Just Say No

For those of us who are busy and often times find ourselves over committed, Peter Bregman recently shared some great tips on saying no.

• Be appreciative. It's almost never an insult when people make requests of you.
• Say no to the request, not the person. You're not rejecting the person, just declining his invitation. polite and kind will communicate that you aren't rejecting him.
• Explain why. The particulars of your reason for saying no make very little difference. But having a reason does.
• Be as resolute as they are pushy. Some people don't give up easily.
• Practice. Choose some easy, low-risk situations in which to practice saying no.
• Establish a pre-emptive no. We all have certain people in our lives who tend to make repeated, sometimes burdensome requests of us. In those cases, it's better to say no before the request even comes in.
• Be prepared to miss out. Some of us have a hard time saying no because we hate to miss an opportunityRemind yourself that when you're saying no to the request, you are simultaneously saying yes to something you value more than the request.
• Gather your courage. If you're someone who is used to saying yes, it will take courage to say no, especially if the person asking doesn't give up easily.

Leadership Quote of the Week

Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.     Sam Walton

Criticism of Change

When you implement change it unfortunately seems almost inevitable that you'll be criticized. While a small portion of folks might praise you, they are the minority. Why do people criticize change? Ron Edmondson shares the five most common reasons people criticize change.

 

Confused -These people just don’t understand the change.

Conflicted – Some people object to change because they are objecting to life. They have past hurts they can’t resolve.

Care – These people simply don’t think you care.

Control – You stepped on someone’s power.

Comfort – These critics, who are the most common group, simply don’t like change.

To increase the likelihood of a successful change, consider and address these issues with your staff. 

The Positives of Procrastination

Most often we focus on the negative impact of procrastination. Here's an alternative perspective from Mary Jo Asmushe from on the upsides of procrastinating:

Less stress: When you purposefully decide to put off an action or decision, you can relax. Ask yourself if there is an urgent or immediate reason to do something right at this moment, of if you might put it off. If you think through your response, chances are that your actions will be more in keeping with your intentions as a leader. You may also find that your decisions are spot on the first time around rather than having to make careless mistakes and retract them.

Careful thought: Intentional procrastination will give you a chance to think through important actions that could make or break your leadership. Certainly, there are times when you need to react – but there are also times when it makes sense to hold off, to shut up, to put off, and to think through important decisions. When you are able to take the time, take a deep breath and think carefully about the action you want to take.

Genuine leadership: If you observe closely, you might find that the best leaders are thoughtful. You will see them asking questions of others in order to delay a decision while learning more about something before they leap. Or you might find that they will purposely state that they can’t make a decision about something right now, they need time to think about their responses. When you learn to do this, you’ll also learn to take action that is aligned with who you are as a leader.

Better actions: In the end, leaders are judged by the action they take. I’m not advocating for delaying everything or for inaction through procrastination, but for better action through deliberate procrastination. I know it sounds strange, but delay can often result in better leadership.

What If?

Three Rules for Success

What are the attributes that differentiate exceptional from mediocre organizations? Most business books focus on the behavioral aspects of successful organizations (great customer service, innovation, engaged employees, etc.) Michael Raynor amd Mumtz Ahmed have found, however, that it is often what organizations think rather than what they do that makes the difference between success and failure. In their book The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think they identify three decision rules that seem to drive organizational effectiveness. They include:

1. Better Before Cheaper - Rather than focus on being low cost providers, the most successful organizations focus on the quality of their product or service. They compete on quality rather than price.

2. Revenue Before Cost - The best organizations focus their attention on generating revenue rather than cutting costs. Even if it costs more, these companies continually look to increased revenue for growth and sustainability.

3. There are No Other Rules - Regardless of what's happening internally or in the competitive environment they operate in, the best companies don't stray from the first two core beliefs.

As campgrounds where do we find ourselves on the Better-Cheaper and Revenue-Cost continuum's? Would we be better off if we focused on quality and revenue and ignored the other options?

Leadership Quote of the Week

The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet. Reverend Theodore Hesburgh

Say Thank You

One of the most powerful things we can do as leaders is to say thank you to those we lead. Here are three ways we can improve the way we thank others:

1. Thank them for something specific they did above and beyond the call of duty.
2. Acknowledge to them the effort ( or sacrifice) they made.
3. Tell them what it personally meant to you.

Dealing with Underperforming Staff

At some point we all as leaders have to deal with staff that are under performing. The process can be  frustrating and time consuming. Here are five best practices to keep in mind...

1. Before taking any action diagnose the problem. Is it a lack of skills, a lack of motivation, a lack of necessary resources, or some combination of these factors?

2. Make an improvement plan and stick with.  Set goals, create consequences, follow up, and celebrate success or deal appropriately with failure.

3. Let them know you're on their side. They need to understand you want and are committed to helping them succeed.

4. Document everything. Regardless of whether they improve or decline, you'll want written records to support any future decisions.

5. Know when it's time to make the tough decision.  Don't prolong the inevitable. If it's not getting better recognize and accept reality and be courageous enough to take action.  

Five Steps to Improve Critical Thinking

Misconceptions About Leadership

When we don't understand what leadership is it's hard to be a leader. John Kotter recently wrote on the Harvard Business Review blog about three common misconceptions regarding leadership. Do you or those at your campground make any of these mistakes? 

 

Mistake #1: People use the terms "management" and "leadership" interchangeably. This shows that they don't see the crucial difference between the two and the vital functions that each role plays.

Mistake #2: People use the term "leadership" to refer to the people at the very top of hierarchies. They then call the people in the layers below them in the organization "management." And then all the rest are workers, specialists, and individual contributors. This is also a mistake and very misleading.

Mistake #3: People often think of "leadership" in terms of personality characteristics, usually as something they call charisma. Since few people have great charisma, this leads logically to the conclusion that few people can provide leadership, which gets us into increasing trouble.