CLOSING THE GAPS BETWEEN WHAT SOUNDS GOOD & WHAT GETS DONE

Transcription

1 BETWEEN WHAT SOUNDS GOOD & WHAT GETS DONE

2 3 Boys, Some Beer...and a Cop! Takeaways 1. The people, situations & circumstances that impact individual & organizational success change (always have; always will) Ø The hands we re dealt Ø The external factors over which we have absolutely no control 2. As the people, situations & circumstances change, so do the requirements for achieving and sustaining success Ø Strategies, tactics, policies & practices may become less effective Ø What got us here may not get us to where we want to be 3. In order to deal effectively with the changes we encounter, we must be willing to make some changes Ø The mental and behavioral choices we ve made (habits we ve formed) Ø The roles we ve played and how we ve played those roles 4. Two requirements for achieving success, regardless of the hands you re dealt Ø More heroes & fewer victims Ø People who are able & willing to lead REQUIREMENT #1 MORE HEROES & FEWER VICTIMS 1. Things we know Ø The people, situations & circumstances that impact our success change Ø We always make choices about those changes Ø Those choices are based more on our perspective than on the changes themselves 2. Two perspectives in play Ø Victim Perspective - emotional victimhood Ø Hero Perspective - emotional accountability 1

3 HEROES & VICTIMS A TALE OF 2 PERSPECTIVES Victim Perspective Emotional Victimhood Hero Perspective Emotional Accountability My feelings are the emotional consequences of the hands I m dealt. Establish rules for what must or must not happen out there (heavy emotional attachment) Beliefs Choices Based on Beliefs My feelings are the emotional consequences of the mental choices I make about the hands I m dealt Define the things I prefer to happen or not happen out there (less emotional attachment) Rules will be broken Setbacks are inevitable In the Real World Preferences will not all be met Setbacks are inevitable Blame, Wallow, Quit Wait, Wish, Hope Choices Made About Setbacks Get Over it! Get On With It! EMOTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY Acknowledged ownership of the mental choices we make and of the emotional consequences those choices produce ALL the choices & ALL the consequences EMOTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY Not a trait or characteristic to be developed; a Truth to be Acknowledged 2

4 REQUIREMENT #2 PEOPLE WHO ARE ABLE & WILLING TO LEAD The thing I have learned at IBM is that culture is everything. Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., former IBM CEO. MOST ORGANIZATIONS SUFFER FROM BI-CULTURE DISORDER 1. Professed culture (the one they claim to have) Ø Expressed in words & phrases Ø What sounds good 2. Actual culture (the one they do have) Ø Expressed in behavior Ø What gets done 3. Gaps between what sounds good (professed cultures) & what gets done (actual cultures) LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR FOR 1. Ensure that others understand what you expect from them Ø Words and phrases in your mission statements or core values are way too vague Ø Three explanations for why people fail to meet your expectations 2. Confront unwillingness and bad faith Ø Confront choices people make, not people Ø Confront to restore, not to punish Ø Four facts, one conclusion, one question and Silence 3

5 How The Gaps Get Closed In the Real World 1. Progressively in the real world, Happily Ever After(s) Don t Just Happen HAPPILY EVER AFTER CYCLE New & Exciting ("H.E.A.") ì î Looking ì Just Give Up ë New Wears Off î Denial í Blame Fear ë í Anger 2. From the inside-out Ø The hands you re dealt do matter Ø The choices you make about the hands you re dealt matter more LEADERSHIP & EMOTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY MOST DIFFICULT WHEN THEY RE MOST NEEDED 4