by Deborah Leverett | Oct 4, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
You are probably aware of the Lessons from Geese leadership story: unity, teamwork, shared purpose, clear roles, everyone flying in lockstep from point A to point B. It is a good analogy, but hardly typical of what happens in change leadership. What is needed is a very different set of skills: creativity, risk-taking, mavericks courageous enough to challenge the v-formation. Leading change is comparable to leading a group of explorers on Mars: the map can be less than perfect, it will end up costing at least three times as much as you forecasted, and you cannot be sure where you will be after 30 days. The one thing that gives the change leader freedom to sleep at night is knowing he or she has the right people – experts and professionals who have the freedom to communicate up with critical information and feedback when it looks like the team is off course. Change happens when every member actively participates in the process. Successful change leadership is impossible without the growth and development of individual capabilities, attitudes and behavior. Leaders go first and model the way to take calculated risks. The mantra to the team: find a new way of doing things and do it at twice the normal rate. That will definitely give you a guaranteed result of more mistakes! Know that when you see mistakes during a change initiative these are signs that people are trying new things. Change leaders know this and support this behavior. Very different behavior than flying in a v formation. What’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the ...
by Deborah Leverett | Sep 24, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
In my neighborhood there is a printing and shipping service business – their advertising uses the word high-quality to describe their standards. High-quality are not the two words that come to mind when I think of them. My experience has been machines down, not enough staff, confusion over orders, ‘we can’t do that”, ” we can’t have that done by then” type of service. They consistently waste my time and make me less productive. Fortunately, a UPS store opened up in the same area, so I started using them for mailing and shipping- being their customer is easy and gets easier all the time. Smiling faces, my information already in their database, and since they now partner with USPS (when did that happen?), they give me a wide variety of shipping options. Kinko’s FedEx is a printing service that I will drive out of my way to use. Their response, “No problem, we will have it ready” is music to my ears especially when I am down to the wire on a deadline. And, they actually do what they say they will do and do it when they said they would. They have yet failed to deliver — I now trust that they won’t waste my time. Plus, they are super helpful. These two businesses consistently save me time and make me more productive – it is a great feeling. My former boss and mentor, Tom Segesta, current GM Four Seasons Chicago, taught me when you can save someone’s time and make them more productive, you have made their lives better, and they will love your for it. It...
by Deborah Leverett | Aug 2, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Not just anyone can be a change agent – it takes a certain set of skills, behaviors and attitudes to take the lead in a change initiative. And, by take the lead, I am not only talking about the executive leadership. I am also talking about the unofficial leader on the front line who decides to step up. Being a successful change agent doesn’t depend so much on successful managerial experience as it much as it depends on a certain attitude. One has to be excited by the unknown and become best friends with chaos: “Success will come to those who love chaos — constant change —
not to those who attempt to eliminate it.”
– Tom Peters, Thriving on Chaos The most successful change leaders become the change: “an unconventional outsider who becomes the physical embodiment the desired culture” -John Kotter and James Heskett, Corporate Culture and Performance There is always an unspoken, naive expectation from my clients that I will hand them a book with 10 steps to successful change. It doesn’t work that way because every change initiative is different, and it is the pathfinder who gets this job done. They not only find new ways of doing things for problems that have never happened before, but they have to build the path to do it and get others to join in. It takes an enormous amount of time and effort and the pathfinder can even find himself or herself at odds with the boss because management can want both continued excellent performance while at the same time expecting new ways of doing the job...
by Deborah Leverett | Jul 19, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Do It Anyway – Author Unknown “People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. People favor underdogs, but follow top-dogs. Fight for some underdog anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People really need help but may attack if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have got and you might get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best that you have got anyway.” Today, push your refresh button, shake off the bad and give your best and give your all. Happy...
by Deborah Leverett | Jul 15, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
Helping individuals lead and manage change is what I have done my entire professional life. I have learned a lot about people, change and all the reasons it doesn’t happen. You’ve heard them as well: I’m afraid, it will never work, we don’t have the right tools, leaders, resources, etc. But one of the biggest reasons that I see is almost never talked about: change requires effort and many people are just plain lazy and don’t want to exert the effort that it takes to change. Sustained effort demands sustained discipline– many are so weary of day-to-day demands that the thought of doing more overloads the circuitry! Many people believe the fallacy that working long hours will make them successful. They don’t understand that without growth and change working hard will only result in a life that is a grind. It’s so much easier to go with the flow downstream — to turn on the computer, t.v., netflix, music, get locked into business as usual thinking. Put the life on autopilot. It’s the way most people live. Our habits are all a result of our strength (or lack thereof) of character. Daily thought patterns direct our daily decisions and we live our lives in a mesmerized state. See: Frank Mesmer This is irresponsibility and passivity at its fullest. But these are behaviors practiced by the majority because it is easy. So what’s the antidote? You have to find out what motivates you – reading about others’ success is often helpful. 50 Secrets of Rich & Famous. But it still comes down to how much of a difference do you want...
by Deborah Leverett | Jun 28, 2013 | Blog, Uncategorized
The Why Not the What
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