Leadership

I’m suspicious when I hear mottoes like these:

Fail fast!

Fail often!

Failure is a good sign!

We need more failure!

Not all failure is created equal. Failure, after all, shouldn’t even be the focus.

Learning should.

Learn fast!

Learn often!

Learning is a good sign.

We need more learning.

See the difference?

The postscript:

An organization that never fails is also problematic. The point above is simply that we need to recognize that failure’s value is tied to learning. An organization proud to be “failing” when they are making simple mistakes is one headed for trouble. One whose prototype just “failed” because of an unknown circumstance, is on their way to success if they “learn” from that “failure.”

I recently heard Jay, and Wendy, Papasan interviewed on the Entreleadership Podcast. In the podcast, Jay delivered this #TuesdayT on goals:

“Most people know how to set goals, they just don’t know how to have relationships with them.”

Let that sink in this week.

And take your goals out for a date while you’re at it.

I believe in giving people I lead autonomy. I fear micromanagement. I trust people to perform, especially those that I know can.

That said, like everything else in life, too much of something is a bad thing.

In the written portion of my 360 review, completed in November, were these competing lines:

“Alex does not micromanage.”

“He needs to hold people more accountable at times.”

Welcome to the Dichotomy of Leadership.

Looks like I need to become a better leader!

As the authors argue in the book mentioned above, too much autonomy leads to all sorts of problems in an organization: Too many leaders, or people who feel like they can set the direction, poor execution (hence, the autonomy criticism), and silos (people so “free” that they don’t feel the need to consult with other groups).

(Note, micromanaging leads to several problems as well. So, it is by no means the answer).

My failure was not clearly outlining what the mission was. Sure, direct reports knew what I expected to a degree. But they had latitude. They had freedom to focus on several initiatives, rather than clarity on the mission the COMPANY needed them to execute.

Worst, they had the freedom to delay.

To counteract this, and to create the organizational clarity, I am spending time writing KRAs (Key Result Areas) that outline (bluntly), what the focus should be, and when things must be accomplished.

As the leader, it is my job to construct the game-plan and ensure that the team is focused, and executing it. What distinguishes this kind of leadership from micromanagement is that it still empowers the individual the to execute the mission in a way that aligns to their strengths.

With clarity on the mission, it is also easier to hold people accountable.

The fact that things were, to a certain extent, “murky,” last year, is one of the reasons I received the criticism stated above.

Lesson learned.

Onward.

I had to cancel lunch with a friend of mine last week.  Her response was enlightening:

“Give yourself the time back. Even if you just take it for yourself.”

Today’s truth:  Leaders rest.

It is that simple.

Find time to rest this holiday season.

I will do the same.

The truth: Leaders shouldn’t strive to be popular. Legends became legends by sacrificing popularity for the sake of doing what was right.

Who was the most unpopular President of all-time? Gallup might list several modern Presidents, but what about Abraham Lincoln? How many other Presidents saw half the country secede from the Union?

Martin Luther King Jr. was also not very popular when he was assassinated in 1968. In fact, according to a Harris poll, 75% of Americans disapproved of MLK in 1968.

Yet, how many leaders would list either Lincoln or MLK as leaders they would like to emulate?

The truth is we will never emulate them seeking popularity.

Leadership always challenges status-quo, and always initiates positive change.

The reality is that these things are never popular.

The reality is that resistance always follows.

Lincoln saw emancipation as non-negotiable.

MLK envisioned “the city upon the hill,” where children of all races played together.

Neither were willing to compromise.

Neither gave in to the resistance.

Both were assassinated because of it.

And both are legends today because of the change they initiated.

Leadership has never been a popularity contest.

A buddy of mine recently told me about his experience at Marine Officer Candidate School. 

“The drill instructor would get on us if we tried to help other officer candidates carry their gear.  We had to lead ourselves first.”

What would change in your life if you led yourself first?

Would you spend your time differently?

What would you stop?

What would you start?

Let’s not misapply the lesson above.  Officer Candidate School is training.  In an actual battle, there may come a time where a leader has to carry the load for a time.

But, notice that this is momentary.

Nobody is effective carrying the load forever. As the clock turns toward the end of another year, now is a good time to reflect on everything you are carrying.

What needs to change for you?

If your pace is not sustainable, change course before it’s too late.

Lead yourself first.

Most people fail to set goals because they don’t begin the goal-setting process early enough. Here is a way to avoid that:

1. Open up a blank note on your iPhone. If you don’t have an iPhone, a sheet of paper will do fine.

2. Think about themes: Faith, Marriage, Family, Work, Health. Begin scribbling down generic goals in those areas.

3. Create 10-15 of these total.

4. Don’t feel like you need to finish today, but don’t over think these either. You are brainstorming!

5. Revisit this list throughout the month of December. Give yourself time to think, revise, and commit.

6. When you’re ready, commit to your goals. But remember, they can always be revised in 2019. Like any Waze directions, a new route may become advisable along the journey.

I witnessed something beautiful Sunday at the Bears game.

The Bears chose Retired United States Marine Corporal Kyle Carpenter (Medal of Honor Recipient) as their honorary captain, which meant that he walked with the other captains to midfield for the coin-flip. As Kyle left the field my friend elbowed me and said, “I flew cover for Kyle in Afghanistan.”

This revelation didn’t shock me. After all, my buddy is a man’s man, a Marine, and a hero. Obviously, I knew he served over in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“An RPG just missed us,” he went on. “It is cool to see Kyle here.”

A few minutes later my buddy leaned over the railing and shouted to Kyle as he made his way to the tunnel. With an assist from our great seats, they were able to connect as only fellow Soldiers can connect. A few words were exchanged, and we both were able to shake Kyle’s hand.

And then Kyle’s dad, having overhead that my buddy flew cover, said something that I have been thinking about ever since…

“Thank You.”

Veterans Day might have been two days ago, but we would be wise to do likewise.

Thank you to all our Veterans.

I write frequently about how leaders need to encourage their team.  So, instead of writing another post about encouraging the team, I thought I’d share a real-life example.  What follows is copy from an actual email I sent to our team.

My goal in writing the email was twofold.  First, I wanted to use a real-life story to illustrate why our customer’s needs matter.  I felt this reminder was needed because our team was working hard, in some cases around the clock, to meet customer needs.  With the extra work, I was starting to hear griping about how busy we were, and how crazy some of the demands were.

Next, I wanted the tone of the email to be encouraging.  I wanted the reader to be reminded of our togetherness, and that I am not “above” the struggle.  As I share below, I can lose my way if I am not careful.

Some of the details were edited for confidentiality purposes.  I included the quote at the end with permission, as my friend Matt sent his testimonial in for our corporate website update (You would do yourself well by buying some YumButter this week!).

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Good afternoon,

What I am about to write is admittedly idealistic, wordy, and possibly a little cheesy.

I also believe it to be true.

Two weeks ago, I stood inside what was by all accounts a large “freezer” at one of our customers.  As I glanced at the thermometer, the dial read 48 degrees.  How could people work 8 hours inside here, I wondered?  I was shivering, and yet, there were about 10-15 fellow human beings packing yogurt pouches into cardboard boxes due to ship to grocery stores all over the county (all with Trust-T-Lok on them by the way!).

Why would they do such a thing?

Turns out, their customer’s demand was growing.  And as crazy as this may sound to us, the only way to meet their customer’s need was to utilize an old filling machine that had no “automatic packing,” so pouches had to be hand-packed after they were filled.  Given the product being yogurt, the “freezer” was the only safe way to make this happen.

I share this story for two reasons.

First, we primarily exist in the B-2-B world (business to business).  Thus, our job is to make sure that we help our customers (fellow businesses) get what they need so that they can serve their customers (typically consumers like you and I).  As I tell the sales team regularly, these people are the hero.  We simply help them (guide them) to better outcomes.  This hopefully means that our high-quality parts get to their destination when the customer needs them, and ultimately help them increase their efficiency, profitability, and market-share.

I warned this was going to be somewhat idealistic.

Why does this matter?  It matters because we are in the business of improving the lives of our fellow human beings.  Remember how people were inside the freezer working?  They were there because they needed the work (i.e. money) to put food on their table (why else would one work in a freezer?).  Manufacturing matters because it helps people do this.  And because of this, every single job at Hoffer Plastics matters.  Without excellence from everyone, we will not achieve the mission described above.

And all of us, customers included, rely on us achieving that mission!

Second, and I am almost done, I share this story because it serves as an example of what our customers are willing to do to satisfy their customer needs. They’re all in, and when we are at our best, so are we.  We go the extra mile because it is in our collective DNA as a company to go the extra mile.

To this end, I admit that sometimes our customers ask us to do things, that in the moment, may feel crazy.  And even though I believe every single word written above, I confess that there have been situations, especially when I forget that we manufacture for other human-beings, where I complain about those very requests.  This kind of behavior is shortsighted, however, because without customers worth complaining about, we would be out of business.

Once I remember this necessity, and remember that every other Thursday is in actuality “customer appreciation day” (i.e. the day the customer tells us how much they like us when we all get paid), things begin to normalize again.

It is such thinking that convinces one to work in a freezer to begin with.

To be sure, we get it right often.  So, I’ll close with this message I received from a customer yesterday afternoon:

“Hoffer plastics is a true expert partner to us, which has allowed Yumbutter and Tribe 9 to continue being a leader in pouch innovation across the nut butter industry and beyond. They are a delight to do business with and highly recommend them to anyone looking seeking out the best injection molders in the market.”

Embrace that comment.

You earned it.

Someone recently asked my opinion about how my local church conducts its weekend services.  I told this person that while I would prefer some changes be made, I take the vow I make every September – to submit to the leadership of the Trustees, Elders, and Staff -very seriously.  Therefore, my opinions are only that, opinions. So, as long as our Church leadership continues to teach God’s word, I can set my preferences aside, and fully submit to the leaders’ authority.

Here is today’s #TuesdayT:

One cannot be an effective leader unless they have areas in their life where they are submitting to the leadership of others. Submitting to the leadership of others is a necessary ingredient of leadership, because submission requires humility.  Humility is the ability to think about yourself less, and others more. It is the realization that others’ ideas, like the leaders at your local Church, or your Executive Team at work, may be better than your own.  Finally, it is the ability to submit even when you don’t think those ideas are.  Or perhaps, especially when you don’t think those ideas are.

This matters in leadership because often the best ideas are not your own.  Without humility, you will miss these, and lose your effectiveness.

So, let’s practice humility this week.

Let’s become the kind of person other people want to follow.

(A friendly reminder: Many of us will have the opportunity to practice this kind of humility as the election results roll in this evening. There is nothing humble about spewing venom on social media.  Nor, is anyone “converted” to your thinking via a social media rant. Post wisely, if at all).