What if...

The Gifts of Hardships

As leaders we're all going to run into hardships. Unexpected things happen in our organization, with our employees, with the people we serve and in our lives. While it's hard to see the positive in the midst of these hardships, there can be silver linings.

The Center for Creative Leadership's research highlights three gifts we can take away from hardships. They include:

• Greater insight into what makes you tick. Increasing your self awareness makes you more equipped to make better decisions next time.
• Increased compassion for others. Greater humility and sympathy make you more effective in dealing with others.
• Resilience. Getting through tough times means you'll be stronger and more capable next time hard times come along.

How do learn from hardships? Try these strategies:

• Don't let the hardship be everything. Don't let them overwhelm you. Take time away. Focus some time of what's going right.
• Don't be ashamed of failures or mistakes. If we're not making mistakes we're not pushing ourselves and our organizations. 
• Avoid defensiveness. Own the problem and then focus on next steps and solutions.
• Keep asking questions. What happened? Why? What part did I play? 
• Reflect and look back to discover the lessons from your experience. What did I miss? What could I have done differently?

Four Behaviors of Innovative Leaders

Project Roles and Responsibilities

As a leader we are often called on to lead or participate in projects that involve others. One of the challenges in these situations is making sure there is clarity regarding each participant's role. It is also critical for everyone to understand where the accountability lies for various aspects of the project. A structure called "RACI" can be helpful. Done before the project begins and updated as necessary, "RACI" helps break down who does what.

Responsibility - Who is doing the actual work to accomplish each portion of the project.

Accountable - Who ultimately is accountable for results.

Consult - Who needs to be consulted for information but are not directly involved in the work.

Inform - Who needs to be kept abreast of what is happening.

Building Trust Through Committed Leadership

Your Leadership: A Year End in Review

At the end of one year and start of the next, people commonly take stock of where they are in their lives and set goals for the upcoming year. Most resolutions focus on personal goals related to health, money, etc.

The year end is, however, also a great time to reflect on where we are as leaders. Take some time to reflect on the following and set some goals for the upcoming year:

1. How effective was I as a leader?  Did I get the results I wanted? How did my team/peers/supervisor respond to me?

2. What did I do well as a leader this year? How can I continue to have success in these areas? Can I leverage these successes into other areas?

3. Where did I fall short of being the best I could be? Why? What could I do differently in the future to create better results?

4. Did I achieve the goals I set for myself this past year? Why/why not? 

5. What goals do I have for myself as a leader for the upcoming year?

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.