Recently, a client said to me, “It’s lonely at the top.” This person was feeling the weight of making major decisions that affect their company, their customers, employees, and shareholders. These are decisions that often must be made without clear or complete information; stakeholders might criticize them; and the impact may not be understood for months or years to come. (more…)
I’ve become a recent fan of playing the New York Times’ daily puzzles online, and one of my favorites is Connections. Sixteen words are provided, and the goal is to form four groups of four words that are in some way connected. You have to figure out what the connection is, and you get four mistakes, after which the game ends and the correct answers pop up. For example, on the day that I’m writing this, four connected words are bar, dinner, liberty, and tinker. They’re all “words before ‘bell’”.
When I first started playing, I would find two or three words that appeared to be obviously connected. But finding the last one or two for a group proved elusive. My initial thoughts about the connections were generally wrong. Then, I would look up definitions to refresh my memory on how they were used. I’d think about informal uses of words, and different ways of how they might be linked. The good news is, once I got the first three groups, the last one was obvious (there were only four words left!), even if I didn’t understand why they were connected. (more…)
Many years ago, when I was newly appointed as the leader of a large team, I met with them to introduce myself and to learn more about them. And I shared an analogy that continues to ring true in my mind today; that we’re an orchestra and I was their conductor.
The conductor’s role is to have a finely tuned ear to distinguish how well the orchestra is performing, and if necessary, identify the steps needed to perform at the level expected to deliver a masterpiece. Similarly, the leader’s role is to distinguish how well the team is performing, and to provide coaching and guidance to reach their goals and objectives. (more…)
This ancient quote, attributed to Aristotle, speaks to the importance of synergy between components of a system. As important as the heart, liver, kidneys, and other physical organs are, they only come to life when they’re properly connected in the context of a living human body. And a weak or failing organ similarly has a negative impact on the entire system. Each organ or element must function at a certain level to maximize a person’s health.
The same is true with winning teams. With Super Bowl LVIII now behind us in the USA (congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs!), it should be obvious that winning, or even making it to the playoffs, wasn’t just about the individual ability of each team member. They had to learn to play together, to anticipate each other’s moves, complement each other’s strengths, and make decisions to benefit the team. They also needed to “like” or at least respect each other. They needed to spend time together off the field, learning more about each other personally and their individual motivations. (more…)
One of the many shifts that resulted from the pandemic was normalization of people seeking therapy. The sudden and awkward adjustments to daily life increased the number of people admitting their need for help, and sharing with others that they were doing it. Companies expanded their employee assistance program benefits to include better options for counseling services and more employees took advantage of this. Everyone became more attentive to the need for improving emotional health and interpersonal relationships, connecting with purpose, and learning to invest in their personal growth.
Just as people work on their individual emotional health, self-awareness and relationships with others, leaders are increasing the focus on team health. Team health includes ensuring cohesive relationships between the members of the team; talking not only about strategy and execution, but also about how those discussions take place, and paying attention to team strengths and developmental needs. (more…)
I recently facilitated an end of year meeting with one of my clients and allocated time for each person to share what they appreciated about every one of their colleagues. We were meeting virtually, and each person was invited to put their thoughts in a group chat, so that the recipient could go back to it later and reread it. As the facilitator, this was about them, not me, so I wasn’t even thinking about asking for their comments about me.
But just before we ended the meeting, someone said, “What about Priscilla?” Then they all began to type in their words of affirmation for me. I must admit that when I read it, I got a little emotional. I didn’t realize the impact that my consulting had on them over the past two years. It also motivated me to dig deeper, continue growing personally and pour into the leaders and organizations that I’m honored to serve. It energized me, tapped into my strengths, and reinforced where I can add value. (more…)
There’s an old parable about a man who planted seed.
He tossed some of the seed on rocky ground. Little plants peeped out of the ground, but because there wasn’t much soil, they died away without much growth.
He tossed other seed on the ground that was covered with thorns. But the seed couldn’t settle into any dirt because the thorns choked them out.
He then tossed some seed on ground that was hardened because it was a pathway. This seed simply laid on top of the hard ground, which made it easy for the birds to come and feast on.
Finally, the man tossed some seed on good soil that was soft, watered, and full of nutrients needed for growth. The seed sprouted and produced a sun-kissed harvest. Some of it was thirty, sixty and one hundred times greater than what was planted!
The moral of the story? It’s important to establish the right environment for growth. (more…)
“The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.”
Peter F. Drucker, management consultant
This is a profound quote that made me think of another difference between leaders of the past and leaders of the future.
The leader of the past was a person who had a hierarchical relationship with their team. The leader of the future will be a person who has a warm and meaningful relationship with their team. (more…)
Over the past two years we’ve been hearing a lot about The Great Resignation, or as some would call it, The Great Reassessment. This is a trend that reflects the record number of people who are switching jobs, revaluating their work roles, and reprioritizing their lives. A recent Harris Poll in partnership with USA Today found that:
A skyscraper in lower Manhattan, New York City is reportedly leaning three inches to the north. The 58 story, 670-foot tower, known as One Seaport is only partially built. And in 2019, the tower’s contractor sued the developer alleging they allowed it to be built on a substandard foundation. The developer in turn alleged that the lawsuit was a distraction based on the contractor’s inability to complete the structure. You can imagine how the accusations are flowing from there. And the misalignment of the structure is compromising the installation of the building’s glass exterior. (more…)