1)  Success can make you complacent… it’s almost becoming hard to remember the time when all you ever saw people carrying was their Blackberry.  Now it’s all about the apps.  Somewhere along the way, the leaders at Blackberry seem to have forgotten the plot line as to why they were successful in the first place.

Key takeaway:  When you’re leading on the innovation edge you have to keep innovating…not buying NHL teams.

2)  Being the “old” new guy sucks… personally I find it fascinating that whenever there’s a corporate shuffle people think that the solution has to come from outside of the company.  Everyone seems to want a savior.  To me, this speaks to a naïve underestimation of the power of corporate culture.  The track record of external CEOs coming in and righting a sinking ship is beyond shoddy.

Key takeaway:  if you ever get promoted to take over a role that everyone things should go to an outsider, ignore the nay-sayers, stick your head down and deliver results.

3)  Know when it’s time to go… one of the hardest things to let go of, especially when you’ve been incredibly successful, is the fact that it may be time for you to move on.  Ego can be a real killer.

Key takeaway:  may sure you have at least one person in your life who’s going to tell you when you need to step out-of-the-way.  And actually listen to them.

4)  Know when you’re over your head… on a similar note to the point above, one of the challenges for any leader – but probably especially entrepreneurs – is to manage increased scope.  Styles that used to work for you at one level of complexity, won’t work at the next.

Key takeaway:  know what skills you need to be able to lead at the next level.  And, if you’re over your head, either do something about it (eg: get a coach or a mentor or take a course) or find someone who can take the helm.

5)  Once you’ve screwed up, actions speak louder than words…  the initial challenges at RIM were dismissed as “blips”, but once you’ve had three major screw-ups, your words will mean nothing.  It’s going to come down to your actions.  And those actions better blow expectations out of the water.

Key takeaway:  get on missteps early because the further down the slope you go, the harder it’s going to be to dig your way out.

Personally, I’m pulling for Thorsten Heins and the team at RIM.  They’re a great brand and a great company and sometimes the best things happen when your back’s against the wall and you’re sick of people telling you that you can’t do something.  Ask former execs at IBM, GM and Apple.  So come on RIM… prove everybody wrong.  Everybody loves a come-back kid.

Happy leading!

Most of us would agree that being open-minded to others based on their appearance is the right thing to do.  But, perhaps more challenging, but equally important is the ability to be open-minded to others’ perspectives.  This can be a particularly tough exercise when you find yourself strongly disagreeing with the other person especially if the issue is emotionally charged.  We’ve all probably been in situations that degenerate into unproductive arguments where name calling or ego-clashing is getting in the way of our relationship with the other person.  And, the aftermath caused by those interactions is often tough to move beyond.

If you find yourself fuming over a recent interaction with a colleague that left you feeling angry, humiliated, frustrated or just plain lousy, try this perspective-shifting technique to get a new view on the situation and possibly a new way forward with your colleague.  Essentially, this is a method for self-reflection to add to your leadership toolkit.

1. You’re right / they’re wrong… this is probably the easiest perspective to take.  But probably not the most productive one.
2. They’re right / you’re wrong… now try stepping into the conversation from the other person’s perspective.  How were they coming at the issue?  What might be true about their point of view?  Time for you to “woman or man-up” and get real about your own behaviours and intentions in this perspective.
3. We’re both right / we’re both wrong… what learning can you extract from the situation. What are you accountable for and what could you do differently in the future?  Looking at both perspectives may lead you to the next thought, which is…
4. The issue isn’t as important as it seems… after reflecting on each perspective, what remains?  Was this just a hot-headed blow-up over something minor that in the grand scheme of things isn’t important?  If so, let it go.  If not, what have you learned that can help you and the other person move forward?

I learned this technique many, many years ago in an intensive communications program.  I’ve used it ever since to help me see process tough conversations that left me feeling less than good about the outcome.

So,  if you’re fuming about something, find a quiet spot, try journaling your thoughts and see where you end up.  Bad interactions lead to bad relationships and bad work environments.  If you want to put a relationship back-on-track, you may need to shift your perspective to move beyond the negative feelings and get clear on how to get things back on the rails.

Happy leading!

“We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Malcolm Gladwell and Geoff Colvin both wrote bestselling books (Outliers and Talent is Overrated, respectively) based on the idea of hours of practice trumps talent, and certainly the idea of practice making perfect isn’t new.  But, it’s the discipline to actually do the practice that’s the killer for most of us hence all those broken New Year’s Eve resolutions.

According to research, 95% of what we do is automatic.  Think about that for a minute.

That means only 5% of what we do is driven by conscious choice.  So, if we want to make new habits stick, we need to build positive and highly specific rituals (behaviours) that become automatic overtime.

For years, I’ve known I need to dedicate more time to exercise, but I’ve never done much about it.  Two years ago I decided to join a local Pilates studio with small, highly focused classes.  I go every Monday evening…automatically.  In September, I decided to add one more focused exercise activity and asked a friend to join me at our club for a Saturday morning walk on the treadmill.  We meet every Saturday thanks in large part to peer pressure.  My goal for this year is to add in one more activity to bring me up to 3 things a week.  I’ll keep you posted.

Back in the fall, some of you may remember that I decided to turn off my Blackberry over the weekends to force me to have true downtime.  Although I’ve stopped fully turning it off, I have adopted the ritual of not fixating on it and definitely noticed a big difference over the Christmas holidays when I truly disconnected.  My current goal is to limit my distractions.  I’m creating a ritual around setting up “no email” times during my day so that I can be more efficient with my work (I’m on one now so that I can finish my blog post).  My plan is to work solidly for 20 minute segments and then check email.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

The key to creating a new ritual that will eventually become a habit is to get very, very specific.  Think about when are you going to do this, where, with who, how often and why it’s important to you in the first place.  And don’t try to take on too much.  Enlist others to help you and above all, focus on starting something new vs. trying to “stop” something.  You can apply the practice of creating rituals to your personal or professional life; to goals you want to attain or to behaviours you want to instill.  Before you know it, you may find that your ritual of leaving work at 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday has become an automatic habit.  Nice!

Happy leading!

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 15,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?”

One of my take-aways from this year is that there’s lots of things about work that just aren’t working.  People are overstretched, senior executives are out of touch and amazing leaders are checking out because the cost-benefit of leadership isn’t worth it.

In 2012, I’d like to challenge all next generation executives to start to take ownership, step out of the box and begin to change the game around how we’re leading our organizations.  It is possible to have a highly successful organization that makes money without needing to grind people to pieces.  It is possible that leadership can be exciting and enjoyable.  It is possible that you can be doing something that you love, get paid well and make a huge difference to those around you.

Don’t hold yourself small.  Don’t stop taking risks.  Don’t stop challenging the status quo.  To coin Seth Godin’s term, don’t be afraid to go do something… don’t be afraid to poke the box.  Work isn’t working and as Gen X and Gen Y leaders start to take the helm in organizations, it’s time we stood up and make the changes that we know need to happen actually happen.

Let’s make 2012 the beginning of something exciting.

I remember my first boss and the team I was part of.  We ate together most days.  We went out at night after work.  We shared our workload – if one was swamped, others jumped into help.  And our boss, Shelley, used to make cookies and bring them to our team meetings.  Imagine – a boss that made cookies.  And yet, these small gestures reinforced a key message.  I care.  She knew who each of us was – what mattered to us personally – and gave us feedback that helped us progress and grow.  And through that leadership, she fostered a sense of teamwork that I never experienced in quite the same way again.

Shelley was a transformational leader.  She worked with people at a personal level – and through that connection – helped them achieve professionally.  Our team was incredibly productive and our sense of unity noticeable.  We laughed a lot.  I think Shelley was ahead of her time or maybe she just didn’t know any better.  In any case it’s been almost 25 years – and that experience stays with me.  What memories are you leaving with your team?

Our guest blogger Dr. Brenda Marshall is the founder of FLOW Learning  and The Solacium Group.

At PowerRoundtable sessions we always strive to invite diverse leaders with diverse perspectives.  With Donna Hayes, we had the publishing veteran; with Jackie Dinsmore we had the corporate lawyer turned handbag diva; and with Dave Eason, we had the self-proclaimed corporate “golden boy” turned start-up entrepreneur.  What’s always interesting to me when you get leaders from such different backgrounds together is how certain themes will continue to bubble up to the top.  Here are the ones that stood out:

Risk isn’t a four letter work… to find your career passion, to grow as an individual, to love what you do… you need to take risks.  Not necessarily outrageous, potentially life shattering risks, but rather risks where the “worst thing that can happen” is something that you can live with.  A danger for mid-career leaders is that they stop taking risks because they start getting too comfortable.  In a strange way, that’s a bigger career risk that pushing the career envelope at work.

Don’t focus on the short-term… some career choices (parallel moves, taking on a tough assignment) may not seem like the right career next step, but think about how these experiences will help you over the long-term.  Some positions may simply serve as transitions to get you to the next stage of your career.

There’s only one real way to build you brand… do good work.  Your brand and your reputation are closely inter-twined.  Before you start over-investing in social media platforms, start looking at the work you’re doing and the reputation you’re building.

To be successful, always stay curious… keep learning to keep your career growing.  Educational credentials will only take you so far.  And, on that note, so will IQ.  Softskills will be your ultimate differentiator, so get curious about where your personal gaps are and get working on them.

To get leverage with your employer… know your value to the organization.  And, know your “best alternative to a negotiated agreement” (BATNA) when you’re trying to negotiate a new career move or position opportunity.

Values, values, values… it all starts here. The happiest people are those who are living their lives with their values aligned to their work.  And this isn’t “fluffy” or “airy fairy” psycho-babble.  It’s the truth.  Every successful leader who has ever sat on our panels has said the same thing.

Finally, the quote of the day came from Donna Hayes who said, “don’t be an idiot on Facebook”.  Enough said!

In listening to the panelists share their experiences, I was left with the thought that, unless you’re one of the few lucky people who knew exactly what you want to do when you grow up, it takes most of us years of hard work to figure out what we should be doing.  Finding your dream career doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes time and a relentless focus on paying attention to what your values are and what you love to do.  Remember, no pain, no gain.

So, if you’re struggling with your current profession, start by getting clear on your values.  There are lots of free online tools to help you do that, or give us a call to get started.  After all, your career is a terrible thing to waste.

Happy leading!

I’ve been selected as one of 50 out of 400 coaches across north america to be part of this very cool, very high-profile but very top-secret leadership project.  That’s all I can say about that thanks to confidentiality agreements.

Recently, I attended a training session to learn about the program.  One of our activities was to do a role play coaching session.  At our table were 7 women and 1 man.  The facilitator was a female and she asked for a volunteer to play the role of facilitator.

Nobody volunteered.  I mean nobody… not the guy… not the seven other women… not me.

And, then this happened.  The female facilitator looked around the table and said, “Bob (not his real name)… why don’t you give it a shot.”

I found it fascinating that with only one guy at the table, the female facilitator selected him to take the lead.  As it turned out, Bob wasn’t prepared (hadn’t done his homework), so I (woman who had done her homework) opened my mouth and got selected to step in.

I reflected on this experience after and wondered…

1. Why hadn’t I put my hand up?
2. Why did the facilitator pick Bob despite statistics being against him to be selected? (And yes, he was avoiding eye contact like the rest of us)  And…
3. Why had no other woman at that table put their hands up?

Obviously, I can only reflect on my own actions which probably bottles down to some level of imposter syndrome (if I volunteer to do this, they’ll know I’m a lousy coach!); self monitoring (I always end up taking over groups so I should give someone else a try); to ego preservation and perfectionism (ugh! I don’t feel like being judged by my peers right now without having  a chance to try this out on my own first so that I know what I’m doing).

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, gives a great TED talk on why we don’t have more female leaders.  It’s definitely worth a view.  One of the reasons that stuck out for me was that women don’t stick their hands up.  (My bet is that there are also men out there that don’t stick there hands up either.)

My recent experience was a great reminder to me to about the importance of sticking my hand up.  Life is too short to miss out on an opportunity because of fear, ego or self-doubt.  So, what are you going to stick your hand up for this week?

Happy leading!

Before I get started, the key consideration here is that you actually want to mend the error of your ways.  If you repeatedly get feedback that you routinely ignore people and your inner voice is saying “well, really, I don’t give a sh*t about that”, well, skip this post and tune back in when I talk about why smart people derail.

So, for everyone else who’s committed to actually changing their annoying behaviours, here’s what you do:

1. Identify the annoying behaviour:  name it and claim it. “I’m lousy at listening and I plan to get better.”
2. Apologize to your colleagues for the behaviour and get their support:  kind of like the 12 step program, part of the process is to “right your wrongs” and part of being successful is getting people who may not be on your side, onside to help.  “I’m sorry that I haven’t been great at listening.  I’ve decided that I really want to do something about it and I’d like your help.”
3. Ask for their SPECIFIC advice:  now’s the time to solicit suggestions on what you could do differently.  “I’d love to get your top 3 suggestions on what I can do to be a better listener.”  Make sure the suggestions are concrete and specific.
4. Now shut up: this may be the hard part for many, but here’s where you keep your mouth shut and listen to their three suggestions.  Don’t argue, don’t debate and only question if it’s to seek clarification and make sure you’ve understood.
5. Thank your colleague:  Again, no discussion the ideas. Simply thank them for their input.  “Thanks so much for these suggestions.  I really appreciate your help.”
6. Take action and follow-through:  Try out the actions suggested and then check-in with your colleagues to see how you’re doing.  WARNING: they won’t see change overnight.  Studies show it takes 12 to 18 months for people to be convinced of new behaviours.  Part of following through is making sure people are aware of the efforts and steps you’ve been taking.

REPEAT the above actions with as many people as you’d like.

And there, dear readers are my basics on the Feed Forward technique.  For more detailed instructions, check out the master of feed forward, Marshall Goldsmith who lays it out in this helpful video.

So, give it a try.  Afterall, talking about what you “can do” is much more fun than hearing about what you’re lousy at doing.

Happy leading!

Politicians have become masters of brand management.  From JFK to Trudeau to Harper and even to our own Rob Ford, political campaigns are essentially run on brand power.  Then, the elected official shows up in office and the majority of the people are disappointed in what they actually do when they get there.  I don’t think it’s really that they’re as inept as they seem, it’s just that they can’t live up to their own extreme hype.

And there lies the big rub around personal branding.  At the end of the day, if you can’t live up to your brand promise, like any “product” your “clients” will be disappointed and eventually you’ll be left on the shelf.  And, the word-of-mouth about you will be “yeah, great guy… doesn’t deliver.”

In my opinion, we seem to be placing an inordinate amount of emphasis around building personal “brands” and not enough around working hard and delivering results.  In the “old” days, your brand was essentially an evolution of your reputation.  Today, it feels like personal branding is being used to short-cut the “pay your dues” stage.

I don’t disagree that there’s a place for “personal branding”.  Like anything, it can be a useful tool to open the door to opportunity.  However, over promising and under delivering isn’t going to give your brand, or more importantly your career, long-term staying power.  As Rick Perry just illustrated, screw it up and your brand equity will erode in an instant.

So, the tip of the week is this… before you over invest your energy in worrying about whether your personal “brand” is visible enough, how about making sure you’ve hit your latest project out of the park?

Happy leading!