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

What to Look for in a Coach

Coaching is very loosely defined in business.  What this means is that really anyone can call themselves a Coach, or maybe they'll spice it up with "Executive Coach," but that anyone could be some rando off the street, or the most experienced "Executive Coach" of them all.

How do you tell which one is the right one for you?

I've read a slough of articles on the Internet, looking for some kind of consensus on what makes a spectacular business coach, but the truth is, there doesn't seem to be consensus, because it comes down to individuals.  Individual coaches.  Individual coachees.  If we take the slough of articles, plus my own experience with teaching and being taught (I teach martial arts 1-2 times a week) I can whittle it down to these three points.

Experience/Expertise - Don't have a sculptor teach you how to be a CEO, and conversely, don't let a CEO teach you how to be a sculptor.  Recognized coaching credentials or not, make sure that their experiences are relevant to your needs, and if possible get references!  Different combinations of experience yield different results, so what you need might be very specific... just make sure that you feel that "click" when comparing their abilities and your specific challenges.

Compassion/Connection - A great coach will back you, not just during your successes, but also during your failures.  You need someone who can work with you through the tough times, and who can motivate you, instead of just listing the ways you're a failure.  That kind of support can get you back on the horse, and with close ties to your coach they can act as a confidante, and help you sort out all facets of your life, not just work.

Accountability/Responsibility - It's nice to have someone around to pat you on the back with a bunch of "attaboys," and who says "You'll get it next time!" when you didn't get it this time.  That can be nice, but you want a coach who can push your limits, and who can help you to be the best you can be.  Sure, you want them to say "You'll get it next time," but then you want them to say, "but you're responsible for your success, so let's work together so that next time you're ready.".

What other key attributes do you think are critical when selecting a coach, be it a life coach, or business coach?  Morality?  Ethics?  Light vs Dark side?

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

Image source: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/yoda-and-darth-vader-vs-bruce-almighty.345218/

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

Improving Team Performance Through Connection

Leading others is not without risk, nor is it for the faint of heart. As important as it is for you as a Leader to set the goal to be achieved, it is more important to sense how things change as your Followers begin to align their efforts to support you. In some cases, this alignment among Team Members generates a momentum towards successful achievement of the goal that is unstoppable. Other times, factors of mis-alignment, significant changes in the environment, and unforeseen constraints pop up that are signals for you to review your approach. The key to any such review is to connect with your Followers.

Staying closely and personally connected to those who follow your lead will provide the early warning signs of emerging problem areas. Taking a moment to embrace the points of view expressed by your Followers will arm you, as their leader, with rich and immediate understanding of root causes for mis-alignments in the Team, surprises in the surrounding situation and shortages in resources or other constraints that will affect goal achievement. Not only will this close connection to your Followers enable you to act early but, also, to act in a manner informed by the collective experience and expertise of your Team.

Experience has taught me that my best and most immediate source of validation for any Leadership approach I take, is my Team. When I have embraced them, sought their feedback about what is working and what is not working, I have been able to accelerate performance. When I have relied on my own counsel, without a close personal connection to my Team, I have floundered and lost my way. A Team needs a good Leader. Leaders need to embrace their Team to be good.

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