Do you let your team fail?

 

In business, we don't always have the luxury of allowing our teams to fail. As leaders, we are strict about standards. We monitor the progress of our teams closely. We do all we can to support them and ensure they get the job done. We check every detail and issue clear directions. We don't want our teams to fail because it means we have failed as their leader. In a training environment, our learners can afford to fail. It may seem counterintuitive that as a trainer I let my learners fail. Wouldn't that leave a bad taste? I find that lessons learnt from failure can be much more impactful and memorable. In real business, we should find opportunities for our people. Not to want them to fail, but to want them to be creative, to make decisions, and to take ownership of their outcomes. Sometimes they will fail. But they will also learn and grow.

Tune in to Wii FM

 

I attended a BNI training on Saturday. I conduct training for a living, but it is always interesting for me to attend training conducted by others. I am always able to gain something from training sessions I attend. This is something I have learned to do. It is not automatic. I have learned to tune in to Wii FM. Wii FM means What's In It For Me. No matter what situation you are in, if you are smart about it, if you are proactive and take action, you will gain something or learn something. You will be able to find value. Not everyone interprets Wii FM the same way. Some expect others to serve results to them on a platter. They think, okay I've paid the fee, or I'm spending time with you, so show me what's in it for me. Show me the money. Serve me. This doesn't always work. I once attended an event with an intention to sell my products. On the day itself, I realised the attendees were not the type who would buy. They would try, but they were not willing to spend. I might have got upset and sworn never to attend such events again, but instead I took the opportunity to understand this particular target market. I also learned by observing how they responded to my products. I didn't walk away with sales, but I gained valuable insights. Seek, and you shall find.

Do you braid your hair?

 

I participated in a Tzu Chi (慈济) event over the weekend. Tzu Chi is a non profit organisation which does humanitarian and disaster relief work. I was invited to the event to introduce modern boardgames to parents and children. One thing I learned at the event was girls with long hair must braid their hair. At first I thought this was odd. This rule felt old-fashioned, rigid and unnecessarily ceremonial. Why in this day and age still insist on a rule like this? However as I observed how they conducted themselves and how they worked together, I was reminded of this: "How you do one thing, is how you do everything." As leaders, we sometimes consider certain small things to be beneath us. We have more important things to attend to. Some things need not be fussed over. However, small habits that we build every day shape who we are. Small habits practised by an organisation shape its culture. If we can't do the small things well, who will trust us to do the big things? So, what is your equivalent of braiding your hair that you practise every day?

Case study: The boss' pet

 A mentee once asked me for advice. He had a teammate, A, whom he found was not pulling her weight at work. They were both managers reporting to the same department head, B. A couldn't complete tasks which she should be able to, and often asked others to do them. B seemed to be overly protective and accommodating. When my mentee broached the subject with B, he was told that A was having some personal issues outside of work. So everyone should be understanding and support her. My mentee felt that this was a recurring pattern. It was not just a temporary situation. He had heard other peers and juniors being unhappy about A. He certainly was not happy that he needed to do extra work to cover for A. Due to the growing tension, A who used to be close with the team was drifting further apart and becoming isolated.

If you were in my shoes, what would you say to my mentee?

Can you make unpopular decisions?

 

One discussion that came up in a recent training I conducted was when should a leader decide to fire an underperforming employee. The current mainstream in leadership thinking is when we have underperforming employees, we should empathise, support and help, and eventually get our people back on track. To give up on and transfer or fire an employee is sometimes perceived as a failure of the leader. This is a misconception. As leaders, we have to make the unpopular decision, when we know it is what's right for the organisation. Leaders cannot be squeamish. 

Photo courtesy of C. L. Lim

How much is purpose worth?

 

I recently read a comic strip in which the conversation went like this:

Worker A: If your boss gives you a meaningful purpose at work, would you accept a lower pay?
Worker B: No.
Worker A: That goes to show how much meaning and purpose is worth at work.

At first glance this sounds logical, but if we think deeper, this is thinking about the matter in a wrong way. If your boss tells you a purpose for the sake of cutting your pay, I would have serious doubts about that purpose and the intention behind sharing the purpose. So this comic isn't about purpose. It is about whether a leader treats their people fairly and respectfully. Think about these questions. Why do some people stay at a job despite being offered a higher pay elsewhere? Who do some people quit their jobs to take up lower-paying jobs in an unfamiliar industry? Ultimately people want more than money from their work life.

How much is purpose worth? Everything.

As leaders, how do we help our people find their purpose?

Just Remember One Thing

 

One common question people ask trainers like me is "What can attending your training do for me (or my staff)?"

It's a valid and important question. Why are we spending money, and also more importantly, many people's time, on training? What can we expect to change after attending a one-day training (or two-, or five-)? Will my people improve their productivity by 10%? Because of this line of thinking, many trainers try to squeeze a lot of content into one day. They want to make the time and money spent by the client feel more worthwhile. Unfortunately that often backfires. It becomes an intense and hurried lecture day, bombarding participants with concepts, which they will broadly understand, but will never apply, and will forget after 3 weeks. As a trainer, what I ask of each of my participants is to remember just one thing from the day. Take just one thing, and use it. Then it is yours forever. It means you have changed into a slightly better person. Then that day of training is worth your time. When we attend a training, any training, or an event, any event; are we prepared to observe and learn just one thing? Even if you are attending a dull academic conference, if you are observant and hungry, you will find that one thing to learn and make yours. It's up to you. Are you ready to find that one thing?