Leadership

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Let’s single out the component of the progression of leadership.

First, let’s discuss how it’s not just a progression, but it’s more of an ongoing recipe. If we think of these components as check-the-box things, we’ll miss the point. Like a recipe, sometimes we may need to lean more on one of them more heavily. People and situations will dictate our best use of each component. 

The first ingredient is the most important. Think of it as the flour in any bread recipe. The other ingredients matter, but none matters more than the main ingredient. And for effective leaders, humility is the key ingredient. 

Think of every leadership failure you’ve ever experienced. Think of every leadership failure you’ve witnessed. Odds are high that it was always a lack of humility. 

Any time I let my pride get the best of me, things didn’t go well. I’ve always lost ground as a leader whenever I got too focused on myself and thought more highly of myself than I should. Every single time it resulted in a failure I regretted. 

Humility is foundational for personal and professional growth because that’s what fuels our need and desire to improve. When we’re able and willing to face ourselves then we can better recognize what we can do better. And what we want to fix or improve. 

Covering up. Hiding. Pretending. Putting up a front. 

We all do it sometimes. Some of us do it a lot. And I’m not critiquing that because not every person or situation is safe enough for us to be truly honest. At least not openly. 

But we’ve got to find a place where we can ditch all those acts and look more closely into the mirror. 

The Magic Corner

Humility is required if we’re going to find our way into the corner where the magic happens. The corner? It’s that place we get to when we’re tired of making excuses. Once all the excuses are sucked out of our life, we can at long last work our way into the corner. It’s that metaphorical place where are backs are up against the wall and there’s nobody else to blame. No situation to blame. It’s just us, in the corner coming to terms with ourselves. There is nobody else, but it’s not a selfish view. It’s a deep view of finally accepting responsibility for our own life. 

As we begin to hold up a mirror and stare intently into it, we see ourselves more clearly…IF humility is achieved. 

Blame isn’t the point. We waste little time, if any, assessing blame because it doesn’t much matter. What matters most is…

Now what?

Humility serves us to ask and answer the question. In doing that, we accept responsibility for our own present and future. The past is over. Yes, it may have helped define us, but that was then…this is now. Again, now what? What will we do now?

The thing about that magic corner is that it’s ridiculously valuable, but only for periods of time. It’s no place to build a residence. The point of the magic corner is to get there as quickly as possible and get out of it as soon as you can. However, you have to stay there long enough to figure things out. And there is no clock on that. 

Embrace humility so you avoid comparing yourself to others. What they do or what they’ve achieved has no impact on your life. If you think it does, just ask yourself, “How?” 

We each figure it out when we figure it out. This is no time to berate yourself for not figuring it out sooner. It’s a common feeling though and you must let it go. Quickly. 

Clients regularly tell me, “Why didn’t I see this sooner?” I always say the same thing. 

We see it when we see it. Who care why it took so long? Now you see it. So now what?

Have the humility to focus on yourself because until or unless you can do that, you’ll be useless to others. How can you best influence others and do for them what they’re unable to do for themselves without first committing to self-improvement? Be humble enough to put in the work on yourself so you then best serve others. 

Look at the components I’ve listed – these leadership components that are really internal things with outward results. Without humility, none of the rest are even possible. That’s why you must find your way to humility. And it’s why you can’t skip that.

Forget fronting. 

Forget trying to stick your chest out.

Face the things you fear most with humility – the notion that you don’t yet know, but that you’ll figure it out. People tell us to be courageous, but mostly we think that means a degree of outward confidence, even arrogance. You need to embrace your humility in ways that work for you – ways that will move you forward toward a willingness to accept responsibility, full responsibility, for your own life. 

And that’s the pointed definition of humility – accepting full responsibility for the outcomes of your life. It’s the realization that you’re not the most important person on the planet, but you are the only person responsible for your thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Accept that responsibility and it’ll propel your forward. Ignore it and you’ll remain stuck.

Be well. Do good. Grow great.

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Greg Jones is currently the owner of the Beehive Neighborhood Hangout, Xplore family of restaurants, and Co-Owner of Artfully Baked and Brewed in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. But his roots are in hi-tech. Armed with a computer science degree from Georgia Tech, Greg entered the real world by way of startups. Eventually, he found his way to an international multi-billion dollar company where he took a small (think sub $10 million) division to over $200 million. In about 3 years or so he’s taken a one-off idea and grown it into an 8 location restaurant business with more than $6 million in annual revenue. 

Here are some helpful links if you care to learn more about Greg and what he’s doing today. 

Xplore Lakeside: https://www.xplorelakeside.com/

BeeHive Neighborhood Hangout: https://www.beehivehsv.com/

Hope you enjoy the show!

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The owner was pompous. He relished being “the boss.” He was middle-aged. I was in college. This was retail. I was selling stereo gear and going to school. He was just another boss teaching me how NOT to lead and manage. Fact was, in my opinion, he wasn’t good (or effective) at either. But thankfully he had a manager who both good and effective. In that one job, I was able to watch and learn both sides of the coin. How not to do it. How to do it.

Here we were on the frontlines of retailing serving customers for hours each day. We heard their questions. We heard their requests. Every day we stood toe-to-toe in conversation with our customers. The owner never sought out our opinions or insights. It frustrated all of us. 

Instead, he barked out orders, passed down edicts and made policy changes that seemed whimsical. I never remember him approaching us, or asking us to approach him. Daily I’d think, “There’s quite a bit of brain power running around here. Why doesn’t he tap into it?” The answer was pretty simple: he was too busy being “the boss” to care. Like so many bosses, he behaved as though he were the smartest guy in the room (any room). Who were we? A bunch of college kids! Nobodies. 

Bosses of all ilks are susceptible to the same blind spots. Getting it wrong by diminishing the value of their team. Collectively and individually. 

Come on, you’re the boss! There’s no way your team members can know more you. No way they can know better than you. Why should you engage them in problem-solving?

Have you ever seen an episode of that TV show, Undercover Boss? Todd Pedersen, CEO and Founder of Vivint, Inc. appeared on one episode back in 2015. One scene reveals how it’s not about being the smartest guy or gal in the room. It’s about asking questions and listening. Todd is working alongside a woman who works in the call center. Vivint was founded by Todd as a home security company. The call center is deep in the trenches of the company’s service priority. This is the front line of customer interaction with the company. These employees wear headsets as they’re fielding many phones each hour. Todd has a headset and the employee who is training him also has on a headset. That way, Todd is able to listen in on the same call and he can take a call with his trainer on the line, too. She takes a call. The static is so bad she can’t hear the customer. Professionally, she does her very best to help the customer, but it’s painful for both her and the customer. The headset is constantly cutting in and out. When the call ends, she complains to Todd that they’ve been lobbying for upgrades to their headsets for a long time, but it seems nobody listens. The VP of the division isn’t responsive to their input. 

You can see Todd begin to fume. Here is his company, in a high tech industry, with phones that are scratchy and can’t maintain a good connection. As I watched it, back when it first aired, I was reminded of what I’d read back in 1987 by Scandinavian Airlines System CEO, Jan Carlzon, in the book – Moments Of Truth. If the flipdown trays on the planes have coffee stains, then passengers wonder if the maintenance is any good. He said,

SAS is ‘created’ 50 million times a year, 15 seconds at a time. These 50 million ‘moments of truth’ are the moments that ultimately determine whether SAS will succeed or fail as a company. They are the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative.

Todd Pedersen knew that, but like so many leaders in growing companies, he realized he had lost touch. Worse yet, he had a boss working for him, the VP of the call center, who wasn’t listening. Nobody was listening to this hourly worker who was answering tons of calls from customers every single day. They’re smarter than her. So they thought.

Pedersen revamped the entire phone system. 

Leaders make decisions. Our job is to serve the people we’re commissioned to lead. We forget that. We may wrongly think our job is to be large and in charge. And we most certainly have management responsibilities. But the work is different. Congruent, but different.

Leaders lead people. Managers manage the work done by those people. 

In YOU both roles are rolled up into one person. One position. It doesn’t matter if you’re the owner/founder, CEO, VP or a team leader of a small band of employees. The scope and scale of your work may differ from others, but leading and managing are still the role — and the job. And you can’t do either of them well if you can’t make good decisions. You can’t make good decisions if you limit the information and data available. And you do that every time you refuse to listen to others. Their insight, experience and knowledge will make you better. If you avail yourself of it. 

Todd Pedersen’s VP could have listened to the front line people who worked under his leadership. But he didn’t. He failed. Fact was, based on the big problem with the phone systems, he was failing as a leader and a manager. He could have wildly succeeded as both if he’d listened, made a proper determination and acted. If you’re the CEO, why do you need a VP like that around? You don’t. He serves nobody! 

What Can You Do Today?

1. Privately, one-on-one, approach your direct reports with a single question, “What’s the one thing you need from me today to help you do your job better?”
2. Then shut up and listen.
3. Take in the information from each of them and follow up for clarification if you must, but make a decision.
4. Take action.

Many leaders are appropriately concerned about culture. Some engage months of consulting to help them figure out ways to improve their culture. Save your money. Start asking better questions aimed at helping you better serve your team members, then listen. Not to patronize them, but to take meaningful action that will elevate everybody’s performance. Ping me and let me know how that works out because I already know how it’s gonna work out. Your culture will improve very quickly as team members realize you’re really interested. You care. You listen. You do something about the problems. 

Oh, and one final thing. Don’t forget to thank them after you hear what they have to say. 

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