The Happy Burro

(eighth in a series titled Issues Managers Face in the Workplace – originally published February 1, 2008)

Each day we start out with a full tank, an emotional and physical energy source, replenished nightly. Through our interactions each day, these resources are depleted, leaving us ’spent’ by day’s end. Same goes for our teams. One difference: as managers, we may be called upon to be a significant emotional fuel source for our employees.

One of my all-time favorite television drama series is The West Wing. Bradley Whitford portrayed Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the fictional Jed Bartlet Administration. Josh is easily the most engaging character in the series, IMHO.

I Am Not “The Guy”

On The West Wing, Josh was told by President Bartlet, “You’re not The Guy. You’re the guy the Guy relies on.” This understanding and clarity was a tremendous boost for Josh and showed just how important his work was to the President. Does your team know how important their work is to the organization?

This Is Where I Eat

Working as the top aide to the President’s Chief of Staff required a tremendous amount of courage, patience, energy, edge, enthusiasm, and execution skills. Josh was continually under an incredible amount of pressure. In one particular situation, most of the staff had been working 18 hours straight and it appeared they would have to work through the night. Many people were tired beyond exhaustion. Yet Josh seemed to have boundless energy. When asked why he was so enthused with the work ahead, he responded, “Are you kidding me? This is where I eat.” Imagine being that connected, that committed, to your work that you look at an insurmountable challenge as right where you want to be. His courage led the team through the obstacles and on to success the next day.

Let’s Make Big Plays Today

Josh was fond of walking briskly into the office each day, seemingly holding five conversations at once, with his faithful assistant, Donna Moss, at his side with phone messages, meeting requests, and many fires to put out. His morning greeting to his team? “Let’s make big plays today!” Cheering, leading, expecting, excellence. If you demonstrate and give excellence to your employees, and expect excellence in return, you will make big plays with your team as well.

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Don’t underestimate the emotional commitment and maturity it takes to lead people. This is the one skill that is constantly being honed by even the best of the best. Here are a few resources to help you with emotional intelligence and managing people:

• A book by Daniel Goleman
• Research by Cary Cherniss, PhD
• The Wikipedia view

Joe Raasch :: Feb.14.2010 :: Employee Engagement, Leadership, Performance Management :: Add a Comment Here

(originally posted June 29, 2007)

My friend Valeria Maltoni has a great article on personal branding at The Blog Herald.  She reminds us of the “The Brand Called You” article by Tom Peters from the August/September 1997 FastCompany magazine.

Valeria’s article continues by asking and framing questions about: What Makes You Different?  What’s Your Pitch? Why Is It Important? Valeria will lead you through a wonderful introspective exercise about your own brand.

Some additional questions from me:

HOW DO PEOPLE EXPERIENCE YOUR BRAND?

We may have a good idea of what our brand IS, but what about how that is received?  Example: I may see myself as incredibly creative, and learn that I am received by my team as being too ’strategic’ and not focused on enough on execution.  A few ways to learn about this perception are the 360 feedback process, working with a mentor, or asking trusted colleagues (see the We All Need More Simon Cowell post from April).

DO YOU OWN YOUR BRAND OR RENT IT?

Who controls your brand: how you represent yourself?  Do you change personal brands as often as your socks?  Do you hold a hard line and haven’t changed since high school?  Great brands grow and change over time – but are still true to their brand promise.  Example: General Electric. From “We Bring Good Things To Life” to “Imagination at Work” to “Eco-magination” – the brand promise remains faithful.

WHAT IS YOUR BRAND PROMISE?

This is the output or experience someone is guaranteed to get when they interact with you.  This could be your financial acumen, your project management skills, your marketing insights, your sense of humor.

The ability to have awareness of our personal brand, nurturing it and using it to strengthen our relationships is one of the most powerful tools in business today.

Joe Raasch :: Feb.07.2010 :: Innovation, Performance Management :: Add a Comment Here

(from August 15, 2007)

I attended a great leadership event this past Spring. One of the highlights was a conversation on leadership with Warren Bennis.

He is distinguished professor of business administration and founding chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. He has advised fours U.S. presidents and more than 150 CEOs and is author or coauthor of more than 20 books on leadership, change, and management.

Some highlights:

“What do we want from our leaders”

1. Competence (results)

2. Character (who we are; life as a career)

3. Engage (to draw into, involve; engage others in a shared meaning)

4. Culture of learning and growth

How leaders should spend their time

70% listening, 20% asking good questions, 10% summarizing and reflecting.

(notice, no time for talking!).

Does the person you report to approach leadership in this way? Do you?

A favorite quote from Warren: “Leadership is a choice, not a position.”

Remember the first time you found yourself in the position of managing others? Whether on a project, or direct reports in a company, I bet you learned a lot in a short period of time. Did you choose to take the position for the title, the money, the perks, the people, or the organizational challenges? Did you forget about the people until they showed up at your office door, seeking your guidance?

Leadership done right means choosing it as a profession, not a job.  Managing is a job.  Leadership is a vocation.

Joe Raasch :: Jan.31.2010 :: Leadership, Performance Management :: Add a Comment Here