Month: March 2024

leadership dot #4222: watched

March 21, 2024March 19, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

One of my former students is now teaching at the same university where I taught him. For the next term, he is assigned one of the classes I am currently teaching, so he asked if he could sit in my class and observe.

I was nervous about having him there watching me — but then I realized that everyone in the class would be watching me. That’s just what happens when you’re the leader. Whether overtly or not, people are paying attention to the leader’s smallest moves — what they wear, how they operate, what they say and how they say it, what they pay attention to, and what they ignore. When I was a VP, I knew that people knew my beverage of choice, when I went to lunch and my favorite foods — and I’m sure they paid attention to much more that they did not reveal to me.

We tend to forget that we’re being observed so it’s disconcerting when someone explicitly asks for permission to do it. But act as if you are modeling behavior all the time — because you are.

leadership dot #4221: so sorry

March 20, 2024March 17, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I went out to eat with friends and one order of French toast was cooked poorly. It’s hard to ruin a breakfast but a piece of the entree appeared to be just plain toast — not coated or cooked in the egg.

When the waitress came by, she asked: “Is everything ok?” We told her it wasn’t and explained the situation. “So sorry. I’ll let them know,” she said. The same conversation happened when she came by a second time. “So sorry,” she said again.

When we left, the cashier asked: “Was everything ok?” No, it wasn’t so we explained the situation again, including that the waitress did not offer to replace the meal, discount the price, or make any amends. “So sorry,” said the cashier, and rang through the meal at full price with no further action.

“So sorry” isn’t a satisfactory response to a problem. It might be an opening line but by ending it there, you fail to effectively address the issue. If asking questions about service has become so rote for you or your team that you don’t really mean them, everyone is better off if you stop asking them. A hollow “so sorry” is worse than silent indifference.

leadership dot #4220: missing it

March 19, 2024March 17, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A colleague’s brother lost his home and all his possessions in a tragic fire. Everyone was safe but the loss was staggering. What did he miss most of all the things that were gone? His tools. Tools are a collection of items that collect over years or even generations — they aren’t something you can go out and replace. It’s likely he never appreciated his ability to grab the right implement for the job or have the one nail he needed to hang a picture without having to buy a new box, but after his workshop was gone, he acutely realized the value.

Everyday items become more precious when we are unable to have them. A friend who now lives abroad missed Junior Mints and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese when she first moved. Those cravings have weaned but now Lance’s peanut butter cheese crackers and Duncan Hines Blueberry Muffin Mix are her longings — foods that were just regular parts of her routine when she lived here.

Another friend and her family are on a year-long adventure around the world. When a friend from the States visited them, she fulfilled their requests of Yahtzee and Jolly Ranchers. Who knew what people would miss?

It’s rarely the big stuff in life that catches us in the throat, but rather what we take for granted. Those who are happiest appreciate the ordinary that is in front of them, instead of only when they are missing it.

leadership dot #4219: kite

March 18, 2024March 15, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplett1 Comment

A kite and string can be a good analogy for the different roles people play in an organization.

Some are the kites — with vision, looking at the organization from above.

Others are the string — grounding the kites in reality and keeping the ideas from floating away.

The string may become frustrated when it gets tangled in the kite — just as the kite may become annoyed with the string for holding it back — but without each other, the kite would be colorful, but useless.

Appreciate the role you play — as well as the role others play to allow your organization to soar.

leadership dot #4218: watchlist

March 17, 2024March 15, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

There is so much information available that sometimes the most helpful material is the version that simplifies things.

Delta followed this principle with its new airport monitors. Several screens are required to list the departures for an airline of Delta’s size, but most people only want or need information about one small line of data. So, Delta added another monitor that lists — in clear, large format — a Departures Watchlist that shows only the flights leaving within the next 90 minutes. This condensation allows people to focus on what they need to know and ignore the rest.

Is there information you provide that could be simplified or broken into segments so only relevant data is presented to people? It’s nice to have the big picture available but what people really want to know is just the small piece that pertains to them. Be like Delta and find a way to provide both.

leadership dot #4217: capture it

March 16, 2024March 15, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

When I wanted pictures to add to my tribute to Bruce Zimmerman (dot #4216), I had to dig through physical photos stored in a box in my basement. It highlighted the contrast with today when we have a camera in our hands almost 24/7 and use it to take exponentially more photos than we did when a separate camera and film were required.

While rummaging through photos, the ones that took me the furthest down memory lane were those of the inside of my apartment. I’m not sure why I took them, but looking at the decorations, bedspread, and the few strips of buttons from my collection — brought me right back to that time and place.

In addition to snapping shots of all the Insta-worthy things you are doing, take a moment to capture some of the ordinary aspects of your life — the inside of your house, the view out your window, the colleagues you see every day, the building where you work, or your office. Today, photos may be taken primarily for posting, but they also serve the purpose of remembering. My bet is that in 30 years, you’ll want to remember how your home looked more than you’ll want to revisit what you ate.

My first apartment — 1982 — gotta love that orange decór, fabric wall hanging, tiny TV, record player, and director’s chair!

leadership dot #4216: Bruce

March 15, 2024March 14, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Although it happened several years ago, I recently received confirmation of the passing of Bruce Zimmerman, my boss for my graduate assistantship and first professional job. I came to him as a naive recent college graduate and left as a nationally-involved professional. His impact on me is hard to overstate.

People are under the false impression that Google knows all, but to learn of the date of his death involved talking with former colleagues (no luck), previous boss and assistant (no luck), then research librarians who also could find no date. However, a librarian did give me contact information for his niece in Rhode Island who contacted her father in Puerto Rico, and I finally confirmed what I feared.

Because much of Bruce’s career was in the pre-internet era, there is nothing online about him. It saddened me that such a great mentor would seem invisible. Bruce was larger than life in many ways and certainly played an outsized role in my career. I felt compelled to acknowledge him in the way I know best — by writing about him. You can read my reflection here or see pictures here.

Bruce had serious dementia and we lost touch in those later years. That saddens me, too. If your mentor or someone who influenced you is still around, I encourage you to reach out to them and let them know how much they mattered to you. It’s much better to pay tribute while the person can be honored to receive it.

#BruceZimmerman #SouthernIllinoisUniversity

leadership dot #4215: jail

March 14, 2024March 12, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I watched Support Your Local Sheriff, a cheesy movie from 1969 where a newcomer takes the job of sheriff in an Old West settlement. The town hasn’t had success in retaining its three previous sheriffs, but James Gardner’s character takes the job to make some money while he’s passing through.

The first question the new sheriff asks is: “Where is the jail?” Even though it’s the Wild West, actions need to have consequences and the sheriff needs a way to enforce them. He promptly arrests for murder a member of the meanest family in town. It sets the tone for everyone else’s behavior going forward.

Supervisors could benefit from acting like the sheriff and holding people accountable — right from the start, even if it involves taking action against a powerful person. Setting expectations and outlining norms early in your tenure helps deter others from pushing boundaries and creating behavior that causes problems down the road.

Early on, clarify what’s acceptable (and not) instead of waiting until it comes to a metaphorical shoot-out.

leadership dot #4214: policies

March 13, 2024March 12, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

After yesterday’s dot (#4213) a friend sent another example of where practice favors policy more than common sense, let alone service.

A couple has a block of hotel rooms at a well-known chain for the night of their wedding. Apparently, if someone wants to add a night before or after the block, the registration system requires the clerk to complete two full registrations – they take all the information you normally provide – twice!

That’s bad enough – but the worst part is they tell guests they may have to switch rooms! Now, if you’re spending extra time in town for a wedding, you don’t want to hear that you may have to switch rooms on the day of the ceremony at a time when you’d likely be getting ready to go!

When pressed about this, the clerk was hesitant but finally said the chance was small but it could happen. So — they are upsetting a lot of people, and losing customers (some have gone elsewhere) for something that probably won’t happen. Why??

“Why” is probably because the person who made the policy doesn’t have to live with it. If they are removed from the front line, it’s easy to make policies that may be technically correct but are dumb in reality.

When I applied for jobs on campus, the first thing I did was submit an inquiry and then track the dates and contacts I had from the institution. I wanted to learn what was really happening while I could without being noticed. I suggest the same for you. Find ways to be the undercover customer and see how your policies land from the other side of the desk. Registering twice and having the threat of moving rooms may change if you experience it yourself.

Thanks, Chris!

leadership dot #4213: $2 off

March 12, 2024March 8, 2024by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

A restaurant just opened a franchise in town and I was thrilled. Over the weekend, we went for dinner and tried to use a $2 coupon in their app. I did not work. The clerk couldn’t figure it out, so they called the manager. They couldn’t get it to work. Now, if you were the manager of a new restaurant, wouldn’t you just credit the $2 so as a) not to irritate the customer who had it, and b) not to irritate all those in line behind her who had to wait while this whole episode played out? You would think, but of course, that is not what happened.

That $2 that they collected for this order will be the last $2 that they receive from me for quite a while when previously I was forcing myself to limit my visits to once per week.

It’s not just this restaurant that puts undue focus on rules and makes petty decisions that have negative long-term implications. It looks like credit card companies that don’t waive a late fee when the previous payment history is stellar. Employers who won’t allow a work-from-home exception. Stores that refuse to offer a refund when the receipt is one day past the return deadline. Colleagues who point out a minor mistake instead of just fixing it.

When you’re in a position to make a decision, opt for the long view. It takes much more than two dollars to recoup goodwill.