What’s Right In Front of You?

Appreciating What Really Matters Most

Have you ever overlooked what you were looking for?

It seems that just about everything in the fridge eludes me … that and a drawer that has been freshly reorganized. My wife knows exactly where everything is, but my eyes can’t see what’s right in front me! I can tell you where my tools are, business files, etc., but I can’t find the spicy mustard or special spatula! Some might guess I do this to flirt with my wife. You know – the adult way of chasing who you like around on the playground. But I must admit – I struggle to see what’s right in front of me!

We are all searching for something and many times we can’t see what’s right in front of us. We keep looking in all the wrong places for fulfillment, satisfaction, and success … only to wake up and realize everything we have does not provide us everything we actually want.

A few years ago, I attended a Golf Fellowship event in NWA. The facilitator, Terry, was a brilliant leader and good man. A young 28-year-old shared his dream of becoming a CEO of a Fortune 500 one day. Terry looked at him and didn’t poke fun at the dream. He looked at the young recently married man and soon to be father and said something like, “you might not want to make the sacrifice of such a leadership role.”

Over the years, I’ve seen many leaders chase the title and realize years later the sacrifice wasn’t worth it. They were looking for something but overlooked what they had. (Side note: We also work with many C-suite leaders and executives who find healthy rhythms to love life at work and love life at home … they put the work in, but they also know how to keep priorities aligned with purpose and values).

It seems like it was a decade ago when we were setting up for one of our first Christmas Eve Services for our former church, Thrive Christian Church. It was one of those nights where we were trying to determine if we should still hold services or call it off due to “inclement weather”. You know – snow and ice in Northwest Arkansas … the land where milk and bread will fly off the shelves when the temp drops below 29 degrees.

Back to the point of the story. We were setting up for service and it was absolutely freezing out. After church we were going to head to St. Louis to keep up the family tradition of Christmas, which was exhausting. At some point in the night, I misplaced my wallet and realized it when we all got in the car. We looked for who knows how long and decided we (my wife) could survive without my wallet for a few days.

Sometimes we can’t find what we are looking for and what we are looking for is right in front of us. During this holiday season, we hope you can see what you have and if you don’t have what you want – that you can make the shifts to find it. However, make sure you are looking for what brings actual fulfillment, so you don’t have to keep looking.

This morning, I woke up before the alarm and was energized for the day. The light was shining on my wife (of almost 22 years) through the windows and above her, a picture from one of our anniversaries. When I walked out to the living room my 12-year-old was on the couch where I left him last night. We both fell asleep watching the classic Christmas movie, “Spirited” (yes, watch it and have a good afternoon). This morning was an incredible reminder about “what’s most important” in the first 10 minutes prior to my French press coffee.

Last week two of our good friends lost their parents. I was able to attend the funeral. After the service concluded, I had an urge to call my parents. I don’t typically call them every Saturday … but it just felt right. Again, sometimes we spend so much time looking and striving that we miss what and who is right in front us.

The Christmas Eve Service at Thrive that year was incredibly life-giving and energizing. I miss those amazing people. However, the rest of the week there was a constant nagging while I searched for and thought about where my wallet was.

A few days later we started preparing for Sunday and I picked up the rug to let it dry. There was my wallet: lonely, safe, and soaking wet.

We looked frantically for that wallet on Christmas Eve and walked on it countless times. Yet the truth of the matter was that I constantly overlooked what was right in front of me the entire time.

I hope my experience helps spark a thought of appreciation for your family and maybe a thought of making sure you don’t overlook your family while looking ahead to dominating Q1 in 2025.

I haven’t always managed my priorities well … not even close. This blog/article isn’t about how to get back in rhythm – that’s next week. This post is about taking a moment to find a spark of appreciation and gratitude for your family. Let’s not overlook what’s right in front of us this year.

Let’s love life @ home and love life @ work.

P.S. – Give yourself and/or your team a Christmas present to help them keep their priorities in line and be truly successful at work.

• Register for the Insight Executive Leadership Academy

• Register for Distilled, A unique bourbon experience for leaders to focus on aligning purpose with daily leadership.

Wash or Recline

The Power of Small Choices

The small choices we make over time define the lives we live at work and at home. Sometimes the simplest of choices are the ones that make all the difference. Popular TV shows would often show a dad getting home from work, sitting on a recliner, and drinking a beer while watching the game of the night. This concept is obviously not isolated to TV land.

Years ago, I would arrive home both emotionally and physically exhausted … meaning my words were used up and I needed to recharge. I often found myself on the recliner, watching a game, and sipping a beverage while trying to decompress. Meanwhile, my wife was making the world work and taking care of our son. She also needed a recharge moment … and, when I checked out, I was not helpful!

The rhythm I had created was not a positive one for my family. I was not contributing at home. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but there was a disconnect between who I was becoming and the family man I wanted to be. A shift needed to happen.

I needed to consider if I was going to wash or recline.

One day, when I arrived home from work, I mustered all my energy and started washing dishes in the kitchen. Yes, obviously, the heavens opened, singing began and I was hailed a hero. But, who needs accolades…

But seriously, I needed to do something to contribute, something that required very little thought, and the constant noise of the sink helped me zone out all the other noise. To this day – when I’m exhausted, you will find me washing the dishes.

The small choice to wash dishes made a tremendous impact on my marriage and the example I set for my kids, now four in all.

Each choice we make leads to an outcome. If we have some strategic foresight, we can discern if our choices are leading us to where we want to go.

For example: If you have a team member consistently struggling and underperforming, you must ask yourself the question, “What am I doing to contribute to the issue?” The same decisions over time will lead to worse outcomes. So, you must make new decisions on how to lead your teams.

If you find yourself struggling to love life at work and love life at home, then what will be different in 2025? What decisions will you make that lead to making a big difference over time? Will you do the norm and settle for what is comfortable, or will you do something different to gain an edge?

We have been in in the people development business for quite a number of years and one thing we know … leaders don’t change habits easily. Gaining an “edge” does not happen easily, especially the older we get!

Three keys to sustainable leadership growth are:

1. Purpose | Leaders need to know why they do what they do and what’s most important

2. Community | Leaders need to have a healthy community of peers so they don’t feel like they are leading and living on an island

3. Reciprocity | Leaders need to be giving to others and receiving from others

At Insight, we intentionally structure our leadership programs to include these three elements while we develop communication, leadership skills, management abilities, etc. Anyone can go to a conference and get pumped up. Anyone can sit through a speaker series once a month and hear great ideas. Anyone can go to those events and continue to lead the same way with new buzz words. If you are trying to take the next step in 2025 … and your investment does not include these three elements (above) … we encourage you to look elsewhere.

What will make 2025 different for you? What will be your “washing dishes” moment for leadership development? The choices we make have a direct implication on the outcomes we experience.

Here are four leadership development options proven to help leaders establish healthier rhythms and take the next step in their leadership journey

1. Executive Coaching | One-on-one support for 8-12 months

2. Insight Executive Leadership Academy & Mastermind Group | Gain tools, training, executive coaching, and access to dialogue with guest speakers:

   • Curtis Barnett, CEO & President Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield

   • Mary Doderer, CEO & President Arkansas Children’s

   • Marlene Creighton, CSO, KraftHeinz

   • Marshall Saviers, CEO & Principal Cushman & Wakefield/Sage Partners

3. Manage as Coach Cohort | Training that provides managers the tools and mindset to manage as a coach

4. Distilled | A unique leadership experience for senior level leaders to help them focus on rest and purpose

Leaders – Move into 2025 with a clear purpose, clear goals, practical tools and an excellent community to help you “win” the year at work and at home.

Shoot me a note (michael@insightlg.com) to discern which route is best for you and which route is best for the leaders on your team. Or, just to say hi!

Cheers,

Michael Brown and the Insight Team

Riding in the Dark

When Quick Decisions Create Exhausting Results

We were out for an unplanned bike ride during the late afternoon, and, since we were feeling fit, we kept going into the early evening. There was one big challenge though … something we couldn’t control … the sunset!!

We were a few miles from the car, and it was pitch black. We were riding with the light of an iPhone in one hand and handlebar in the other, which was probably worse than simply trying to ride through the dark. Let me tell you – riding from the light of a dying iPhone is not relaxing nor is it recommended. What started out as a great idea, turned into an exhausting experience.

My guess is that you have been in a similar situation. The path ahead is slowly growing darker and you’re fighting for light, trying to see where you are going. For example, the start of the project is smooth, but the farther you get into it the more you realize you should have thought through the plan a bit more thoroughly.

I think this is a picture of leadership for many of us. We get into situations because we find ourselves learning on the fly. The entrepreneur motto is something like, we “build the plane while flying”, we “run with scissors”, we “live in controlled chaos”.

If this is confession time, I’ve said all of those things many times. There is an adrenaline rush to figuring things out on the fly, to riding in the dark, and to making things work under pressure. There’s also a cost. I’m reading a book right now called, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”. There’s something healthy about finding a rhythm to living without a constant rush. The cost of riding in the dark is living and working without adequate rest and peace.

We know there are times to “build the plane while flying”, but maybe that’s not wise for the everyday mission of “loving life at work and loving life at home.”

A few weeks ago, I purchased my first bike light and tail light for riding in the dark. It’s amazing how planning ahead and purchasing the right tools can help us enjoy accomplishing our goals.

If you feel like you have been riding in the dark too often during 2024 and want 2025 to be a year with more health and effectiveness, then you need to invest in the right tools. If you continue down the same path you will most likely accomplish the same results. So what will change?

At Insight, we have three open enrollment programs for leaders in 2025 in addition to executive coaching options for your personal and organizational leadership development:

1. Insight Executive Leadership Academy – 4 facilitated sessions, 4 coaching sessions, Insight 360, SDI 2.0 and more practical tools to prevent you from trying to navigate a fast-paced path in the dark with an iPhone.

2. Manage as Coach Virtual Cohort – 4 live virtual sessions, and a personalized Leadership Development Plan coaching session to help managers gain the necessary tools to own their role and thrive as a manager.

3. Distilled – a 2.5-day executive leadership experience in Louisville, KY, to help leaders rest and align what’s most important in their life with the way they lead through life.

4. Executive Coaching – Invest in personalized coaching to help you lead through 2025 successfully.

Prepare to be Thankful

Take the Insight Pre-Thanksgiving Gratitude Challenge!

Next week is a unique time when families gather, attempt to make a turkey tasty, and watch the Dallas Cowboys try hard. During election season there’s always an added element of tension in many families who don’t all vote the same way.

I guess there’s always something to be frustrated with. There’s always something to complain about. There’s always something to be afraid of. There’s always a reason or two to live in anxiety and fear instead of thankfulness and peace.

However, I want to encourage you and challenge you to practice gratitude for a little over a week before Thanksgiving. Join the Insight Gratitude Challenge.

Gratitude is a practice and choice. It doesn’t always come naturally. Let me provide you some things to complain about:

• Finances are tight.

• Team didn’t perform and bonuses aren’t coming.

• Adult kids are struggling to hold down a job and might be staying over for more than a week.

• You were looked over for a job you want and believe you deserve.

• Kids are getting bullied at school.

• The candidate of your choice lost an election.

• You feel sick and doctors can’t figure out why.

• This year is one more reminder that you aren’t pursuing your dreams right now.

• _______________________

• _______________________

• _______________________

There is always something to complain about. My personal list is much longer. Here’s what I know … our complaints add fuel to our fears and our fears rob us of loving life at work and loving life at home.

So, am I saying that practicing gratitude can help you turn the corner? Absolutely. Your family member who voted for the “wrong” candidate might still be an okay person. The boss who overlooked you for a role, might be willing to discuss your future with you … or that might be a sign that it’s time to look for a role in a new organization. When things don’t go our way, there might be an opportunity presenting itself rather than getting stuck in a hole we can’t dig out of.

Our team has been coaching leaders for many years and I can tell you that the leaders who can find something to be thankful for are more resilient, more effective, and have healthier relationships. Grateful leaders find niche opportunities that angry and fearful leaders miss.

Check out these stats from Penn State health.

• 70% of employees would feel better about themselves if their boss were more grateful, and 81% would work harder.

• Employees who experience more gratitude at work report fewer depressive symptoms and stress.

• 95% of employees agree that a grateful boss is more likely to be successful.

• Regular gratitude journaling has been shown to result in 5% to 15% increases in optimism and 25% increased sleep quality.

• Lack of gratitude is a major factor in driving job dissatisfaction, turnover, absenteeism, and burnout.

• 53% of employees would stay at their company longer if they felt more appreciation from their boss.

• Gratitude reduces toxic aggression, frustration, and regret even after receiving negative feedback.

• In a study of 800 descriptive trait words, “grateful” was rated in the top 4% in terms of likeability.

• Over 90% of American teens and adults indicated that expressing gratitude made them “extremely happy” or “somewhat happy”.

• A five-minute daily gratitude journal can increase long-term well-being by 10%.

Take the Insight Pre-Thanksgiving Gratitude Challenge: Practice Gratitude Between Now and Thanksgiving

Challenge 1: Share Appreciation

According to researchers, sharing gratitude is one of the few things that can literally change our lives for the better. You are in direct control of your ability to share appreciation for others even if they don’t share appreciation to you.

• Share appreciation to your spouse

• Share appreciation to your children

• Share appreciation to a server or steward on a plane

• Share appreciation to a boss

• Share appreciation to team member

This can look like a card, a compliment, or a word of encouragement. Look at what someone did well and let them know you noticed.

A few months ago, I saw an employee on a flight handle conflict with another airline employee like a pro. The employee was out of line and our flight attendant handled herself with class even though she was flustered.

After the incident, I let her know how well she handled herself and the situation and that she should be proud of herself. A few others spoke up and started to celebrate the Relationship Intelligence of our flight attendant. She started to tear up and said thank you.

Challenge: Share appreciation without asking or expecting anything in return.

Challenge 2: Morning Meditation

Every morning before you get out of bed think about what you are thankful for instead of what you are dreading. Think about the type of day you want to have and type of leader, spouse, parent, you want to be.

A habit I’m going to relaunch this week is mediating on Matthew 22:34. In the passage, the religious leaders are asking Jesus about what’s most important and Jesus says, “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The religious leaders agreed, but then Jesus gave a challenge they didn’t like. “This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’.”

So, personally, I recite this as a prayer of thankfulness and think about what my day will look like when I show love (appreciation, gratefulness, compassion) to everyone in my sphere of influence today.

When I wake up after this 2-4 minute exercise, I help the kids get ready with a bit more kindness than normal

Challenge 3: Look Back

Next week, I’m going to prep a turkey, fire up the smoker and attempt to cook a turkey that we will always remember (in a good way). All I can do is research, follow the process and pray it works out. Peace and anxiousness will coexist.

I think that’s a snapshot of what it’s like pursuing a dream, a goal, a purpose. We can prepare, follow the process, take action, and then … hope for the result. It’s like smoking meat though – there are so many elements out of my control: the temperature outside, the moisture level of the wood, and the chance of rain. I can look at those elements out of my control with a negative filter or a positive filter: the temperature, the perfectly seasoned wood, a beautiful fall day. It is those elements out of our control that are sometimes the art of what makes everything work, whether preparing a meal or pursuing a dream.

My guess is there is something in your world right now you are processing personally or professionally that causes you to feel a multitude of diverse emotions, depending on what time of day it is.

That’s why it’s important to look back and not just forward.

Ten years ago, I traveled to our nation’s capital to do a consult with Core Strengths and their certification process. That was a pivotal week that has shaped the approach and depth of work we do at Insight. Now, as a Master Facilitator, with over a decade of experience, Insight has assessed, trained and worked with thousands of leaders in incredible organizations led by amazing leaders. Eleven years ago, all I knew is that I wanted to help leaders love life at work and love life at home. I wanted to help leaders dominate at work in a way that helped everyone in their sphere of influence live and lead better lives. Learning about the SDI 2.0 Inventory has helped propel that dream forward.

I can promise you there have been emotions of gratitude and fear since we started. There is anxiousness and peace … waiting for contracts to sign, waiting for invoices to come in, wondering if this is the right decision. My wife, Meg, has always been a constant support and encouragement.

Now, I have the fortune to work with amazing, qualified leaders helping drive the mission forward: Ryan Morrison, Deena Faseler, Judy Lohmar, Paige Williams, and a new leader helping in the background right now, John Hard.

We strive together to help leaders love life at work and love life at home.

Last week it went full circle for me.

I had the opportunity to travel back to DC.. for the first time to work with a new client. The Carlos Rosario Public Charter School. This is charter school for adult immigrants. The managers and leaders have roots from all around the world. The cafeteria had fried plantains and pupusas. The leaders of this school, work diligently to help adults prepare to pursue a dream and take the next step in their lives. It was such an honor and joy to work and now play a small role in this organizations culture and development.

Looking back with gratitude gives me the courage to look forward with hope and gratefulness.

Challenge: Look back and view what has prepared you for where you are going. There is always something to complain about, but practice focusing on how to be grateful.

Let’s not let fear, anxiousness, and what we have no control over, rob us having the courage to slow down enough to be grateful before we move forward.

Remember, not every turkey turns out well at Thanksgiving. That just means you assess, research and try again. But at least you have a meal to share with friends or family. When you can look back with gratitude and look forward with peace, I think you are on track to love life at work and love life at home.

Here’s the Insight Pre-Thanksgiving Gratitude Challenge:

1. Share Appreciation

2. Morning Meditation

3. Look Back

Share the post or leave a comment if you are joining the challenge.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving next week!

Are You Really a Micromanager?

Getting Real About Micromanaging and Being Micromanaged

Are you a micromanager or being micromanaged? Let’s find out! 

During an election season there are two things I think we can all agree on.  

1. No one likes to be micromanaged.

2. Leaders who “micromanage” are exhausted and exhausting.

Do we agree?! 

Here’s where some might disagree. 

96.3% of employees who accuse a manager of micromanaging are overwhelmingly underperforming team members. 

There are a few instances during the past 15 years in this industry that I’ve seen leaders try to micromanage highly capable leaders. The vast majority of those examples are team members complaining because they don’t appreciate accountability and lack taking ownership. Team members perceive feedback and direction as micromanaging even when performance metrics and poor attitudes persist. 

Here are three examples to consider:

• Example 1) Recently a new leader was hired to take over a team that had been leaderless for over a year. The perception was that this team was doing fine, but the new leader quickly realized the gap between what was reported and what was actual. The new team started hurling the career crippling word to HR: “Our new boss is micromanaging us!”

• Example 2) The executive leader was reported to HR for being controlling and micromanaging. The other six teams under this leader provide positive feedback, but for some reason this one team was frustrated. Development sessions, listening meetings, coaching, etc., all led to more complaints. Meanwhile the team performance was abysmal. 

• Example 3) The executive leader promoted his former team and hired new leadership team members. The team dynamics changed, but the leader did not change the way he interacted. Very quickly the team started to feel like they were not empowered and were being micromanaged. The executive had to learn not to provide input too early because the input was heard as orders instead of ideas.

If you have led well for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve been accused of micromanaging. If you have had a season where your performance didn’t measure up, I’m sure you accused your manager of micromanaging you (if you’re being honest, right?).

So, what do we do about this?

If you think you are being micromanaged …

If you answer, “yes,” to 2 out of 3 questions (below) you are most likely NOT being micromanaged … 

1. Is there a gap between performance and clarified expectations? I’m not talking about your attitude or character here. I’m simply asking you to look at the data. 

2. Do you point the finger at others when results don’t hit the target? 

3. Do you complain about your team, clients and role more than you encourage and celebrate others? 

If the answer is “yes”, then there is a clear reason your manager is leaning in more than you appreciate. They are either trying to make sure you hit the mark, or they are trying to develop and support you. I’m not saying your managers approach is spot on, I’m just saying that you need to be aware that your performance needs to improve. The only way your performance improves is if you learn to lead and execute more effectively than you have been.

For example:

• You are in sales and you have not hit your targets the past 3 months. Your effort is great, but the manager might be trying to help you grow so you can hit your targets.

• You are a project manager and projects are not even close to being on time or on budget, so you are blaming everyone else for not scoping the project correctly and not managing change requests well. But, at the end of day, it’s your responsibility. Your manager might be trying to help you lead through influence to help you achieve the goal.

To make sure this stays fair. 

Are you a micromanager? (Take an introspective look and be honest!!) 

1. Do you provide too much instruction to team members who are achieving and accomplishing their goals? 

2. Do you have to approve every outgoing message from a team member who hasn’t had a complaint in the past 6-8 months? 

3. Do you get frustrated if a team member attempts to accomplish their work in a way that you typically wouldn’t and you end up discussing your frustration with them? 

If you answer “yes” to 2 out of 3 of these questions, then you might be a micromanager! Just own it! As the trains in the UK say, “See it. Say it. Sorted.”

Here’s the deal. No one wants to be micromanaged and no one wants to be a micromanager. 

If you are being micromanaged because you aren’t performing – let’s up your game. If you are micromanaging someone who is hitting it out of the park – slow your roll and improve your openness to learn. If you are trying to develop a team member who is not hitting the mark – let’s try to develop them more effectively. 

How do you do that? 

From a high-level perspective, we (at Insight) think about managing as a coach. Step 1 to this process is providing clear expectations and knowing your team. Know their personality and strengths.

Then we look at two questions you can see on the images below.

Don’t just use this rubric by yourself if you are a manager. Show it to your team member(s) to discuss where you see them on the chart for this next project or task. Have a conversation and get on the same page. 

We know these conversations can be discomforting … kind of like talking politics at the Thanksgiving table. After you drop the question, you aren’t sure where the relationship will be by dessert. That’s no way to love life at work and love life at home. 

Set up three coaching sessions to navigate how to have these conversations with your team. We will dive deep into your scenario and context to help you think through what’s happening and how to navigate it like a pro coach. 

We don’t promise a smooth political conversation! But we do have a high success rate in helping managers build healthier relationships with their team members while navigating the shift from micromanagement to team member development. 

Shoot michael@insightlg.com a note to set up coaching with one of the Insight Coaches and let’s close out 2024 strong so we can move past the micromanaging life in 2025. 

Set a time to talk through coaching today.

Cheers,

Michael Brown

The Best Laid Plans …

The Joy of Priorities Driving Plans

The trip was laid out. Restaurants were researched and selected. Experiences were reserved. Everything was on a spreadsheet. We were ready to roll.

Two weeks ago, my wife and I along with another couple went on an epic one-week adventure to London, Edinburgh (no matter how you say it – someone will correct you!) and a village outside of Inverness. The “Green” in the group is a former engineer who laid everything we planned on the spreadsheet.

 This was our first “spreadsheet” vacation. I’ll tell you what, the planning allowed us to enjoy the trip without thinking through random details that can erode your time spent. You know what I’m talking about: the infamous 2-hour questions about where we are going to eat … then not eating until we are hangry. 

 What’s interesting is how the detailed planning allowed for awesome spontaneity.  However, even with detailed plans, plans can fall apart. We had an epic e-bike ride planned to a village 5 miles away. Seemed easy enough … but the area is called “the highlands” for a reason.

Just for your information … when you select “bike path” on Google maps in Scotland, you might end up on a sketchy mountain bike path through fields and forests. The plan was for a smooth country path to the restaurant by the sea not the latter … and some people weren’t too excited about it! Some plans don’t account for every detail. 

 We finally arrived at the restaurant with gluten free fish and chips and it was closed. Google Maps said it was open, but the locals say they close and open whenever they want. Even the best plans can quickly fall apart.

We were on the verge of the hangry phase and the only other restaurant in the town was a block away. The meal at IV10 was one of the greatest lunches we’ve ever experienced. It was amazing food and customer service from a family run business. No amount of planning could have prepared us for that meal, but, without the planning, we would have never ridden bikes there.

Great priority driven planning allows for spontaneous decisions to make plans better. Poor planning fosters chaos.   

 For some reason we see two extremes in business. 

• We see detailed plans and positive disruptions leading to great experiences and top performance.

• We see poor planning and leaders wasting time and resources trying to move the needle forward with the team.

Do a quick gut check:

Which camp do you tend to live in more often? _________________

Which camp would your team say you live in? ____________________

 Every business, project, and leader might plan differently. However, every leader needs a process for planning the short term and the long term. Without a solid plan how you can make strategic decisions based on top priorities that drive the business forward? 

 Here are a few questions? 

• Can you quickly share what your top priorities are?

• Does your calendar and time spent reflect your top priorities? 

• Does your team know what’s most important and are they aligned? 

 If the answers aren’t as easy as they should be – it might be time to consider coaching to help you get you and your team ready to roll through 2024 and start 2025 ready to dominate. 

 Remember – when you plan, something will go wrong. Don’t be scared. Follow the priorities and keep driving to accomplish the goal. Who knows – you might end up with something better than you planned. 

Which Voice Wins?

Navigating Towards Better Choices Despite the Noise

Which voice wins?

Example 1: Passionate Defense

We were all sitting around the board room table engaged in discussing the priorities of the organization and if the executive director was on track with the KPIs. We started looking at the data and asking questions because what we had been briefed on did not match what we were reading.

The conversation was calm and supportive, but then one leader began to speak with passion for the mission while frustrated that we did not track performance in the same way she did.

Suddenly, the table was filled with “noise” … subtle jabs … subtle threats … reminders of progress.

Then it happened. Everyone backed down despite the KPIs not being fulfilled.

Have you been at that table … working towards a healthy team striving for success and then defensiveness because of passion takes precedence over ownership and vision?

Example 2: Stressful “Crisis”

The client called on Friday morning frantically asking for deliverables. The lead was overcome by the stress of the client and started saying, “yes, we can take care of that by EOD.” The lead was nervous while the client was stressed. Now the budget was blown on deliverables that were not planned for, contracted, and/or actually needed. In addition to the budget, the team had to work until midnight to deliver the promise by EOD Friday.

You can imagine the “camaraderie” the team had knowing they were working on a project that was generated out of stress and accepted out of reckless accommodation. They completed the project and didn’t hear back from the stressed-out client for two weeks …

Have you been there? So taken over by someone else’s stress that you overlook the irrationality of a request? Instead of being a trusted advisor you let the “noise” wreck the start of a weekend for your team?

Example 3: Angry and Loud

The leader walked in after a long morning of nothing going right. They were out of milk at home, so he couldn’t have his favorite cereal! He got in the car and realized the gas tank was on “E”. The first phone call was a project update that wasn’t positive. You get the picture, “nothing was going right.”

Then, everyone convenes for the team meeting. Sarah is talking about kids’ sports, Bill is updating everyone on fantasy football and Jill is passing out homemade cookies. The leader is fed up at this point and lights everyone up. He takes charge of the meeting, dominates the conversation and pushes bad ideas forward.

The team just sits and listens afraid to speak up even though they know bad decisions are being made and their week of work is going down the drain.

Everyone is trying to help, but not everyone is helpful in the moment.

What situation are you in?

Organizational | Is the problem in your situation organizational? Do you work in a culture where loud voices and passion drive decisions rather than logic and reason?

• If this is the issue it’s time to hit reset on your meeting and decision-making culture. Define how you want it to work and roll it out to the team effectively. Need help? Bring in the Insight team and we will help you get to where you need to go.

Peer | Is the problem in your situation personnel? Do you work with a peer who continually speaks up, influences direction and is usually wrong?

• Prepare to speak up with questions and/or options and work towards finding a solution that works without accommodating to the loudest voice. If you speak up, others around the table might begin to offer input as well.

• Sometimes the loudest voice is just trying to solve the problem, and they can get behind a better solution. (key word – sometimes)

Manager | Is the problem more challenging? Do you work for a leader who makes it very difficult to speak up?

• During one-on-one meetings attempt to bring new ideas or solutions to the table and be prepared to answer direct questions. Let the leader know it is challenging to speak up in meetings and ask for advice on how to most effectively speak and offer different ideas.

Sometimes we need to learn to speak up.

Sometimes we need to learn to challenge.

Sometimes we need to lead through and change the culture.

Sometimes we need to lean into the direction we know is right.

Sometimes we need to simply do our jobs.

It’s amazing what can happen when we tune out the wrong noise and tune into the right voices. It’s amazing what can happen when we learn to address the challenge, continue to bring value and not let the “noise” drown out rational wisdom.

What’s That Noise?

Discerning the “Noise” from the Necessary

Noise.

What and who are you listening to?

On a daily basis it’s amazing how much “noise” we can pay attention to. This week’s article is about the “noise” you listen to on a personal level, and the next article will be about the noise you listen to from an organizational perspective.

The noise we listen to can have a dramatic impact upon …

Ourselves …

Our relationships …

Our results …

Our productivity …

Our impact …

Our health.

The question is … what “noise” are you listening to?

• Do you allow the constant news cycle to fester anxiety and fear about the future?

• Do you allow the distance you feel between you and another leader to cause feelings of insecurity about your standing?

• Do you allow the feedback you received to cause feelings of anger or fear about your role?

• Do you allow the competitor analysis to cause you to feel like you should just give up?

At Insight Leadership Group, we are rooted in helping you love life at work and love life at home. We truly believe that if we can help you love life while succeeding at work, that families and communities can transform. Are we optimists? You better believe it. We also see it.

When a mother and father are successful at work relationally, while also accomplishing great results, they are more engaged at home with their kids. Kids can enjoy throwing the ball in the yard, they can feel safe to ask questions, they can screw up, and still continue to dream. As a result, kids are kinder to classmates, focus more in school, and grow up being healthier humans.

So, when I ask about what “noise” you are listening to, it is a deeply important question because your answer has a direct correlation to your emotional, relational, physical and spiritual health.

I used to love watching crime shows … until I had kids and moved to a somewhat secluded house in the woods. Every noise was a potential bad guy. It’s amazing how much better I sleep when I don’t watch a gut wrenching detective show before bed. This isn’t a crazy concept. This is true for every area of our lives.

Take a moment to consider the “noise” you listen to along with the impact it has on your life.

• Are you taking marriage advice and insight from someone who’s marriage is healthy?

• Are you taking parental notes from someone who’s kids have turned out to be good humans?

• Are you taking business advice from someone who has climbed the ranks and encourages you?

• Are you taking financial advice from someone who is on the track you want to be on?

Who are you allowing to speak into your life and what is the result of the “noise” you are inviting in?

Action Step:

If you want to love life at work and love life at home, then take an account of the “noise” you are inviting into your life and the impact it is having on your life. Then – adjust the volume knob accordingly. Maybe even change the station.

The Power of “Yes”

Aligning What’s Most Important with How You Spend Your Time

One of my favorite authors is Bob Goff. He leaves me thinking deeply and laughing a little. He wrote in one of his books, “just say yes…” (side note: It’s really challenging to even type that sentence!)

In order, here are three things to which my 15-year-old son Elliott said “yes!”

Square Dancing. Football. ECNL Soccer.

The summer started okay but was filled with square dance lessons two to three times a week. Yes, a girl he liked invited him to be her dance partner. Then the high school football team recruited Elliott to kick and they practice 5 days a week. Then ENCL soccer recruited Elliott to play and that’s a whole new commitment level.

This past weekend we had all new experiences.

Our 15-year-old Elliott:

• Played his first football game. (He’s the field goal specialist).

• Competed in his first square dance competition at the Prairie Grove Clothesline Festival. (Yes, it was a girl who made that happen.) It’s the world’s largest square dance competition.

• Competed in his first ECNL soccer match in Dallas.

The Browns had a full weekend. We did find time to mow the lawn and fire up the grill, but we also slept quite well.

Two weeks ago, I would have said, “We don’t have time …”

It’s amazing how we find time for what’s important. It’s amazing how we have the opportunity for new experiences when we have margin already built into our lives, so we have space to say yes to new opportunities.

Maybe you are starting to see the transition. Many leaders are running on thin margins, little sleep and can’t find time for what’s important or for new opportunities that arise.

When we think about the health of a leader there are many questions to ask. Here are 3 to ponder this morning. We look at who we are, how we are, and what we do.

1. Who we are – meaning our unique purpose, values, and philosophy of leadership aligned with our life.

2. How we are – meaning our emotional, relational, spiritual and physical health.

3. What we do – meaning our ability to communicate, execute, and think strategically.

We believe that if we know who we are and how we are … then, what we do will be at a higher and more effective level.

Ryan was putting some thought into this the other week, and we found some convergences that make sense.

For example –

If we have a healthy sense of purpose along with values that drive our leadership there’s a good chance we are rested and not burned out.

It’s amazing how much we can accomplish when what’s most important to us aligns with how we spend our time.

Sometimes how we spend our time doesn’t align with what’s most important to us, but it’s also important to finish what we start. Elliott does not dream of another square dance competition, but he finished what he started. Now, he’s looking forward to putting the cowboy boots away and finding some margin in the schedule.

My guess is someone reading this is rested, engaged and feeling fulfilled. If so – what’s most important might be aligned with how you spend your time at work and at home.

My guess is someone reading this is on the verge of burn out … you try to stay focused, but it’s a struggle. You have no margin and the idea of having purpose driving your work is very disconnected from your current view of reality.

What can you do?

1. Take up square dancing for a month … or …

2. Focus on the deep work of clarifying what’s most important and then make the tough decisions to align your life at work and at home.

Action Step: Make a list of what’s most important and see if that list is reflected on your calendar.

• List your job responsibilities.

• List your life at home responsibilities.

• List what you love to do at work and after work.

Sometimes, in order to start making strides forward, we simply have to start saying yes to what’s important and align our calendars accordingly.

Need help thinking this through? Set up a time to explore if coaching is the right fit for you to help you navigate this next season of life at work and life at home.

Dream On!!

How to Make an Impact that Leaves a Lasting Legacy

During grad school we spent quite a bit of time studying strategic communication … specifically, around articulating vision, strategy and crisis communication.

While I was pursuing my master’s, I had a boss who could not stand discussing strategy or vision. He said things would just work out if you do the right things. That leader did lots of right things, but when he left the organization, the organization crumpled. The leadership had no succession, no vision, and no culture that could stand without that leader in place.

There’s a passage in the book of Proverbs that basically says that without vision not much will work. The people will go their own way and not get to where they want to go.

While I agree with my former boss that doing the right things is vital to organizational health, I also see that a clearly articulated vision provides the direction and reason for everyone to do the right things together.

We’ve seen the pendulum swing the other way as well. My guess is that you’ve seen leaders with clear vision lead like jack wagons as they drive the organization to accomplish the vision without any consideration for anyone who has a question.

We need clear vision rooted in purpose that comes to life through daily leadership aligned with quality core values. That’s how we make a positive impact and leave a legacy worth remembering.

This is an interesting season of life for me. Insight Leadership Group has been my primary income for almost 12 years, and I love what we’ve done, and I love where we are going. Some of the clients we serve met my kids over 6 years ago. We are navigating seasons of life together. It’s quite special.

Today (Monday, August 19, 2024) my oldest son Titus started college classes and Meg, (we just celebrated 21 years) started her doctoral program classes today as well.

Many of you have kids starting school, graduating, getting married, and some of you are starting to prepare for life after retirement. You are considering the impact you are making, and the legacy you want to leave.

What I know is that if all we do is live a good life, we might miss out on living the life we want. Without clear vision we might live lives delivering great work, treating people well, supporting our families, but miss out on what life could look like. While we go through the motions without much to complain about, we feel like something is missing. Don’t ignore that feeling.

On your next flight, long drive or while you are smoking a brisket over the weekend, a valuable exercise would be to consider the legacy you want to leave … you know, the impact you want to make and how that impact will be remembered.

What’s the vision of the relationship you want with your kids?

• Set the goals and strategy.

• Invest the time into what they want to do with you.

• Invest the time into instilling the character you want for them not just keeping the peace during the time you are trying to wind down after work.

What’s the vision of the relationship you want with your spouse?

• Set the goals and strategy.

• Invest the time into speaking their love language.

• Invest the time into dating your spouse and making sure they know you honor them and prioritize them above career and money.

What’s the vision of the relationship you want with your friends?

• Set the goals and strategy.

• Invest the time into spending time hanging out and talking about real life and investing into their lives.

What’s the vision of the impact you want to make on your team?

• Set the goals and strategy.

• Invest the time getting to know them, their dreams, their goals, and then provide coaching and resources to help them get there.

What’s the vision of the impact you want to make on your organization or industry?

• Set the goals and strategy.

• Invest the time, the study, learn, network, collaborate.

Just doing good things won’t get you to where you want to go.

Pursuing the vision for what you want in life while doing the right things during the pursuit will give you a much better shot at leading with purpose, leading from your values, and making an impact to leave a legacy worth remembering.

Why did I write about this today? Because I’ve been wrestling with it. We’ve been doing good things and good things are happening. My son Titus has a vision, and he’s pursuing it. My wife Meg has a vision and, she’s pursuing it through her doctoral work and launching thebeholdcollective.com.

I could keep doing the same thing with Insight for another 20 years and make a meaningful impact. However, we see some gaps we want to address. Addressing those gaps requires vision, strategy and prioritization.

We are laser focused on helping leaders love life at work and love life at home. We know we can’t do that if you aren’t dominating and accomplishing your goals in those areas. We also see a need for a few more tools to help.

We see a gap in a meaningful 360 used to develop team members while building a healthy culture. We just launched our own Insight 360 last week. It’s in the 1.0 version. We are pumped.

We see a gap in leadership programs addressing competencies outside of relationships. We are dreaming about launching our own Executive Leadership Academy during the Spring of 2024. If you are intrigued, shoot me a note and let me know. (michael@insightlg.com)

What burden are you feeling? Address it.

What gap do you see that you are uniquely skilled and passionate about filling? Fill it.

What dream gets you pumped up and makes you nervous? Pursue it.

Don’t be afraid to dream. Don’t be too timid to discuss it. Lead with courage and conviction and let’s love life at work and love life at home. Why only be great at one area of life when you can be great in both?

Three Required Shifts to Move from Player to Coach

Learning the Joy and Challenge of Letting Go

Many of us spent the weekend becoming armchair experts on gymnastics, handball, shooting, shot put, and all the other sports we are obviously great at … we just chose to read emails like this rather than become Olympians. I think we chose well!

There was an incredible scene this weekend of an exchange between Noah Lyles (current fastest man in the world) and Usain Bolt (former fastest man in the world). Usain was encouraging Noah to be himself and continue to be a great personality for the sport. It was a great exchange because no one has brought more attention to sprinting since Mr. Bolt himself. Bolt could have worked to suppress the new up and comer or he could embrace and encourage. He could be frustrated it’s no longer him in the spotlight or celebrate the new sprinter in the spotlight.

There’s joy in embracing the move from player to coach. There’s also a tension many of us feel when we start to let go of what once made us great. Here are three shifts I think many of us have to work through to get there …

1) Recognize Your Capacity

Leaders – I’m not saying you are not capable but am I saying you are limiting your capacity to focus on what’s most important by not letting your team take on what you used to love to do.

Some have shared the perspective that Michael Jordan (when he joined the Washington Wizards) should have recognized his capacity when he became a player for his new team. Yes, he still performed well. Yes, he was able to dominate young players. But he wasn’t able to lead them to become a championship team on his shoulders. I wonder what could have happened if he would have chosen to embrace the owner/manager role versus trying to improve the team as a player.

Small business leaders and Fortune 100 leaders have a few things in common and one of those realities is that we struggle with letting go of the responsibilities that propelled us to where we are. The problem is we were responsible for those pillars without our current responsibilities in place. When we hold on, stay in the weeds and choose not to let go of responsibilities, we limit our organizations, team members and ourselves. Who knows – your team could have the next “gold” medal team member. Who knows – maybe you will learn to love and embrace leading at a new level when you stop holding on to areas of your work your team should be doing.

Ask yourself:

• What decisions did you make in the past two weeks that your team members should have made?

• What tasks did you complete in the past two weeks that your team members should have accomplished?

• How much time did you spend doing what others should be doing?

2) Understand Your Capability

Last week my brother-in-law texted and asked if I wanted to do 9 short sprints over a lunch hour. I thought … I have the time and could use a change up in the workout. How hard could 9 sprints really be?! When I arrived at his house, he said we were doing a warmup run to the school first. One and a half miles later, he was ready to sprint, and I was ready to find an Uber! I was never the fastest sprinter in track, but I held my own. Peter was a state champion and collegiate sprinter. Three sprints in I realized, it’s good for me to “sprint”, but I am no means a “sprinter” … anymore. Some might call it a fast jog.

Yes, you could code like no other in the past. Yes, you understand the nuances of project management better than most. Yes, you can operate a pivot table in ways 27 years old have never seen. However, the more you do those things for your team the more you limit yourself and your new team. Maybe they can bring in new technology and resources that amplify your business and decision making, but they can’t because they aren’t empowered to lead. The challenge is those team members might view you as they view me trying to sprint … with appreciation, but knowing that if given the chance, they could do better.

What I used to do well I can’t do as well as the next generation. We must remember that lesson as leaders. Just because we used to be great at something, maybe even the best at it, doesn’t mean we have to continue to be the leaders responsible for it.

Ask yourself:

• Are there some responsibilities or tasks you continue to do that a team member might be able to do more efficiently?

• Is there a skill you are still proficient at but your current responsibilities don’t require you to be great at?

• Who on your team can take on some of the tasks you need to let go of?

3) Embrace Your Responsibility

If a coach spends an entire practice trying to prove to the team they are better at the sport than the team they coach – will they be a great coach? The coach’s role has shifted from player to coach and the coach needs to embrace the new responsibility. If they don’t … well we’ve all heard stories of little league coaches who forget they are coaching 12-years-olds.

Great leaders have learned to embrace their new responsibilities without trying to manage and stay overly involved with their former responsibilities. The new role is to train, encourage, strategize, give feedback, and prepare team members to be successful. Great leaders set their team up to receive the gold medal and don’t try to get the gold medal themselves.

If there is one encouragement, I can give you this week it is this: Embrace your responsibility and delegate any responsibility that truly doesn’t belong on your plate.

Ask yourself:

• What do you continue to think about, process, stay involved in that you don’t need to anymore?

Start Coaching and Leave a Legacy Worth Remembering

Every leader has a responsibility to care for and grow what they steward. Meaning, we need to care for, support and grow the people making the organization work. That’s a shift in what makes you great. This is a shift in what the organization needs from you.

A leader said something wise the other day and it took me a minute to process. “Just because you are right, doesn’t mean you are right.” This took me a minute because quite frankly, I love being right. What the leader was saying is this … sometimes it’s okay if something isn’t perfect. Sometimes small mistakes have to be made so team members can grow and develop. When the leader is always “right”, the team member will stop making decisions and thus will stop growing.

Don’t make the mistake of always telling and reminding the team of your past glory. Coach the team member to greatness today because today it is their responsibility not yours. You have bigger areas of responsibility to focus on.

Ask yourself:

• What would your life and leadership look like if you focused solely on your responsibilities and not everyone else’s?

Insight Leadership Group offers tested and proven coaching and training to help leaders and managers successfully own and transition in their roles.

Reach out today to Michael (michael@insightlg.com) or Ryan (ryan@insightlg.com) to take the next step in developing yourself and/or your team.

The Often Overlooked Key to Team Dynamics

Learning the Art of Social Awareness

The Brown family has a special skill. We have the unique ability to turn any normal situation into an awkward moment and we strive to unleash this skill at the most opportune times. You can imagine that not everyone in the family has the same understanding of what is an opportune time and not everyone who is around us appreciates our special skill in the moment.

Alice our 7-year-old is trying to hone in on her skills. She understands and delivers sarcasm very well but doesn’t understand when and when not to deliver it. Meaning – she doesn’t know when she is way over the line.

The key to knowing the right amount of awkward rests in knowing how to read the room. The fancy term for this is, “social awareness”.

It’s about the ability to know how to engage relationally in a way that builds the relationship.

If there is one skill that can make or break a leader’s effectiveness it’s social awareness. I know that’s a big statement. Don’t get me a wrong, great team members have three things in common.

1. They build healthy relationships | RQ

2. They manage emotions and stay focused | EQ

3. They own and excel in areas of responsibility and keep developing | Competency

These three things can’t happen well without applying social awareness.

For example:

• The new 24.5-year-old MBA graduate begins to insert opinions based on grad school case studies and ego rather than business knowledge and expertise. They don’t understand why they aren’t up for promotion and their influence in team meetings is lacking.

• The team member who celebrates challenging every idea in every meeting to make the team better and they can’t understand why they are invited to less meetings.

• The manager diving into the weeds on every project and not empowering the team to follow-through. The manager doesn’t understand they are getting in the way.

• My daughter Alice not realizing her grandma is not enjoying the copying game and so she continues …

Just think about the last social blunder you experienced at work and let us know if you are putting that individual in the 9th box for succession planning.

When on the airplane, how many of you are thankful for the extra loud business call in the seat next to you while everyone is boarding.

This summer I’ve spent about 3 evenings a week on the Fayetteville Greenway bike riding. There is woman who is always on the trail riding an e-bike with a huge smile on her face as she presses the button to make the bike move. Normally it’s all good when we pass one another, but this week was another story.

This week she was smiling and riding in the wrong lane. I was flying around the corner at just under the posted speed limit at 14.999999 miles per hour and her smile quickly changed as I avoided a head-on collision and let her know kindly to stay in her lane. She lacked the awareness of where she was on the trail and almost made quite the painful mess.

Why is this important?

When we don’t have and don’t practice social awareness, we jeopardize our ability to lead, manage and drive for results.

When we don’t understand the impact our words and actions have on the people we lead and work with, we can negatively impact what happens organizationally.

When people believe the lines on the greenway are for artistic design and not traffic flow, people are negatively impacted.

When employees believe policies are for others and not them, budgets and results can be negatively impacted.

In the same way, when we don’t understand how to engage with team members, clients, and customers, the results can be negative.

So, how do you learn or practice social awareness?

1. Pay attention to what’s happening in your team members world and adjust accordingly. When someone is about to go on vacation, don’t load them with more stuff for when they return. Empty their plate so they can enjoy the trip.

2. Know your team and pay attention to what’s happening in their world and let the information impact how you approach them.

3. How often do you talk versus others?

4. How does your breath smell and do you need to take a step back?

We leverage the SDI 2.0 to help leaders learn ways of working with one another effectively, so they know how to practice RQ and EQ without losing the ever-important skill – social awareness.

Our Insight team provides executive coaching, facilitation and training to help leaders, teams and organizations navigate what’s going on and prepare for what will. Find time to chat!   

Three Keys to Leading Through Chaos

Making the Right Decisions While Maintaining Perspective

If you are reading this email, you have most likely driven through a crazy storm at least once. The kind of rainstorm that causes our phones to buzz nonstop with flash flood warnings. In those moments most of us do 3 things. 

1. Focus | We put both hands on the wheel and lean forward to hyper focus on how to control the anything we can control. The car. 

2. Vantage Point | We adjust our lights to give us the best vantage point of what is coming down the road or what obstacles might be in place.

3. Pace | We slow down to make sure we don’t slide off the road or cause an accident during the chaos. 

How come it’s easy for us to make the right decisions during chaos when we’re driving, but at work we often lose perspective? 

The Insight Team has a combined experience of around 100 years, and we’ve witnessed a lot of chaos. Many of the mistakes we see during “chaos” start to erode the culture, isolate team members, and make the problem worse. Those mistakes are not intentional … everyone is just trying to make things work, but during the pursuit to make things work we can make things worse.

Instead of focusing on the right priorities, leaders make a list of everything that needs work, and the team gets overwhelmed. It’s like when my wife makes a weekend list of projects. The list would say everything she wanted: kitchen renovation, paint house, mow the lawn, build shelves in the office, install a new ceiling fan, and power wash the porch. You get the point. All are good, but not all are happening during a weekend. All are good, but not all are the same level of priority. 

Instead of keeping a healthy vantage point leaders often start looking at what’s right in front of them and lose focus of the culture and values that root the organization. They lose sight of the long-term vision and make short term fixes that exhaust and demoralize the team. 

Instead of keeping a healthy pace leaders start sprinting. The problem is that the team is typically not in “sprint” shape. It’s like watching an out of shape 45-year-old former H.S. track star try to sprint a 400. About 33.4 yards in they wonder what they are doing on the track and how they got to their current fitness level. I’ll tell you what they aren’t doing. They aren’t focusing on how to control their breathing to finish the race. Sometimes in crisis we must move quickly, but sometimes we manufacture the crisis because of our stress. Make sure a sprint must be a sprint, otherwise keep the marathon pace that the team can sustain for the long haul. 

Here are three things to think about and actions to take:

Wrong Focus | Trying to move the team forward with 31 top priorities is like trying to get fit while enjoying tasty fried chicken daily. It doesn’t matter how much you work – you are working against yourself. 

Action Step: Nail down the 1-4 things your team needs to knock out ASAP and then build to the next few items on the list. Yes, everything is vital, but if you don’t focus you will spin your wheels and have too many unintended consequences.

Wrong Vantage Point | During organizational chaos it’s easy to look at what’s right in front of us and lose sight of what’s coming. It’s like focusing so much on the rain while driving, but ignoring the signs that say, “bridge is out”. If the driver would have seen the sign, they could have saved plenty of time by finding a new route instead of driving all the way to the bridge. 

Action Step: Leverage the team, the data and strategic foresight to look at what’s coming around the corner and not just at what is right in front of you. Adjust course as necessary before wasting more time and resources. 

Wrong Speed | Sometimes there is a time and place to put the pedal down to the floorboard and go without looking back. While moving at full speed we often miss key details and important conversations that help make sure we get to our end destination. There’s a balance though – if we freeze up and go too slow, we don’t get anywhere. We must move but move at the right pace. How do you know if you are moving at the right pace? Is your team aligned? Can your team explain the priorities to a key stakeholder? If you went on vacation would the team be able to keep driving without you? 

Action Step: Move at the pace you can keep the team aligned. When aligned you can go faster together. Focus on constant two-way communication and drive forward. 

During the next “crisis” we encourage you to remember to focus on top priorities, keep a healthy vantage point, and watch your pace. 

Get to where you need to go and keep the team aligned while you are on the journey. 

Our Insight team provides executive coaching, facilitation and training to help leaders, teams and organizations navigate what’s going on and prepare for what will. Find time to chat!   

What Path are you paving? Discerning the difference between leading & Individually performing

During Father’s Day of 2024, I was dead set on taking my kids mountain biking. After airing up tires and loading bikes for 30 minutes we finally made our way to the trail … minus one kid. Alice stayed back.

There we were ready to conquer the single track on this momentous occasion. Titus (18-year-old) started riding with Elliott (15-year-old) and Ezra (11 year old) was with me. We were supposed to be together, but that didn’t happen until we made it back to the car. 

Ezra and I were roughly 3.68 miles in and coming up on what my friend Chad calls “Heartbreak Hill” … not because a high school girlfriend broke his heart 25 years ago … but because it feels like you are going to have a heart attack when riding up. 

I saw the hill and coached Ezra to shift to the easy gears. He was locked in. Then I saw two routes: jump on the pavement to wind around calmly or ride the single track straight up the hill. So, I powered up the hill like a father of four typically would. Then I looked back and saw Ezra struggling to pedal but giving it his all. 

Then the lesson hit. I shouted down the hill, “Ezra you can take the pavement path around and make it easier.” He said, “Dad, I’m going to do whatever you do. I’m following you.” 

There are so many deep thoughts there about parenting and some about leadership. I’ll provide a thought about each.

Leadership Thought

We have a responsibility as leaders to make sure we pave a path for our team to follow. Sometimes we need to push them and sometimes we need to take a path that is more easily followed. Ezra was walking his bike straight up the hill determined to follow in my footsteps. So, I rode down to him, and we jumped on the pavement together. He was able to ride up Heartbreak Hill on the pavement. 

Sometimes we work in a way that is individually “successful”, but not helpful for the team to perform at a high-level as well. 

Action: Consider the ways you work and determine if there are some areas you need to slow down in, so the team can catch up.

Parenting Thought

The one thing we can’t get back is time with our kids. Our kids are looking to us and if we don’t spend time investing in them, our kids will find others to speak into their lives. They are trying to follow us, but we might inadvertently leave them wondering if we care about them, especially if we are riding up the hill and they are walking while struggling to keep up. It does not matter how old your children are – they want time with you, and they want your affirmation, encouragement, and oh yeah – TIME. 

Action: Schedule time in your calendar to go get donuts with your kids, a lunch date during the week or bike ride in the afternoon. Vacations are fun, but the habits in the normal part of our lives make the big difference.

Wrap-Up

Every one of our kids are different. Every one of our team members are different. 

• Elliott stopped along the trail to take epic pictures. 

• Ezra’s legs were burning but wants my validation, so he tries hard to follow.

• Titus loves going fast and rode in-between all of us back and forth to keep tabs. 

Know your team, know what they need and use discernment to determine when you need to race up the hill and when you need to go the long way so your team can go with you.