Unleashing Your Potential

This week's post was written by Dave Crumrine.

As our leadership model was being built, the question "Where does personal development start?" was deeply discussed. We wanted to know what base beliefs unleash personal development.

Our self-evaluation concluded that our (the Sr. Leaders) own development started when we were vulnerable enough to get real and see our own uniqueness – all of our strengths and weaknesses. It seems this was also the time when we realized we need people around us, and the more diverse and complementary they are to our own skills, the better.

For these reasons, it is essential that personal development start with personal discovery; and it is therefore the centerpiece of EIL 1. Get in touch with "you" and figure out how that uniqueness will work in the world around you. After that important (and sometimes painful) step, you are free to always be looking at how to be better, interact better, and better impact others. This comes from feedback, whether offered by others or sought out by you, and is the mirror by which to truly see your own performance and impact. Listen carefully and remember that those offering feedback are taking a chance. How you respond to the feedback will dramatically affect how much more information you will get from that person or small group.

After achieving awareness and accepting feedback comes the step of choosing. There will always be more things to work on than we can actually focus on. After inventorying the options, use your intuition and trusted partner feedback to decide what you should choose to work on. What will impact others and yourself the most? What seems to be the next step in the journey? Do not wait for others to develop you. It is a clear differentiator of leaders that they drive their own development and "pull" what they need to succeed in developing themselves. Often this development will not be due to "training." Although training is helpful for certain skill building, it is not the essence of personal development.

I would encourage you to keep your list of things to work on very short and amp up the intentionality. Meeting a single goal with an intense focus can have a dramatic effect on your progress. If your list is more than one task, don't let it grow past three at one time. It simply dilutes your attention. Never forget that working to leverage your strengths is always more powerful than trying to shore up your weaknesses. For those areas where you struggle, think mitigation. Think about whom to bring around you and complement you. Think about using the team. You can't turn an orange into a grapefruit no matter how hard you focus on it.

The last phase is the sustaining part of development. Remain curious. Reach into the world and see what others are doing and using. Connect some unconventional dots of your own and wonder, what could that mean to me or my team? This leads to the most powerful kind of learning and growth. This is a lifetime effort; it must be part of us as leaders – especially at Interstates. As we live out our core "Why" ideas, "Pursuing a better way" requires us to be curious, to be open, to learn, and to develop new skills as the challenges of the world unfold.

Personal development is an important piece of leading at Interstates and in the rest of the world. I expect it to be even more so as the world around us changes faster and faster. What people see in you, and how you are leading your own development, inspires them. Share, be transparent, and challenge others to continually seek to be better.

Continue leading the Interstates Way!
Dave Crumrine

Does Tough Conversations Well

This week's post was written by Scott Peterson.

Tough Conversations

"I love having tough conversations! They are fun and are exciting!" (Said no one ever.)

Having tough conversations with your direct reports, peers, clients and supervisors is hard, no doubt. As a leader, having those tough conversations and doing them well is also one of your most important responsibilities.

Why is it so important?

• It is one of the best ways to align people and teams.
• It builds trust, since people know they can talk to you about anything (and that you really want them to succeed).
• It sets the stage for a healthy and productive culture.
• Because not having tough conversations is the most common cause of leadership failures

Two tips for how to do tough conversations well:
1. Lean in.
2. Stay in the "sweet spot" during the conversation.

Lean In:  This one is simple - just do it! Take time to prepare for the tough conversation and assume the best of the other person. During the conversation, stay in the final element -- the Sweet Spot.

Sweet Spot:  During the stress of a tough conversation, we have a tendency to fall into one of two categories: Fight or Flight.

• When we got into fight mode, we want to convince the other person that they are wrong and we are right. We forget to listen, and we become judgmental.
• When we go into flight mode, we want to avoid the situation or get out of it as quickly as possible. We do not state our thoughts or opinions.

The solution: the Sweet Spot. This is when we get it right. We lean in to those tough conversations. We find a good balance of being curious and being candid, and this is how we overcome falling into those fight or flight categories.

If you are a "fighter" - take time to ask questions, listen to the answers, and show empathy. If you are a "flighter" (yes, I'm making up words) - take a chance and share your honest thoughts/opinions without feeling like you have to prove yourself

Tough conversations can be a mixed bag for me. Some who know me well would tell you I have a strength for having productive, tough conversations. I stay in the sweet spot by being curious and truly believing the best of people. BUT (you knew it was coming), I don't like having these conversations. To be perfectly honest, they can stress me out. Over the years, I have learned to recognize that stress as a signal - a signal to lean in to the tough conversation. Don't avoid it. For the most part, these conversations are a relief to both people because they often have similar concerns and emotions. Just getting the topic on the table is a big step and a win.

If we can have productive tough conversations, we will be leading the Interstates Way!
Scott Peterson

Advocates For The Client

This week's post was written by Doug Post.

Client Advocates represent the customer to the rest of Interstates. They create culture and systems that motivate and enable our people to Understand our clients' Needs so that they can Deliver Results. All leaders can advocate for our clients – you don't have to be in operations or doing project delivery. Leaders must keep our culture centered on serving others. They can ensure training and accountability on client service expectations and can also develop systems and processes to better serve our clients. For example, designating client accounts as All-Stars, Veterans, Rookies, or Prospects in 2015 clarified who is responsible for our most important clients, aligned business development and operations around common clients, and provided a framework for setting goals and utilizing resources to better serve these clients.

Leaders who advocate for the client regularly walk beside and help project teams understand a client’s business goals for the projects they've entrusted to us. After all, whether a new grain export facility is justified on the basis of receiving grain by the next harvest or on the premise of increasing long-term market share can have a drastic impact on how we manage the construction schedule.

During the difficulties and surprises of project work, Client Advocates keep Interstates' people focused on the client’s needs and point-of-view. Project work is stressful, and personalities can clash. Client-focused leaders remind project teams of the client's importance and focus them on the positive aspects of the client. They promote the importance of client relationships lasting beyond any single project.

Client Advocates understand how Interstates' design-build value proposition – Rapid project delivery, Innovative solutions, Single-source responsibility, and Early dependable pricing (RISE) – can benefit our clients. In the late 90s, an Interstates proposal team exemplified this and secured a large sugar facility project in Moses Lake, Washington, that enabled us to help the client, stretch our people, and grow Interstates to a new level.

This client had been unsuccessful in getting its project funded. Our proposal leaders quickly understood that the complex design and design-bid format were driving up the client's costs and extending its schedule. After explaining the RISE benefits of design-build to the client and sharing our (reduced) budget that we agreed to stand behind, the client was able to get the project approved and moved forward, trusting our early, dependable pricing and our ability to speed up the pace of the project.

The AGP account team is another great example of representing the client. As we've grown with this important All-Star client over the last 20+ years, a number of characteristics illustrate what client advocacy is all about:

• We have built a strong working relationship with AGP. We're fully zippered – multiple people at Interstates have relationships with people at multiple levels at AGP.
• We're at the planning table, understanding AGP's projects and business needs. Randy Van Voorst, our account leader, is closely involved with multiple AGP leaders in budgeting their projects long before board approval.
• We've dedicated an XBU team to serve AGP, and all departments know that serving AGP is a priority.
• We know the facilities’ electrical systems inside and out – often better than AGP does. This enables us to be its trusted advisors.

This intentional development of an account team to passionately and intentionally serve a client is what advocating for the client is all about. A service culture doesn't happen by accident. Our company will always be a reflection of its leaders. Their attitudes, their values, and their commitment to service excellence will drive the actions of others in the organization. Always has, always will.

Know how you are "Making a Difference for Our Clients" and continue leading the Interstates Way – Advocate for the Client!

Doug Post

Fostering Productive Internal Relationships

This week's post was written by Jack Woelber.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “A leader with no followers is really just a person out for a walk”? How is it that some leaders seem to have a lot of influence and others struggle to have just a little? Why is it that when some folks want to implement a change, it is so much easier for them than it might be for others? Why do some people get “buy in” to an idea much more quickly than others? There are a lot of reasons behind and answers to those questions, but an overarching answer is found in the importance of having relationships.

Relationships inside an organization are important in numerous ways. First, most people enjoy their jobs more if they have productive relationships at work. Work is more gratifying and fulfilling when people interact. Individuals have a sense of belonging through relationships, which gives them more job satisfaction. Second, when you build relationships, you are investing in others, and they in you. This mutual investment should create a mutual benefit. Through that mutual benefit, people can win together and share each other’s successes as well as the success of the team.

In one of the other leadership competencies, we discuss being able to drive results directly and indirectly. Relationships are a big benefit when you have to drive results indirectly, both in your area of business as well as across divisions and business units. Through the relationships we’ve purposefully built with others, we can indirectly drive results; without those relationships, this indirect influence is incredibly difficult.

How can you build those internal relationships? You must be willing to initiate conversation and dialogue. We get to know each other through communication. It doesn’t happen overnight; you didn’t become best friends with anyone the first time you visited. It took time. But over time, through ongoing conversations and shared experiences and successes, the relationship grew and became what it is today. Strong relationships allow for open and honest dialogue. These intentionally built relationships offer permission to give and receive feedback, creating a culture of honesty and helping each other for mutual benefit. In the end, everyone wins.

So, while some of us may tend to keep to ourselves and “do our own thing,” it is important as leaders that we build relationships within our teams and across the organization. Not only will building relationships help you and others lead, these relationships will also provide more enjoyable and meaningful interactions every day.

Continue leading the Interstates Way!
Jack Woelber

Leading Operations - Solving Problems

This week's post was written by Dave Crumrine.

Why did the Interstates Sr. Team decide to put something so obvious in its Leadership Model? Almost any business is rife with problems, and leaders are often called upon to solve them. If you succeed at solving one problem, there are often many other problems following along closely that will require your attention. Although we spend a lot of time on problems, the truth is that we aren't very good at escaping some of the historical traps of problem solving.

The reason we chose to elevate the topic of solving problems is that it differs greatly from temporarily solving the symptoms of problems. Strong leaders need to have both the wisdom to identify the most essential problems to solve (there are always more than we can work on at one time) and the fortitude to work on the root cause of a problem. Working on the symptoms of a problem is like taking an aspirin every four hours to alleviate the pain of an infection. If you define "the pain" as the problem, you can solve it temporarily with a "painkiller." This is not an uncommon response by our teams with urgent deadlines and limited resources. What you can't do with a painkiller is prevent the pain from coming back. That takes a real cure (solving the problem).

Real leadership requires we dig down past "quick and dirty" and find the root cause of problems. We must be suspicious of obvious solutions. To do this, we must help our people move past the urgent and help them truly see what is going on. We have learned much about Lean practices, and many of the tools in Lean are built around the need to make the process "visual" and, in doing so, allowing the players to see what is really happening. This leads to much stronger problem solving that can effectively put challenges behind us – not to mention saving lots of trips to the store for more pain reliever.

As Interstates' leaders build their skills and knowledge around strong problem solving, others in the organization call on them for these abilities. These leaders become valued experts at facilitating problem solving; in the process, they also teach others better problem solving. Helping people build broad problem-solving skills is the real power here.

A controversial practice at Interstates seems to be bringing in non-experts to help solve problems. This is at odds with our natural inclination to use a room full of the most informed technical experts in an area. I'm not quite sure where this inclination comes from, but it is often a dominant idea we all have early in our careers. As Albert Einstein said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." This is why true problem-solving skills and coaching are required in our world. Perspective is the secret sauce of problem solving, and we must seek out non-traditional perspectives on a problem so we can expose our potentially flawed assumptions. Only then can we find the solutions we really need. It’s a kind of innovation, one very applied, but born of the same core ideas that foster innovation.

Problem-solving activity is common. Great problem solving? Much less so. Leading the Interstates way means digging deep enough to get it right!

Here’s to less aspirin!

Continue leading the Interstates Way!

Dave Crumrine

Driving Results Directly and Indirectly

This week's post was written by Jack Woelber.

Why is driving results, both directly and indirectly, important to leadership? As you think about this topic, say it in your mind with two different emphases. First, DRIVING RESULTS directly and indirectly, and second, driving results DIRECTLY and INDIRECTLY.

When most people read this, on the surface “driving results” probably makes a lot of sense. However, it is good to remember that activity is different from results. There are times when someone can drive a lot of activity and yet not reach the desired result. That is why, when setting direction, it is good to have measureable goals to ensure you are reaching the desired result, rather than just feeling good about all the activity.

What kind of person does it take to reach those desired results? It takes someone who is action oriented and willing to take the initiative to dive in and make things happen. It also helps if the person is willing to take on a challenge. Many aspects of leadership start out a little fuzzy (see “Moves from Muck to Clarity”) and, without the desire to take on a challenge, you can run out of steam pretty quickly. Through that fuzziness, you have to be able to remove the barriers and roadblocks by keeping the end in mind. Once you have reached your goal, it is good to reflect on the process, what you have learned, and in turn help the organization learn from what went well and what could have gone better.

Now, let’s focus on what is meant by “directly and indirectly.” In a company such as Interstates, we have an inherent challenge. We have employees all over the country, and at times, even around the world. Without the opportunity to influence people both directly and indirectly (remotely), we would struggle with creating consistent delivery of our services, and our brand could suffer. Therefore, we have to be able to drive results in many different ways.

One of the ways we drive results is through our EIL programs. Gathering people from all parts of the company and allowing them to experience leadership training pushes results throughout the organization. Participants don’t only gain book knowledge; EIL also allows them to build relationships that can then be used to drive results and influence beyond their specific areas.

Communication also drives results. As difficult as it is, we need to continue to be creative in our communication methods and styles. Technology has enabled the use of different methods of communicating, but without intentionality, we will struggle. Systems such as InterTrak and Adept are tools that can be used for communication and can ultimately drive consistent results throughout the organization.

As you can tell, there is no silver bullet. It takes time, energy, and intentionality to directly and indirectly drive results (not simply activity) within the organization. As we continue to grow this will become even more difficult, but ultimately even more important as we deliver consistently for our clients.

Continue leading the Interstates Way!
Jack Woelber

Delegates

This week's post was written by Doug Post.

Leaders Delegate at Interstates

Delegation is a crucial skill and practice for leaders at a company whose "why do we exist?" statement includes "providing opportunities for our people" and whose core values emphasize building relationships by extending trust to others. We simply cannot live our core ideology if we do not delegate frequently, quickly, and clearly.

Why Delegate?

Good delegation allows Interstates’ leaders to spend more of their time on fewer, more important pursuits. It provides an opportunity to coach our people, giving them a chance to take on responsibility, learn new things, and grow their skills. In sum, it enables company growth and develops future leaders so that Interstates can be a company built to last.

I vividly remember how I felt when Darrel Ramhorst first asked me to lead a project for Interstates. I was excited, engaged, and felt ownership on that project. Today, it's our responsibility to create similar opportunities for our people.

When to Delegate?

Delegate as soon as possible. When you're assigned a task or project, you need to make a quick decision as to whether or not you should delegate that task. If any of the above reasons why to delegate apply to you, delegate quickly.

Quick delegation is essential since delegating well takes time and effort. You will need to define what it is you really want, find someone to do the work, and leave time for reviews and adjustments since you are still accountable for the assignment.

What is Delegation?

Definitions of delegation abound. I appreciate the clarity and conciseness of our Leader Model's definition.

An Interstates leader:
1. Clearly delegates tasks, responsibilities, and decisions; delegates the right level of responsibility.
2. Tends to trust people to perform; lets direct reports and others finish their own work.
3. Holds people accountable for results.

To deepen our understanding, consider overuse and unskilled uses of delegation. Overuse occurs when we:
1. Over-delegate without providing enough direction or support,
2. Have unrealistic expectations of the delegate, and
3. Over-structure tasks and decisions before delegating, such that we limit initiative.

Frankly, I would like to see a few more of our mistakes be due to overuse of delegation. At Interstates, I believe we have more opportunities to avoid the unskilled use of delegation. This occurs when a leader:
1. Doesn't believe in or trust delegation;
2, Lacks trust and respect in the talent of direct reports and others;
3. Does most things by him/herself or hoards, keeping the good stuff for him/herself;
4. Doesn't want to know how to empower others;
5. Might delegate but not pass on the authority;
6. May lack a plan of how to work through others;
7. May just throw tasks at people, and may not regularly follow up on progress; and
8. Doesn't communicate the bigger picture.

The next time you delegate, reflect on what good and bad delegation looks like before you implement.

 

How to Delegate?

Good delegating can be reduced to three key steps. First, clearly defining the scope, schedule, and budget of the assignment. Second, physically delegating the task with the support of the delegate's manager. Third, completing the first two steps with the delegate's situation in mind. This third step is critical. If you've attended Excellence In Leadership (EIL), you're familiar with the figure (below) on Situational Delegation. To delegate well, remember it is your job to assess the delegate's experience, knowledge, willingness/capacity, and motivation regarding the task. This helps you decide if you should direct, coach, support, or delegate.

Remember my first time leading a project? Sometime later, it became obvious that Darrel had been walking beside me the whole way. Behind the scenes, he enlisted the client to be patient with a young project manager. He quietly coached me on client expectations and the Interstates Way. He lived UNDERSTANDING NEEDS ► DELIVERING RESULTS long before it was our stated vision. That's delegating. That's why the Ramorst Training Center has its name!

Continue leading the Interstates Way -- go DELEGATE!

Doug Post