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January 27, 2007
BE Interested
Another Barry Zweibel gem from Gotta Getta Coach. He's posted an occasional series of "Leadership Moves" from which I pulled this small gem.
I'm struck by the quality of the question-"What's on YOUR radar that is probably not on mine?" Immediately, the person on the other end is validated, recognized for his/her expertise, and it helps all of you become more proactive. In the event that the other person hasn't thought of what is on the radar, it provides a gentle push to be thinking in this way, which leads to increased talent development.
It's an interesting corollary to Danny Meyer's comments on "the saltshaker theory of management"
Posted by chitch at 5:08 AM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2007
Great New Book from Marshall Goldsmith
Just got through reading the book from Marshall Goldsmith, "What Got You Here Won't Get You There", after reading the Business Week article (Jan 8 issue). In the book, Goldsmith outlines annoying habits that can keep people from achieving all that they want. I wish that I wasn't guilty of all of these at some point, even today, but he reminds me of what I should be doing versus what I am doing.
I'll admit I'm lucky-I've got the best gig in the business, but Dr. Goldsmith reminds me of concrete strategies that can help improve my effectiveness in my role here at the Center.
Read the article, and check out two free chapters he has shared online. I've also included a link to the "playbook" in Business Week and then read the book.
Posted by chitch at 11:43 AM | Comments (2)
January 20, 2007
Getting the most out of your technology
This morning's paper had an article on how to get the most out of your technology tools. I've been guilty of most of their mistakes and their three questions on using a digital organizer make a lot of sense:
1-ask a critical question-"What am I trying to accomplish?" The more specific it is, the easier it will be to find a digital tool to help you accomplish the goal.
2-focus on today-the tool you buy today will be outmoded in 6-12 months (it's just the nature of the beast so focus on what you will get out of it right now.-if you want more on the fast changing nature of technology, google "Moore's law" and see what you come up with
3-Give it a time trial. Give it a set time to prove itself-if it doesn't do what you want, ditch it and move on. Most software programs have a worry free time trial.
If you want to read more of their columns (Adobe Acrobat required for viewing), check them out here.
Posted by chitch at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2007
Rafting and Leadership (part 2)
One other item that Dave Coley reminded me of when I talked with him about the raft trip.
"Remember that before any time on the river, you go over a safety talk to review the keys that you need to remember if you fall out. Generally, people fall out, not because they are careless, but because they are moving outside of their comfort zone and doing something new. Also, if and when someone falls out, you don't sit in the boat and laugh or criticize. You drop your paddle and help the person get back in the raft as quickly as possible."
Kinda like what we should be doing with the people with whom we work. When people try something new and it doesn't work as well as they wanted it to, we don't laugh or criticize. We help them get back in the boat.
Posted by chitch at 2:41 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2007
Email Rules #1 & 2-Need to know vs Nice to know and To vs Cc
Like you, I'm trying to stay on top of my email inbox. I'll list two "rules" that I'm trying to follow to help stem the email overload.
Rule #1 One of the tips I try to use is to reduce the number of people on the email distribution. I try to use the "need to know" vs. "nice to know" rule. I try to not put a person on the email list if it is simply a nice to know email.
Tip #2-To vs. Cc.
I assume that people understand the distinction between "to" and "cc" on an email. Yet in my discussions with people both in my work and my "other" life with the church and volunteer activities, I find out that many people either do not know or have forgotten the difference between the two. It's understandable in many cases-email as we know it has only been around for 10 years, a relatively short timeframe in which a communication medium has become widespread. If a person is on the "to" line, I'm expecting either action or sharing with them because they need it in their work. If it is on a "cc" line, I don't expect any action, but simply am keeping them informed because they "need to know" the information for their work.
Posted by chitch at 3:49 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2007
Rafting, Guides, and Leadership
Over the holidays, we were looking at pictures. One of the pictures had Dave Coley, 30 principals, and I in a group photo before going on a rafting trip as part of the Principals Summer Institute.
One of the themes that Dave emphasized to the group was the location of the guide in a raft. The guide was always in the back of the boat, giving some small, seemingly insignificant moves of the paddle to move the boat to avoid the rocks.
Seems very similar to the best position from which a good leader leads. The leaders seemingly small moves have very high leverage to move the organization. The leaders also are "in the boat", rather than yelling from the shore. Finally, the leader has others with whom the leader works to move the boat downstream safely, where everybody at the end of the journey thinks they did the work themselves.
Posted by chitch at 2:30 PM | Comments (0)
January 5, 2007
R4
One of the keys of management is to ensure that you are not a bottleneck to the people with whom you work and from whom you depend to achieve results. One way to help reduce the bottleneck is to think of R4. This shorthand stands for: get the RIGHT information to the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time to make the RIGHT decisions.
RIGHT information-what information do your colleagues (peer, those you manage, and those who manage you) need from you?
RIGHT people-to me, this has two meanings: having the right people in the right places to be successful and giving the needed information to the people who can and should be making the decisions.
RIGHT time-data is absolutely useless if it is not shared with people on a timely basis. Having budgeting or other data that doesn't get to you until 8 weeks after you need it doesn't allow you to help make decisions that can move your organization forward.
If these three R's work, then there is a much higher probability that the decision will be the RIGHT decision.
Posted by chitch at 2:21 PM | Comments (0)