BROWN BAG CONVERSATIONS with Marilyn H. West are now available!
Discuss business topics of your choosing at a place of your choice.
Please call 804.782.1938 for more information.
Moving Past a Heads or Tails Leadership State
Volume II, Issue 13
Football season has arrived and is in full bloom!! I have been a fan of football for a life time. My brother played professional football and I have cousins that have played, coached or are coaching. Some of you also know that I am a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
In addition to the game, I have always been fascinated by the coin toss of heads and tails. When your team wins the coin toss, it has the option of receiving the kick-off, kicking off to the opponent or receiving the kick-off at the start of the second half.
The game of football clearly does not have ownership of the heads/tails, 50/50 or either/or proposition. It plays out in so many situations including our leadership journey.
In some instances, a 50/50 split represents the best odds for achievement...you win/you lose; you succeed/you don't succeed; you are popular/you are not popular; you achieve/you don't achieve; your glass is half full/your glass is half empty; you are decisive or you are indecisive; you have good health or you have poor health etc.
I never want to be 50/50 at anything and when coaching others, I suggest that they also don't cling to this state. Accordingly, I use the coin toss as a first step or a beginning for moving outcomes to a more favorable mode such as 55/45; 75/25 or 95/5.
Below are some of the elements of my daily practice drill (in no particular order) to improve my odds at winning at leadership:
1. Continue to find approaches for building your capacity
2. Listen more and talk less
3. Prepare a daily agenda and follow it, allowing time for short breaks to relax and nutritious snacks
4. Communicate with the team and treat them as you would your customers
5. Write an abstract on accomplishments of the prior day
6. Make a cold call to a business or someone you don't know about a cause that you are supporting or one of your new business development ideas.Pay attention to the feedback as it can be very instructive about adjustments needed in your marketing/communication skills.
7. Leverage your success and position (power) to help another to achieve, starting from a baseline that you identify together
Connect with Marilyn West today - consulting@mhwest.com for strategies that are designed to help you or your team members move the status of your/their leadership from a heads or tails condition.
