Leadership Development - How Much Humility and Empathy Do You Display?

1. Having empathy and humility are huge productivity hacks! Think of all the time you’re wasting butting heads. Naturally, you have to stick up for yourself but you can minimize a lot of stress by starting with agreement. Empathize with your partner. Grant Cardone talks about starting in agreement when selling to prospects. Never argue with a prospect! Show empathy. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can move beyond disagreement by displaying a little good faith empathy. Move on - get to the real work of completing the mission.

Think of the exercise bike company Peloton’s infamous commercial that many hated. Peloton failed to show empathy - quite the opposite! They blamed their target market for not getting the commercial! It backfired. Humility has become a buzz word for management scholars. Be a good person - what a concept! Humble leaders foster more collaboration, engagement, and encourage more information sharing between team members than those who are ego-driven.

Jim Collins said it years ago when he coined the term level 5 leader - a leader who is completely passionate and a go-getter yet is able to accept feedback. Level 5 leaders give credit to the team and not themselves.

2. In early March, a Biogen corporate meeting in Boston had three people with Covid. This led to 100 more cases. It was described as a super spreader. And how ironic that a company working to combat Covid would inadvertently spread it. I was struck by the names of the workshops that took place in that conference: Living Up to Our Purpose, Orchestrating Agility in the Matrix (not exactly sure what that one was about), and Where Science Meets Humanity. All fascinating titles for workshops. I would’ve loved to be there listening in if it weren’t for the pandemic. Just reading about workshops that explore purpose and good works gets me revved up! I love big bold plans. In Biogen’s defense, they donated $10 million dollars to help the fight of the virus.

3. One of my favorite things about great writing is how its details activate our senses. And with the sensory stimulation comes emotion. One example is the phrase “tin of cookies.” A plate of cookies is pleasant but a tin adds a new level for me: fancy, decorative, special, and a sparse few cookies in a beautifully-crafted tin. The transfer from thought to emotional state reminds me of transcendental meditation. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi explained when you focus on an aural mantra (of a syllable or word that has no meaning) you gradually perceive that stimulus as a feeling - perhaps of contentment. We severely overlook the power of tapping into connecting our feeling states with performance. As I am typing these words, I have Pink Floyd’s double live dvd, Pulse, playing in the background at just the right volume - as to be with me but not a distraction. It’s a huge enhancer. I’m very happy typing away and I have that content feeling throughout my body while I write. It’s not a happy coincidence. I know I enjoy writing but I have to set the mood with the background music.

4. Parallel play is when children play near one another and watch one another but don’t actually play together. The current issue of the Harvard Business Review draws comparisons to start-ups. These are companies that are in brand new markets where there isn’t a clear path. Whereas, in traditional businesses, companies strive to differentiate themselves from the competition, when companies are in brand new markets, there is no true path to follow - so founders must observe, copy, and test things out before committing fully to a strategy.

I love learning about creative play in children - it’s so powerful! It’s also super creative. When I think of identifying our life roles, I think of a child’s box of favorite toys. We must think big when identifying our roles. It’s disempowering to have a role of chauffeur or house maid. Think big - plan big roles for your future!

5. Speaking of leaders, I’ve noticed a trend. I often see leaders with their head buried in their computers at their desk when they could be making a much bigger impact if they were in the game. I realize there are things that need to be done on technology and correspondences to get to but jump in there. Think of one of the greatest leaders - Captain James T. Kirk. That guy was never hiding in his living quarters during emergencies - he was the first to beam down and get to the bottom of things. This is one reason I’m recording my voice more now - it’s a huge time saver. Dictate your thoughts and have someone complete the action. As a leader, allow your empathy and humility to come forward. Do that magic that only you can do!

Crazy Ideas are Just as Valuable as Innovative Ideas

Start the habit of honoring all ideas - you never know where they may lead. I found an idea that I scribbled in an old notebook: people wearing medical boots never seem embarrassed enough. It’s ridiculous, I know! However, I’m glad I gathered it. Create a system for dealing with new ideas. Get them safely captured - and then you can determine later if they’re worth anything. While we’re at it - I think movie theaters should have a huge mattress with pillows and blankets strewn about. Oh, and we should have a split screen so couples could choose: Arnold Schwarzenegger blowing stuff up or romantic comedy.

Try to have a system where you don’t replicate your work. I believe in having lots of different notebooks. In fact, I color code them and keep them in the car. I used to have a large notebook called a scratch pad and I’d joy down anything that came to mind in that book. But then I’d have to copy it over again in the right notebook. Trim all inefficiencies by asking if any steps in your system seem ponderous to you.

Here’s an example: I realized I was in a negative state coming out of the grocery store. Each time I exited the store, there was a half a dozen empty carriages nearly blocking the exit. Folks grab their bags and leave their carriages where they stand. This made me mad. I wanted to write a ranting blog post - then it hit me. Society is becoming more personalized - the carriage fiasco is just more evidence. Also, every time I enter the store, there is at least one car parked in the entrance. Most of the time, they’re not to drop off an older adult or someone with challenges. It’s just someone who doesn’t want to walk all the way to the parking spaces. They’re usually in their 20s or 30s! When I asked how I could make this annoying trend more productive, I realized that customers want products that are completely customized. Many folks believe they are VIP’s - all the time. I brainstormed how I could serve my customers in a much more personalized way - and it changed how I designed my book, blog posts, and advertisements. I transformed my original idea into something useful and it benefitted my customers and business.

Deep Wells of Inspiration

Judith Krantz sold 80 million books. She passed away this summer at the age of 91. While reading her obituary, I was struck by her personal story. She wanted to write a novel but was afraid because she received a mediocre B in creative writing at college. Then she piloted a small plane her husband bought and overcame her fear of flying. It had a profound effect on her. She said she became “overcome by a rage of ambition.” I love that! A rage of ambition! Now, that’ll last.

This also makes me think of movies where a spark of massive inspiration strikes and the antagonist of the story stays up all night working on an inspired project. We desperately need inspiration that is long-lasting. One of my lasting inspirations is my fascination in identifying life role. It causes me to be fascinated in people. It affects how I read the newspaper, watch movies, write in my journal, etc…

What are your deep wells for inspiration and ambition? What makes you rage - in a productive way?