www.danielharkavy.com » Leadership

Keeping Your Perspective

Daniel Harkavy — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:32:15 +0000

We all fight battles at some point in our lives and careers, and some of these struggles can last a long time. Lengthy battles cause weariness. Over time, weariness erodes our confidence. When we lose confidence, we can easily lose our perspective.

When a leader loses perspective for too long, it can be terminal.

So what should one do who finds themselves tired, fearful, and confused? Here are 5 suggestions for those of you who might be trapped in this very uncomfortable place right now.

1. Take some time OFF. This may feel like the last thing you can afford to do, but it could be exactly what you need right now. Don’t take a trip — take a vacation. Unplug and rest. Take some time to sleep, read, exercise, eat right, and connect with those who encourage you. The purpose of this OFF time is to rejuvenate you, not to further drain you.

2. Protect your sacred spaces. iPhones, Blackberries and TVs are incredibly useful tools in our lives, but we must establish boundaries. If we are sitting in bed late at night or first thing in the morning checking Facebook, watching the news, and responding to email, we are living in reactive mode 24/7. We won’t get the rest we need, and we will wake up feeling further behind. Instead, make your late evenings and early mornings a reflective, restful time. Use this time for the things that refresh you. Protect your bedroom as a sacred space, and keep certain times of the day as sacred.

3. Feed the machine. Our bodies will break down over time if not properly cared for. Make your health an A-1 priority. Make healthy meals, daily exercise, plenty of sleep and lots of water a habitual part of each and every day. Don’t take your body for granted, or the machine will break down just when you need it most.

4. Spend time with your cheerleaders. Make sure you find time in your week to spend with people who love you, believe in you, and who truly want to see you at your best. Hopefully this takes place already in your home, with your close friends, and with certain team members. Be mindful of who you invest your time with, and if needed schedule extra time with those who encourage you most.

5. Consult the map daily. Look at the plans and books that guide your direction every morning. Keep your Life Plan, Business Vision, and Business Plan in front of you. If you lose sight of the big picture, the tired, mundane, confused and even fear-filled days will surely follow.

I am confident that one or more of these tactics will help you to get your perspective back. May you be fortified for the battles of your life.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Don’t Confuse Management with Leadership

Daniel Harkavy — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:21:43 +0000

In one sentence, how would you define “Leadership?” How about “Management?” Are you crystal clear on the difference between the two?

Anyone who is responsible for getting results through others needs to be able to effectively practice both Leadership and Management. Unfortunately, many managers use these terms interchangeably.

Management is the act of overseeing and influencing people, assets, and processes to achieve predetermined results. You are a Manager based on the authority assigned to your position.

Leadership is the act of engaging the heads and hearts of people in ways that inspire them to give their best in order to achieve a common goal – a goal that, quite often, only the Leader can clearly see. Anyone — from the front desk to the corner office — can be a Leader.

To put it another way, Management is more of a “head” thing, whereas Leadership is more of a “heart” thing. Both are critically important!

The challenge I see many managers struggling with today is that they are not leading those on their teams. They are not tapping into their teammates’ full potential and, as a result, they are not accomplishing what is possible.

They are managing their people as if they were fixed assets or equipment, and they are losing the hearts of their most appreciable asset.

Leadership starts with Vision. If you do not have your business vision clearly written, and if you are not repeating it and repeating it and repeating it, then chances are you are managing from the head. Your team also needs you to lead from the heart.

Extraordinary companies, cultures, products, and services are born from both strong management and heartfelt leadership.

Manage and Lead!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Things Will Not Fall Apart

Daniel Harkavy — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:13:20 +0000

I am writing this post from a great little coffee house on the Oregon coast. This has been a morning of catching up on email. As I mentioned in my last post, “Sometimes You Just Have To,” I spent last week with friends and family, surfing our way up the California coast. It was a fantastic memory making time!

Today I am paying the price. I have been knee deep in email for the last three hours.

One of the email messages I just reviewed was from my wonderful teammate, Kit Johnson, who runs HR and Accounting for us at Building Champions. She sent me a report I had requested with our team’s unused vacation hours. I asked for this because I want to make sure I am encouraging my teammates to take full advantage of their vacation time.

I have coached too many leaders who told me they have not taken a full week of vacation in years — as if it were a good thing. It’s not! We do ourselves and our companies a disservice when we fail to take time to rest, explore, play and rejuvenate.

So here are my encouragements for you today.

If you are a leader and are not taking any time away, you are not bringing your best to your company nor are you setting a good example for those you lead. Take a vacation. I promise if you do, you will come back to your work with more energy, passion, and creativity.

Don’t buy the lie that things will fall apart without you. What I have observed is quite the opposite. Your team will step up and grow when you are not there. You may even be surprised at their talent and resourcefulness.

Some leaders are insecure about their team’s success without them — they’re afraid they will prove themselves to be dispensable. In reality, it is a credit to you as a leader when your team is strong enough to function without you for a week or two.

The best thing you can do for your company is to leave it every once in a while. Schedule some time away, and encourage your teammates to take their vacations as well.

You will all be refreshed and perform better when you return.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

They Must Leave Better Than They Arrived

Daniel Harkavy — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:37:15 +0000

This has been a mission of ours at Building Champions since the inception of the company back in 1996. Recently, I have been giving this much thought as we are in the process of adding a new member to our team.

I believe that most leaders have a desire to see that the experience they help to create in their organizations causes people to grow. They want their team members to be better equipped and more skilled as a result of their time in the organization, which will lead them to make a greater difference in their future ventures.

What I am unsure of is how many of us actually do this well.

While we search for just the right candidate for the position we are hiring for, I will be involved with our round two and three interviews. I will be examining how they will fit into our culture, how skilled they are, how they communicate, and how they see themselves adding to our culture. I want to understand what they will bring to the table that will make us better than we are today.

As a leader, I accept responsibility for ensuring that our teammates are in a position to grow and improve over time.

I must ensure that the managers within our team have the disciplines and plans in place to train and teach those they serve. Each of our teammates must also be engaged in seeking out ways that cause the rest of us to grow and improve – both as a team and as individuals. This kind of growth starts from the top down, but in the right environment, it also moves the other direction.

The magic happens when all of us, in our individual roles in each of our departments, are proactively thinking about ways to help others in the organization to grow and improve. The result is stronger individuals, increased team unity, and better value to our customers.

In this kind of culture, your team members can’t help but leave better than when they arrived. It is up to you and me to make sure we are adding value today. If we do this well, they may stick around for a good and long time!

Hire great people. Then help them to be even better.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Questioners and Truth Tellers

Daniel Harkavy — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:56:35 +0000

One of the biggest challenges teams have is engaging in group thinking.

The problem often begins when a leader is so strong or charismatic that he influences the rest of the team to think just like he does. To further complicate things, if this leader is in charge of all hiring decisions, he probably hires people who are just like him. They think like him, speak like him, and sometimes even look like him!

In this environment, “group thinking” looks like this: the leader poses a question, the leader suggests a course of action, and everyone nods in agreement. The final decision is based on one single, unchallenged idea.

Personally, I have always benefited from having people on my team who think differently than I do!

These team members share my passion for our vision, but they have a perspective on life and business that is unlike my own. They may be more risk adverse. They are often much smarter. They bring their own brand of wisdom and personal experience to the process. They are skilled at thinking through the details and requirements of my entrepreneurial spasms.

Most importantly, they have the confidence and courage to challenge my ideas and assumptions.

There are countless advantages that come from having people like this on the team. We are better at thinking things through from multiple angles. We spend more time on planning, resulting in better execution and results. Sometimes, we kill my big ideas before they kill us.

I am not exaggerating. Having courageous truth tellers and questioners on my team has been a life saver for Building Champions.

If you lack these people on your team or in your life, you have to invite them in. Be hungry for differing opinions. Then, when you get the type of feedback that challenges your position, do NOT shut them down or play defense. Listen intently, and stretch yourself to fully understand what they see.

You and your team will be the better for it!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

25% Fun

Daniel Harkavy — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:46:42 +0000

Last week I sent a few Tweets from Colorado Springs where I was facilitating an executive retreat with a wonderful group of clients. If you happen to follow me on Twitter, you may have seen this picture of me with a sweet Rainbow Trout in my hands. The caption read, “Fun executive retreat today!”

I got some interesting comments after sharing that picture. I heard everything from “You charge for this?” to “What a boondoggle!”

Today, I want to share my observations about excellent leadership, magnetic cultures, respectable results, and fun.

I am a huge fan of magnetic cultures. When I see and experience them, my curiosity races. I want to do all I can to learn about the leadership of such companies. While investigating magnetic cultures, I’ve observed many of the expected attributes that fill the pages of leadership books. But I’ve also found something that is rarely written about in the business world: FUN!

I am convinced that the companies with the most magnetic cultures, who achieve the most respectable results, are those with leaders who have fun with their teams. They actually enjoy spending time with those they work with, and they even make time to hang out together outside the office every now and then.

The next time you plan an awards trip, a leadership retreat, and executive off-site, or an all team meeting, challenge yourself to invest 25% of your time into having fun.

When I lead executive retreats, I usually conduct them over a two day period of time, and I break those two days into four quadrants. One of those quadrants always incorporates some type of a fun experience.

Last week, it was fly fishing. This was a first-time experience for 6 of the 8 executive members. Six months ago, we spent an afternoon on a horseback trail ride through the beautiful mountains around the Broadmoor.

At BCI, I have fond memories of beach bonfires, mountain hikes, go-cart races, laser tag, and wakeboarding. Even as I write this, I know that I must take my own advice and make sure that we are making time for these kinds of activities more often!

There is something about having fun together that creates a bond within the group. These shared experiences create camaraderie and relieve stress. When it’s time to get back down to business, you’ll find yourself more refreshed and invigorated.

Have 25% more FUN, and you’ll be amazed at how much more you accomplish with the remaining 75%!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Me First!

Daniel Harkavy — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:47:00 +0000

Too many people believe they would have a better relationship or a better workplace if only they had better spouses, kids, friends, and teammates. If only other people were more thoughtful or listened more or performed better!

Sure, there may be room for improvement in those around us. There may even be opportunities to help others grow. But first, we must take responsibility for how WE are thinking and behaving, instead of lamenting over the actions of others.

If I want a better marriage, I have to be a better husband first. If I want my relationship with my kids to get better, I have to be a better father first. If I want a better team or a better company, I have to be a better leader first.

As I type this, I am sitting in an airport after spending the last two days with an awesome group of people who make up the executive team of a national mortgage banking company. I have had the privilege of leading their last two executive retreats, and their team has seen wonderful growth and results.

Today, we went through an exercise that was really valuable for them. They have a long term goal to increase their company’s annual sales by more than 300%. Each of them took time to assess what would need to change in order to lead a company that was doing just 50% more than their current volume.

I asked them each to think about where they would personally need to grow the most. I had them assess their own knowledge, skills, disciplines, systems, team, relationships and thinking to identify where they would have the biggest points of risk or pain.

They spent a significant amount of time alone journaling their thoughts, and then shared their results with each other. Their teammates then spoke into them by affirming, questioning, challenging and adding to what they came up with. It was a time of great transparency and growth.

So what about you?

Do you have aggressive goals and plans for your business or for your life in the years ahead? If so, where do YOU need to grow and improve in order to accomplish what you have set before you?

Don’t sit back and wait for others to take the lead.

Me first!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

How a Big Company Can Feel Small

Daniel Harkavy — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:02:16 +0000

For years, I had the privilege of coaching the CEO of a national mortgage company with 6000 employees. He then went on to serve as the CEO of the national bank that owned that mortgage company, where he was responsible for leading and serving the 13,000 team members. And for the last year and a half, I’ve had the pleasure of working side by side with this past client, as he is now a CEO Mentor and Executive Coach here at Building Champions.

His name is Jerry Baker.

Over the past 10 years or so, we have enjoyed coaching hundreds of those who served under Jerry’s leadership. These clients have ranged in roles from executives to mid level managers, as well as many of the company’s sales force. What we have seen and heard is that almost everyone in this company really knew and cared for Jerry. And most of them felt that Jerry knew and cared for them.

Many leaders have asked me, “How does he do it? How does he make that big company feel small?” I respond with what I have observed firsthand over the years.

He communicates, communicates, and communicates.

If you were to look at Jerry’s calendar back when he was CEO, you would see that he spent a great deal of time with his teammates – on the phone, one on one, and in group meetings. Each year, Jerry traveled across the country with the rest of his executive team, and called it the East West Tour. They would hold “town hall” style meetings in every region, so that all employees had the opportunity to interface with the leadership team and visa versa.

I’ve heard Jerry say that he thinks the better CEOs spend 25% of their time communicating.

Jerry is also a very good writer, and was incredibly disciplined about sending regular updates on what was happening in the business. In these updates, he encouraged his teammates to do their best and recognized top performers. He regularly wrote for industry publications, sharing his insights and thoughts about how to best succeed in their industry.

So how does a leader make a big company feel small? He communicates, which means he spends a great deal of time asking questions, listening, and then sharing what he sees.

You can learn directly from Coach Baker by reading his blog at www.leadershipfromthetrenches.com

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Incremental or Radical?

Daniel Harkavy — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:30:39 +0000

A few years back, our team gathered to work on our business plan for the upcoming year. We were in the early days of this economic crisis, and our numbers were falling like never before. It was a very tough time for us champion builders.

One of our Executive Coaches by the name of Raymond Gleason asked, “Do we need to make incremental or radical changes in order for us to pull out of this?” It was a great question, and it helped to frame much of our conversation as we continued to work on our plan.

In the past two weeks, I have had conversations with two different business leaders from different industries who are asking themselves this same question, but in two unique ways.

One leader is asking if he needs to make incremental or radical changes to the way he leads and operates personally. The other leader is asking if incremental or radical changes are required within their leadership team.

There are times when incremental changes just will not get us to where we want to go. They may seem easier and safer than the radical, but they are not always better.

There are also times when a radical change might shake things up, but it could ultimately take you in the wrong direction. Fear can cause us to overcorrect when a moderate and incremental change would be perfectly sufficient.

When considering how to improve in your role or your business, you are wise to consider what types of changes are necessary.

Should they be incremental or radical?

Questioners and Truth Tellers

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Reboundability

Daniel Harkavy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:36:15 +0000

I had the opportunity to work with one of our favorite clients last week in Denver. Our team organized and led a two day experience for their top performing managers and sales force. It was a wonderful time.

Wonderful, that is, once I arrived.

I will spare you the brunt of my travel woes, but my day involved cancelled planes, standby, and an arrival just 3 hours after the event started. Slightly stressed (or just a bit more than slightly), I made it to the site with just 15 minutes to spare before I was to speak on Coaching Leadership.

It was at this event that I learned about the term “reboundability”. After my presentation, I was talking to a few of our clients and I shared about my day’s mishaps. This is when our friend and client Melanie Nygren shared this idea of reboundabilty.

She said that the ability to rebound after a challenge or mishap is what makes people who they are. Those who have the ability to rebound quickly and completely are the people who enjoy the most success in life. And those who get stuck and cannot move forward have more challenges.

I think Melanie is right. Our ability to rebound after we encounter all that life can throw at us will determine how we live in the days ahead.

So here is to moving forward and through the challenges ahead. To our Reboundability!

Thank you for the insight and great word Melanie,

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.