Severe weather warnings...

Torrential downpours and flood alerts and (depending on where you were listening a month or so ago) we are going to have a winter that will resemble the ice age. Confusing when you consider we are having one of the warmest Novembers on record (there’s nothing like a bit of scaremongering now, is there)!

However, there seems to have been a real mixture of responses by the public and officials alike in how they respond to this ‘crisis’- I say ‘crisis,’ but again, this term and its use is dependent upon your interpretation of these events and how you respond to them, rather than the hard and firm accuracy of it being a fact and whether it has or has not been appropriately deemed to be an impeding cataclysmic event.

On the one hand, there are the doomsayers; "it’s horrendous," "there has never before been weather so terrible," "it’s almost apocalyptic" and "there is no way the as yet indeterminable damage can be undone."  My own mother in law fits into this category.  I love her dearly, but on more than one occasion I have had to supress a chuckle this week when we have spoken on the phone.  Her classic lines have included, “it’s the worst weather I have seen in all my life” (she’s 79, so I doubt that, but ok) and “this weather is awful-the government really should do something about it!”  Yes, those in the administration should really stop resting on their laurels and intervene; clearly they have the power not only to vote on matters of policy, but to wield control over the forces of nature itself.  If only…

My dear mother in law is not on her own though, you can see a plethora of like-minded individuals on the multitude of news reports saturating the television at present and the effect they can have on the wider public is mind blowing.

I was interviewing a potential client just a few days ago and one of the excuses he was using to delay the start of coaching program was the predicted bad weather! The effect this was going to have on his business would mean a drain on cashflow, cause them all sorts delivery problems, which would lead to delays for customers, if it hits really hard they may have to lay off staff and they have already started making cuts to their marketing plan after all no point in marketing if they are unable to deliver the product. Interesting, they are effectively downsizing their business on what is a best guess of the future weather forecast!

Now I am no weather expert, I am however a planning expert and, whilst we should be aware of external forces, it is more important that we focus on the internal forces we have at our disposal. A change in thinking is needed.

So I asked this potential client to look at the bad weather (if it happens) from a different angle, what opportunities will it present to him? He looked at me as if I was mad and asked “Have you not been listening to what I have just said?”

“Yes I have." I replied, "and let me just show you something that if you apply, could well change your thinking, your business and your life forever”

I took out a notepad and across the centre I drew a line and explained, this is the line of choice and where you sit on this line will determine your outcomes.

Below the line you will tend to find yourself blaming, making excuses, or lying to the one person you should never lie to, yourself, by being in denial.

The list of who or what to blame is endless. Some of the things I heard people blame include: my staff, my kids, my upbringing, my teachers, my ex-partner, my business partner/s, and of course let’s not forget the weather.  It doesn’t matter who or what they blame so long as it’s not their fault.

They will normally have a whole list of excuses as to why things won’t work for them, time and money and a lack know how, are the three I hear used the most.

Or, they are in denial, which sounds like a bit of a contradiction in terms after all if you are in denial how can you know you’re in denial? It is my belief that at an intuitive level we are aware of things we should be doing, implementing or changing, but we use the excuse of busyness to wipe away the thought.

A couple of questions:

If someone is behaving below the line, who is in control of their life/business?

Do you know any people who behave below the line?

Ever met them in the mirror?

Truth is we all do it. We cannot always dictate what life and business throw at us and below the line can to be a great place to have ourselves a PLOM Party. Poor, Little, Old, Me.

To get the most out of this concept consider great leaders, it is their ability to recognise they are below the line and their speed at getting themselves above the line that leads to greater results.

Above the line, there is taking ownership, being accountable and being responsible.

Ownership the thinking here is “If it’s to be it’s down to me, I am in control of my outcomes.”

Accountable, for the results they are achieving.

Responsible or response-able, life or business has thrown me a curve ball, what are the different ways I can respond to this.

Let me just clear up a thought that some of you may be having. Being above the line does not mean you will be in a place where the sun is always shining, and you go through life skipping through the meadows, where everything is just perfect. It can still be tough, but you are empowered to change your outcome, you are in control.

Back to my potential client….

I asked him to look at the weather problem through the eyes of someone who was above the line how would their thinking be different? What opportunities might they find? How would they handle this differently?

With this shift in thinking and looking at the problem from a different angle he had a list of 17 alternative strategies he could implement that would result in business growth. Of course he is now a client and will be held accountable to the implementation of the top 3 strategies over the coming months, no matter what the weather throws at us.

Copy and paste the above graphic and keep in a place of prominence. Whenever you are facing a challenge or a problem ask yourself where am I now above or below the line? If below ask yourself, what do I need to do to change my thinking to an above the line perspective?

If you’re below the line you will find yourself giving lots of reasons (adult word for excuses) why things won’t work.

Above the line you will get results not necessarily great results but you either win or learn and either way is better.

If you are looking to have your best ever year in business in 2016….Maybe it’s time to step up.

When Actions Don’t Speak Louder Than Words

It’s well documented that successful business leader’s lead by example. By modelling the types of behaviour they want their employees to live by, better known as, “Walking the talk.” They create the environment and build a culture within the business that leads to success. Sometimes though, it is not just about the actions the leader takes; it is also about the language they use and we should never underestimate the power of words and the negative effect that words can sometimes have.

The key to making business growth less stressful, more successful and sustainable is to grow the people within the business so that are able to play their part in growing the business. In other words, by empowering the people to reach their goals they become more committed, engaged and productive and that will lead to the business achieving its goals.

So Mind your language!

Here are some seemingly harmless statements that can become barriers to employee engagement and empowerment:

·         Can’t you see I’m busy? You have all these balls to juggle and you have your plan for the day and someone turns up with, “I have a problem, have you got a minute?” It is (at best) an inconvenience and very rarely takes just a minute. Problem is that when you say you are 'too busy' to deal with that now, that person will be hearing, “I am too busy for YOU!” These situations occur normally because they are not planned for. What time of the day do you have scheduled for your team to knock on your door? Have you trained your team to think through a problem before they present it to you for instance: “When you come to speak to me about an issue bring along at least three solutions that you have for that particular issue.” This will give the team member time to think it through and better formulate their thoughts or maybe even drop the subject if it’s not important.

·         Let me do it. Sometimes, as leaders, it is easy to have a Superman Complex; no one can do it as well as me, so I might as well do it myself. There are several challenges with this thought. It is not your job to do your employees job. Worse though, it may send the message, “I don’t think you’re capable of doing it.”  Every time you do it you are educating your employees to continue disturbing you and not think for themselves. You are seriously getting in their way of them learning for themselves. You are also in danger of seriously stunting the growth of your business because you can’t do it all!

·         It's above your pay grade. Normally said when a leader is having a challenge finding a solution to a problem. Sometimes though, a different perspective will provide a solution. When we are ‘in the problem,’ it is sometimes difficult to see outside the problem. A fresh pair of eyes will see things we may not be able too, because they are looking at it from a different angle. Consider coming at this from the point of view of “None of us is as smart as all of us.” However, if the problem truly is above their pay grade, it may be better to say, “I’m still thinking this through.”

·         You’re not very good at your job. There may be a great deal of truth in the statement, but it doesn’t really help anyone. At some level the employee will know they are not performing well enough. So the statement should be about performance and not aimed at shaming them. Better to have non emotional fact based metric for instance: your goal was to produce z by y and you’re only at x. Then it’s a case of looking at ways of improving performance or allowing them to become successful for one of your competitors because they are not a good fit for your company. 

The most successful leaders do indeed lead by example and that includes the language they use.

So what are you going to do this week to mind your language?

Thoughts:

“Communication works for those who work at it”…John Powell

“The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply”…Unknown

“People may hear your words but they feel your attitude”…John Maxwell

“Communication – the human connection is the key to personal and career success”…Paul J. Meyer