The Great Experiment - Bizzaro World (Part 2)

So, how did I do? Well, I'd say I did ok but not great. The following are the items I wrote down to help me understand what went well and what didn't go well. Then, I reset my game plan based on lessons learned. 

May 19, 2015
Plus

•  I was more focused and did more than I would have two weeks ago.
• Conversations with others felt more impactful (even if the other people didn't say anything).
• Thinking about My Why and the Interstates Why was good for me (energy, attitude, etc.).

Delta

• I did not do it every day.
• It's hard to do something for teammates on the weekends.
• If I got busy or focused on getting stuff done, I forgot about it or did it poorly.

Moving forward (lessons learned)

• Keeping it simple is key for me: The Power of More - What More Can I Do?
• 1 thing for family/friends
• 1 thing for teammates (focus on Monday-Friday; don't feel guilty if it does not happen on the weekends)
• Identify the two people at the beginning of the day.
• Set the tone every day by remembering:
• My Why and the Interstates Why
• Lead with love and have a thankful heart.
• Be all in. 

I hope you got something out of this experiment. For me, it was helpful to keep John's message in front of me for another week and set the direction for myself moving forward. 

Continue leading the Interstates Way by Rising Above (John's theme), being all in, and remembering the Why!

Scott Peterson

The Great Experiment - Bizzaro World (Part 1)

This week's post comes from Scott Peterson.

This blog post is an experiment. It is actually my journal entries from two different dates -- May 14 and May 19, 2015. These journal entries allowed me to lean into two different elements:
  
         1. The excitement and motivation that comes from hearing a great message. 

         2. The fear of not doing anything with the message and losing that motivation. 

So, basically, this is an experiment for me and on me. It's a way for me to learn more about myself and understand how I can boost my personal accountability and self-discipline. Hopefully you can get something out of it too. If nothing else, you will have some insight into Scott's world, also known as "Bizzaro World -- a strange and scary place." Enjoy!!

May 14, 2015
Yesterday was the John O'Leary event. I was lucky enough to hear John's message for the 2nd time (in the morning with the students and faculty of local schools) and 3rd time (in the afternoon with Interstates employees and various local community members). I thought both presentations were awesome. I am truly motivated and inspired. Now, here’s the challenge:  What am I going to do with it?

Here is my game plan. I need to keep it simple, and I need to keep it going. 
            a. Journal every day on the topic, "What more can I do?"
            b. Pick two people (one family/friend and one teammate) to invest in.
                (Names have been excluded.)
                          i. My kids - Spend 15 minutes truly listening to them about any topic.
                         ii. My teammates - Take a chance and give them some feedback so they
                                                        can be more successful.
            c. Today, remember:
                          i. My Why (personal mission statement) and the Interstates Why
                         ii. Success is a journey, not a destination.
                        iii. Be all in.
                        iv. Lead with love.

This might be too much. I will try to implement these activities for a week and then see if I need to make changes. Now comes the scary part for me: day 2 - day 7. Why? This is the test of my commitment and self-discipline. Will I choose to act and lead differently or will I allow the busyness of life to pull me into my old routines? Time will tell, but as of today, I will try. 

Stop back tomorrow to see the results!

Every Conversation

This week's blog post comes from Dave Crumrine.

I recently spent time listening to and studying a speaker whose primary point was:

"Every conversation is an opportunity to create the future.”

As humans, we spend our days in conversation. The better we are at engaging in conversation, the better we will be at impacting the world in a positive way.

Think about it. What is a relationship without conversation? Whether it is a meeting, 1-on-1 time, or a chat while driving down the road with someone else in the front seat of your car, we learn through conversations. We persuade through conversations. We educate and train in conversations. If we want to end a relationship, what do we do? We stop having conversations! 

This really impacted me. Through every conversation, I have the opportunity to make an impact. Am I prepared for that? Am I vulnerable enough? Am I more worried about how I look or how smart I sound than what others might get out of the conversation? I am going to make some kind of difference in every conversation. That is how it works. Will it be worthy? Have I wasted everyone's time? Have I made this a rich part of their day and possibly helped set a productive course for me, for them, or for the cause?

Conversations are creative. If they are truly engaging, some new insight or information can be created right there in that conversation. In fact, the best conversations often result in new insight. People can modify their views on topics; it can change the way they feel and believe.

Can this happen any other way? It is unlikely that people will get this from the evening news or from their trade journal. Only a quality conversation, grounded in genuine interest and mutual benefit, can lead to a different future. 

What kind of conversations are you having? Are they worth it? Are you bringing your heart and A-game to every conversation? Are those around you expecting a great conversation? 

We can make a difference…every conversation has that opportunity.

Continue Leading the Interstates Way (with some great conversation)!

Dave Crumrine

Mistakes Don't Matter...

This week's blog post comes from Jack Woelber.

I was recently at an event for my daughter. It was the “dress rehearsal” for a music contest. For the event, they had a director from another community come in and critique all the individuals and small groups in order to give them some final polish before the contest. Amazing, isn’t it? Why do we seem to listen more closely to those who come in as an expert but don’t have any more credentials than those with whom we get to work with every day? A group had just performed, and things didn’t go quite as well as they had hoped. The critic commented to the group, “Mistakes don’t matter…as long as you recover well.”  I was sitting in the audience next to my daughter as the comment was made and leaned over to her and whispered, “What a great life lesson.” 

As you read this you are probably thinking a couple of things: 

1. That poor girl. She sure has a geek for a dad.
2. Oh, that phrase the critic gave is a good topic for a leadership blog.

While both are probably accurate, I’d like you to focus more on the second item and the phrase, “Mistakes don’t matter…as long as you recover well.” My dad used to remind me that the only people who don’t make mistakes are those that don’t do anything. As leaders, we are going to make mistakes. Of course, we are going to try to mitigate as many mistakes as we can before making a decision, but if we don’t dare make a mistake, we won’t do anything. 

We need to remember: it’s not about the mistake -- it’s about how we recover. After time passes, most people won’t even remember the mistake; they will remember the result. And the results are determined by how we recover.   

So my challenge for all of us is: “Don’t focus on the mistake,” rather “Focus on recovering and recovering well.” If you are in a leadership role, I’m guessing you already do this, but it was a great reminder for me.  (And one more opportunity to encourage my daughter in a life lesson! J) 

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!
Jack Woelber

Can You Be Great?

This week's blog post comes from Scott Peterson.

Can you be great?

 

You Betcha!!  Absolutely!!  Without a Doubt!! 

I hope that is clear enough. I believe this is true because of one of my favorite quotes. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." I love this quote because it helps me keep my priorities straight.   

The foundation of great leadership is about focus. When you focus on serving your teams and the people that you care about, good things will happen. What does it mean to serve those people? I can't answer that question perfectly, but here are a couple of ideas: 

1. Get to know your team and what they need (which is often different than what they want).   
2. Give them feedback, direction, and share the “why” with them (this helps them feel connected to the big picture).
3. Listen. It sounds really easy, but it can be a tough thing to do, so keep practicing this.  
4. Show them that you care. You've probably heard this quote, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." (John Maxwell)  This is so true, and it's a great reminder when you're thinking of how you can serve others. 

Overall, I have found that the better I serve the people around me, the better I lead. When I lose that focus, I make mistakes in leading. The right focus allows me to have a positive impact on people, teams, and organizations that are important to me. I hope it helps you too.  

Take two minutes and share a couple of ideas on how we can serve our teams and lead the Interstates way together. 

 

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!

Scott Peterson

Improving Integrity with Clear Expectations

This week's post comes from Doug Post.

Last time We noted that integrity means, "I do what I say I'm going to do . . . every time." We noted Michael Myatt's definition: honesty is making your words match reality; integrity is making reality match your words.

We learned 3 key skills for leading with integrity:

1. You must understand what you have been requested to give your word to.
2. Say "yes" only when you mean it and are willing to act, even at personal cost.
3. Get very good at saying "no," because that is going to be your most common response.

But, if you've tried to live with integrity in the past few months, you have probably failed many times. I know I have. I have double-booked meetings and not set clear expectations with meeting leaders. I've been late to meetings. I've told my co-workers I would get them something by Wednesday, but considered early Thursday morning close enough. I have overcommitted to clients and chosen to sacrifice family commitments to meet the client's expectations. The concept of integrity is simple, but it is difficult to do what we say.

So, then what? Well, we can learn to live with more integrity. Consider these three practices:

1. Recovery. When your "yes" turns out to be a "no," acknowledge the breach. When necessary, apologize. And finally, recommit to integrity. That's it. No excuses. 

2. Clear Expectations and Commitments. Let's consider building skills #1 and #2 (above) by differentiating between statements, requests, and commands. A statement is a description of something or the condition of someone. No response is required, and there is no opening to give your word. A request is an invitation to give your word--either "yes" or "no." Commands are an essential part of high-performance organizations, and the only response to them is "yes." Though not used often, they are the fastest way to get stuff done.  Let's look at some examples:

• Statement: "The garbage needs to go out." OR "Our profits are declining."
• Request: "Will you please take the garbage out before you go to bed?" OR "Will you get me an analysis of why our profits are declining by tomorrow afternoon?"
• Command: "Take the garbage out before you go to bed." OR "Get me the analysis of why our profits are declining by tomorrow afternoon."

         Too many people cloak requests as statements and commands as requests, which
         confuses and frustrates everyone. Commands as requests are an act of cowardice.

         For high performance and integrity we must:

• Discern between statements, requests, and commands.
• Make sure everyone understands that statements don't require responses or actions.
• Make sure people have a right to say "no" to requests without repercussions. High performance companies get this. For example, "Can you complete the report by noon tomorrow?" High performance answer: "No, I need to take my son to the dentist, is 4 p.m. ok?"
• In the rare event that a command is required, the only possible response is "yes." However, stating the tradeoff is appropriate. This sounds like, "Yes, Bill, I will have that report to you tomorrow but know that I will not be making the call to Joe as a result."

Note: Commands are rare and do not only come from the leaders in your organization. For example, an Administrative Assistant might tell the President what he must do before leaving on a trip. Or, an engineer may tell the P.E. when she must have the drawings signed.

3. Say "No."  . . .  We'll consider saying no next time.

            To build your integrity with others, (1) learn to recover from integrity breaches, (2) share
            clear expectations and commitments, and (3) develop the ability to "say no."

How do you struggle with integrity? What helps you improve your integrity?
 

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!

Doug Post

 

External sources: The Primes by Chris McGoff, p. 129-132, 136-139.
Other sources to develop your integrity: The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey, p. 66-72, 111-112.  Executive EQ by Robert Cooper, chp. 11

Another Perspective on Servant Leadership

This week's post comes from Jake Ten Haken.

As I look back at the busy basketball season, I admit it was very difficult to have a meal at home with my family, which means I had more than my fair share of opportunities to eat at restaurants. However, when I was in most of those restaurants, not only was I enjoying the food, friends and atmosphere, I was also taking special note of the waiters and waitresses. This curiosity was spurred by a recent article from the Iowa School Board Association’s publication of Dan Rockwell’s leadership blog. I believe the thoughts shared in that blog can easily be related to our work at Interstates. It has me thinking about our roles as servant leaders a bit differently. Rockwell indicates that we should think of our job like a waiter or waitress by putting the interests of others ahead of our own.

1. Commit to create a great experience for others.
As leaders at Interstates, we are always looking for the best way to present a concept or idea.  Sometimes it is to an internal team member, and other times it’s with an external partner. Hopefully we do this in a manner that allows others to feel empowered as opposed to feeling railroaded down a specific track.

2. Watch over; never hover.
PMs, programming leads and engineers need to serve as quasi-parents many times. It can be tough to give our less-experienced teammates independence without hovering over them. We get overly concerned that they won’t do it just right. Or worse yet, they may not do it the same way we would have done it. It is extremely important that we give them every opportunity we can for them to learn on their own and yet protect them.

3. Inquire, understand, and connect.
I’m not sure I need to expound on this concept, because in my opinion, we have this captured with the first half of our vision statement: Understanding Needs.  There is no better way to begin that journey than by asking questions and listening.

4. Don’t intrude or dominate.
As a servant leader, we know “it’s not about us.” This isn’t always an easy task. We all have busy lives and many things on our plate. It is sometimes hard to always serve others, but as leaders at Interstates, we need to never dominate or think only about our needs.

5. Anticipate needs. Meet needs without being asked.
It always impresses me when a waiter or waitress shows up with a refill or tops off my water glass just before I need him to.  That is a great example of what we should be doing for our clients. We need to anticipate their needs and fix them before they become issues.  At a minimum, we need to bring them possible solutions, not simply remind them of their issues.

6. Clear. Get stuff out of the way without getting in the way.
This is about as clear as mud and it is extremely hard. There are always many things vying for the attention of our clients. Sometimes it's the project, and sometimes it’s other items at their plants. The challenge is to clear away whatever the obstacle is that may interfere with our ability to deliver the project for them.

7. Express gratitude for the opportunity to serve.
We need to remember that there are lots of others that would love to serve our clients, and our clients have a choice every time they issue a purchase order or a contract. We need to show appreciation to them that they have trusted us enough to deliver a project for them.

As amusing as it sounds to have a waiter start to butter your bun or cut your steak, I must admit there are times when I pull a #4….I attempt to dominate meetings or intrude on others' agendas. How about you? Take a minute to post a comment about one of the items you are struggling with or better yet, comment about someone you see excelling at modeling one of the behaviors listed above.

Continue Leading the Interstates Way!
Jake Ten Haken