Jeff Flesch 8:13 pm on September 9, 2020
Tags: businessshange, leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), organizationalchange, organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), servantleadership ( 5 ), servicetotheself, servicetotheteam, teamdevelopment

The Blog + Video Series #14: Servant Leadership: A Practical Leadership Style for Life and Work

Of all the leadership styles and choices, why choose Servant Leadership? Well, there are many reasons, some of which we will explore in this post, and some in future posts. Let’s get this conversation started by taking a look at Servant Leadership as a principle. In this post, we will also explore Servant Leadership as a practical tool, and as a way of being, or living our life.

The Principles of Servant Leadership

There are many principles of Servant Leadership. Service is the foundation of all the rest, and is the fundamental basis for this leadership style. In order to serve others, one must serve themselves first. This is where it all starts.

Service to the Self

In order to be an effective leader, one must understand their own growth opportunities, and actively work on them. Service to others, starts with this understanding. More, it means being open to critique and feedback from others on areas that you have opportunities to develop.

As a leader, one of your main objectives is to develop those that work for you, and with you. Likewise, you must start by developing yourself in all areas, those that you know about, and those you don’t. The latter are called blind spots, and the team you work with, once a safe and trusting environment is created, will point them out to you.

If you defend yourself and make justifications for these blind spots, you will not grow. And, if you are closed to growth opportunities, your team will also be closed. If your team is closed to growth, you will not gain traction in your business model, or you will only gain traction to a point. You will not go further into that unknown area of growth that most teams never reach.

Accepting our blind spots, and actively creating opportunities to develop skills in those areas will create more trust with your team. Additionally, you will show them that you have the ability to be vulnerable and authentic, which are two more very important principles of being a Servant Leader.

Service to the Team

Many leadership styles depend on the typical organizational hierarchy, where the leaders sit at the top of the pyramid, and look down on the rest of the staff. Effectively, pushing out and down directions, without much dialogue from the team about the effectiveness of such directives.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is top-down-leaders-pyramid.jpg — Distribution Property Solutions, Inc.

Servant Leadership turns that pyramid upside down, which means that front line staff are, in effect at the top of the hierarchy and in a position to effect change within the organization. It means that leaders do provide direction to staff, yet do so in a way that encourages, even demands, reciprocal dialogue and conversation.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is serving-leaders-pyramid.jpg — Distribution Property Solutions, Inc.

Implementing an approach that encourages reciprocal dialogue and conversation requires a willingness from leaders to realize that they do not, could not, have all the answers. It also requires an understanding that the leaders primary job is serving and developing the team.

As with service to the self, leaders must remain open to serving their teams in the same way, implementing the same types of techniques, which we will explore more in future posts.

The Servant Leadership model also requires leaders to develop the ability to pull people to them, and push people into action when necessary. Though, of the two, the former is the more important aspect of the Servant Leadership model, leaders must also have the fortitude to hold themselves, and the people they work with accountable to rigorous standards and expectations.

Servant Leadership as a Way of Being

Servant Leadership is a leadership style that can be used in all aspects of your life, from relationships with friends and family, to service activities within the community. As a way of being, Servant Leadership requires an understanding that relationships are everything.

Relationships start with the one you have with yourself. Once that relationships is healthy and strong, you are ready to develop high-quality relationships with those around you, and throughout the community. It is impossible to develop healthy, high-quality, relationships with others until you are clear on the relationships you have with yourself.

Servant leadership principles can be utilized in all contexts, because these principles, some of which we have explored here, are simple and pragmatic. These principles are about practice, and the necessity of respecting, honoring, and celebrating yourself and all of those around you.

Leading is something that people do in all walks and aspect of life. And, Servant Leadership is a leadership style, that I believe, is uniquely adaptable to all of these contexts. It is also unique in that it puts the development of the self first, with an understanding that developing yourself is a necessary ingredient to the eventual development of others, whether those others be those in your personal or professional contexts.

References

Greenleaf, Robert K. (2020). The Robert K Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. What is Servant Leadership. URL.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is riccardo-annandale-7e2pe9wjl9m-unsplash-2.jpg — Photo by Riccardo Annandale

#businessshange, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipessentials, #leadershipmindset, #leadershipprinciples, #leadershipvalues, #organizationalchange, #organizationaldevelopment, #servantleadership, #servicetotheself, #servicetotheteam, #teamdevelopment

Jeff Flesch 7:56 pm on September 6, 2020
Tags: businessdevelopment ( 4 ), developingteams ( 3 ), developmentandgroth, leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipinaction ( 18 ), leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershippractice ( 7 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), Learning ( 17 ), learningandengagement, organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), teambuilding ( 6 ), teamdevelopment, teamengagement ( 4 ), teammoral ( 4 ), teamtraining ( 2 )

The Blog + Video Series #13: Moving From Concept to Execution: Implementing Developmental Growth Opportunities at Work

This week I’ve been reflecting upon how we learn. Though there are learning styles, which are important to know, I’ve been reflecting more upon the process of learning. How we take in new information, process it, reflect upon it, adapt it, and formalize it into the other processes and systems we currently use.

Why might this be important to consider, understand, and become familiar with?

Good question. It is important to consider and understand, because this understanding can help leaders create bridges for people. The familiarity of which can create a bridge for your team and move you from concept into execution. Let’s take a look how.

Learning

It’s important for everyone to have access to developmental opportunities. To learn and to grow. Important. Knowing this, how do you suppose you create these opportunities? While larger organizations typically have a model for training staff, it does not always follow that everyone in the organization has the same access to developmental opportunities. Hm.

What to do, then, when your business or organization does not offer training, or those training programs are limited in some way, or designated for only mid-level and executive employees?

Create them from within

As a leader, you can create opportunities for your team to develop and grow. How? Find out what each person’s strengths and weaknesses are, always starting with yourself first, and then find ways to engage them with new concepts and tools to stretch them, and help them grow.

For instance, we created an opportunity in our second year as a team to develop strategic thinking skills, which included several training days. The culmination of which was deploying a system for organizing our daily work and balancing strategy. The need was there, and we moved it forward, and so can you.

Here are some considerations on how to get started.

Define the need – here are some questions to assist your thinking.
- Where is the gap?
- What training is needed to fill the gap?
- Who will facilitate the training?
- When will you implement the training?
- How will you evaluate the training’s effectiveness?
- What is the return on investment of the training?
Create a training plan with internal or external training professionals – here are some questions to consider.
- What is the training goal?
- How will you know when you’ve met your goal?
- What does post-training traction look like?
- What metrics will you use to measure traction?
Implement – communicate about the training, create buy-in with staff, and implement.
Evaluate – make sure you have traction.
Repeat – we created a system of training once a quarter. Worked well.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is gaelle-marcel-l8snwgunqbu-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Adjustment

With any learning process, there is a period of time that people need to adjust to their new workflow reality. How can you assist staff in making these necessary adjustments?

Here are a few ideas.

Create a post-training system to ensure that you have traction – the system should at the very least include:
- Post-training follow up – what did you and the team learn, and how will you move the new concepts and tools forward.
- Periodic staff check-in’s – I’ve always used one-with-ones to ensure that staff have the support they need, and are adjusting well to their new workflow reality.
- Measure your movement – create a way to measure your post-training progress. This might be quantitative metrics, such as increases in revenue, or it may be qualitative, such as increased workflow effectiveness.
Continue to follow-up – to really gain traction, the new concepts and tools must be incorporated into everyone’s daily work, including yours. There really is no other way. If this does not happen, the new concepts and tools you are implementing will lack traction.
Create consistency – once you have movement, start talking with the leadership team about the next training. Be consistent, and offer training opportunities at a regular drumbeat, so staff can count on, and expect them.
Monitor progress – continue to check in with staff on their progress. Monitor traction. You may find that after three months, the team needs a refresher on a topic you’ve already covered. That’s okay. What really matters is that you’ve created access for your team to develop and grow; and that you will remain committed to doing so, refreshers and all.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is jj-ying-7jx0-bfiuxq-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash

Integrate

Once the team has adjusted to their new reality, which includes new concepts and tools, you will need to devise individual development plans. These plans will ensure that each staff integrates the new concepts and tools into their current workflow in a way that suits their learning style, which will increase retention, mastery, and traction.

Where to start?

As was aforementioned, I’ve used one-with-one’s often in my professional career. I find that they work well to create plans tailored to the individual. These plans can also be used to track progress and as a coaching tool.

The most important thing about integration, is that all staff actively integrate the new concepts and tools into their daily workflow. You are building healthy habits in this regard. Really. People like habits, and once you have created that habituation within yourself, a must, you can deploy that to the team.

Here are a few examples.

Whiteboards – some people are very visual, and literally need to see the work drawn or sketched out. I’m like that. If you have staff that are visual, do whiteboard work with them, so they can see the new concepts and tools inside of their current workflow. Important.
Post-its – funny. I always say it matters less how you organize yourself, than it does that you develop a system that works for you. And, if post-its work for you, like they do me, use them. Again, what matters is that the staff member can feel a level of comfort with the new concepts and tools, inside of a system they’ve already developed.
Calendars – a good way to organize by setting reminders for new tasks. For instance, after we completed a strategic thinking training day last year, I had every staff member add one hour per week of strategic thinking to their calendars.
Project Management Systems – we’ve been using a project management system for over a year now. Works for some on the team, and not as much for others. Yet, having a systematized way to move larger projects forward is important. I’ve found this addition helpful, and a contributor to the team’s overall traction.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is jesus-santos-zbbkk2-cgf8-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash

Reflect

We all need time to process new information, time to reflect. I advocate for giving your staff the same consideration you give yourself, especially when incorporating new concepts and tools into their daily work. You need it as a leader, and so do they. We all do.

How do you incorporate reflection time into the day?

If you use reflection often as a daily strategy this will be simpler. If you do not, there may be a stretch here for you, however, I believe it is a worthwhile endeavor. We are all inundated with constant stimuli, and the need to take a break from that stimuli to really get clear on our work is necessary and needed.

Here are a few strategies you can try.

Build that time in for yourself first – the only way to create traction with anything, is to create it for yourself first. Once you have a system down, you can coach and guide people into it. If you are not familiar with reflection time, add 30-minute reflection times into your daily calendar. Try it a couple times a week, with a goal to have it worked into your calendar daily.
Coach the team on taking the same time – once you’ve practiced taking reflection time for yourself, you can advise the team on doing the same thing. Have them build it in similarly. A day or two a week to start, with the goal of having daily reflection time.
Create reflection time after meetings and one-with-one’s – another strategy that we employ is taking time to reflect upon decisions. As you practice this strategy, you will come to see, as we have, that many decisions do not need to be made quickly. You have time. Take it, and use it wisely to reflect and engage with yourself and your team on the best course of action.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is ux-indonesia-qc2n6rqu4vw-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Andrew Dunstan on Unsplash

Formalize

Once you have strategies in place to incorporate new learning, integration, adjustment, and reflection time into everyone’s workflow, you can start to make plans to formalize these new processes and systems. Simply meaning that to build these healthy work habits, and to have them stick, they must be practiced daily; and they need to be documented.

As we’ve discussed, people all learn differently, so create a few different ways to engage with the team, which will ensure you maintain traction on the aforementioned learning strategies. The main way we move projects of this size forward is to input them into our project management software, which has worked pretty well.

Again, what you use to formalize and document a new system or process, of which learning and development are two, matters less than you taking the time to create a learning and development plan for yourself, each team member, and the overall team.

I think you will find that the payoff in terms of work efficiency, overall team moral, and team cohesion will increase as you continue to create opportunities for people to learn new things, and to develop themselves at work. And, once that is accomplished, you and your team will be ready to move from concept to execution, and into the traction zone.

Be well, and lead well.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is daria-nepriakhina-zocdwpuirua-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash

#businessdevelopment, #developingteams, #developmentandgroth, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipmindset, #leadershippractice, #leadershipprinciples, #leadershipvalues, #learning, #learningandengagement, #organizationaldevelopment, #teambuilding, #teamdevelopment, #teamengagement, #teammoral, #teamtraining

Jeff Flesch 5:18 pm on September 5, 2020
Tags: acceptance ( 7 ), acceptanceslkills, businessdevelopment ( 4 ), businessplanning ( 3 ), businessstrategy ( 3 ), covid-19anddevelopment ( 2 ), covid-19andresilience ( 4 ), covid-19businessdevelopment, covid-19leadership ( 2 ), covid-19organizationaldevelopment, covid-19teamdevelopment, leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipinaction ( 18 ), leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), listeningskills, listentothosearoundyou, organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), persistencewithoutresistance ( 3 ), teamdevelopment, teamengagement ( 4 ), teammoral ( 4 ), teammorale

4 Keys to Creating Persistence in the Face of Resistance Through Acceptance for Yourself, and Your Team, Business, or Organization

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is lucas-myers-r7fcipagre4-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Lucas Myers on Unsplash

What types of resistance do you face at work, in life? And, how do they affect your daily work, and the people that work around you? In the article, 7 Keys to Balancing Strategic Thinking with the Day-to-Day Operations of Your Team, Business, or Organization, persistence is the first key that I talk about. Right now I do believe it is the most important. Why?

Because, as leaders, there are two ways we are confronted with resistance on a regular basis; and, being persistent is the key to continuing to move our teams, businesses, and organizations forward.

Here are those two ways.

Resistance to the ever-changing realities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resistance to the current COVID-19 pandemic reality as compared to our previous realities.

Both of these instances of resistance can cause pain and suffering, for ourselves, our teams, businesses, organizations, and all of those that we serve.

What are some strategies that we can use to notice when we are resisting our current reality, regardless of whether it is due to resisting the amount of daily change we are confronted with, or resisting our new reality in comparison to our previous realities?

Here are 4 tips you can use to persist in the face of resistance

1. Notice when you are resisting the current reality

The first step to shifting your attention from resistance to persistence is to know when you are resisting. Sounds simple, yes? It is and isn’t. Noticing when you are resisting the current reality may pose more challenges today, as we are all living and working through so much change.

Combine that amount of change with other environmental stimuli and we have a situation where paying attention to how we are feeling is more challenging.

These are not normal times. Better language. Normal is only relative to what we once knew, and whatever “new normal” we think will show up, it will not be what was. We need to face this reality, get used to it, and learn how to do our work inside of it.

Doing so means learning to notice when we are actively resisting the current reality. How? Practice. Pay attention to how you feel. For me, frustration or agitation are relatively good indicators that I may be resisting the current reality. When I feel frustrated or agitated, I ask myself, why?

What’s the reason for the frustration and agitation?

When the reason is known, and the reason is that you are actively resisting the current reality, you can begin to consider shifting your focus from resistance to persistence through acceptance.

2. Shifting your focus from resistance to persistence through acceptance

Acceptance of the current reality is key to shifting from resistance to persistence. It is a must. When we do not accept the current reality, we are also actively resisting the current reality.

Either by living in denial, disagreement, disapproval, opposition, or complete refusal of the current reality. And, what happens when we are living and working this way?

We cannot create new ways to move ourselves, and our teams, businesses, and organizations forward. Maybe better language is that we are limited in our capacity to move ourselves, and our teams, businesses, and organizations forward. Why?

Because when we resist the current reality, we are limited by that focus. And, resistance is a very limited frame of reference. Whereas, persistence is about continuing to move forward in the face of any and all adversity. A much wider frame of reference.

Movement and this wider frame of reference are key. And, when the movement has stalled, as leaders, we can then create that movement. Creation and persistence go very well together. Creation and resistance? Not so much.

When you’ve moved from noticing your resistance to actively shifting your attention to persistence through acceptance, you can create new possibilities for yourself, and your team, business, and organization.

*3. Listen to**those around you*

Another way we can become more aware of our own resistance is to listen to those around us. When people point to our resistance, it is very helpful. It may not always feel helpful, however, as leaders being open, available, and flexible is important.

When we are open, available, and flexible, we have the ability to take constructive feedback and do something with it. And, doing something with that feedback is important for us, and the teams, businesses, and organizations we lead.

Here is a quick example.

Today I was in conversation with a staff member that was questioning the need for a recurring meeting, as we had recently discussed the need to pause this work for now. Freeing up that staff member to work on the current business needs that are most pressing.

Whereas I was not openly resistant to the idea, upon reflection I noticed that I might have inadvertently been resisting canceling those meetings for various reasons.

However, none of those reasons were more important than the facts. We don’t need that meeting right now. And, that is what the staff member was pointing to. Extremely helpful.

As is the knowledge that sometimes our own resistance of a situation or event may be very subtle; and, not something that we are doing purposefully. An important distinction to be clear on.

You don’t get a demerit for being resistant. You are a human being. We are all resistant at times. Important to remember, as being upset or frustrated with your own resistance will only bring more resistance and frustration. Not helpful.

Listen to the people you have surrounded yourself with.

They are there for a reason. And, that reason may just be to point out your resistance, which is helpful. Knowing this allows you to move from resistance to acceptance and into persistence.

4. Invite your team, business, or organization to do the same

If you are at times resistance, then so are those that you work with, and serve. Important to understand. As you work on your own resistance, you can assist others in working on their resistance. Sometimes it is simply pointing it out. Other times, it may require a deeper conversation.

Either way, that you know about your own resistance and know how to shift to acceptance, means that you can also coach others on moving into acceptance. It is so important to create more flexibility and adaptability today.

The change we’ve all been through and the change that has yet to come are going to require more flexibility and more adaptability. In turn, they will also require acceptance of what is. Acceptance of the current state of reality today. And, the current state of reality tomorrow. However, they show up.

When we can fully accept what is before us, we can begin to create new pathways for ourselves and our teams, businesses, and organizations. And, when we can create these new pathways, whether they are new business models, new engagement systems, or new staffing models, we can serve our clients, customers, and community in more effective ways. Why?

Because we are not resisting the current reality, pretending that normal will come back. Normal is gone. Let it go, and move from resistance to acceptance and into persistence.

Be well and lead well.

#acceptance, #acceptanceslkills, #businessdevelopment, #businessplanning, #businessstrategy, #covid-19anddevelopment, #covid-19andresilience, #covid-19businessdevelopment, #covid-19leadership, #covid-19organizationaldevelopment, #covid-19teamdevelopment, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipessentials, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipmindset, #leadershipvalues, #listeningskills, #listentothosearoundyou, #organizationaldevelopment, #persistencewithoutresistance, #teamdevelopment, #teamengagement, #teammoral, #teammorale

Jeff Flesch 7:41 pm on September 3, 2020
Tags: businesscoaching, businessmetrics, creatinga10-yearvision, creatingstrategy ( 3 ), creatingvision ( 6 ), develpingmetrics, goalsetting ( 3 ), leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipinaction ( 18 ), leadershipinpractice ( 3 ), leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershippractice ( 7 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), leadershipvalues ( 8 ), strategicplanning ( 7 ), strategicthinking ( 11 ), team ( 3 ), teambuilding ( 6 ), teamdevelopment, teamengagement ( 4 ), teammoral ( 4 )

Leadership in Practice Series Part 2: Creating 90-Day Priorities Inside of a 10-Year Vision

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is matt-noble-bptmnn9jsmq-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Matt Noble on Unsplash

Once your vision is created, then what? Regardless of whether it is a 10-year, 5-year, or 3-year vision, you will need to put plans in place that will connect the daily work to that vision. That is how your 10-year vision will become a reality.

What, then, are the first steps to ensure that your weekly, monthly, and quarterly work connects to the long-term vision?

In this article we will walk through the process we went through to connect the 10-year vision to our 90-day priorities. First, another question.

Where does a leader start when they want to ensure that everyone’s daily work on the team, or in the business or organization they belong to is contributing to the long-term goals?

Let’s take a look.

Start with the 10-year Vision and ask yourself a couple of questions.

What are the goals of the 10-year vision?
What are the metrics of the 5-year plan?
What will the current year look like?

Let’s look at each question, one at a time.

What are the goals of the 10-year vision?

Once the vision is created, it’s time to create the goals that will drive all of the work. However, before you move on to creating those goals, which will drive the objectives and priorities, ask yourself what your vision will look like in reality.

What will the revenue and service look like, what will the staffing model look like, will you add positions between now and then?

Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, or ones that are more important to your particular vision, start to build out what that vision will look like in reality. Here is an example, vision first, then what it will look like in reality.

Here is the vision

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2774.png

Here is what it will look like

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2775.png — Note that the word profit in this instance is referring to department reinvestment funds.

Once you’ve created the 10-year vision, and also know what it will look like, you are ready to work backward. When I went through this exercise last year, I started this part of the planning session with year 5. I looked at the previously designated metrics and asked myself what they would look like in reality. For instance, what would revenue look like, and how many people would we serve.

What are the metrics of the 5-year plan?

Here is what that looked like

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2777.png

It is a wonderful exercise to start with the larger 10-year vision and to work backward to the 5-year plan, creating more clarity as you go. It is how you begin to connect the 10-year vision with the work you need to do today.

Once you’ve worked backward to year 5, you are ready to work backward once again to year 3, or whatever the current year is for your team, business, or organization. It is important to continue to get clearer on what the future reality will look like.

What will the current year look like?

Year 3 Department Objectives

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2780.png

As you continue to work backward from the 10-year vision to year 5, to the current year you are planning for, in this example, year 3, the objectives that will lead the team to that 10-year vision do become more clear. Important.

And, as these objectives become more clear, so will the priorities that will drive each person’s work. For instance, in our year 3, we had 1-year objectives, which we executed on in 90-day chunks. Meaning that we focused on moving forward our yearly objectives with 90-day priorities that would shift as needed, yet the objectives would remain the same.

Year 3 Staff Objectives

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2776-1.png

Once you get to 90-day priorities, it is time to create a coaching model that will mirror all of the aforementioned. Fully discussing this coaching model is for another article, yet I would like to share with you the simple template we created, so you can see how a 10-year vision can connect to a staff member’s daily work.

Coaching Model Template

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img-2782.png

Though you can only see a portion of the form, you can see the overall process, where the yearly objectives (on the left) are connected to the department objectives (on the left in bold), while the specific priorities and actions to move that work forward are on the right. Fun.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote the following article, One BHAG, Two BHAG, and Creating a Disruption Vision, in which we discussed the possibility of creating a disruption vision or BHAG inside of a 10-year vision. And now, the planning process we’ve walked through in this article is being recreated. The difference?

Because there is so much change right now, we have a 1-year BHAG, which lives inside of the 10-year vision, and 30-day priorities, instead of 90. I am in the process right now of re-instituting one-with-ones so that we can discuss, plan, and create our next actions one month at a time. Allowing us the pivotability, and flexibility needed.

Very well. There you have an example, with tools, on how you can connect your team, business, or organizations’ 10-year vision to the work that needs to be done daily to ensure that the 10-year vision will live in reality.

Be well, and lead well.

You can reach Jeff Flesch at fleschj@linnbenton.edu

#businesscoaching, #businessmetrics, #creatinga10-yearvision, #creatingstrategy, #creatingvision, #develpingmetrics, #goalsetting, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipessentials, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipinpractice, #leadershipmindset, #leadershippractice, #leadershipprinciples, #leadershipvalues, #strategicplanning, #strategicthinking, #team, #teambuilding, #teamdevelopment, #teamengagement, #teammoral

Jeff Flesch 8:29 pm on September 1, 2020
Tags: businessdevelopment ( 4 ), creatingstrategy ( 3 ), creatingvision ( 6 ), employeemorale, innovation ( 11 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipinaction ( 18 ), leadershipstrategies, motivation ( 6 ), motivationfromwithin, organizationaldevelopment ( 9 ), responsibilityandmotivation, servantleadership ( 5 ), strategicplanning ( 7 ), strategicthinking ( 11 ), teamdevelopment, teammoral ( 4 )

Maintaining Motivation Inside of Innovation: An Investigation and Invitation

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is peter-fogden-z7oytxgi6vi-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Peter Fogden on Unsplash

A different kind of post today. I am interested in investigating how it is that teams continue to stay motivated, at the individual, and team level, during times of great change and innovation. Have you ever made this consideration? Yes, no? Here is how I began to consider the topic.

COVID-19 has created contexts in teams, businesses, and organizations that have required great strides in innovation. Innovation that is continuous. Every day. Making choices about how to continue to pivot your business model, to keep up the momentum, stay relevant, and remain sustainable. We’ve been inside such a context, much, I’m sure, like you have.

Then about two weeks ago, we had a team assignment connected to the department’s disruption BHAG, which I wrote about in, One BHAG, Two BHAG, and Creating a Disruption Vision . The assignment was to create our top three priorities for July. Why only July? Because, as was aforementioned, the amount, scale, and speed of change right now is so great, creating priorities for more than 30-days seems unreasonable.

During that time, one of our team members asked this question.

How do you maintain motivation inside of innovation? A wonderful question.

It is inside of this question that we will do two things.

Investigate how to continue to create motivation, inside of vast amounts of change and innovation.
Invite you to respond with your thoughts, ideas, and best practices.

We have, then, an investigation, and an invitation. Ready? Let’s go.

First, I have questions. Here are a few that will guide our investigation.

Where does individual motivation come from?
Where does the team’s motivation come from?
What does the larger institution, organization, or business have to do with individual and team motivation, and morale?
What strategies can leaders deploy to ensure that each individual team member and the team as a whole stays motivated during great change?
What is the responsibility of each individual team member when considering motivation inside of innovation?

1. Where does motivation come from?

Though many people look for motivation in things that live outside of themselves, motivation actually comes from within. You become motivated by doing things. For instance, if you want to become more organized or organized differently, you must try new things. Put a new system in place, and practice it. If it works, awesome, if not, try something new.

When we actually practice that which we want to become better at, motivation will arise inside of that practice. In this example, becoming more organized happens as we practice and learn about how to better organize ourselves.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is allie-z7v1izmeqrq-unsplash.jpg — Photo by Allie on Unsplash

2. Where does the team’s motivation come from?

From a psychological perspective, each individual contributes their individual motivation to the collective team. And, from a sociological perspective, the collective team motivation is an output of those individual motivations. The leader of that team must then direct both the individual and team motivation toward the vision, goals, objectives, and priorities.

However, I think it important to remember that when priorities change often inside of creating new business models and learning about new ways to do business, motivation can become precarious. Not necessarily because people are unmotivated, though that is also possible. More, I think it has something to do with just how much work it takes to continue to pivot your business. Again, and again.

3. What does the larger institution, organization, or business have to do with individual and team motivation, and morale?

For me, the answer to this question is rather simple. Whether it happens or not, may not be as simple. All people that work within an organization need to understand, have access to, and be able to connect their individual work to the larger institutional vision. Important.

When these connections can be made, there is more cohesion, and the possibility of motivation remaining higher. We must also remember, however, that there will be varying levels of motivation inside of the institution, organization, or business, dependent on how each team leads their work. There will be differences.

These differences can affect motivation and morale when people cannot see themselves inside of the vision. When creating new visions during times of great change and innovation, these visions should connect to the larger vision. Also important, people need to see themselves inside of these visions.

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4. What strategies can leaders deploy to ensure that each individual team member and the team as a whole stays motivated during great change?

Difficult, as leaders may also be struggling with their own motivation during times of great change. Yet, there are things leaders can do for themselves, and their teams to keep motivation present for people. All the while recognizing that there will be times when people are unmotivated. That is also okay. It’s part of the human process.

What things can you do to stay motivated, and to keep the team motivated.

Create a new vision – when things are changing on such a vast scale, creating new ways to conceptualize your work is critical. If people continue to do their work just like they did before, which may not work, motivation may remain elusive.
Be flexible – flexibility goes hand in hand with adaptability. You must be flexible to adapt to changing situations, no matter how small or large they are. Be open.
Listen – understanding how each person is doing on the team is very important. And, you must listen well to really know how they are doing. You need to create individual time with people, and listen.
Provide feedback – honest and direct feedback is helpful. We all need to know that we are heading in the right direction, and when we are not, to be guided back. If you lead teams, your team can also do that for you. Important to have that reciprocal relationship.

5. What is the responsibility of each individual team member when considering motivation inside of innovation?

There is really only one thing I want to write about in this area; and that is about Communication. Communicating with each other often by telling each other how things are going, where changes or adjustments are needed, when we are feeling unmotivated, or especially motivated is extremely important. I cannot overstate this fact.

When there are communication breakdowns, people have limited sight on what is happening and understanding of what is known. And, when there are limitations on what people know, people will fill in that gap with what they believe is happening.

Typically, however, the stories that are generated to fill these gaps are incomplete. And, they are only so, because people don’t have all of the information they need.

Communication is one of the most important principles to practice at any time on a team; and now, during COVID-19, it is even more important. Staying connected, and in good communication with your team is essential to maintaining motivation inside of innovation.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is mimi-thian-vdxmsix-n6m-unsplash-1.jpg — Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Closing

Alright, there is an investigation into motivation inside of innovation. I believe that the investigation has yielded a few possible insights, so let’s capture them again here.

Motivation comes from within ourselves – motivation does not live inside of concepts or objects in the outside world.
The team’s motivation is individual and collective – team motivation comes from each individual’s contribution and the teams combined motivation, which are guided by the leader.
Motivation, vision, and morale – individuals must be able to see themselves inside of the overall vision, and visions need to be connected. Remember also, motivation will go up and down, and that is okay.
Leadership strategies – create a new vision, be flexible, listen well, and provide feedback.
Responsibility and motivation – communicate, communicate, communicate. Important.

Now for the fun part.

My invitation

I am inviting each of you to contribute to this post. I would like to know from your perspective, how do you, or how do you plan to maintain motivation inside of innovation. You can use the questions that were used to guide this post, or you can use the ones that follow.

Here are some questions for you to consider?

What strategies do you use to maintain motivation for yourself and your team?
What strategies have worked well in maintaining motivation on your team?
What other strategies have you not yet tried that you plan to implement soon to increase motivation for yourself and your team?
What strategies did not work as well, and why?
What other insights do you have to share about motivation and innovation?

Okay, there we have it. An investigation and invitation in how to maintain motivation inside of innovation. Was fun.

#businessdevelopment, #creatingstrategy, #creatingvision, #employeemorale, #innovation, #leadershipdevelopment, #leadershipinaction, #leadershipstrategies, #motivation, #motivationfromwithin, #organizationaldevelopment, #responsibilityandmotivation, #servantleadership, #strategicplanning, #strategicthinking, #teamdevelopment, #teammoral

Jeff Flesch 1:37 pm on August 29, 2020
Tags: businesstraining, creative process ( 3 ), creativity ( 34 ), developinghighqualityrelationships ( 3 ), developingourselves ( 7 ), developingprocessesandsystems ( 2 ), developingresilience ( 7 ), developingteams ( 3 ), development ( 35 ), developmentandgrowth ( 18 ), experientiallearning, individual learning ( 2 ), individualtraning, leadership ( 54 ), leadershipdevelopment ( 45 ), leadershipessentials ( 9 ), leadershipinaction ( 18 ), leadershipmindset ( 15 ), leadershippractice ( 7 ), leadershipprinciples ( 13 ), Learning ( 17 ), learning and engagement ( 2 ), professionaldevelopment ( 13 ), team ( 3 ), teambuilding ( 6 ), teamdevelopment, teamtraining ( 2 ), training

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