6 Maxims For Leaders

I so appreciate this advice from William Arthur Ward, one of America's most quoted writers of inspirational maxims:

• Do more than belong: participate.
• Do more than care: help.
• Do more than believe: practice.
• Do more than be fair:  be kind.
• Do more than forgive: forget.
• Do more than dream: work.

The 5 Strategies You'll Learn From The Book, Into The Storm

Imagine navigating a tiny boat through a sudden, violent storm at sea -- with winds roaring at nearly 100 mph and waves soaring to 80 feet -- to not only survive, but triumph over formidable competitors in one of the world's toughest ocean races.

It's a feat claimed by the crew of the AFR Midnight Rambler, overall winner of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart -- the most treacherous and tragic race to date in the six-decade history of Australia's iconic competition.

As Dennis Perkins, an expert on thriving under daunting conditions, shows in his new book, Into The Storm, it's also a feat rich in lessons for anyone tasked with maintaining smooth, effective teamwork -- and delivering winning results -- in the unpredictable, turbulent waters of today's business environment.

Inspired by the Ramblers -- the Midnight Rambler's team of one determined skipper and six dedicated amateur sailors -- here are five crucial strategies, with proven tactics, for Teamwork at The Edge of human endurance.

Strategy #1: Put team unity first. Make the team the rock star.

Winning tactic: Find committed team members who want to go to Hobart. "A business team that aspires to excellence may not have the same physical challenges as an ocean racing crew," Perkins acknowledges, "but lofty goals require sacrifice, dedication, and the ability to persevere. Selecting people with the right levels of confidence and motivation is fundamental. Realistic job previews are important."

Strategy #2: Prepare, prepare, prepare. Remove all excuses for failure.

Winning tactic: Keep preparing while you're racing. Preparing in advance for everything the team needs to do to succeed is crucial. But so is continuing to prepare while racing toward the team's goals and while navigating through a crisis. "Successful teams master the art of bifocal vision," Perkins attests. "They have the ability to focus on current challenges while, at the same time, preparing for longer-term threats and opportunities."

Strategy #3: Strive for balanced optimism. Find and focus on the winning scenario.

Winning tactic: Be absolutely clear about what it means to win. For some team members, winning means being the first in their field to achieve a breakthrough result. For others, it means coming in under budget. For any team that aspires to win, the first step is to define winning. "Only then will the team have a clear shared understanding of their race," states Perkins. "With that awareness, the team can plan a strategy for taking home their trophy."

Strategy #4: Reinforce relentless learning. Build a gung-ho culture of learning and innovation.

Winning tactic: Think gung-ho -- a phrase rooted in teamwork. Originally an abbreviation for Chinese industrial cooperatives, gung-ho came to be translated as "work in harmony" by some Americans -- including Colonel Evans Carlson, who, during World War II, implemented the radical practice of gung-ho meetings, where everyone, regardless of rank, has a right to speak up. As Perkins notes, "The ability to talk honestly about what works, what doesn't work, and what might work is critical to effective teamwork."

Strategy #5: Take calculated risks. Be willing to sail into the storm.

Winning tactic: Test your limits before the storm hits. The Ramblers, who had sailed together for years and knew what they were capable of as a team, deliberately pushed their limits early in the race. They broached twice, and each time recovered. As a result, they were ready to take on the storm, with confidence, when it hit. "Only by taking small risks will teams be able to assess their ability to take on big ones -- and to sail into the storm when they need to," declares Perkins.

Authors Bios
Dennis N.T. Perkins, author of Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race, is also the author of Leading at The Edge and CEO of Syncretics Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping leaders and teams thrive under conditions of adversity, uncertainty, and change. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, he successfully completed his first Sydney Hobart Race in 2006. Follow Dennis on Twitter.

Jillian B. Murphy is the Director of Client Services at Syncretics. Follow Jillian on Twitter. 

Thanks to the book publisher for sharing a copy of the book and this recap of lessons with me.

The 7 Attributes Of Meaningful Work

There are so many good things to learn in the book, Helping People Win At Work, by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge. Among those is the section about how to define meaningful work.

Their definition consists of these seven attributes.  Work is meaningful when it:

1. It is conducted in a manner that is "good and proper" in all respects.
2. It positively affects our company and our communities, giving our work an impact that extends beyond ourselves.
3. It provides learning and growth, offers challenges, requires creativity, pushes us to surpass limits, and creates exciting results.
4. It provides recognition and rewards for our achievements.
5. It allows us to succeed as a team while excelling as individuals.
6. It allows us to enjoy the ride, bringing humor and fun into our work.
7. It fuels passion!

Laskey Shares Her Insights On Mentoring

When I think about excellent mentors in the business world, I think of Debbie Laskey, who has mentored many people during her career.  Debbie is passionate about mentoring.  So, she's an ideal person to answer the following five questions about mentoring:

1.  Why do you enjoy being a mentor?

Since I have been in the workplace for nearly two decades, I have had the opportunity to learn from a number of individuals. Some were supervisors, some were executives, some were co-workers, and some were employees who reported to me. However, the mentorship relationship is different than those relationships. As a mentor, I have been able to share what I’ve learned with individuals (mentees) who are at the beginning stages of building a business. They have an insatiable appetite for suggestions and always appreciate ideas – even if they don’t apply them immediately. Mentees have no agenda and no time for unnecessary drama. While they may question suggestions, most of the time, they have an open mind, and this characteristic often leads to long-term success.

2.  Before a mentee enters into a mentoring engagement what should he/she ask himself/herself?

Before a mentee enters into a mentorship engagement, he or she must write down five objectives and a realistic timeframe. Is one objective to finalize a business plan or marketing plan? Is one objective to determine how to build a database of leads? Is one objective how to develop strategic partnerships? Whatever the objectives are, the mentee must know what they are before the mentorship begins – or the mentorship will fail before it even begins. And, how long should the mentor and mentee continue to dialogue? Three months? Six months? It is critical to set a timeframe so that the mentor can stagger the talking points and action items.

3.  What type of person makes an effective mentor?

The art of being an effective mentor is dependent on five things. First, a mentor must make a time commitment to the mentee, so he or she needs to have time available. Second, a mentor must be able to communicate easily and clearly. Third, a mentor must be knowledgeable in a myriad of areas.  Fourth, a mentor must be a problem-solver. And fifth, a mentor must like the role of cheerleader. While it might make sense to have a mentor in the same industry, that’s not always the best solution if you can find a multi-dimensional business leader.

4.  Of all the mentors you have had in your life, what did you like most about the one who you believe was a good mentor to you?

My most important mentor has been my father. He demonstrated an amazing work ethic, and that dedication has been part of my professional life since my first job. He also taught me the importance of client service (aka, customer service), and the importance of returning phone calls and emails as soon as possible. Also, since my father was a CPA, he was always reading about new tax laws, so he taught me at an early age to stay up-to-date on my industry and trends.

5.  If you can't find a mentor within your workplace, where are good places to find a mentor?

Network with your contacts through social media. Post to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ that you’re looking for a mentor. In addition, check out MicroMentor.com. This site offers a variety of mentorship connections. Lastly, once you’ve benefited from your mentorship, pay it forward. Be a mentor to someone else!

In the words of John Crosby: “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”

Debbie Laskey has a BA Degree in Political Science and an MBA Degree with a concentration in Marketing and International Management. She began her career in law and accounting, but after graduate school, she transitioned into marketing.

 

Her diverse marketing experience ranges from the high-tech industry to the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France to the non-profit industry to the insurance industry.

 

Debbie's areas of expertise include marketing, branding, social media, employee engagement, and customer experiences. Follow Debbie on Twitter @DebbieLaskeyMBA and on her blog.

Mission Versus Vision

Here's a good definition of the difference between a mission and a vision by leadership book authors George Bradt, Jayme A. Check and Jorge Pedraza:

• Mission - A mission guides what people do every day. It informs what roles need to exist in the organization.
• Vision - A vision is the picture of future success. It helps define areas where the organization needs to be best in class and helps keep everyone aware of the essence of the company.

My Best Boss Did This...

In their book, Rapid Realignment, authors George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky, reveal the most common responses from thousands of managers and workers when they were asked to think of the best boss they ever had, and then answer the question:

• "What did that person do to qualify as your best boss?"

And, those most common responses were:

• My best boss listened!
• My best boss backed me up.
• My best boss trusted me and respected me.
• My best boss gave me feedback.
• My best boss left me alone.

What else would you add to this list?

Leadership Thought From Author Roger Schwarz

Wise advice for leaders from author Roger Schwarz in his new book, Smart Leaders Smarter Teams:

"You can express your own views as passionately as you want, as long as you're equally curious about others' views."

What You Must Ask During An Exit Interview

As a leader, it's critical that you understand the real reasons employees leave your company. To do that, you need to ask specific questions that may not be ones you currently include in your exit interviews.

Fortunately, Richard Finnegan, shares in his book, Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad, four key questions you should include in your exit interviews:

1. Why did you decide to leave us?
2. Of all the things you've told me, what is the top thing that caused you to resign?
3. It's great that you've found such a good opportunity, but why did you look?
4. What one thing could we have done that would have caused you to stay?

Your goal is to learn the most important leave reason rather than learn which three or five things contributed to your employee's decision to leave. The four questions above will help you learn the most important reason.

Be More Like Southwest Airlines - Where All Employees Own The Culture

If you've flown Southwest Airlines you know they're tops in airline customer service, driven by a leadership style that creates a company-wide culture where all employees own that culture.

According to SWA Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly, as reported in the company's in-flight magazine, "every company has a culture, whether that culture is supportive or stifling, active or passive, fun or discouraging."

"One way we do culture differently is by making Southwest's culture everyone's responsibility. In fact, we ask everyone to 'own it,'" says Kelly.

Here are some of the ways that SWA keeps its winning culture in the forefront that you can also do to keep employees motivated and to drive great customer service:

1. Form a corporate culture committee and a local culture committee that organizes low-cost employee events throughout the year.

2. Include a section related to culture on each employee's annual performance appraisal. This goes for every employee in your company, including the entire management team.

3. Explain your company's culture on the first day of each new hire's orientation and training.

4. Foster a culture that encourages celebration.

Brian Tracy On Motivation

All you need is one hour to read Brian Tracy's newest, pocket-sized guide for managers, Motivation.

"You cannot motivate other people," explains Tracy, "but you can remove the obstacles that stop them from motivating themselves.  All motivation is self-motivation.  As a manager, you can create an environment where this potential for self-motivation is released naturally and spontaneously."

In the book, Tracy presents chapter-by-chapter his 21 most reliable and powerful methods for increasing the effectiveness of any individual or group.

Each chapter includes a couple different action exercises.

Toward the end of the book, Tracy explains the importance of the Friendship Factor in motivating employees.  "Every manager can tap into the power of friendship in everyday employee interactions by remembering the three Cs:  Consideration, Caring and Courtesy.

• Practice consideration by expressing an interest in your employees as individuals.
• Express caring for your staff members by listening attentively and with compassion.
• Express courtesy toward employees by showing personal regard and respect for each person -- especially under stress, when a situation goes wrong, or when a worker makes a mistake.

"Your job as a manager is to make sure that you are getting along well with all of your employees and they are all getting along well with you," stresses Tracy.