January, 2019 | Lorne Rubis

Have You Had a Good Fight Lately?

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Respect

Story: I remember attending my first executive meeting at a new organization I joined. As the rookie member of the team, I was going to mostly listen. What surprised me was the lack of real conversation among the participants. The CEO deftly chaired the agenda, but it was mostly “crickets” relative to any meaningful discussion. The Executive Vice Presidents were PowerPoint magicians of course, with their update reports full of detail. However it was like an unwritten collusive agreement had been reached between the execs to present and escape without any substantive debate, challenge or amendment. The burden was all on the CEO to find the real story in the PowerPoint fog, with everyone taking their turn in the ring. Over my tenure, that environment and tenor changed dramatically. We learned to “fight well” and this behavioral progression was vital to the success of the organization.

Key Point: The “conversation is the relationship and the relationship the conversation.” I believe this behavioral tenant coined by author Susan Scott, is one of the most daunting and important statements for people to reflect on and apply both personally and professionally. People who know me find that I challenge all teams with this principle. A high performing team intentionally embraces it. Subsequently, effective team meetings of high functioning groups are boisterous, rollicking affairs that involve fierce conversations. The trust and psychological safety is foundational, and while hopefully well facilitated to avoid chaos, group sessions take on a character of where “real stuff” gets discussed, decided and done. While there are moments where people may not be at their best, become defensive, and messy, top teams learn to fight well. They become devoutly committed to respectful straight talk and getting after the right issues. So if you are part of a group where the actual conversations happen before or after the meeting, and/or fluffy niceness prevails, I contend that you have a group more than a team. Collectively you will likely never accomplish anything extraordinary.

Actions you can take:

If you lead a group, learn what it takes to have fierce, rich, meaningful conversation where the advancement of the greater good prevails. (This is hard, takes time and you need to model what you expect).
As a group participant, learn to master facilitating and contributing to rich conversations, including having constructive disagreements with your colleagues. Become self-aware of how you bring value to the dynamics. Help the team fight well.

Scrappy in leadership!

Lorne

One Millennial View: Meeting on, gloves off. A professional, good fight at work can be fun, productive and leave everyone fired up to continue forward in a positive direction. If you’re surrounded by people that agree with you 100 percent of the time, you’re not part of a team, you’re part of a cult.

– Garrett

Blog 959

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Deliver Some Pizza Love!

Abundance Accountability Respect

Story: This past weekend, Canadian air traffic controllers in Edmonton sent pizza to their counterparts in Anchorage, Alaska, who are working without a paycheck due the government shutdown in the U.S. According to various media outlets, Canadian ATCs have sent “pizza love” to at least 41 American towers to date, and predictably, the response has been overwhelmingly positive for all. Other than the fact a vast majority of us enjoy pizza, I’m always struck by how small gestures like this have such an impact. Why?

Key Point: It really matters when other people compassionately think about us. That is not a new revelation, of course. So if not, why don’t we do it more often? Everyday we have an opportunity to send some form of “pizza love.” I don’t want to disrespect the donut, gelato, or any other digestible item. It could be anything that says, “We/I know you’re experiencing something difficult, and thinking about you. How might we/I help?” Think about departments or divisions in your organization that are rattled by a business challenge or personal circumstance. It really matters that you intentionally recognize the situation. When we genuinely express our compassion and care, it is more than an act of kindness. It binds us together in the most human sustainable way, and adds to our togetherness. So small, and always surprisingly so big.

Actions you can take:

Send some “pizza love” to some group/or person in your organization this week. It’s just a click or phone call to make it so. Don’t use budget as an excuse not to. Just do it.
While you’re at it this week, maybe call your mom or dad and thank them too. They did the best they knew how. Lucky you.

A moment for Pizza Love in Leadership,

Lorne

One Millennial View: The same people that think “pizza love” is a little cheesy are usually the ones that don’t deliver their piece of the pie. All terrible puns aside, these small gestures are cleary big enough to make international headlines. While your company may not make the news, if it’s free food for a good cause, someone is likely to at least write home about it.

– Garrett

Blog 958

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis.

Lead In With Lorne – Lead the Way With Ice Cream

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Podcast Respect

Hi readers and listeners,

We invite you to take a couple minutes to watch/listen to our new podcast, Lead In with Lorne Rubis: A Leadership Story to Start Off Your Week.

This week, Lorne makes the sweet point that doing something as simple as handing out ice cream (or perhaps hot chocolate in this weather) to employees can be one of the best leadership moves you can make this week, or even in Q1. Enjoy it on the YouTube video embedded below, or audio listeners can hear it on SoundCloud now too (iTunes coming in the near future). We hope it enriches your Monday!

Kindly subscribe to the YouTube channel and SoundCloud to make sure you start your week with a leadership story.

– Lorne and Garrett Rubis

How You Can Develop Super Powers By Believing in Each Other

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Respect

Story: Why do we seem to love underdogs? It’s because many of us can see ourselves in the same spot, winning against tough odds. You don’t have to be an NFL fan to appreciate the resilience of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Nick Foles. Last year, he replaced the star QB and led the team to its first Super Bowl, sending Philly fans into delirious celebration. Now in 2019, he’s at it again. After being relegated to the bench, the starter gets hurt and Foles steps in to lead the team into the playoffs; an unlikely outcome just a few weeks ago. Foles shared his feelings and observations about the deja-vu experience with Inc. Magazine. Here are a few of Foles’ quotes:

“What I learned on those stages is just how to calm myself in a chaotic moment, when there’s… a ton of pressure. And just really simplifying in my head. Getting in the huddle, looking at the guys that I trust.”
“Know that it’s all on the line for us and we’re just going to get the job done.”
“It’s just belief in one another.”

Key Point: When you deeply believe in the people around you, and vice versa, the team commits to never letting each other down. This doesn’t always equate to winning, however the group seems to develop superpowers that also translate into exceptional individual performances. When you experience that feeling, it is almost magical.

Even in the most pressure packed chaos, having trust in each other seems to help calm things down, which allows flow to take over. The best sports psychologists in the world attempt to teach the science and paradox of slowing things down to speed things up. You can’t simply wish for it though. Your team genuinely has to have each others’ back, regardless of outcome. Whatever happens, there needs to be this look in everyone’s eyes that says, “I have your back and I believe in you. Let’s friggin’ kick ass!” It takes the vulnerability of unbridled compassion, uncomfortable courage and searing commitment. The outcome is often extraordinary, sometimes legendary.

Actions you can take:

Talk to your team about what needs to be done to create this state of unwavering belief and trust in each other.
Learn about the conditions of psychological safety and how they apply.
Practice those deep, deep breaths when the pressure comes. Slooooow it down. You will increase your performance and instill more confidence in those around you.

Forming superpowers through trust and belief,

Lorne

One Millennial View: Yeah and this commitment doesn’t manifest from trust falls or company picnics, either. In my experience, the best teams have to be on the same page. Everyone knows the goal, they know the play, and they even pick up eachothers’ slack sometimes. Nick Foles depends on 10 other guys to be successful, and even though the whole group will never be synced up to perfection, he can count on the collective desire to perform their best.

– Garrett

Blog 958

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Are Your Lips and Feet Moving in Harmony?

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Respect

Story: This past week, I had the privilege of teaching an EMBA class on the topic of Advancing Adaptive Cultures. As part of the curriculum, I do a unit on Play and Experimentation, where I talked about the importance of modern leaders being much more inclusive and open to team members’ ideas. During a break, one of the students (all executives) asked me if he could lead an exercise with the cohort. Gulp… This was a “moment of truth.” What to do? What if it’s a flop and ruins the flow of the day? What if it distracts us? Yet, here I was talking about the importance of leaders letting go more, trusting their team, learning to experiment and try things. But, I didn’t know this guy hardly at all. How could I risk my class to this experiment ? What’s the best and worst that could happen? “How much time will it take?” I ask. “About 20 minutes,” he replies. “Ok” I say. He asked if I wanted to know the details, and I said, “No, you tell me it’s a team building exercise about play and experimenting. I trust you. Let’s make sure we don’t use more than 20 minutes. Other than that, give ‘er and let’s do it.” Well the exercise ended up being the perfect endorsement for the value of play and experimenting at work. His classmates loved it. And frankly, it was better than the exercises I had on the subject. What a win for ALL!

Key Point: Moments of truth present themselves often. This is when the world conspires to give us a chance to determine if our feet and lips are moving in harmony. We all know it’s easier to say than do. However, when we stay true to what we genuinely believe, it is a powerful endorsement and confidence builder for all. Really, when I step back and think about it, turning 20 minutes over to this student had literally no risk. Whatever the outcome, we were living out the importance of play and experimentation, and I was modeling what I expect leaders to do more of. All I had to do was let go a little and trust my beliefs.

Recommendations in leading yourself and others:

Be aware of moments of truth that arrive to test your beliefs and values. Then have the courage to act accordingly.

Lip and foot harmony in leadership,

Lorne

One Millennial View: I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s Resolutions, I prefer a consistent state of goal setting and betterment that doesn’t revolve around the first of a year, month or a Monday. That said, this time is a great excuse to define your beliefs and values, recalibrate and apply them to walk the talk, and harmonize your lips and feet.

– Garrett

Blog 957

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Lead in With Lorne Podcast: The Lesson of Being Right Versus Doing the Right Thing

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Podcast Respect

Hi readers and listeners,

We invite you to take a couple minutes to watch/listen to our new podcast, Lead In with Lorne Rubis: A Leadership Story to Start Off Your Week.

This week, Lorne kicks off the new year with a podcast about learning a valuable lesson regarding focusing on being right versus doing the right thing. Enjoy it on the YouTube video embedded below, and stay tuned for it to be available to access/subscribe to on iTunes and other audio options soon. We hope it enriches your Monday morning.

– Lorne and Garrett Rubis