Why you absolutely, positively do NOT need a leadership coach in 2018

In 2018, business is slowing down.  We’ve got more resources at our fingertips than ever, and we have the time to use all of them to their fullest.  You just got out of a meeting where your boss said your budget was increasing and was reversing the “we’ve got to do more with less” directive.

Your applicant pool is deep and wide, and you get to pick from the best of the best.  Your current staff is 100% on board and all working together to reach your company goals.  There is no in-fighting, no dissension in the ranks, no drama, no insubordination.  Everyone works as hard as they say they do, and appreciates the uncompromising efforts of their co-workers.

No one is thinking of leaving for a different job, especially you. You’re ensconced.  Your boss listens to you, your ideas are met with open arms and you know exactly what it takes to communicate effectively with everyone you work with.

Oh, and everyone has a Unicorn as a pet and lives forever.

How nice would all that be? Maybe a little boring if it were ALL true, but that seems to be the utopian image we get when we think about the perfect workplace.

Of course it’s not real.  But you already knew that.

There IS drama, in-fighting and people who don’t listen. We DO have challenges with budgets, staffing and keeping everyone on the same page… and it’s never ending.

Because you are a leader, a problem solver and person who by-golly gets things done, you have found ways to make the best of those situations.

But what about the stuff that slips through the cracks?  Doing “more with less” is a popular mantra that doesn’t seem to be going away. And who has to do more?  That would be you.

But that doesn’t have to mean failure, pain and heartache.  Quite the opposite, it can present untold and unthought of opportunities that could take your leadership performance and your business to the next level.  But only if you are willing to ask for some help.

One of my favorite quotes about coaching comes from my friend Mike Auman.  We worked together at Universal Orlando Resort, and he used to say: “how many professional sports teams have coaches?  All of them.”  Of course highly paid athletes should have their stuff together, but even they need guidance, encouragement and course corrections.  What makes us think we are any different?

In just the last few weeks, I have gotten a number of calls from people who needed a little help. Maybe not enough to sign up for a full 6 or 12-month coaching program, but just a little push to get them over the cliff, as it were.

Exhibit A: A guest experience director at a museum called because she had been assigned the task of improving the culture in her facility, and didn’t know the best way to propose her plan to her boss.  We talked about the best ways to connect the dots and actually work the process backwards for him.  She did it, and told me it worked like a charm.

Exhibit B: A guest services manager at a theme park wasn’t feeling the passion anymore.  He was afraid to start looking in other departments because he was afraid his bosses would take that as a lack of loyalty and try to block his move. Turned out the fear was on him… he was afraid to rock the boat.  Once he realized that he knew what he had to do. He is now seeking another position in a different department.

So now you can probably see that I don’t really believe the title of this post.  I do think everyone can use a little help now and then, and we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it.  The number of CEO’s seeking the council of an executive coach is growing everyday.  Why should a lead, supervisor, manager or director be even different?  A case can be made that people on their way to a CEO position need it even more.

If you need some help and are willing to ask, here are some options;

• Ask your manager – either ask them to coach you (more strategically than they may be right now) or ask them to financially support your desire to seek a coach from outside the company.
• Seek out a mentor – generally someone in a different department or even from a different company, they should be a leader you know and respect
• Enroll in a specific coaching program – like the options I offer, a more formal coaching program can bring you incredible insight from a trained and experienced coach who knows how to get to the heart of the matter to find the best solutions. The best coach for you will be able to understand what you are going through while being able to offer viewpoints that you wouldn’t be able to see on your own. I like to tell people that I (or any good coach) will provide “an outsiders perspective with an insiders insight.”

If you agree with me but not with the title of this post, give me a call and we’ll see if we’re a good coaching fit.  One-off, 90 minute sessions are available, along with more in-depth 6 and 12 month programs.

Related: The Power of A Trusted Network (group coaching program)

Related: NEW Facebook Group: ALL CLEAR – Private Learning Community for Attractions Leaders

Thanks for reading!

Just like you DON’T NEED COACHING, you don’t need this book on SUPERVISOR DEVELOPMENT, either!!

 

The right tools build confidence

It snowed the other day.  Not a snowmageddon that has impacted other parts of the country, but even a little snow (with the accompanying ice) can have a crippling effect on transportation here in Western North Carolina.  Exhibit A: our driveway.

Top of the driveway, looking down

Bottom of the driveway, looking up. Yes, that is Irving the Gnome to the right! #irventures

The next day, I went out to clear the snow off the pavement so the sun could do it’s job and melt the ice underneath.  It may be hard to tell just how steep the driveway is from the pictures, but remember this is what our neighbors call “The Beast”!

As I was shoveling, I was also slipping and sliding down the driveway because of the ice.  Then it hit me.  We have clamp-on spikes for our shoes!!  We hadn’t needed them yet since we got them 2 years ago, but now by golly I was going to put them to use!

I went back up to the garage, slipped on the spikes and walked back down the driveway… confident that I wasn’t going to fall. I was still careful, but every step I took was solid and stable, even on the steepest, iciest patches.  I finished off the driveway with relative ease, and thought about how this experience relates to leadership.

Having the right tools and knowing how to use them makes us more confident.  With the spikes, I could concentrate more on my shoveling, instead of trying to avoid toppling down the hill.

Think about a leader who is unsure of how to handle a situation.  Maybe there is bad news to deliver to the team, and they are ill-equipped to convey the right message in the right way.  The leader fumbles, stammers, and conveys little assurance that they know what’s going on, or that they have the teams’ back.

Their team gets confused, upset, rebels or shuts down, and the leader is left picking up the pieces and wondering what went wrong.  All because they didn’t have the right tools.

In this case, a tool might be information… maybe the leader didn’t truly understand the message, so they weren’t sure what to say.

Another tool could be a communication technique… as things spiraled out of control in this meeting, you can almost hear the inexperienced leader say, “I know, I agree with you. I don’t know why we have to do this, either.”  Knowing, from experience or though guidance, mentoring or coaching, that this is not the right approach, could have driven this leader to more diligently prepare, which would have built up their confidence so that the out-of-control spiral would have never started.

One last tool in this situation that could have bolstered confidence could have been meeting management techniques.  Setting the right mood and expectation through pre-work, your agenda and overall demeanor before and during the meeting can go a long way in preventing the above derailment.

So the questions you have to ask yourself are:

• What tools do I need?
  • For example: Communication strategies, delegation, managing up, time management, admin/tech skills, planning, etc.
• How can I learn to use these tools?
  • For example: Talk to your boss or peers, a coach/mentor, books, articles, videos, online courses, in-person courses, podcasts, etc.

Related: Nothing Happens Without Confidence

A few weeks ago, a Guest Services Manager from a museum called me.  She had been put in charge of turning around the guest service culture in her museum, but she needed to communicate her plan to her Executive Director who was a big picture thinker.  We talked through a possible approach (the tool), and that discussion gave her the confidence to go in and explain her approach and what she would need.

She later told me that the approach worked like a charm, and things are moving forward.  I would say it was her approach in addition to the confidence she showed when she explained her approach.  It’s all connected.

The tools you need will vary by situation and your role within your organization.  Wherever you are, be diligent about getting the tools you need so you can confidently move forward, lead your teams and make a positive impact.

If you need help figuring out what tools you need or how to use them, I’m happy to help. Feel free to give me a call!

Thanks for reading!

matt@performanceoptimist.com

407-435-8084

“Hey Matt! I wanted to let you know I loved your book (ALL CLEAR!)!! There are a few things in there I have experienced myself, and others I haven’t even thought about! Very good read! You’ve given me my goal for this next season of helping to develop more leadership skills and mindsets in my team!”

Adam Woodall – Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari, IAAPA Show Ambassador

Purchase your copy here!

 

 

Why you should remove the word “millennial” from your vocabulary in 2018

I’ll admit, 10-15 years ago, I was kind of naive about how business worked.  I am happy to say I’ve learned a lot over the years, and while still optimistic, the naïveté has tapered off.

In 2003, I picked up a book called “Employing Generation Why” by Eric Chester.  At the time, I thought it contained some really helpful and insightful information about dealing with the new generation of younger employees entering the workforce. And here’s where the naïveté comes in… I thought people would read this book (or ones like it), figure out the “generations” quagmire, develop some best practices and move on. I really thought once we figured this out we wouldn’t have to talk about it any more.

Boy, was I wrong.

Fast forward to 2018, and we are still having the same conversation about ‘millennials’ that we were having in 2003 (and even before). If history, and the lessons I’ve learned over the last 15 years are any guide, I think the reason were still have the SAME conversation is that it is the WRONG conversation.

We keep talking about the differences between generations.  Gen X does this, milennials do that. We study the years people where born and the significant world events that likely shaped their way of thinking.

Unfortunately, while this type of conversation makes us feel better about our own generation, it does nothing to help build relationships.  It allows us to be stuck in the mindset of “my generation is better than yours” . Na, na, nah boo-boo!

We also then start to stereotype.  Once we put a label on someone, we feel like we know something about them and how they behave, so we adjust our behavior accordingly. Problem is, when you stereotype (based on ANY label) you risk alienating people based on your biases and assumptions.

Don’t get me wrong, there are differences in how people of different ages behave and view the world, but those differences exist with people of the same age, too.  Putting people into generational boxes is NOT HELPING.  That’s why I implore you to remove not only the word “millennial” from your vocab in 2018, but all the useless generational labels that are currently in vogue.

Baby Boomer.  Generation X. Tranditionalists. The Greatest Generation. Generation Y. iGen.

• Related: Delta is already removing the “millennial” label
• Related: The WSJ says “millennial” label should go away

They are all equally useless. And, by the way, made up.

There is no official entity that tracks generations. The categorization of generations was made up by authors, management gurus and consultants as way to sell books, management practices and training programs. And it worked, too, because people inherently wanted to make sense of something they couldn’t understand. But we went about it in completely the wrong way, which is why we’re still talking about this today.

My mantra when it comes to exploring differences in generations in the workplace is two fold.

1. Get over it. 
2. Deal with it.

Get over your preconceived notion that there are these massive gaps in understanding among people of different ages.  We all want to be loved, cared for, and to provide value.  We also all want to be connected to the outside world, and phones are not the only culprit.

Once you make the emotional decision to get over it, to stop dwelling on it, to realize that you just have to deal with reality, then you can do something about it… you can DEAL WITH IT!

How do you deal with? By getting to know your employees.  By being diligent about teaching them how to be good employees. By understanding that young people (no matter when they walked the Earth) need guidance and encouragement, not a lecture about how you walked up hill to school with no shoes.

By the way, I’d like to know exactly when we started thinking that a 15-year old was going to come into the work place with the same skills and work ethic as a 30-year old?  That’s what it seems like we are expecting when we complain about “kids these days” always being on the phone and not wanting to work.

As I said above, we all want to be connected to something, so why not get your employees connected to your business? Instead of complaining about the phone, give them a reason to not be on it (and it’s not just a policy).  Provide a compelling reason for them to concentrate on the work you need them to do and they will stay off their phone.  They go to the phone because they are bored, and that’s because WE haven’t given them a reason to care about what they are doing.

That’s part of dealing with it… by not just accepting the status quo. Maybe the positions and jobs you have someone doing are outdated? Maybe you need to provide more options for input and self expression?  That has to be monitored, and is more difficult than assigning a script, but maybe that’s what needs to happen to engage your employees and keep them off their phones?

My friend Josh Liebman tells the story of when he worked at Cedar Point, and most of the attractions had automated spiels.  Great for consistency, not so great for encouraging the employees to have fun.  They then decided to allow employees to make the spiels live and put their own spin on it… they had fun, added in some coaster trivia and other fun facts, and the guests loved it.

• Related: #3QuestionsLive – answering 3 questions about young leaders earning and showing respect

That’s probably why a fews years ago I heard an attendant at Gemini doing the safety spiels as Cartman from South Park. It was hilarious.

I don’t think that kind of service or experience happens when we put each other into generational boxes. I don’t think it happens when we stereotype and treat the majority based on the actions of the minority. I also don’t think it happens if we don’t get to know your employees and find out what their particular strengths and struggles are.

That’s your job as a leader. And if you want to know what your employees want or need, ask them. You won’t find a better resource for what will make them outstanding employees.

Related: Adam Conover – Millennials Don’t Exist

Thanks for reading!

Want to SLEEP BETTER?  Ensure your Supervisors are ready to LEAD with these two resources:

The Myth of Employee Burnout Supervisor Training Program – takes the worry and stress out of supervisor development!

NEW BOOK – “ALL CLEAR! A Practical Guide For First Time Leaders and The People Who Support Them”.  Available NOW!

“Hey Matt! I wanted to let you know I loved your book (ALL CLEAR!)!! There are a few things in there I have experienced myself, and others I haven’t even thought about! Very good read! You’ve given me my goal for this next season of helping to develop more leadership skills and mindsets in my team!”

Adam Woodall – Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari, IAAPA Show Ambassador