Mixed Messages

I was out for a bike ride this weekend.  I was on the bike trail and came to the intersection just as the light turned green for the cross traffic.  I slowed to a stop and was balancing waiting for the one car to go.  Instead, he stays stopped and motions for me to cross  – nice guy I thought, must be a biker.  As I got in front of his car he leans out the window and yells “Get off the road and get out of the way!”

Huh?  What did you want me to do?

Mixed messages also create questions and confusion for our teams.

• The due date is Friday – but I am going to start asking for it on Monday.
• The goal is 100 – but I am not going to acknowledge success until 120.
• Be creative – but don’t change anything

Be clear.  Be complete.  Invite and answer questions.  Share your message and expected outcomes so your team knows where they are going, why they are going, and then coach them to success without a mixed message.  Everyone wins.

Monsters

I've been watching the classic monster movies lately – Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong, The Wolfman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, etc.   Not the remakes, but the originals from the 1930’s and 1940’s.  They are great stories that didn’t need blood and gore and swearing to keep your attention.  There was generally a moral beyond “Don’t go in the basement when the power has been cut”.

What created the monsters or ensuing terror was a dark drive to rule the world, to do what no one had done before, or to play “god”.  Their creators or manipulators put all other aspects of life aside in favor of their unhealthy fixation to dominate.  They separated themselves from friends and went into isolation away from accountability or surrounded themselves with those they could coerce into their twisted vision.  The monsters were created out of a teleopathic need for dominance. 

Kenneth Goodpaster, faculty at St. Thomas University, coined the term “Teleopathy” in his book Conscience and Corporate Culture as a mindset that reflects imbalance; specifically tied to imbalance in the pursuit of goals to the detriment of other ends that may have instrumental or moral significance.  Goodpaster shares that individuals with teleopathy fixate on certain goals, they rationalize their actions or focus, and detach from the social environment around them.

People with the mindset of teleopathy can be frightening.  The emotional and mental damage that can follow has long lasting consequences – we have seen it in multiple scenarios played out in the news.  The trust that is eradicated in an individual or business may never return.

Hollywood brought teleopathy to life with the monsters as entertainment.  But leaders can become the monsters of today when teleopathy sets in.  They allow their goals to overwhelm all other aspects of their life.  They believe that they are above consequences.  They feel entitled to expected outcomes and act on this sense of entitlement bowling over anyone or anything that stands in their way. They change rules.  It’s all about them.

Fear and disappointment sets in among the teams they lead – personally and professionally.

Watch your goals.  Stay connected and accountable.  Seek to make your team successful by serving.  Watch an old monster movie with a new perspective.  Keep monsters for entertainment, not reality.

Bright Washout

Some friends asked me to be on a review panel this week.  They lead an institute for people who are preparing to be missionaries and leaving the country within 6 months.  One of their team building tasks was to design a project for an existing outreach ministry of the church that was hosting their training.

The team had limited knowledge of the community.  They had limited exposure and information of the ministry, and limited connections to the people leading the effort (my wife and her friend).  

The participants in the experience did some quick research online, made a few calls, and explored some possibilities. 

What resulted was an out of the box opportunity for a new project.  It provided opportunities for people serve others by giving, by doing, by interacting.  It provided opportunities for families, individuals, and small groups.  It provided opportunities for both long term and one shot volunteer experiences.  It still needs some work – but the presentation sparked a potentially great outreach for the church to meet needs in its community.

Sometimes our own perceived “brightness” or expertise in an area washes out the color and richness of new ideas.  We fail to engage someone from the outside for new colorful thoughts.  We quickly discount others who don’t know anything about what we are trying to do or don’t know anything about a product, service, or task.  And we end up doing something similar – the same way – with a strangely identical result.  Just like an overexposed photo we became too bright to see the richness of new colors.

Need an idea?  Be bold and ask someone from different area or expertise for their thoughts - or task an unrelated team for a solution.  You just might find inspiration when it all comes into view.

Questions for Success

I was recently driving back from a meeting in another state.  This was my first trip driving this route.   I knew what highway number I was looking for (I thought) and approximately where it was.  I was thinking about the things I had to get done when I got back to the office in the afternoon when it dawned on me that things did not look familiar compared with the drive down earlier in the week.

I pulled off and turned on the GPS function on my phone.  WOW.  Somehow I had overshot the transition exit by a half hour.

After looking at my directions and revisiting the drive in my mind, I realized I had made three mistakes.  First, I was looking for an exit not a transitional merge.  Second, I was looking for the wrong highway number. Third, I was distracted by other traffic and scenery and stayed on the wrong side of the split.  The end result was a mistake that added over an hour to the trip.

In a world of constant change it is important for leaders to know where they are going and what the signs are for success.

• Do you have the right expectations looking ahead?
• Are you looking for the right markers for success?
• Are you paying enough attention to the present?
• Are you engaging others for their observations and feedback?

If we can answer these questions positively as we make important (and some less important) decisions, we can reduce the risk of making a costly error.

King Solomon had similar advice for success - “My son, do not lose sight of these—keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.”  (Proverb 3:21-24)

Love Questions

We all want our teams to succeed.  We think we are giving them what they need to succeed. We share our knowledge thinking our experiences should be absorbed as the way to success.  We smile as we think to ourselves – “I gave them everything the need.”  

But then the first question comes…the second question comes…the third question follows.  You have two ways to respond:  “Don’t think about it – just do what I told you” or “Let’s talk about it – what part are you wrestling with or want to learn more”.

Do questions indicate you failed?

Absolutely not!  You have sparked critical thinking.  The information is challenging a prior perspective or prior knowledge.  There is engagement with the material you shared and it is being processed. There is desire to be successful and apply new knowledge.

The Gallup organization studies employee engagement.  Their recent work has shown that less than 30% of the workforce is engaged in the workplace and more than 70% is either not engaged or actively disengaged and acting out their disengagement.

I would venture to guess that our most engaged team members are the ones that ask questions, desire clarifications, and share their thoughts – they feel a deep connection to their work and are passionate about what they do.  They are striving to be successful and are providing you with a great opportunity.  You get to deepen your beliefs and water the ground that will grow critical thinkers to strengthen your organization.

Welcome, embrace, and celebrate questions – someone is listening.