Weekly Posts and Insights
4 Personalities on Your Board or Team: Get It Done, Get It Right, Get Along, & Get Appreciated
Do you ever feel like you’re in a team or on a board where you’re mixing water and oil? Some people go hard right, while others go hard left? Even their approach to a topic or challenge is, well, different! Did you know your board or team members have four distinct personality profiles? Using the Lens of Understanding we can identify the Get It Done, Get It Right, Get Along and Get Appreciation personalities on our teams.
How Do We Begin To Evaluate the Success of Organizations?
The list provided is about attaining objective, quantifiable data. It is not about the single opinion of the executive leader, the marketing campaign or the board president. Facts over opinions. True success over the need for money or your vote. Or as Deming is famous for saying, ”In God we trust. All others must bring data.”
Immediate, Real Time, Practical Ways You Can Make Yourself Indispensable This New Year
As a New Year is upon us yet again, here are a few ways over the last decade and half that I have both seen and practiced becoming indispensable in career, professional life and in organizations. These are immediate, real-time, start today ways that can transform you as a leader and any organization, business or side-hustle attached to you!
Harrington's Reading List
This library is a collection of the many books and years that I have spent studying and enjoying a healthy pursuit of excellence. They range from books on creativity, on conflict, on culture to books on marketing, leadership and to my surprise, a lot on grit and resilience. At the top of the page I wanted a quote that I thought universally said what I think of when I think of books and Harrington Brands; I think Albert Einstein said it best: “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” So, please enjoy and of course, if you have a recommendation please let us know! We’re always looking for the next great book to improve.
Using a One Page Strategy To Get People To Buy Into Your Vision
The One Page Strategy (OPS) has helped many pull together strategic and yearly plans and goals all on one sheet. The idea is that by putting it on one sheet you can look at it throughout the year to make progress on those goals. Not only are all your goals and projects on one sheet, it also holds you and your team accountable as you look at it from time to time throughout the year to measure your effectiveness in achieving your goals.
Being an Empathetic COVID-19 Leader
I find that it’s helpful to know that there are long-studied emotional events going on in each and every one of our followers. I also believe that if we don't understand our people (staff, board, followers, volunteers, etc.), we will never truly create our own successful circumstances for [enter company, organization, relationship, cause]. If we don't understand where our people are emotionally and how to help them out, then all the finances, strategies, x-point plans, and One Page Strategies won't do a lick of good.
With over a decade of studying how humans deal with change, loss and success, here is what I lean on and hope it helps you figure out where your people are at too:
Being a Leader in a COVID World
What does it take to be a leader during a crisis. I hope some of these tips around communication, self-reflection, inspiration, change and more are frank, blunt, perhaps contrarian and real during this crisis for you.
The “I’ve got an idea for you” Worksheets
One of the most common phrases you’ll hear as a leader in a chamber or association is, “you know what you should do…” or “I’ve got an idea for you…” or if your chamber or association is well-known for throwing events, “here’s an event you should do for the community…” Next time you hear that, try out two of these free templates!
How to keep from losing good young leaders at your organization
raditionally, corporations have long talked about the leadership ladder - each rung of the proverbial ladder equaling a new role, title, pay, and/or leadership level. Unfortunately, that’s quite an outdated model and just doesn’t work for the new worker.
When we look at the Leadership Growth Lattice, it functions like the name. Instead of straight up, its sprawls out like a garden lattice. It assists in creating a “holistic” employee with multiple dimensions of growth, service and leadership.
Imagine a lattice and the buckets you may want an employee to think about as they grow within your organization.
The Power of Building Good Habits
As leaders there's always one behavior or another we're trying to shape or change in others. What about the chronic latecomer, the constant complainer and the time management challenged? We attempt to give constructive feedback, help them set goals or focus on teamwork and continuous improvement. Sometimes it clicks; sometimes it doesn’t. Do you know how much our habits actually impact our behavior choices (which is either what you’re trying to stop in others or grow in others), or how habits can by-pass our decision-making function?