Presenting - Yep still scary?

I have been presenting to new and different crowds lately and usually before now I knew the audience really well. This set of rounds I have been presenting on topics I am not as familiar with (Cybersecurity) and to crowds that I am not exactly sure of their level or wants. So far so good! If you know me at all you know I take a different angle then almost everyone else and that has served me well. One new thing I tried here recently to a more comfortable audience was the select your own journey. I put a dozen topics that vary on length and they select the title. Went pretty well but I under estimated how much time it would take and we only made it through 1/4 of the topics (But hey, maybe they will want me back?) One thing is for sure, put yourself out there and there will always be haters and that is ok. Just keep on getting better!

How much transparancy?

I usually have little to nothing to hide and especially in business. But the reality is that there are times that you cannot give the complete picture. Maybe it is relevant to an acquisition or pay or even things having to do with HIPPA. However more than not I see others hide things or treat them like they are top secret? Why? I am guessing that many times I give up too much. What I think about a process, how others have treated people or even mistakes I have made. But sharing any of these can help us grow together? I should probably focus more on sharing my mistakes since they are mine to share. The other part of this is when you cannot share it can make others super uneasy and possibly damage trust. The easiest way of overcoming this is saying that it doesn’t have to do with the person you are speaking with (Assuming it doesn’t…Don’t lie) That is what most people want to know. For now I will try and stay on the side of clarity without giving away anything that shouldn’t be shared.

I was reminded - let others lead

I was working with another leader yesterday and they were making a point how their supervisor was so involved with their team that they were unable to really lead. There was no excuse from the leader just that many of times the supervisor stepped in during important times and usurped the situation. The why behind it was from a situation that had happend to that supervisor in the past where they had lost control or someone they were managing failed. Hey, I get that, we have all worked with others that we wished had done better. That is when a leader must coach not do. Easier said than done and a good reminder for me to make sure I allow others to lead.

My Weak Spot

Do you have that person that for whatever reason just gets your goat up? Yes GOAT Steve Gilliland – My Secretary Margaret: Hide Your Goat! - YouTube Honestly I don’t have very many of those people but when I run into them my EQ goes out the window. I simply snap (No excuses). I recently started looking at my own behavior to try and identify the traits that cause my strong reaction. Here is what does it for me; • They are not self-aware (But claim to be). That last part is important. I have found the more people state they are self-aware the less likely they actually are. • Bullies – this is a strange one for me. When I witness that I then do it to that person. UGH • People that talk about others Ok, admittedly not a long list and honestly I only have a few people that do this to me. I am trying to be more aware and keep my EQ where it should be.

Building future leaders

If you are a leader in your organization or even a percieved leader you have a responsibility to build the future leaders. Probably not new news however what are you DOING to build the future? For me it means spending time dedicated to the leadership development. There are two parts. First is to go over some tactical parts of Supervision. Not necessarily to be confused with leadership (Not all supervisors are leaders) but how to handle difficult conversations, tactical parts of leading a team and lessons you have learned over the years. Second taking leadership topics and walking through them. For me this is talking about events that have happened to me, or I have witnessed and walking through them (These can be good things and bad situations) The key is to protect this leadership time from the day to day business. I do struggle keeping these things out of this time but I try my best. (Hey, I don't have a problem discussing this with you but can we set a separate time to cover? I want to keep this time focused on you and development.) This is done for my team by spending 1 hour per month per person and 2 hours per month as a group. Key is, make it a priority. It is your future.

Number One Priority of a leader - Bring Clarity - But it isn't that simple?

You say sure it is, just tell people what they need to know. OK, fair enough but the trap is when people want rules. The problem with rules is that they live in a black and white world. This would look like always and never. (PS Not a fan) I believe the best clarity you can give is guidelines and have your teams back. Coach through the tough decisions and that will bring clarity. Versus telling them what to do and having them having to check with you to make sure they get the direction.

Focus - Stay on Target - Make sure the target is clear

Sometimes I have that scene in Star Wars where they are attacking the Death Star and the guy keeps saying "Stay on Target" playing over and over. It is so easy to get distracted. I was speaking to my dad this last weekend and he was telling me how he was working on some touch up paint but then went to the basement and was distracted by another project and completed that task from earlier and went back upstairs only to realize that he forgot to ge the paint. Heck, I do that all the time - distracted all the time! But in business I see it different. You lay out the vision, put together a plan then get distracted by so many other things. Recently it has been constant distractions (Not to say they arn't real) - COVID - Product Constraints Just to name a couple small things, but it is the tactical day to day items that tend to get the team distracted and impact business. Shiney deals that do not align to where we want to go and we sink tons of time only to get to the end and understand it was a waste. Or others trying to distract us in swim lanes that are not ours. Maybe my most annoying is discussing process and process change, minor change only to not do anything. Sometimes acting like you are a startup for short stretches can gain the momentum we need to jump gaps. Our pants are on fire, we are running out of time an money and if this thing doesn't happen the we will fail. Get the momentum up and see how far you can fly. "The key to flying is to throw yourself at the ground and miss"