Archives for February 2015

I am really excited about the overwhelming response we have received to our grad programs. Less than half of our student slot capacity is now available,  and we launch this Fall.  If you are interested in training with me, apply now. The next round of acceptances will be for those who apply by March 1.

There are three levels of engagement available to you:

1. A Masters in Counseling or in Organizational Leadership, using my “Competency + Character” model of curriculum content.
2. A Credential in Counseling, Org Leadership or Executive Coaching (less coursework required).
3. Individual courses you are interested in taking.

Get world-class training and a career for your next growth phase!

For more information go to www.TownsendInstitute.org

Good leaders are basically positive people.  They dream of a better future.  They see opportunities within problems.  They inspire people to team well and follow a vision.  They create great solutions to challenges.  That positivity can transform an organization to perform at very high levels.

Yet, as they dream, brainstorm and plan, leaders often miss data points about reality that aren’t so positive, but are critical to deal with.  These data points will keep them from making large mistakes.  But the “always positive” leader often minimizes or ignores these realities, to the organization’s detriment.  Here are some realities that you do well to align with and adapt to.

• Negative market realities.  The market is always speaking, and you need to always be listening to it.  People’s needs and interests change, and you need to know when to make the changes necessary to it.  When I owned and operated a healthcare company, the market shifted because of a disruptive technology called HMO’s.  That new insurance entity changed the landscape of health care forever.  We, the owners, adapted to the new market for a while, until we realized that our model of health care was unsustainable with the new normal, and we sold the business.  It was not a fun move, but it was the right move, and time proved that.  Just because you love your product or service doesn’t mean that the market does.  Listen to the market.
• Problems due to tactics without strategy.  I see this sometimes  in companies I work with.  They are creative and forward-thinking, but are always in a cash crisis or a process/systems crisis.  Often it is because they are driven by a tactic (a new marketing plan, an improved comp package, or a new software commitment, for example), but not by a strategy.  Tactics are very helpful, but the strategic plan must rule the tactic.  Don’t get the two confused, I have seen companies lose great amounts of revenue in confusing the bright shiny objects from a well thought out, and adhered-to plan.  When this is a problem, what happens is the company is always patching itself up like an old leaky roof, and the longer it goes like this, the more expensive it is to truly fix it.  Spend time on the strategy plan and keep coming back to it.  Tactics must bend the knee to strategy.
• Cultural issues.  Research has shown that culture, or how people engage in the company, is just as important as strategy, if not more.  A poor strategy can be strengthened by a solid culture much easier than the reverse.  Yet growing a healthy culture means listening to lots of non-affirming negatives: people’s complaints about your leadership; their complaints about each other;  and their own struggles.  A poor leader will simply accuse these people of being SNL’s Debbie Downer and ignore them.  That is not a good idea.  A great leader will lean into the negative data points, explore them, respect them, and if necessary, make decisions based on them.

Align yourself with negative realities and don’t resist them.  They can save your organization.

Leaders who are out of touch with reality may need to “land the plane” as I refer to in the video below:

I was in Phoenix during Super Bowl weekend partnering with a ministry I work with, Athletes in Action (AIA), who have a very high impact sports presence.  I spoke and trained leaders, and also attended an AIA  breakfast where Peyton Manning received the Bart Starr Award.

Like all quarterbacks, Peyton Manning is a tremendous offensive player.  But to have a great team you must have great defensive players, too. The same holds true in leadership. When your offensive skills overshadow your defensive skills it throws the game out of balance. Good leaders and organizations are able to balance both skills to remain strong competitors in the game.

To use the sports analogy, organizations must be able to play both offense and defense to win. Both require different skills and attitudes from you as the leader.

Offense
Offense is the opportunity part of your job. It is the aspect of being able to move ahead and take initiative, and take the hill. Keep this in mind to become an offensively competent leader:

• See an opportunity that is not yet, before others do. In your industry, be constantly scanning the horizon for a new idea, product or service. You are tasked to literally see the future. You must see something that is not now, but could be in time. Lots of people in your area are doing that right now. Get to that next big thing before it’s the next big thing.
• Think leader thoughts. Seeing the future is very difficult when you are in the midst of the daily grind, or solving issues, or dealing with a crisis. This week, calendar 3 hours for yourself in which you can do what I call “thinking leader thoughts” with no distractions. Do what only you can do from the 50,000 foot level. Think about what is not yet, that could be.

Defense
No company or organization is without problems. They are part of reality, and must be faced. But the defensively competent leader goes beyond this, and takes action to deal with problems.  Use the following to develop your defense skills:

• Anticipate speed bumps before they become major accidents. Look for problems, kinks, weaknesses and threats in your organization.
• Analyze, review, evaluate, and ask people about all the bad news. You do not want to be blindsided by a storm because you didn’t pay attention to it.    

You will find yourself better at one of these than the other. No one’s needle is right in the middle. But spend some time and energy creating a balance. It’s much better to be able to think in both directions, and be agile enough for any reality, good or bad. Don’t get caught missing an opportunity, or being surprised by a crisis.