You Are Who You...

... spend the most time with. Do you buy that?

In my keynote entitled The Dirty Little Secret of Business, we talk about the importance of relationships. During the keynote I ask people in the audience: "How much does it matter who you spend time with? Why?"

Overwhelmingly the responses are that we are significantly impacted by the people we are surrounded by. Speaker and author Allan Holender says it this way: "You are the mean of the five people you spend the most time with."

As you look around your office, this might scare you. :)

This principle goes beyond just the workplace or even adults. A study released earlier this month found that kids with overweight friends tend to be overweight as well.

In the keynote I challenge people to be more intentional with whom they surround themselves. You may not be able to select the members of your team, but you do have control over who you go to lunch with, what podcasts you listen to, which books you read, and who you hang out with socially.

We talk about the importance of diversity in relationships and finding people who make you better, not tear you down... who take your further, not hold you back... who you can help as well as they can help you.

Andy Stanley says, "What and who you listen to will determine what you do." Even if this isn't completely true in every situation, I'm convinced from my own experience (as well as from coaching hundreds of executives), that much of your success will come down to who your greatest influencers are. And you are most influenced by those you spend the most time with.

Take a look around.

P.S. If you would like more information about our Dirty Little Secret of Business keynote, contact me for details. It's a perfect session for company or department meetings, offsite meetings, and conferences.

Labels: culture, influence, keynotes, leadership, listening, relationships

posted by Andy at 5:18 PM  

Killer Whale Sized Opportunities to Teach and Learn

What can you learn from "the new guy?"

I've been enjoying Andy Jordan's blog on the People Side of Project Management. In a recent posting he talks about interacting with "the new guy" and how we can not only help them as mentors but that we can also learn from them in the process.

In Amy Sutherland's book What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage she relates that killer whale trainers remember that "every interaction is training." (click here for a post I made about this book). Every time trainers interact with Shamu they are teaching, whether they realize it or not. Both Shamu and the trainers are learning about what is expected, how to treat each other, consequences for actions, etc.

I'm convinced that I miss killer whale-sized opportunities to learn each day because I'm not sufficiently paying attention. But when I do, those lessons can be more valuable than an expensive weeklong workshop.

I remember when I finally got that the dirty little secret of business is that it's all done on relationships. Previously I wanted to believe that the smartest one wins. Or that the best argument wins. Or that filling out the "right" paperwork and following the "right" process was the secret to successfully delivering projects.

But through the gift of a couple great mentors who modeled the secret of building relationships, I've been able to navigate situations that would have left me as Shamu Chow years before!

Our interactions with the new guy (and the old guys!) are modeling how to look at the world of projects and business and people in a potentially different way. May we all be forces for good as we teach (and have our eyes and minds wide open as we observe).

Want to become a more effective leader? Join our Leadership Fast Track Program to accelerate your ability to lead with confidence, take focused action, and achieve the results you desire.

Labels: leadership, learning, listening, managing up, mistakes, project management, project sponsors, teambuilding

posted by Andy at 1:46 PM  

Leadership Lessons from William A. Osborne

A recent Crain's Chicago Business "Talking Business" episode included an interview with the Chairman and CEO of Northern Trust, Bill Osborne. I've had the distinct pleasure of facilitating training & offsite meetings for the Northern, as well as some executive coaching. You can often learn a lot about a leader by what people in their organization say about him or her. Here are some things I consistently hear people say about Bill:

• "He's so personable."
• "He's very approachable."
• "He doesn't talk down to you."
• "He's very down-to-earth."
• "He's sharp. He knows the business."

Here are some notes from the brief video:

• You're not a leader if you're not respected. We continually need to be reminded that we're not a leader simply because of our title. In many of our leadership workshops (such as Influence & Accountability for Project Success), we discuss the difference between positional power (you follow me because of my position) and personal power (you follow me because of who I am). There are times when leaders need to exercise their positional power, but the most effective leaders for the long-term are those who have a well-developed arsenal of personal power. One of the keys to increasing your personal power is increasing the respect others have for you, and respect is something that is earned day-by-day, decision-by-decision, one interaction with a person at a time. Contact us to learn how we can help you better develop your influence.
  

• Leaders are visible and accessible. Bill spends half of his time visiting offices, meeting with employees. I don't remember meeting a partner (what the Northern calls their employees) who had been with the organization for more than a year that has not met Bill. We coach leaders to Manage By Wandering Around, which sounds a lot like Manage By Walking Around, with some subtle differences. Wandering implies less of an agenda, with the true agenda being available for interaction. The ivory tower syndrome hits too many leaders, often due to death by meeting. Certainly you are required to participate in more than you share of meetings, but you must carve out time to be on the floor, available to team members.

• Leaders listen to all levels. I appreciated Bill's comments about not simply listening to his direct reports. It's been observed there's an inverse relationship between someone's level in the organization and their ability to see reality! We can joke about that, but the truth is that reality is often obscured in the executive ranks because the food chain under them overly massages the information to the point that it bears only a shadow's resemblance to the original message.
  

• Leaders learn from others. Though Caterpillar and Northern Trust are quite different enterprises, Bill provides a good example of how serving on the Caterpillar board has benefited his business. Too many leaders have the mindset that they already have the answers, and stop actively working to learn from others. In discussions with friends and colleagues in other companies, ask them questions about the business. Try to understand the business models and operating principles. Intentionally watch for ideas you can apply to how you manage your areas of responsibility.

I strongly suggest you invest the time to learn from one of the great leaders in the banking industry, Bill Osborne.

Labels: accountability, executives, illusion, leadership, learning, listening, reality

posted by Andy at 4:22 PM