Category: Leadership

Posted on

Why Do Cars Have Headlights?

Have you ever asked the question, “why do cars have headlights?”  Of course you haven’t, because the answer is intuitive.  But take a moment to ponder that question now.

There are really two basic answers, and they both have to do with FOCUS.

1. A car has headlights to allow you to see where you are driving in the dark.  Just because it is dark out does not mean you can’t navigate the twists and turns of a road or avoid obstacles.  Headlights enable you to focus on where you are going.

2. Headlights on other cars enable you to see other people on the road and avoid their becoming an obstacle for you.  Have you ever driven in the fog?  I have, and being able to follow behind someone with their lights on gave me a comforting feeling, like this stranger suddenly became my best friend, and we were in it together!

FOCUS in our lives rarely comes naturally to us…squirrel!  Trust me, I get it.  The most gifted procrastinators (certain that I am one) must work very hard to gain and maintain focus.  Think about this: How many times have you had to “start over” with something you have been working on (like weight loss, writing a paper, telling a story, working a project)?  How many times have you experienced success in the past by maintaining focus on your goal to achieve it?  Okay…now set all that aside!  No, seriously!  You have to stop looking back at past failures AND successes. Focus on the present.  Concentrate your attention on the road ahead.  Now.  What road are you on and where are you going?  It doesn’t matter how bright your headlights are if you are driving down the road looking out the back window!!

So buckle up, eyes front, and headlights on!

Posted on

The Reserve Tank

We all possess some sort of power… even we B-types.  In a leadership position, it is inherent to have positional power.  You are the boss and you make decisions and can tell people what to do.  But I invite you to consider that type of power as basically worthless if no one is following you. 

I advise anyone who will listen to this humble, yet experienced junior Captain that the primary focus of assuming the leadership role is getting to know the people on your team.  What motivates them?  What is their communication style?  What interests them in life?  What do they come to work and do every day?  Do they like cupcakes or pulled pork?  Taking a genuine interest in your teammates and connecting with them matters more than anything when the relationship begins.  Chances are quite high that they are already proficient at their respective jobs and are getting the work done, so let them do their jobs and focus on getting acquainted.

Speaking of everyone’s contribution at work… find out what the individuals on your team contribute to the overall mission.  You don’t have to learn how to do their job.  You just need to understand (and make sure they know) how what they do plays into the big picture.  Go ahead and set the stage for a healthy work environment!

Be willing and able to say this to your team: “My role here is to make sure you have what you need to do your job, whether that be resources, space, policies, or what have you.  If I am taking care of you, my own career will work itself out.  I can’t demand respect… that is something each individual determines to whom respect is worthy.  But I can demand professionalism.  Any expectations I have of you, I will, in turn, deliver, respectfully, to you.”  Then, immediately thereafter, consistently demonstrate proof of the words you spoke!

This is all indicative of influential power.  You will be followed by people who choose to follow because they believe in what you claim to stand for and trust that you will deliver what you promised.  I took on leadership with a team at work that had 9 different flight commanders in 4 years, through a series of unfortunate events beyond anyone’s control.  When I told my new team the words I stated above, I had 12 faces all looking back at me, conveying the message, “Yeah, we’ll believe it when we see it, and we don’t expect to see it.”. After a few months, they recognized that I meant what I said and was living it out.  Morale is good, and I feel very blessed to work with these amazing individuals.

I do also have positional power.  At the end of the day, I have the authority to make the decisions that affect the entire team.  I am careful to wield that power purposefully.  To be blunt, nothing is more wrong than ordering something to be done because you’re the boss and that’s what you want.  I personally have no respect for anyone who leads that way.  Positional power should be in the reserve
tank.  It is fuel, just the same as the fuel in the primary tank, where influential power should be, but the goal should be to never have to use it!

Leaders, listen to your team, connect with them and understand them.  The investment will pay in spades as you lead your committed followers to success.

Posted on

Don’t Chicken Little It!

Here lately at work I have been under a lot of stress, particularly as it pertains to the “herding of cats”, as I like to call it.  You know these colleagues…the Complainers, the Lazy, the Alphas, the Divas, and the Brats…they all want to go off in a different direction, none of which is the way you envision the path to success. 

I am a healthcare administrator (by choice, I might add).  I know that I could never care for patients directly…don’t have the stomach for it.  But I can work the business side of the house with the very same vision of optimizing patient care as clinical staff.  I view it as my contribution to the care and well-being of patients seen within our walls.

Lately, there have been many decisions made or discussed without my involvement (of course, I am speaking of times where I really should have been involved, not just every decision).  I have been tempted, when at my wit’s end, to finally just give in to the stress, anger, and frustration and just freak out.  I have a very beloved coworker who told me today that I shouldn’t “Chicken Little it”.  This phrase instantly spoke to me.  When I am dealing with issues, no matter how sketchy things get, the sky is not falling.  If something catastrophic were to happen to a patient, that would be different.  But in the day-to-day operations of the clinic, the sky is never falling. 

This past week has taught me something else.  Get organized.  There are lots of moving parts and the only hope of keeping sanity is to keep track of everything.  I got myself a Franklin Planner and I’m so much better prepared now.  It may take some time to do the initial “inventory”, but the investment is worth all the time you will free up later.  I’m not in constant panic mode and I get so much done!

It’s my new mantra: Don’t Chicken Little It. 

www.franklinplanner.com

Posted on

Appreciating the Less Finer Things

There is an art to appreciating the less finer things in life.  I don’t think I’m there quite yet, but I am trying to learn to appreciate the hardship, the disappointment, and the loss.  Appreciating these less popular companions does not mean I have to embrace or favor them.  It means I see them for what they are and what they may teach me. 

I have had numerous internal conflicts since I have been here in Turkey.  I have experienced some health issues I had never had to deal with before.  I have been learning and growing as an officer and it has been incredibly painful at times.  I have only two doctorate level classes under my belt, and I have already devoted 240 hours of my life to the pursuit of that degree.  We are facing a drawdown of the military population and that has been stressful for everyone.  My internal conflicts have a lot to do with trying to keep my feelings of self-worth grounded in reality while I constantly feel under the gun, behind the eight ball, and barely above water. 

I keep spinning the plates.  There is something mesmerizing and exhilarating about spinning plates.  I sometimes get more mesmerized than exhilarated and space out too long and one of the plates hits the unforgiving concrete floor.  I’m trying to learn to appreciate that moment and what happens afterward.  I’m definitely not perfect…never will be and never claimed to be.  And yet, I have wired myself to think perfection is what is expected of me and anything less is epic failure.  It is because of this that I have decided to rewire myself.  I have an electronics degree…I can do this!

This “system upgrade” started with the realization I was never going to live up to any standards, real or imagined, that involved perfection.  Then, I had to get comfortable with the fact that my best, which I give every day, is pretty dang good.  Now I am working on holding myself to realistic standards.  (There are few more complex combinations of things in nature than an intelligent, emotional human!)

Hardship, disappointment, and loss will always visit me from time to time.  Sometimes they will move in and stay with me for a season.  But everything has a season.  Everything has a purpose.  I will draw strength from that as I continue trying to appreciate those less finer things in life.

Posted on

Do You Even Own an Iron?!

I am in the US military.  Although I am not completely “ate up” about my uniform, I pride myself in being “clean, dry, and serviceable”.  I press it to keep the collar tamed and the pocket corners from curling up.  But I wonder about some of my colleagues.  Do they even own an iron?  Or a mirror, for that matter? 
An iron…a simple contraption, but it sure packs a punch!  Everyone who has ever wielded one has been “bitten” by its hot temper at least once.  The concept is very basic, yet very successful: the application of heat and pressure flattens surfaces and sharpens edges.  This is not a very precise equation, but both components, heat and pressure, are required in some form or fashion.
If the iron is not hot enough, it is completely ineffective.  You might as well be sliding a book or a block of iron ore across the fabric.  If the iron is not weighty enough, or not enough pressure is applied to the fabric, the heat will just wrinkle the fabric and actually make it worse.
As we have all felt the sting of a hot iron on our skin, we know that applying an iron to an unintended surface can cause damage…sometimes serious damage.  Have you ever tried to iron silk with an iron on high and ended up melting it on to the iron?  Yeah, that’s a bad day. 
Think about the people you work with, your children, yourself…
It takes the right combination of heat and pressure to be adequately effective…not overdone or underdone…but just right.  You must know the “material” you are working with to know the right amount of heat and pressure.
I hope that everyone owns an iron and takes the time to learn how to apply it properly.