Month: July 2022

leadership dot #3675: dinnertime

July 21, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I (reluctantly!) just returned from a glorious vacation in Hawaii. I’m sure several dots will reflect on my experiences there but what I noticed first is how quickly I adjusted to the time change. There is a five-hour differential, yet after the first day I was eating and sleeping as if I was a long-term resident. Dinner on the first night was at 7:30pm and felt normal, when at home this would have translated to eating at half-past midnight, hours after I am usually in bed.

The assimilation made me realize how strongly environmental cues impact us and reminded me that we need to pay attention to them when creating a culture or implementing a change. We automatically do things that align with our systems and rhythms without thought — or pushback. If we manage the signals that we send, alterations in behavior come much more naturally and soon it feels as if the “new way” is the “usual way.”

So, if you want people to change their actions, orchestrate the environment accordingly and start doing things the “new way” as soon as you are able. Make those restaurant reservations for 7:30pm and it will feel like dinnertime.

leadership dot #212a: towering achievement

July 20, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

As one of my staff members reflected on the year, she described it as gray. “Nothing really big happened,” she said.

But when I looked at her year, I saw a collection of little wins: process improvements, staff training gains, outreach efforts, a record of accuracy and service, etc. I feared that if she did not take satisfaction in these achievements her staff would not see their significance either, setting everyone up for a “gray” year next year.

The analogy I used to describe this to her was that she had a bunch of little boxes. Her job as a manager was to tie a ribbon around them and make them into an impressive tower of gifts. Big wins don’t need to come in big chunks or be a silver bullet. Small, continuous improvements can add up to produce significant benefits as well.

Originally published in modified form on December 30, 2012

leadership dot #205a: pyramids or batons

July 19, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

The topic of collaboration came up at our recent Cave Day meeting (dot #201). As we probed more deeply into what individuals meant by collaboration, it became clear to me that there are (at least) two distinct styles. One is like a Cirque du Soleil acrobatic pyramid–everyone is working together and they are all doing a similar function simultaneously. The other is more like a relay race, where people are working more or less independently, but all rely on each other to complete the race (project).

If you have a different expectation as to which kind of collaboration will occur, you may be disappointed in the teamwork and effort of others. If you forget that you are in a relay race and only focus on your portion of the laps, you may fail to pay attention to the baton hand-off and set the team behind.

Collaboration takes many forms and people play different roles as part of a team. Spend some time clarifying how you expect your team to function before you climb on the back of someone who is trying to run a relay race.

Originally published in modified form on December 23, 2012

leadership dot #201a: cave days

July 18, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I don’t really like the word “retreat”. It conjures up either literal images of armies retreating and being pushed back in defeat, or the more modern-day images of sitting in long meetings with flip charts posted throughout the walls. I do, however, believe in the power of going off-site and changing the environment in order to do some strategic thinking or more intentional planning.

So we call our version of deep thinking “Cave Days” — as in going away to hide in a cave to escape the daily distractions. I spent yesterday afternoon out of the office at such a Cave Day experience –clarifying the transitions and processes of new staff. The informal environment allows people to be more focused and candid and, as a result, we were able to have discussions that could have never occurred sitting around a table in a meeting setting. By dedicating a significant chunk of time to this topic, it signified the importance of it. I hope it also heightened everyone’s commitment to achieving results and then implementing them.

I encourage you to think about the key things you need to discuss and commit to a Cave Day-type environment in which to process them. Sometimes we need to alter our routine in an effort to alter our thinking — and changing when/where we broach the topic can have an immediate impact on that.

Originally published in modified form on December 19, 2012

leadership dot #180a: not guilty

July 17, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

My advice from being called twice to serve on jury duty: if you have to be on the jury, be the foreman.

If I am going to spend my time at the trial and deliberation, I want to see a productive outcome (verdict) as a result. So if I have to be there, I’m going to step up and lead the discussion to help us stay on topic.

The same principle applies to meetings outside the legal arena. If you have to be at a meeting, act like the foreman. Take an active role in the discussion to frame the issue, bring out the various views, point out the commonalities and move the group toward action. The foreman is a facilitator, not a dictator, and it is a good model to follow.

You don’t need to hold an official position of power to help move the meeting along. If you have been convened with the purpose of deciding, step up to the role. Whether your goal is group consensus or majority rule, you can help drive the discussion to facilitate action.

Don’t just sit there and be guilty of leaving the verdict of the meeting in someone else’s hands.

Originally published in modified form on November 28, 2012

leadership dot #161a: lily pads

July 16, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Q: There is one lily pad floating on a pond. Every day the number of lily pads in the pond will double. If it will take one month to cover the entire pond with lily pads, on what day will the pond be half-covered?

A: On the 29th day

If this was a change initiative project, everyone who wasn’t directly involved in the implementation would be “wowed” on day 30 when the full effort was unveiled. People think that change happens in big increments instead of a series of small ones, and it is this illusion that allows change to take on mythical powers. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Change happens in little steps, often involving a lot of grunt work, do-overs, trial & error, and frustrations. Only after enough persistence in this mode does a true “breakthrough” occur.

Change is not lofty. Change is not mysterious. Change is not caused by those who are lucky. Change happens because everyday people put in the effort, over time, to take baby steps toward a goal. They connect the dots.

Today is Day 1. What steps are you taking to fill your pond on Day 30 (or 300)?

Originally published in modified form on November 9, 2012

leadership dot #144a: overwrite

July 15, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I walked into my grocery store and my brain instantly knew that it was remodeled. It was much more open through the front areas so I tried to picture how it had previously looked. I couldn’t do it. In an instant, my brain had overwritten what it was like “before”.

I think it works this way with most people and remodels — the new lighting at work that was so startling on the first day is now a non-factor. The new paint at home that made the room look so different is now just part of the background. And the same is true with civil engineering — one of the reasons I am so fascinated with it — that road or bridge seems like the most natural thing to be there. Even if we witness the construction process, after the first few days we don’t even pay attention to how different the new traffic pattern is.

It takes less time than you think for the new to become old; for things to stop being noticed and to become part of the routine. Two sides to this coin:

> You can take advantage of the brain’s capacity to overwrite things. Think about what you want to rewrite in your life — a habit? a brand element? the way your office looks? It doesn’t take long to replace a concept in your head.

> But because the brain has a great capacity to overwrite things, you need to continually keep feeding in the messages that you want to stick or it will be replaced with something else new.

Originally published in modified form on October 23, 2012

leadership dot #121a: civil engineering

July 14, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

My personal mission statement could be the same as the American Society of Civil Engineers: “[We] conceive, design and build the infrastructure that supports our community and its economic prosperity.”

I hope that my work accomplishes what the ASCE purports as its mantra, and I think that we would be better off if most people routinely took two of its main elements to heart:

1. “and build” I like the concept of not just coming up with the idea, but delivering on it. This isn’t a lofty thinking exercise; ASCE gets things done. Execution is important to them, and to me.

2. “supports our community“ The work isn’t about individual gain or internal purposes; this phrase advocates thinking about the impact on others and how you can help.

If you build in ways that support your community, we would all prosper. Building bridges of civility. Building partnerships and networks. Building alliances and friendships. Building physical buildings and tangible programs that foster economic health.

Who knew that civil engineers had so much to teach us, but I believe that they do. Engineering civil societies is a great goal for all of us.

Originally published in modified form on September 30, 2012

leadership dot #105a: dive lunches

July 13, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Once each month, several of us from work eat lunch at a local establishment that is off the beaten path. We call these “dives” but others may call them Ma and Pa diners, greasy spoons, bars, or other similar terms of endearment. It started as a way for me to keep in touch with a colleague that transferred to another division at work, but it has since grown into a rotating group of a dozen or more people who have participated in one of our field trips.

What makes our “Dive Lunch” crew special is the mix of participants. Our regulars include the president, president emeritus, a retired faculty member, a couple of the vice presidents, directors, assistant directors, faculty, and people from four of our five divisions. We have even been joined by the chair of the board of trustees when we went to a dive she recommended! It is our own mini-version of a cash mob (as most of these places literally only take cash).

The wonder of Dive Lunches goes well beyond the food — even though we have found that to be surprisingly good. These meals instill camaraderie and build relationships that would never be fused inside a meeting room or office. There is a sense of experimentation, creativity, and risk-taking as we try places none of us have ever visited before. There is a bonding and shared experience that carries over into working partnerships.

The next time you’re ready to head to the same old place with the same people, think about inviting someone new to go on an adventure with you. We’ve found that those who break onion rings together do projects well together!

Originally published in a modified form on September 14, 2012

leadership dot #86a: care by example

July 12, 2022June 28, 2022by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

One of our service offices had a temporary table set up this week to handle the opening-of-school rush. The person working had made a handwritten sign, on a piece of notebook paper, with the loose leaf “fringe” still attached.

Another employee walked up to the table and removed the sign, replacing it with a typed version. “We’re better than that,” he said as he crumpled the original paper.

I did not witness any of the above, but it made such an impression on someone who did that he retold the story to me and, no doubt, to others. Little things do matter. First impressions do count.

Kudos to the employee who acted to improve the situation, instead of just complaining about it. Rather than just shaking your head, let’s follow the example to take those extra few moments to make something a bit better in your organization.

Originally published in modified form on August 26, 2012