Category Archives: Talent

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Development is Difficult: What Leaders are Facing Today

If development was easy, then you wouldn’t be reading this article. The reality is that development is difficult. The desire to develop self and others is real and most leaders will acknowledge it is part of their responsibility. However, the process of moving forward down the path of development is never as straight forward or as simple as it seems.

Development is a walk. It is a walk with others. There are times on this walk where you want to run, but you have to slow down. There are times where you are running and wish you were still walking. There are uphills and downhills and turns and twists that come at unexpected times. There are interruptions, disruptions and distractions on this walk. Development is a walk down a path with a bad map and missing signs. The only way to develop is to keep walking and stay on the journey. Development is not a train ride where you get on at one station and get off at the next and somehow in the process of the train ride you magically transformed, grew and developed. No development is a walk where growth happens not just one step at at time, but one series of steps at a time day-after-day, season-upon-season.

There are no easy days with development. There are good, rewarding and fulfilling days, but in real development, there is nothing easy about it. Anything easy means a lack of resistance. Development or growth is a process that is the revelation of one level of resistance after another. Development is a process by which change is demanded and growth the outcome. People change slowly and growth takes time.

Development is growth by degrees. A degree is a fractional measurement that is most often invisible. Leaders, especially, young leaders want to see their growth and chart their development. This often leads to great frustration both for the young leader looking for development and the senior leader facilitating development. Objectives, tasks and skills can be charted, but maturity cannot be. The difficulty with development is that much of it is invisible. You can’t chart when someone matures. You can only see the maturation when the pressure increases, a decision needs to be made or in a conversation.

Development is difficult because growth is not a guessing game. Too many young leaders treat development like if they can just guess the right answer it will make them the right leader. Leadership is never a function of guessing the right answer, but a function of knowing the right answer. I ask the young leaders I work with questions all of the time. I am not only looking for the right answer, I am looking for the right thought process, critical thinking and drawing conclusions.  I am looking for them to say they don’t know when I know they don’t know, instead of trying to guess the answer. Many young leaders inhibit their own development because they want to appear smart or possessing the right answer, so they will guess the answer or try to sound like they know what they are talking about. Development is not a guess, a hope or a wish. Development is not a game of chance. When individuals guess to appear right or sound good, they are missing the mark of development. Because, they are trying to convince themselves and the one doing the developing they are further along than they really are.

Development is difficult because it is personal.  People are unique. If you are in the process of developing others, a “one-size-fits-all” approach will never work for everyone. People are individuals. This means they receive, process and believe information differently. What confuses the matter even more for those desiring to be developed is the fact that there exists an abundance of information. Literally, a young leader desiring to develop can get lost in a maze of information or drown in a sea of data. Development is not a check-list. Development is more of a check-up. A check-list is something the individual can check off themselves. A check up involving a physician is an assessment given by a professional trained in examining another for deficiency. I try to have check-in’s and check-up’s with those I am developing. This is where I sit and ask questions. I am trying to get the younger leader sitting across from me to unravel their heart and mind, so that they can begin to become more self-aware of where they are sufficient and where they are deficient.

Development is difficult because it involves the truth. The truth can be painful. You don’t become a stronger leader by lifting light weights. You become a stronger leader by encountering the truth and learning how to handle it. The truth can be hard, harsh and heavy. Too many leaders in the development process avoid the truth as if it will somehow hinder the relationship or cause growth not to happen. Truth avoidance is one of the surest indicators of a lack of development.

Growth will never happen without the truth. Now, the delivery of the truth is what often has to be worked on. But, when you deliver the truth you do so simply, humbly and without conditions. I used to work with a phenomenal leader who was incredibly analytical, strategic and goal-oriented. However, this leader would often run rough-shod over the subordinate leaders. I could see extra stress when it was unnecessary all because this leader was so driven he would tip the environment from positive to negative because the objectives were in danger of not being met. I finally just had to tell him, “There are times that you get entirely too focused on the objective and forget about all the people you are leading to reach that objective. Your team doesn’t enjoy working with you during these times. Your speech turns negative, you stop making eye contact and you are very short with your people. You must change this behavior and create a positive environment.” He said, “Ouch, okay.” He began to work on it and even engaged several on his team to help him when he started getting that way. His development was sparked by a difficult conversation. Difficult conversations are often the catalyst for leaders who are stuck in their development journey.

Development is difficult because it requires awareness. You cannot fix what you are aware of. You also cannot fix what is diagnosed incorrectly. The first step in development is self becoming aware of what needs change. Others can tell you over and over again, but until the light of self-awareness dawns, self-development will be absent. I have sat with many young leaders who I will address a concern or issue and they will immediately say, “I know, I know.” Knowing and doing are two different things. In fact, if you say you know about an issue and have not taken steps to begin the process of change, then you know very little. We live in a day and age where information abounds, but self-awareness is lacking. Development is always first self-development. No one can fix you. They can present you with tools, resources and enlightenment, but only you can make internal adjustments. There will never be self-development until there is first self-awareness. Awareness leads to action. So, if action is absent, awareness is often absent.

Development is difficult because discipline is involved. There will be no true or lasting development without discipline. Discipline is not only the element that guides you to growth, but it is the element that will sustain your growth. No one grows well without good discipline. But, discipline is painful. Development is painful. This is why so many people talk about development and growth, but so few actually develop and grow.

Years ago, I had one of my top leaders stuck in his development. He was aware that there was an element of his leadership that was absent. In fact, every time we sat down and talked, this particular element always came up. His inability and unwillingness to step into an uncomfortable and painful part of his job and leadership was not only hindering his development, but affecting our organization. Eventually, the pain of not changing exceeded the pain of the change and he began to implement elements of discipline into his routine that began to reduce the discomfort and pain one day at time while gaining traction towards his own development. His discipline drove him to development.

Development is difficult because the journey is life long. There are no short-cuts on this journey. There is no fast-forward and no fast-track. Its a long, often tiring journey. In the development process, it’s never over. So, development can not only be tiring, but exhausting. But, development is also highly rewarding. There exists a deep, internal fulfillment when you grow yourself or when you see others grow. Any parent intrinsically knows this to be true. When my children could walk on their own two feet, spell their own name, tie their own shoes, ride their own bike and eventually drive their own car, I had a deep sense of satisfaction because I could see their growth. This was deeply rewarding for me, their parent. As a leader, the same sense of fulfillment exists in the development process of others. I have the same sense of fulfillment when my leaders learn new things, make better decisions, impact the organization and live a more productive life. When those who you are trying to foster development in begin to get it for themselves, it is rewarding and fulfilling for you.

If development was simple and easy, then we would never lack for great leaders and great followers. But, that is not the case. Development is difficult, painful and often cloudy. The abundance of information, pressure and voices make the climate today more challenging than in the past. But, development is a noble, worthy and critical pursuit that all leaders must engage first for themselves and then for those they lead. A leader is not an effective leader unless he or she is actively promoting the development of those they lead. Leaders must lean in and do the difficult work and walk of development. The price of development is a high price, but valuable things always come at a great price.

“I think you can accomplish anything if you are willing to pay the price.”

-Vince Lombardi

 

 

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Effort is the Great Equalizer

Talent doesn’t advance alone. Effort is the equalizer of success.

If you think that just because you are the most skilled, the most talented or the most gifted, that you will automatically advance or progress or get the promotion, then you are sadly mistaken. Talent is important. Skills are important. Giftedness is important. But, effort is more important. What you lack in those areas, make up in task knowledge and effort!

Effort is the great equalizer in regards to talent, skills and giftedness. It is true that not all people are not equally gifted, not naturally skilled and not automatically talented. It is true in a classroom, on a field or in a board room that there are disproportionate levels of skillfulness and talent around you at any given time. But, there is one equalizer that will level your chances in the classroom, workplace, pitch, field or office and that is effort.

If you want to advance, give greater effort. 

But, first understand what effort is and what it is not. Effort is your commitment made and your energy sustained over time. Before you can sustain your energy you have to invest. A little bit of exercise makes a little bit of difference. A great amount of exercise will have a much greater difference. Think of effort like exercise. The more effort you give, like exercise, that is sustained, regimented and consistent will produce the greatest amount of results. Too many developing leaders or aspiring individuals think that one performance one day either on the field or on the job is enough to get the recognition or advancement they are looking for. Or they think that because they are more talented or more skilled, then they deserve to advance. Most people want to advance, but very few earn it. Effort is how you earn advancement.

Great effort takes time. 

To give the effort, you have to put the work in. To put the work in, you have to commit the time. Great effort takes great commitment. To commit means to bind to a certain course of action. Think of giving effort like bonding or connecting yourself to something–put with a sense of permanence. Effort is super glue. So if you aren’t super-glued to what you are committed to, then your effort will decrease over time. The advancement or progression that you are looking for most often takes time. The exception is that a person can show up and have mastery immediately. The rule is that to learn, progress and develop you must invest time. This time requires effort sustained. Time means you will have to wait. Most people see waiting as a waste of time. Those who advance see waiting as an opportunity to improve. Every day that you are waiting for what you are working for is an opportunity for you to get better, do better and get better results.

Four Phases of Effort: Preparation, Mentality, Energy & Action 

Phase 1 – Preparation.

Waiting is not wasted time if  you invest while you wait. Waiting is not resting. Resting is different than waiting. Waiting is the period of time or season from when you enter until you exit. A rest is a pause. To prepare you must work as you wait. To prepare you must train and hone your skill set, refine your results and improve your ability. Things left alone don’t improve themselves. Set goals, targets and objectives that will enhance the advancement you are looking for.

Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone said, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”

Graham Bell who would eventually go on to found the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) which still is in existence to this day, filed his first patent for the recording of the human voice a mere two hours before his rival, Elisha Gray, tried to file one of similar design. The bottom line in this illustration is that Alexander Graham Bell was simply more prepared than his rival. Prepared people find more success because they are ahead of others.

The reasons don’t matter, the excuses don’t matter, because the most prepared people increase their likelihood of success and advancement. If opportunity is the door, then preparation is the front porch. Preparation is all the work, all of the time and all of the energy you are willing to invest in pursuit of your goal. Success is discovered on the march of preparation.

Phase 2 – Mentality.

Your mentality is not just the attitude of your mind. It is also the power of your mind. If you have a weak mentality, then you have weak mind power. Your mind is powerful if you train it to be so. Mentality is formed over time and through conditions. The highest performers on your team, in your organization or in your office always have the strongest mentalities. You have to have great mentality because to accomplish anything of substance, to find any success, you will face adversity. Adversity is not only an assault on your physical capability, it is often even more of an assault on your mental capability. Developing a strong mentality is like climbing a ladder of mental discipline and emotional self-control.

Without a strong mentality you will never overcome strong challenges. Strong challenges crush weak mentalities. 

A weak mentality comes from allowing the wrong thoughts to dominate your thinking and from allowing emotions to run out of control in your mind. Emotions are a part of our lives and our thinking, but they must be checked as they appear. True, some emotion can help our mentality, but in moments of our greatest challenge it’s not the emotion that will carry us through, it is our mentality.

In 2019, in the Champions Leagues quarter finals, Liverpool FC was down 0-3 to Lionel Messi led Barcelona FC. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds would have to score 4 home goals and maintain a clean sheet to overcome the hole they had dug for themselves in the first of the two-leg quarter final. By 10:10pm that night, the Reds achieved the improbable and Klopp described his team as “mentality giants.” Riding the momentum of that game Liverpool FC would go on and win the Champions League title.

A mentality giant or someone with a strong mentality is someone who can withstand incredible odds, adversity and pressure, while giving or increasing their effort to produce even greater results. A mentality giant is someone who controls their emotions and controls their thoughts. They exert incredible mental, physical and emotional focus. They have the ability to narrow down the urgent from the critical and the distracting from the important. A mentality giant is practices a patience and endurance that his or her peers lack. Therefore, a mentality giant will achieve more even if it takes longer or is a more difficult path.

Phase 3 – Energy.

Energy is from two Greek words and remains nearly unchanged after thousands of years. The Greek words are “en” meaning “in, within” and “ergon” meaning “work.” Thus, energy is, literally, translated “work within” or “the work within.” This is what really separates those who wish and those who achieve: the amount of energy willing to be given to a particular job, task or responsibility.

Energy comes from within you and it is both physical and mental.

Energy is the ability for your body and your mind to produce into your limbs. Energy is both biological and psychological. In order for a human body to expend energy and utilize the “work within” sleep, rest and diet must be regulated and regimented. Too many individuals are too careless with how they rest, when they sleep and what they intake into their bodies. We live in a day and age where we have very little excuse for not being able to make wise choices regarding the nutritional intake of our bodies.

Secondly, rest is critical to giving and maintaining maximum effort. Rest is often over-looked, but the body and the mind need rest. Staying up into the wee hours of the morning mindless binge-watching or scrolling hour-upon-hour of social media feeds will never allow your mind to rest. In fact, it actually hijacks the mind and keeps it awake without truly being alert. This state is what I call the zombie mind: awake, but not alert; moving, but without purpose. Rest also gives your body the proper amount of time to recharge. Your entire body must sleep. You cannot sustain permanently and perpetually the same, continual usage of motion and energy. You will crash. You will burn out. And it will not end well. Rest is not a vacation–a total disconnection. A rest is a purposeful pause before continuing. A vacation is a hard stop before you begin again.

There can and will be no great efforts without great energy.

There is a third type of energy that is often overlooked. This is because it is the most misunderstood. This is spiritual energy.  Spiritual energy is the deepest type of energy. It affects the essence of who a person is: the soul. It can only be replaced and replenished by the spiritual and drained by that which is hostile and detrimental to the soul. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10) meaning the source of this spiritual energy/power comes from the Lord.

Phase 4 – Action.

Effort is action. To get to action the other three parts needed to be harmonized and synchronized. Effort is more than just what you think about. Effort is what you do about what you think. Effort is the fruit of your preparation. Your actions dictate who you actually are, not who you think you are. What you do is your effort. Many people today think they are giving great effort without actually doing anything.

Effort is action with sacrifice.

Now, what is sacrifice? 

Sacrifice is what you are willing to give up, let go of or even let pass by in the pursuit of what you are after. Sacrifice is something that is popular to allow others to do today, but not actually do yourself. Two of my daughters play very competitive soccer. The most competitive teams in our state play a couple hours away. When we made the decision to not just play travel soccer, but actually travel to train and practice with a travel team, each girl and both mom and dad had to count the cost of the sacrifices we were going to make individually, relationally and as a family. We wanted to make sure we (the parents) and each girl knew the full sacrifice, the full cost they were going to have to make.  Then, together we laid it all on the table for discussion, conversation, prayer and then the decision. Then, we took action. We took the step and kept on moving. The hardest step is not the first step, but he first correct step in the right direction. We often take steps, but they are the hard step, the right step or the costly step that will create the path to success.

Sacrifice is the cost you pay and keep paying while you pursue what you are after. There is no great effort without great sacrifice. This is the path to action: measure your movements, count the cost and then act.

Summary: 

Without a sustained effort, the results, the success and the progress that you would like to see will never simply occur. You don’t have to be the most talented to get the greatest results. But to discover the most success you can achieve, then you must give the greatest effort. Effort is composed of preparation, mentality, energy and action.

“Whatever you do, do with all your heart…” Colossians 3:23

 

 

 

 

Questions for Discussion or Introspection: 

  1. Why do organizations often value talent over effort? Can you think of a situation in your organization or team where effort equalized talent?
  2. What can be challenging about the preparation phase of effort? How can you prepare better in your organization or team? How do you think that might help?
  3. How do you strengthen your mentality? What hinders you from having a stronger mentality? How do you know when you have a strong mentality?
  4. If energy isn’t equal, then how can you have more energy to achieve better results on your team? What are barriers to spending or giving your energy wisely?
  5. Why is sacrifice so challenging? When is a time you sacrificed for something you wanted? What was it? What results did you achieve?
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Leadership Word of the Week: Wait

Ah, this week’s word is a word we don’t like to hear and even more we don’t like to experience. We live in a give-me, give-me-now, what’s-taking-so-long society. And the by-product is that we are becoming cold, demanding and we are developing fewer high caliber leaders.

This week’s leadership word is wait.

To wait means you delay your response or activity until a more suitable or favorable time appears for you to act or react.

Waiting is good for you because it teaches you delayed gratification. We live in an instant gratification world. Instant gratification is the process by which that which pleases you is gained quickly. The problem with instant gratification is that it is short-lived and short-sighted. Not only that, but instant gratification diminishes the value of things that have to worked for. Delayed-gratification means you are willing to work and wait for something valuable. Delayed-gratification actually increases your understanding of value, both to yourself and of the thing or opportunity you are working for.

Waiting teaches you to tell your self “no.” And if we have ever been living in a day and age where we need to learn to say “no” it is now! I watch young parents who don’t feel like telling their screaming kid “no” just hand them their phone, put a video on and even slap a pair of headphones on the kid. What they should do is tell the child “no” and then when the child pitches a fit, enact their parental authority and merit consequences. If we won’t tell ourselves no, then we certainly wont tell others no either. No is a word that restrains us. We need restrain, because without no, we expose ourselves to unnecessary risks and temptations. Just because you want it doesn’t mean you need it. Waiting helps you discern your needs from your wants, helps you determine what is necessary from what is unnecessary.

“Waiting is key to developing others because it allows them to catch up.”

Waiting teaches you to when to say yes. Waiting is not all about no. It is also about when to say yes or when to pull the proverbial trigger. Anyone who has shot a bow and arrow or used a rifle understands that there is an optimum time to say yes and many other times to say no. Waiting teaches you to find the right window. There will be more options that you think there will be in your future, especially if you are talented and have a positive personality. Thus, as you learn to wait, you also learn when to say yes. Waiting for the right time, the right opportunity or the right person is the value of delay. Delay is not a denial. Delay allows the best opportunity to present itself.

Waiting increases your perspective. Perspective is the value of time over distance. And when you don’t learn to wait, you have a flawed, narrow perspective. When you have to wait you have the opportunity to see more and think more. And leaders definitely need to spend time doing both of these activities. Instead of rushing to solve a problem, first seek to understand the problem. Instead of cutting off a person who is talking to you about an issue, wait and listen to what they have to say.

There is a fear attached to waiting. We often think that if we wait, then we will miss out. This is not true. What we miss when we don’t wait is the best opportunity and the best option. There is always a time for decision and action, but it is after you have learned the principle of waiting.

Waiting helps you learn patience which is a key to love. Leaders must love others. And those who are impatient are often the most unloving. Love is patient. If you want to see those around you grow and develop, sometimes you have to wait on them to catch up and be patient for them to get it. Smart people are often the most impatient people. This is why so many all-star professional athletes make terrible coaches; the game was easy for them, and they grow impatient when it isn’t easy for others. Great leaders know how to wait on their people, because they value their people. Things you value, you are willing to wait for.

Waiting is fertile ground for innovation and creativity. Waiting doesn’t imply you stop working. It simply implies you stop forcing, worrying or demanding action that is premature or unnecessary. When you have to wait, when you experience silence, your mind actually has to go to work. And a mind at work is where the creativity and the innovation really happens. As you wait for your next opportunity, you have time to experiment and to test some ideas you wouldn’t normally have. Waiting gives you time to edit what you have been working on. Too many good ideas make poor actions, because there wasn’t enough editing of the idea going on.

Waiting can make you stronger. Development never takes place in an instance. A change in direction can take place in an instance, but changing direction is not development. A new mindset takes a while to set in. Any muscular development needs action, then rest. Waiting is a form of rest. Your mind needs rest. Your body needs rest. Accepting waiting as a form of rest is a mature leadership practice that all the truly transcendent leaders have understood. I love the Bible verse, “for those who wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). One reason why we have such poor leadership and so many empty leaders is that they haven’t allow themselves to wait. Rushing will never renew your strength. But, waiting certainly will.

Waiting is not a curse, it is often a blessing. So as you think about your personal leadership development, allow waiting to be a significant part of the course. Waiting is good for us.

“I’m sure God keeps no one waiting, unless he sees that it is good for him to wait.”
-C. S. Lewis

 

 

 

*Today’s word is the fifth Leadership Word of the Week in this series:
1-Hustle
2-Presentation
3-Grit
4-Drive
5-Wait

I love hearing from you. Leave a comment and I may be able to reply. Keep leading, it’s need more than ever.

(c) Alex Vann, 2018

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Leadership Word of the Week: Drive

Everyone is motivated by something. The problem is that many people don’t have a clue what motivates them. They live life just reacting to the stimuli that they are confronted with. This kind of person lives a very shallow and dull life. They are moved or carried by the currents of life.

What so many people are lacking today is simply: drive.

Drive is the invisible, internal force in a person that is where motivation meets activation.  Drive takes your desires and makes them become directions Drive is what keeps you moving when everyone else has quit, gone home or accepted defeat. A car in park does not serve it’s purpose. Cars are designed for transport. Just like cars, there are too many people in the world today who have placed their lives in park or neutral. Park means you are going nowhere. Neutral means you will be pulled or pushed into the direction of another.

Drive is more than desire. To express a desire to do something, to expound your thoughts about doing something, these are not drive. These are merely desire. Desire is either fuel or fumes. Fumes happen when the only energy your desire meets is in your mind. The fumes of your desire escape and you move nothing, do nothing and gain nothing. Desire is fuel when you possess drive. But, having desire alone is an empty gas tank. A car in drive with no desire moves nowhere.

When you have drive, you enjoy the ride. You enjoy the journey. Too many people today are so obsessed with the next step, they don’t enjoy the one they are standing on. Escape is not drive. Don’t mistake escape for drive. Escape is a feeling of just wanting to get out. Drive is understanding why you are here and what you can do about it–what you can learn while you are hear. Drive is not as much about the destination as about the journey. The journey is where the joy happens. For example, you enter your vehicle in a road race. Which joy is more lasting, the trophy or the time spent on the track. The most powerful memories come from running the race, not receiving the rewards. Trophies are meant for shelves and collect dust. Great lives are not determined by the number of trophies, but the number of miles on the track. And no race is won with a car stuck in park or neutral.

Drive is a differentiator. If you want to differentiate yourself from your peers and excel to a level beyond them, then drive on in learning, in understanding and in output. Your input often determines your output. The reason you don’t get as much out of something, a job, a position or a work is that you simply have put enough into it. And it goes beyond just putting in, you need to pour in. Pour your emotional energy, your mental energy and your physical energy in to what you already have. Too many today in our workplaces simply take more out than they put in. Those who have drive, pour more in than they take out. Those that are driven have an internal energy that burns when the external encouragement dries up. Those who live for feedback lack drive. Driven people don’t need lots of encouragement. Conversely, they are little affected by discouragement. A person with drive moves on despite the applause, despite silence and despite boos.

Drive reveals your mental and emotional strength. There are too many weak-minded people and emotional cupcakes in the world today. Drive reveals itself in a solid, steady and strong mind-set. Drive keeps you going when everything and everyone quit. Drive brings you in early and keeps you late. Drive goes the extra mile and does the extra work. Drive is not accepting poor performance or inferior results as final. Drive keeps working, keeps seeking, and keeps knocking.

Drive is also like hunger–a hunger to do more, see more and be more. Drive is a hunger to learn, to grow and to develop. Drive is an appetite and those that have it stay lean and hungry. They don’t arrive. They don’t push back from the table. They keep themselves lean and hungry, not lean and cranky. They have an insatiable appetite to experience for themselves what others merely look over, pass by or completely ignore. Drive is a kind of curiosity that keeps you turning over stones, looking behind bushes and digger deeper.

People who have drive are able to press on when they get push back.

In a world of passengers, be a driver. In a world of floaters, be a driver. In a world or spectators, be a driver. Those who drive experience fuller, more productive lives.

 

(c) Alex Vann, 2018

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The Formula to Teach the Young How to Succeed: D.E.E.D.S.

We’ve got to get over what the next generation is not getting and how uncomfortable it is making the previous three generations feel. We have the answers they need and they have the energy we need! You can’t stop change. You can’t contain change. And you can’t control change. But, what you can do is leverage change.

In order to be successful in times of transition, you need a fulcrum. A fulcrum is a physics term that has to with (a) the support that turns a lever or it is a literary term that means (b) the one who supplies capability for action. I like to think of a fulcrum as an individual whom which is used to turn a person or an organization. It can also be a person who helps others turn their thoughts and ideas into the correct course of action. Every formula needs a fulcrum. Every tested formula rests on timeless principles.

What this next generation is missing is simple: principled living.

Smart phones aren’t actually making us any smarter. One day we looked up from our smart phones and realized that we weren’t actually an smarter. We had just become buried in a swamp of information and a quagmire of feelings. Emotional maturity and self-awareness died with the advent of social media and photo filters. As we looked around this landscape where everyone else was still looking at their smart phones we realized a glaring absence from the way we live, the way we make decisions and the direction we are moving towards…the absence of principles. They were lost somewhere along the way when we traded honor for convenience, justice for popularity and the sacred for secular. They were lost amidst a deluge of information and the rapidity of technology changing the way we live. We traded principles for speed, for wealth, but mostly for popularity. Public opinion, which changes like the wind, became more important than principled outcomes. The new generation had their opinions which used to be tested by time and trials, elevated instantly to popular status. A generation that had been told everyone was a winner, then had their opinions, pictures and thoughts elevated to proportions that used to take a life time, maybe to achieve. What was thrown out were the principles of the past in favor of popularity and privilege of the present. The previous generations were not only exposed to principles, but had them ingrained along every stop of life. Leadership, life and learning used to be driven by timeless principles. What has been thrown out in the beginning of this 21st century is the importance of principled living and learning.

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Principles are timeless and tested guidelines that contain truth for application in any situation or circumstance that give clarity for action and response. They are especially helpful for guidance in crisis, confusion and temptation. Principles are like guardrails for the escarpment of high and dangerous places, but also like goads to keep us moving when the temptation to stray into places of pleasure and comfort come calling. If you want to help teach and train the next generation, if you are a part of the next generation, a storm is coming and the thing that you will cling to that will save you and make you successful is principled living.

Let me use a Bible Verse and give you a simple formula that will help you live principled:

“…we are getting what our deeds deserve…“ Luke 23:41

This is part of the conversation as the two thieves on the cross full of a lives that demanded consequence looked upon Jesus as he was dying on the cross and realizing that his deeds didn’t deserve what he was getting.

The formula for success is found in the D.E.E.D.S. These letters are a simple formula for teaching and forming your life around principles. The word serves as a reminder of the principle.

Discipline: Discipline means training yourself for what may come, despite what actually comes. Discipline can be taught. Discipline can be exacted, but only you can be self-disciplined. Self-discipline is dying a rapid death in among a generation that believes that you can be whatever you want to be, do whatever you want to do and not pay a price for it. Discipline is the price you pay to prepare for success. Discipline does not keep you from success, discipline drives you toward success. It is a ten-thousand practice sessions that lead you to the perfect performance. It is the thousand of hours in solitude training when everyone else had quit or gone home that prepare you for the right opportunity. When you are self-disciplined, you are training yourself to face the unknown. This is why we’ve thrown discipline away, because we think we know our futures. We have become masters of our own destinies because information is so readily available. Discipline means doing the right things over and over again even if no one ever recognizes you. You do it because it is right, despite how you feel or how you don’t feel. Discipline is never a matter of the mind, it is always a question of the heart. Discipline is what leads you to effort.

Discipline + Effort

Effort: Effort is the not the great equalizer. It is the great elevator. Effort is both that which takes a few to the top, but many ride it to the bottom. Discipline + Effort is where the elite began to move away from the average. Average people are disciplined people. Elite people are disciplined and give maximum effort. Effort is the amount of energy you are willing to expend. Most people today are looking for the least amount of effort they can give for the maximum return. This is the loser’s attitude. This is the attitude of the entitled, not the elite. You don’t have to be skilled. You don’t have to have great pedigree. You don’t have to have talent in buckets to give effort in buckets. Everyone has the same amount of time, but not everyone will maximize that time with maximum energy. Effort is easy to spot, because it requires energy. Energy is active. Entitlement is static. When you add discipline to effort you sustain results. Effort without discipline creates a pendulum that will swing your results back and forth.

When I ask someone if they are a hard worker, what I am really asking for examples of their effort. Effort is how you measure work. It takes effort to lift your hand to your fork. It takes effort to chew. It takes effort to pick up a shovel. It takes effort to dig. But, it takes endurance to keep digging. Have you worked outside in a while? The earth yields nothing easy! Why then are we always looking for the easy way. Things that last are hard things. Things that fade are quick and easy. If you want with rock, you have to be able to lift it. Effort and discipline are what build spiritual and mental fortitude–muscle. Each generation will ultimately be measure by their fortitude.

Discipline + Effort = Endurance

Endurance. Ah, this principle is one that is seldom talked about, preached or taught any more. I’m not even sure that many of the next generation have any idea what enduring actually is and what is requires. If you lived through the Great Depression or the Dust Bowl in America, then you know what endurance is all about, because you didn’t have a choice if you wanted to survive. If you lived through World War I or World War II, then you know about years of war, losing hundreds of thousands of the best and brightest of the next generation, and living on rations. If you lived through slavery or indentured servitude, then you know about endurance. If you lived on the prairie on a farm, then you know about endurance. If you didn’t have running water, refrigeration or indoor plumbing, then you know about endurance. If your ability to eat and live was based upon the weather, then you know about endurance. But, what does anyone today know about any of these things? We don’t.

Endurance is patience concentrated.
– Thomas Carlyle

Concentration is critical to endurance. The next generation lacks an ability to sustain concentration. Concentration is focus with purpose. In order to be a truly successful endurer, then you have to get over concentrating on yourself. I will say it until I die, in development, you are your greatest enemy. In order to sustain, you have to not only focus, but hold and maintain your energy in a specific direction for an unspecified duration. The next generation just wants to ask “Are we there yet?” That statement was for little children on uncomfortable car trips before portable electronic devices and GPS. Stop asking that question as an adult. You must learn to concentrate or you will never learn to endure.

The problem today is this: abundance never teaches endurance, but endurance is absolutely necessary for success. Endurance is the ability to sustain discipline and effort through prolonged periods of suffering, uncertainty and loss. It was what helped defined “the American Spirit”–this idea that we would keep working, keep going that our bodies would fail long before our spirits would. That is no longer the case. We live in a world of emotional weaklings. Endurance is a question of soul and spirit. It is ability to say yes over and over to the right thing despite the wrong feeling. It is the ability to say no over and over again to the wrong things despite overwhelming temptation. This is because Endurance is not possible without denial, actually, self-denial.

Denial: Denial is the ability to say no. Self-denial is the ability to tell yourself no. No, this is not good for me. No, this will not help me in the long run. No, despite how I feel, this isn’t right. No, I should not respond, I should think spend more time in thought and less time in reaction. Better thought brings for better responses. This is an instant world we live in. We want instant answers, instant coffee, instant food, instant service, instant wealth, instant acceptance and instant success. But, life does not work that way. We must learn to say no. We must learn to tell ourselves no. The opposite of self-denial is self-indulgence. Indulgence is a principle you want to stay very far away from. People that indulge themselves lack restraint. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.” This means when you have no vision or the wrong vision, you throw out the ability to tell yourself no.

Denial is a part of waiting. Success is built over time, never in an instance. You may see success happen in what appears to be an instance, but it never is. It is always the result of seasons of preparation, seasons of struggle and seasons of sweat. If you can’t learn to say no, then you lack vision. A vision gives you guide rails or lines to stay inside of. Another word for these buffers are laws. No is the base of laws, because no is absolute. Be willing to hear no. Be willing to accept no. Anarchy and chaos is the absence of no, the absence of restraint. When you can learn to deny yourself, you become more selfless. Selflessness is the final ingredient in the formula of success.

Selflessness: Selflessness is the ability to put your self last, to see yourself only as important as those around you need you to be. We live in the most self-important generation ever. Self-important people are self-promoters. Never have so many unqualified, inexperienced and immature people touted themselves so highly. If you look historically at the strongest generations and strongest societies, they do not preach or teach self-esteem. In fact, they teach the opposite, that self needs no esteem. This subtle shift happened in our culture when popular psychology became more influential than timeless truth. The most successful people don’t look for praise, encouragement or recognition, because they don’t need it. Selfish people need lots of attention. Selfless people need no attention. The code word for attention today is “feedback.” We have over-elevated the importance of feedback. I have learned that feedback among the next generation is really a code word for “positive attention.” As soon as you offer negative feedback it becomes unwelcome.

Dabo Swinney

Selflessness pushes self away and leads you to service. The most successful leaders are those who see themselves as servants of the organization. They see that they serve the greater good. I heard the NCAA College Football National Championship Head Coach of the Clemson Tigers, Dabo Swinney say recently that his role as head coach was “to serve the 30 year old version” of the 18-year old standing in front of me. It requires selflessness to place yourself in unpopular positions based upon truth and conviction. You will never serve others if you aren’t selfless. It’s not that you think less of yourself, its that you think of yourself less! The selfless person doesn’t ever see themselves as arriving only departing. The selfish person is only focused on the arrival. Successful people keep departing, keep learning, keep growing and keep serving. You can’t be selfless without continual humility. You must chose to be humble, even as you are ambitious, seek success and and lead others. Don’t make it about you. Make it about them. Selfless people have genuine joy when others succeed. In fact, they have become so emptied of self, they make it part of their personal mission to see others reach their maximum potential and their calling.

Discipline + Effort + Endurance + Denial + Selflessness = Success

The leverage you need to succeed is a principled life. It is your character that matters more than your competency. It is your reality that will influence your destiny not your fantasy. You will become a fulcrum in your home, on your team or in your organization as you apply these principles to your life. Your influence and impact will both grow. You will not have to look for success. Success will find you. Success is like a magnet. It is drawn towards those who are emitting and sustaining the right attraction. We are in an exciting time on planet earth. To maximize our footprint and our legacy we must live disciplined, principled lives. A world in flux needs leaders who are like fulcrums!

 

(c) Alex Vann, 2017

 

 

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What Keeps Talent Connected – The Power of the Moon Pie

How do you stop people from leaving?

Simple, give them a reason to stay. The more reasons they have to stay, the longer it takes them to leave.

When I was a boy, my father pastored a small country church in rural South Carolina. I would often go on hospital and home visits with him. He was wonderful at visiting the elderly, the sick and the lonely. The lonely would always make it very difficult for him to leave. Sometimes, they would follow us out to the car, hold on to the door or lean in the window. They would tell a new story, ask a question or, the one that was sure to keep us longer, bring out dessert! I remember one dear old widow, Mrs. Kirby, she brought out the big guns: an RC Cola and a Moon Pie! That was worth staying every time. See, they didn’t want my dad to leave. He was meeting their needs. They were giving him reasons to stay.

Leaders today have to come on strong with reasons that help talent stay in the organization. One thing won’t do. It takes a talent strategy. The days of showing up and expecting people to stay are history. Reality is they are going to leave.

So what can you do to slow the departure down?

People stay on teams, in organizations and with leaders because of many reasons. The more of these reasons your people see and grasp, the harder it is for them to leave. Let’s call these reasons by a different name: connections. Connection is a word that millennials and centennials really understand. Because, the world we live in an upside down world. The people that work with you and for you have fewer meaningful relationships, are less emotionally mature and have greater anxiety about the future. They are entering the work force with bigger dreams, more debt and greater uncertainty.

Leaders, organizations and employers who create the following connections have a much greater chance at keeping their developing talent longer…

1- Create an atmosphere of clarity. Clarity produces a level of certainty. When things are clear, it is easier for a team member to make a connection–to see where they belong. Clarity is never found through complexity, but always in simplicity. As a leader you need a shorter, simpler and more concise brand message. Too many leaders and organizations are trying to be someone or something that they are not. This plays very false to a generation that demands authenticity. Clarity combined with a life lived driven by a passionate calling is a powerful magnate.

“There are few things more powerful than a life lived with passionate clarity.”
~Erwin McManus

2- Create a powerful sense of purpose. People no longer do things because they are supposed to. This is because somewhere in the past two decades people stopped teaching, stopped accepting and stopped passing on what was supposed to be done. Now, everything is questioned. This is reality. People don’t stay because they are supposed to. They stay because they want to. They stay because they feel respected, they feel wanted and they feel valued.

3- Offer ownership whenever possible. What is ownership? It is a sense of possession with a purpose. Once, people know their purpose, then empower them to possess parts of the business, the organization and the team. This is very difficult for the leader who wants to control everything. Empowerment never comes solely through instruction. It must be paired with investment and the ability to fail.

What?

Ownership is about winning and losing. No one wins all the time–that belief is fantasy. Leaders that win with talent operate in reality.  If you create an organizational path or track where there is no real possibility of failure, then you will never produce people who can win without you. And if they can’t win without you, they will absolutely leave you.

4- Make promises you can deliver on. Don’t say things to keep people you never intend on truly fulfilling. I observe many leaders who will say just about anything to try to keep people on the hook. This is no good. As soon as people get on a hook and they realize it, they want off. But, if people feel connected or plugged in, then they want to stay longer.  This is a generation that wants action, that wants results. When you make promises or say things haphazardly that you don’t follow through on, you create an instant disconnect–literally, you are pulling the plug. This is why simplicity of purpose, simplicity of structure and simplicity of advancement are critical. The simpler the promise, the easier it is to fulfill. If your organization can’t afford a perk, promotion or benefit, then don’t talk about it. Don’t say, “Well, one day we’d like to offer x, y, and z.” That’s no good. All you are doing is speaking into a false reality and you will pay later for it by your talent leaving you. In an age of uncertainty, people are looking for leaders and organizations to deliver on their promises. A promise is a commitment and the world is short on keeping it’s commitments these days. Organizations and leaders need to speak the truth and keep it. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut. Don’t talk about one day…talk about today! 

“Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.”

~C. S. Lewis

5- Be generous with your personal time. Be generous with your time. Leaders that give their time freely to their subordinates inadvertently kill bureaucracy. Don’t make people pay for your time. You are busy. You are a leader. Leaders are busy. Everyone knows that. Personal one-on-one or small group settings are hugely instrumental for the leaders of tomorrow. Giving your personal time is an investment into the lives of the next generation. They have access to an abundance of information, but little to no access to wisdom and experience. This is why spending time with you is so valuable to them. Even if you don’t think they are listening, they are. You are the model. The best models can be studied up close. The best models invite careful scrutiny and the freedom to explore. If you are an absent leader or a distracted leader, then you will never unlock the potential of those developing leaders in your organization.

“You have had many instructors but few fathers, therefore, imitate me…“

Paul, the Apostle

6- Invest resources when it makes sense. Often, organizations today just throw money at people as if it will solve the problem. Let me tell you the problem with this “solution”: money can’t create value, it demands to be valued. For example, you offer to pay a person more money to stay with you or start them at a higher rate. All you have done is wage into a bidding war that is easily outdone by the person or organization that comes along and offers more money at a later date. Money is a race with no winner. Because money and perks are unable to satisfy the deepest longings of a persons need for acceptance and value. I tell my team, “I want you to make more money. In fact, I want to pay you more. So, let’s get to work on making this organization more productive. A high tide rises all ships.” When you make it about the money, you enter a path that is impossible to return from. Instead of “paying people more” the solution is to “invest in people more.” It’s subtle, but it’s a mindset shift. It places the emphasis on the people instead of the resource.

7- Tell great stories that promote people. People love stories. People want stories told about them. Get good at telling stories. We have so many forms of media, so many channels by which to tell stories of our people that we have no reason not to. Find people in your organization and (with their permission) tell their story. Media is simply an avenue at telling stories. Humans can not resist a good story. The better you are at telling true stories, the more inspired your people will be to stay with you, especially when you start telling their story. I have a couple of former all-American athletes that work with me. Every time I introduce them, I say, “This is Mandy or Steph, she was an All-American at…” One day, with a huge smile on her face Mandy a college graduate and record-setting All-American soccer player said, “Why do you always tell people I was an All-American when I played in college?” I responded, “Do you like being introduced that way?” She said with a bigger smile, “Yes…” I simply replied, “That’s why!”

The key to winning people is connecting with them, especially at the deepest level the heart. If you only see your people as assets or liabilities for your benefit, your revolving door will move much quicker. See, everyone has a revolving door on talent these days. The solution is not to get mad at the door or live in denial that such a door exists, but to slow the door down. When people connect with you, your purpose/calling and they feel valued, the bottom line is they stay longer.

Talent is a revolving door. You don’t need a new door, when all you need is to slow the door down.

 

 

(c) Alex Vann, 2017

 

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Don’t Be Afraid to Wait

You’ve heard it said, “Good things come to those who wait.” Well, not always, sometimes more waiting just comes. But, don’t be afraid to wait!

Everyone hates a waiting room. Everyone hates waiting in line. We don’t mind lines if we are first, because waiting makes us feel unimportant, devalued and impatient.  But, purposeful waiting has value.

Waiting is a part of life, but it is not punishment. We most often view waiting as penalty. This is an error.  Pointless waiting feels like punishment. But, waiting is powerful when you wait with a purpose. If you need to see the doctor, but his waiting room is full, getting up and leaving is not going to get you the diagnosis or medicine that you need. The purpose of the visit was to see the doctor, the waiting was part of the process. If you need to get your car repaired, a good mechanic will take you, but you will have to wait. The baseball batter has to wait for the ball to arrive. The wise shopper has to wait for the sale to arrive. Sadly, we have grown so self-centered and self-absorbed that we rarely view waiting as a positive part of any process.

One reason that we don’t like to wait is that we see ourselves as the priority. We like to be waited on. Yes, admit it, most people if the truth be known like to be waited on. Now, we don’t want to seem that arrogant so we call it “pampering ourselves,” “taking a me day” or even recently I have seen “I don’t feel like adulting today.”  The reality is we really enjoy being waited on. Now, it can get uncomfortable if we actually think about the other people who are doing the waiting, so we don’t. We keep our minds on how much we are enjoying the experience and what benefit it is bringing us. We pay ridiculous amounts of money to get our hair done, not because it actually increases our value, but it increases our perceived value. We pay ridiculous amounts of money on shopping and getting new clothes, not because it actually changes anything about us, but because it makes us feel better about ourselves. We waste ridiculous amounts of time in and on activities that don’t actually make us any smarter, give us any more wisdom or create in us any more faith. When self is the priority, self is served. Self hates waiting (perhaps one very critical reason God makes his people wait).

Another reason we don’t like waiting is we don’t actually practice the habit or behavior of waiting. What we do practice is convenience, immediacy, and instant expectation. We do this because we want instant gratification. Delayed gratification has died. No one wants to wait for anything. For millennia, people had no choice but to wait. They were dependent upon the seasons, upon their families and their neighbors. They didn’t depend on the government, the news, the credit lender, their employer or the internet. Because they had no choice but to wait, they had to accept that waiting is a part of life–their life. We don’t mind waiting to be a part of life–just not our life.  In order to be effective at any thing, you have to learn to become a good waiter. A good waiter is disciplined, committed and faithful. But, most importantly a good waiter is attentive. Attentiveness is where readiness meets preparation. The best waiters are attentive to every detail and then move with certainty and anticipation. When you are a bad waiter, you don’t anticipate you react because you were not ready.  A good waiter has learned the value and importance of the behavior of waiting with a purpose and acts accordingly with purpose and anticipation.

Another reason we don’t like to wait is we are afraid to wait. We are afraid to wait, because we are afraid to miss out. We are afraid to miss out because we don’t view God as sovereign and faithful. In fact, most often, we live like we want God to wait on us. Fear is a part of life. There is no escaping the fact of fear, but you can be free from the fiction of fear. The  fiction of fear is the feeling of uselessness, hopelessness and pointlessness which causes worry, anxiety and hurry.  Because, we allow these fears to fester, we often live in a self-induced sphere of the perpetual fear of missing out. Social media has done some good.  However, a negative by-product of social media is the constant bombardment of seeing what you think you are missing (advertisers know this). Social media is a clever construct of fantasy for most people. Who posts their bad days? If they do, too often you get annoyed and  you “unfollow’ them or ignore them. It doesn’t fit in our afraid-to-wait-no-bad-days narrative. Social media looking at filtered parts of peoples’ lives often creates unnecessary pressure on you. This self-created pressure leads to anxiety, doubt and premature activity (called rushing).

Another reason we don’t like waiting is because we have been conditioned to rush. When you rush, you are in a hurry. To hurry is to act quickly with little concern for discipline or focused activity. The focus is on the movement not the mission. There are many things in life you can’t hurry and expect success. Ask any baker, any builder, any artist, any musician or any chef if waiting is a part of their process. Speeding things up is detrimental in many cases, actually in most cases. You can’t rush growth. Good growth takes time. Rapid growth often creates a pattern of instability and imbalance. Efficiency is not rushing. Efficiency is where productivity meets responsibility. Rushing is where impatience meets activity.

Maturation is a process that takes time. The world is subject to God’s law of time. God’s law of time is that he set it, controls it and you & everyone else are subject to it. You cannot advance it or turn it back. You live in and with the time you are allotted. According to recent reports, the world is actually slowing down by a millisecond each year. So, although we are speeding up our connections, actions and activities, the world we walk on is actually slowing down. God controls time. You are responsible for the time you have been granted. Waiting is a sub-law of time. Learn to wait and your time becomes more valuable, more useful. If you can’t learn to wait, you will never be effective at resting or at worshiping or leading people.

Effective leaders, effective parents and effective followers will all learn to wait well. They see that waiting with a purpose is trusting God with the outcome, with the unseen and with your time. Waiting with a purpose drives fear away and renews your strength. There are some things that you are not designed, gifted or able to make happen. Therefore you have to wait. God will send the response. Your name will be called. God will send the help. But, you have to wait. Waiting means God is working, most often in you or through you.

“but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.“

Isaiah 40:31

(c) Alex Vann, 2017

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Mistakes Leaders Make Today with Tomorrow’s Talent

The talent shoreline has changed. Developing leaders standing where you used to stand doesn’t work anymore. Waiting for the tide to come back in isn’t going to happen, because the shore line moved out. You are standing, waiting and meanwhile the weeds are growing up around you while you sink in the mud. You are holding on to your old mindset and its only weighing you down further. Your competition has moved down to the new shoreline. You are frustrated. But, if you want to catch fish, you have to go where they are. They aren’t where you are anymore.

There are some common mistakes leaders make in development today, especially the next generation of leaders. Development is never accidental or casual. Development is an intentional and critical system. Development is not natural, decay is natural. So, assuming that people will develop because they are present, working hard and seem to be listening is a mistake. You must intentionally engage in the development process and activate a development system.

Every system doesn’t have to look the same. A leadership development system is reflective of the leader guiding it, thus leadership systems will look different. But, one commonality is that the system will actually produce and develop new leaders. Let me say this as well, not every person you are trying to develop into a leader will work out. But that’s not an excuse to keep having the same failures and making the same mistakes.

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Frequent Failures Leaders Make Today:

Failure to construct a system for new leaders to develop in. With what and who we are dealing with today, a leadership development structure is absolutely essential to facilitate the maturation of new leaders. Millennials and Centinnials need structure in all that they do–including steps to grow as a leader. Organizations and leaders who realize this and create a platform are attracting and winning the top talent. Leaders of organizations must invest time, resources and energy into a structure that engages and guides the next generation through development. If you leave the next generation working for you to “figure out for themselves” (because that’s what we did), the only thing they will figure out is how fast they are going to leave you.

Failure to have a leadership strategy. Yes, you actually need to have a leadership strategy. No war is won without a strategy. We are in this War for Talent. And guess what? The Millennials won. There are 82 millions Millennials and only 63 million Gen. Xers and 72 million Baby Boomers. There are more Millennials and they had the weight to fundamentally alter the way we think, the systems we use and where we will work. The work still has to get done, but we are now in the aftermath of the war. This is called reconstruction. You must have a strategy, because your competitors do. A leadership strategy is a plan that systematically recruits, retains, develops and releases leaders.

Failure to launch. The point of your leadership development system is to launch these new leaders out. Now, what is actually counter-intuitive is that when you talk about departure and launch, these next-gen leaders actually seem to stay in your organization longer. But, if you aren’t willing to launch new leaders away from your organization, you become an unattractive organization. Be willing to create a system that has a launch point for your leaders. In today’s talent pool, creating a system that celebrates the launch and promotes the launch and looks forward to launch is actually becomes highly attractive for the top talent.

Failure to recognize the cost. The cost of development requires more than ever before. Many leaders today are applying the same mindset around development and cost. Grooming people who will “one day” be ready to be a leader simply doesn’t happen at the rate it once did. Those days are gone. Developing leaders is like fishing. The fish still bite, but the gear, the equipment and getting to the fishing hole cost more, often significantly more. Just as egos have inflated, the cost to develop leaders has inflated as well. You can not like it, you can not accept it, but this will not help you recruit, retain, develop and launch new leaders. You are going to have to spend more. This is why a strategy is so important, otherwise you will fail to see the return you desire.

Failure to invest.  Investment means you are addressing risk. There is a risk in releasing your resources to the unknown. However, you must be willing to invest in new methods, new ideas and new processes in your leadership development strategy. You must not only have new hooks in the water, but new nets and new divers! The good news today is that a little goes a long way with millennials. You don’t have to invest extravagant sums, but you need greater frequency. Next gen leaders need more access to the top leadership. IMG_9688

Failure to create a leadership network. A network is part of the strategy, its not the strategy. A network by definition is a group of interconnected people. Your leaders are already way more connected than you realize. They connect with everyone. Many leaders today fail to engage these systems of connectivity. Create a leadership network of past leaders, present leaders and future leaders. Every leadership system today should look at the value of an alumni network. Viewing your leaders that left you as assets as opposed to simply absent, will engage the sense of value in your whole system. They already stay connected with those in your organization. Alumni can become some of your best advocates, promoters and recruiters.

Failure to see themselves as a follower. Every leader better have someone they are following. The death of leadership is arrival. Arrival is complacency. Complacency leads to apathy.  When a leader feels like they have arrived, they’ve reached the pinnacle of their ability, they begin to take more than they give. Too many modern leaders detach from themselves being a disciple. If you don’t have a plumb line, you will build where ever the pressure pushes you. You will accept less than the best because pressure creates desperation, panic and anxiety. Leaders must keep learning and keep applying. Great leaders who are also great followers are easy to follow. Leaders who are only following themselves or the wind are difficult to follow. When you are difficult to follow, look back and look around, chances are you’ve had a trail of people leaving you.

Failure to put in more than they take out. When a leader begins to reap the benefits of what they have sown, many times a subtle mindset shift happens. This subtle shift moves from “put in” to “take out.” This is a temptation and a trap that is easy to fall in and is devastating to the development of your people. These days what leaders are putting in requires more than ever before because of scale, volume, pace and complexity.

Failure to adapt. Because the shoreline has changed, you must adapt. Without adapting you will be overwhelmed and overcome. Many leaders today feel exactly that: overwhelmed and overcome. This creates extra tension and pressure in the whole organization. Adaption is the adjustment to environmental conditions. Your talent environment has changed. When you fail to adapt, you end up getting trapped. Being trapped means being stuck. When you are stuck, you don’t move and you get left behind. Leaders today must practice strategic adaption. Which means you don’t change who you are, you change what you do. This is the fundamental difference. Many leaders fear adapting for fear of change. Embrace the change of what you do or how you do it, not the change of why you do it.

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Failure to move in humility. Failure to adapt is often a sign of pride. Pride will kill leadership development quicker than any other thing. Pride is a heart issue. I’m not talking about the pride of shared joy in an accomplishment. I’m talking about the insidious pride of self-centeredness. When a leader makes it all about themselves, they are self-centered. Successful leaders practice humility, which means they easily recognize others and don’t need recognition themselves. Too many leaders today will not adapt because of pride. Pride makes you angry, frustrated, lazy and aloof. Humility keeps you hungry, engaged and serving. Humility helps you remember why you started developing leaders in the first place.

The greatest leader outside of Jesus Christ was one of his chief followers/disciples, Paul the Apostle. Paul spoke about adaptation in his disciple-making strategy. He said, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). This is some of the best counsel that I can ever offer someone frustrated in their development of others. Paul is basically saying, “I adapt whenever necessary to the standing of others, so that I can relate to them and win them.” If you really want to win with talent, you must adapt. You don’t win talent by demanding they become like you. You win talent by going to where they are.

Failure to paint a picture of better & brighter tomorrow. The next generation leader already has a very clear picture of what their tomorrow looks like–even if you think it is just fantasy. If you don’t speak into that picture or paint a better picture their tomorrow, then their shelf-life with you will be extremely short and you wont have an opportunity to bring reality into the fantasy.  And it’s pretty hard to develop a leader when they leave you. Leaders today must paint accurate pictures of a better and brighter future.

Failure to speak with a social conscience. This is why I have found that despite the perceived unpopularity of my Christianity, when I speak with a social conscience, the next generation leader welcomes and responds. The next gen leader has more of a social conscience than ever before. Your leadership development style and structure needs to at least acknowledge this reality, if not engage this reality. Millennials really want to make their world a better place for everyone. Now, they often are not entirely sure how to do this or where to start. This is where you come in. You have resources, you have connections in your community and you do have a social conscience. A social conscience basically means you care and will demonstrate concern for others.

Conclusion

Developing leaders is always worth it. Today talent costs more and demands more. The shoreline has moved. The talent tide will not return. Throw off your pride, slosh through the sand and rediscover the joy of a new talent beach.

 

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(c) Alex Vann, 2017

 

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Leadership is an Exercise in Patience

Leadership is like a muscle. It doesn’t grow just because you want it to. It doesn’t grow because you dream of it growing. Growth and skilled leadership take real work, hard work and most of all patience. Hard work means patience. Hard work means practice.  This combination of practice and patience establish the rhythm by which the leadership muscle is perfected.

“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

James 1:5 (NKJV)

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Me as a freshman at Hardin-Simmons University, 1995. An impatient outside linebacker.

Those Who Stay will be Champions 

I played five sports (football, basketball, baseball, wrestling and soccer) in high school and in all of them our practice-to-game ratio was a combined average about 3:1 or 4:1. That means we practiced 300 to 400% more than we played games! And that was during the season. Each season before the first game, we practiced nearly a month before the first game. That means before our first significant test, match or game it was a nearly 20-25:1 ratio –2000-2500% more  practice before the first game!  I think when you start to break down hours spent in practice versus hours spent in game time, the ratio is probably much more pronounced. I would go on to the next level. Little did I know as you advance in athletics, in life, in relationships and especially in leadership, the next level always requires more patience. I watched many players start with a lot of talk, but grew impatient quickly and quit.

Higher levels = more practice. I discovered this playing NCAA III football at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas under Head Coach and West Texas legend, Jimmie Keeling, who loved to practice. He’d say things like “Men, this is where we get better” as you had sweat pouring in your eyes in the 116 degree West Texas oven.  Nearly, every day in team meeting he would say “W-I-N. What’s Important Now?” and he would go on to say things like, “Practice, men, practice…” in his west Texas drawl with a sly smile and a twinkle in his eye. Too many developing leaders view practice as a waste of time. This does not allow for healthy development in leadership acumen.

Always one to value my personal time, I calculated that between three-a-days (three practices a day in summer), working out, watching film, meetings, actual practice time, team meals, extra work and logistics, I spent anywhere from 80-100 hours some weeks for a 3 hour football game of which a starter would be on the field 20-30 minutes of actually game time. With the average play lasting only 6-8 seconds, college football is primarily a game of preparation for a split second of execution. Just like leadership, many decisions have to be made in a split second.  That’s why in football, you drill, drill, drill and more drill. Many leaders don’t think that what they are doing when they are waiting matters. They couldn’t be more wrong! There is not a wasted play or wasted practice in leadership development. Preparation finds its identity in practice. Practice it’s perfection in repetition. Patience and practice have a way of weeding people out.  Coach Keeling with an astounding combined college and high school coaching record of 368-144-11, used to always say “Those who stay will be champions!” He meant if you lose sight of the goal and get impatient, then you will never achieve what you started out after. He meant patience is the key to success.

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“Those who stay will be champions!” 

Former Hardin-Simmons Head Football Coach and one of my Heroes,

Jimmie Keeling

Leadership is Perfected in Practice 

Leadership is not a game. It is a continual, commitment that requires and demands practice. Leadership is perfected in and only in practice. Great players didn’t come out of the womb great. They came out gifted. It’s the combination of practice and patience that fostered greatness.

An impatient leader is a poor leader. Zeal and enthusiasm are important in leadership, but single-handedly they cannot produce growth. But, they can sure produce a lot of frustration. Impatient leaders don’t produce good followers, more leaders or greater inlfluence. Impatient leaders produce the fruits of frustration and exhaustion. The reality is impatient leaders produce anxiety, accelerate stress and create a climate of more impatience.  Impatience is water running downhill. It erodes and the quicker it moves the faster it erodes.

Patience is not a barrier. Barriers are concrete objects that prevent progress. Barriers have to smashed. Leaders do little smashing and lots of chiseling. Patience is a boundary. Boundaries can be rescinded or extended. A boundary gives you space to operate in and grow in.

Patience Means Sometimes You Walk Away

Wise leaders establish boundaries, organize the work and walk away. This is not the walking away of irresponsibility, but the walking away of patience. Your followers will never grow if you don’t give them room. But this is room inside the boundaries. There is a time where mature leaders must walk away and allow their immature, developing  leaders the opportunity to learn patience. Even among millennial leaders (who demand constant feedback), I intentionally give them more space than they are comfortable with. Now, a wise leader walks away to an elevated position of observation, but not so far away they are unable to engage in a moment of need.

The Lesson of the Lifeguard

Like the lifeguard stationed at the deep end of a pool, take up a position that allows you to observe the confidence, competence and judgment of the leader you just let loose.

When they start to overexert themselves, let them sink a little. This requires patience on their part and your part. Sometimes,  they thrash violently, but then regain equilibrium. Leave them alone at this point. But, when their sinking is causing others to go under or everyone starts getting out of the pool, then decisively, directly and without discussion dive in the pool and rescue them. It takes patience to sit and watch a young leader struggle, but they will not grow without patience, both their own and yours.

The half-drowned swimmer looks at the lifeguard and says, “You almost let me drown. Why did you wait so long!?“

The lifeguard smiles and replies softly, “Are you sill breathing? Now, get back in there and do it again.”

(c) Alex Vann, 2017.

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How to Select Better Talent: The Key is Chemistry

Do you need help selecting the right people?

Are you struggling to land the best people you can for the best position possible? Are you finding it difficult to determine if a candidate really will work well for you and with you. People selection is one of the most critical and difficult tasks for any leader on any team or in any organization. There is a war for talent and this clouds and confuses the talent selection process because there is more pressure to make the right selection than ever before. 

The Challenge  

Let’s assume you and your HR team have done your home work and you are looking at multiple candidates that are all qualified. You are debating with your team and with your self about if and who would be the “right” fit for the position. Let’s further assume you’ve hired or promoted some people in the past that either didn’t work or were just complete disasters. This fact is putting extra pressure on you to really get this selection right.

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The Chemistry of Selecting People 

Selecting people is like chemistry. Electing people is like politics. Both can be explosive. But chemistry is more predictable. Think of your selecting like chemistry. In chemistry, you don’t just pour a bunch of random chemicals into a beaker and hope for the best. If you do that you will create a potential poison gas or an explosion. Rather, you select chemicals that will react well and compliment one another. This is predictable. There is an art and a science to selecting people. Get in your mind that hiring and promoting people is a selection, not an election.

The Tool: Chemistry Checklist

I have developed a quick checklist when I get down to the final decision that will help you decide if the chemistry clicks. When you get down to the end of the process, review these things to make sure you are not going to mess up the chemistry in your organization. It, literally, just takes the wrong element at the wrong time to bring instability and tension to your chemistry.  These four elements were actually from a series of conversations that I had with my brother who is a very successful senior manager of a large corporation. He and I are in different organizations, but are really both in the talent acquisition business. Those who excel in talent acquisition are good at people chemistry.

Chemistry that Clicks Checklist:

#1 – Led: (A willing follower) The first thing I am going to examine is whether or not I believe that this candidate has a willingness to be led by me, the immediate supervisor and the organization.

Ask yourself, “Will this person follow me? Does this person have a willingness to be led?” 

If a candidate comes in to exert their efficiency, expertise or knowledge, then I can expect chemistry concerns from the very beginning. A person that can be led is potentially a person that can lead. People that don’t follow don’t belong in your organization. Everyone is led by someone. In your final selection process make a determination whether or not you believe this person can be led by you. I’m not suggesting you are looking for unmotivated, uninspired people (that should have already been determined or you shouldn’t be to this point). I’m suggesting you examine the motivations of the candidates ticker. What makes them tick? What drives them?

A person that can be led by you can be fed by you. This is a key component in developing people in your organization.

#2 – Listen: (A good listener) The next element of chemistry I am looking for is to discern how good a listener this candidate is. People who are poor listeners typically are good talkers. Good talkers need to be heard. Beware of a need to be heard. You should have already determined that this person has been able to communicate their ability and you believe them. Ask them questions to asses their ability to listen.

Ask yourself, “Is this person someone I can see really listening to me?” 

Good listeners make good learners. It’s impossible to listen if you are distracted or doing all the talking. Beware of people that “don’t come up for air” when they are speaking. Basically, these people have not learned to read the person (in this case you) that they are communicating with. Poor listeners are often poor people readers. Poor listeners often have very poor emotional intelligence. Good chemistry always has a basis of good communication.

#3 – Loyalty: (A strong bonder) The longer I work with people, the more I have learned how valuable and irreplaceable loyalty really is for an organization or a relationship. Loyal people are harder and harder to come by. I think, however, there is some confusion as to what loyalty really is. To be loyal is to be faithful. This is a deeper understanding of loyalty. Loyalty is where integrity meets faithfulness. Faithful people are loyal people.

Ask yourself, “Do I see this candidate as someone who will be loyal to me and my team? Will this person stay on my team or become a team of their own?” 

In an age where commitment is at an all time low, uncommitted and unfaithful people mess your chemistry up. Why? Because disloyal people are inconsistent. Inconsistency causes those in the organization or in the team to question both the motivation and the sincerity of the individual. Inconsistency causes instability. Loyal people bring stability to the team. Loyalty is an element in a selection that will actually help bond your relationship, team or organization together. Strong bonds make for strong teams. Loyalty makes good glue in people chemistry.

#4 – Like-ability: (a good friend) This is the simplest one of all the elements. This comes from your heart to their heart. You, as a person, not the boss, not the leader, not the manager, just you, are wondering if you really like this person or not. I have found that if I am going to select people, I don’t want to have to convince myself that I like them. I don’t want to change my own chemistry to get their element to fit with my chemistry. Remember, you are in the position in your team or organization for a reason and you were there first. You are a leader for a reason. Leaders must protect the chemistry. This means, you get the first right of refusal. Sometimes, you just don’t “like” the candidate more than you like the one you just met with. This is fine. Don’t talk yourself into liking a candidate, this almost never works. If something in you doesn’t connect with something in them, then move on because you are in danger of messing up your chemistry.

Ask yourself, “Do I connect this person? Do I like this person? Will I like them more or less in the next couple of months than I do now?” 

I write this from more than 20 years experience of selecting people. Sometimes, you can’t explain it. You look at the candidate, you look at their resume and everything looks good, but you just don’t connect with them on any level or more importantly on the deepest levels. Don’t make yourself connect with them. You are a human. Most likely, if you’ve read this far in this article, you work with other humans. Not all humans like each other. Some chemicals react negatively with other chemicals, just like some people react negatively with other people. That’s okay. Don’t bring people into your sphere of influence if the chemistry doesn’t click from the beginning. Remember, in this discussion, they have already been proven to be qualified, so you aren’t trying to make an unqualified person fit into a position they aren’t qualified for.

Here’s why like-abilty is so important to you as the selector: you will be more patient, more forgiving and more understanding of the growth and development or the mistakes of a person that you like than one you don’t like. 

To like in chemistry literally means to attract, to draw together or agreeable. It’s like a good meal or a bad meal. A good meal reacts well with your body chemistry and you are relaxed and satisfied. A bad meal reacts poorly with your body chemistry and upsets your stomach.

Conclusion:

Think about your organization, your team as a chemistry lab. You have lots of elements present, but not all of them will mix well together. Your job as the professor in this lab is to match the elements well. When the chemistry in your organization or team is matched well you can expect peace, greater results and greater efficiency.

The right people for you will have a chemistry that meshes well with what is already existing (unless you are trying to change the chemistry, but that will have to be an article for another day!). The right people will be led, will listen, will be loyal and you will like them.

Get the Chemistry Right and You will Start Getting the Right Results! 

Chemistry that Clicks Checklist:

1-  will be Led – This person is a willing follower 

2- will Listen – This person is a good listener 

3- will be Loyal – This person is a faithful companion 

4- I will Like them – This person is an agreeable friend 

 

 

 

(c) 2016. Redwall Leadership Academy