What the SuperBowl Taught Me About Leadership

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First a Confession!

I have been a Miami Dolphins fan for a very long time. Being a long-time Dolphins fan and absolutely hating the New England Patriots go hand in hand. So on Sunday, since the ‘Phins weren’t in the game, nothing would have delighted me more than to see the New England Patriots lose the SuperBowl.

Obviously that didn’t happen.

An Amazing Game!

What did happen is being touted as the greatest comeback in the history of the SuperBowl. Because it was. It was sensational!

The Atlanta Falcons seemed to get and keep control early. A young and enthusiastic team hammered away at the experienced New England team, dominating offensively and defensively a full two quarters and part of a third.

Then New England stepped up.

A few breaks and good things start to happen for the Patriots. You could feel the momentum shift. In the end, New England was the dominant team and winner of the championship. And it wasn’t because the Atlanta Falcons folded, it was because of the strength of leadership on the Patriots.

Crisis Leadership

Falcon fans were rejoicing at half-time. With a strong lead over the Patriots, a championship victory seemed almost assured for Atlanta. The defense harassed Tom Brady for most of the first half. He was either flat on his back or hurrying a pass and missing or both. Practically nothing New England did worked. Their claim to an unheralded legacy was slipping quickly out of control. No other team had won five SuperBowls ever before.

Winning this game would define

the Patriots as the best team of all time
Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback ever
Bill Bellichick as the greatest coach ever.

And that legacy was fading.

What Would You Do?

The thought of that would put most teams into a panic or at least a deep depression. This was a major crisis for the team and yet…..no one was acting like it was a crisis. One of the disciplines that New England demonstrated is that a situation is only a crisis if you make it a crisis. It takes leadership to instill that attitude and drive home that discipline.

[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]A crisis is only a crisis if you make it one.[/tweetthis]

Instead of panicking, according to later interviews players were approaching the coaches with ideas of what to different and what to try to turn things around. Everyone on the team was thinking and working together to solve the problem. A team doesn’t get there in a vacuum; it takes leadership to get it there.

Grinding

I listened to a news report about the game the next day where Matt Patricia, one of the coaches for the Patriots, commented about how the players just kept giving feedback to the coaches. No one was moping about how dismal they looked, they were thinking and working; grinding it out.

Leadership Develops Culture

That pervasive attitude takes the right kind of culture – a culture built by the right leadership.

That’s what made the team great. That’s why they can say Bellichick is the greatest coach ever and Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever. They didn’t just gather a group of players and run drills. They invested in leadership and developing a culture so that everyone always worked towards the same goals.

I still don’t like the Patriots though.

What stood out to you about the big win? Was it just a matter of good football or something more? How are you building the right culture? Share your thoughts here or email me at psimkins@BoldlyLead.com.

What Mordecai Taught Me About Culture and Influence

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Influencing Culture

What if…

What you do and what you say in every situation made a difference?

Of course, you know what’s coming next.

It does!

Two things inspired me to write this today.

First, I was reading my morning devotional. It was Esther 4.

If you are not a person of faith before you stray away: there is a valuable lesson in here for everyone.

In the story, the Jews are facing annihilation at the hands of Haman through his influence on King Xerxes. Mordecai, a Jew, had managed to get his cousin Esther, also a Jew, placed as Queen. Mordecai sends her a message to intervene with the King on behalf of the Jews but doing so could endanger Esther’s life and she hesitates, doubting her influence.

Mordecai’s response moved her: “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

How would that hit you?

That one moment where she doubts she has influence and doubts she can make a difference is where she ends up having a huge impact and makes the biggest difference of all!

Secondly, I read a blog post from my mentor John C. Maxwell, also talking about influence

He also says those moments when we don’t think about who or how we influence is where we can have the greatest influence. The chance encounters, the seemingly insignificant.

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#culturecounts” display_mode=”box”]We think about major moments so much that we forget that minor moments count as well.[/tweetthis]

Think about those moments and think about your day so far

Are there moments you miss? What about your family this morning as everyone woke up? The person behind the counter at the coffee shop? The security guard at the front door to the office? The co-worker you walked by this morning?

In every circumstance, our choices help create examples for others to mirror. For example, most people will smile back at you if you smile at them. By making those same choices consistently, we encourage it in others, and that helps build culture.

Therefore, culture is created, it doesn’t just evolve. We help shape culture by our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#CultureCounts #Ahhamoment”]Our daily choices influence culture in every circumstance.[/tweetthis]

What if you were in a particular time and place for such a time as this?

What if this person or group was where your influence counted the most?

What will your next choice be?

What thoughts and suggestions do you have to help others shape culture?

Employee Engagement Is Not That Simple

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Oversimplification Can Be Dangerous

I Can’t Believe They Tried This!

Reading an article in the Huffington Post recently, the author tried to simplify the definition of a popular buzzphrase used in the corporate world. The term was “Employee Engagement”. They said simply that it was the new way of saying “Internal Communications”.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Making it simple is not always helpful. In this case, it could be fatal!

The article was titled The Growing Importance of Managers in Employee Engagement by Gail S. Thornton. Now Gail is a communications professional, so I can understand her tendency to classify it as a communications issue.

illustration of a Boss talking with employees

Employee Engagement – More Than Communication

And to be sure, excellent communication is a critical part of fostering employee engagement. But it’s not the only thing. To focus just on that component of employee engagement is similar to just relying on your belt buckle to hold your pants up; without the belt it’s not going to be very effective at accomplishing the mission.

Communication is the promise ring of employee engagement, but caring is the diamond. Leaders must communicate, but the communication rings hollow if they don’t truly care for people on their team. I know lots of great communicators who don’t really care for the people in their organization; communication is just a tool for manipulation.

[snaptweet]Communication is the promise ring of employee engagement, but caring is the diamond. -Paul Simkins[/snaptweet]

When a leader cares and communicates with care, real meaning is brought to the communication. The communication involves listening a lot more than talking. It involves open pipelines where people are free to speak up and speak out. When that happens, people feel they count and are counted on. That’s when engagement is possible.

There are other factors as well; such as knowing when to empower and when not to, refusing to be a rescue boss, providing guidance, making expectations clear, and creating a safe place to fail.

[snaptweet]Saying that employee engagement is simple is to assume your employees are simple. They’re not. And neither are you by the way. -Paul Simkins[/snaptweet]

Communication is an important factor of employee engagement, but don’t go thinking that it IS employee engagement.

What factors do you consider when you look to create an engaged workplace? How do you decide what to communicate and when?

Why Leaders are Learners – Part IV

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Double-Dose of Leadership

We had the benefit at the 2014 L2:Learn-Lead simulcast to hear from John C. Maxwell twice. He opened the proceedings, which I documented in the post Why Leaders are Learners – Part I, and then closed it with another talk. This was an excellent close for many, who left raving about what they learned from this. I did too!

Leaders are Learners By What They Ask Themselves

John emphasized that the first place he looks to ask questions is to ask questions of himself. The questions we ask ourselves direct us — and sometimes re-direct us — to keep us focused on our vision and goals. They help us determine if we are improving, if we are making an impact, and if we are truly leading.

Asking yourself questions on a regular basis helps keep the main thing the main thing. It keeps us from majoring in the minors and getting lost in the details. It helps us maintain a big picture view.

Three Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Am I investing in myself?

When we take time, energy, and money to invest in our own growth, we prepare ourselves to lead more effectively, to be a more productive contributor, and primarily to unlock more of the potential in others.

[snaptweet]It doesn’t get any better for my people until it gets better for me.[/snaptweet]

This requires DAILY, INTENTIONAL growth. I call it being a 1%er.

[snaptweet]Focus on growing yourself by just 1% a day.[/snaptweet] That seemingly small 1% compounds quickly and soon you find yourself doing great things before you realize it.

Three Investment Indicators

MY SELF-IMAGE – How do I perceive myself? Do I truly believe in myself? Quickly gauge yourself on this on a scale of one to ten. Where are you?
MY DREAMS – Do I have BIG dreams of what I want to achieve? Are they scary and yet exciting? Quickly gauge yourself on this on a scale of one to ten. Where are you?
MY FRIENDS – The Law of Environment kicks in here. Are the people around you encouraging and uplifting? Do they challenge you? Do they add value to you? Are you able to encourage, uplift, challenge, and add value to them? Quickly gauge yourself on this on a scale of one to ten. Where are you?

We will only invest in ourselves if we can honestly rate ourselves high in these areas.

2. Am I investing in the right people?

Do they influence others? Who do they influence? How many do they influence?
Do they have potential to grow?
What is their attitude and competence level?
Chemistry Factor – Do they fit into the formula? Do I like them? Do others like them?
Passion Factor – Do they have a genuine passion for what they do? Are they motivated?
Character Factor – Do their character traits fit in with the character traits I desire for my team? Are they grounded? Trustworthy?
Values Factor – Are their values compatible with the team or organization (or my) values? Critical to have this for the right culture within your team or organization.

[snaptweet]Culture eats vision for lunch![/snaptweet]

Team Work Factor – Are they able to fit in and perform well as part of the whole? Or are they a lone wolf?
Support Factor – Are they supportive of other team members and organization objectives? Can they support and complete me?
Creative Factor – Can I count on them to seek out creative solutions to challenges? Can they find possibilities out of impossibilities?
Options Factor – Can they give me options?
Ten Percent Factor – Can they give me the last 10%? All the fruit is in the last 10%. Can they stay for the harvest?

3. Am I genuinely interested in people?

Leaders see more than others see and see before others see. Do I really care for others? If so, I can use my advantage to add value to others. If not, I will only use it to add value to me.

Where did you find yourself on this? What questions do you ask yourself regularly? Do you set aside time to think?

Add your thoughts and comments below.

Why Leaders Are Learners – Part 3

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Rich Leaders and Learners

Tim Sanders was the third speaker at the L2:Learn-Lead event on October 10, 2014. Tim was the “Maverick CEO” of a company called NetMinds and is a former Yahoo executive and a noted author and speaker.

Tim’s emphasis was on People-Centric Tools for Leadership. Here are some notes from his talk at L2.

Talking about purpose, he remembered a book he read titled Working the Room by Nick Morgan. Nick said that the only reason for giving a speech was to change the world.

If you don’t want to change the world, then get off the stage. -Nick Morgan

Success is not a destination, it is a direction: FORWARD.

The Modern Leader Needs to be Able to Lead With

A Clear Mind

To Unclutter and Clear Your Mind

Reduce your sources of information. Own the first 45 minutes of your day and avoid email and social media. Spend the time in devotion and reflecting on someone who helped you in the past and think of someone who will help you.
Create a culture in the workplace that is upbeat and hopeful and action-oriented. Remember that culture is a conversation about how we do things around here.
A Clear Mind is an educated mind. READ DAILY books and periodicals of significance that help you grow.
Remember if you let your calendar get full you will be an ineffective leader. You need time to think; to be curious.

Curiosity didn’t kill the cat, it killed the competition. -Sam Walton

A Creative Tendency

Most issues in a company are design issues, not people issues and need creative solutions
He has found that highly successful salespeople have creative projects within their life.
- Creativity = Problem Solving
Make NEW mistakes
Trust people
Policy is the scar tissue of an organization.

If you have to rely on policy, you need a corporate cultural change.

A Compassionate Way

You can only effectively lead those you love.
Treat everyone like family

Mentorship is a program of highly effective leaders, not HR

Learn to listen without power – give empathy

What I like about Tim Sanders is that I believe he “gets it”. Tim has learned that motivating through fear, dismissal, and non-emotional focus just doesn’t work for any extended period of time. Either people burn out or they become totally disengaged.

Work is personal.

You can’t spend 1/3 or more of your day in one place and not have it be personal. As a result, the rest of our lives are influenced by what happens at work and what happens at work is influenced by what’s happening in the rest of our lives.

If you want to create sustainable productivity and empowering employee engagement, as a leader you must spend time learning about your people. Their hopes, their dreams, their fears. You don’t have to solve their problems, in fact if you do then you are doing them a disservice; but you do have to know where they are and what’s going through their minds.

That’s how a modern leader achieves success.