Wisteria is a climbing vine that drapes big, gorgeous clusters of lilac-colored flowers like a cascading waterfall. It is fairly easy to grow, so much so that it can get out of control and spread wildly. However, did you know that Chinese wisteria twines counterclockwise as it climbs and Japanese wisteria climbs clockwise? If you try to train these two plants in the same direction, you will succeed brilliantly with one and fail dismally with the other. The same is true of people. Your employees are as individual as the multitude of plants that thrive in widely varying conditions. Techniques that help one person thrive drive another person crazy. I think you know this as well as I do.
A headline caught my eye the other day. I don’t remember where or what it said. All I remember is that it contained the phrase “actionable strategy.” And it has bothered me ever since. So what could “actionable strategy” possibly mean? Perhaps more importantly, what does it mean to have a strategy that is not actionable?
The Roto-Rooter man was standing on the downhill side of the overflowing sewer access plug in front of our condo. He thought nothing of being in the flow and dropping his tools at his feet. I thought a lot about it. Eeww!
Of all the corporate certificates I’ve ever received, the one I’ve valued above all others is the one that reads “The Person Most Likely To Dispute Recognized Authorities.” I received this honor for my relentless questions about the evidence and conclusions presented from studies by PhDs representing venerable institutions such as Harvard and Stanford. Looking back, I suppose I was completely exasperating.
When I read the article “21 Unvarnished Truths About Retirement” by Jonathan Look, I thought immediately of some of my coaching clients even though they aren’t anywhere near retirement. Two truths, in particular, triggered this reaction:
I saw a bumper sticker today that read “Mediocre Is The New Fabulous.” This really got to me because it’s a little too true. It is also sad. Mediocrity is a sad state. It’s a state of moderate quality. Ordinary. Middling. We don’t want mediocrity for our families, our towns, our teams, our country, or ourselves. We want fabulous! We want awesome! But calling things awesome doesn’t make them awesome.
My executive coaching clients tell me it’s tough to avoid distractions that pull them and their teams away from strategic priorities. Readers worldwide write to complain about too many priorities and not being allowed to focus on strategic priorities. Across every organization, there is too much to do and yet it’s common to see many hours devoted to less important tasks while strategic priorities languish. What’s to do?
Would you like to be that person who silences chaos and moves things forward with a simple question or statement? You can! The secret lies in making distinctions.
If you think arming teachers is the solution to gun violence, I bet your track record as a manager, especially a hiring manager, leaves much to be desired.
“I hadn’t realized how entrenched I was in so many time-wasting habits until Ann Latham made them transparent. It’s almost embarrassing,” said Jim Goodwin, CEO of CHD. Just a few days ago, I talked with another client who told me that after working with me, he can’t not see the lack of clarity surrounding him. The lack of specificity, the lack of cognitive process clarity, and the lack of effective communication that are so ubiquitous. The language that drives activity, not results. The time-wasting habits so firmly entrenched in business-as-usual. The disclarity that was completely invisible to him before, and that is now so transparently an obstacle to progress. I share these examples to demonstrate that just because you are a competent, successful, hard-working leader, like these two, doesn’t mean you are aware of the disclarity around you.