When it's Time to Shift...

Strategy shifting. Two words no leader ever really wants to utter. Sometimes, however, it becomes necessary. These shifts can easily make or break a company. It is imperative, therefore, the short-term strategies be aligned with the larger company vision.

Ron Ashkenas, co-author of HBR’s Leadership Handbook, has some fantastic advice on how to pull off this kind of move. Ashkenas approaches these kinds of shifts in terms of how companies translate their vision into action. So often, what is perceived as a short-term strategy shift can lead away from company vision in an effort to cut costs, appease shareholders, etc.

His new article not only goes into detailed examples on both sides of the make-or-break spectrum, but it also lays out actionable steps to take to get your own company’s vision in line. Check out his advice, take the quiz, and see if your own company’s vision can pass the test.

Motivational Mastery

If you’ve followed this blog at all, you know I love to share the remarkable work from Wharton and their “Nano-Tools”. This series of tools is available for those in leadership as brain hacks that can be used in minutes. Each is targeted at a different aspect of leadership. Their newest tool; motivating your team.

As anyone in leadership or management knows, not all team members are motivated in the same fashion. It takes time to get to know team members, to learn what motivates each individual. Wharton’s new nano-tool uses psychologist David McClelland’s motivational theory, which identifies three main motivating factors: achievement, power, and affiliation. These three factors can be motivational in many areas of life, but especially at work. Just like love languages, one of these factors is usually a dominant force.

Check out the new article and see how you can harness these tools to pinpoint your team members’ most powerful motivators.

Uncomfortable Innovations

Recently I saw a quote from American author John A. Shedd that said: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”

We’d all like to stay in safe and comfortable situations, but historically that’s not how innovations are made. This past week at the Northeastern University graduation ceremony, Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya spoke passionately to students about the beauty of discomfort.

Ulukaya himself understands this from first-hand experience. As a refugee to the US from Turkey, he faced countless obstacles, only to go on and found Chobani, and start a coalition of more than 200 global companies that work together to find employment for refugees.

Ulukaya urged the graduates to not turn away from the things that make them uncomfortable. To face them head-on, and work tirelessly to change them. "Innovation doesn't happen when you're comfortable. Progress doesn't happen when you're comfortable. Change doesn't happen when you're comfortable," Check out Inc.com’s article and the brief video highlights of his recent speech, and get inspired to tackle the issues that challenge you.

Procrastinator-In-Chief

Many of us have experienced at least one bout of nagging procrastination in our lives. Luckily, most are successful in spite of this trait. Some, however, are what we call ‘serial procrastinators’. No matter how hard they try, it seems that some things just keep getting pushed further down the to-do list. So the question remains: why? Why do procrastinators keep putting things off? After a lifetime of work, why does this behavior keep repeating?

HBR’s new article from clinical psychologist Alice Boyes examines not just the whys, but exactly how to adjust this habit. She posits that once we understand the root causes of this behavior, it’s possible to change our behavior. If we can rearrange our priorities, we can achieve our goals while staying sensitive to our own emotional needs. Read the full article, or give a listen to the half-hour interview with Ms. Boyes here.

Healthy Co-Founder Relationships

Running a business with someone else can be a challenge, no doubt about it. The relationship between co-founders is likely the most intimate business relationship two people can have, and just like any other relationship, it can deteriorate without proper upkeep. Still, it’s a bit shocking to learn that 65% of startups fail due to co-founder conflicts (according to Noam Wasserman, author of The Founders Dilemma). That seems like a high percentage, considering a good amount of those conflicts could be solved or avoided altogether with proper coaching and/or training.

Executive coach Alisa Cohn has a lot of experience mediating and coaching co-founders through conflicts so their businesses may succeed. In her new article from Harvard Business Review, Ms. Cohn lays out 5 simple steps co-founders can take to ensure a smoother relationship. Not all these suggestions are going to be easy or comfortable, but they will absolutely be worth it. At the end of the day, with some careful planning and the right coaching, the co-founder relationship can be just as successful as the company each loves.

The Secret to Successful Conversations

Conversations can be difficult. Not always, of course, some are easy and enjoyable. Others, however, can feel like slogging through quicksand. Whether one is trying to negotiate a promotion, finalize a contract, or even have an emotional conversation with a loved one, it’s not always a breezy experience.

Wharton’s blog has hit it out of the park again with their new article on how to have successful conversations. This new piece features research from Maurice Schweitzer, Wharton professor of operations, information and decisions. Schweitzer teaches a class on negotiations at Wharton, so if anyone knows about these conversations, it’s him.

In this new posting, Schweitzer and his co-authors not only provide information on how to plan for these conversations, but they offer a logistical framework for thinking about them. The model is called the “conversational circumplex,” and it maps conversations along two key axes: informational and relational (see the attached diagram. Left-brained thinkers will especially love it!). Check out their enlightening X-Y axis and see how you can better prepare for the next difficult conversation in your life.

Meet Your Newest KPI

As we wrap up the first quarter of 2022, it’s clear that the “brave new world” the pandemic has thrust us into isn’t going quietly into the night. There’s no doubt that after the last several years, all of us could use more compassion in our lives. Compassion for others, compassion for ourselves, compassion at home, compassion in our social circles, and even compassion at work. So it’s a pleasure to introduce you to your newest KPI, and you can probably guess what it is.

While traditional KPIs will measure more quantifiable things (revenue growth, client retention, etc.), incorporating the less tangible things should be - and largely is - a priority in modern office culture. In these days of the great resignation, employees have the upper hand in choosing a workplace culture that aligns with their personal values. Potential employees will often seek out a workplace in which kindness and respect is demonstrated toward everyone. Check out Chief Executive Magazine’s new article on how this metric is just as telling as any other. Once it’s on your radar, see just how much better your company operates.

Fast-Tracking Goals

Anyone who follows these posts knows how much I like to share Wharton’s ever-expanding collection of nano-tools; their fast and effective leadership hacks that can transform your management style in a matter of minutes. Their newest instalment does not disappoint.

Wharton’s own Professor of Operations Katy Milkman contributes to this fantastic new nano-tool, and gives some very practical and exciting advice on how to make goals not just achievable, but downright enjoyable. As it turns out, willpower has less to do with it than one might think. Whether you want to ditch a bad habit or start a new healthy one, check out these action steps and see if you or your team can have a little more fun with your next goal setting venture.

Surface Pressure

Whether or not you have children at home, you have likely seen Disney’s new hit movie Encanto. Goodness knows millions of us have, and if you DO have children in your home, it’s likely you’ve seen it many times over. This film isn’t just popular with the young audience, either. Adults everywhere find themselves resonating with the various mental and emotional struggles each character is going through. Truly, it has brought the cultural conversation about mindfulness and emotional intelligence into the multi-generational mainstream in a way that only Disney could do.

So it is understandable that the new Inc.com article by Jeff Haden is getting some attention as well. In it, Haden discusses 3 science-backed ways to better manage stress. Citing several meta-analyses and his own personal experiences, Haden gives concrete advice that can be immediately applied to become more focused, more mindful, and ultimately let the stress we do feel pass over quickly and perhaps even gently. Give this brief but profound article a quick read and see if managing stress comes a little easier afterwards.

The Leader and the Lifelong Learner

If one were to conduct a study on which traits are common across those in leadership around the world, there might not be much to discover. Those in leadership are vastly different, and well they should be. It’s a beautiful thing to see leaders of all colors, shapes, sizes, creeds, etc. There is, however, one thing that most (if not all) leaders have in common: they all identify as lifelong learners. They are passionate about learning, it defines them, they feel rejuvenated after reading a good book or watching a documentary, and don’t even get them started on Master Class. This trait is so prevalent among leaders, that Business Insider featured an article back in 2019 in which an executive coach claimed it to be a secret of many successes.

Recently a TED talk from 2007 has been recirculated concerning just this topic. In it, Wofford College president Bernie Dunlap tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who taught him about passionate living and lifelong learning. Take 20 minutes and give it a watch, and see if it inspires a lifelong love of learning.