This week, Marc Effron, president of the Talent Strategy Group, joins Mike Neiss and I as we continue to talk about talent, talent and more talent. Marc helps the world’s largest and most successful companies improve the quality and depth of their talent. His consulting work focuses on creating effective talent strategies and detailed talent management process designs, all using his One Page Talent Management approach – Simplicity, Accountability and Transparency. With deep consulting and corporate talent management experience, Marc provides a highly practical, broadly informed perspective to his clients. What are companies like yours doing right to grow their talent? How could they improve? Should you make your 360-degree reports public? Should staff be involved in setting goals? And what is “shame-based” accountability anyway? Find out this and more. And don’t be shy in sending your comments. We love to hear from you.

Robert Thompson’s Thought Grenades August 16, 2010

My colleague, Mike Neiss and I chat with Nathan Ives from Strategy Driven.com. Are you driven by strategy or which way the wind is blowing? Do you work in an organization that is aligned from top to bottom? What are the benefits and bottom line value of being aligned? What behaviors are measurable and observable? What are the programs and processes that aligned organizations engage in? What actions do the leaders need to take? Listen and learn the answers to these essential questions and more.

Once upon a time, Jack led Jill up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Subsequently, they found the slope a bit slippery. There was a bit of a spill. After that crown-breaking calamity, Jack vowed to become so nimble that he could easily jump over any candlestick, lit or unlit.

Robert Thompson’s Agile Balance Audio

Okay, so that’s not quite how the children’s storybook tells it. But, hopefully, like any good leader, Jack, learned from experience. Bouncing back from the fall, he was exposed to “Agile Balance.” (Jill was quick to follow).

What is Agile Balance? Agile is defined as nimble or mentally quick. Balance is defined as steady, maintaining equilibrium or poise. So, Agile Balance might be defined as someone or something that is nimble, quick, steady and self-assured.

But that’s just the start.

When we peer into nature, perhaps viewing the plants and trees on the hill that Jack and Jill fell from, we won’t see a perfect moment of balance. We see Agile Balance. There is no stasis in nature. Change is constant and everywhere. Plants and animals are growing, waning or dying.

That’s the rhythm to life. And that’s the rhythm to great success, both organizationally and personally. That’s Agile Balance. There is no stasis in individuals or organizations. Whether growing, waning or dying, we change each day. And it’s our choice whether the struggle from that process makes us stronger, or nudges us along as we slip slide down the slope.

As they meet on the garden path in my book The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable, guru/gardener Sam Arthur responds that he is “perfect” when Gwen Kelly asks the polite question, “How are you”. I’ve found that every reader defines Sam’s comment about “perfect” differently. Is it possible that Sam is talking about Agile Balance?

When thinking of Agile Balance, a few of the words that spring to mind are: strength, flexibility, speed, endurance and grace. These are just a few of the qualities everyone should seek and embrace as they reach for the results they desire around performance, productivity and profits.

Let’s take a deeper look at these qualities.

1. Strength:

Strength connotes boldness with clarity of character, credibility and commitment to shared values. With strength, Jack and Jill look with wide eyes at a world filled with possibilities. Remember Jack went up the hill to get some water. He and Jill were thirsty (desire) and together (team) they created a goal to quench their thirst (vision). He and Jill (talent) collaborated on the quest.

2. Flexibility:

Although Jack and Jill’s initial effort didn’t work out so well, I’m convinced that, after some first aid, they took another look at the terrain and attempted the climb again. Their new vision may have had them take smaller buckets or perhaps a drinking glass with them on the second assault. Flexibility includes the ability to pull oneself back up from defeat. It allows creativity to find its way into the thinking process. And since visions are not always as clear as we’d like, being flexibly focused offers us a range of possibilities to choose from. Perhaps, Jill brought a rope the second time and tied it to the well, so they could have something to hold on to as they made their descent.

3. Speed:

Speed brings to mind velocity, momentum, swiftness and action. Taking action is one of the keys (if not the most important) to success. Had Jack waited for someone else to go up the hill to fetch a pail of water, he certainly wouldn’t have fallen. But, he’d still be thirsty. To achieve lofty goals, one must build the momentum that attracts joiners (Jill) to share in the journey, even if there is a risk of tumbling down.

4. Endurance:

Endurance equals patience, staying power, persistence, survival, stamina and fortitude. Climbing hills in business or life takes focused effort. Yes, it’s no secret that one needs a positive mental attitude to overcome obstacles. However, the higher you travel; the barriers may become more challenging. Yet, it’s not the challenge, but your response to them that matters. That’s the nature of growth and success. If you want something bad enough, you need to do whatever it takes to reach it. No matter how high the hill or deep the valley, you must be willing to stretch yourself, even if it includes a tumble now and then. Jack’s quest didn’t just end at the well. Once he had quenched his thirst, he also had to learn how to jump candlesticks. And don’t forget about climbing beanstalks. We won’t even mention dealing with the giant.

5. Grace:

Grace invokes elegance, generosity and gratitude. Where would Jack be without Jill? In our illustration, Jack would be dying of thirst at the bottom of a hill with a broken crown. When folks take the time from their life to join and share in the quest, it is generosity in the flesh. It is imperative that we offer thanks in a way that lets them see we truly acknowledge them as individuals and what they bring to each shared journey.

As in nature, Agile Balance requires an organic inside out commitment to stay on course. That’s why I always suggest planting my The Four Commitment Questions deeply to keep every Jack and Jill on plan, on target and in engaged collaboration. The Four Commitment Questions (What Can I Do More of, Less of, Start and Stop?) become part of the bedrock to insure commitment to the organization’s vision remains consistent and strong.

Once rooted into an organization’s culture, The Four Commitment Questions transform the workplace. Based on more than 20 years of research from The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) created by colleagues Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, these simple, yet effective questions take common sense and turn it into common practice allowing Agile Balance to flourish.

With Agile Balance, the individual and organizational benefits are plentiful:

• Create a culture of success, fun and productivity.
• Establish a living vision story.
• Create and gain clarity on core values.
• Design solutions to organizational, corporate and talent issues.
• Collapse any perceived or real barriers between working groups.
• Discover leadership strengths and preferences through real feedback.
• Develop more appreciation for state of the art leadership thinking.
• Build trust while leading change.
• Enhance strategy for building effective teams.
• Align vision with the strategic business plan.

So, now that we know what Agile Balance is and what it can do for us, how do we get it?

The first step is to honestly scrutinize yourself and your organization to see what’s really going on from the inside out. But, you may be thinking, that’s easier said than done. Read on.

I’m well known for practical, get-something-done advice. For years, my clients have relied on the Leadership Practices Inventory to keep them up-to-speed on how their leaders are faring from an individual leadership perspective. However, for Agile Balance, that’s not enough. Agile Balance requires you to glimpse deeply within yourself and your organization. You need to peel back the layers and peer intensely inside. And the picture that results should snap together like a jigsaw puzzle.

From a personal view, often times I find that most people have little or no clue about how their behavior and subsequent choices influences the world and people around them. For Agile Balance to flourish, it’s imperative to know how others perceive you.

One way to begin this process is through the use of self-awareness instruments. I favor the Personal Profile DISC model from Inscape Publishing and the Belbin Team Roles instruments for their simplicity. However, you may have other reliable resources at your disposal.

Instruments such as these are useful to get a sense on how your behavior influences others and how others see you versus how you see yourself. It’s like looking in a fun house mirror. You see yourself from more than one perspective. I like self-awareness instruments because they are quite informative, simple and fun to do. (And, be sure to keep this process simple and fun.)

Once you have your LPI and self-awareness results, you can begin to make strides in changing behavior that is getting in the way of your personal or career advancement. Don’t be too hard on yourself, but be sure to make the commitment to change. It takes daily practice to keep your new awareness front of mind.

From an organizational perspective, you need to examine the architecture (systems, structure, etc.), brand perception, performance and execution of your product or service.

And that inside out organizational approach is available in simplified (and fun) form from my colleagues at the Tom Peters Company/UK. Through their Future Shape of the Winner approach to business improvement, they offer a unique diagnostic, the Excellence Audit™. Leadership teams can use this tool to analyze their current situation and create performance improvement plans that fit their talent, their business and its operating framework.

If you couple your self-awareness instrument results with the Excellence AuditÔ and The Leadership Practices InventoryÔ the power increases exponentially. The outcome is a true “Ex-Ray” of you as well as your organization and the leadership potential of all of the talent necessary to keep it moving forward as you stretch towards Agile Balance.

Finally, everyone needs to embrace and practice Robert’s Rules:

• Show Up, your credibility matters. Be fully present at all times. Keep in mind that Agile Balance is a moment- to-moment choice. Demonstrate this by listening deeply to your inner voice as well as the many others around you. This new, more credible you creates a credibility path so others want to join with you, not just follow aimlessly along.

• Speak Up, your voice matters. Agile Balance can’t grow in dark silence. Discover your true voice and help every Jack and Jill find his or hers. Speak from your heart and create a vision story that offers others a positive future they see themselves playing a serious role in.

• Step Up, your action matters. Be that action hero you’ve always dreamt about. Erase those limiting thoughts. Question everything; especially those systems, policies and procedures that hold you and your organization back. Through your action attitude, others will see obstacles as opportunities as well.

• Serve Up, your gift matters. Be of service. Create a diversified cast of talented leaders. Honor their individuality. Recognize them with creative and meaningful rewards. Collaborate and coach them so their legacy is a part of your legacy.

Now you might be thinking you’ve done all of the above. Perhaps, not with the same tools or language, but you’ve “been there and done that.” And you have tons of T-shirts to prove it. Not so fast.

Unless the C-Suite, janitor, that new Jack or Jill and everyone in between are all speaking and acting with the same leadership intention, you’re only a pretender. For Agile Balance to blossom and grow there is one more necessary ingredient, clarity of commitment. Agile Balance needs commitment from the ground up with frequent feedback every nine months to one year. Zero follow-ups equal zero commitment. Without commitment, nothing changes. Not you, not them, nothing.

Discovered by those who see leadership, not as a role or position, but as a way of life, Agile Balance helps you close the gap between beliefs and behaviors. In effect, Agile Balance equals success.

Whether your organization’s mission is fetching pails of water, jumping over candlesticks, climbing beanstalks or tricking giants out of their golden eggs, with Agile Balance working for you, the results are no fairy tale.

Don’t just wish upon a star; focus on what matters and you and your organization may just live happily ever after.

To learn more about how you can get Agile Balance working for you, contact Robert at Robert@leaderinsideout.com, follow him on Twitter @RobertHThompson

Last month we shared some tips on how to use The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable to keep the leadership message alive in your organization. This week on our Thought Grenades Blog Talk Radio program, Mike Neiss and I talked, once again, with Teri Hall, from California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to learn more detail. Listen in and learn how you can share the message with your troops.

Robert Thompson’s Thought Grenades on Blog Talk Radio

Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles and Rolling Stones…they have all led the charts, but did they use leadership to maintain their success? These iconic bands and many more are the subject of this week’s Robert Thompson’s Thought Grenades. Mike Neiss and I talk with John O’Leary whose background is the definition of eclectic. A true rocker, John’s bands of the 60s opened for many legendary artists. His rocker career and business management career have collided with the creation of his upcoming book, “Cool Teams: Business Lessons from Rock.” Listen in and find out more.

Robert Thompson’s Thought Grenades July 26, 2010

Plus, in honor of John appearing on the show, I searched my archives to share how you can find leadership everywhere. Please enjoy.

The Secret is in the Music…

I was browsing through my ITunes Library yesterday peeking into the past.

Appropriately, one of my favorite albums popped into view. “The Days of Future Passed” by the Moody Blues. I recall it being one of the first rock albums I bought that was recorded with a full orchestra. It certainly set the pace for other bands of the time.

So, I hit play, tossed on the headphones and crumpled into my favorite chair…memories rushing at me as if I was rocketing through a time machine. No, I wasn’t inhaling anything other than crisp ocean air.

Then, as if my time-travel ran head-on into a train, the lyrics, which I have heard hundreds of times, began to echo in a new way. I was stunned.  It was as if I was hearing the words for the first time. The lyrics to some of the cuts were about leadership. At least the way I think and talk about leadership.

Were The Moody Blues the culprit for my reasoning around the definition of leadership all this time? Have they been lurking in my subconscious waiting for the moment to pounce? Were their lyrics somehow unconsciously woven into my book, The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable?

Okay, I see your eyes roll. You’re thinking you may have not have been smoking, but what kind of brownies were you munching on?

No, really, humor me. Take a look at some of the lyrics from a few of the cuts: (I have edited a bit to make my point.)

From “The Voice”

Make a promise take a vow

And trust your feelings it’s easy now

Understand the voice within

And feel the changes already begin…

I have been saying this for years. Leadership is a choice, a moment-to-moment choice you make for yourself. Listen to that voice inside. Once you make the choice, you have begun.

From “Blue World”

And it’s only what you do

That keeps coming back on you

And it’s only what you say

That can give yourself away

Leadership can’t breathe without credibility and integrity. You must choose to be open, honest and authentic. You must do what you say you will do. Not just for others, for yourself.

From “Your Wildest Dreams”

I wonder if you care

I wonder if you still remember

Once upon a time

In your wildest dreams

Many times in my seminars, I ask people to recall their childhood dreams of what they wanted to be when they grew up and how they’re doing on that goal. Connect with that 12-year-old. Who’d you want to be? Can you remember? Isn’t it time to quit saying yes to mediocre and march towards your masterpiece?

From “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere”

I know you’re out there somewhere

I know I’ll find you somehow

And somehow I’ll return again to you

The mist is lifting slowly

I can see the way ahead

And I’ve left behind the empty streets

That once inspired my life

And the strength of the emotion

Is like thunder in the air

From the words that I remember

From my childhood still are true

That there’s none so blind

As those who will not see

And to those who lack the courage

And say it’s dangerous to try

Each day you must make the choice anew. When you keep asking yourself who am I and what do I want from my life, the real you heads home. The fog lifts. Old mind-numbing patterns begin to crack and fade. Be ready.

From “Gemini Dream”:

Turned round to see

Where we’ve been

And what we believe

Living it

Believing it

Wanting it

Make it work out

It’s no “secret”. You must really want it, believe it and live it as if you have it.  Cause…

From “Nights In White Satin”:

Just what you want to be

You will be in the end.

Okay, ‘nuff said ‘bout the days of future past. It’s time for the days of the  future. It’s time for a little Even Elroy, a new band that I heard recently. Never heard of them? Check’em out on ITunes. I’ll be featuring some of their stuff from time-to-time.

What exactly does happiness mean at work? And why does it matter? According to author Jessica Pryce-Jones, it’s not some abstract idea but a practical reality with a clear impact on you and your workplace. Listen to Jessica share her thoughts on Thought Grenades with Robert Thompson. You’ll find Jessica’s book, “Happiness at Work: Maximizing your Psychological Capital for Success” and the research inside intriguing.

Robert Thompson’s Thought Grenades

I’ve written a lot over the last couple of years on how to use The Offsite as a teaching/learning tool in your everyday work-a-day world. Sometimes a good listen is better than a good read. Here’s how one savvy organization used The Offsite to enhance and keep their leadership lessons alive in turbulent times. Take a listen and let me know what you think. If you, too, have used The Offsite in your workplace, let your results ripple out to others. Please let me know how it’s working so I can pass your Best Practices along.

Robert Thompson’s Thought Grenades on Blog Talk Radio