. Together, develop a plan that outlines strategic objectives, targets, and action steps. Tailor the plan to their unique situation and align it with both their current and long-term visions. Get as specific as possible with the information you have. Based on your client’s goals and your analysis of their business, come up with a list of customized solutions and recommendations. For example, Do they need to create new products or services? Do they need to expand into new markets? Are there processes they can improve?

Advise – Schedule regular meetings to update the team on industry trends, market dynamics, and competitor activities. This empowers everyone to make informed decisions in real time and stay ahead of your client’s competitors. Earn their trust by being a reliable source of support and guidance. Demonstrating your commitment to their success fosters a strong relationship with your client. When their needs evolve, adapt your approach accordingly. For example, communicate beneficial emerging technology trends or marketing opportunities. Anticipate challenges their growth strategies may cause and help them mitigate the risks. Don’t just have a Plan A. Have Plans B – E ready so you can minimize the impact of inevitable setbacks.

Manage – Establish KPIs and milestones to track their progress. Regularly review the data and provide your client with progress reports. Definitely highlight your successes, but also identify areas of concern. Let your client know you are watching these areas in case an adjustment is necessary. Outline your contingency plan for the possible adjustment. Periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented strategies. Analyze the results. Are there ways to further optimize future outcomes? Seek feedback from your client and align your guidance to their expectations.

Each client is unique, and their business needs vary. By customizing your guidance, staying informed, and being proactive, you can effectively guide your clients to make super-heroic choices that support their business growth and yours.

How do you ensure you are the guide in your client’s story and not the superhero? Please share in the comments.

Self-worth

We talked last week about getting laid off from your job, but we did not talk about its negative impact on your budget. You know it’s important to maintain an emergency fund (three to six months worth of expenses), and the best time to do that is before you need it. But why is it so hard to save up your money?

Status

Society trains you to attach your self-worth to your income. It’s one way to evaluate success or failure. Have you heard the motto, “He who dies with the most toys wins”? People are competitive. In the workplace, the person who has the most money has the most power. You carry that mindset into relationships outside of work. You gravitate toward people with similar socioeconomic backgrounds. If you feel your income is lower than your friends, then you’re embarrassed to discuss it. But talking about finances can create community because people have knowledge to share. For example, if you both have car loans, what is their interest rate? Is it lower than what you’re paying? That conversation may not only save you money, but also build a stronger relationship. Comparing yourself to others is useless. There will almost always be someone in your life who makes more money than you. You decide how much status, comfort, and peace of mind is enough for you.

Humans are Judgy

Discussing money openly is still generally considered impolite. Seventy percent of Americans think money conversations should be kept private. Other people aren’t the only ones judging you based on your income. You also judge you. If your income is tied to your sense of identity, then revealing it feels like exposing something deeply personal. It’s especially painful if your income does not match your goals. Society places a lot of value on financial success. You may feel looked down on if you know your income is less than your coworkers. That is one of the reasons the culture of the American workforce traditionally gives for the strong privacy policy around finances.

Paradigm Shift

The pandemic made the workforce rethink what making a living looks like. For example, is there more to life than working under the terms and conditions someone else sets? Or why do you care about society’s opinion when they aren’t living your life? If tightening your budget will enable you to live the way you want, then try these ideas.

Determine essential expenses (housing, utilities, groceries) and cut back on non-essential expenses (eating out/food delivery, entertainment, subscription services)
Review your health, (medical, dental, eye) car, life, and any other insurance policies. Make sure you have adequate coverage, don’t have more than you need, and you aren’t paying more than necessary
Pay off your credit cards ASAP. Look for a card with a lower interest rate. When you find one, contact your bank and ask them to match it
Work an additional flexible-schedule job (dog walker, food delivery driver, consultant) to supplement your income until you get your finances where you want them

Saving your money is hard because it’s not about money. It’s about how you feel about money. How do you prioritize how much is enough? Please share in the comments.

Job Insecurity

As of April 30, 2023, 168,243 tech employees have been laid off. Losing your job through no fault of your own can be devastating. You feel rejected, hurt, angry, embarrassed, maybe even panicked. Now what?

What Not to Do

Retaliate – It’s tempting to act on your anger and lash out. For example, if your former employer is a bring-your-own device to work environment, then you may feel like withholding the projects you did for them. Upload their stuff from your personal laptop to their shared drive and put it behind you. You may also be tempted to indulge in some trash talk the next time you’re on social media, but disrespecting the organization and/or its leadership only reflects badly on you. If you were a hiring manager, would you interview someone who publicly maligns a former employer?

Rush – Take the time to find your best opportunity. Rushing into a new job that isn’t a good fit can lead to further stress and disappointment. While you may need money immediately, it’s better to take a temporary and/or part-time job both for the paycheck and the time it gives you to keep looking for an organization whose culture excites you.

Ruminate – Overthinking how unfair the situation is does not help you move past it. Triggers are everywhere. Well-meaning people ask you about it and the story is painful to tell over and over. Come up with a neutral elevator speech you can easily remember and deliver it every time someone asks you what happened. Something like, “They had to downsize so now I’m free to accept a new role. Do you know of any open positions?”

What to Do

Reflect – If you are not given a reason for your termination, ask. Knowing why you were chosen may prevent similar issues from happening in the future. Then take stock. Do a personal SWOT analysis. What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats? (If you need help with this, DM me.)

Request – Will the organization help you find another job? Will they be a reference? Do they have a connection they will introduce you to? Will they hold a seminar for those who are getting laid off to help with resume reviews, mock interviews, and networking skills? If not, will they pay for a session with a career coach as part of your severance package? If you are eligible for unemployment benefits, file a claim as soon as possible. Avoid making large purchases or taking on debt. These temporary measures can help you stay financially afloat while you search for your next role.

Review – Update your LinkedIn profile and personal website. Adjust your resume and cover letter (Yes, cover letters are still a thing. Don’t get me started.) to highlight your most relevant skills and experiences. Customize your application materials to each position you apply for. This is a job in itself, so after a session working on those, practice self-care and do something that makes you feel good.

How you handle this setback reveals your level of emotional intelligence. Imagine it as a growth opportunity. When you frame it that way in your mind you have great illustrations to draw on for your next job interview.

Have you ever been laid off? What did you do to recover? Please share in the comments.

Communication is Key

I love it when people ask me if I’m worried about robots taking my job. They think Artificial Intelligence will be faster, smarter, and cheaper at creating content than I am. They’re right. But instead of displacing me, AI has promoted me. I am now a Prompt Engineer. How can you protect yourself from being replaced by AI?

Embrace

We fear what we don’t know, so get to know at least one AI chatbot. Here are a few you can try for free. Use AI to help you speed up your process. It’s like washing your car. When you drive through an automatic carwash there are no humans with buckets, sponges, and hand-held vacuums employed to hand wash your vehicle. Technology changed the way you wash your car. Just like technology changes the way most work gets done. Take control and upskill yourself.

Engage

The more work AI can do, the more important the human touch becomes. Use communication to:

Build Trust – Is there a coworker you avoid because the only time they speak to you is when they want something? Don’t be that coworker. Up your interpersonal communication efforts. If you get into the habit of engaging your team in conversation every day, then they will be more open when you ask them for help.

Make it Easy – Use tools like Google Drive to keep KPIs, planning notes, task assignments, etc., in one place so it is easy for your team to check the status of your joint projects. Keep meetings to a minimum. If a meeting is the best way to communicate, then invite one representative per project and let them brief their teams.

Spread Positivity – Take every opportunity to be a cheerleader. Whether it’s your direct report, coworker, or manager, when someone does a good job let them know. Reference a specific action they took and sincerely tell them why you think they rocked it. When someone helps you, thank them in front of their manager, if possible. Even people who do not enjoy the spotlight appreciate praise in the presence of someone who impacts their career.

Enhance

AI does not eliminate customer service. It enables you to be better at it. A human still needs to communicate:

Empathy – Clients want to know that you hear them, understand their challenges, and have experience solving the problem they are facing. After actively listening, you achieve that through what you say and how you say it. Customer service is warm, soothing, and personal.

Subject Matter Expertise – Your clients trust you to give them the tools they need to grow their businesses. You are their guide. You cut through the noise surrounding them. Use AI to research and evaluate options, then present them with the best plans for spending their time, energy, attention, and money.

Emotional Intelligence – It takes a human to figure out how a client likes to communicate then tailor the message to the medium they are most comfortable with. Slack? Email? Phone call? Zoom? Clients want to know someone is taking care of them. Ask them what their business needs beyond what your company provides. When you find out, introduce them to someone in your network who can help.

How has AI impacted your job so far? Please share in the comments.

Lead Me On

The first leader you ever followed was your mother. From the time you were born she managed, coached, and developed you. It may have felt restrictive, nagging, and painful for both of you while growing up, but today those behaviors she modeled will pay off for you on the job. If you are hiring managerial positions, what qualities should you look for in a candidate that will help you retain your individual contributors? If you are an individual contributor looking to move up, what skills should you hone to supervise direct reports?

Empathy

Mothers learn active listening and how to connect with people on a personal level. These qualities help them understand both the needs of their direct reports and the concerns of their stakeholders. This creates a positive and supportive work environment where employees feel valued and motivated to succeed. These feelings make them want to keep working for your organization. This research says relationships with colleagues is one of the top reasons employees stay with a company. Empathy is considered a soft skill which masks the reality that it requires a thick skin. A leader has to make hard decisions that are best for the company, and may be unpopular with the staff. For example, at home Mom stands firm on her decision prohibiting her teenager from riding in a car with a driver who only has their temps. At work, this is the leader who prohibits her team from delivering a subpar-quality project to the client. Both situations require Mom to get comfortable with people’s disappointment.

Coaching

Whether the piano, your volleyball serve, or multiplication tables, a coach makes you practice. Repetition not only increases muscle memory, but also reveals where processes need improved. For example, Mom trains her child to take out the trash every week. Not only does her child learn the chore needs done, but also if once a week is enough. At work, Mom trains her team to meet for a status update every week. Not only does the team learn what progress was made, but also if meeting once a week is enough. A coaching manager knows you need not only hard skills like learning a second language, profit forecasting, and SEO, but also soft skills like communication, conflict management, and critical thinking. Mothers have years of practice training their children to have a growth mindset. They develop strong communication skills enabling them to constructively articulate their expectations. In the workplace this translates into guidance and encouragement which builds trust and respect with their staff.

Foresight

Mothers have a long-term perspective when it comes to their children’s well-being. This skill can be applied to leading a team, where it’s essential to make decisions that benefit the organization’s future growth and success while balancing competing staffing demands and prioritizing tasks effectively, especially when it comes to crisis management. Mothers put systems in place to handle unexpected challenges such as a sick child. In the workplace, these are the leaders who anticipate what complex emotions from stakeholders they may have to face if they make a certain decision.

Mothers are adept at communicating, motivating, forecasting, navigating conflicts, and fostering relationships. All these are signs of a good manager.

What leadership qualities did I forget? Please share in the comments.

Persist to Resist

The great philosopher, Rick Springfield, sings, “Nothing that matters comes easy. Nothing that comes easy ever really matters.” Goals that matter are not easy. Sometimes that is because of what you have to resist in order to achieve them.

William James work was instrumental in establishing psychology as a legitimate scientific discipline. In his book, The Principles of Psychology, he defines the ability to confidently and repeatedly resist temptation as conscientiousness. It’s a broad personality trait that includes carefulness and organization, but mostly restraint. Conscientious restraint is a clear indicator of health, contentment, and prosperity and it’s like a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. What temptations are preventing you from reaching your goals at work?

Social Distractions

It takes time for your brain to shift focus. For example, you take a break to check Snapchat before a meeting. You get caught up in your friends’ stories. Before you know it, half an hour has gone by. Then, you have to shift your focus back to prepare for the meeting. You enter the meeting wondering why you don’t feel adequately prepared. Time spent on social media, personal texts, and in-person/DM interruptions add up to hours that sneak up on you. You can better focus your attention by pausing notifications from your email, direct messages, and texts and closing your office/home office door. When you resist social distractions, you get more done in less time. The moral of this story: Silence your phone and put it out of sight.

Multitasking

Multitasking is a myth. Humans do not multitask. Only computers multitask. Sure, maybe you can walk and chew gum at the same time, but those activities aren’t particularly taxing on your brain’s executive control processor. But sending an email during a videoconference is. When you do that you are not multitasking, you are task switching. Either your email will suffer or you won’t remember what the last speaker said. You may be able to do all the things and in quick succession, but you are still doing them one at a time. The more you slow down and do things deliberately, the faster you can accomplish each task. The moral of this story: Resist the temptation to multitask.

Setting Yourself Up to Fail

If you have the most brainpower in the morning, then why do you check email first thing instead of tackling your most difficult assignment of the day? If you know that you work on a project until it’s done before allowing yourself a break, then why are you surprised your result is full of mistakes? If you interrupt your work to handle random tasks that pop into your head, then why are you frustrated with the time it takes to shift your attention back to the task at hand? If these scenarios describe you, then start setting yourself up to succeed. Tackle your most difficult projects when you have the most brain power. Set a timer for 30 minutes and take a seven minute break when it goes off; preferably to hydrate and maybe step outside for some fresh air. Keep a scratch pad and pen on your desk so when a random chore enters your mind you can write it down to do later. The moral of this story: Know yourself and play to your strengths.

What temptations do you resist in order to get work done? Please share in the comments.