January 25th Coaching Tip: Leadership Matters.
In many of my coaching sessions lately, leaders are frustrated with employees and teammates who leave their teams, and some of these leaders also claim that there’s no talent out there to replace them. As we dig into what happened and what drove the teammate to depart the team, rarely does the leader indicate that it was him/her. It’s usually something like the teammate left for more money, they had a baby, they are relocating, they, they, they. It’s my responsibility, as a coach, to ask compelling questions. For example, “what did you learn from this? what do you own in this? how were you developing this teammate? how are you attracting talent to be ready for teammate exits? ”
Leadership is hard, Leadership really matters to those who follow you. I’d encourage you to ask the questions: How are you investing in yourself, especially if you lead others? What are you reading, and then implementing? Who is a leader that is mentoring you or could mentor you? Are you a good boss, and how do you know that you’re a good boss? Are you easy to follow? Do you truly connect with your teammates? Do you micromanage or coach, develop and empower?” Leadership matters, and if you master it, teammates will stay and be loyal.
January 26th Coaching Tip: Fundamentals Matter.
Today I watched a college basketball team come back, score 5 points in the last 23 seconds, and win a game on the road in a loud environment. I also watched a team lose the game, who gave up 5 points in the last 23 seconds. This losing team had a lack of clarity on clock management, who should be fouled and when, who should not be left open, who to throw the ball to, how to score with less than 5 seconds in the game and down by 1 point. Whether it is basketball or going to a networking event or driving a car, execute on fundamentals. Networking event: set a goal of meeting new people, ask questions and truly listen, then remember it is not about how much food you can eat. Driving a car: drive defensively, stay to the right if you’re going slower, look left then right and then left again before proceeding thru a stop sign or green light. Fundamentals matter. By not looking left to see oncoming traffic before proceeding into an intersection can potentially kill you. Contrast that with taking 1-2 seconds and clearly knowing that no one is coming at you.
January 27th Coaching Tip: Stay Sharp.
Today, the stock market was impacted by one announcement in the artificial intelligence (AI) space. According to news reports, one company lost over $600 billion in value in one day. By the next day, $200 billion had already been reinvested back into this company. With these type of swings, some may say to just ignore it, keep your head in the sand, etc. However, recommend that you stay somewhat aware, stay sharp on what’s happening around you and what’s impacting the business world. Why? As we age, it’s common for me to hear our seniors say, “I’m a dinosaur. I’m not very techy.” Dinosaurs died and are gone. Tech is here and not going away. Stay relevant, embrace what is happening in the world around you. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything, but be aware and stay sharp. In your kitchen, dull knives need sharpened from time to time…or they just stay dull and go unused. Keep ’em sharp!