Coaching Pays Off

If you watched the US Open Tennis final my bet is you were in awe. I was rooting for Murray because he was close to the top but never quite there. He had the talent and drive but something was missing. Then he hired a new coach (Ivan Lendl) and it payed off. He won his first major!

It makes me wonder why in business we don't invest more in coaching. I've had a coach for years and without her I wouldn't be able to do the work I do in the way I do it (or have the life I have).

Is it because coaching in business seems less tangible?  Is it that the ROI isn't as obvious? Is the need for coaching perceived as a weakness or a "performance problem"? Is it because not all coaches are good? Is it scary to go for mastery? It seems to be the first thing cut when budgets tighten, yet is it the very thing that can build capacity and passion for work during tough times.

Leadership and team effectiveness have a direct correlation to business success. Whatever game you are playing, find a good coach. It will payoff if you are willing to practice!

If you need some inspiration, Click here for US Open Final Highlights 

Paying Attention To Culture

If culture is the glue that holds people together and can generate or thwart performance, we need to pay more attention to its often invisible power.

Culture is the essence or spirit of a team, department or organization. It is a specific collection of values, norms, fears, beliefs, assumptions, rules & meanings (spoken/unspoken, written/unwritten, formal/informal) that intentionally or unintentionally influence behavior and results delivery.

Katzenbach provides some insight in his HBR article “Culture Change That Sticks” http://hbr.org/2012/07/cultural-change-that-sticks/ar/1 He recommends we:

1. Match Strategy and Culture – Does the DNA of your organization align with your current value proposition?
2. Focus on a few critical behavior shifts – What three (not 25) behaviors most reflect your mission, vision and values?
3. Honor (and validate) the strengths of your existing culture- What makes you unique and differentiates the way employees believe, feel, think, act?
4. Utilize and integrate formal and informal interventions – Are formal mechanisms (reporting structures, decision rules, comp/benefits and company events, etc.) aligned with informal practices (leadership modeling, cross-functional networks, manager/employee connections, storytelling, etc.)
5. Measure and monitor cultural evolution. Make it easy to notice when culture is helping or hindering performance by checking in on it. What do you feel in the office, hear on the phone (underneath the words), observe in interactions and sense in communications? 

Thanks Natarsha for the resource!

Craftsmanship on Teams

If you strive for excellence on your team consider the craftsmanship of Sushi Shokunin, Sukiyabashi Jiro. A Shokunin is a master of a profession-an artisan.

In the docu-movie, Jiro Dreams of Sushi you’ll note a care, commitment, focus and passion for the art of making Sushi. There is a grace, beauty, elegance and taste to Jiro’s work that generates buzz and a month’s wait to dine at his Sushi restaurant in Tokyo.

All Jiro, wants to do is “make better Sushi.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2L5IrkQTV0

To instill more craftsmanship on your team, apply Jiro’s insights by answering the following questions with your team:

·      Where is the artistry in your team’s work?

·      How do you inspire and deliver originality?

·      Where would a consistent practice, process or focus optimize results?

·      How do you define and monitor quality?

·      What motivates you?

·      What do you make better?

Thought for the day

"We dance AROUND in a ring and suppose,
 But the Secret sits in the middle and knows. " --Robert Frost

Valuing Introversion on Teams

If a third to half of the US population is introverted and we need to come together to innovate and solve problems, it behooves us to better understand the value of introversion.

In Susan Cain’s Ted Talk http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/about-the-book/ she states that the US culture tends to value “action over contemplation.” She also distinguishes between shyness and introversion.

“Shyness is fear of social judgment. Introversion is more about how we respond to stimulation. Introverts tend to feel the most alive when they are in quieter, solitude environments.”

A colleague of mine described it like this, “When someone asks you a question, the whiteboard of your mind starts filling in the blanks. You become energized. When someone asks me a question, my whiteboard is blank. So I panic if there is pressure to answer immediately. It takes me a while to collect my thoughts.”

If you want to maximize the talent on your team, find the right “zone of stimulation” that is right for each team member. Ms. Cain’s suggests the following ways to honor the value of introversion:

• Stop the madness for constant group work. Provide time, space, privacy and autonomy for people to work alone.
• Go to the wilderness. Unplug and get inside your own head and heart and reconnect to natural rhythms.
• Stop faking it. Acknowledge and claim the strengths of introversion in yourself and others.