Thinking Out Loud!: 2018

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Reinventing Yourself – 9 NEW Strategies – Part II

Life is not about finding yourself. Trust me on this one, you are right here, just where you left you! Life is mostly about creating yourself, time and time again. We will do this as you progress in life, career, and, accordingly, your leadership progression. As I shared last time, this has me thinking out loud about how we go about doing this.

Pulling heavily from Herminia Ibarra’s great book, Working Identity, making a significant life change often starts with a simple, but incredibly compelling idea, that at some point in our life, we reach a point where we want to be somewhere else. We know we are capable of being and doing more, but we are not sure what to do or how to start. Since I usually finish what I start, I want to share the last 5 of the 9 of her strategies that may help move your forward.

Strategy #5 – Craft Experiments

Try new projects that align with the type of roles and activities associated with a new line of work or leadership approach. This could include side projects, cross-functional committee work temporary roles, volunteer work, pro bono consulting, etc. Then decide if you really liked doing those things. Did they reflect your strengths, values, and skills sets? Did you like the people and culture that are part of the “usual suspects” of this type of work? You have to do enough of this to really get an accurate idea of what the new career role or leadership approach entails.

Strategy #6 – Shift Connections

Speaking of “usual suspects” when you are considering a new career role or shift, it is vital you can around people that do what you think you want to do. You will find them in networking groups, professional associations, conferences, and in on-line communities. This will feel a bit uncomfortable at first since they will not use the same jargon, have different outlooks and mindsets, and have “been there and done that” more than you. This is critical. For my own example, when I was considering a move into freelance consulting, joining the John Maxwell Team was a great “deep dive” into this world. They were definitely not your usual higher education types! Yet, they were a great source of information and guidance on the good, bad, and ugly of becoming a content marketer, performance coach, and solopreneur. I was also fortunate to get connected with great coaches and consultants like Frank Lind and Alan Dobzinski. They were a great source of ideas and guidance, but we also became teaching allies and partners. The same is true when you seek and shift to a new professional/social network. This new “tribe” can and will be a great source of information, “how to’s”, and job opportunities but you have to be open and listen.

Strategy #7 – Value the NOW

Don’t wait for the clouds to part and the heavens to open for the truth of your next role to be revealed. Reinventing yourself as a professional and leader takes a lot more time than you think – 3 – 5 years according to Dr. Ibarra. Use everyday events and situations to inform what you want to be and do. How you interpret events is more important than the events themselves. The point is that if you wait for some obvious moment of truth you may be waiting a long time! Leadership authors Barry Kouzes and Ken Posner share that we experience small moments of truth every day, we just may not recognize them as such. Take advantage of what life sends your way and use those experiences to help evolve into the actual self you want to become.

Strategy #8 – Step Back and Take Inventory

If you are becoming frustrated that your new leadership approach is not working the way you want, or your career shift is not occurring in the manner you would like. Take a short break. A really short break. It’s kind of like that phenomenon that occurs when you are just about to fall asleep then all of a sudden, an answer you have been looking for all day or a sudden insight occurs. Sometimes our brains just need to marinate on a problem. I once heard that our brains cannot really multitask, they simply timeshare! Take a walk, even two, but get back in the game. It is only through actively playing the game that we discover what we are capable of and what we want to do. Also, don’t discount how far you have come or how much you have changed. Trust me, you will be amazed at your progress.

Strategy #9 – Seize Opportunities

Changes and opportunities can come out of nowhere! A job offer or an interview request that you had previously thought was a non-starter shows up. Opportunities come and go but even if it is not “the” one but gets you a step closer, don’t discount it. I have made wonderful connections and have had great interactions with such offers to help, support, etc. Whatever you do, bet on yourself and don’t retreat back to safety. If someone thinks highly enough of your skills and talents, hey, who are you to tell them they are wrong! In fact, I cannot think of any new job I obtained that I was 100% factory equipped to take on that role. You see, when I look for a new role, I always judge it on 1) what I can immediately contribute and 2) what I will learn. Such an approach has kept me from becoming complacent and focused on being a life-long learner.

If any of this has resonated with you, then take some action on it. Create a checklist or strategy journal that contains action steps you can take in the near future that will move you to your next self. It is OK and even advisable to reflect on these strategies, but make sure you calendar specific and actionable steps you can take on each one to be completed no later than 30 days from the date of your reading.

Anytime you are thinking of a significant life change or know you need to “next level” your leadership skills, I recommend a adding a personal board of advisors. Here is who I would invite to be on your board:

- A Sector Mentor who can guide you in the transition with industry-specific content and considerations

- A Career/Leadership Coach who can walk this journey with you and be that confidential sounding board and accountability partner

- A long-time Personal Mentor who has always been there for you throughout your career

- A good but Candid Friend who will speak truth in your life

I would not invite the following:

- The Itty Bitty Crappy Committee that holds meetings in your head and tells you that you cannot do something

- Average People who want you to stay average. In fact, leadership guru John Maxwell shares that you know you are on the right track when average people are trying to talk you out of something!

- CAVE Dwellers = Colleagues Against Virtually Everything, Negative people will always pull you down. They have nothing new to offer except criticism, so you can just invite them to join the competition.

Creating a new and more vibrant self will take hard work. A next level life cannot be achieved by down line efforts. It will be worth it and not just because of what you achieve but what you become in the process!

As always if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact.

If you want to know more about leading with intention, I would direct you to Leading Out Loud: Strategies for Raising Your Leadership Voice! available on Amazon.com. I would also be happy to share the full NEXT LEVEL LEADERS training resources with you or your organization or personally coach you through the process. Please feel free to contact me for a no obligation inquiry.

Yours in leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Reinventing Yourself – 9 NEW Strategies – Part I

Any kind of substantial life change, whether it be changing careers or your leadership approach, requires that you change yourself! That is a pretty dramatic statement to make but if you think about it, its truth lies in the fact that what got you here may not be sufficient to get you there!

In my role of training and coaching established leaders and professionals, that is perhaps the toughest hurdle to overcome, mainly because there is no clear road map of how to do so. This has me thinking out loud that whereas I cannot offer guidance on exactly what to do (because each situation is uniquely different), I could share some thoughts of how to at least go about doing it!

Pulling heavily from Herminia Ibarra’s great book, Working Identity, making a significant life change often starts with a simple, but incredibly compelling idea, that at some point in our life, we reach a point where we want to be somewhere else. We know we are capable of being and doing more, but we are not sure what to do or how to start. To hopefully be of service, I will share 9 of her strategies that may help move your forward. In Part I, I will share 4 and finish next time with 5 more.

Strategy #1 – ACT Your Way into Change

Leadership expert John Maxwell often shares it is easier to act your way into a feeling versus waiting until you feel like taking action. The same holds true when you are seeking to change a life path. Start experimenting with new roles, new leadership approaches, etc. and see what you gain from that. Trust me, we are always getting feedback about our work, leadership, ambitions, etc., we just do not always pay much attention to it! If you just focus on thinking about what you want to do or be, you will never create the movement you want since the only feedback mechanism is you. As a great colleague once told me, “just jump in the deep end of the pool!” I am pretty sure he was talking about my dating life versus how to enter a swimming pool!

Strategy #2 – Quit Trying to “Find Yourself”

I get a kick when I hear young people tell me that they want to take a gap year to “find myself”. Seriously, you’re right there! Just look in the mirror and I guarantee you will be the only one looking back at you! Dr. Ibarra proposes that we are comprised of many possible “selves”. We have our professional self, personal self, friend self, etc. As shared above, taking some kind of trial and error actions allows us to differentiate between what we really want versus what we think we want. I can attest to value of this strategy directly. By acting on my idea I thought wanted to be a freelance consultant (one possible self), I learned what I really wanted was to do such work but back in a higher education setting (my true self!). When we fail to act, we never make progress from the conceptual self to our actual self.

Strategy #3 – Allow Yourself a Transition Period

When making a major life change, it may be efficient but unwise to just “rip off the bandage”! I think that is why so many leadership development initiatives fail because the self or other imposed expectation is that we immediately change course. The problem with doing so is that we have not taking the time to get ourselves (and certainly our teams) time to adjust to this new way of operating. Such quick and dramatic changes become so overwhelming that the shock to the system causes us to retreat back to the safety of doing things the old, albeit ineffective ways. Whether it be a career change or a leadership transition, give yourself time to hold on to what you know still works well while you are letting go to gain something new. Ease into a new “self” gradually but purposefully. I always share that is ALWAYS better to be running to something versus running away from something.

Strategy #4 – Avoid the Dramatic Gesture

As you can tell from above, Dr. Ibarra recommends earning “small wins or changes” as opposed to making a dramatic life change in the blink of an eye. Such gestures may work well in the movies but not so much in real life. Small steps or experiments can and often do lead to big changes. Take on a project at work or pro bono for a non-profit just to see if the career change or role you are contemplating still holds the same appeal when you are actually doing it. If a small change in your leadership behavior works out well, then increase your efforts in a steady but progressing manner. As Real Estate and leadership author Gary Keller shares, “success is sequential, not simultaneous.”

I get it, when you are not getting the results you want or if it seems like “the grass is greener on the other side of the hill”, just remember you still have to do the hard work that got you over the first hill to the grassy field you are presently rolling in! If it is now not as appealing as it once was, that is perfectly fine. You should want to be the kind of person who wants to do and be more, just remember that there were no short cuts that got you here; thus, there will not be any that will get you there! The good news is that since you are wiser and experienced, it may not take quite as long!

Yours in leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Sunday, October 7, 2018

The ONLY thing your poor leadership gets you is talked about!

When I share what I do with other people, inevitably I get the “let me tell you about my horrible boss” stories. They go on to tell me not only is their supervisor a bad boss, but they are not a very good person with absolutely NO redeeming characteristics. Since I usually hear about other aspects of an individual’s personal or professional life when their boss is great at best or tolerable at least, it gets me thinking out loud that the ONLY thing poor leadership gets you is talked about!

According to workplace studies completed by the Ken Blanchard company, 70% of reported stress in the environment is attributed to someone’s supervisor. That is just amazing to me. Of all the things that can cause us stress on the job – deadlines, insufficient resources, co-workers, etc. – all of that pales in comparison to the stress an individual in authority can place on another.

That is why a big part of my purpose and mission in life is to teach valuable leadership lessons now that produce leaders for life – both in duration and quality! It amazes me that we have access to more leadership resources, speakers, books, podcasts, videos, assessments, systems, curriculums, and trainings are we are still not moving the needle fast enough or far enough to make our workplaces more humane and productive. You see when you take care of the first, the second quickly follows.

If you are a leader and the only indication of your impact is how badly someone complains about you to others, then you have some work to do. I can speak from personal experience on this since there was a time in my career when I made many leadership mistakes in this arena. Don’t get me wrong, I still make plenty of mistakes, but I at least have tried very hard to not repeat the ones that address how I treat and value others.

Let’s assume you have some kind of indication that your leadership is not what is should be. Your people are complaining, they have stopped coming to you for guidance, and they are just going through the motions albeit in a very grumpy bear fashion. If that is the case, you may want to ask some dichotomous questions.

Do you lead out of fear or respect?

I know there have been many decisions that I have made that my team did not agree with, but they usually respected my decision because they were not fearful of expressing their opinion. They knew that often I would go with their decisions and ideas but sometimes as a leader we have to make the tough call. If you have built up “leadership credits” with team members because they know you respect them, they will respect you. They know you have set up a “safe” environment where ideas are heard without censure, respectful disagreements are tolerated, and there is mutual respect all around. Only insecure people lead from fear, only the most underserving of the title of leader enjoy it.

Do you desire compliance or commitment?

In today’s work environment where situations occur quickly, and departures happen all to frequently, I will take commitment over compliance any day of the week. Further, I would much rather have a team member who is not as technically competent, yet, but is “all in” when it comes to the values, mission, and vision of your enterprise. As a leader, you have to decide what you are willing to train someone to do as opposed to what you want them to bring “factory equipped.” Someone who is merely in compliance mode is just giving you compliance quality work. They are not innovating, stretching, or adding value. Instead, they are just waiting around for you to tell them what to do and then merely complying with your wishes. Just think of how bigger, better, or more profitable your enterprise could be if you unleash the talent of those around you versus trying to just control it.

Do you lead on codes or covenants?

I once had the opportunity work with an incredible leader who was acting as a temporary chief academic officer of a college where I was working. One day he shared a quick comparative analysis of Earnest Hemmingway and William Faulkner (the real author!). He provided an insight that if you look at Hemmingway’s novels, they are very masculine filled with male characters who live by a code, die by a code, fight by a code, and love by a code. These “man codes” are so self-ingrained in the characters that they cannot imagine living any other way and have little tolerance for those that do.

In Faulkner’s novels, however, the characters lead their lives by strong covenants. Commitments and agreements, they make with others even after they have passed away These covenants capture strong moral “magnetic norths” that inform their lives but allow for flexibility versus unyielding “road maps” that do not allow for any deviation to see if a better route or a better world is just over the next hill.

I understand in today’s litigious environment, as leaders we are often encouraged to lead by strict codes. Codes that dictate a strict legalism in our work where deviation is frowned upon and what is fair or right is dictated by a manual. When we lead by covenants, however, it is not that we ignore the rules, rather we supersede them because whereas it is easy to break a rule or a code, it is much harder to break a promise or a covenant! When leaders and team members make a promise or covenant to treat each other with respect, that we would never bully or harass someone, or that we will value individual and group differences, we do not need rules to dictate our behaviors because we do more than the minimum, we live by maximizing others!

Robert Greenleaf, the father of Servant Leadership, shares that the best indicator of whether or not you are a leader worth of being followed is when the people around you are happier, wiser, stronger, and more fulfilled. It is all a matter a focus. As writher and pastor Andy Stanley shares, when your leadership is just about you, it will last long enough to be someone’s bad example. When your leadership is all about others, it will last forever.

That kind of leadership gets you talked about, but in a very, very good way for a very long time!

Yours in leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Sunday, August 5, 2018

8 Leadership Actions for When You Inherit a Toxic Hot Mess!

Perhaps the most awkward professional situation is inheriting a new team. The second most awkward situation is inheriting a new supervisor! Last week I shared what happens when there is unhealthy competition in the work place. But what happens if you inherit the grease fire (i.e. a Hot Mess!) that a previous supervisor left in terms of such a toxic environment? I have been thinking out loud about what you can do if you INHERIT such a situation as a new supervisor or if you CREATED it in the first place and want to make a change!

Regardless, you are going to have go in with realistic expectations. Don’t think that your new team will see you as some kind of unicorn supervisor who will now fill the workplace with rainbows and candy! They have been burned before by you or someone else and have little reason to believe that you have changed or that things are going to be any different just because you are new. They are simply operating on the not unfair assumption that past behavior (even if it was not yours) will be an indicator of future behaviors.

So, before you even begin to implement a culture changing strategy, you are going to have to do several things regardless whether or not you created or inherited the situation and do so almost simultaneously.

Listen – you are going to need to spend a lot of time just asking and listening to your team about their perceptions of the working environment. This may take some diligence on your part since a zero-trust environment has been created; thus, they may be hesitant to do so initially.

Respond – one of the powerful ways to establish or repair trust with someone is to take them seriously. If you get tough to hear feedback, you are going to have to just deal with it and respond with clear and quick changes to policies, practices, language, etc. that created the toxic environment in the first place.

Recognize – soon after you have had these frank and open conversations with EACH team member in your unit or organization, you should hold a full team meeting where you invite that big elephant in the room as your special guest to join you. Demonstrating courage in recognizing what has not working in the past will be a great way to MODEL openness and trust. Leaders go first in these situations.

Restore – once everyone knows that you know that they know what has been happening in the past to create a toxic environment, now is the time for actions that will create and restore the trust and health of the working climate. Keep in mind, some members of the team may have been perfectly happy with how things were since they personally or professionally benefitted. Here are 8 ACTION STEPS that I recommend:

Recast “Competition” – As I said in my previous blog, I have no issues with competition as a concept, the challenge is to make it work in a way that it is a win-win for everyone on the team. Think about recasting competition where team members are competing against their potential versus each other. Performance goals should be highly customized to the individual so that their success and progress makes BOTH them and the organization better, more productive, profitable, etc.
Think Organization FIRST – Large organizations are notorious for creating bureaucratic silos where work teams focus primarily on their goals but lose the big picture of the organization. Encourage your unit or units to think organization first and unit second. The premise is that when one unit “wins” we all win. The best organizations understand this and embed the culture of US vs Them.
Review Incentives and Recognitions – A common leadership maxim is that “You reward what you value” or stated another way, rewards and recognitions are manifestations of the leader’s own values. Do you reward teamwork and innovation or just one person’s individual’s accomplishments? There is nothing wrong with highlighting personal performance, just make sure it is for the right things.
Check the Language – I once heard that when you are a leader, your words weigh a thousand pounds! With that in mind, I would recommend adopting a practice shared by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great where you distinguish between “soft opinions” which are merely just suggestions or ideas with “hard opinions” which are more absolutes in terms of expectations when speaking to team members. Trust me, based upon their past experience in a toxic culture, team members will consider everything a mandate unless you intentionally make those important differentiations.
Set Expectations – Setting clear and mutually created expectations has been a staple of my leadership practices and trainings for years. Not only should you set clear expectations about what does and does not constitute a healthy work environment, but it is EQUALLY important that EVERYONE on the team co-creates those expectations with you. People support what they help create so give them every opportunity to do so.
Pollinate and Marinate – Changing a culture, especially one where damage has been done is never easy. Your transformative and other-centric leadership style will be a significant “shock to the system”. Avoid trying to change everything thing at once. Pick what needs the most attention first and then pollinate changes with definitive actions referenced above. Then let those changes marinate awhile. Give team members the space to “test drive” them for a bit but they will quickly see the value of your efforts. Nothing changes our behaviors and attitudes more quickly than when we think it was our idea all along! Allow some space and time for your culture changes to take hold within the culture.
Be Patient but Persistent – In light of the above process, therefore, you are going to need to be patient. The toxic culture you created or inherited was not created overnight so it will take some time to change again. With that being said, however, you must be persistent. Maintain a constant but comfortable pressure on the team by talking, challenging, encouraging, and recognizing the changes you desire.
Don’t panic! – Finally, don’t panic if there is a dip in productivity while you are attempting to transform your organization or team. As Kerry Patterson and their colleagues in their great book, Influencer, point out, when we panic, we allow the more primitive and reactionary parts of our brain to drive our behaviors. Just think about how your driving habits change when you are late for a meeting or trying to catch a flight. In such a scenario we begin to make decisions or take risks that we normally would never consider out of concerns for your own safety or that of others. In the same way, if production slips, do not be tempted to revert back to the former culture of unhealthy competition and other negatives. Allow the learning and changes to catch up with the team and I would wager you will observe not only a quick turnaround but even better results! Don’t allow someone else’s previous bad leadership doubt yours now!

John Collision, co-founder of Stripe, shares that “Culture is what happens when the CEO is not in the room.” If you inherited a hot mess, your goal is to ensure that a healthy culture is maintained by your team even when you are not there. In fact, such self- sustaining behaviors is a clear metric that your efforts are working!

If you want to know more about Expectation Setting and other culture change strategies, I would direct you to Leading Out Loud: Strategies for Raising Your Leadership Voice! available on Amazon.com. I would also be happy to share the full NEXT LEVEL LEADERS training resources with you or your organization or personally coach you through the process. Please feel free to contact me for a no obligation inquiry.

Vita Integro,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Sunday, July 29, 2018

This is What Unhealthy Competition Gets You.

According to research done by the Ken Blanchard company, their workplace surveys reveal that 75% of employees identify their supervisor as the leading source of stress in their work environment. So much so that when given the choice between a better boss or a significant raise in pay, 65% responded they would prefer a better boss! When I read such statistics, it has me thinking out loud that what in the world is going on! We have access to more leadership books, speakers, seminars, videos, and formal academic curriculums than ever before and we are still suffering from poor leadership in the workplace and other arenas.

I believe that a major source of stress is caused by supervisors (I am not going to call them leaders!) who intentionally or inadvertently create unhealthy competition within work environments. These individuals are under the mistaken assumption that if they create gladiatorial combat within the cubicle arena by pitting individuals or groups against each other, then productivity will increase. Such an absurd practice was lampooned a few years ago by a major company that produced TV commercials of rival groups of employees in their power suits squaring off with each other in a jungle setting using office furniture and equipment as props. Whereas the commercials were meant to be humorous, they did not always stray far from the truth of some environments.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-competition. Whereas I am usually a calm, cool, and collective cat, I turn almost rabid during college football season. Go Georgia Bulldogs by the way! If you are a “challenger brand” then you certainly want to be in a place where you are competitive to a legacy organization. And there is always a place for friendly competition. The competition I am talking about, however, is when it is intentionally created or allowed to happen WITHIN an organization where promotions, resources, recognitions, etc. are allocated not on merit, teamwork, or the best ideas, but who can make their numbers the fastest regardless of the human cost for doing so.

Not only does such an antiquated approach have a human cost, I believe it also has negative impacts on productivity, market share, and eventual profitability because the boss is getting counterfeit results versus real quality effort! These are just a few ideas but here is what unhealthy competition gets you:

Work based upon Appearances and Visuals versus Effectiveness – this is the kind of work that may appear flashy but is it really quality work? Just because it is packaged nicely it does not mean the product or service is any better, effective, etc.

Information that is more based on what people think you WANT to hear versus NEED to hear – in the unhealthy environment that toxic leaders create, direct reports are so concerned about protecting turf, jobs, and resources that they will readily agree with senior leaders even if they know it is a bad idea. If you are the kind of leader that only wants to hear what you want to hear, then eventually what you hear has no value.

Time WASTED on protecting Turf versus time WELL SPENT on Innovation and/or Client Enhancement – speaking of turf, you will never get best efforts if team members are more worried about their employment and resources. In fact, I bet you can see a reverse correlation between innovation and customer satisfaction with time and energy spent on survival strategies and maneuvering.

Activity as Opposed to Results – we have all seen the phenomena of how busy everyone seems to get when a senior leader who promotes unhealthy competition walks in the room. The casual and relaxed atmosphere quickly turns quiet and strained where all you hear is the clacking of keyboard keys! In unhealthy cultures, it is more important to appear busy than achieving important results or breakthroughs.

Compliance versus Creativity – in Liz Wiseman’s and Greg McKeown’s great book, Multipliers, the authors stress that unsafe environments only produce safe ideas. I guarantee you that an organization based upon incremental goals will ALWAYS be eclipsed by the organization that takes risks. This is the defining characteristic of a disruptor. They know to gain a foothold in the crowded marketplace, they have to take risks and that “playing it safe” is a non-starter. In workplaces where there is too much competition within the system, however, teams and units will be hesitant to put themselves “out there” too much in the fear they will get cut off so they stick to just the safe ideas that are just variations of what worked well in the past.

Clearly, there has to be a better way and there is. Next Level Leaders know that unhealthy competition produces the negative outcomes shared above and in my next blog, I will present some strategies directed at changing such an environment whether you created it or inherited it. I have read many a story of how a new CEO or leader walked in such a situation created or allowed by predecessor and changed things around with consistently powerful and positive results on people, processes, and profits.

If you want to know more about finding your leadership platform, I would direct you to Leading Out Loud: Strategies for Raising Your Leadership Voice! available on Amazon.com. I would also be happy to share the full NEXT LEVEL LEADERS training resources with you or your organization or personally coach you through the process. Please feel free to contact me for a no obligation inquiry.

Vita Integro,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Are you NEXT LEVEL? Six steps to get there!

When you think of NEXT LEVEL Brands, Teams, Companies, and even Leaders, what comes to mind? I bet you think of companies like Apple, Amazon, SpaceX, Uber, or Dell. Teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Yankees, or Alabama swirl around in your consciousness. Leaders such as Jeff Bezos, Carly Fiorina, Elon Musk, or Oprah Winfrey could even be in your personal leadership hall of fame. But how did these organizations or individuals get to be NEXT LEVEL? What do they do, say, know, or value? This has me thinking out loud about how we become NEXT LEVEL and is there a process to get there?

If you have read my earlier blogs, you will know that I refer to those who have done the hard work of adopting and practicing Servant Leadership as NEXT LEVEL Leaders due to the dramatic shift in attitudes and behaviors required. In this instance, the NEXT LEVEL process outlined certainly refers to leadership but it also can be applied to any professional competencies and capabilities you want to achieve. Like many things, this is easier said than done but I want to at least provide a framework that will be of value in your professional trajectory.

Before you begin to consider applying the professional development strategy, you need to ask yourself what NEXT LEVEL are you chasing? Asked another way, when you think of YOURSELF, what do you REALLY WANT in terms of your next role, position, capacities, etc.? In other words, what do you want to be able DO that you are not doing now? What do you want to KNOW that you do not know now? What do you want to BECOME in your professional life?

Becoming NEXT LEVEL in any enterprise requires that you attend to three primary areas according to author Nancy Walborn in her book, Future Perfect. These areas include

Personal Qualities – such as honesty, commitment, integrity, and inclusion
Knowledge Base – both in terms of formal academic preparation and your own valuable personal experience.
Competency Areas – such as Task Management, Process Management, and Resources Management.

Again, what are you chasing? I use that word very intentionally since getting to a Next Level as you define it is not going to just come to you. No one gets better at anything by accident! We have to be very INTENTIONAL in our pursuit of Next Level career goals. Once you have a better idea of what your Next Level is, complete the following six-part process.

Assess WHAT YOU HAVE in terms of current level of Key Qualities, Competencies and Knowledge Base. The point being you do not have to start from zero. You are already equipped in some many relevant areas, just take a solid inventory of them.
Next, consider WHAT YOU NEED in light of your response to the What Next Level Are You Chasing question. What qualities do you need to develop, knowledge or experience do you need to gain, and competencies to master that you do not now?
Based upon the difference between your Current Functioning and Where You Want To Be, IDENTIFY AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT in terms of Qualities, Knowledge, and Competencies.
Next, Define, Describe, and Prioritize DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES. When doing so, consider what would provide the biggest return on your career development investment. What areas are you motivated to grow and develop right now?
Using those priorities, develop ACTION PLANS to grow in the areas you have identified. These Action Items could include further education or certifications, informational interviews and shadowing, gaining a mentor, or a completing a professional internship.
Finally, make sure to set clear benchmarks or MASTERY METRICS that will give you a clear indication of when and where you have obtained Next Level mastery. Make sure to provide specific timelines and indicators.

Just as an example, let’s say you have given this matter a lot of thought and decided that in order to reach the next level of your career trajectory, you need to have a better grasp of formal Project Management strategies. This has risen as your number one priority, so your goal is to understand the differences between various project management processes, tools, and strategies with the intention of eventually earning a Project Management certification to add to your professional portfolio. Your Action Items include researching the pro/con of various approaches, conducting an informational interview with a current certified project manager to discover what she does, how she does it, and the formal training involved. Finally, you decide that your metrics of success involve obtaining a relevant Project Management certification within six months and successfully lead a team through at least two successful project management processes and launch.

Again, Next Level professionals and leaders operate at incredibly high levels because of:

What they ARE
What they KNOW
What they can DO

Always keep these three elements in mind as you seek to grow not only yourself but others as well. When you bet better, everyone around you does too! Also, with some tweaking, you can even apply the process described above on a Team or Organizational Level. Instead of Personal Qualities, consider what are the foundational Organizational Values or Culture desired and then develop the process of the Organizational Knowledge and Competencies that need to be developed to reach your Next Level aspirations.

If you want to know more about finding your leadership platform, I would direct you to Leading Out Loud: Strategies for Raising Your Leadership Voice! available on Amazon.com. I would also be happy to share the full NEXT LEVEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT resources with you or your organization or personally coach you through the process. Please feel free to contact me for a no obligation inquiry.

Vita Integro,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Do you have a Life Motto that changes lives?

Endurance is the legendary survival story of Sir Ernest Shackleton. In 1914, Shackleton and his crew set sail for Antarctica aboard the Endurance, a three-masted ship named for the Shackleton family motto: Fortitudine Vincimus (By Endurance We Conquer). Back in Shackleton’s era, such family mottos were taken very seriously. These statements were the modern-day equivalent of the corporate mission or value statement and to live or behave in a manner in contradiction to one was to bring disgrace to a family. This has me thinking out loud that there could very well be value in having such a statement as the magnetic north of our moral compass.

Such simple motto statements can have enormous power and influence in our life and the lives of others. Shackleton’s experience is a clear case in point as explained in a wonderful leadership blog by pastor and author Tommy Kiedis, The Leaders Life and Work (http://www.tommykiedis.com). Tommy explains that a year into the expedition the Endurance became trapped in an ice pack in the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic. It remained stuck in the frozen sea for ten months before finally cracking up due to the glacial pressure of the surrounding ice.

In an attempt to save his entire crew, Shackleton and five crewmen made an incredibly dangerous ocean crossing by sailing 800 miles in a small boat to reach a tiny island that they had to find or all would have been lost. Theologian Leonard Sweet also uses this story of Shackleton in his book, Summoned to Lead, to illustrate universal leadership principals. Essentially Dr. Sweet proposes that whereas some leaders are made and other leaders are born, some leaders are summoned!

In Shackleton’s case, I would propose he drew upon all three methods! Like most young men of his time, he was expected to lead (i.e. Leadership Born) even though he did not come from a particularly prominent family. His first experience in the polar regions was as a third officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Expedition of 1901 where I am sure he learned the skills, attitudes, and qualities expected of leading others into dangerous and unknown waters (Leadership Made or Learned). By the time of his now famous expedition, Shackleton actually led two others, he turned disaster into victory by saving his entire crew against incredible odds of anyone surviving (Leadership Summoned).

You see, I believe that living with the constant reminder of Fortitudine Vincimus, Shackleton would prefer death over any dishonor. He knew that if he and his crew could endure the harsh conditions just one more mile or one more minute, they would be that much closer to salvation. Such a life motto provided him with the physical and emotional courage to attempt to sail hundreds of miles in a freezing ocean in a small wooden lifeboat with only rudimentary survival and sailing aides in an attempt to not just save his own life, but the lives of many others. In his 1956 address to the British Association, Sir Raymond Priestley, one of Shackleton’s contemporaries, said other polar explorers had their unique qualities and strengths but “when disaster strikes, and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton!"

So, do you have a guiding life motto? Granted it does not need to be in Latin, although it sounds pretty cool when it is! For instance, if I was to choose the motto: A Life that Matters, in Latin (using a simple on-line Google translator) it would be Vita Integro. Not bad, huh? Here as some questions that may help you discover a powerful Life Motto.

What do you want to be known for?

What matters most to you?

What is your greatest personal strength?

What words would motivate you during the difficult times?

What words could act as a positive and constant affirmation that you could use to calibrate your actions and motives every day?

Trust me, I need such a moral compass to remind me what should be most important. Maybe a life motto could be of service to you too? In fact, I would recommend adding yours to your email signature. It would certainly generate some discussion, but it would also be a great accountability tool. If you are willing to proclaim to people what your life intention is or what is stands for, then you best be living in and up to it! It may also be a great family or other organizational activity to facilitate. In this day of corporate values lists as long as your arm, maybe just a simple phrase would be all you, your family, and/or your organization needs to stay centered and focused on what matters most and how you will live your life no matter what happens. Even if you find yourself in stormy seas . . . perhaps especially then.

If you want to know more about finding your leadership platform, I would direct you to Leading Out Loud: Strategies for Raising Your Leadership Voice! available on Amazon.com. Also, I am happy to announce that I am now offering a two-part NEXT LEVEL Servant Leadership Training. The first part is a fun and interactive introduction into what Servant Leadership is and the impact it can have, and the second part provides an Action Plan to create and activate a Servant Leadership culture curriculum within your organization. Please feel free to contact me for a no obligation inquiry.

Vita Integro,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc