Jim Seybert – Certified Strengths Trainer

Chatting recently with a young executive who has great insights into the value of maximizing time.

His approach at work is to understand his strengths and those of his team and then look for opportunities to apply each person’s abilities toward the best possible result. He has embraced the truth that team performance is linked directly to individual performance and that “we all win when none of us are squandering time.”

I commented that such an approach sounds like a “mad rush to grab everything you can, right now” and he countered by describing a holistic attitude where relaxation and generosity were just as valuable as profits and growth. In fact, our interview was conducted while he was at home, playing with his kids DURING the work day.

Time Is Slipping Away

Asked to share a frustration, he confessed that he still hadn’t been able convince he CEO that someone else in the company could review invoices and sign checks. The CEO’s strengths involve sharing the organization’s vision and building relationships, but he insists on coming back to the office every two weeks to personally approve payables.

Nothing wrong with the boss keeping an eye on finances – more CEOs should – but this guy isn’t a “numbers person” and the exercise not only takes him away from doing what he’s best at, it makes him grouchy. Plus, there’s the additional time necessary to get things ready for him, time the accounting people could be using more productively.

The time squandered by what appears to be a sensible activity actually costs the company a half day of productivity. Time that can’t be replaced. Opportunity squandered.

What do you get PAID to do? How often do you DO it? It’s probably impossible to spend 100% of your time doing what you are paid to do, but you certainly can look at your calendar and find activities that can and should be done by someone else.

[Photo Credit - http://scott-theartofseeingsideways.blogspot.com ]

Wow !!

There are four highways leading into Yosemite National.

One of them, the Tioga Road, is always closed in the Winter.

The Southern Hiway – 41 up from Fresno – closes now and then for brief periods during heavy storms, as does the Northern Route – 120 – from the SF Bay Area.

The middle route – 140 – is known as the “All Weather Highway” because it’s generally open in ALL WEATHER.

On Friday, January 22 all four highways were closed.

NBC is on the verge of canceling Jay Leno’s weeknight variety show. Ratings have been dismal and local stations are screaming for something that will bring viewers to their evening news programs. (Local stations rely heavily on revenue from local commercials in their news).

Whether you do or don’t like Leno, the lesson here is SO freaking simple a first-year-still-wet-behind-the-ears-MBA could have figured it out:

NBC went with the 5-night Leno concept because doing so was MUCH cheaper than paying for a different scripted show every night. NBC has reportedly been making money on the show, despite lousy ratings.

They chose PROFITS over PRODUCT and the result has come back to bite them.

NBC’s Leno dilemma is a good example of incestuous amplification – where a group of like-minded people sequester themselves from deviant opinion and convince each other they are smarter than everyone else.

I wasn’t paying attention when the vote was taken, but somewhere along the way leadership became the preeminent business buzz concept of the new millennium.

There are probably more blogs, tweets, books and seminars dealing with leadership than any other business related concept. Some authors have built huge empires by adding one or another derivation of the word lead to the titles of their books. Heck, I even got into the game with two of my own books on leadership.

There are leadership:

networks,
forums,
centers,
consortia,
schools,
LinkedIn groups,
Facebook pages,
and associations.

The ability to take people to a physical or emotional place they have not been is so highly regarded these days you’d think the sole requisite skill for corporate success is a keen sense of leadership savvy.

“He may not know the difference between poop and shoe polish
but he really can lead people.”

Okay, that last one may be stretching it a bit but you get the picture. In the early part of the 21st century leadership has been “the bomb.”

All that is about to change

As we move into the second decade of the century the focus on leadership skills will be surpassed by an accountability for individual performance at all levels.

Organizations will continue to need leaders — this is not an argument for corporate anarchy or decentralization — but those charged with setting the pace will lose some of their luster and the spotlight will shine more brightly on the need for every individual on the team to be more keenly aware of their own strengths and their own personal contribution to the company’s success.

Instead of “lead, follow or get out of the way” the new mantra might be “play to your strengths and we all win.”

Leaders have steered us through some rough water. The past couple of years have been excruciatingly tough on organizations. Those with able leaders at the helm have no doubt done better than they would have without the guidance. But the tide is changing. The image of a strong leader standing against the wind and charismatically guiding her company through the storm will be — as the winds subside — replaced by an organization of individuals from bottom to top who know their strengths and manage their weaknesses to the greatest corporate good.

Are you prepared?

1. At your next round of performance reviews, focus on each worker’s strengths instead of their weakness. (Only 25% of managers do this).
2. As you develop plans for the next year, ask yourself “who on my team would be best at ______?”
3. Acknowledge employees who do something amazing while playing to their strengths. It will encourage others to do the same.
4. Critically examine your organization’s use of the word leader. Has it been overused? Is it trite? Does your focus need to shift from leadership training to strengths awareness?

Welcome to the second decade of the 21st Century. If you’d like some help maximizing the strengths of every person on your team, ping me with a quick email and we can chat about what that means for you.

Another example of the VICTORY you can enjoy when you play to your strengths.

Thanks to Marcus Buckingham for tweeting this and to the dog’s owner for sharing the story.

I visit the hardware store to buy a hammer with one specific task in mind; I need to pound nails. Hammers can do other things – pull nails, bust drywall, prop open doors – but I paid money for the hammer because I have nails that need pounding.

Airline tickets are purchased because I want to be transported between points A and B. Amenities are often added – comfy seat, warm nuts, friendly gate agents – but the reason I pay money for the ticket is to arrive at my destination.

Nearly every transaction we make has some type of explicit result attached:

• We pay the restaurant for food.
• We pay the dentist to fill a cavity.
• We buy gasoline to make our cars run.
• We pay tuition to be taught.

The employer/employee relationship is a transaction. The employer buys something from the employee. The worker exchanges skill, labor, time, or knowledge for a paycheck. The company has a nail that needs pounding and the employee is the hammer that gets the job done.

Judging the performance of an airline flight is pretty straightforward. Did you arrive at your destination? All the other stuff is incidental. If they treated you like royalty but didn’t get you to your destination – they failed.

If the hammer has a flaw that inhibits the pounding of a nail – it fails.

Job descriptions should provide the same clarity. Many of them don’t.

Most job descriptions are rife with copious detail about activities the employee will do in the course of their work – who they’ll report to, with whom they’ll work, how many hours they’re expected to work, how often they’ll travel. Descriptive words are often sprinkled throughout – professional, timely, team-player, cooperative, innovative, accountable. In some of the more advanced examples you may even find connection to the organization’s global mission and goals.

But we very seldom find a simple section that clearly defines the specific activity for which the employee will be paid. Workers aren’t paid to be professional, timely, innovative or to function as team members. Those things (and others) might describe HOW the work is to be conducted, but they don’t speak to the bottom line – What do you get paid to do?

Determining this is more difficult than it first appears. Some positions are easier than others to define: If you’re in Sales, you are paid when someone buys something from you. Your job description might mention other activities such as filling out call sheets, but you are the hammer and your employer has a nail that needs to be pounded. Plain and simple.

Don’t brush this off. Managers need to know what each of their employees gets paid to do. Taking time to dig into this will pay off. Workers who know what they are paid to do are motivated to a higher degree than those who can’t see that they make any real contribution to the whole.

Personal story

When I began my consulting practice some very smart people told me to spend at least 50% of my time prospecting for new clients. Without potential new clients in the pipeline, my practice would fail. I’ve paid attention to that advice, and for a long time felt that my number one priority was prospecting. When someone asked me, “What do you get paid to do?” I answered, “Find new clients.” But I was wrong.

I am paid to work with clients, lead their retreats, coach their people and facilitate SimplyStrengths Workshops. No one has ever paid me to send a prospecting letter. In fact, the time I spend looking for new clients is time taken away from working with clients. In that regard, time spent prospecting is actually costing me potential income.

I am working on a specific solution for this that will have me in front of clients more often, doing what I get paid to do. My job description now includes a statement that I am to spend a majority of my time engaged in activities for which I am paid. The other stuff is necessary, but I am not paid to keep my desk tidy, show up to work on time and answer email in a timely manner.

So, what?

It is critical that managers and employees find answers to the question, “What are you PAID to do?” The time you invest on this will improve productivity, retention and customer satisfaction.

1. Begin the process by asking yourself the question. Don’t answer too quickly.
2. Share this with a group of people and use your collective brain power to help each other find answers.
3. Look for opportunities to do more of what you are paid to do and less of everything else.

This advertising/promotion event caught my eye because it was different, and also because it played off a unique central theme in the movie. When you’re promoting something, look for the unique strength that will make your product or service attractive to others and then intentionally tell them about it.

From MediaLife.com

Joy Behar asks Marcus Buckingham about his StrongLife Test and his latest book on maximizing strengths. As a Buckingham Certified Strengths Trainer, I’ve seen this stuff work first-hand.

The makers of WISK have come up with a clever way of gaining some franchise space in the minds of younger consumers. Inside Facebook is reporting on a new app for FB users who have found unflattering photos of themselves in the online albums of their friends.

The new app is called WiskIT and allows users to request the offending photos be removed. The genius is in the not-so-subtle connection between the product virtual and actual use.

Counter Intelligence – November 2009

Balance is a good thing for bicycles, tightrope walkers and  ballerinas.  Toddlers need balance, as do the wheels on your car and those amazing young women who jump and spin on a four-inch wide balance beam in the Olympics.

The adage “all work and no play . . .” speaks to the need for variety.  It’s often used in conversation where someone complains of needing to achieve balance in their activities but most of us would agree that “50% work and 50% play . . .” would be a poor formula for success.

In bike riding, ballet and circus acts, balance is not the objective but rather the means to a successful end.  You don’t balance a bicycle for the sake of balance, you do it to enable the bike to move forward.  Getting to Point B is the goal — balance is only part of the process.

Warning:

Too much focus on balance will

impede forward progress.

Little children tumble over as they learn to walk because it’s necessary to upset their balance in order to take a step.  If staying in balance were the objective, the toddler would simply stand up and stay standing. But they would never learn to walk.

The same is true of individuals and the teams they populate.

The most successful individuals, groups, and organizations are those where balance is not the focus but only part of the process.

In-N-Out Burger is widely popular because of, not despite, their unbalanced menu – nothing but burgers and fries.

If every musician in an orchestra played their instrument at the same level of volume, the result would be – well, you’ve heard this if you’ve ever attended a junior high band concert.

Think about this:

Instead of looking for balance, think about how each team member has a unique strength that can be applied to forward momentum. Requiring the analytical people on your team to pretend they are visionary wastes their time and their talents just as much as asking the big picture people to plan out the details. Let your dreamers dream and your analysts analyze.

Your team has a greater likelihood of achieving its goals if everyone on the team concentrates — not on maintaining a balance, but rather — on playing their own part to the best of their ability.

Ask these questions of yourself and then discuss the answers with your team:

1. Do you know the personal strength you bring to your team?

2. Do you know the personal strength of everyone else on the team?

3. Describe a recent situation where balance impeded forward momentum.

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