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BlogTrust Me

Being Humble is Being Down to Earth

by Ron Potter

 

It doesn’t seem to make much sense, but truly great leaders are humble.

The problem comes with how the word is normally used: Humble is thought to mean shy, retiring, unobtrusive, quiet, unassuming. Being humble can seem weak or, horrors, even borrrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnngggggg.

What does it really mean to embrace humility?

Humility is derived from the Latin word humus, meaning “ground.” One way to describe truly humble leaders is that they have their feet on the ground.

Image Source: Fungirlslim, Creative Commons

Image Source: Fungirlslim, Creative Commons

Imagine for a moment a farmer in his field, sitting tall on his tractor, a wake of freshly turned earth foaming off the blade of his plow. He is sunburned. His arms are as sturdy as fence posts. He’s a man of the humus—the earth. You could call him humble. Does this image suggest a lack of competence or strength? Do you sense it would be easy to take advantage of him? No, this image is one of strength and resilience. Think velvet-covered steel.

Humility is the first pillar of a leader whom others will trust.

A humble person sticks to the basics and is not prone to exaggeration. How much better off would we be today if the leaders of some of our fallen corporate behemoths had kept their heads out of the ozone and their feet on the ground?

Perhaps the most significant quality of humble leaders is their steady, clear-eyed perception of truth. A proud leader is prone to spreading and believing exaggerations—from little white lies to whopping falsehoods. Which high-powered modern leaders, intent on vanquishing foes and surmounting tall challenges, ever want to be known as humble? Not many—until, of course, they find out that humility is a critical first step on the path that leads to leadership success.

How have you defined humility in the past? Has an incorrect definition caused you to avoid humility in your leadership style?

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BlogMyers-BriggsUsing MBTI to Great Advantage

Using MBTI to Great Advantage – Energizing

by Ron Potter

Using MBTI to Great Advantage is a blog series in which I’ll do an overview of each of the four Myers-Briggs (MBTI) functions and then in subsequent blogs will dig into each one in more depth with some practical applications for creating better dynamics and better decisions making. Click here to read the Series Introduction.

Energizing Overview: Extroversion vs IntroversionMBTI series header

Unfortunately the two words associated with this function carry a lot of preconceived baggage. We think of the outgoing, gregarious, easy to talk with extroverted type or the shy, quite, retiring introverted type. And while we may see some of those characteristics in this function, that’s not what is getting measured here.

This is your “energizing” function. When you need to get creative, solve a problem, grapple with an issue, deal with alternatives, how do you get energized around the solution?

  • Extraverts need to talk. While talking our energy seems to grow, ideas start falling into place, internal decisions get made and finally, right during the conversation our fingers snap and our brain says “That’s it. I’ve got it.” The extroverted conversation energized us.
  • Introverts on the other hand need to reflect. They may do just as much talking with colleagues and others to gather as much input as possible and will likely do a lot more reading and studying but at some point, they just need to let all of that information come together in their head as their introverted thoughts process all that they’ve learned and put it into a structure that makes sense to them. At that moment they express an inward (and sometime outward) smile and their brain says “That’s it. I’ve got it.”

Greatest confusion and misunderstanding.
Because of how these two functions work so differently, it has been my observation that this function is at the root of most miscommunication and misunderstanding between team members and one of the biggest causes of wasted effort in team meetings. I’ll be giving you a lot of examples and solutions for making this function work well for you and the team in future blogs.

Don’t assume you know.
One last thought on the Energizing function. Because we think we know what (or who) an extravert and introvert is, we arm-chair psychologists make the most mistakes with this function. I have worked with talkative introverts and quiet extraverts. Do Not make assumptions on this function. You’ll often be wrong and create more misunderstanding and confusion. I’ll repeat the following statement many times because it’s so important: Don’t try to figure out if a person has an extroverted or introverted preference, just learn to balance your process so that both types flourish and contribute to the dialogue and decision making.

Remember, the three rules for using this function effectively:
1. Balance
2. Balance
3. Balance

Learn to process team dynamics in a balanced way and learn to balance your own preferences. You’ll be seen as a better leader and your teams will be identified as high-performance teams.

Share with us some of your experiences with this function both from a personal understanding or a team dynamic impact.

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BlogLeadership

Email Overload

by Ron Potter

Scott Adams, the creator of the cartoon, Dilbert recently said on CNBC’s Squawk Box,

“I’m pretty sure [email] has destroyed my soul.”

He described email as a job in itself, which no longer enhances productivity. Although still useful and productive in many ways, Scott’s point is all too obviously valid.

But here’s a trick that will quickly eliminate a substantial portion of email overload and will improve your team at the same time.

You’ve gotten to be a leader because you’ve been good at what you do. You’re a problem solver. You’re efficient. You see the issues clearly. You’ve been the go-to person. You’re the leader.

So when that email comes in, what’s your first instinct? Solve the problem! Give the answer! Clarify the issue! Do what you’ve always done to be successful! But none of that is leading. All of that is doing. You need to lead!

Image Source: BuzzFarmer, Creative Commons

Image Source: BuzzFarmer, Creative Commons

So here’s the trick that will eliminate a large percentage of email very quickly. Your first reply should be, “Why are you sending me this email?” You’ll quickly see that many emails are sent to you because people don’t want to be accountable for their actions. And they’ve discovered if they send you an email, you quickly solve the problem; Clarify the issue; direct the resources; etc.: instant solution. Problem solved. They don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting. If things go wrong, they have the email showing that you took the action. And at review time, they claim credit for the successful completion of projects.

Your first reaction to any email is to ask yourself (and them) why am I receiving this email? If you simply solve the problem by answering the question, you’ve accepted the accountability. You’ve “lost your soul” to email, as Scott says, and your people have not developed because they’re not accepting accountability. You’re a doer, not a leader.

How have you used (or stopped using) email to develop people or increase productivity? Or if you just want to vent about email, send us a comment.

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BlogFavoredTrust Me

Favored Are Those Not Full of Themselves

by Ron Potter

In a humble state, you learn better. I can’t find anything else very exciting about humility, but at least there’s that.
—John Dooner, Chairman and CEO of Interpublic, as quoted in Fast Company magazine, November 2001

The pathway to greatness as a leader begins, ironically, with a step down. We have seen this over and over. It’s not the loud, take-control, arrogant, hotshot “world beaters” who excel as leaders over the long term. No, the really great ones don’t draw that much attention to themselves. They are, well, humble.

Image Credit: S@Z, Creative Commons

Image Credit: S@Z, Creative Commons

To many people, humility seems like a vice, weakness, or disease to avoid at all costs. Isn’t a humble person a wimp or, worse, a cringing and despicable coward? Won’t a humble leader be the object of contempt and abuse, the kind of person who gets trampled by all the aggressive ladder climbers in an organization?

This perception may have seemed accurate in the past, but not any longer. Jim Collins, author of the business book megaseller Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t, has this to say:

Level 5 leaders [individuals who blend extreme personal humility with intense professional will] channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious—but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.

Sounds a lot like humility, doesn’t it?

Humility requires leaders to shed all their prejudices and biases. Humility requires you as a leader to examine who you are and what you have become. Humility requires a completely new way to evaluate people (and yourself). Just because individuals have made it to a higher position on the corporate ladder does not make them any smarter, any more correct in their decisions, or any more valuable than others within an organization. True humility leads to openness, teachability, and flexibility.

Much of the business world still believes that the take-charge, proud hero-leader is the answer to every company’s prayers for a robust bottom line. This thinking may have made sense at one time, but no longer, as some of the world’s largest companies have stumbled in shame under leadership styles that will never be described as humble.

So, can’t an aggressive leader be effective? Of course. However, studies show when an aggressive leader (one lacking in humility) tries to force his or her own ideas on others, the rate of success is not as high as when the leader is open to new ideas and willing to listen, bend, change, and seek commitment from his or her people.

Pride focuses the attention of leaders onto themselves; humility focuses the attention of leaders onto others. The proud leader wants success that brings him perks. The humble leader wants success that brings enduring health to others and the organization. Which leader would you want to work for? Which one would you trust?

Humble leaders may not lead cheers for themselves, but neither are they retiring and shy people. These men and women stand firmly for their core beliefs and values. When you watch them work, their performance is graceful and smooth. They are a joy to talk to because they give no indication that they are an ounce more important than you are. Oh, and one more critical detail: These humble leaders produce incredible results.

Of course, there is more to being a trusted leader than having a humble attitude. There’s a bad-news/good-news aspect to the quality of humility. The bad news is that, to be honest, I have encountered only a few truly humble leaders. If they were an animal species, they would definitely be on the endangered list. The good news is that, if you will learn how to humble yourself, the upside for you and your organization will be substantial. There isn’t that much competition.

The path to greatness begins with a step down to humility.

I’m sure you have worked for both type of leaders. Tell us how you react to each in terms of your trust and your productivity/engagement.

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BlogLeadership

I Am Angry

by Ron Potter

I recently suffered a minor heart attack during a weekend golf outing with my buddies. On my first day home my wife, daughter and I were taking an evening walk in the woods. My daughter asked me what I was feeling. Notice she didn’t ask “how” I was feeling. [future blog post?] The word that came out of my mouth was “angry”. That surprised me. I wasn’t necessarily feeling angry but when she asked what I was feeling the honest answer was angry.

It immediately reminded me of the sequence that Elisabeth Kübler-Ross taught us years ago about five stages of grief. I’ve used this sequence many times with my clients to help them understand that the stages are very natural and will happen every time we receive impactful feedback. The stages are:

  • Denial/Shock
  • Anger/Emotion
  • Bargaining
  • Depression
  • Acceptance

So if I was experiencing the anger stage, that means I must have gone through the Denial/Shock stage. As I thought back it became very clear to me that as I was standing over a six foot putt for birdie on the 18th hole and experiencing chest pain I was going through the denial stage.

Image Source: RedTail Panther, Creative Commons

Image Source: RedTail Panther, Creative Commons

“I’m sure I’m just winded from the long walk up to the elevated green.”

“Actually it’s pretty hot out here, I’m probably just overheated.”

“As soon as we finish I’ll be able to get a cool drink, sit down for a while and it will all go away.”

All complete denial thoughts. I left my birdie putt a few inches short. Of course I later blamed that on my heart attack. All a natural part of the anger/emotion stage.

What’s interesting to me is that knowing the stages of grief instantly makes them easier to deal with and work through. I know that I’m yet to face the bargaining, depression and acceptance stages but it’s critically important that I eventually get to the acceptance stage because only then will I be able to take appropriate actions. The sooner I can work through the stages in a healthy way the sooner I can take actions toward a better future.

As a leader, you and your team are constantly dealing with feedback about performance both good and bad. Your job is to help your team and yourself get to the stage of positive, productive action after receiving the feedback. Knowing the stages of grief and what we will be feeling during each stage is the best way to move through the stages quickly and constructively. If you or your team reaches a point of arrested development, stuck in a particular stage, you’ll never get to the action step that comes after acceptance.

Good leaders know the stages and help their teams get to acceptance quickly. People never remember what the feedback was; they will always remember how you reacted to it.

What stage is the hardest for you or your team to get through?
What have you learned that helps you through your most difficult stage?

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BlogMyers-BriggsUsing MBTI to Great Advantage

Using MBTI to Great Advantage – Four Functions, Three Rules

by Ron Potter

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) structure is made up of four pairs of functions. Together they combine for a possible 16 different preference types. Notice that I use the word “preference.” These functions have nothing to do with skill or ability, they are simply different preferences for dealing with the world around us.

Experience Preference. Let’s experience a preference in real time. Take a writing instrument and a piece of paper and sign your name to it. I know, I know, I never actually do this either when a book or blog site asks me to do it but I guarantee you will understand it better if you experience it instead of just imagining it. So pick up that pen and sign your name. Thanks.

Photo Credit: Lucas, Creative Commons

Photo Credit: Lucas, Creative Commons

Now, put you pen in the opposite hand and sign your name again. When I do this in a team of people the room immediately fills with nervous laughter and chuckles. It can be embarrassing.
When I ask people to describe the experience of that first signature I’ll hear words like:

  • Easy
  • Comfortable
  • Natural
  • Without thinking

When I then ask them to describe the second experience (often after waiting quite a while for them to complete the task) they will use words like:

  • Difficult
  • Awkward
  • It took longer
  • I had to think through almost every letter

This is an example of your personal preference at work. Whether right handed or left, when you’re working from your preference it’s easy, comfortable, and natural and you do it without thinking. Let me suggest right here that if you’re trying to make a decision, maybe you shouldn’t do it “without thinking!” When we force ourselves (individually and collectively) to use our non-preference methods, we’re actually forcing ourselves to think more.

MBTI series headerThe best teams and leaders. Over my consulting career I have observed many teams and leaders improve their effectiveness by learning to balance their MBTI preferences. The most effective teams are the ones that, either naturally or through process balance their preference diversities and use that balance for better decision making and corporate impact. Also, the best leaders I have ever worked with seem to have no strong preferences when it comes to working with their people in spite of the fact that they and I know that they possess very strong personal preferences. Great teams and leaders have learned to balance their natural preferences.

Over the next several blogs we’ll first do an overview of each of the functions and then in subsequent blogs I’ll dig into each one in more depth with some practical applications for creating better dynamics and better decisions making.

So the Four Functions are:
1. Energizing
2. Perceiving
3. Deciding
4. Work Life

And the Three Rules are:
1. Balance
2. Balance
3. Balance

With the proper use of these four functions and three rules you’ll build better teams and become a better leader.

Many of you have shared this learning with me in numerous MBTI sessions. Share with us some of your “ah ha” moments or deeper understanding that have helped you become better leaders and team members.

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BlogTrust Me

What’s Trust Got to Do With It?

by Ron Potter

Snoopy, Charlie Brown’s irrepressible dog, once lamented,

“It’s not easy being head beagle.”

And in the wake of recent moral meltdowns at both high and low levels of corporate America, Snoopy’s insight may be more on target now than ever before.

For those who still aspire to lead others well, however, the current leadership climate presents a great opportunity—especially for those who earnestly want to lead right. As never before—in all segments of society—we earnestly want to associate with people who are genuinely trustworthy.

Steve seemed to have it all. He was tough, smart, disciplined, quick on his feet, and an effective strategist. He worked hard and could match anybody’s résumé with an impressive list of business and personal skills. With all that Steve had going for him, why was he failing in his latest and greatest work assignment? Was there a way for him to pull out of his tailspin?

Image Source: The US Army, Creative Commons

Image Source: The US Army, Creative Commons

Before his success in business, Steve had been an Army Ranger. Listening to Steve was like listening to a Tom Clancy audio book, only this was the actual participant reminiscing in real time. Steve’s Ranger training had prepared him to withstand almost anything, including extreme pain, in order to execute a mission. This was one sharp, strong man—Rambo in a business suit. Part of Steve’s extensive Ranger training had included instruction in being a leader at any level of organizational structure. Steve understood both giving and taking orders. He knew how to take charge, size up the situation, and go after the objective.

As part of my consulting approach, I had tested the team Steve was a part of to assess leadership performance. I’ll never forget the afternoon I met with this man who was so discouraged that his whole demeanor drooped. Steve was desperately looking for understanding and some help to regain his footing. What had pierced the strength of this highly trained, combat-proven Ranger?

Steve’s discouragement resulted from feedback he had just received from his peers on his leadership style and how it was affecting his ability to lead, to be trusted, and to be a good team member. He thought his leadership practices were sound, but his peers and those who reported to him directly saw them as oppositional, competitive, and detrimental to the team’s ability to function successfully.

Steve saw himself as a good, competent leader. Before I showed up, Steve assumed he had made all the right moves, had all the right skills, and was doing just great, thank you! Now this devastating feedback from his team told him other-wise. He knew in his heart he had the right stuff, so what was wrong?

What Steve didn’t understand is that skill is only part of the equation. He did have many solid leadership attributes: He was committed and focused, had great integrity, and could endure difficulties. What Steve didn’t understand was that some of his behavior and attitudes were offensive to coworkers. It didn’t matter to them that he was an ex-Army Ranger and had great leadership qualities and a list of achievements to show for it. To them he seemed proud. Steve didn’t understand the difference between being proud of your accomplishments and being perceived as kind of a cocky know-it-all. His air of superiority kept others from feeling they could trust him. Once Steve began to exhibit a more humble attitude in response to his teammates’ feedback and became more attentive to their accomplishments and strengths, trust began to build.

Trust is at the heart of any honest relationship.
Quality leadership is vitally important today, and many people work hard to improve their leadership skills. But all the training and technical skills, as important as they are, will not create an enduring, trusted leader.
Regardless of where you have been and what you have done—or even if you have no experience at all—you can become a leader worthy of trust.

Share with us the leadership behaviors that have prevented you from trusting.

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