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Practice the Fundamentals

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Character, Execution, Vision. No Comments on Practice the Fundamentals

I was once asked: What’s the biggest insight you’ve had throughout your career regarding leadership?

Wow! How would you answer that question?

I really do like the question. It does what most hard-working questions do – it makes you think. Also, it requires a synthesis of countless moments in time, thousands of ideas, and hundreds of possible answers. It’s the kind of question I like to ask others.

As I think about my answer to the question, my mind races through possible answers. I’m thankful to have been exposed to many great leaders who’ve been willing to share their wisdom with me and the world.

Here’s the answer I gave during the interview:

My biggest personal insight over my career regarding leadership is…
Great Leaders SERVE.

I know this idea is counterintuitive and countercultural. It always has been. To some, the idea that a leader should serve seems outlandish.

But think about electricity – energy flowing through wires to light our homes and power our appliances seemed far-fetched just over 100 years ago. Today, it is electricity that has modernized our world.

Just because an idea seems crazy at face value, that has no bearing on its validity. Servant leadership is a classic example. For me, to serve is at the heart of what enables a leader to become great.

This idea applies at two levels:

  • First is the issue of motivation – Why do you lead? Is it for you or for others? The best leaders think others first. It is a mark of their character. It is who they are or who they are becoming.
  • Second, SERVE represents the strategic practices of great leaders. I’ve written about it in the book I coauthored with Ken Blanchard called The Secret.

Great leaders SERVE when they…

See the Future

Engage and Develop Others

Reinvent Continuously

Value Results and Relationships

Embody the Values

To serve is a tall order for any leader. It is about why we lead, how we lead, how we think, and how we see our role in the world. It is a high bar to shoot for every day. To do anything less creates an inferior form of leadership. Great Leaders SERVE!

 

looking up at a red clock hanging on the right side of a wall with a white ceiling in the background looking up at a red clock hanging on the right side of a wall with a white ceiling in the background

Six Strategies for Impossible Deadlines

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Execution, Personal Effectiveness. No Comments on Six Strategies for Impossible Deadlines

When is the last time you faced an “impossible” deadline? For me, it seems like I’ve had several in recent years. I’ve been thinking about this so much, I decided to share my thought process and the strategies I’ve used to maintain focus and keep moving.

  • Reframe the problem. How many truly impossible deadlines have you ever faced? For me, I’ve had some sizable deadlines, but the truth is that few were impossible. Assuming the mindset, “This is impossible,” doesn’t help. It hurts. Rather, reframe the situation more accurately by saying, “This is extremely challenging.”
  • Rethink your approach. Based on the challenge you face, you may not be able to apply your traditional work methods. For decades, it was my practice to not work on Sunday; nor did I typically ask my staff to do so. However, I have faced challenges in the past when we did have to work on Sunday. Drastic situations often require non-traditional solutions.
  • Rely on others to help. Getting others involved is one of the primary strategies I use when things get crazy. Sometimes you can seek help from other members of your team, sometimes you can find others in your organization who will be willing to help, and you can almost always find vendors and contractors who can add needed manpower to meet challenging deadlines.
  • Re-prioritize your work. Everything can’t be urgent. If it is, you need to consider a different line of work. When big deadlines are on the horizon, some work will probably need to be pushed to make space for the most pressing work.
  • Renegotiate the deliverable. If you do all you can and still find yourself unable to deliver what is expected when it is due, you can strike a deal. Sometimes, people ask for more than they really need. A simple conversation can sometimes simplify or reduce what is needed. Finally, you can sometimes negotiate stages or phases for a deadline to be met.
  • Root out the real issue. If you consistently have what you perceive to be “impossible” deadlines, ask yourself: Why? Is the problem a cultural flaw in your organization? Is the issue your own planning? Are you struggling with self-leadership issues? Are you understaffed? Are you overly ambitious? Challenging deadlines are not the end of the world; we all encounter them. But to constantly be faced with these situations is not healthy for an individual or a culture. If you find yourself in this situation, you may be facing a leadership opportunity to solve a bigger problem than the deadline you are chasing.

Here’s my final thought: Don’t become discouraged. You know, the work we do as leaders is often hard – sometimes really hard! Help your team manage challenging and “impossible” deadlines – just don’t ever let them stop doing challenging work. What you do matters!

 

a group of men and women sitting around a table working on their computers

5 Tips to Help Your Team Be More Creative

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Creative Thinking, Execution, Teams. No Comments on 5 Tips to Help Your Team Be More Creative

In today’s challenging economic times, creative thinking is more valuable than ever. Not creative for creativity’s sake – creativity to solve real business problems. Many of the ideas of the past are no longer relevant. As a seasoned leader once shared with me, “The half-life of ideas is decreasing rapidly.” So what’s our response?

We need more and better ideas. The good news: Creating new, value-added ideas is what teams do best. However, creativity in a team environment is not automatic. There are some things that leaders can do to increase the creative output of their team. Here are a few ideas to get you started…

Expect Your Team to Be Creative – When you establish the role of your team, be sure to highlight the expectation that the team will create fresh, new solutions to the problems you face.

Teach Them How to Be Creative – The skills of creativity can be learned. To learn them, they must be taught. Schedule time to conduct training for your team. This can take many forms. It can be anything from a brief micro-session on effective brainstorming (before your next brainstorming session) to multi-day training sessions and everything in between. The point is simple – train your team on the skills of creativity.

Give Them Opportunities to Practice – Creative thinking and problem solving are skills – just like golf, tennis, or a foreign language. Like any skill, you get better with practice. Look for opportunities for your team to practice the skills you’ve learned. Practice builds competence and competence builds confidence.

Celebrate Creativity When You See It – The actions that you reward will be repeated. That’s human nature. That’s one reason you need to recognize not just the successes but the effort as well. Not every creative endeavor will be successful. That’s normal. If you’ve been operating in a culture in which creativity has not been valued, recognizing creative effort will be even more critical. People are paying attention. They want to know if it’s really safe to voice new ideas.

You, the Leader Must Set the Pace – People always watch the leader – whether we want them to or not. Do your people see you embracing creative ideas? Do they see you engaged in the process of creating new ideas? You can accelerate the adoption of creative thinking as a skill if you personally get in the game. If you don’t, you’ll need to temper your expectations of groundbreaking new ideas from your team.

Teams are probably at their best when they’re engaged in the creative process. They are leveraging their collective wisdom and experience to create what previously did not exist. One of the most satisfying and productive things leaders can do is create the conditions to harness this creative potential. Start today and get ready to be amazed at what your team will do!

 

a man writing on a display board filled with sticky notes a man writing on a display board filled with sticky notes

Why Project Teams Fail

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Execution, Performance, Teams. No Comments on Why Project Teams Fail

I’ve been studying and participating on projects my entire career. I believe there is a really short list of reasons so many of these teams fail. Sometimes it’s a leadership issue on the team, sometimes it’s a resource question and in some situations, the team will fail because of outside factors beyond their control. But there is one reason that towers above all the others…

The absence of clarity is most often the culprit – clarity around issues of deliverables, boundaries, timing and more. Many teams begin with these details missing or misunderstood. The good news for leaders – this is completely avoidable. The answer to this problem is a team charter – a simple document in which you outline several critical elements.

Project teams are different; therefore, I prefer to offer flexibility and customization in the creation of a charter. However, the following elements could be considered standard…

Purpose – Why does this team exist? Is it to solve a problem? To make a recommendation? To create a product? To reinvent a process? There should be no mystery in the purpose of a team.

Deliverables – If a team’s purpose is to make a recommendation on regional offices, the deliverables provide the specifics. The deliverables might include items such as a rollout plan, a staffing plan, a budget, measures of success, and more. Deliverables provide the specifics that are often not included in a purpose statement.

Key Milestones – When is the work to be completed? Are there target dates that need to be met (e.g., first draft, prototype, etc.)? Are there approvals needed along the way? If so, when and by whom?

Design Principles – Are there factors that must be incorporated into the final output? Examples include: All prototypes will be tested in the field for 6 months before full deployment; or, Accelerated learning techniques will be incorporated in all classroom sessions; or, All training sessions will be delivered by senior leaders from our organization. Any decision which has already been made that affects the work of this team should be stated here.

Boundaries – These can be as unique and diverse as you can imagine. What are the lines that cannot be crossed? As an example: If you’re designing a training event, some boundaries might be that participation is voluntary, or attendees will pay for the training, or no training can take place in the 4th quarter of the year.

Budget – How much money has been allocated to this project? Is this the annual budget or the TOTAL budget? (This will matter if the project will be executed over more than one calendar year.) Does the budget cover design and delivery, or just design?

Team Membership – Who is on the team? If the members have assigned roles, this is a good place to note that as well. Specifically, it is helpful to call out the team leader or facilitator.

Sponsor – Which senior leader has sanctioned the work of this team? I have seen examples with multiple names here – I prefer one name. Who has the team’s back and has approved this charter?

If you give a new team this information, you’ll be amazed at how often they’ll hit the mark.

 

a yellow post with a red and white bar blocking the entrance to an underground car parking area a yellow post with a red and white bar blocking the entrance to an underground car parking area

The Fine Art of Facilitation

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Execution, Personal Effectiveness, Teams. No Comments on The Fine Art of Facilitation

Have you been in a great meeting recently? I know for some of you, that may sound like an impossibility. My fear is that many of us can’t remember the last time we went to a great meeting. One reason we attend so many low-impact meetings is absence of a skilled facilitator.

Although many elements must come together to create a successful meeting – none are more important than a good facilitator. Being a great facilitator is not hard to do if you clearly understand the role.

Have you ever thought about what the word ‘facilitator’ actually means? The origin of the word reveals an individual who removes barriers for others. Let’s explore how that might manifest itself in the context of a meeting.

A facilitator should both anticipate barriers in advance and remove them in real time during the meeting. Following are examples of both.

Before the Meeting…

It would be a barrier if:

  • the right people weren’t invited. A good facilitator will invite them.
  • there were no agenda distributed in advance. You can remove that obstacle by ensuring one goes out before the meeting.
  • the wrong items were on the agenda. A skilled facilitator does the necessary pre-work to determine the highest priority items and places them on the agenda.
  • you didn’t have a place to meet. Secure a venue and publish the location.
  • you didn’t have the needed technology to conduct the meeting – even if the “technology” is nothing more than a flip chart. Determine in advance what’s needed.
  • there were no meeting norms. The best facilitators help groups establish these.

By taking the above actions, and others like them, you are preemptively removing barriers and improving your odds of having a productive meeting.

During the meeting…

It would be a barrier if:

  • members of the group were not participating. You can ask individuals for their thoughts during the meeting.
  • the conversation turned ugly. You can stop the dialogue and ask people to repeat their understanding of the other person’s point-of-view.
  • the group were ignoring your meeting norms. A facilitator will reference and enforce these norms.
  • someone were dominating the conversation. You can ask him or her to hold their next thought and allow others to comment.
  • there were no process for solving problems. The facilitator should be skilled in several approaches and models.
  • no one were capturing action items. Be sure someone is.
  • no one were keeping track of the time. The facilitator may choose to do this or assign someone else to watch the clock.
  • the conversation were allowed to wander off the agenda. You can redirect by capturing “Other Issues” for future meetings or outside conversations.

Although this is a partial list, I think you get the idea. A great facilitator helps make meetings productive! Without this crucial role, most meetings flounder.

The next time you find yourself in a great meeting, be sure to thank the facilitator.

What barriers have you experienced as a facilitator? How did you overcome them? I’d love to hear from you on this. You can leave your comments below.

 

A woman stands in front of a group of coworkers seated around a table, making a presentation with a chart of the wall beside her. A woman stands in front of a group of coworkers seated around a table, making a presentation with a chart of the wall beside her.

One Tool Every Leader Needs

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Engagement, Execution, Performance. No Comments on One Tool Every Leader Needs

How do you keep score as a leader? What key metrics ultimately determine whether you are winning or not? Several years ago, my coach asked me questions like these and others. I had to confess, I wasn’t sure I had good answers for him. His conclusion was: What key numbers does your leader hold you accountable to achieve?

I believe every leader needs a scorecard. I would take that a step further and say every team and every organization needs one, too. A scorecard is a wonderful, multi-faceted tool. Think of it as a Swiss Army Knife for a leader. With a well-conceived scorecard, a leader can do the following:

  • Create focus – The world most of us find ourselves leading in is growing in complexity. This trend is not likely to subside. We are bombarded by facts, figures, data, analysis, and opinion. When you, as a leader, establish a scorecard, you are not discounting other metrics. Rather, you are establishing priority. You are declaring what a win looks like. You are telling everyone what is most important.
  • Monitor progress – A scorecard is like a dashboard on a car. You have critical gauges constantly being monitored. You can watch your fuel level, your oil pressure, your speed, and your mileage. You can even chart your course using a GPS. A scorecard should include critical metrics to allow you to know how you are progressing on your journey.
  • Foster accountability – In most organizations, people are assigned accountability for specific goals and the metrics that inform them. In some cases, an entire organization can be accountable for a set of metrics.
  • Evaluate effectiveness – Is your work making a difference? Is the plan you devised to improve your performance actually working? How will you know if you don’t measure outcomes? A scorecard is a great tool to determine if you need to make adjustments to the play you called. Imagine a football team whose scorecard (scoreboard) indicates they are behind at halftime. This information informs the game plan for the second half. If they are winning by 3 touchdowns, they will likely stay the course!
  • Celebrate progress – Here’s the blinding flash of the obvious for today: Work is hard. That’s just one reason leaders look for legitimate reasons to celebrate. An uptick on key metrics is a wonderful opportunity to stop and say, “Thanks for your extra efforts! Look, what we are doing is working – keep it up.” Without data, without an agreed upon set of metrics, you miss a golden opportunity to acknowledge the people who make it all possible.
  • Declare victory – I love goals, big and small alike. Goals bring out the best in most people. If the goals are relevant, known, pursued with purpose, and meaningful, people will go to great lengths to accomplish them. There is something innately powerful about striving and achieving. Include goals on your scorecard and watch people move towards them. Including goals on your scorecard allows you to declare victory when you cross the finish line–another reason to celebrate.

 

Opposing football teams lined up on the football field, getting ready to start a play. Opposing football teams lined up on the football field, getting ready to start a play.

Focus on Execution

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Culture, Execution, Organization. No Comments on Focus on Execution

When conducting the research for my book, Chess Not Checkers, one of the truths that emerged almost immediately was the widely known fact: High Performance Organizations Excel at Execution.

Few leaders have ever understood the power of execution as much as Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. In Lombardi’s own words, “Every football team eventually arrives at a ‘Number 1’ play, a ‘bread and butter’ play. It is the play that the team knows it must make go, and the one its opponents know they must stop.” For Lombardi’s Packers, their play was the power sweep. “We’re going to create a seal here, and a seal here, and run the ball in the alley.”

Lombardi believed football was more about the fundamentals of blocking and tackling than about elaborate schemes and strategies. The Packers’ resolve to master the simplicity of the sweep helped them win five World Championships in seven years.

High Performance Organizations Excel at Execution

One of the main reasons High Performance Organizations are successful is they Excel at Execution. Like a great football team, they understand the power of blocking and tackling … doing the critical things extremely well.

Think about some of the most recognizable organizations in the world. Disney has a great reputation for their strong values. But if the rides didn’t work, the parks weren’t clean, and the crewmembers were surly, people would care very little about their values. Likewise, if the packages didn’t show up the next day, FedEx would be in trouble. Clearly, their ability to execute and deliver sets them apart from the competition.

When it comes to execution, there are three best practices High Performance Organizations embrace:

  1. They Master the Fundamentals. They challenge people at all levels to work on the little things, searching for continuous improvement.
  2. They Share the Score. Like a scoreboard in a stadium, great leaders keep the metrics in front of their team members at all times. They are never fuzzy about what they are trying to accomplish.
  3. Great organizations Raise the Bar. They are continually pushing for a higher level of performance, never satisfied with survival.

Is your organization focused on the fundamentals? Does every team member know how you are keeping score? Have you established a culture that leads to continuous improvement? If the answer to any of those questions is “No,” you will eventually have an execution problem.

A word of warning … Occasionally, leaders are tempted to focus only on execution while ignoring leadership, alignment, and matters of the heart. Such a mindset is flawed. A gymnast on a balance beam cannot focus only on the dismount, knowing the entire routine is what creates energy and momentum to enable her to stick the landing. But beware, the judges always pay special attention to the dismount — and so do your customers. Your organization will ultimately be judged on your ability to execute.

Yes, greatness is available to you and your organization. It hinges on a decision – the decision to Excel at Execution!

 

Man in silhouette looking up at the night sky with lots of stars and a rainbow of colors Man in silhouette looking up at the night sky with lots of stars and a rainbow of colors

What’s Big in Your World?

Written by Mark Miller on . Posted in Development, Execution, Personal Effectiveness. No Comments on What’s Big in Your World?

What are you working on that you’re excited about? Is it a project at work? Something you’re doing at home? Maybe it’s neither. Perhaps you are involved with a non-profit organization which is attempting to make a difference in the world. Regardless of the arena, I hope you’re working on something big!

Why would I wish that for you? Three reasons:

Big projects stretch us – If the project is big enough, it will stretch our thinking, our creativity, our patience, and our capacity. Also, the bigger the project, the greater the opportunity for learning. And because leaders are learners, we need big projects in our lives. Oliver Wendell Holmes said it like this:

“A mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”

Big projects often make a big difference – You and I love to make a difference. That’s one of the primary motivations for us to lead. Therefore, when given a choice between making a small impact and a big one, I’m guessing you usually choose the latter. There seems to be a direct correlation between the size of a project and its potential for impact. I hope you’re working on a BIG project.

Big projects fight off complacency and stagnation – Nothing stirs us as leaders as much as a challenge. Big challenges are often found lurking in big projects. If you’ve been successful as a leader and your routine is starting to dull your senses, you may need to find a big project to shake things up in your world. If you choose wisely, you’ll find new opportunities and big challenges to be a wonderful antidote for the mundane.

How do you make a big project successful? Here are four suggestions to consider:

  1. Do your homework – On most projects, big or small, you don’t have to start from scratch. Chances are good someone has successfully accomplished what you’re about to undertake. Learn from them.
  2. Schedule the work – The biggest hurdle I’ve had to overcome in my writing is the time. Interestingly enough, the solution for my books has been to schedule the time. Now, putting the days on the calendar to write is part of the process. I know that if I don’t, I won’t write. Have you scheduled time to tackle your big project?
  3. Create deadlines – Closely related to the scheduling idea, deadlines can be magical. For some, they create stress. However, there is such a thing as good stress. If deadlines create focus, energy, and momentum, you should set some related to your big project. Often it is a deadline that can break the grip of inertia that is keeping you imprisoned by inactivity.
  4. Seek help – I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m really not interested in projects I can complete by myself. I want to do more and accomplish more. I want to enlist others with complementary talents and gifts, and together accomplish big things. If the project you’re considering is truly a big one, you’ll need help to make it a reality.

If you don’t have anything big going on right now, why not sit down and brainstorm some ideas. Here’s a question to help jump start your thinking…

If you knew you couldn’t fail, what big project would you undertake in the next year?