Making lives better...

What can I say, we’ve been behind on our blogging because we’ve been doing what we do best; helping customers with their business challenges and making their lives better.

We’ve brought a number of new consultants onto our team and updated our website including testimonial videos from one of our customers and one of our consultants.

We’re more committed than ever to helping people tackle their business challenges to make their lives better, and are actively seeking new customers to test the capacity of our expanded team. If you or your organization need support in anything from leadership to general management, contact us, and let’s see if we can work together to bring your business to new heights.

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Open to Change

We are in the middle of a 5-session project management training program and watching the participants embrace this new content has caused me to develop a profound respect for them.  Let's be clear, not everyone is embracing the content the same way, but enough are.

I can see it, in their focus and determination, and in their questions.  They are listening to new content and a new subject and they are being open.  They are looking at how they can take this new knowledge and apply it to their business.

It isn't "Well, the way we do it works fine so we don't need to change," it's "How can we be better?"  "How can we take these new ideas and make ourselves stronger?"

How this applies to the rest of us... Just ask yourself, when you come across new knowledge (from a peer, a book, a course, etc.) what do you do with it?  Do you assume its different than what you are doing and not worth looking at?  Do you assume that because someone else said it, it must be good?  Or, do you just go in with an open mind and willing heart; ready to take the best bits of everything you come in contact with to make you and your organization better.

Think about it, and next time, be open.

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

How not to judge, and why people will follow you for of it...

Not judging is both very hard and very easy.

Let's start with the very hard.  We are all different, from our experiential backgrounds, to our upbringing, to our emotional resiliency, to how we are feeling that day, to... ad infinitum.  This means that your perspective is not the same as someone else's, and someone may say something that seems legit to them but is absurd to you.  Looking through our own lens it is very hard not to judge people.  Judging people is often used as a coping mechanism, or a tool to build one's confidence by putting others down, however, it also is a destroyer of relationships and a sure way to be labeled "that guy" with respect to unhelpful judgments and contributions (see photo above).

As leaders, that is not at all what we want.  Trust is a key component to leadership, and the ability to listen open and honestly (without judgment) is a critical trait.  We use this particular trait in our Checkrides as an indicator of one's leadership ability.  It seems so simple, but many people falter here; the question is why?

Let's go to the easy part of not judging.  Action takes effort, be it through a pointed comment, or a smirk when someone says something you don't agree with.  One of the easiest ways to not judge is to simply not act.  Save the effort.  Don't say anything.  Don't give them a funny face.  Just listen, openly, and without judgment.  At this point you are probably thinking, Alex, come on, just because I don't show it, doesn't mean I'm not thinking it.  True.  One element of leadership is that ability to listen openly without judgment, and performing that is already an excellent step to building trust.  The next step is compassion and empathy.  We are all human, so no matter what someone does (or how absurd it seems) put yourself in their shoes, and have some compassion for their situation and how they got there.  If you can do that, you might find judgment just falls away as you open road to "how to fix the situation" instead of focusing on "how did we get here?"

If you can do that, you might just find people begin to trust you.  They'll know that they can come to you with anything, that they won't be judged for it, and that you can help lead them where they need to go.

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Photo Credit: http://www.chilango.com/cultura/12-leyes-que-provocaron-risa-y-coraje-en-mexico/

Welcoming People to Your Team

We've been doing some work on influencing, and building relationships, and since we are expecting a new team member to join us any day now, it got me thinking about when new people join a new team.

I've joined a number of different teams, and been around for people joining our team, and the biggest thing that laid the foundation for a positive and powerful relationship was simply caring.

Here are a few things to think about when bringing someone new into the team:

Preparation - Have you ever had it when you showed up for a new job and they didn't know who you were?  Or maybe they just didn't know where you would sit or what you would be doing.  By being prepared the new team member feels like you made an effort to bring them into the team, and it makes the stressful situation of joining a new team a little less... stressful.

Onboarding - some companies have a process for this, which is great, but many don't, and most teams don't.  It doesn't need to be something fancy but simply introducing a new person to your team, what they'll be doing, the layout of the office, making sure they have supplies, etc., can make a huge difference.  Helping someone get the lay of the land can accelerate their adoption into the team.

Openness - No matter what team you join it can be difficult to meet new people, let alone remember their names!  Be open, offer to answer any questions, and check in with the new person to see how they are doing of if they need any help.  Showing that you care enough to put a little effort in can create a rock solid foundation for a lasting relationship.

For example purposes, doing all of this is easy, and it is as simple as "Hi Bob, welcome to the team, we've been expecting you, your office is over there, bathrooms and the kitchen are over there, and if you have any questions feel free to come ask me anytime.  I'll come check on you later to make sure you're finding everything alright."

It can be so easy to make a good impression, and a bad impression can have long lasting and demotivating results, so you may as well make it a good one.

Question for the interweb: Have you ever had a particularly good or bad experience when joining a new team?

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Photo Credit: https://www.askideas.com/22-best-welcome-to-the-team-picture/

Why Trust is Important

It's twice as hard to watch your front and back at the same time as it is to just watch your front.  Actually, it is probably more than twice as hard.

In order to achieve the highest levels of productivity, a team must be immersed in trust.  This means that followers need to trust their leaders as much as leaders trust their followers.  If we want people to be open, and honest, and provide their best ideas and efforts, they need to know that they are in a safe place to do so.  They also need to know that if you let them go on a limb, and it snaps, you'll be there to catch them.

There are so many reasons why we need trust in our working (and all other) relationships, but it still seems to be absent in many teams.  Just remember, without that foundation of trust, people will be reserved, and will always keep one foot out the door.  Build that trust.  Build loyalty.

Our Check Ride assessment looks at a number of criteria surrounding trust because we know that without it, your team will never truly be successful.  Sure, you might complete your projects successfully, but without that trust, your team will never reach its full potential.

Just think, have you ever worked with someone that you knew would have your back, and you knew would support you no matter what out-of-the-box idea you threw their way?

I certainly hope so, and if not, maybe it's time to foster a bit more trust.

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Image Source: https://i2.wp.com/intelligenthq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/trust.jpg

Nature and Nurture

Nature.  It's a thing.  I have seen compelling evidence that there are core behaviours that are almost, if not impossible, to eradicate (or even change).  At the same time, I have seen people learn and make changes to those behaviours to make themselves better.

So which is it, nature or nurture?

The truth is, it's both.  Just imagine, there is you as a completely clean slate.  The you that you would have become without any external interaction.  Then there is the you as you were raised, being nurtured by those around you.  And finally, there is the you that you have cultivated through hard work and discipline.  There are the layers of yourself, and they are all you - creating a new layer does not eliminate the previous one.

This is from my experience, and how I have seen it work.  Comment below if you have seen differently.

In the workplace, we do our best to collaborate with others and do the greatest good.  Normally we do this with our cultivated selves, but as stress rises, we revert to deeper, more ingrained versions of ourselves, bringing out our nurtured side.  If things get worse, we can be stripped away of that nurture, and revert to nature, where our flight and fight instincts take over.

As an example, you have a co-worker who is treating people poorly at work.  You address the situation directly, explaining why their behaviours are unacceptable.  Over the next several months you see they have improved, as they have taken your feedback to cultivate themselves.  Then, a stressful situation arises, putting a project of theirs into jeopardy, and at once, they seem to revert to their old selves.  People don't react well to this, so this person's career is put into jeopardy, and they fall into a state of fight or flight, relying on their nature, further compromising the situation.

As a leader, if you begin to see this kind of behaviour, what can you do?  The employee would prefer to be their cultivated selves, but they've slipped.  Can you stop the descent?  Can you forgive actions that you know were caused by stress, bringing out potentially unwanted behaviours, or would you try to remove them from the situation?

There is no right answer.  Sometimes people can be helped, and sometimes not, but we need to remember that we are all human, and with the right trigger, we too can be stripped down to nature.

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

p.s. Nature is not a bad thing, depending on their nurture and cultivation, a person's nature may be their best and truest self, or their very worst.

Image Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/06/20/onion-health-benefits_n_10572060.html

Let's talk fans... and blame...

You know, sometimes **** hits the fan.  It happens, and once it has happened it can't be undone, so the fact that the fan has been excrementated becomes less important, and what becomes more important, is what you are going to do about it.

As leaders (or humans in general), we suffer from knee-jerk reactions.  We see a fire, and we jump into firefighting mode, often in a state similar to flight or fight, and often operating more on instinct than logic.  Crisis or not, we need to learn to control that instinct, because sometimes when the crisis is over, that instinct follows.

I was recently involved in a situation where the metaphorical fan was... you get the point... and a crisis ensued, then the crisis was resolved, then it immediately jumped into the blame game.  Emotions were still high and the knee-jerk was strong.

Someone made a mistake and set this whole thing into motion.  What do you do about that?

Think about it.

It is easy to jump to the fast conclusion that this person made the mistake, they were at fault, and they need to be punished, but I'd like to put a few more things into play.

Does it make a difference:

• if the mistake was honest and unintentional?
• If the mistake was malicious and intentional?
• If the person even knew they were doing something wrong?
• If the person was capable of avoiding the mistake?

In these different situations, the blame could fall on the person who made the mistake, or the trainer who didn't teach them how to do it properly, or even the leader who shouldn't have put them in that situation in the first place.  It isn't so clear cut.

In those moments of high emotion, try to remember that piece of logic, and that the situation you see immediately before you might not be the truth, and that we may be more culpable than we know.

What other factors come into play when passing the blame?

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Why Communication is Important for Building Trust

Our standard Check Ride assessment focuses on two critical aspects of leadership: Building Trust, and Building Confidence.  Without these two things, you can manage a team, but you will have immense difficulty leading a team.

The first criteria we look at in Building Trust is to "Communicate openly, transparently, and clearly with focus and conviction."  So, why is this important?

I would be shocked if at this exact moment you didn't have a number of reasons why this is important popping up in your head but let's look at a few anyway.  

In my experience, I have found it very difficult to trust someone I couldn't see through.  What I mean by that, is that if I cannot see your role in the team, your motivations, and your actions that back those up, I begin to wonder, what hidden agenda are you pushing?  That isn't me trusting you, that is just the opposite.

In line with that, it isn't just that communication is open and transparent, it needs to be clear, comprehensive, and confident.  Leaders know where they are going, and demonstrating to your followers not only that you have a clear vision, but that you believe in it, boosts that trust.

What other reasons have you seen that demonstrate why communication is important for building trust?

-Alexander Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Image Source: https://www.xremo.com/blogs/7

Are Women Better Leaders than Men?

The short answer is yes.

The next question is, Are Men Better Leaders than Women?

Any guesses here?  The short answer is also yes, because leadership depends on people, not sex, not race, religion, etc.  Leadership depends on people.  I think we often forget that leadership is a soft skill.  People confuse hierarchical authority with leadership and forget about leadership skills, such as influencing, motivation and building relationships.  Leadership is about relationships, and both men and women can forge powerful relationships, and motivate people to achieve new heights.

Let's be quite clear, this doesn't mean that all women and men are great leaders, on the contrary, there are probably more shoddy leaders than good ones.  What this means, is that all women and men have the potential to be great leaders.

In honour of International Women's Day, I wanted to try and find some insight from some excellent female leaders, as prime examples of women who can be better leaders than men; or other women for that matter.

1. "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."                       —Sheryl Sandberg
2. “Good leaders organize and align people around what the team needs to do. Great leaders motivate and inspire people with why they’re doing it. That’s purpose. And that’s the key to achieving something truly transformational.”                                            — Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin
3. "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."                                                            — Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady
4. “As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow.”                                                                                                    — Himanshu Bhatia, Rose International Inc.
5. “Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.”    — Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator
6. “Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical and performance-oriented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed… Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.”                                                                                — Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook
7. “True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.”                              — Sheri L. Dew, author
8. “You have to look at leadership through the eyes of the followers and you have to live the message. What I have learned is that people become motivated when you guide them to the source of their own power and when you make heroes out of employees who personify what you want to see in the organization.”                              — Anita Roddick, Businesswoman
9. “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”                                                                                — Sheryl Sandberg
10. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”                                                                          — Mary Anne Radmacher
11. “I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn’t.”                                                                                    — Dee Dee Myers, former White House Press Secretary
12. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”                          — Ayn Rand
13. “Do not wait on a leader...look in the mirror, its you!”                                                          — Katherine Miracle

Question for the crowds: Do you have a favourite leadership quote from a female leader?  Feel free to share in the comments.

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Image Source: http://www.halogensoftware.com/blog/more-women-in-leadership-making-it-a-priority

Taking flight: What fighter pilots know that business leaders can learn from

Leading others to achieve specified goals can be challenging, but leading them at high speed carries its own challenge. In the picture above, I am standing beside Captain Terry "Cherry" Colgrave after a CF-18 Hornet Flight we completed in August 2012 as part of my Investiture as Honorary Colonel of 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron. "Cherry" was the Flight Lead for this two-plane mission and I was his 'back-seater'.

Our mission included a range familiarization, Basic Fighter Manoeuvres, Close Formation, and Low Level Navigation-all at speeds ranging from very slow to transonic (that's very fast!). In thinking about this flight, I am struck by the resonance I sensed between the Leadership qualities "Cherry" demonstrated and those I see in the Business Leaders I work with in Calgary. The critical difference is that "Cherry" and those like him lead others, sometimes many others, to accomplish difficult objectives in dangerous places at great speed. Mission Success comes with careful mission planning and preparation, high Situational Awareness, Clear Communications with all Team Members and Fast Forward Thinking. Mission Success is defined in the pre-flight briefing; assessed during the flight by the Instructor Pilot; and constructively critiqued in the post-flight 'debriefing'. As this process has proven, Fighter Pilot Students who can translate the lessons learned during each phase of this learning experience into higher levels of performance in the next flight are the ones who make it. Those who cannot quickly integrate these lessons, self-identify by their performance and do not progress on to become full-fledged Fighter Pilots.

None of this happens by accident and Leaders like "Cherry" take many years to develop only after they demonstrate that they can be the 'best of the best'. In my capacity as Honorary Colonel, I have a privileged vantage point to witness this development process every time I engage with the Instructors and Staff of 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron. Their tremendous results are a reflection of the continued development of the Mission Preparation skills, Flying skills, Leadership skills, Teamwork skills and Communications skills of their aspiring Fighter Pilot Students.

This causes me to ask you, as Business Leaders, what you are doing to foster the development of the Business Skills, Leadership skills, Teamwork skills and Communications skills of your aspiring Leadership Team Members? Are you seeing the development you and your business need and want? If not, why not?

A measurement that I apply to myself is the answer to the following questions:

• Are the people that are meant to follow me reaching their potential contribution level?

• If not, what part am I playing to ensure that they do?

-Lieutenant Colonel (ret'd) Ron Guidinger BEng, MBA, PEng, PMP