The Professor of On-Purpose
It is hard to see ourselves for how we really are.
I address it in this On-Purpose Business Minute.
Have you ever been led by a solid core leader? Count your blessings!
Does what defines you necessarily define your future?
In today’s On-Purpose Minute, learn to increase your “computing capacity” with a personal upgrade. Create or write the life you want. The On-Purpose Process is a straight-forward method for rebooting your life and creating what your future can become.
It sounds good, but can it really be that way for you? You never know until you try.
The Want List and Tournament process is a great place to start your journey of becoming the true you. Download the free Discovery Guide preview at http://www.discoveryguide.net and get started today with creating the life you want … on-purpose.
Click here to receive an email when I post new On-Purpose Minutes.
“You need to set goals.” In business and in life we’ve all heard those words. It is hard to argue with the advice. It seems so simple. Yet for all the talk of goal setting, how effective is it really?
But it is part of a process, not the ends and means unto itself.
Several years ago the CEO of a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company hired me to help revive the business. As he said to me, “Kevin, we need a crusade. Something we can believe in that’s bigger than our day-to-day.”
During my on-site time at the company headquarters, I met with the Director of Worldwide Strategy. In gathering initial information, I asked this question: “What are your income and profit goals for this year?”
That’s normally not a challenging question. Except here I was met with the answer, “We don’t have any goals like that.” This was a stunning revelation to me. How could they not have goals?
I promise you that the point of this On-Purpose Business Minute is an endorsement for setting reasonable goals but within the context of a strategic planning process. In my client’s case, it had me wondering just what the heck the Director of Worldwide Strategy was doing. He wasn’t happy to see me show up in the first place and now this question ensured a sabotage was in the works. He won!
It is the natural time of the year for reflection and planning so the new year can be better than the previous year. There’s a reason why, however, all those good intentions often fail to live up to expectations. Business can’t be run by numbers alone. Metrics have a role, but they’re the result of a strategic process, not the lead.
This form of “Management By Objectives” was made popular in the 1970s. However well intended it was, the execution of it fell to a minimalist “numbers only” approach. Unfortunately, that is an indication of under-performing management.
You know the routine. You show up at an organizational retreat for work, church, the PTA, a ministry, or some other group. After the introductions, the person with the agenda says it is time to set goals.
Suddenly a knot appears in your stomach. Something about this doesn’t feel just right. You go with it because goal setting seems so right … and yet so wrong. After an hour or so, the team comes up with a list of goals and everyone goes home satisfied that a great deal was accomplished. And it has, but you have this gnawing feeling that very little is really going to happen next.
Why, you wonder, is it so unsatisfactory? Why is the group so excited, yet you’re so worried? You understand that goals without a plan are merely imaginary—but still better than no goals at all! Regardless of whether the organization is falling short or falling flat on its face, it is failing to complete the strategic process. That means that someone in charge doesn’t really know what it means to lead an organization. Uh-oh—Killer Goals of the worst kind.
Here’s an example from when we were in active production of The On-Purpose Minutes. Our killer goal was to produce and post an original On-Purpose Minute every Tuesday and an On-Purpose Business Minute every Thursday.
Sounds easy enough, right?
Hold on for an On-Purpose Minute! Consider the creative thinking, planning, equipping, and many disciplines needed to meet this simple “killer goal.” I invested nearly a year in researching, experimenting, and learning what camera, lighting, and editing software to use. In the end, the technical and production stuff is actually the easy part.
The concepts and brand of the On-Purpose Minutes had to be conceived, developed, and tied to the business strategy of On-Purpose®. An audience to reach had to be in mind. Finally, the content for each On-Purpose Minute had to be conceived, written, recorded, edited, posted, and embedded using YouTube.com and my blogging service.
Here’s one example where a Killer Goal with a clear purpose, plan, people, and process to support performance produced a video library of over 200 Minutes.
Take your leadership and management duties seriously so your team can thrive and exceed its goals. Learn to think more deeply about the breadth and depth of the assignment.
The more you can talk about and plan early on, the better things will go for all involved.
Learn that the slow path to achieving your goals is almost always the sustainable and more profitable fast track for reaching your Killer Goals.
Be On-Purpose!
Kevin
You’ll transform your life plus the lives of those around you presently and those to come. Shuck the shackles of being a victim and grasp the freedom of being yourself, prospering, and making a difference … on-purpose. Yes, it can be risky, but it is better than living life in a fragile glass jar.
In my book, FIT 4 LEADING, this haunting question of natural born leadership is addressed. Below is an excerpt from the book from Chapter 9.
“Many of us think that leadership is like athleticism—either you were born with coordination or not. This thinking emerges because of this ridiculous debate around the question: Are leaders born or are they made?
“Here’s the final word on the question: Yes! It is both.
“What you’ve made of or how others have helped fashion or develop your leadership may be a missing refinement, but the raw material of your existence is designed for leading.
“What? I was born to lead? But I never thought I was …
“Yes! You were born to lead, period—end of story. Take this as fact.
“How can I unequivocally state to you that you were born to lead? It is because I know you are especially fit for leading. You have a unique design and purpose in your life that is unlike any other person.
“Isn’t the real question: How can you not be fit for leading? The evidence is overwhelmingly clear if you’ll look at it. You have this good fortune of a Body, Mind, and Spirit that has an absolutely incredible capacity for expression and becoming. In fact, it craves to productively come alive in ways you aren’t even imagining, especially if you’ve relegated yourself to follower status.
“A subtle distinction is needed here. Being a leader versus being a leader in a given situation is different. The President of the United States of America is the leader of the free world. That’s a large domain. But if the President is hosting a reception for a visiting President of an allied country, and his guest falls to the ground with a heart attack, the President is no longer the leader in that situation. The doctor from the crowd who emerges immediately becomes the leader of that situation. The U.S. President is relegated to the role of bystander.
“Leaders understand that they step forward in some situations and take a backseat in most. Those who think otherwise are just arrogant people who are egomaniacal control freaks. Only needy minions and groupies will follow them. Strong leaders have strong followers.
“If you believe anything other than the fact that you were born to lead, then you’ve bought a lie spoken upon your life. However it got there doesn’t matter anymore. Stop living into that lie now! Choose to be the leader of your life. Otherwise, you’re the one who is paying the price. Someone other than you is benefiting from it at the expense of your Body, Mind, and Spirit.”
Visit the FIT 4 Leading website. There you can read the first chapter of the book, watch a free 30-minute webcast, and much more. Softcover and Kindle versions are available on Amazon. Use Prime for free shipping.
Distractions, busyness, and just plain old bad habits have a way of gradually yet persistently working their way into our lives. Pretty soon we’re enslaved in activities and relationships that take us off-purpose.
In today’s On-Purpose Business Minute, I share a metaphor and lessons learned from a day of hard, back-breaking yard work and getting my hands dirty. As you can see, my mind was also hard at work.
Paying attention to the details while still seeing the big picture isn’t always easy. Even if you’re not very good at both, at least be aware of the importance of both to avoid getting blind-sided. Surround yourself with complementary talent and trusted advisors so you grasp a greater perspective and insight into an important matter. This will free you to do more of what you do best more profitably.
Need some help with getting to the roots of your leadership? At On-Purpose Partners, we offer 1:1 executive and personal leadership coaching. Learn more here.
In Chief Leadership Officer, you’ll be introduced to “The Complete Competence Model” which is the next generation of “The 3 Views of People” model shared in this On-Purpose Business Minute.
Your response reveals your preferred place for leading. It tends to reveal how you view others as being competent. Until we learn otherwise, many who lead teams will project their preferred perspective onto others. It is a subtle form of, Why can’t they be more like me? Setting yourself as the standard sets everyone else up to fail which undermines the business performance.
Each person is unique and can bring a measure of unique contribution to even the most routine of work.
For example, On-Purpose Partners ships books and products from the Winter Park, FL Post Office branch. At the counter is a postal clerk named James. He resembles the comedian Joe Piscopo. James is literally a stand-up clerk offering ongoing entertaining commentary and laughter all day long. He brings out the best in his peer counter clerks as the banter between them all keeps things moving along. By the way, when the other clerks have a problem it is James they turn to. He knows his post office stuff. Many a postmaster might try to make James conform to a more “professional” decorum. Instead, he makes the wait tolerable and the service more than acceptable.
There are 3 Views of People:
Purpose informs all three points of view. This is one of the many reasons why The On-Purpose Principle is the essential basis for unifying people.
Few of us fully reside in a single view. Rather we’re a blend of all. Knowing your dominant preference, however, provides insights to job satisfaction, performance, and even future advancement.
This speaks to the nature of fit. As a business advisor for over 3 decades, I’ve come across all kinds of challenges in organizations. One of the best disguised is this problem of poor fit between a person’s view of people and their role and responsibilities on the job. It is an often overlooked dimension that can create disasters or delights.
Years ago when I worked at a company, I was part of the hiring process for a property manager. When I asked this woman what she thought was her weakness she bluntly stated, “I don’t like people.” I shared my concerns with the hiring manager who hired her anyway. She was a good property manager (technical), but wreaked havoc in the office relationships and with tenants (manager). She so fouled the workplace that no one wanted to work with or for her (leadership). Even vendors complained.
The Complete Competency Model isn’t just a makeover of the Peter Principle which states that people eventually rise to their highest level of incompetency. People view may be one of the underlying causes of poor job performance and fit.
When there’s good alignment or fit between the person and the work, people view melts away and can often be taken for granted. Like good health, when we have it we’re prone to forget about it. But once we’re sick or injured we so appreciate what we used to have.
After watching this On-Purpose Business Minute, assess your people view with your job fit. What you discover about yourself could be very enlightening and rewarding to your long-term health, job satisfaction, and earning capacity. Coming to terms with this, however, may be another matter all together.
Having worked with business leaders and CEOs over my career, I’ve seen firsthand the price that is paid by a person and an organization when there is a clash of people view and the requirements of a job. Because my work is most often in the C-Suite, I’m especially alarmed when I find a “leader” who is really put off or bothered by people. They may be respected experts in their field, but they have little to no aptitude for leading and managing. That’s fine, but why have them lead? (When I raise this matter, it often gets tenderly complicated for me, the business advisor, when the misfit is the managing director, owner, or CEO of the enterprise. In some cases, however, this brings a sense of relief for the person because they better understand who they are and we can develop a plan of improvement or a workaround.)
On the other hand, the best leaders love and care for people, are effective at managing, and have mastered tasks sufficiently to have paid their dues and risen through the ranks to have the respect of their reports. Ultimately, it is their people skills that create the separation from good to great leadership.
True leaders are culture creators by design, not by default. Typically, they’re not the go-to expert in various fields, disciplines, or technologies. Their currency comes in denominations of their presence, decisions, manner, and tone. They get people working together. Leaders press the flesh and are visible. This isn’t out of ceremonial duty, but from a genuine love and respect for the people who follow their lead. Leaders are often reflective and thoughtful, and they know how to set healthy boundaries to avoid burnout and bitterness for others and themselves.
Do yourself a favor and take today’s message to heart. Where are you? Where would you like to be? If you need help creating your culture so it is on-purpose, then email us to consider some On-Purpose Executive or Personal Coaching.
Leadership is a broad term that, like beauty, is often described as “being in the eye of the beholder.” Ask ten people to define leadership and you’ll likely get ten facets of this brilliant diamond. Most can agree that leadership involves other people but that’s an incomplete understanding.
Whereas leadership involves working with others, personal leadership is about working with yourself. You can’t delegate this responsibility nor should you miss this opportunity to better your body, mind, and spirit. Here is the only place in the world where you possess a significant measure of control through choice. The power of choosing can be exercised and strengthened or avoided and diminished.
Ask yourself the following personal leadership questions:
Self-care is not selfish; it is essential. The more you develop as a person, the more others are willing to follow your lead. The better you know yourself, the stronger your leadership potential will increase. In other words, as you win in your inner life, then your outer life is likely to thrive.
In this On-Purpose Minute, personal leadership is defined as “The proactive process of meaningfully aligning and integrating your life around what matters most.” As this On-Purpose Minute briefly explains, there’s more here than meets the eye. You hold the key to the ignition to start the process. Be thoughtful and intentional about exploring possibilities to think about how best to align and integrate your decisions to produce alignment and integration about what truly counts.
Here’s where a personal 2-word purpose statement pays dividends. When you know your purpose, you have a personal, universally applicable point of reference for alignment and integration. Life becomes simpler because you’re aware of who you are, and you have a growing appreciation for what’s right for you.
The sooner you decide to be the leader of your life, the better off we all are. That, by the way, is true prosperity—everyone profits.
Personal Leadership involves the person you see in the mirror. Most of us will readily admit we have different “voices” within us competing for our “best” interest. No one escapes temptation. The following expressions offer insightful evidence of our inner demons of discontent and the desire for a more integrated life:
Get started leading your life right now! Not tomorrow. Not next week. Right now!
Not sure where to start? Write down what you want. The Discovery Guide can help you sort it out simply, quickly, and meaningfully. Download the free preview with instructions and the forms you need to take the next step toward being an on-purpose person in creation, being the Chief Leadership Officer of your life!
Pre-Order Chief Leadership Officer today!
Download the Opening Chapters here.
I mentor a number of people. One of the most heartbreaking aspect
s of this work is to see people's leadership blinders. There are many ways of "acquiring" these blinders that needlessly bury and blind their leadership potential.
I've been gifted with eyes to see into the hearts of people and to have an inherent sense of their leadership potential. Frankly, this gift has a heartbreaking downside as I see people who cower from knowing who they really are and settle for less in this one lifetime.
I understand that it takes courage to find one's voice in the world. May I help you?
What Happened To Us? Was it a mentor or parent who failed to recognize your potential and polish the genius of your spirit? Perhaps it was abuse at the hands of a tyrant who pushed you down in order to build up himself or herself? Or is it simply the fear of being known and choosing to play life too safely? The reasons are many, yet the results are the same—being off-purpose and suffering the costs of being less than who we were intended to be and become.
Are you ready to reject mediocrity and begin majoring in your life? May I be your mentor for six weeks through The On-Purpose Leader Experience? Join other on-purpose persons as we go deep into the heart of being a leader to the spirit of who you are. This breakthrough Experience is hard to grasp on the front end, yet, I promise, you will not regret participating in it.
Each week of six, we delve into the On-Purpose Process in a fun, yet meaningful and respectful manner to help you get to the essence of who you are and how you can become a more confident, strong, and faithful leader of your life.
Click here for more information about The On-Purpose Leader Experience.
