Notes from Art:
My week has already started with a double jolt of leadership caffeine. I speak Monday afternoon on one of my favorite topics: “High Performance Trade Show Marketing Practices” at TS2 in Chicago at McCormick Place, based on the content in the e-guide here on this site.
Also, I am thrilled to be featured this week as the guest interview on the popular Project Shrink videocast. The video interview is entitled “Leadership and the Project Manager,” and came about via my free e-book of the same name. The proprietor of the Project Shrink blog and videocast, Bas De Baar is one of the leading voices on the human side of project management success, and an all around great professional and gentleman to deal with.
Ok enough about me and on to the real point behind these posts…sharing insights and ideas to drive your leadership performance.
Dealing with Cracks in the Leader’s Smile:
I chatted with a valued colleague the other day that indicated that she is finding it increasingly difficult and even awkward in the face of financial pressures and employee strain to keep a cheerleader’s positive demeanor in the workplace.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard from a leader struggling either to smile or simply maintain a positive outlook in the face of occasionally overwhelming obstacles. One manager indicated to me, “I know that my team reads my mood, but sometimes I feel like I’m out of place smiling and acting upbeat. It’s like trying to sound positive at a funeral, where the best thing anyone can come up with to say pales in comparison to the reality of the situation.”
While I hope that you don’t feel like your workplace is a funeral in motion, I will offer a few suggestions that should allow you to give the smile muscles a break and keep the team focused on the mission.
- You can relax the smile, but you need to double the can-do spirit. If you’ve given up on chances of survival and success, it’s time to check out of your job. If you’ve still got some gas in the tank, steel yourself and your remaining team members for the task at hand.
- Focus on the basics. My manager colleague above is watching as membership slips weekly. Some of it is inevitable as the members deal with their own financial struggles. Some of it may be controllable. Involving the entire team in identifying opportunities to strengthen member relations and improve customer experience may help. Better yet, get some customers involved in the process as well.
- Now is a great time to tackle the “Elephant in the Room” issues that we often ignore during better times. A Trade Show Manager indicated to me that given the state of her firm’s situation, she found it easy to walk into her manager’s office and suggest that now was a great time to rethink the firm’s approach to selecting and executing these expensive events. She has since been able to cut costs, improve program planning and execution and actually improve results on a smaller budget. Instead of lamenting her situation, she seized the opportunity and got others involved in making needed improvements.
- If you’re smiling less, make sure that you do a better job of delivering positive feedback. I spend most of my time teaching people how to deal with the other kind (constructive), but the fact is that well constructed positive feedback will reinforce the positive behaviors you are observing and this type of input is much appreciated. Keep it genuine and of course, don’t ignore the chances for constructive feedback either.
- Keep the team up to the minute informed on good and not so good news. Even if it’s bad, they will appreciate your transparency and your respect for their concerns. To most, the fear of the unknown is worse than the reality.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
It’s impossible for you to be upbeat all of the time. In fact, no one expects it. However, it is possible and necessary for you to be confident in the face of adversity and to avoid jumping on to the same emotional roller coaster that many of our colleagues ride. Stay focused on what matters and help your team keep focused on the same. The smallest of victories breed more and soon your team will forget about worrying and focus on doing. And then you can smile…just a little bit.
Please let me add another suggestion —
* Engineer and articulate the trade-off
When a business decision is made, the following variables interact to create a new status quo: 1) quality, 2) economy, and 3) speed. A change in any of the elements inversely affects one or both of the other variables. For instance, increase the economy in the call center by reducing the number of people fielding call and you will decrease the quality of the service and/or the decrease the speed calls are processed.
Unless you have an incredible innovation that changes this fundamental interaction of variables, you cannot simultaneously increase all three variables — quality, economy and speed — at the same time. When attempts are made to increase everything simultaneously, which they foolish are way too often, the members of the team become demoralized immediately and you (the leader) become demoralized later. Of course the members will go a long with the fantasy (they want to be considered team players) and some will actually smile to make you feel better.
It doesn’t have to be this way. You can engineer the trade-off. And you can articulate to people that you are willing to accept the results. For instance, you can increase economy by decreasing the number of people in the call center while holding quality constant, if you are willing to accept slower service to your customers. In other word, you don’t get something for nothing.
It’s a lot easier to be confident when you aren’t violating basic business laws. Don’t delude yourself. Engineer the trade-off(s). Articulate what you are willing to accept. Constantly search for innovations that will make things even better.
It will be a lot easier to smile if you do a fundamental leadership role of studying accepting, and communicating the consequences of your business decisions.
Congratulations on your Speaking engagements being on subjects you feel pasionate about. That’s always a good thing.
A bit of authenticity always works better than a frozen smile for all parties involved. In tough times, it is not necessary for the leader to act as if nothing is wrong. It is a good time to let others on to the fact that you are human, that you care about them and the work you share, that you see a way to go on and a light at the end of the tunnel.
I find your insights to the point here. Just a word on the feedback issue: it is a time to respect and value your collaborators. This means of course, bringing positive feedback into the equation and being sincere. Choose wisely when to take up an issue for constructive criticism but beware: don’t stop it altogether. When you find there is something that is not a mistake (in which they know they need to do it differently) and be straightforward about your constructive feedback. You can follow so many of Art’s posts on that. The thing is; it also sends a message to your team: you expect them to still be here when the tides change, so you care that they do things right!
I have to disagree on a point, Art. You say “you can’t be upbeat all the time and no one expects you do.” I think they do expect you to. Part of being a boss is the leadership work you have to do. The people on your team expect you to know the way out of the forest. You don’t have to be a cheerleader, and you won’t always feel positive, but most of the time you have to act it, or have your moment of despair sweep through your team like a virus.
Steven, Wally and Monica, thanks much for your always insightful and valued comments. Wally, I agree with you 99%. My point might be one of splitting hairs. In my opinion, it is good and acceptable for the boss to show concern versus offering a pollyannaish view of the world. I believe my words in the post suggest that we never let him/her off the hook for displaying confidence.
Thanks again to all!
-Art
A post and a Bas de Baar’s podcast? Two in one day! It’s like Christmas in July!
When you were talking about your 4 pillars and feedback, it reminded me of something Warren Bennis said about “speaking truth to power”.
A project manager who wants to lead will do well to gain enough familiarity with executives that they can speak truth to power. They should also refine their feedback channels to where they can learn how to improve. This skill will be useful when they are in positions of power. Those are the channels and relationships that will enable others to speak truth to them.
Thanks, great stuff.
Andy
I think we’re in accord, Art. Nobody expects the boss to be Pollyanna. In fact, if you act that way, they’ll probably not trust you.