We all have blind spots.  You can’t see them!  We can’t avoid them and probably will never get rid of them!  Seems obvious, but YOU aren’t in the best position to see your blind spots or to know how they are affecting the people you lead and the relationships you’re in.

Here’s what I’m learning as I lead:

Your greatest strengths can also do damage to your team dynamics. You tend to think that everyone values the same things you value and that everyone is good at the same thing that we are good at.

NOT TRUE!

Over the next few weeks I invite you to join me as I read Strength Finder 2.0.  Strengths Finder 2.0 is the follow up to Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton’s Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book includes a revamped version of the StrengthsFinder test that shows you not just what your top five strengths are, but also how you rank in the rest of the 34 strengths from Buckingham & Clifton’s model.

I recommend that you get the Strength Finder’s book. It’s a great tool to have on your shelf.  After reading the book and completing the Strength Finder survey, I will post my results and encourage you to do the same.  I hope this discussion will encourage you to become more aware of your own blind spots.  Please join me on this amazing journey.

Are you up for the challenge?

My Aunt Doretha used to make the best pound cake in the whole world. It was so rich and creamy. I remember visiting my Aunt Doretha one summer and she explained to me that it was called a pound cake because it used a pound of butter and a pound of sugar (talk about busting the diet). Although it may not have been healthy, it sure was delicious! As I reflect on my aunt’s recipe, I wonder if the pound cake would lose its taste if one of the MAJOR ingredients (sugar or butter) were missing? Would it remain rich and creamy or morph into chewy disaster?

In today’s politics, both Democrats & Republicans demonize those who attempt to move to the middle in an attempt to forge compromises and solve problems that meet the needs of all. We all suffer from this polarization. We desperately need more leaders in Washington who can collaborate.

Google gives an example of what could happen if people would collaborate:

To improve collaboration with others, there may be no greater source for “how to” than Dale Carnegie’s 1936 classic How To Win Friends and Influence People. The principles are timeless. Some of the techniques we can each use to strengthen our collaborations with others include:

1. Become genuinely interested in other people. Take the time to ask them about themselves, their points of view, their histories.
2. Be a good listener. Remembering we’ve been given two ears and one mouth, and using them in that ratio, is a great first step. Let others do the majority of the talking. Put yourself in the “reverent” listening mode, like the person you are speaking with is telling you the most important thing in the world. No multi-tasking while listening. No trying to get in a word edge wise.
3. Be empathetic. Try honestly to see things from the other’s point of view. Repeat key points of what you’ve heard. Even if you don’t agree with the idea, paraphrase your understanding of their thoughts and needs and refrain from judging.
4. Be open, supportive and encouraging in your collaborations with others. Encourage diverse perspectives. Seek to understand. Be optimistic and supportive when hearing other points-of-view.

In my humble opinion, there’s something wrong with leaders from every walk of life. It appears we’ve lost the art of collaboration. It’s the missing ingredient we all need if we’re to be successful in life!

Do you currently practice collaboration with others? If so, how? If not, why?

He writes:

Being a game player is a fiction some people use to excuse themselves from working as hard as they should.  People who think they are game players are what coaches call “floaters.”  They float along on a cushion of talent or sheer physical size and strength.  They don’t see what all the fuss over concentration and work ethic is about until players of lesser talent start scoring in their face, quarter ofter quarter, simply because they are more in tune with their game…Eventually every team has to learn that excellence isn’t a destination.  It’s a process that must be continually improved (pp. 150-151).

Of course, NBA players and coaches are committed to excellence because they want to win a championship.  These can be good motives, but as followers of Christ, the motive that drives us to excellence should be a desire to please God.  The one who will give us our final reward.  Everything we do should be done with a conscious awareness of His presence, a realization that he is watching.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, Colossians 3:23

The Apostle Paul reflected that such awareness should prompt us, regardless of our field of endeavor, to “work at it with all [our] heart.” Men and women who follow Christ aren’t “floaters.”  They give their best effort all of the time, knowing that there is never a circumstance during which the one they follow is not with them, urging them on to their finest.

Are there situations in which you “float?”  If so, Why?

A leader must develop a disciplined and prudent character so that they will do what’s right, just, & fair.  The rub comes when the leader doesn’t know what is just right, and fair.  That’s why Solomon cautioned that ‘inexperienced’ leaders need wisdom.  Proverbs isn’t a decision-making textbook, but this wisdom-packed book is God’s gift to help us make the best decisions possible.

Proverbs 1:1-6 informs us that the proverbs to follow will help the reader develop the mental sharpness needed to process complex information.  Even though technology helps us gather and manipulate information, a sharp mind must still apply solid logic to that information in order to make good decisions.

The proverbs help us to accomplish this goal in a godly manner.  They sharpen the mind and reveal God’s insight to ensure that our decisions may be in sync with his eternal perspective.  Therefore, I encourage to read these verses again, this time including verse 7.  Then study the Book of Proverbs as a foundation for exceptional decisions making.

Question: Have you ever made decisions without consulting God?  If so, what was the outcome?

In carpentry, measure twice cut once means you’ve only got one shot at cutting a sheet of drywall.  Therefore, be positive you have the right measurement or you could end up with too short of a piece.  When a sheet of drywall is cut to the wrong length, it’s hard to find another use for it.  Additionally, it’s impossible to regain the lost time.  Consequently, the more valuable the materials and time-consuming the process, the more important it is to get it right the first time!  As a young man, my father pounded this into my head – “always double check all of your measurements just to be safe.”

You measure and “cut” into your resources every day – your time, your team, your money, or your church.  So getting it right the first time is critical.  Before committing yourself to a course of action, take time and analyze the costs and benefits (measure twice, cut once).  If you’re recommending something new, research the impact it will have on other people, your church, your company, department, or group.  In each case, “measuring twice”  (by making sure you’ve gotten all the information you need before you spend resources) you’ll actually save time, energy, and money.

Have you ever had to do something over because you didn’t measure twice?  If so, what did you learn?

As I age gracefully, I’m learning to appreciate and use the limited time I have.  Twenty years ago, I began to set aside an hour each weekend and ponder this question: What is the purpose of my life?  Here’s a book I recommend to get you started.  Afterwards, I would take notes & craft sentences that describe my life’s purpose.  I encourage you to try this – it really works!

Next, ask yourself how each part of your life (work, friends, family, hobbies) align with or relates to that purpose.  Again, write it down.  Are you spending your time on things that will help you achieve your purpose?  If not, you know you have to make changes.  When your actions are at odds with your goals, you need to make the slight, necessary adjustments.

This may seem like a simple exercise, but very few people do it.  The truth is you probably already know your purpose and goals.  But you may have pushed them off to the side.  Or you may not have aligned your daily actions with your long-term goals.  Doing this exercise will help you to do so.

A few minutes of quite reflection can give your life the clarity and sense of purpose you may lack. To keep your day-to-day choices in sync with your life’s purpose, take a moment to consider your purpose before you make any major decisions or take on any new responsibilities. It will help you remember the precious importance of every second.

Are you up for the challenge?  Do you know your purpose?  I’d love to hear about it!

For that matter, think of their characters: LeVar Burton in Roots, Jack Dawson in The Titanic, or Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli.  What do they have in common?  All are GREAT stories and all GREAT stories and have a hero.  Additionally, their stories possess two key elements you should incorporate into your story:

1. A serious challenge
2. A hero dealing with challenges and learning something as a result

It’s easy to see why most stories fail.  Try this story from a typical church conference speaker:

My wife and I started this church in 19xx with a few people and a heart to win lost people to Jesus (they leave out the part where millionaire donors foot most of the bill).  Today, we are a thriving mega-church with 15 campuses and a $20 million budget.  We host conferences, trainings, and training resources to help you get to where we are (not stated – but implied).  We are #6 on Church Growth Today’s list of the fastest growing churches in America.

It’s an impressive story, but there’s a problem:

IT’S NOT A GOOD STORY &
IT HAS THE WRONG HERO!

If you want your friends, family, church members (pastors), colleagues, or clients to identify with your story, you must do what great story tellers do:

HELP THEM IDENTIFY WITH YOUR HERO!

Trust me: People won’t readily identify with you, your church, or your company/business for a simple reason:

YOU ARE NOT, AND NEVER CAN BE,
THEIR HERO!

Instead, they are their heroes.  People identify with themselves; they want solutions to their problems.  Unfortunately, they are not interested in helping you reach your goals.  Instead, they are interested in making their own lives better.

The ideal story talks about the person, not about you, your church (pastors), or your company/business.  It puts the listener in that hero’s shoes, and creates tension around some challenge that faced the hero.  Your best stories are not about you; they are about them.  Tell stories that make people the heroes and help them identify with them.  Then they will see how you can help them!  It’s a tough task, but, you can do it!

Did I challenge you to change your story?
If so, how?  If not, why?

We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing.  Guess what, I found the secret to their success and because I want you to succeed, I’m ready to share my discovery with the entire world.  I’m about the let you in on a secret that has the potential to revolutionize your life!

Shhhh…Lean Closer….

Here it is:

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO SUCCESS.  PERIOD!

Nobody is great without hard work!

Researchers have identified what they call the ten-year rule when it comes to becoming a world-class performer.  In 2006, Fortune Magazine published, “What It Takes to be Great” which coined the phrase “Performance Principle.”  The Performance Principle says that it takes a long time to be an overnight success.  Furthermore, the author goes on to say, “Even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class…”  This pattern is so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule.  In short, what they and others have discovered: There are not shortcuts!

The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call “deliberate practice.”  It’s activity that’s explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one’s level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.

Fortune magazine gives this example:

Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don’t get better.  Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day – that’s deliberate practice.

Have you ever been tempted to take shortcuts?  Did you?  What were the results?

Two ways: SIMPLIFY and CLARIFY!

Recently, I accompanied Shauntai (my wife) to the grocery store and was quickly overwhelmed with how many brands and types of toothpaste there were.  In the typical Target store, you confront rows of over sixty options, including pastes with whitener, tartar control, breath-freshening, baking powder, tube and pump, in over a dozen different brands (what ever happened to just plain ole Crest) .

Let’s be honest: We all FEEL overwhelmed. Our DVD players have more functions that we can learn.  When something goes wrong, few of us know what to do.

Additionally, we ARE overwhelmed. Everyone you deal with is overwhelmed.  Whatever you want to communicate to them, you must learn to do it simply and clearly.

The first rule in communication is:
Communicate so that you cannot be misunderstood.

Clarity inspires trust. We worry about the opposite: we fear that people we do not understand may be concealing something.  We suspect the confusion might be a smoke screen, intended to keep us from the truth.

Clarity inspires faith. We assume, as jurors assume when they hear expert witnesses, that a person who communicates clearly understands her subject.  I remember reading somewhere where a leading jury conslulting firm discovered that people regard “clarity” as the signal trait of a true expert!

Here’s The Point:
Make yourself clearer, and people will think you’re an expert.

What tips do you have to share that’ll help others to simplify and clarify their message/product/service?

The author describes the main subject of his book as “thin-slicing:” our ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow period of experience.  In other words, spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones.   Gladwell explains how an expert’s ability to “thin slice” can be corrupted by their likes and dislikes, prejudices and stereotypes.

Whew, that was pretty heavy.
Take a deep breath…relax…are you still with me?

Here’s what Gladwell is saying:  People rarely make decisions as a product of long deliberation.  They make take weeks to announce a decision but often make the decision in minutes, perhaps seconds.

People do not gather data to make a decision;
they often gather it to JUSTIFY their decision!

They are not accumulating understanding; they are seeking comfort and support.  Most decisions are made, and then justified, rather than the other way around.

Therefore, that leads me to one obvious implication: “First impressions are really lasting impressions.”  The first impression, with startling frequency, is also the FINAL DECISION.

HERE’S THE POINT:
The first thing to plan for is your first impression.
Why, once a mind is made up, seldom does it change.

Has anyone judged you based on their first impression?

Have you ever judged someone based on your first impression?