Vision Over Circumstances

Often times as camp professionals we find ourselves facing difficult circumstances. In some cases they are circumstances of our own making. Often times, however, they are circumstances created by others that we're now forced to live with. Decisions of the past, changes in the external environment and other situations beyond our control can change the circumstances in which we lead.

The challenge is to not allow these circumstances control us. It's too easy to fall into the trap of letting where we currently are and what we're experiencing dictate what we do. We become reactive and lead based on the current reality, even though it might be very different from where we want to be.

How do we avoid this trip? The key is vision. We need to be led by the pursuit of a clear picture of future. What we envision for the future rather that where we're at now needs to guide our leadership. Don't be defined by current circumstances but rather by an future ideal we hope to achieve. Today's circumstances are just challenges to be overcome on our way to brighter future.

Keep your eyes on the prize. Focus on vision over circumstances.

Leadership Quote of the Week

I Don't Care

Jon Gordon, author of The Carpenter: A Story About the Greatest Success Strategies of All suggests there are 10 common ways that leaders unwittingly send the message to those they lead that they don't care. They include:

1. Not being proactive with updates on what's happening.
2. Not responsive to calls or e-mails.
3. Put the burden of the last minute on others.
4. Do the bare minimum and leave loose ends.
5. Make people feel bad about time off.
6. Stingy with thanks and compliments.
7. Multitask during important conversations.
8. Get involved in inappropriate "water cooler" conversations.
9. Keep it all business, all of the time.
10. Tone is overly harsh.

INSPIRE Behavior Change

Karin Hurt in her Let's Grow Leaders blog recently shared an simple but effective process for inspiring behavior change. She recommends what she calls the INSPIRE method.

I - Initiate: Start the discussion in a respectful tone.

N - Notice: Be clear about what you observed.

S - Support: Give supporting evidence regarding your concern.

P - Provide: Offer suggestions to help the staff member improve.

I - Inquire: Ask questions to check for understanding.

R - Review: Have the staff member review what they have committed to doing.

E - Enforce: Follow through with reward or reprimand as appropriate.

Leadership Behaviors that Matter Most

In recent research the consulting firm McKinsey & Company sought to identify what leadership behaviors make the most difference. They looked at 20 leadership behaviors and found that four behaviors explained 89 percent of the variance between strong and weak organizations in terms of leadership effectiveness. The four leadership behaviors their research found make the most difference include:


1. Solving problems effectively.

2. Operating with a strong results orientation.

3. Seeking different perspectives.

4. Supporting others.

Leadership Quote of the Week

The Vital Few

The Pareto Principle says that 80% of our results come from 20% of our activities. The principle, also known as 80/20 rule or "the law of the vital few" has proven remarkably accurate since economist Vilfredo Pareto first identified it in 1896.

As a leader 80% of our impact comes from a "vital few" 20% of our interactions with our staff.  The same goes for our interactions with campers. There are those few moments when what we do makes a big difference.

Stephen Covey in his book 7 Habits of Highly Successful People suggests we need to focus on "putting first things first."  These are the 20% activities that have significant leverage in impacting those we lead and our organizations. They are the "Not Urgent But Important" tasks that Covey suggests are critical to being effective as a leader.

How do we identify these critical activities that lead to big results?  Covey suggests the following types of activities are the "vital few" that offer a high payoff for the investment of our time.

• Planning
• Prevention 
• Relationship building
• Recognizing new opportunities
• Planning 
• Personal rest & recreation 

According to Covey, investing in these types of activities results in vision, perspective, balance, control and few crises.

Evaluating Staff Engagement

Recently some of the world's most promising entrepreneurs were asked for their favorite tools for evaluating overall employee happiness and engagement. Their suggestions included:

• Taking regular walks with staff.
• Reaching out individually to staff members. 
• Watching staff candidly work. 
• Encouraging constant feedback. 
• Asking and then really listening. 
• Checking in more often. 
• Sharing highs and lows. 
• Asking what can be changed.  
• Using an idea box. 

How do you evaluate the happiness and engagement of your staff?  Do you have a sense of the "pulse" of your staff? Getting staff to give discretionary effort beyond the minimum necessary to do the job is critical to creating a positive culture that translates into a great experiences for campers. That only happens when staff are happy and fully engaged. Think about how you could regularly use several of these strategies to understand your campground from your staff's perspective.

Where's Your Leadership Spot?

Max Levchin who cofounded what became PayPal takes an interesting approach to leading his current organization. Like most of us who lead organizations he spends several hours a day in his office doing very focused work. Each day, however, he also tries to spend several hours sitting on a bench across from the bathrooms his staff use. Why this location?

Levchin believes his job as CEO is to "get other people to do their best work in service of a shared goal." In order to do this he needs to connect with people, not just through e-mails and in meetings, but on-on-one. From his bench outside the restroom, Levchin can connect with virtually of of his staff who at some point in time pass by. For some it is a quick "how are you doing" while in other cases there are longer conversations with a staff member who joins him on the bench. By being on the bench, Levchin makes himself accessible to everyone regardless of position. Anyone who works in his company can have a "I wanted to tell you" or "I wanted to ask you" moment with the CEO.

Is there a place at your campground that can be your leadership spot? Where can you hangout where you're accessible to everyone, both guests and staff?  How can you set up our schedule to spend some time each day in this spot connecting with those that pass by?

Leadership Quote of the Week

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.           

Rosalynn Carter, former first lady

Two Types of Staff Problems

When you run into problems with a staff member an effective first step is to identify what type of problem you have on your hands. Ken Blanchard, author of several best selling books on leadership, suggests there are two types of employee problems; "Can't Do" and "Won't Do." These two types of problems have very different causes.

Can't Do Problems
1. Lack of knowledge, skills and/or experience.
2. Lack of clarity in expectations and responsibilities.
3. Lack of understanding of what the standard for good performance looks like.
4. Lack of unclear rules and procedures.
5. Lack of feedback.

For "can't do" problems the solution is to give the staff member what they lack. If they don't have knowledge, give them training. If they are unclear on what's expected, explain it to them. If the procedures are unclear, clarify them. Often times once we look into them, staff issues are simple "can't do" problems that can quickly be resolved.

Won't Do Problems
1. The staff member has lost (or never had) motivation.
2. The staff member is seeking revenge or to even a score.
3. The staff member no longer (or never did) support the mission and values of the organization
.
4. The staff member perceives there is no reward for good performance and/or no consequences for poor performance.
5. The staff member is experiencing a personal problem.

"Won't do" problems are far more difficult to deal with than "can't do" problems. These problems require engagement with the staff member to explore the root cause and determine if the issue causing the problem can be solved.

Next time you're faced with a staff issue, start by trying to determine whether you have a "can't do" or "won't do" problem. This first step will hopefully give you insight into where to go next to resolve the issue.

Silence = Agreement

Have you had the experience of having someone not speak up in a meeting when decisions are made and then after the meeting express their disagreement? Such behavior can be divisive and undermines the effectiveness of the team that made the decision. This type of passive-aggressive behavior can also be toxic to your campground's culture.

One way to help avoid this situation is to set one straightforward ground rule for all of your meetings... silence equals agreement. Staff members need to know that silence does not mean "I don't agree" or "I want to think about it." If someone decides not to participate as a decision is made, they need to know the opportunity to continue debating the issue is over when the meeting ends.

This ground rule when made clear to your team and consistently applied, goes a long way in helping your team understand the need to speak up when important decisions are being discussed.

Improving Staff Recognition

As leaders we know that recognizing the positive efforts of our staff are important. Unfortunately too often our attempts at recognition go unappreciated and have limited impact. Scott Mautz, author of Make It Matter: How Managers Can Motivate by Creating Meaning offers the following suggestions for making recognition more meaningful:

Personalize recognition so that you don't trivialize it. Adapt the recognition the the needs and preferences of the individual staff member. 

Get everyone involved. Recognition doesn't have to be from just you as the leader. Recognition from other staff members and guests can be powerful. 

Be frequent but not frivolous. Take regular opportunities for recognition but make sure what you're recognizing really matters. 

Celebrate both the first downs and touchdowns. Certainly celebrate the big accomplishments, but don't forget the little victories along the way. 

Deliberate the delivery. How you deliver recognition can be just as important as the recognition itself. 

Leadership Quote of the Week

“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.” ~Unknown

Consistency Matters Most

Recent research published on-line by the Academy of Management Journal indicates that consistency is a key trait employees are looking for.  Employees were asked if they preferred a manager who is sometimes fair and sometimes unfair or someone is consistently unfair. The majority of employees preferred the consistent manager, even if they were unfair.

"Intuitively, you would think the more fairness you get, the better," said Fadel Matta, a researcher at Michigan State University and the lead author of the paper, said in an interview. "But that's not what we demonstrated. It's better if supervisors are a consistent jerk than if they're fair sometimes and not fair other times. People want to know what they can expect when they come into work. A lot of it centers around this issue of uncertainty," Matta said. "This notion of knowing what to expect -- even if it's bad -- is better than not knowing what to expect at work."

How consistent are you as a leader? Does your staff know what to expect from you, in both good times and bad?  Is there a predictability to your leadership that they can adapt to?

Five Habits of Disruptive Leaders

There is a great deal of discussion these days about disruption. There is talk about disruptive technology, disruptive ideas and disruptive products. What is disruption? In the context of today's organizations, disruption is a concept or idea that fundamentally changes the status quo. They are ideas that not just challenge, but shatter long held assumptions.

Think about what Amazon did for selling books or what Uber has done for local transportation. Both companies completely changed the market by challenging the assumptions of how things are done.
Faisal Hoque author of Everything Connects: How to Transform and Lead in the Age of Creativity, Innovation and Sustainability suggests five attributes of organizations that disrupt the status quo.

1. They relentlessly pursue the truth
2. They guide others through chaos
3. They're decisive
4. They break the rules and write new ones - but always explain why
5. They thrive on uncertainty

What are some of the unwritten assumptions you and your organization hold to be true? Have you ever explored what would happen if they weren't true? Are there things you could do to challenge the status quo? Could you be disruptive?

When Criticism Isn't Constructive

Honest, open feedback is important in helping staff members grow and develop. Most staff members want to know how they are doing and where they need to improve. For feedback to be effective, however, it must be constructive. To ensure you're giving constructive rather than destructive feedback, it's crucial to understand your motive in offering criticism.

Unfortunately, at times leaders can be driven to give feedback by motives other than helping staff members grow. Next time you're tempted to criticize a staff member,
pause for a moment and make sure you're not doing it to:

• hurt someone else.
• get even for something done to you.
• vent your frustration.
• make yourself look good to others.
• boost your own ego.  

Leadership Quote of the Week

There is only one way to avoid criticism;

do nothing, 

say nothing, 

and be nothing. 

Aristotle

Culture Trumps Strategy

"Culture trumps strategy" has become a popular axiom in today's management literature. The belief is that having a strong, intentional organizational culture is more important to success than pursuing the right strategy.  The best organizations are not those who always make the right strategic decisions. The best organizations are those that are made up of staff who share a commitment to a common set of goals and embrace the same core values.

How do you create a strong organizational culture?

1. Identify and articulate what your organizations believes. Have a clear, written mission and core values.

2. Hire staff who buy into your mission and embrace your core values. Make values are important component of your selection process. If one of your values is putting the needs of guests first, hire staff members who value serving others and are willing to put the needs of others before their own.

3. Integrate teaching your mission and values into every aspect of staff training. Every topic in staff training should be linked to your mission and values. Teach not only what to do, but why it's done a particular way at your campground.

4. Lead by modeling your mission and values. If you want it to be part of your organizational culture, it must be part of how you and your leadership team lead your staff.

If You Have to Tell Them Rethink Your Leadership

Recently a colleague asked how to go about telling a staff member they would not be rehired at campground the next season. As I reflected on their question it struck me that while the immediate issue was this difficult conversation, there was a bigger issue that needed to be addressed. How does a staff member make it through a season and not know they didn't live up to expectations?

Staff members want, need and deserve regular honest feedback. We need to be regularly observing their performance and giving them feedback, both positive and negative. If ongoing performance issues exist we should be doing ongoing coaching to try to resolve the issue. At the end of the season they deserve an honest evaluation of how they did, both the good and the not so good.

If we get to fall or winter and staff members don't know where they stand on how they performed last season we need to take a hard look at how we're leading our staff.

Responding to Challenges

When faced with challenges that seem overwhelming, Lolly Daskai, President of Lead From Within, reminds us that "what happens within us is at least as important as what happens to us." She offers five helpful strategies we can use when the challenges we encounter threaten  to become too much to handle.

1. Focus on the route, rather than the destination.

2. Focus on what you have, not what you lack.

3. Focus on what you can do, and not what you can't.

4. Focus on containing the challenge and not drowning in drama.

5. Focus on trusting yourself and not wavering within.

Feedback - Or What Your Own Eyes Cannot See

INSPIRE Behavior Change

Karin Hurt in her Let's Grow Leaders blog recently shared a simple but effective process for inspiring behavior change. She recommends what she calls the INSPIRE method.

I - Initiate: Start the discussion in a respectful tone.

N - Notice: Be clear about what you observed.

S - Support: Give supporting evidence regarding your concern.

P - Provide: Offer suggestions to help the staff member improve.

I - Inquire: Ask questions to check for understanding.

R - Review: Have the staff member review what they have committed to doing.

E - Enforce: Follow through with reward or reprimand as appropriate.

Leadership Quote of the Week

Tell me and I forget. 

Teach me and I remember. 

Involve me and I learn. 

Benjamin Franklin

The Myth of Multitasking

Many of us as leaders believe we're effective at "multitasking." The reality, however, is that our brains are just not physically wired to multitask. In reality what happens when we attempt to multitask is that our brain quickly shifts from task to task. This switching from task to task can lead to brain fatigue. It also reduces accuracy and productivity.

According to the Center for Brain Health attempting to multitask also causes the build up of the stress hormone cortisol. Over time the increase in cortisol can lead to:

- Decline in memory
- Increased brain cell death
- Decreased neuron activity
- Weakened immune system
- Poor cognitive functioning
- Greater brain atrophy

Tools of the Trade...The Notebook

Everywhere I go on the campground I always carry a small pocket size spiral notebook and a pen. I've found these notebooks to be one of the most important tools I have as a leader. As I interact with guests and staff, observe programs and use the campground's equipment and facilities I find myself constantly noticing things. Great things I see or hear staff doing. Areas where I see staff members could improve. New and improved program ideas. Facility issues that need attention.

Everything I notice goes into the notebook before I forget it. At least once a day I review my notes and take action. I find a moment to tell a staff member they did a good job. I talk with our leadership team about an issue I saw. I tell our maintenance folks about a facility problem.

During training I let staff know I take notes to help keep track of both the great things happening and areas we need to work on. They come to expect and eventually ignore my note taking (and of other leadership team members who find it helpful.) Over the course of the season I go through several notebooks that become beaten and battered. These invaluable tools record the story of the season, both the good and the bad.

Everyday Leadership

Performance Improvement Plans

Despite our best efforts in recruiting, training and supervising, all of us who serve in leadership roles will eventually have to deal with an employee that is performing poorly. One of the most effective ways of dealing with poor performance is to use a performance improvement plan. Often based on a 90 day time frame, these plans help the employee understand what changes need to be made and provide support in their effort to improve. Should improvement not occur, the plan provides a sound basis for termination or other disciplinary action.

Beth Armknecht Miller, CEO or Executive Velocity, suggests a six step approach to developing a performance improvement plan.

1. Don't ignore the facts. Be clear about what behavior is unacceptable.

2. Don't Act on Rumors. Get the facts before acting.

3. Develop an Objective Performance Plan. Set clear, measurable performance oriented objectives.

4. Set Clear Consequences. Make sure the staff member is clear on what happens if performance doesn't improve.

5. Follow Up Regularly. Check progress, offer help and provide correction regularly.

6. Coach with Consistency.  Be consistent in your standards and in confronting the staff member when they don't meet those standards.

Leadership Quote of the Week

One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.    Arnold Glasow

Developing Leadership Confidence

Dan McCarthy. director of Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire suggests there are 12 ways to develop leadership confidence. They include:

1. Learn about leadership.
2. Network with other leaders.
3. Develop realistic self-awareness.
4. Help others be more successful.
5. Celebrate wins.
6. Look confident.
7. Learn and practice positive psychology.
8. Develop your emotional intelligence (EQ).
9. Project confidence.
10. Ask others for help.
11. Stop asking “mother may I” and make a decision.
12. Develop a sense of humor.