My Private Universe

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Some of my best teams have had a synergy that makes working together easy and seamless. The different personality types complement each other, and communication is strong enough to keep everyone moving in the same direction. The result is satisfaction.

On the other hand, I have been on some teams where all the team members seemed to be going in different directions. Each person is doing their own thing without updating the other team members, team members give out conflicting information, jobs are duplicated, and progress is stalled waiting on answers. Frustration reigns.

By following a few simple steps, teams can blend together more easily.

• Outline – the plan and assignments so everyone understands their responsibility
• Communicate – develop a method of regular communication so everyone can stay in touch
• Update – provide regular updates on progress, either in a short meeting, by email or by phone
• Adjust – if the project gets off base, adjust any of the teams impacted and get back on track.

Communication is the most difficult piece of the puzzle of leadership. Once you get the communication right, your team will be synced and effective.

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I had my yearly physical yesterday, and it made me think of other areas of my life that probably need to have a regular checkup. Yet I neglect those areas because I’m too busy right now, or not in the right frame of mind, or think I have it all figured out already. But do I really?

To be truly happy, you need to balance the different areas of your life. In rereading Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership book, I am reminded of the “wheel of life” that  he describes from Zig Ziglar. “The wheel has spokes that represent each area of our lives, and for our lives to be successful as a whole we must address each area. The spokes of goal setting are: career, financial, spiritual, physical, intellectual, family, social.”

My “wheel of life” tends to not be round, what about yours? I freely admit that I am a workaholic, so my career and intellectual spokes tend to get the bulk of my focus, while I neglect other areas.

I suggest a regular time to do a “checkup,” whether that is yearly, quarterly or even monthly, so you can get back on track before you’ve veered too far off the road. The following steps can help you balance your “wheel of life”:

• Review – schedule a block of uninterrupted time to take a hard look at the last few weeks or months of your tasks and your calendar to see where you have been spending your energy. Just be honest in looking at your appointments and commitments to see what you spend your time on. This is not time to kick yourself for spending your time on the wrong areas, just an assessment of what you have been doing.
• Refocus – consider your “wheel of life” goals (or jot some down if you haven’t done that before). What are your goals in the different areas of your life (career, financial, spiritual, physical, intellectual, family, social)? What do you hope to accomplish or emphasize in each of those areas over the next few weeks and months?
• Realign – is one area of the “wheel of life” getting more attention than the others? There may be seasons when you focus more on a particular area, such as work, but be sure to balance that with the other areas or you risk burnout and frustration. Write down a new goal in each of your life areas for the coming months (writing makes it harder to ignore – just be sure to keep those written goals visible!).
• Renew – make some pledges to yourself (and maybe to your family too) to be more accountable for your new goals. Place your written goals on your desk, in your calendar, or somewhere that you will see them frequently.

By doing a regular goal checkup, you can adjust your priorities and even out your “wheel of life,” which will lead to greater satisfaction in all the areas of your life. Even if there is an area that will continue to need more focus in the next few weeks, be intentional in your goals for the other areas and you won’t lose that balance.

How round is your “wheel of life” and what do you need to do to even it out?

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I am not well-acquainted with the word “no.” Anyone else have that problem?

It’s not always a bad thing, because people know they can ask me to do something, and most of the time, I will agree. Being dependable is a good thing, right?

And many times, even if the thing I have said yes to is a stretch, I feel like I’ve grown a bit once I’ve successfully completed the task or activity. Growing is good.

But being constantly busy can have its drawbacks. I write this after several weeks when I have had hardly a moment to myself, and had to schedule my days solid in order to prepare for the commitments I had made.  My recent activities have been exciting, fulfilling, and satisfying – just too many all together! I am exhausted and have had little time for me.

So how can you be more intentional in your busyness? Consider the following steps before saying YES to any new commitment – large or small:

• Pause – instead of an automatic “yes,” respond with “let me consider this and get back to you.” Then go through the rest of these steps.
• Pray – for guidance and knowledge that this new activity or request is part of God’s plan for you
• Plan – look at your calendar and/or your Life Plan and long term goals to make sure this new activity fits and does not conflict with a prior commitment (depending, of course, on the size of the obligation – an afternoon picnic is a little different than joining a new committee).
• Prepare – make sure to build in time for preparation for the obligation, whether that means preparing the food for the picnic or doing the background reading, writing the agenda, etc.
• Protect – “you” time. Michael Hyatt has written about “margin” (read his post here) and his “ideal week” in terms of protecting time spent with family and personal development. Look through the lens of your “ideal week” before committing to new things so that you can protect that margin time. It’s hard to be effective when you are overly tired or distracted by the next thing.

How different would your life be if you followed these steps before saying “yes”? Imagine how effective your meetings would be if you were more prepared. Your children would benefit from your complete focus and not a distracted or rushed parent. You could spend time on your own goals for fitness, health or learning.

How do you say “no” so that you can say “yes” better?

I am still feeling the effects of conference afterglow. You’ve felt it right? That kind of “let’s go out and conquer the world and slay all my dragons” gung ho attitude at the same time as the “my brain is going to explode with all the new information” limpness.

First let me say that attending the EntreLeadership 1-Day event on Friday was pretty awesome. I have attended EntreLeadership before, but listening to amazing leadership information from Dave Ramsey, Chris LoCurto and Jon Acuff with my team refreshed me and reinforced the keys to being a good leader.

Coupled with that, I attended the Quitter Conference with Jon Acuff. That’s right – I spent two full days learning and being inspired.

At Quitter, we learned how to identify our dream, battle the fears that hold us back, and move toward living our dreams. What an amazing experience it was to meet people and ask “what is your dream?” instead of asking “what do you do?” as the opening question. Pretty powerful.

We explored building platforms, creating tribes, and developing a community. We compared notes on the negative voices in our heads telling us why we won’t succeed and received validation that pursuing our dreams will be fulfilling.

I am both exhausted and exhilarated by the confirmations, overwhelmed and excited about the possibilities, humbled and psyched at the new connections.

Now the challenge is to act on the things that I’ve learned, and not let them just sit on my desk in the workbooks. Instead of diving back into my world as it was, I need to quit making up excuses and get over the fear of pursuing my dream of writing. I need to make sure to stick with some of the habits I’ve already begun in order to carve out time to practice.  And I need to “choose to delight” both myself and you, my readers.

As Jon says, “A Quitter for me is someone who quits average. People who refuse to accept common and instead dare to live out the talents and gifts they’ve been given.”

So my question to you is – are you a Quitter? Will you dare to live out your dream?

Last week was especially busy, with meetings related to different areas of interest and responsibility, and hardly a moment to focus on anything. As I sat on the porch last night, first night without an outside commitment, I watched a hummingbird’s single minded attention to the feeder, and wondered if I need to adopt his attitude.

While it was satisfying to make progress on several fronts last week, ranging from work projects to responsibilities at church to homework for Blog Topics Master Class, I felt scattered and nervous. I didn’t sleep well, and I didn’t feel like I had accomplished much, even though in reality, I did. Small progress on several projects is somehow less satisfying than large progress on one project. Because I haven’t “finished” anything, I still feel like I am completely overwhelmed.

I kept thinking about that little hummingbird. The whole time I was on the porch, he kept coming back for nectar, sitting on the feeder and drinking and drinking. If I had that kind of focus, imagine the amount of progress I could make. And the difference it would make at my nonprofit and at my church.

I realized there are several principles I need to keep in mind to be more effective:

• Focus on one project at a time, and make sure I am moving that forward.
• Remember that multi-tasking is not an effective way to work. Working on several things means that none of them will be done well.
• Minimize distractions. I need to clear my desk of everything but the materials for that particular project, turn off email and social media alerts and do what is necessary to signal to others that I’m busy (close the door, plug into music, etc.).
• Keep coming back. When I get interrupted, the temptation is to move on to something else, but I need to come right back to that one project.
• Schedule more effectively. Try not to have meetings about several different projects on the same day so my attention isn’t split.

Even being chased away by another hummingbird didn’t stop that little guy from coming back again and again. Determination and focus got the job done and got his tummy filled.

How do you narrow your focus to accomplish more?

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It actually feels like fall in Tennessee today – there’s a chill in the air, the leaves are just starting to turn, and I could see my breath as I ran. Over the last few weeks, life has been changing, and it’s an adjustment that’s a little unsettling.

Routines are comfortable, and changing seasons can bring unwelcomed interference with normal schedules and priorities. As summer ends and school starts, I find I am impacted by the changes, even though I don’t have school-age children.

One of the most obvious differences is an extreme increase in the amount of traffic when I run in the mornings. Many days I wonder why on earth so many people are out and about so early!

There are also all sorts of new programs on the calendar at work and church, so becoming overbooked is a real possibility.

I have found a few ways to counteract the new busyness and still maintain my routine:

• Balancing – as new activities start up, I’m paying attention to my schedule and making sure to balance time engaged with others with my time for personal development, reading and study.
• Embracing – instead of staying focused on the bad things (I cringe as I drive through a school zone), I’m embracing the good (hearing the marching band practice after school stirs my soul).
• Maintaining – instead of adjusting the time or distance I run in the mornings, I’m just fine-tuning my route to less busy roads.
• Protecting – I am carefully protecting the most vital parts of my routine, like my morning writing and running time, and reading time in the evening.

While I cherish the time spent at home during the summer, it is exciting to be involved in new activities to learn, serve and enjoy. Supplementing my normal routine with a few additional activities helps keep me fresh without disrupting completely.

How do you preserve your routine in the face of change?

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I ran in the rain this morning. It wasn’t a downpour, and it wasn’t thundering, but it was definitely raining. I still managed 5 miles.

On the way back, I started asking myself was I just crazy to be out there, or very resolute in pursuing my fitness goals? How do you tell the difference?

I thought about what I’m letting get in the way of accomplishing my work goals. Interruptions, mini-crises, and mind-numbing busywork take up a lot of my time lately. Maybe it’s time to rethink how I approach my work day. I’m tired of making excuses for why some of my projects aren’t finished. It’s time to stay on task and get things done.

What about you? When you face road blocks, do you seek a way around them so you can continue to succeed, or do you abandon the goal when faced with adversity? Have you settled for a mediocre job because you were turned down too many times in a job search? Have you just accepted that weight is a problem because you fell off your diet goals over the weekend? Are you enduring a frustrating situation because your Plan A didn’t work?

As we start a new week, let’s consider these questions. What do you need to address and/or put in place to make sure you stay on track with your goals for work? For your personal life?

What road block are you letting stop you from reaching your goals?

At its core, leadership is about inspiring people to do their best. Several years ago, I took over a broken bookstore (near the bottom of rankings in a major chain), and in a little over a year, brought it back to 4^th in the company out of hundreds of stores, based on metrics including sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.

This is Part 5 of a 5-part series (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4) in which I share leadership basics which can inspire your team to greatness. Even though I am no longer in the bookselling business, these principles are transferable to any leadership situation.

Photo courtesy of ClaraDon (Creative Commons)

Actors are not at the top of their game all the time, but when they are “on stage,” they become their character. We can improve our performance by designating “on stage” and “backstage” areas in our work and life and being sure to “act” any time we are on stage.

On Stage
When we are “on stage” with customers (guests) or co-workers, we are focused on doing what it takes to win with them. We put on the persona of the confident salesperson or the friendly customer service rep. We may not always feel confident, but we project confidence when we are on stage.

Backstage
“Backstage” is a different matter altogether. We can express our doubt, frustration, fatigue, or fear backstage, either alone or with co-workers. We can let off steam and be ourselves, knowing backstage is safe. There were many shifts during the busy Christmas season that I would have to go backstage to clear my head or risk handling a situation wrong because I was tired and cranky!

As a team, we even let each other know if we needed to go “backstage” for a moment after a difficult interaction or long shift. As a leader, I’ve told team members to take it backstage if they need to cool off. Backstage gives you a chance to take a deep breath and collect yourself before putting on your persona and heading on stage again.

It’s Showtime!
Before opening the store each day, we declared, “It’s showtime!” That let everyone know to put on their costume and perform.

The distinction of “on stage” and “backstage” was a key part of our success because it gave the team the confidence to perform all out and know they could go backstage to cool off and rest.

The leadership principles shared in this series are basic, down-to-earth practices that are easy to implement, and one or two of these ideas may lead to moderate wins for your team. What we found, however, was that the combination of a strong team, a high level of communication, and a strong culture was the key that led to extreme success for our team.

The best part was that not only did we excel as a store, but my leaders went on to other opportunities and took this legacy and learning with them to strengthen other teams. It was a win all the way around!

What would change in your workplace if you implemented some of these leadership basics?

At its core, leadership is about inspiring people to do their best. Several years ago, I took over a broken bookstore (near the bottom of rankings in a major chain), and in a little over a year, brought it back to 4^th in the company out of hundreds of stores, based on metrics including sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.

This is Part 4 of a 5-part series (Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) in which I will share leadership basics which can inspire your team to greatness. Even though I am no longer in the bookselling business, these principles are transferable to any leadership situation.

Photo courtesy of Tatiana12 (Creative Commons)

If everyone is not on the same wavelength, then any plan you develop is doomed. You must ensure that everyone on your team understands your culture, your core values, and what winning looks like.

In my store, we talked about how to serve our guests at every opportunity, and shared stats and stories at every shift meeting so that each team member knew where we stood, and what was expected of them. And we opened the store each day with the words, “It’s showtime!”

Share the Good and the Bad
We shared the positive customer satisfaction reports as well as the negative ones. If we received an unsatisfactory report, we would discuss remedies at a shift meeting to avoid that situation in the future.

Communicate Early and Often
When interviewing potential team members, we talked about the guest culture and the importance of that mindset. As a team member came on board in training, the concepts had already been introduced and were reinforced.

One of our team members was an artist, so he created signs with Disney characters and phrases that were posted near the door to the back office and the back storage room to remind the team of our principles. If someone had a less than guest-like interaction, the leader on duty would suggest they “go backstage” to regroup, and would cover for them, if necessary.

By sharing sales and customer satisfaction numbers with the team, they became invested in keeping those numbers strong. We celebrated as our ranking increased through the company. The credit was also shared with the entire team.

Know What Is Important
New releases were pointed out and team members were challenged to stay abreast of where titles were displayed and shelved. How much better was it when we could just walk a guest to the front table and hand them the book, rather than take the time to look it up and head to the section? And we frequently tag-teamed – if you overheard a request and you knew where it was, you just took the guest there and let the other team member help someone else.

We also created a list of the strengths and interests of each team member, so if a guest was asking about science fiction, but that wasn’t what you read, you could call on your co-worker who was an avid sci fi fan for advice.

Photo courtesy of Sean MacEntee (Creative Commons)

Lead by Example Every Day
Leadership and a winning culture do not thrive by being presented once and then put aside. Culture must be modeled by everyone every day, especially you as a leader. It must be discussed constantly. Each encounter should be an opportunity to reinforce those ideas and concepts.

If a team member slipped and referred to a customer, they were gently reminded to say guest. The terminology infiltrated every part of what we did. We even incorporated the word guest into our closing announcements!

When have you succeeded because your communication was so strong?

Read the conclusion, Part 5, “It’s Showtime.”  Thanks for reading!

At its core, leadership is about inspiring people to do their best. Several years ago, I took over a broken bookstore (near the bottom of rankings in a major chain), and in a little over a year, brought it back to 4^th in the company out of hundreds of stores, based on metrics including sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, etc.

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series (Read Part 1 and Part 2) in which I will share leadership basics which can inspire your team to greatness. Even though I am no longer in the bookselling business, these principles are transferable to any leadership situation.

Photo courtesy of Julie Rybarczyk (Creative Commons)

The culture of your organization is probably the most important aspect of your winning plan. At the bookstore, we built a culture of excellence by treating our customers like guests. Based on the ideas of Disney, and the book, Be Our Guest, we translated everything into terms of welcoming guests into our home, the store. And we interpreted that on every level from answering the phone to greeting people at the registers.

Keep It Simple
By boiling the principles down to 3 main ideas, we were able to instill the principles in every team member:

• Treat everyone like a guest
• Leave it better than you found it
• Exceed expectations

Communicate Culture At Every Level
These simple concepts modeled and repeated by the leadership team, filtered down the ranks to every team member. We communicated with each other as well as with every guest (customer) who came in the store with respect, kindness and generosity.

Treat Everyone Like a Guest
We greeted each guest who came in the store to make them feel welcome, and offered assistance without being pushy.

The team was challenged to be creative in interpreting what “be my guest” looked like, so it was fun to see how each person excelled. It could be making recommendations of additional titles, a fun way to answer the phone, or interesting conversations during the checkout.

Leave It Better Than You Found It
We focused on keeping the store neat and orderly, from the shelving standards to cleanliness.  Team members had section assignments, and were expected to check the order of the shelving periodically and if there were problems, they could request help to get the order corrected, whether that was a block of time for themselves or a team to help reorganize.

Sharing new release titles was part of the morning routine before the store opened, as well as during the day as new team members began their shift. We talked about what we were reading or listening to in order to be knowledgeable when recommending titles to our guests. Inventory levels were monitored closely so we could reorder titles quickly.

Neatness of the store was valued, so we were always picking up, straightening and restocking. To this day, I cannot go into a bookstore without straightening the stacks of books!

Exceed Expectations
No matter what the situation, we encouraged team members to exceed the expectations of our guests.

If we did not have the book or music a guest was seeking, we offered several options for finding it, from ordering it to checking another store (even a competitor).

Customer satisfaction levels skyrocketed as we focused on guest service. Team members from other stores requested transfers because they heard that our store was the “jewel in the crown” of the stores in the area.

What does a winning culture look like at your company?

Read Part 4, “Communication isn’t just talk.”  Thanks for reading!