Leadership 3.0 | Zealeap

Manage Like An Annoying 3-Year Old

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Tim Porthouse

Does this sound familiar:

Photo © iStock Photo

“Why, Uncle Tim…why?”

It didn’t matter what you said to my nephew, “Why?” was the response.

“We’ve got to go.”…..“Why?”

“Because it’s late.”…..“Why?”

“It just is!”…..“But why?”

3-year olds are insatiably inquisitive. They use the most powerful question they know to try to understand the world around them.

And you should use “Why?” to coach your people.

OK, not in the annoying 3-year-old “wear-you-down-with-whys” manner, but use this powerful question to help your people challenge their own thinking.

Don’t tell – ask!

It’s all too tempting to jump-in and tell someone, to offer up your wisdom. Instead let them explain themselves:

“So why do you think that’s the problem?”

“Tell me why you decided to do it that way?”

“Why do you think this will solve the problem?”

Three reasons why you should ask “Why?”:

You’ll give them the satisfaction of figuring it out themselves (with just a gentle “nudge” from you.)
You’ll get to understand how they make trade-offs and decisions. One of the most important skills they need.
You just might learn from them! Perhaps they have a better way.

So take your cue from a 3-year old and ask “Why?” frequently. Just do it without the never-quit-asking annoying part!

Thanks for reading,

Tim

Please Rate This Post:

Rating: 4.5/5 (4 votes cast)

Share this:

Posted in Leadership 3.0 | Tagged Communication, Decision Making, Leadership, Management | 3 Comments

Video Blog: You’re Not A Coach!

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Tim Porthouse

Leaders love to use sports metaphors – and love to see themselves as Coaches.

But the metaphor fails – and Tim explains why.

Watch the 2-minute Video Blog below:

Remember: You’re not, and can’t be, a Coach. Time to think differently about your role!

Thanks for watching,

Tim

Please Rate This Post:

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Share this:

Posted in Zealeap Video Blog | Tagged Coaching, Leadership, Management, Video Blog | 3 Comments

Loyalty Is Dumb!

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Tim Porthouse

OK, so I’m being intentionally provocative.

Photo © iStock Photo

But I keep hearing: “Loyalty means nothing these days!”

I don’t think we should try so hard to be “loyal” and here’s why…

Being “Loyal” To Your Employer Is Silly

Two reasons:

1) Hello, it’s a business! Your employer has to make the tough decisions to stay successful. History has shown that they will “outsource” you or fire you if it gets really bad. Sorry, that’s just reality.

2) Your employer can’t always offer you the growth you need. And career variety is healthy, you should try new roles, new industries. You should be versatile.

Being “Loyal” To Your Employees Is Silly Too

First – see #1 above. Then:

3) Some of your people can’t grow fast enough. The CFO you need for a 50-person company is nothing like the CFO you need if you have 500 people and are considering going public.

4) Unless you can offer your people continued growth and responsibility, they may lose their passion. And if they are not passionate you have to consider getting someone who can be.

We fear losing our people. We fear being let go. It’s completely understandable.

But blind loyalty is not reality now, and I don’t think it’s healthy either.

Passion Is The New Loyalty!

I propose a new deal.

I promise to:

Be passionate about my work, do my very best for the company.
Grow my talents every day.
Remain loyal to my values.

In return, you (my employer):

Value the work I do with recognition, fair compensation and opportunity.
Create a workplace full of talented passionate people I want to work with/ learn from.
Stay loyal to the Organization’s values.

It should be a two-way streak: I’m passionate about what I’m doing; you’re thrilled at the results I’m delivering? Good – let’s keep this going then.

But if either of us loses that passion for a while, we should reconsider.

I know that losing a job means real hardship and I’m not advocating a cavalier attitude to letting people go. But I am saying that our best bet, on both sides, is to focus on passion and talent.

A New Definition of “Loyalty”

Loyalty means we give each other some leeway when we go through rough patches. You understand when my kid is in the hospital. I understand when you’re going through an acquisition.
Loyalty means we give each other a second chance. A mistake is the first step to learning.
And loyalty means we first try to make it work together before jumping to the next best option.

Loyalty is not blind allegiance. It’s smarter than that – on both sides.

***

What’s your opinion – agree, disagree? How do you see loyalty today? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Tim

Please Rate This Post:

Rating: 4.3/5 (7 votes cast)

Share this:

Posted in Leadership 3.0 | Tagged Culture, Fear, Leadership, Loyalty, Management, Passion | 5 Comments

Leadership At The Car Wash

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Tim Porthouse

Ritz-Carlton Managers Wash Their Employee's Cars

There’s a long line of cars getting washed today at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Phoenix.

No – not the Porsches and Mercedes that sparkle at the front of the Valet line – these are Ford pickups and Camrys.

I went over to investigate: “It’s employee appreciation week!” the Ritz’s head of sales told me as he hosed down another car, “We’ve got the whole management team here washing employees’ cars all day.”

Nearby several hotel employees grabbed a special BBQ lunch and watched as their leaders worked the suds into wheel rims and bumpers.

So I’m not into gimmicky employee appreciation events, but here’s why I just love what Ritz Carlton’s leaders are doing:

It’s real work – it’s Meaningful. How easy is it to get an Admin to order another “Employee of the Month” plaque? A little harder to wash cars for several hours right? Means more doesn’t it?
It’s Valuable. It tipped it down with rain here in Arizona yesterday. And by the time it eventually does rain here, everyone’s car is filthy with all the desert dust. Everyone in Phoenix needs a car wash today – except the employees at the Ritz!
They are Serving. They are reversing the equation. Managers serving employees – Employees watching managers put their back into it. They are making employees feel special by getting their hands dirty.

Plus – it’s Employee Appreciation Week at the Ritz! Not just a one-hour meeting, or even a day. A whole flippin’ week of appreciation! I can’t wait to see what they do tomorrow.

So – take a page from the Ritz Carlton – make sure your appreciation is meaningful, valuable and get some dirt under your fingernails when you do it.

How are you appreciating your team?

Thanks for reading,

Tim

Please Rate This Post:

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Share this:

Posted in Leadership 3.0 | Tagged Appreciation, Car Wash, Leadership, Management, Ritz Carlton | 1 Comment

Do You Have Pride In Your Team?

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Tim Porthouse

Anna Sanders in the Team Vitesse Time Trial - Photo: Steve Brown

I’m the president of Team Vitesse, a 75-person strong Cycling and Triathlon team in Phoenix. Each year we organize a bike race – it’s a grueling “time trial” where nearly 200 competitors climb a pretty steep local mountain.

It was 5am last Saturday as the sky turned salmon pink on a lovely Spring morning. I had time for a last quick check-in with each of the six leaders of our teams of volunteers before starting the drive up to the finish line. Everything was under control – running flawlessly. They needed no help.

As I drove I thought: “We had 40 unpaid volunteers running a pretty complex and highly successful race. Why did it seem so easy to lead this team? And why is this sometimes so hard to do in organizations where people are paid professionals?”

We talked about it after the race – two factors seemed critical:

1) Pride

Everyone on Team Vitesse takes tremendous pride in our race. We’re volunteers but we really care. It’s our race – a reflection of who we are as a team.

We want to make the race a fabulous experience so we talk about our racers as our customers and guests. We all race so we know what they’re going through – we constantly look to improve their experience.

2) Trusted Team Leaders

We hand-picked six team leaders whom we know we can trust. I know each of them really well. I know their values. I trust them completely.

All the team leads needed to know was which part of the race they owned, and they got it done. They made their own decisions, they organized their own “team within the team.”

After that, leading was just a support role.

So – the obvious leadership questions for you:

1) How are you building Pride in your organization?

2) Do you really know and trust the values of your key leaders? And have you given them autonomy?

I end with a special word of gratitude to the wonderful, fun and talented people of Team Vitesse. I am so proud to be part of our team, and so grateful to the hard work of all the many people that make our team so special and our events so successful. In particular, the tireless work of our team Vice President – Chuy Casillas. Thank you all!

Thanks for reading,

Tim

Please Rate This Post:

Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Share this:

Posted in Leadership 3.0 | Tagged Leadership, Management, Pride, Teamwork, Trust | 3 Comments

Manage Like An Annoying 3-Year Old

Video Blog: You’re Not A Coach!

Loyalty Is Dumb!

Leadership At The Car Wash

Do You Have Pride In Your Team?

Blog Archive

Take Action

Search Our Site