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Intentional Leadership — D1, W2, M3 — Excellence

Leaders have a number of qualities and traits in common, regardless of where they are from, where they are currently, what kind of business or industry they work in, or what level of the organization they are in…and two of those common traits are discontent and passion. They are discontent when it comes to their performance. Leaders are rarely satisfied with how things are because they know they can do better. They are passionate about excellence. Couple these two traits and you find someone who is driven to excel. Leaders are alway thinking about and working on improving their personal performance and that of their teams and organizations.

Think about an organization that stands out in your mind as being outstanding. What are the things that come to mind that leave you with the impression they are superior?

Customer service?

Superior products or services?

Price?

Where do you think it starts? I think it starts with finding the right people for the right positions, who are also passionate about whatever it is your company provides. Often times, companies feel pressured to fill vacant positions and they rush through the screening and hiring process. Sometimes they get lucky and find a skilled candidate who also fits with the culture. Sometimes they settle for a candidate who has the skill but doesn’t really fit the culture. This is a recipe for disaster in a lot of ways.

But lets focus on finding the right candidate — both skilled in the work and a good fit for the culture. These are the folks who share your values and are committed to your vision. If you treat them well and ensure they have the support and resources they need to do their jobs, they will take great care of your business and your customers. It’s an intentional process; it doesn’t just happen.

As a leader, what standards are you setting for your team, with respect to excellence?

What kind of a role model are you for your team or organization?

What are you doing to inspire them to internalize excellence as a value?

What can you do to create a culture of excellence in your workplace?

Remember, excellence is intentional; it doesn’t just happen!

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Work-Life Balance is a fallacy!

If you work full time, you are likely all too aware that there is no such thing as “work-life balance.” It’s a fallacy, a lie, an illusion, a figment of someone’s overactive imagination, a blatant untruth! Balance implies some equality on each side of the scale, some level of fairness of the elements being measured.

Think about it. We all have 24 hours a day. We sleep 7-8 hours. We are at work, typically, between 8-10 hours each day. What about your commute time? Maybe 30 minutes round trip, possibly even an hour? So far, that’s about 15.5 hours on the short end and up to 19 hours on the long end of the range.

What about time to eat, exercise, run errands, read, reflect, play… Time for extra-curricular activities — either your children’s or your own — volunteering, sitting on a Board for another organization, taking classes…

Don’t forget about time for your family! Yep, that’s the important one, isn’t it? We all say family is our highest priority and yet they are often the people who get our leftovers in terms of time and energy.

We’d like to think we could have it all, but we know it’s not possible. Even the influential and powerful discover this — if they are lucky! Read this story about Erin Callan, former CFO of Lehman Brothers, as she discusses the sacrifices she made in terms of her marriage and family in exchange for the prestige, power, and money afforded by her position. Was it really worth it?

What if you were introduced to an entirely different concept: Mastery of the art of living. Try this on for size:

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both. — LP Jacks

What if you could master the art of living? It’s possible, you know? It’s not effortless, but wouldn’t it be worth it?

The key is (is this familiar?) having a high level of self-awareness — understanding your values, priorities, and dreams — and intentionality — deliberately making decisions and taking steps that lead you to the place you long to be, honoring your values daily.

My recommendation…find a mentor or a coach who has been along this path before you and enlist their support in your quest.

Let me know how I can help…before it’s too late.

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Intentional Leadership – Month One – Vision – Wrap-up

We’ve just spent the last four weeks together, focusing on the visions we have cast for our teams/organizations. How did it go for you?

In West Virginia, we’ve had a lot of snow off-and-on over the last couple of weeks, which can create hazardous driving conditions. When I’m a passenger in the car, I can enjoy the beauty and magic of the snow. When I’m the driver, I have other concerns – and being able to see, clearly, where I am going is critical. I must be ever vigilant paying attention to the snow coming down, the road conditions, other drivers, and the occasional critter that decides it must also use the road I’m on. It would be lazy and reckless of me to do anything less.

The same can be said of leaders. It’s critical that we are able to cast a compelling vision in a simple and clear manner, so that our teams and organizations can easily understand. If we do it well, and are able to inspire them, they are likely to commit to helping you achieve it, knowing it’s an opportunity to be part of something much greater than them.

I encourage you to dream big. Find that thing that drives you, that fills you with passion. Paint a vivid picture of it for yourself and others. Determine the path you must start down in order to reach it…then take action.

It’s been said that everyone dreams of something. For some, the dream is so real you can almost reach out and touch it, for others it’s just a passing fancy. For some it’s a wish, for others it’s a belief. If you are the vivid dreamer, and you believe in your vision, you will succeed, but you must get started.

If you’re still following this blog – joining me on this intentional leadership journey – I suspect there is some longing within you, some stirring within your soul that has you excited about the future.

What is it?

What do you long to do, be, or have more of?

What do you want to create in the world?

Whatever it is, grab hold of it, nurture it, bring it forth into the world…do not let it fade away, for we will all miss out!

On Monday, we will begin Month Two of our journey, focused on relationships. “See” you then!

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