Generational Differences

Have you noticed that people of different generations approach work differently? That each generation has its own unique communication style? Most of us are aware that differences exist, but many people are unaware of what causes the difference or what to do to bridge the gap. So lets get started with building a bridge. Take a few minutes and think of defining moments in your life, moments that impacted you as well as the country that you grew up in? These events changed the way you perceived the world and your safety within it. For example, September 11th, 2001 redefined the security of people who were going to work? International terrorism landed in the United States and changed the way people thought about the typical day. It changed the way workers and employers looked at emergency management plans. These items suddenly became more than plans on paper and become way of keeping people safe. Now not all defining moments are negative, but many of them are.
Our experiences and the response of society and family to those experiences directly affects how we respond and what we learn to do. For example, Generation Y born from 1977 to 2000 are a generation that communicates in acronyms. They grew up with PDA’s DVD’s CD’s and MP3’s Their communication is filled with words that are simply letters – LOL and this is very natural to this generation. While older generations such as the Mature generation born 1930’s to 1944 were raised with acronyms which they too invented such as AC for air conditioner , typically their vocabulary has been more restricted or censored. The mature generation was more consistently raised to use polite phrases, thank you, please, your welcome, while younger generations found these phrases to be optional and in some areas eliminated these phrases all together. In the workplace leaders may need to take a moment to re-evaluate communication methods for each generation and how communication techniques and styles can increase productivity and clarity or cause it to depreciate. We all lead someone, we just have to know if we are leading down the path that will improve our relationships. Have a great week.

NEED A GREAT SPEAKER to get a convention going? Does your training a lift and positive energy? Then call today and book Cynthia Krosky or her staff. Let us be your resources to help you grow. Call us at (772) 461-8313 or (877) 656-8313 USA Eastern Standard time. Do you know someone who could benefit from leadership or team-building programs then forward this to them! We are looking forward to serving you!
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When Tragedy Strikes

The subject of today's newsletter changed, when the peacefulness of a College Campus in Virginia (USA) was rocked. College or school for that matter is suppose to be a place that teaches the skills we need for life. But there are many lessons that life teaches us that school curriculum's neglected to teach. Where in school do we learn about preparing ourselves to be safe? Where so we learn about how to apply and live through the grief stages? Where do we learn about how to develop a safety plan that will help to prevent a major crisis? We don't! However, life signs us up for courses that we would never willingly have enrolled in. Over the past 24 hours, people in America and friends all over the world have enrolled in a new learning experience. Over the next few days our media will be overwhelmed with stories about the grief, the terror and the strengths of people who are being challenged to pass a course in life they never wanted to sign up for and only hope or pray they will successfully pass. At times of tragedy, we become united. A parent in Florida who is normally busy with life and frustrated or even happy about something their college son or daughter is doing, rarely has cause to think that there is a parent in Virginia or in Germany having the same experience. But today, every parent regardless of the differences in where they may live or who they are parents are united today, just as the college students are united today, feeling the pain and the loss. We learn now that despite many actions unity is alive and well.

Aside from being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with background in crisis intervention. I have over 20 years of providing programs on safety, workplace violence, and how to develop proactive plans for safety. While people are impressed with my training, people typically invite me in to do the Motivational Keynotes, or training programs on Leadership and teambuilding. They don’t want the heavier topic about how to create a plan to prevent violence in the workplace or in a school setting. Understandably they are serious topics. However, I don’t want the call that says because we ignored developing a plan we are now the victims. No plan is foolproof but they are a lot better than not having a plant at all. Pretending the world is safe doesn’t make it safe. Yesterday is a reminder of this.

Life knows that experience is the best instructor for truly learning about ourselves and what we are made of. I learned to love life many years ago and I found and nurtured my spontaneous fun loving personality. Over the past 24 hours, I have hugged more intensely reached out with calls to friends and family more frequently and reached out to those that are hurting.

Life's changing events effect each person differently. Some of us seek to make sense out of it. So we watch the news, check the internet, or listen to the radio. Unfortunately, the media, especially the visual media, leaves an imprint on us. The result is that people even thousands of miles away begin to feel despondent and depressed. Because this didn’t directly they try to get over it without help or mask the feelings by relying on medication, drugs, or alcohol to help them past this. But this isn’t the answer and the problems can get worse. I know this because of my education as a therapist and because life taught me this lesson many years ago.

We need to be proactive in learning lessons not taught in school that is the job for the leaders. We need to be prepared to understand the realities of the world because Generation Y has grown up with these realities on their campus and have witnessed the realities through the news. The moral to the story is that life is uncertain and that it isn’t safe to go to school or work anymore. I was in California this month providing a program on Inter-Generational Diversity in the workplace. The participants of Generation Y born from 1977 to 2000 were nodding in agreement that safety is a concern they have. It is more a part of their generation than any other generation that preceded them. Yet they still don’t know how to be prepared for it. But they want’ ignore that it is a problem.

We are accustomed to helping people find answers to problems. Only when tragedy strikes the ability to understand is not so clear cut. The answers are elusive, and the answers we find don't seem to make sense! We struggle to make things better, but know it is important to be truthful, so find ourselves silent, because we can't tell people that "everything is going to be fine." Symptoms of trauma filter into our life and confuse us more, especially if we were not directly involved in the tragedy. We forget things, we misplace our keys and we seem to have trouble thinking clearly. Tasks seem to take longer to complete. As a result frustration can set in and a sense of helplessness can take over. The frustration, helplessness, mixed emotions or even, anger that we feel are all normal reactions to this situation. Know that life teaches us lessons individually and that some people move on before others. Students, teachers, family, friends, and coworkers may be grieving different losses: the loss of loved ones or the loss of safety and security. Grief impacts each person differently so be patient.

People who are use to being proactive can be temporarily immobilized by tragic events. This temporary immobilization allows people to heal to take the breath they need to gain strength. Once we have our breath it is time to resume our role as a leader to our family, friends, and employees. As the coordinator for my counties Critical Incident Stress Management team, and Region 5 Mental Health team leader for the Florida Crisis Consortium. (I respond to crisis events when called upon.) Please take today as an opportunity to look at your plans for working and living safe. My website has been updated with information on what are normal reactions to Critical Incidents. What to do and what to avoid doing. I encourage you to check out this information and share it with those around you. http://www.acespeaks.com

Life is not the only instructor when a tragedy occurs, because it opens the door for us to learn and to instruct people. Encourage people to talk, if need be call in a professional Critical Incident Debriefer. This valuable intervention mitigates the impact of traumatic stress and minimizes stress related symptoms that can impact work, family and even health. Provide employees with information about their employee assistance program. Allow people take a few more breaks, encourage people to take advantage of events that promote physical exercise. Rally a group to do a walk-a-thon or jog-a-thon. Undirected energy can turn into anger and increases potential for violence. Provide people the opportunity to give input on developing or updating your emergency response plan and to earn more about your city or counties emergency response plan then report back to staff. Learn how to contact your local Critical Incident Stress Management team or how to formulate one in the event one does not exist. There are many lessons we learn from life and tragedy is the hardest teacher.

Quote:
"Today is a gift. I will allow it to unfold with splendor. I will allow myself to fully experience the beauty that it presents me. I will embrace the day and do all that I can to show that I am worthy of this day. Today I will seek to be better than I was yesterday, for today is a present." Cindy Krosky

"Life is love. Love is Life." - Ali, a friend in Russia.

Delegating Part II

The privilege of being a leader comes with being an effective leader. One that sets the examples for those they work with and those they lead. Delegating is the most effective tool we have on hand to help us assure that we set the right example. What is usually most misunderstood about leading is that if and when we attempt to take on all the problems we forget to do our real role, which is to lead and to teach others how to do what we do.

There are many opportunities for leaders to delegate all we have to do is to get out of our way! Too often we are the barrier that prevents us from either being able to help us or willing to help us. In order for people to help us we must educate them on the process and then provide them the opportunity to learn the process and be available as they take it on the new responsibility. Too often we use the excuse that we don’t have time! Actually we don’t have the time to do it all. Research shows that one to two hours spent better managing time, in this case delegating a task can ultimately save us 10 hours. Personally, I would enjoy an extra 10 hours in a week. The sacrifice begins at the start and the benefit may take a while, but can save us a lot of headaches and loss of productivity in the long run.

People can only help us when we entrust them and empower them to do a task. If you delegate a task discuss with them how much freedom they have. How far can they proceed without input? At what steps or stages do they need to give you an update, if they need to provide an update at all? In the office and with the Boards that I work with each task has clear instructions on steps that we have outlined together and then at what point I need to have more information. When I facilitate business retreats and work with companies or associations to set goals they often adopt a form that I use because of its adaptability and yet clear use for keeping people on track and up to date. It consists of 4 columns across the top of the table. First – column is the Item. Second column outline steps or points of discussion. The third column is used to identify who is responsible – name, phone number, email. The fourth column provides due date. When is this individual to provide an update or to have completed this task or step? Generally there is a name for each step and a date for reporting on each step. If it is the same person and they only need it reported on that it was completed then the name is listed across from the last step and the date is far enough out that they should have had time to complete the steps. If I am using the tool for delegating, I will give a date to each step, to assure that the person understands the urgency to move forward by when I expect to see certain progress made.

I coach executives and managers who are working to develop their professional skills in management and to improve their communication. While we all feel our problems are unique, the good news is that someone somewhere can relate and we aren’t alone in our struggles. The most common area that managers and executives need help in is that of their communication. People in these positions know what they want done, know how they want it done. They have a vision and the struggle is getting others to see the same vision or goal that they see. When it comes to delegating one this is one of the excuses that is used. “ I can’t get them to understand how to do it so I will just do it.” What this can create is learned helplessness for the employees or staff. Worse yet, it encourages employees to not do a task well, because if someone doesn’t like the job they do, then they will not be ask to do it again. In certain work environments despite poor job performance, employees continue to hold their jobs. A key reason is poor documentation of poor performance. So let’s tie this together. If we delegate and use a chart that outlines the steps to be taken; reviewing this chart can help a manager or leader obtain clarity from the person they are delegating to. The follow up section shows accountability and provides a record of the tasks they have been asked to do as well as place to track if they are on task, behind task, because we had to change the date, or if they are ahead of task and complete work early. Using the chart as a guide can also help the manager or supervisor who has a habit or an approach of being direct that may be interpreted as barking out orders. A direct approach does not work with everyone and can cause disruption with staff instead of productivity. Understanding what employees need when giving directions is important in delegating successfully. When we know that one-employee needs all the steps spelled out we can provide it, while another employee just needs to know that we want to get to point B at the end. That particular employee can show they are responsible and prevent us from micro-managing them and thus improve our relationships.

Here is a scenario that may sound familiar to you. Background: The manager of XYZ Dept. has delegated to staff to complete certain reports. These reports are within their realm of normal duties. Setting: You are attending a monthly meeting where department heads/managers review their reports to keep other departments aware the overall of status of the company. The manger for XYZ is sharing a report provided by one of their staff. As this leader begins to share he/she notices an error and says, “Wait a minute this is a mistake. I will have to fix that when I get back to my office.” While the words written here have no way of projecting tone or facial expression, depending on your history you may be detecting a leader with an attitude while others may simply read it for face value, that there is a problem and the leader is choosing to fix it. In the scenario above, there may be nothing wrong with this leader fixing the problem when he or she returns to the office. Perhaps the leader knows this will fall on his or her shoulders as the person who generated the report is out on vacation and there is no reason to delay. In this case, it makes sense to not delegate out the correction. Even if the person is available, a leader may fix it if it is very small error and one that has never occurred before. However, it would be in the leader’s best interest to take a moment and advise the employee that an error was noted and corrected, so the employee is aware of this for the future. Or the manger could ask the employee to fix the error in order to assure the employee gets practice doing the report correctly. As we briefly look over this scenario, we need to note that more information would be needed to assure the best course of action. Yet it does provoke us to think about what our course of action would be and why? Please see the danger in managers or co-workers being the one to fix a problem another employee has. This puts the work on the manager or co-workers and relieves the employee of responsibility and accountability. Learned helplessness can begin quickly and become a unhealthy habit for others to see. Especially if the person is not held accountable. I have unfortunately seen this too often and worse yet, I have seen offices promote these individuals into positions they did not earn nor that they could do. Delegate and learn what employees can do to help you. Remember when we delegate professionally the employee see value. Delegating is not dumping! It is teaching responsibility and accountability so that others learn our job and can support and help us. It takes time but the pay off in the end is less stress, increased productivity and increased value for employees. Take the time.

Complaining vs. Delegating Part I

Do you ever feel that you have too much to do? That people at home or work, just don’t pick up their share of the workload and that you don’t have enough time to do it all. Well the good news is you are not alone. Effective leaders know how to delegate it is a skill that they learned. There are people that are professional jugglers, but leaders are meant to be professional delegators. Over the next two months I will be providing programs on Juggling it All and Leading a Balanced Life. If any one area of our life gets out of balance then we can easily become overwhelmed.

A cartoon we read in the United States is called “Peanuts” Snoopy is a dog in the cartoon, who has a lot of personality. Snoopy is lying on top of his famous doghouse, complaining that there is too much to do . In the final frame of the cartoon, he sighs and says, “I hate being head beagle!” We can all relate no matter our profession, to those days when we just wish we weren’t the one in charge. It isn’t the privilege of being the leader, but the responsibilities that often exhaust us. This happens when we haven’t learned the master of delegation. Perhaps you have heard the saying that you can do the work of ten men or get ten men to do the work. When we try to do the work alone, we quickly extinguish our enthusiasm and our productivity.

So why do we hesitate to delegate and instead attempt to juggle it all. Fear of losing our authority. Fear it will cost us! It is easier to do it myself. "It will cost me money," is the most common excuse not to delegate. It may be costing you money because of lack of delegation or for poor delegation skills. Employees of all ages feel more valued when they are entrusted to do work, they feel a sense of responsibility and thus are more motivated. If all they are given to do is menial tasks that have no known value or significance then they are less committed to the robotic type of job.

However, if you are practicing delegation are you sharing the work load? Too often people look for compliant people who will do the job. While this works for a while, leaders risk burning-out the compliant employee or person, because of our resistance to delegating to an individual who may challenge our authority or may question us. We must learn to delegate professionally to those who eagerly help as well as to those who resist. Companies working with Generation X and Y realize that employees will not stand by silently and do all the work, rather they will bring it to the leaders attention very quickly that other people are not doing their share of the work. Resentment among employees and even employer can grow if this is handled inappropriately. Are you confident in your skills? Do you need some coaching in this area? What will it take to better understand how to delegate professionally? Let us know if we can help.

What does it take to delegate? Proper communication skills, ability, and availability to teach. Communication is key to delegating effectively. Knowing how to ask people to help is one part. Enlist their help by asking versus telling them or demanding them to help. This can make all the difference in how people hear the request and thus respond. Begin the request with an “I” statement expressing needs from your perspective. Remember to be courteous in the approach and give them choices on what they can help with. For example, “I have 14 follow up calls to make and this package that needs to be delivered to the POG Dept. Which of these would you be most comfortable assisting with?” Practicing the “I” Statement and giving choices is the first step. Attempt to avoid the word “You” when delegating or in most sentences as it can sound accusatory or blaming and often puts people on the defensive.

For example: You need to take the trash out. Versus The trash needs to be taken out, I appreciate your doing that. Practicing these simple tips at work, at home and even when we are customers ourselves helps us get more of what we want. Stay tune for more delegating tips this month.

Delegating Tips

The steps of successful delegation

1 Define the task
Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. Does it meet the criteria for delegating?

2 Select the individual or team
What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going to get out of it? What are you going to get out of it?

3 Assess ability and training needs
Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the task? Do they understand what needs to be done. If not, you can't delegate.

4 Explain the reasons
You must explain why the job or responsibility is being delegated and why to that person or people? What is its importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the overall scheme of things?

5 State required results
What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other person. How will the task be measured? Make sure they know how you intend to decide that the job is being successfully done.

6 Consider resources required
Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done. Consider people, location, premises, equipment, money, materials, other related activities and services.

7 Agree deadlines
When must the job be finished? Or if an ongoing duty, when are the review dates? When are the reports due? And if the task is complex and has parts or stages, what are the priorities?

At this point you may need to confirm understanding with the other person of the previous points, getting ideas and interpretation. As well as showing you that the job can be done, this helps to reinforce commitment.

Methods of checking and controlling must be agreed with the other person. Failing to agree this in advance will cause this monitoring to seem like interference or lack of trust.

8 Support and communicate
Think about who else needs to know what's going on, and inform them. Involve the other person in considering this so they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not leave the person to inform your own peers of their new responsibility. Warn the person about any awkward matters of politics or protocol. Inform your own boss if the task is important, and of sufficient profile.

9 Feedback on results
It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved their aims. If not, you must review with them why things did not go to plan, and deal with the problems. You must absorb the consequences of failure, and pass on the credit for success.

Levels of delegation

Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can confer on the other person. The more experienced and reliable the other person is, then the more freedom you can give. The more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be about extending a lot of freedom, especially if your job or reputation depends on getting a good result. Take care to choose the most appropriate style for each situation. For each example the statements are simplified for clarity; in reality you would choose a less abrupt style of language, depending on the person and the relationship. At the very least, a "Please" and "Thank-you" would be included in the requests.

It's important also to ask the other person what level of authority they feel comfortable being given. Why guess? When you ask, you can find out for sure and agree this with the other person. Some people are confident; others less so. It's your responsibility to agree with them what level is most appropriate, so that the job is done effectively and with minimal unnecessary involvement from you. Involving the other person in agreeing the level of delegated freedom for any particular responsibility is an essential part of the 'contract' that you make with them.

These levels of delegation are not an exhaustive list. There are many more shades of gray between these black-and-white examples. Take time to discuss and adapt the agreements and 'contracts' that you make with people regarding delegated tasks, responsibility and freedom according to the situation.

Be creative in choosing levels of delegated responsibility, and always check with the other person that they are comfortable with your chosen level. People are generally capable of doing far more than you imagine.

The rate and extent of responsibility and freedom delegated to people is a fundamental driver of organizational growth and effectiveness, the growth and well-being of your people, and of your own development and advancement.

Levels of delegation - examples

These examples of different delegation levels progressively offer, encourage and enable more delegated freedom. Level 1 is the lowest level of delegated freedom (basically none). Level 10 is the highest level typically (and rarely) found in organisations.

1 "Wait to be told." or "Do exactly what I say." or "Follow these instructions precisely."
This is instruction. There is no delegated freedom at all.

2 "Look into this and tell me the situation. I'll decide."
This is asking for investigation and analysis but no recommendation. The person delegating retains responsibility for assessing options prior to making the decision.

3 "Look into this and tell me the situation. We'll decide together."
This is has a subtle important difference to the above. This level of delegation encourages and enables the analysis and decision to be a shared process, which can be very helpful in coaching and development.

4 "Tell me the situation and what help you need from me in assessing and handling it. Then we'll decide."
This is opens the possibility of greater freedom for analysis and decision-making, subject to both people agreeing this is appropriate. Again, this level is helpful in growing and defining coaching and development relationships.

5 "Give me your analysis of the situation (reasons, options, pros and cons) and recommendation. I'll let you know whether you can go ahead."
Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the thinking before deciding.

6 "Decide and let me know your decision, and wait for my go-ahead before proceeding."
The other person is trusted to assess the situation and options and is probably competent enough to decide and implement too, but for reasons of task importance, or competence, or perhaps externally changing factors, the boss prefers to keep control of timing. This level of delegation can be frustrating for people if used too often or for too long, and in any event the reason for keeping people waiting, after they've inevitably invested time and effort, needs to be explained.

7 "Decide and let me know your decision, then go ahead unless I say not to."
Now the other person begins to control the action. The subtle increase in responsibility saves time. The default is now positive rather than negative. This is a very liberating change in delegated freedom, and incidentally one that can also be used very effectively when seeking responsibility from above or elsewhere in an organization, especially one which is strangled by indecision and bureaucracy. For example, "Here is my analysis and recommendation; I will proceed unless you tell me otherwise by (date)."

8 "Decide and take action - let me know what you did (and what happened)."
This delegation level, as with each increase up the scale, saves even more time. This level of delegation also enables a degree of follow-up by the manager as to the effectiveness of the delegated responsibility, which is necessary when people are being managed from a greater distance, or more 'hands-off'. The level also allows and invites positive feedback by the manager, which is helpful in coaching and development of course.

9 "Decide and take action. You need not check back with me."
The most freedom that you can give to another person when you still need to retain responsibility for the activity. A high level of confidence is necessary, and you would normally assess the quality of the activity after the event according to overall results, potentially weeks or months later. Feedback and review remain helpful and important, although the relationship is more likely one of mentoring, rather than coaching per se.

10 "Decide where action needs to be taken and manage the situation accordingly. It's your area of responsibility now."
The most freedom that you can give to the other person, and not generally used without formal change of a person's job role. It's the delegation of a strategic responsibility. This gives the other person responsibility for defining what changes projects, tasks, analysis and decisions are necessary for the management of a particular area of responsibility, as well as the task or project or change itself, and how the initiative or change is to be implemented and measured, etc. This amounts to delegating part of your job - not just a task or project. You'd use this utmost level of delegation (for example) when developing a successor, or as part of an intentional and agreed plan to devolve some of your job accountability in a formal sense.

Honest Leadership

Have you ever looked in the mirror when you woke up? Have ever you wanted to see something better than the sleepy reflection looking back at you? For most of us the answer is yes, we have looked in the mirror and there have definitely been days when we wanted to see something better looking back at us. As leaders, we must be willing to look at ourselves and be honest about what we see. This means looking beyond the superficial exterior and truly examining the skills and characteristics that we possess.

Leaders can’t afford to live with a façade; they need to live with a reality. People they lead will see through false pretenses and will not be willing to follow.

Twenty or thirty years ago, the work force may have been willing to follow a leader who put on pretenses, but this is no longer tolerated today. Employees want and demand honesty. They need a leader who is willing to work through problems and who will overcome shortcomings. I meet with many leaders, CEO’, supervisors, managers etc. who want to believe that they are effective leaders but who haven’t looked in the mirror lately to see the reflection that their employees see. They miss seeing the message they give with their actions or lack of actions. As a facilitator, I provide strategic planning retreats for businesses and associations. I make it a goal to meet with the CEO or president and incoming officers or leaders to assure that I have an understanding of their goals, directions and any needs that they are aware of from the group they will lead. In addition, I schedule an Executive Debrief with the CEO/President to review the plan and discuss observations. This background work is invaluable to me, but the debrief is invaluable to the CEO’s or leaders, because of the feedback I am able to give them.

As a leader what do people see when they see you? What do they hear you say and see you do? How do they interpret your words and your actions? What do you do that conveys to them that you hear their concern and will give it consideration? Effective leaders are usually a visionary, which means they are often misunderstood and misinterpreted by the people they lead. Visionaries are looking into the future and the majority of the people that they lead are looking to get through the day, the week or the month. Rarely are the people that they lead looking to get through the next three to five years or more, so the leader’s agenda and approach to problems is not clearly understood. If there is a problem with a department or a worker employees may proclaim the need for immediate disciplinary action or even termination. While a leader, may plan on disciplinary action, but the leader may take another step before taking this action. There are numerous instances where companies have been lead by non-visionaries and employees have been terminated only to be re-hired later on and often with better wages. It seems crazy, but it happens frequently. Why? People who do this are not visionaries. They lack the ability to see the direction that their actions will have on the bigger picture. In the case where the employee is terminated, the leader receives immediate praise for taking action. Three or four months later when the department is struggling from being short staffed and employees are complaining because they haven’t found the right replacement, the leader is frowned up for having let go a good worker. There have even been cases where the same employees who wanted a worker terminated, later petitioned the business to hire the employee back. The morale to the story is that leaders need to be visionaries. They need to be honest with themselves and to find a way to communicate with those they lead that they will hear the problems but that they may not immediately react as it may not be in the best interest of the people they lead.

Leaders have to find a way to be clear in their direction by making sure their actions, reflect their direction. The leader who is looking at the bigger picture understands the problem exist, but knows that for every action, there is a reaction. If their actions are a reaction without thought about the impact, they could set into motion some devastating long term affects. For example, I recently spoke with an author who wrote a book about ethical decisions in the workplace. In our meeting, she talked about the complexity of making decisions that were ethical. To the outsider it is often black or white. To the person making the decision, their may be gray. The gray comes from knowing more facts and information than the regular population knows. I am a skydiver and in the sport, we have a two-second rule. Falling at approximately 125 mph, if there is a problem you have two seconds to fix it. If you cannot fix it then you need to pull your ripcord and get your chute open. If the chute doesn’t fully deploy in five seconds then you have two seconds to fix it. If you can’t get it fixed then you need to pull your reserve canopy. Timing is critical in the sport and not up for debate, because delays could cause injury or death. Fortunately, in the business world there is some luxury of time. Time to examine the information and to make decisions that are ethical and in the best interest of those we lead.

Of course, we want leaders to make ethical decisions, which means we need to trust them to understand what has lead us to this point, what will happen once they make the choice and where that will in turn lead us. It is a leader’s responsibility to weight the decision, to think ahead about what the action or lack of action will cost the business or association. It is also the leader’s responsibility to know how to act in a timely manner. Sounds complex and in many ways it is. Yet we all lead and on a daily basis make leadership decisions. For those who lead small offices or lead their family, our decisions may not seem as monumental as world peace, but make a decision that limits a teenagers freedom and it may seem like war has been declared. Yet the parent has considered all the reasons why the teenager should not have the freedom at the time, they have examined the potential consequences and are ready to stand by the decision. Leading requires being honest with yourself seeing who you are and how you exemplify that in your actions at home and at work. When we look in the mirror, we see our imperfections. We people look at us as leaders they too see our imperfections. Just as many people look in the mirror and attempt to make themselves look better before leaving the house, by combing the hair, brushing the teeth or putting on make-up. A leader’s goal is to make sure that our imperfections are as few as possible.

Identity Theft

Have you ever heard of identity theft? Most of us have and the idea that someone would steel our name, our personal information is terrifying to say the least. As a leader, our identity has value. People often go to great lengths to gain an identity that will make them appreciated, acceptable, or more recognizable. Identities can be associated with the type of clothes people wear, the cars they drive, or the way they look. Professions or careers also serve as an identity. We are many things to many people and our identity is broader than any one of the items mentioned above. As the 2007 year begins, it is a great time to reflect on our direction and who we are, what we represent, and if these are congruent.

Recently I got a new haircut. It has been refreshing to try something different. The benefit of a new haircut is that eventually the hair will grow out and we can return to our same old look, if that is what we wish to do. The irony has been that some people look at me differently, because the hire is spiked a bit and thus doesn’t look as conservative. My identity has not changed, only the hair. My values, beliefs, and educational knowledge are the same, but how I am viewed is different. Is that unfair? Yes, but does it happen to a lot of people yes. Today’s workforce is diverse and in training programs that I give on Generational Diversity in the Workplace, we discuss the identity of a person is more than meets the eye, but if we are not careful the eye can blind us and prevent us from seeing what really exist.

Perhaps you can relate to meeting the people who are leaders or members of a team that attempt to take on a false identity in the hopes of fooling people. As a speaker and trainer, I see this too often. The person who wants to answer all the questions in order to impress someone in the room, the person that can say the right answers, but wouldn’t have a clue of how to implement the plan, because they don’t understand the reason or the process. Most likely, this person has stolen an identity from a respected colleague. They are able to give the data, but are unable to apply the knowledge. As discussed in prior newsletters, I read people and fortunately am good at this. There are times when I am leaving a program and a participant will come up to me to express their frustration, because of the display a peer has demonstrated, trying to impress the people present with a level of buy-in or knowledge, yet the team member who works beside them knows that this is all a façade. They are often surprised when I advise them before they speak, that I know that the person was not being genuine and if the company has decided to do an executive debrief then I will be sharing my observations and the reasons that I believe this to be accurate as well as advising them on what to look for in the future.

Leaders and teams function best when the identity is real. It is predictable. The actions and the words are consistent. We develop our identity over time and it can be reshaped to be better as we grow. Leaders that are successful have demonstrated integrity in their character. They have proven themselves honest and dependable. They don’t need the power of a position to make them a leader for they will be a leader without the title, it is part of who they are and who they are meant to be, it is their destiny. They will be prepared, because they have a vision and are able to share it with clarity.

Take a look at your identity. What are your skills and your qualities? What is your direction and vision? What do you want to start doing to improve your identity? What do you want to stop doing to improve your identity or to make it more consistent with the direction that you want? What is unique to you and your identity? Is it your skill level or is it your personality, the way you interact with people.

When we examine our true identity we go beyond the resume credentials and thus must examine who we are that others see? Once a leader fully grasps who they are, they realize they have great potential and are able to tap into their resources to gain strength and insight to be effective leaders. Once we are better informed about ourselves and our capacity we can grow. With the knowledge that we have, there is no problem to big. Time and energy should be spent on being a leader with integrity, rather than a leader in disguise. So often people try to disguise their looks, their social circle and even move to be a new location. What they forget is that wherever they go, is where they are.

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