LEADERSHIP

David fights two giants. We live in a culture that loves the individual hero story — we don’t know the story of David needing help to fight another giant (2 San 21). Mark Buchanan on CCLN

LEADING CHANGE

People won’t take a step if they don’t feel like they can take it or that it won’t be helpful if they do take it. Gavin Adams on the Carey Nieuwhof Podcast

The Diffusion of Innovation

The likeliness to adopt change – We think about change through our own lens. What would it take for me to change? And we think that’s what everybody needs. Stop thinking like yourself and start thinking like those you serve. You might not need “that” but you’re not your people. Rich Birch on the Carey Nieuwhof Podcast

We’re leading people through the transition of benefitting from to participating in. Jeff Henderson on the Andy Stanley Podcast

All too often, we jump to find solutions to a problem without taking time to really understand what we're facing. What is the problem that we’re trying to solve? Is there a different way to think about what the problem actually is? An example of an elevator being slow. And instead of trying to speed up the elevator, putting a mirror in the elevator so that it slows down time for the people in the elevator. What’s the problem under the problem? The perceived problem and the real problem? Are there any positive exceptions to the problem? What was different that day? Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg on the HBR Leadership Podcast

The number one thing that motivates people is a sense of progress. Name the progress you see and give people a chance to articulate the progress they’ve made. Therese Huston on the HBR on Leadership Podcast

3 Things Great Leaders Do (Theme found throughout his illustrious podcasting career of interviewing successful marketplace leaders) 1 - a culture of collaboration. 2 - they encourage risk taking. 3 - they allow for failure. Guy Raz on the HBR on Leadership Podcast

WORK

Creating social good and value.
Creative restoration through sacrifice.

  • Leadership (Why We Build):
    Life For Self - Improve Yourself - Die To Self

  • Operations (How We Build):
    Use People - Respect People - Bless People

  • Strategy (What We Build):
    Leverage Culture - Advance Culture - Renew Culture

The Redemptive Nonprofit: A Playbook For Leaders by Praxis Labs

FRAMEWORKS

Carl Rodger’s therapeutic triad: Genuineness, Empathy, & Unconditional Positive Regard. Our approach to influencing others in the Kingdom is simply to ask. Condemnation engineering, judging other people, distancing, separating, manipulating and violating their kingdom isn’t the way of Jesus. John Ortberg on Becoming New Podcast

THE REDEMPTIVE FRAME: THREE WAYS TO WORK

People, organizations, or communities approach the world in one of three ways.

The Exploitative way is to take all you can get-to gain any advantage, to prevail, to possess. Exploitative actors most often approach the business with a zero-sum, "I win, you lose" scarcity mentality. The motivating force behind the Exploitative way is to win and control. We are surrounded by the Exploitative way; we all fall naturally into it; and we are always trying to escape its effects on us.

The Ethical way is to do things right-to do no harm, keep the rules, solve problems, add value. Ethical actors pursue "win-win" whenever they can. The motivating force behind the Ethical way is to be good. We expect the Ethical of ourselves and of those around us, yet we sometimes fall short; and we're grateful when we encounter it.

The Redemptive way is creative restoration through sacrifice-to bless others, renew culture, and give of ourselves. Redemptive actors pursue an "I sacrifice, we win" approach with the agency and resources available to them. The motivating force behind the Redemptive way is to love and serve. We rarely expect to encounter the Redemptive; though whenever we do, we're changed.

The Redemptive Nonprofit: A Playbook For Leaders by Praxis Labs

01 Disciplined People.
02 Disciplined Thought.
03 Disciplined Action.

STAGE 1: DISCIPLINED PEOPLE

Level 5 Leadership. Level 5 leaders are ambitious first and foremost for the cause, the organization, the work—not themselves-and they have the fierce resolve to do whatever it takes to make good on that ambition A Level 5 leader displays a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.

First Who ... Then What. Those who build great organizations make sure they have the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the key seats before they figure out where to drive the bus. They always think first about "who" and then about what.

STAGE 2: DISCIPLINED THOUGHT

Confront the Brutal Facts-The Stockdale Paradox. Retain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

The Hedgehog Concept. Greatness comes about by a series of good decisions consistent with a simple, coherent concept-a Hedgehog Concept. The Hedgehog Concept is an operating model that reflects understanding of three intersecting circles: what you can be the best in the world at, what you are deeply passionate about, and what best drives your economic or resource engine.

STAGE 3: DISCIPLINED ACTION

Culture of Discipline. Disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and who take disciplined action-operating with freedom within a framework of responsibilities-this is the cornerstone of a culture that creates greatness. In a culture of discipline, people do not have jobs; they have responsibilities.

The Flywheel. In building greatness, there is no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. Rather, the process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.

STAGE 4: BUILDING GREATNESS TO LAST

Clock Building, Not Time Telling. Truly great organizations prosper through multiple generations of leaders, the exact opposite of being built around a single great leader, great idea or specific program. Leaders in great organizations build catalytic mechanisms to stimulate progress, and do not depend upon having a charismatic personality to get things done; indeed, many had a "charisma bypass."

Preserve the Core and Stimulate Progress. Enduring great organizations are characterized by a fundamental duality. On the one hand, they have a set of timeless core values and a core reason for being that remain constant over long periods of time. On the other hand, they have a relentless drive for change and progress-a creative compulsion that often manifests in BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). Great organizations keep clear the difference between their core values (which never change) and operating strategies and cultural practices (which endlessly adapt to a changing world).

Good to Great And The Social Sectors by Jim Collins

7 Perspectives Framework:

  • Perspective One: Current Reality Leaders must have both feet firmly planted in current reality. If you have no handle on today’s business, you can’t effectively manage and lead through today’s opportunities and challenges.

  • Perspective Two: Vision Leaders must see beyond today to where the business is going. They must paint a clear and compelling picture of the future, one that entices others to fully engage and work together to create something special.

  • Perspective Three: Strategic Bets Leaders place strategic bets to close the gap from their current reality to their vision. This activity drives their organization forward with clarity and confidence.

  • Perspective Four: The Team Effective leaders know they don’t see everything. They must see the business from their team’s perspective, usually by asking the right questions to best understand the unique challenges and opportunities facing the team.

  • Perspective Five: The Customer What does it feel like to do business with your company or organization? To serve customers well, you must know who your clients are, why they value your product or service, and what their current and future business needs are.

  • Perspective Six: Your Role What unique value do you bring to your organization? Do you have clarity on how to execute the most critical activities? You must learn to focus your energy on the activities that only you can do, while either delegating to others or growing their capacity for handling additional responsibilities.

  • Perspective Seven: The Outsider Leaders need to challenge their thinking and perspective by seeking insight from an outsider. Such unbiased input can broaden your thinking, identify your blind spots, and stretch you past your comfort zone. Great leaders actively seek and develop such trust-driven relationships.

    The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Finding “Current Reality” or “Critical Metrics.” The best leaders have a solid, effective dashboard, one place where they can see what they need to see for their department or business. Here are nine possible categories:

  1. Financials: cash flows, revenue, earnings, margins, key ratios, credit, etc.

  2. Supply chain: turn times, volume, quality, diversity, sources.

  3. Execution: status of key initiatives.

  4. Operations: excellence, efficiency, capacity.

  5. Talent/People: performance, bench strength, succession planning, development

  6. Culture: the overall health of the organization

  7. Externals: competition, economic factors, legislative changes, environmental pressures

  8. Branding: impressions, perceptions, trends, position

  9. Customer: overall satisfaction of customer, current and future needs and trends

    The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

VISION

Part of the role of vision is helping people embrace the transition of benefitting from to participating in. Jeff Henderson on the Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

Great organizations should be letting their vision and values drive their decisions. Rich Birch on the Carey Nieuwhof Podcast.

The vision of the Church is not yours to own, but yours to steward for a period of time. The Redemptive Nonprofit: A Playbook For Leaders by Praxis Labs

Every nonprofit has two headwaters: need and hope. We see a gap in existing structures and institutions and become convinced that someone must rise to the challenge of filling that gap. And we come to believe and hope that we have identified effective ways to make a difference. It is out of this initial identification of need and articulation of hope that our mission originally arose, and they remain the most powerful sources of energy for growing and sustaining our work. The Redemptive Nonprofit: A Playbook For Leaders by Praxis Labs

Vision: Why your business exists and how it impacts people. Effective leaders can see the destination in their minds. They believe in that vision, they plan from it, repeat it, engage others in it, build strategies to reach it, align people and resources, and execute tasks in ways that will enable them to get there. To be a leader means to be responsible for creating a future state far better than today’s reality… An effective vision paints a picture of a better tomorrow. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Two-C Vision Test:

  • Clear. Can you build sound plans from your vision? Does it clearly articulate, in detail, what the future will look like? What will your business feel like? Who will be a part of the organization? How will your business function some years in the future? A clear vision allows you to build strategies and plans that will take you from Current Reality to your desired future state.

  • Compelling. Does your vision have magnetic pull power? Will it entice you, as the leader, to enter an uncomfortable, higher-risk zone? A compelling vision causes leaders to build an extraordinary organization. Such a leader sees and believes something remarkable about what could be in the future. These leaders see and believe in that vision so deeply that they feel compelled to risk nearly everything in order to move their people from here to there. They speak of their compelling vision with such clarity and passion that the right people in the organization jump at the chance to buy in, engage, risk, and accomplish the exceptional.

    The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

3B Vision. In order to best engage the heads and the hearts of anyone they lead, all leaders must answer three crucial questions: What do we Belong to? Who are we going to Become? What are we going to Build? The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Imagine you’ve stepped into a time machine and arrived in your organization twenty years in the future. Walk around. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Write out an overview of this future. (I mean it: write it down.) Effective leadership means effective storytelling. The best leaders often tell a compelling story of the future. The more effective you become at telling your story of the years ahead, the easier you will find it to lead the heads and hearts of those you lead.The vivid picture you create should answer questions such as these:

  • Who will our team become in the years ahead?

  • What will our brand be known for?

  • What kind of experience will our clients have?

  • How will we impact the communities in which we operate?

  • How will we attract and develop talent?

  • How will we share our profits?

  • What will our technology and systems enable us to do?

The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Regardless of how many “leaders” an organization may have, if those leaders lack vision—if they cannot see a very specific, brighter tomorrow in their role—then they’re only managers. If they can’t illuminate a path toward a brighter future, if they can’t build strategy and engage the heads and hearts of their people to reach a better tomorrow, then they’re not leading well. Without a defined destination, we simply react to what happens around us. We merely take our teammates on an aimless walk with lots of twists and turns. Where are we headed? Who knows? Leaders have the responsibility and a great opportunity to bring their people to a better destination… You start with the CEO’s vision as the guide. From there, each individual leader’s vision must align and support the corporate vision. Imagine the CEO’s vision as a light shining down and across the organization. The further you get away from the CEO, the dimmer the vision can become. But when every leader and manager casts a vision for their department and team in alignment with the CEO’s, the light gets brighter, magnified. On its own, the CEO’s vision can sometimes lack the power or intensity to illuminate the entire organization at all times. But when the complementary visions of many leaders within an organization build on each other, such an alignment of vision can not only light up but ignite an entire company. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Samuel Johnson, an eighteenth-century English literary critic, essayist, poet, and biographer, said, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Use It or Lose It Too many leaders see Vision as an isolated activity, as something they work on from time to time. They imagine that once they have it, they’re done. I can hardly think of anything further from the truth. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

INTEGRITY

Convictions. Behaviors. Purpose.

  • Convictions are the uncompromising values and beliefs for which you are willing to fight. You make all decisions through the filter of your convictions. You ask, “How does this opportunity line up with my convictions?” If the opportunity lines up with them, then you pursue it; if it does not, you decline it. Convictions must define what you stand for remain in place even if they become a competitive disadvantage be pursued with relentless honesty embody what you truly believe, not what you think you should believe authentically and visibly reflect your life stay consistent regardless of market life cycles, technological breakthroughs, and management fads be lived out by both you and your team.

  • Behaviors are the observable actions that demonstrate a leader’s lived-out convictions. Behaviors must set the standard for your actions clearly demonstrate what’s expected clearly define what you expect from others and what they can expect from you set the foundation for your culture.

  • Purpose is the fundamental reason for your existence as a business, the motivational force that drives you. Purpose goes deeper than the product you sell and puts meaning behind what you do. Purpose must define the reason for your corporate existence reflect your motivation for doing your work capture the soul of your convictions provide the answer to the question “Why do you do what you do?” always be more meaningful than merely making a profit.

    The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Strategic Bets: New initiatives that add to or differ from how your business operates today. Don’t confuse them with the plans you have in place for this quarter or even for the year ahead. Strategic bets are meant to close the gap between Current Reality (Perspective One) and Vision (Perspective Two)… Bets range from eighteen months to three years. Strategy always involves some element of risk. You have no guarantee that your strategies will pay off or that you’ll fully execute. You need to feel confident in the strategic bets in which you invest… Thomas Edison said, “I’ve not failed, I’ve found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” Failure and cutting your losses are part of innovation, part of running a company. We call them “bets” because they’re not guaranteed. But when they fail, they teach us. And even when we fail, we should celebrate, because our failure means we were willing to innovate and invest. Preparing for failure can force you to see Perspective Three in a different way, a way that will help set you up for success. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Strategic Bets always cost something; do you understand the true cost of some bet you’re considering? By saying yes to one strategic initiative, you say no to other options. Each Strategic Bet must have a clear owner. Ambiguity frustrates execution. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Failure ____blanks_____ me. FAILURE ____________ ME. I then ask these leaders to speak aloud the first word that comes to mind when asked to complete it. The most common answers are “Failure defines me” or “Failure scares me.” A few in the audience say, “Failure teaches me.” The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Consider another key aspect of truly seeing this perspective. Project yourself into two possible futures: failure and success. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

When your teammates and key constituents can see all three components of the leadership GPS—where you are, where you’re going, and how you’ll get there—their confidence and your influence both grow. Your effectiveness grows immensely when you fill the room with the right people, have clarity around Current Reality, know precisely your starting point, and get buy-in and engagement in the Vision of your future state. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

The best leaders do the hard work of placing and executing new bets before they need to. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Leaders must have a system and structure for keeping the team focused on executing the bets. You must overcommunicate and overremind. Continually remind your organization why you are doing what you are doing. Repeatedly remind team members how each strategy connects to your current reality. Finally, celebrate the milestones you reach along the way to winning your strategic bet. Build an organization that celebrates the progress of positive change. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Don’t Overcommit. Too many bets can radically erode your leadership effectiveness. When CEO mentor Gavin Kerr saw leaders and organizations struggling with overcommitting and the negative impact it can have on an organization, he told me, “Too often strategy can become isolated from the day-to-day work, and that can cause some real issues. You need to be very clear about the three to five bets that are critical to your future. Be careful not to clutter the organization with every possible initiative, and so squeeze out the time your people need to deliver your core product, serve your customers, and continually improve in both.” David Packard, a founder of Hewlett-Packard, said, “More companies die from indigestion than they do starvation.” The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Don’t under-resource the time, talent, or finances that your strategic bets require. Resist the urge to pull from the same small pool of people to work on your strategic bets. Not only can this overburden your key leaders, it also creates a bottleneck and limits long-term leadership capacity and development. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Annie Duke, the decision-making expert and former professional poker player you met in the last chapter, told me, “You need to change the culture so that people feel like being a team player is more than just echoing everyone else and agreeing that everybody’s great and that we’ll all hit every goal. Help them to see that being a great team player means offering creative alternative viewpoints—new information, other perspectives, dissenting viewpoints, and even reasons why things won’t work. The key is to create a culture where these types of people are seen as really good team players.” The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Leaders who start their morning with the intentional discipline of connecting reap all kinds of benefits. They find out what their people are thinking, they get crucial qualitative data, they learn bigger chunks of the real story that they must know in order to lead effectively. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Building Champions CEO mentor Tom Brewer sums it up nicely: “Leaders need to be concerned when passionate people go silent.” The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

Patrick Lencioni told me, “For a leader, it’s more than just understanding. You need to be able to demonstrate that you understand. It’s more than just an intellectual thing. It’s really about the team knowing that the leader gets it.” The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

COMMUNICATION + EMPATHETIC LISTENING

It’s easy to talk. It’s less easy to communicate. There’s a difference between being a good “monologuer” and being a good communicator because communication is about listening. Charles Duhigg on The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

★ Ask deep questions (Don’t ask about the facts, ask about their feelings). Loop for understanding. Ask deep questions, prove your listening by repeating in your own words what you hear them saying and ask if you got it right. Charles Duhigg on The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

The perspective of Team is about putting your personal perspective aside and fighting to see what your people see. One of my partners and CEO mentors, Raymond Gleason, said, “The Team perspective is where we need to demonstrate that we’re really trying to understand. We’re seeking to understand. Not to judge, just to better understand.” This is where you learn most clearly what your teammates believe they need in order to succeed. You best position them for success when they have a clear understanding of what you expect them to do and they have the ability, resources, and tools to accomplish the work. When they succeed, you succeed. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

I recommend a great process called the Keep, Start, Stop framework to help you get to the heart of this perspective. Ask, “In order to best serve you, what should we keep doing, start doing, and stop doing?” If you don’t come away with new insights, you’ve missed the opportunity. The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders by Daniel Harkavy

ONE ON ONE FRAMEWORKS

★ Every one on one should have three aspects:

  1. Care

  2. Development (Feedback)

  3. Performance (Goals)

Matt Tresidder on Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast

★ Great Questions To Ask:

Care:

  • How have your close relationships been impacting you?

  • Have you been taking time to rest and practicing any restorative habits?

  • What personal lessons are you learning right now?

Personal Development:

  • How are you personally investing in your growth?

  • Do you feel like you have any untapped potential right now?

Organizational Performance (Defining Current Reality):

  • Do you feel that you have clarity about what is expected of you at _______?

  • What do you see as our gaps and blind spots at _____?

  • What do we need to improve on?

  • Tell me something you think I don’t want to hear about _____?

Personal Performance:

  • What’s working right now?

  • What do you need in order to better succeed?

  • What’s getting in the way? What are the biggest challenges you’re currently facing?

  • Are there any patterns or habits that seem to be holding you back?

  • Do you feel like you have the right people in the right place on your team?

Taking It Deeper:

  • What’s the last five percent?

  • What’s on your mind about ___? And what else?

The Coach Habit Questions:

  1. What’s on your mind?

  2. What else?

  3. What’s the real challenge here for you?

  4. What do you want?

  5. How can I help?

  6. If you’re saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?

  7. What was most useful for you?

Michael Bungay Stainer in The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever.

FEEDBACK

There tends to be three different types of feedback:

  1. Appreciation: celebrate and highlight what’s been working and going well.

  2. Coaching: advice, how to adapt and grow.

  3. Evaluation: letting people know where they stand

Therese Huston on the HBR on Leadership Podcast

Questions for feedback:

  • Asking self: will this feedback demoralize or motivate them?

  • Asking self: are they aware of the problem? how well do they self-asses?

  • What kind of feedback would be helpful to you?

  • Would it be helpful to hear what I love about your work?

  • What would be a workable solution for you?

  • I have bigger feedback, is this the time to bring it up or not?

  • If you find yourself in the same situation again, what would you do the same and what would you do differently?

  • Was it a real problem or a perception of a problem?

  • This is uncharacteristic of you, help me understand what happened?

  • We’ve covered a lot of ground today, what do you hear me saying?

  • What are you top priorities after what we’ve talked about today?

  • What was most valuable to you out of this conversation?

  • When would you like to circle back on this?

Therese Huston on the HBR on Leadership Podcast

DELEGATION

If someone can do something 80% as well as you then give it to them. John Maxwell

How To Delegate:

  • Step 01 - identify the things that only I can do for the team and what are the things that I can empower other people to do?

  • Step 02 - give clear instruction and adding the why..

  • Step 03 - set the expectations about what you want them exactly to do and how much authority they have.

  • Step 04 - check in and follow up (checking their thinking),

  • Step 05 - recognize good work and ask for their feedback, recognize them in front of others with specific details,

Mastering the Art of Delegation on Maxwell Leadership Executive Podcast