Month: April 2021

leadership dot #3231: rephrase

April 20, 2021April 19, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplett2 Comments

“No” is too often the default response, whether expressed verbally or just framed in your mind. It appears to be much easier to say “no” to something instead of rephrasing your doubt with a question, constructive suggestion or proposed alternative.

In Dare to Lead, Brené Brown shares that in her company, “you aren’t allowed to criticize without offering a point of view in return — if you’re going to tear something down, you have to offer a specific plan for how you would rebuild it to make it stronger and more substantial.” Think of how this would change many of your meetings!

I’m reminded of that old adage: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Does it really have to be “no” to every aspect of the proposal or idea? Or is there one component upon which you can find agreement and use that as a base from which to build?

Try making your comments from a position of “yes.” Let your opening remarks be positive to stimulate a productive discussion instead of a defensive one.

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown, 2018, p. 95

leadership dot #3230: polarized

April 19, 2021April 16, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It is fascinating to me how the staffing in grocery stores has become polarized on two ends of a spectrum. Whereas it used to be the only choice for people to do their own shopping and clerks to check them out, today there are fewer and fewer lanes where this distribution of labor occurs. Instead, we see the growth of self-check lanes where you do you own ringing and bagging — as well as expansion of curbside pickup and delivery where you do neither, allowing the store to shop for you.

I wonder about the economics of this shift and whether those who used to serve as checkers are now functioning as shoppers instead (doubtful). I wonder if people buy more or less when they shop online for groceries. I wonder if the increase in curbside will continue post-COVID or whether it has become part of the routine that will be hard to give up.

I thought of all this when walking into Aldi and seeing their designated curbside spots. It seems to be off-brand for the economical leader to offer premium high-cost services, even if they do charge a nominal fee for it. Aldi is Aldi precisely because they have foregone the bakery, deli, Starbucks, et al that most grocery chains have added. I doubt they will be as successful if they straddle both sides of the low-cost/high-touch line.

The takeaways for you: a) pay attention to shifts in what becomes normalized and b) to how brands position themselves. It may highlight an opportunity for you to fill the space that has slowly been vacated or it may point to a new opening where you are able to thrive.

leadership dot #3229: think ahead

April 18, 2021April 16, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

When a friend closed his credit card account, it triggered a final cash back reward of 15 cents. He ignored it for over a year thinking they’d eventually forfeit his reward, but when that never happened he contacted support to cancel. Instead, they printed a check on one piece of paper, included a cover letter on another piece of paper, put it in an envelope, and paid to send it to him. Quite a system there!

You KNOW that my friend is not the only one in this situation. Why didn’t someone think ahead and include a clause that if a reward was under $X or any amount was unclaimed for X period of time that it would automatically be forfeited and instead donated to a selected charity? It would have saved the company money, saved the customer a hassle and generated good will.

If you find yourself in situations where policy dictates that you do something that lacks common sense, think ahead and change the policy to prevent a recurrence. The little steps you save (not to mention the money) will pay big dividends in the long run.

Thanks, Brian!

leadership dot #3228: audible

April 17, 2021April 16, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

During a recent session I was facilitating, the discussion went in a different direction than I was expecting. Since I was presenting remotely via my laptop, I was able to quickly pull up a relevant visual I had not planned to use, and tie the conversation back to the point I was attempting to make.

My ability to call an audible during the workshop reminded me of my early training days where we used overhead transparencies. I have always missed the flexibility that overheads provided — the ability to rearrange the order in the moment, to skip slides without fanfare, to have a large repertoire of options from which to choose. PowerPoint and its cousins lock me into an order that makes sense going in, but doesn’t always feel right as the presentation evolves.

My takeaway from remote teaching is that when I’m back in-person, I’m going to have my key documents at-the-ready in the cloud so that I can access them should the situation warrant. It may interrupt the flow or cause a momentary delay, but in the end I believe learning is worth the wait. Don’t become so focused on the presentation mechanics that you fail to prioritize the content.

leadership dot #3227: addict

April 16, 2021April 15, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

My friend’s dog Mable is having some anxiety issues so they sought the advice of a behavioralist. The trainer’s analogy was that Mable was like a drug addict and my friend was her drug dealer — so whenever others were near my friend, Mable feared they were getting her drugs, or whenever my friend wasn’t in sight it caused fear she may not come back. They are now in a “detox” program, first creating some physical distance and eventually working up to the ability to be with others and to handle different commands.

I think that humans often see others as their “drug dealers” in a similar sense. Some employees are so desperate for compliments that they give disproportionate weight to what the boss thinks, treating praise like a drug of which they never have enough. Others cling to certain colleagues and come to rely on those relationships more than is healthy. A compulsive need for companionship occurs in friendships and romantic partnerships too, and anxiety rises whenever those who need to be with others find themselves alone.

We all have urges and desires that are stronger than others. Hopefully, the metaphor of a drug addict and dealer will help you frame ways to address the undesirable behaviors before you overdose on them.

leadership dot #3226: no pressure

April 15, 2021April 14, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Dan Levy was asked about the evolution of Schitt’s Creek and what he believed led to its success. He shared how the show was turned down by all of the major networks and thus ended up on the Pop Network for the first few seasons. He acknowledged that most people had probably never even heard of the Pop Network, but it gave Levy and the cast the opportunity to perfect their art with no pressure. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” he said.

I think of others who have succeeded because they were able to do their work without the pressure of the spotlight. Figure-skater Sarah Hughes was in fourth place going into the Olympic finals and had the skate of her life because she went out “just to have fun”, thinking that a medal was out of reach. As a result, she won the Gold. Number 11 UCLA gave Number 1 Gonzaga a run for their money in the recent NCAA playoffs, coming in as the heavy underdog with nothing to lose. Expectations were low for singer Susan Boyle until she belted out I Dreamed a Dream on American Idol and stunned everyone.

It is tempting to want to be the top-ranked or favorite, but with the glory comes the pressure as well. Instead, appreciate the opportunity being undervalued affords you to develop a secure foundation and grounding that will serve you well when you emerge from the shadow.

leadership dot #3225: do

April 14, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I watched an online conversation with actor and writer Dan Levy that could have doubled as a commencement speech. In a far more serious tone than his David Rose character on Schitt’s Creek, Levy shared some of the ups and downs of his path to the awards podium.

When asked about the genesis for his show, he replied that he “had to do something unconventional for myself.” He created the hit series to provide a venue to act because he is “terrible at auditioning.” Rather than let his nerves stop him, Levy wrote himself into a character and became so in-demand that auditioning is no longer required.

What stuck with me most were his closing comments about the advice he would give to college students. “If you want something, actually do what you want to do and success will come. Doors will open if you have the work to show,” Levy said. “If you actually follow through on what you want, you will be ahead of 99% of the people. It is so rare for people to follow through.”

Think about all the things you have said you wanted and then assess how many of them you have actually done something about. Instead of talking about writing a show, starting a company, or learning a language, take Levy’s advice and follow your intentions with action. Who knows how far it could take you.

leadership dot #3224: showered

April 13, 2021April 12, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I’d like my organizational leadership class to watch the entire season of Ted Lasso as a case study of how to create a culture. (If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, the Apple TV+ show is about an American football coach hired to coach a British soccer team. Instead of failing as the new divorcée owner hoped he would in order to spite her ex, Lasso brings effusive optimism, pure transparency, and genuine concern that not only inspires everyone but makes for very entertaining television.)

One of Lasso’s earliest moves is to install a suggestion box to allow the players to leave anonymous comments. (In keeping with yesterday’s theme of achieving gritty outcomes, the box consisted of a shoebox decorated by the equipment manager’s young niece.) Through this process, he learns that the shower pressure in the locker room is weak. A few days later, the players are surprised when the enhanced pressure almost knocks them to the ground.

The shower was a tangible way for Lasso to show the players that they mattered. It was the start of a host of small changes that added up through the season to transform how the team interacted with each other in the locker room — which translated to how they performed on the pitch (field). There is no silver bullet to culture change, rather it happens one showerhead at a time.

Building a strong culture happens when leaders listen. Let Ted Lasso show you what it looks like in action.

leadership dot #3223: urgent

April 12, 2021April 9, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I finally got my first COVID vaccine. In addition to being awed by the science that made the shot possible, the environment created a palpable sense of seriousness — something big and important warranted the work that went into creating this temporary distribution facility.

I wasn’t just walking into a doctor’s office to get a routine shot; my vaccine was in a pharmacy that was visibly and substantially jury-rigged into a vaccination site. You could see the dismantled shelving units piled up in a corner, the exposed 2x4s and unfinished drywall, the half-painted walls that displays used to cover, residual marks the shelves left on the flooring, and wall signs that were reminders the space used have a very different use.

My shot was administered by a pharmacy technician whose reassignment of duties also signaled that this wasn’t business-as-usual, rather an exceptional need that called for deploying any and all resources that were available to address it.

The temporary and almost McGyvered nature of the environment conveyed a sense of urgency to me — something important was happening here that justified such a hurried retrofitting and obvious displacement of the normal transactions. Truly, it gave me pause.

The next time you are undertaking a big change effort, keep this vaccination site in mind. Maybe the way to convey urgency isn’t to present it with a neat and tidy bow, rather get quickly to the work at hand even if it’s a bit messy around the edges.

leadership dot #3222: manageable

April 11, 2021April 10, 2021by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A meme on Facebook shared a wise lesson: “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one.” It is a reminder that in this age of information overload, the value lies in curation not in quantity.

Part of the value of leadership coaching is that people are able to get resources on issues that are vexing them, rather than being directed to a library full of self-help books. Fitness trainers help people develop exercises that target individual needs instead of requiring them to sort through numerous diets and workout plans. Financial planners craft personalized investment strategies instead of leaving clients to sort through the maze of options on their own.

What are you doing to make information manageable for your clientele? Narrowing their inputs may ultimately broaden your impact.