Daily Concerns : Leadership

Don’t let the size of the fishbowl stunt your growth

csimmons — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:23:00 GMT

I'm frequently engaged in conversations about an individual's career through informal one-on-ones, mentor sessions, semi-annual checkpoints, or interviewing prospective new hires. Frequently one of the following statements are made -- "I feel limited in my current role", "I feel like I've accomplished all that I can in my job", "I need a new challenge", "Will this role allow me to grow?"

Taken by themselves the statements and questions are valid. There are times when someone is ready to be moved to a new role or promoted to new levels of responsibilities. There are legitimate instances where someone worked in a "dead end" job at their previous employer. However, it's been my experience that often the individuals making those statements and asking those questions are placing self-defined limitations on themselves based on the perceived scope and responsibilities of the role they were assigned within an organization. Or put another way, they are letting the size of the fishbowl (role) stunt their growth unnecessarily.

You shouldn't feel limited by your current role or situation. Joseph never let his circumstances or role limit what God had planned for him (Genesis 37 - 50). He didn't complain or "shut down" when things didn't go as planned. Instead, Joseph kept his eyes on the prize, working as for Lord and not men, and through prayer, hard work, dedication, loyalty, and a servant heart he was rewarded with new challenges and new responsibilities.

So I encourage you today to feel empowered in your role and responsibilities, whatever they may be. You can grow and make a positive and lasting impact regardless of your circumstances.

God bless,

Curtis S

Just Don't Do It

csimmons — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:18:00 GMT

The toughest decision I make each day is deciding what NOT to do. Every day that I come to the office, I find that there is more to do than can ever be accomplished. I inevitably have to close up my laptop in the evening with some tasks undone and incomplete. I do my best to prioritize the important over the urgent and can generally stay afloat. I've studied the likes of Stephen Covey, David Allen, and others - they all have their merits.

Ultimately, you must come up with a system that works for YOU, which may be a combination of many different tips and tools. I've tried everything from Franklin Planners to One Note. Currently, I use a combination of Outlook categories/flags and old-school note cards. That works for me, it may not work for you.

But I came across a new truth recently. Well it's likely an old truth that's new to me. I'd been focusing all my energy on the prioritization of my daily tasks and project milestones. I was managing them reasonably well. However, I never felt like I was making forward progress. I was living out the definition of insanity "Doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results".

I sensed we were running in place and yet our organization was growing at a record clip. So in reality we were not running in place, we were falling behind. So I began to ask myself, and others, a series of questions. I'll provide an example around "Process X"

What is the business purpose for Process X?
Why do we do Process X this way? Take the answer to this question and ask "why" at least 4 more times based on those answers.
Have you considered alternative methods to do Process X?
How would you change Process X if resources (time and money) were unlimited?
How would you change Process X if no additional resources were available?

And lastly...

What would happen if you stopped doing Process X?

There's normally a valid reason why Process X is done and an even better reason why it's done a particular way. However, it's possible that the original business reason for Process X is no longer valid. Or there may be simpler, more efficient, method to do the same thing.

Sometimes we live with broken and/or redundant processes for so long we assume we still need them. They're sort of like our security blanket. We must take time regularly to re-examine our processes, even the successful ones, to evaluate their efficiency and most importantly to validate their need.

One example from the past year at Fellowship Technologies was time reporting. All of our people are salaried employees. We had everyone enter their time worked each week into a web-based Time & Expense tool called Quick Arrow. We began doing it because we wanted to track Paid Time Off (PTO). We did this for almost 3 full years. As we grew the data entry and approval process became more and more tedious and time consuming.

Eventually someone spoke up and asked the six questions outlined above. We realized we could accomplish the same goal (record PTO) without entering everyone's time worked. So we made a decision to NOT track the time for every employee. We trusted them to do what's right. Now all we ask them to record is their PTO if they took any that week. (We also still require our delivery managers / consultants to enter their project-related time so we can measure our efficiency.) But the vast majority of our staff are not required to enter their time at all. This freed up our employees and our administrative staff to focus on the business rather than busy-work. We might still be doing it "the way we always had" if someone had not asked "What if we stopped recording our time?"

I noticed Jason Powell doing something similar when he asked the question "What if we turned off their office computers each night?" It's a question not everyone would think to ask. And I see Fellowship Church doing this as they annually re-evaluate the results of, and the need for, every ministry and event. There are no sacred cows (ministries / events) at Fellowship Church.

So take some time this week, and on a regular basis, to consider the alternatives to the "way things have always been done". Perhaps you'll adopt the phrase "Just don't do it!"

God bless,

Curtis S

Leadership principles from an unlikely source

csimmons — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:39:00 GMT

On the first day of my first job after college they gave me a book, Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. I was surprised by the choice of books, what could one learn from a tyrant? But I quickly found that it contained timeless leadership proverbs like "A wise chieftain never asks a question for which he doesn't want to hear the answer" and "A wise chieftain adapts - he doesn't compromise".

In a similar fashion, albeit not quite as dramatic, I believe we can find some leadership secrets from another unlikely source. His name is Gordon Ramsey, a Scottish chef who is known as much for his profanity laced tirades as his award winning cuisine.

Disclaimer: I'm not saying I condone Gordon's leadership style of using profane insults to get his point across, just as I don't support ravaging the countryside like Attila. Nonetheless, if you watch the British or American versions of his show Kitchen Nightmares (it's definitely TV-14) then you'll find some common themes that are applicable to most any circumstance. If you haven't seen the show then the premise is that Gordon Ramsey visits a restaurant nearing collapse and attempts to revive it within one week.

Straightforward Leadership Principles

1) Keep it SIMPLE - One of the first things Gordon Ramsey inevitably critiques is their menu. Regardless of the restaurant's intended theme, their menu is almost always filled with 50+ choices that are meant to appeal to anyone and everyone. Gordon quickly slashes the menu to focus on "simple home-style food with fresh ingredients". His message - Focus on a few things and do them to excellence. After you watch it for a few weeks it makes it hard to eat at Chili's or IHOP because of their 12 page menus.

But how often do we hear this, yet we fail to act on it? It's reiterated over and over again, from the "KISS" principle (Keep it Simple Stupid) to Bill Clinton's campaign theme of "It's the economy stupid" to the simplicity in design principles championed by Jason Fried of 37Signals and Garr Reynold's of PresentationZen, and even the book Simple Church. Yet time and time again we're tempted to add some ministry, or program, or application feature in an attempt to please that key lay leader, or donor, or client.

Striving to meet the needs of the masses is honorable, but if it takes you away from your core mission then your message, or product, or services will become watered down, become average, or perhaps even irrelevant.

2) Strive for EXCELLENCE in everything - Another thing Gordon Ramsey will never accept is mediocrity. In remaking a restaurant he understands that first and foremost the food must be excellent. But even if the kitchen is excellent, things will still go miserably wrong if the busboys, the waiters, the manager, the owner do not do strive for excellence as well. If the tables are dirty, or patrons are not seated in a timely fashion, or the orders are wrong, then customers will not return. Everyone must be on the same page, striving for the same goal - EXCELLENCE. Never accept anything less regardless of what you do or where your work.

3) PRIDE in your work - Gordon routinely reminds us that you must have pride in your work. You cannot consistently reach excellence if you do not take pride in what you do. If the meat is slightly overcooked or the sauce isn't quite right or the salad is wilted then his message is crystal clear - DON'T SERVE IT TO A CUSTOMER! If the product feature is not ready or has not been fully tested, then don't send it to a customer. If the music or lighting is not well rehearsed or ill prepared then don't use it in your service. Mistakes are unavoidable, inconsistencies will slip through the cracks, but if you take pride in what you do each day, the probability of issues arising will diminish greatly.

4) Do what you LOVE - Lastly, Gordon's message is find a job that you absolutely love. If you're working at a job simply because it pays money, then you should rethink your career. If you've lost the passion to run a restaurant, or be a head chef, or to be in customer service, or be a consultant, or be in ministry then perhaps you need to take some time away, pray for the Lord to renew your passion or perhaps show you where He wants you to be. Ideally, you can't wait to jump out of bed each day to go to the place where you work or serve. Without love or passion for what you do then you are ultimately doing yourself and your employer a disservice.

This message is not just for those in positions of traditional leadership or management. These principles apply to everyone. We all have a sphere of influence; it's not simply downward, but to the sides and upwards as well. If you continually practice these four principles, those around you will see the difference and often begin to emulate them. A great thing about success is that it's contagious.

God bless,

Curtis S
2 Cor 11:28

Three Definitions of Trust

csimmons — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:39:00 GMT

Trust is infinitely deep and difficult to fully define yet we rely heavily upon it in every aspect of our lives. In recent months I've come across a few definitions of trust that has deepened my understanding and challenged me as a leader, as a team member, and as a Christian.

The first defines the relationship between our company and our clients (local churches). It comes from the book The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier (slideshow). It says:

Trust = reliability + delight
Trust comes meeting and beating customer expectations

To succeed as a service provider of Church Management Software it is not enough to simply offer a wide array of features or use the latest technologies. We must prove ourselves trustworthy by providing reliable, secure, stable, and scalable solutions and services. And we must delight our clients through innovative product solutions, going above and beyond in customer care and support, and nurturing our growing user community.

Admittedly, there have been times where we have fallen short of our client's expectations and our personal/professional expectations as well. However, I am very blessed to be working with a highly talented, committed and passionate group of individuals that love technology and love the local church. We may still stub our toe on occasion but we understand what is expected of us and strive to exceed those expectations on a daily basis.

The second definition pertains to how individuals and teams relate to each other. This definition comes from The Leader's Handbook by Peter Scholtes. It says:

Trust is the combination of competency and caring

Do I believe you are competent and capable in your position? Do I believe that you care about me?

It's important to understand that as a leader, or just as a team member, that competency of position or genuine caring alone is not enough to establish trust. You must consider both factors together. Having this understanding causes you to re-evaluate how you communicate and interact with others. Ultimately I believe reinforcing this concept within our company has had a huge positive impact on our culture and our efficiency.

Lastly is the definition as it relates to our Creator. It says that:

At the intersection of Faith and Truth comes Trust

While this is certainly not a new definition I found it to be eloquently explained in Erwin McManus' book Soul Cravings. Again, if we take each in isolation, faith and truth are not enough to establish trust. For example, no one has ever died for their faith unless they firmly believed that what they were dying for was "true". Now of course what they believe to be "true" may in fact turn out to be false later but at that moment they believed in it wholeheartedly. Had they not then they would not have given their life so readily.

And as Erwin points out it is not enough to know what it is true. We need to know the One who is true. We must put our faith in Him and then place our trust in Him that He guide our paths.

God bless,

Curtis S

Facing a Mid-Life (Technology) Crisis

csimmons — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:57:00 GMT

Lately I feel like I'm entering into a mid-life crisis. But this one is neither biological nor emotional. Coloring my hair and buying a red sports car won't make me feel any better (ok, well maybe it will). No, this crisis is a technology one. You see, much like when my metabolism slowed to crawl after I passed 30 so has my ability to keep up with technology.

For the first 10yrs of my career I was a programmer and an application architect working with a wide array of technologies like C++, Java, Unix, Windows, Oracle, SQL Server, WebSphere, WebLogic, IIS, etc., etc. I had a voracious appetite for technology. However, over time, I moved into broader leadership roles and before I knew it my technology life was passing before my eyes. Here at Fellowship Technologies I have a wide range of teams that report to me, from Data Center Operations to Customer Services to Professional Services and Product Development. Time and other factors preclude me from exercising my tech skills as heavily as I did in the past. When I recently celebrated my 3rd anniversary at Fellowship Tech I realized that I may have indeed become... dare I say it?... a "Generalist".

I believe I'm still an effective leader. My background in SaaS technologies and architectures allows me to challenge the team's ideas and help to ensure we've arrived at the best possible solutions. Solutions that serve our current customers well and scales effectively and efficiently in the future. But thankfully both for my team, and for our customers, I am no longer making the daily, low level, technology decisions, I leave those to our experts.

Here are a few of the warning signs of a Mid-Life Technology Crisis (perhaps you to are exhibiting a few of these):

10. You find yourself writing down terms and acronyms used by the team during a meeting and then secretly Googling them later to figure out what they mean

9. You use a formerly relevant TLA (Three Letter Acronym) such as "DTD" and your team begins to refer to you as "Grandpa"

8. You have to get assistance to setup a blog reader because it now suddenly seems as difficult as it is for your Dad to set the time on a VCR

7. Your iPod is filled with PodCasts of the McLaughlin Group and episodes of The Office

6. You get a new laptop and after your install Microsoft Office you realize that you really don't need to install anything else to do your job effectively

5. You begin to lower your screen resolution rather than raise it so you can read the text without squinting

4. When the team was speaking about Scrum and Agile you pipe in with a comment about Rugby

3. You prefer to be in bed eating a toaster pizza watching The Colbert Report rather than staying up till 2am watching Microsoft's Channel 9 vlogs

2. You have to get your teen age son to help "fix" your computer

1. Pulling an "all-nighter" now means you didn't have to get up out of bed to go to the bathroom

I'm clearly exhibiting all 10 of these behaviors so I'm now focusing on other skills like leadership, team building, vision casting, metrics, best practices, etc. I will miss being in the thick of technology things but I'm finding that these new areas are just as challenging and fun.

Curtis S

No means ‘No’ when referring to Tomatoes

csimmons — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:59:00 GMT

Yesterday I pulled into a fast-food joint for a burger (yes, I know those things will kill you). While my stomach was empty I was full of optimism as I carefully placed my order through the faceless drive-in. "A number one with cheese, no tomato, and a Dr. Pepper". The person repeated the order back to me "A number one with cheese, no tomato, and a Dr. Pepper". I naively thought to myself "They're going to get my order correct!" I pulled forward, paid for my order, and they handed me the sack with the receipt attached. I rarely ever check the receipt but I did this time and wasn't disappointed. The order clearly stated "minus Tomato".

I was brimming with pleasure and satisfaction as I reached in to get my burger. What's that? It feels too big, too heavy. Oh no, not again... Yep, you guessed it. I lifted the bun to find three large slices of a tomato sunk deeply into the cheese and soaked into the bun. My spirits fell, I was dejected, wronged once again. What started with such hope and promise ended just like every other trip I've made through a drive-thru. I like tomatoes as much as George Dubya likes broccoli.

Why do we even bother customizing our order at a drive thru? Why are these businesses and employees so indifferent? Is it a lack of training? A lack of knowledge or tools? Or a lack of motivation and emotional connectedness to their work?

Do you feel under qualified for your work? I do. Could you use more training? I could. Do you believe that more money for the proper tools, software and personnel is needed? I do. However, if you think about it, we'll always feel that way regardless of what opportunities or resources are at our disposal.

What we need most of all is to remember who we work for. Regardless of whether you flip burgers, gather trash, write software, lead people, teach children, or preach the word - we all should work as if we're working for the Lord not for men. God expects our best, our very best. I believe it's a good thing and a God thing to sweat the small details. Seek out excellence not just enough to get by.

This is one of the reasons I love working for Fellowship Tech. Sure there are times we must compromise, make concessions, or we fall short of our goals or others' expectations. However, our standards remain high. We have 100s of areas in which we are seeking to improve but I can assure you that our staff is committed to excellence, committed to a Colossians 3:23 attitude.

So next time leave off the tomato, go the extra mile, strive for excellence.

God bless,

Curtis S

Just say ‘No’ to the ‘Yes-man’

csimmons — Tue, 15 May 2007 12:39:00 GMT

I wanted to follow-up an earlier blog by reminding everyone not to surround themselves with "Yes-men" (or women). You need individuals within your core leadership team that will challenge your ideas. Not to the point of being disruptive or insubordinate, but in way that forces you to think through a variety of scenarios and possible outcomes as a result of your decision. You still won't make the right decision every time, but you're far more likely to have positive results if you seek out the honest advice/counsel of others.

If everyone around you always agrees with every decision you make then that's a huge problem. Tough decisions often result in change and change is tough. If you run your organization like a dictator and surround yourselves with "bobble-heads", always nodding in agreement then, you're likely headed towards a major fall.

Sometimes when trying to make a point in a blog you struggle to find the perfect illustration. Well yesterday this story hit the news wires and I couldn't have said it better myself.

The headline says it all "Teachers stage fake gun attack on kids".

My first thought was how could a group of qualified 6^th grade teachers decide this was a good idea? The keyword being "group". I do not know the teachers involved but I would think it's safe to assume that this is a clear case of "Yes-man" or "GroupThink" in which a strong leader devises a plan and everyone around that person simply nods their head in Orwellian obedience

Do yourself a favor and surround yourself with other strong leaders, if only to save yourself, and your organization, from a big mistake.

Curtis S

Kissing butt or managing up?

csimmons — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:46:00 GMT

Everyone is accountable to someone no matter who they are or what their role is. A young team member may report to a Manager; the Manager may report to a Director; the Director to a Vice President; the Vice President to the CEO; And the CEO reports to the investors or board members. Everyone is accountable to someone.

Companies have become accustomed to using some rather unfortunate words when describing accountability relationships. They use terms like:

Subordinate :: Superior
Worker :: Boss
Underling :: Supervisor
Minion :: Chief (hopefully not many use this combination)

Given that terms like these are used to describe accountability within organizations it is no surprise that our culture has devised a number of crude and derogatory terms when describing unhealthy accountability relationships. I'm sure you know the common ones like "yes man", "butt kisser", and the old classic... "brown noser". Despite the crude implications of these terms I believe they're an apt description when the relationship is based purely upon works and shallow praise rather than mutual trust and respect.

If you do not trust, respect, or even like the person to whom you are accountable (e.g., Boss, Superior, Supervisor) yet you purposely spend time with them to garner their praise then I must assume that this is an unpleasant adventure. It's probably distasteful and in a word... stinks. (Hence, then term "brown noser")

However, it doesn't have to be this way. An often overlooked but very important aspect of employment is effectively "managing up". (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3) "Managing up" means that you establish an ongoing, healthy and productive line of communication with whom you are accountable that yields the best results for you and your "boss". The working environment and relationship is as much YOUR responsibility as it is for your "boss".

It is YOUR responsibility to ‘manage' the person to whom you're accountable by explaining the following things to them:

Your career goals, aspirations, and expectations
Your strengths AND your weaknesses
How you best receive constructive criticism
How to express praise and affirmation to you
(similar to the love languages in a marriage relationship)
The type of work environment in which you are the most effective
(interactive or private, quiet or boisterous, slow-paced or rapid change, etc.)
The tools and information you believe you need to be the most effective and efficient
Proactively sharing roadblocks, frustrations, and disappointments
(Far too often you may be feel frustrated yet your "boss" literally has no idea; The people you report to may be many things but they are NEVER mind-readers; It is far more likely they want to work with you to resolve the issues if they only knew the level and source of your frustrations)

One final thought, when expressing these things be articulate and specific. Simply stating that you're unhappy is not enough information to enact the change you're expecting.

Curtis S

Don’t commoditize what God made unique

csimmons — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 04:47:00 GMT

Commonly leaders refer to (and treat) individuals within organizations as "resources" as if they're a commodity like grain or corn. You'll hear management refer to their people as their "most valuable resource". They establish Human "Resource" departments. They also refer to them as a "work"-force or "labor"-force.

Is it any wonder then that the individuals in these organizations begin to feel de-humanized and commoditized?

Don't commoditize what God made unique. As a leader you must establish personal relationships with each of the individuals within your direct circle of influence. Each person that works for you or with you is a unique creation of God. Each one has different interests, feelings, likes and dislikes. Each one prefers adoration and affirmation in a distinctive manner. Some like hand-written notes, others like verbal words of encouragement. Each one receives and responds to constructive criticism and correction in a different way.

One of the best things our new HR Director (yes, through tradition we still use the term ‘Human Resources') introduced into our culture at Fellowship Tech was an individual survey that captured information about each person's favorite colors, foods, music, etc. It asked them for their preferred method of receiving feedback and affirmation. She distributed the completed surveys to each of the team leads for those under their span of care.

Without this information I would never have know that someone from my team loved U2 or another liked Cherry Garcia ice cream. Many preferred verbal public affirmation for a job well done over a financial gift. I've found the information to be invaluable. It allows me to provide feedback to my individual team members in a way that matches their uniqueness.

Of course, a survey can not replace or supplant "quality" time spent with each individual. Sitting down over coffee or lunch to patiently listen to their frustrations and their successes is a must. If they stop by your office unexpectedly, it's best that you turn towards them and look them directly in their eyes while they speak rather than allowing your eyes and attention to dart back-n-forth between your computer monitor, blackberry, or your watch.

These things may seem self evident but too often our actions betray our intent. You may have intended to listen patiently but your body language indicated differently. I know I've been guilty of this far too many times to count.

So take to the time to get to know the people on your team. Each one is a unique child of God and needs to be treated as such.

We’re Sheep in Human Clothing

csimmons — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:37:00 GMT

Jesus referred to us as a lot of things, but the most common analogy he used was "sheep". Jesus always chose his words carefully (I suppose that shouldn't surprise me since he was perfect) so I try not to be offended that Jesus so accurately portrayed us as sheep because I know it's true. Like sheep, we're heavily influenced by the environment in which we live and work.

Behavioral science has always fascinated me, it was my favorite subject in college. Humans act instinctively based on many factors, namely their environment. One of the research studies we reviewed back then and was also quoted in the book, The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell, was about a group of seminary students. In short, the study consisted of two groups. One group was told to prepare a lecture on the story of the Good Samaritan the other group could pick a topic of their choosing. Both groups were brought together in a room. One by one, the researchers pulled out a seminary student. To one they would say "Oh no, you better hurry over to the lecture hall, you're late for your speech" and to another one they would say "You better start to head over to the lecture hall, you have plenty of time but you should go on ahead". Lying directly in the path between the two buildings they had an actor lay down, seemingly injured and in great pain.

I suppose you can guess what happened next. Some of the students passed by the injured person without a notice, others stopped to help. What was so surprising about the study was who stopped and who did not. Almost one-for-one, those told they were late and needed to hurry passed by without helping. Those told to take their time stopped to offer aid. The fact that these were seminary students didn't matter. The fact that one-half of them had prepared to lecture on the story of the Good Samaritan didn't matter. All that mattered was the externally induced environmental factor of possibly being late.

A second study showed similar results. Three groups of college students were asked to participate in a field test for some new music headphones. All three groups listened to the same thing, two songs and a political ad discussing the rising costs of tuition. The first group was told to bob their head up and down the entire time they listened to the songs. The second group was told to bob their head left and right. And the last group was told to hold their head still.

At the end, each participant was given a lengthy survey about the listening quality of the headphones. The final question on the survey asked "How do you feel about the costs of tuition?" Again, I'm sure you can guess the answer. The group that bobbed their head up and down thought that tuition costs should increase, those bobbing their head side to side thought tuition was too high, and the last group had no opinion.

Semantically speaking, words matter

Similarly, we can affect the culture of our teams and organization by carefully considering the impact of the environment in which we work and the words we use.

I am attempting to reinforce a culture at Fellowship Technologies where my teams ask for Advice and Counsel rather than Permission and Authorization. The former espouses teamwork and peer relationships while the latter insinuates hierarchies and control. On the surface this may seem like a transparent attempt to re-label a concept that ultimately means the same thing. I disagree.

If someone from my team wants to buy a book at the company's expense they do not need my "permission" to do so. However, I do believe it is beneficial that they should first seek the advice of others to find out if that particular book is a good one and if it will benefit the employee to read it. Or perhaps someone wants to attend a conference, a fairly big expense with time off required. Undoubtedly such an event requires some level of expense approval. But by reinforcing the idea of Advice and Counsel the first conversation is focused on the benefits to the person and the company rather than the costs. It's a small but important difference.

Over time, the goal is the change the culture of the organization. Team members, as they make changes to processes, or documents, or code, should naturally seek the advice and counsel of their peers and supervisors to maximize the quality of the output. If the staff is constantly seeking permission or authorization then you have an organization that devalues individual creativity and decision making.

Curtis S

Perception is 9/10ths of the law

csimmons — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:52:00 GMT

There’s no getting around it, our choice of words matter. They have the power to heal and to harm, to bless and to blame, to inspire and to insult. The Book of Proverbs has plenty to say about this subject , here are just a few of the references (10:19, 12:18, 13:3, 15:1, 15:2, 15:23, 16:21, 16:23, 16:24, 17:27, 18:7, 18:21, 25:11, 25:15).

If you’re in a leadership role (and let’s face it, everyone is to some extent as our actions are always being observed by someone else) then you need to pay particular attention to your choice of words for several reasons. I’ll assume (probably a poor choice of words) you know the first one: that the wrong words at the wrong time can cause irreparable damage. There are a couple of other reasons I plan to dive into further, the first one is Perception.

Perceiving is believing

One of my favorite websites is www.KissThisGuy.com. No, it isn’t what you’re thinking, it’s an online archive of misunderstood lyrics. You’ll appreciate the site if you’ve ever been singing along with a song while a friend is in the car, and then have them burst out laughing and correct you on the lyrics. Note that this has never happened to me ;-)

It happens countless times in the media, the person claims rightly or wrongly that they were “misquoted” in the paper and meant no real harm. The painful realization is that while the intentions may be honorable, all that really matters is how the person or group you’re speaking to hears, understands or perceives your words.

As a leader, and more importantly as a husband and father, I’ve had to learn this difficult lesson the hard way… “It’s not what you say it’s what people perceived you said”. There are countless times when I believe I’ve clearly communicated something yet the results were different than I intended.

So choose your words carefully and if you later feel misunderstood don’t assume (there’s that word again) that the other person understood your original intent. Perhaps you’re unaware that your non-verbal communication is acting counterintuitive to the intent of your message. Seek first to understand the other person's perspective and what they believe they heard rather than getting frustrated.

My next blog will address how semantics can change your environment and culture.

Curtis S

I now know what I only thought I knew before

csimmons — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:17:00 GMT

To kick-off the New Year I decided to do something different in my weekly one-on-one meetings with my direct reports. First, we will be meeting as a group to read and discuss The Leader’s Handbook by Peter Scholtes. Second, the one-on-one meetings will no longer be status updates of their respective departments but instead we will use the time together to work on improvements to our systems and processes.

I began to rethink our meeting format and content based on many factors, namely The Leader’s Handbook. The book, written in 1998, is an excellent resource for learning how to manage people and workflows. I would highly recommend it. From the outset the author makes it clear that he was heavily influenced by W. Edwards Deming’s work on quality and management. He makes frequent references to Deming’s 14 Points for Management and his System of Profound Knowledge.

A major premise of the book is to rethink how one views and manages people within their organization. If something goes wrong, is your first assumption to blame someone or do you inspect the system within which that person works? I’ll write more about that in a future blog.

The thing I wanted to highlight first was the author’s comments on how we learn. He referred to it as Transformation’s Learning Curve.

A) The illusion of learning or “mastering the rhetoric”

B) The “ah ha” moment and realization that “we don’t know much”

C) Real learning begins

How many times have you experienced this yourself or seen a member of your team go through this process? Perhaps your teaching your team a new process and they all nod their heads in unison indicating that they understand and know what to do. And then several days or weeks go by and you notice they aren’t effectively using the new process. You quiz them on what they learned and they can repeat it back to you verbatim. They’ve mastered the rhetoric but they do not truly understand the process. But as time goes by you’ll suddenly see a shift in their behavior. They’ve had an “ah ha” moment and said “now I understand” and then true learning and behavioral change begins.

You see this behavior in children all of the time. As a father, you can tell you children “stay away from the hot stove or you’ll get burned” but they don’t fully understand. They can repeat the rules back to you but it’s not till they touch that stove (they all inevitably do it, so young parents just deal with it) that they go “ah ha, now I know what Mom and Dad warned me” and true learning begins.

The learning curve applies to individuals, teams, departments, and even entire organizations. It took a long time for Microsoft to finally grasp the importance of the Internet. It required a memo in 1994 from a “pain in the ___” change agent named J Allard to move Microsoft to steps B and C.

So as you bring new concepts and processes to your team or you’re learning new ones yourself remember the learning curve. It’s virtually unavoidable. Only through time and experience can one fully grasp something new. It requires repetition. You may have to teach the same concepts many different times and in a variety of ways (verbal, written, illustrations) until they fully grasp and can effectively leverage what you are teaching.

Curtis S