Month: April 2019

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” Anthony J. D’Angelo

I have a confession. There was a time in my 20’s when I viewed my boss as my nemesis. In fact, I was so frustrated with my boss, I used to imagine finding him in the parking lot after a late night of work and running over him with my car. Why would I have these extreme feelings of frustration? The answer is simple. Every time I became comfortable in my role, he chose to move me to a new position I knew nothing about. I never got to live in a state of confidence, and this was incredibly frustrating.  

For example, when I was in my early 20’s, I worked in Field Human Resources as a Human Resource Generalist. One of the most challenging tasks I encountered was negotiating labor contracts with Teamsters. Keep in mind that I’m negotiating contracts with people much older than me, yet I learned how to do this well and after 3 ½ years, I was finally getting good at it. My confidence was growing.

Guess what happened next? My boss recognized my newfound confidence and moved me to Compensation Manager at the corporate office. I was not excited about this position. In the field, we made fun of corporate, calling it the Ivory Tower. And now, I worked in the Ivory Tower. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The Compensation Manager role was a difficult assignment. Not only was it analytical in nature, but I also needed to attend training and learn the language of compensation, which was gibberish to me when I started. I was an incompetent manager leading people who were completely competent. My confidence was shaken. This was not an easy transition.  

Because my boss kept challenging me with new roles, my resume included diverse knowledge and experiences. I moved quickly through the ranks and became a leader among peers who were much older than me. These diverse roles and experiences greatly helped me when I became an Executive. Much to my surprise, the compensation role helped me learn how roles and processes interacted within an organization and this knowledge allowed me to successfully lead multiple organizational restructurings as a Senior Executive. The role that was such a struggle prepared me for the future.  

Many years later, I had a lightbulb moment. I finally realized my nemesis boss taught me how to grow and accelerated my learning by putting me in positions that I knew nothing about. While I didn’t initially understand my boss’ intentions to develop me quickly, over time, I came to appreciate what he did.  When I reflect on how I became successful more rapidly than others my age, I discovered it was from getting in the Learning Zone. My boss knew the secret of the Learning Zone and I became its student. The Learning Zone separates those who top out in their position from those who have potential for greater roles. Those who stay in their Comfort Zone top out, while those who get in the Learning Zone have greater potential for growth within an organization.

Understanding the Learning Zone

The Learning Zone model, created by Noel Tichy, explains how we learn and grow. Let me share a brief description of the model.

• The Comfort Zone is at the center of the model and it’s where we gravitate. It’s the place where we feel, well, comfortable and we do our best to stay in the Comfort Zone. However, no growth or learning takes place here because we are comfortable rather than stretched.  
• The Panic Zone is a place of high stress and drama. Growth rarely happens here because there is a high degree of stress and anxiety experienced in the Panic Zone.
• The Learning Zone is where growth occurs. In the Learning Zone, you have an elevated sense of anxiety and pressure because you don’t have everything figured out. Yet you believe success is achievable and you’re motivated to learn and grow so you can accomplish your goals. 

Once I finally understood the value of getting in the Learning Zone, I started putting myself in the Learning Zone. When I was in my 30s, a university invited me to give a commencement address. My initial reaction was no way I’m going to do that! Yet I knew my gut “no” reaction meant I needed to say yes because it would require me to get in the Learning Zone. I said yes and forced myself to learn how to give an effective commencement address. I chose to lean in and accept the challenge rather than avoid it. The secret to getting in the Learning Zone begins with recognizing your gut “no” reaction, and then choosing to accept it as an invitation to get in the Learning Zone.  

Do You Avoid the Learning Zone?

Great leaders put themselves in the Learning Zone rather than waiting for their boss to do it for them. Consider your own perspective on the Learning Zone. Do you resent living in the Learning Zone? Have you come to appreciate how you grow and develop when you are stretched? What fears keep you from getting in the Learning Zone? Getting in the Learning Zone may be uncomfortable, but you can learn to appreciate it like I did. Download this guide to discover more about the value of getting in the Learning Zone. 

Claude Bernard gives us an important nugget of wisdom: It’s what we already know that often prevents us from learning. I choose to view the Learning Zone as the gift I didn’t know I wanted, but learned to love over time. And the Learning Zone is now a gift I give to myself. Will you accept the invitation to embrace the challenge of the Learning Zone so you, too, can become the best leader you can be?

Implementing new initiatives can be a challenge for any leader, but it is especially tough when you have reluctant people on your team. Whether their hesitant behavior stems from caution, lack of enthusiasm, or because they are simply unwilling to shift, reluctant people will resist change and, ultimately, slow down progress.

Fortunately, it is possible to get reluctant people to move forward. All you need is the right strategy.

Here are two steps to motivating reluctant people:

1. Align your team

Give your team all the facts. Once everyone is on the same page, you should ask for their input. Let your team speak into the initiative, and give your most reluctant team members an opportunity to offer their ideas. Everyone should have a voice. You might end up discovering the reason behind the reluctance, and have the chance to address any concerns.

2. Get them involved

No involvement equals no commitment. After you get input from your team, it’s time to figure out where your most reluctant people will fit best. Give them opportunities to contribute. If they become involved in your initiative, they’ll be more committed to seeing it through.

By communicating to your team that you value their input and believe they are capable of bringing about change, they will be more willing to embrace new initiatives.

For more tips on motivating reluctant people, head over to our podcasts and listen to Blaine Hurst describe how he convinced his reluctant team at Panera to implement their ground-breaking delivery service.

How do you bounce back from failure? The way to overcome setbacks is to adopt a positive mindset and move forward.

Mindset Matters:

What you believe matters. Have you ever thought about how your beliefs impact your success as a leader? Imagine you’ve set a goal for yourself to become promoted within the next year. You’re excited about the thought of leading others, taking on additional responsibilities and being compensated for this promotion. You even have the job title in mind and a list of things you need to accomplish in order to show you’re the best candidate for the job. You are on the right path to achieve your goal.

But before you imagine moving into your new office, stop and answer this question: do you truly believe you can make this happen? Be honest.

If the answer to this question is not an immediate and empathetic yes, then you have some work to do. In order to achieve your goal, you need to cultivate a can-do spirit in yourself. It’s critical that this happens before you move on to the nuts and bolts of getting things done, because no one has ever accomplished big things by starting with the attitude, “I can give it a try, but it’s probably not going to happen.”

I always say that in order to succeed, you have to be able to picture where you want to be and believe you can get there. It’s a two-part process. And both parts are equally important. Why is this important? It’s because you become what you think you are.

Sometimes the best way to discover “how” to do something new is by learning from those who are already successful, and Rory McIlroy is a shining example of choosing to believe the best and understanding the importance of always growing so he can get better and better.

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Rory two weeks before his phenomenal win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  He role models positive thinking; no wonder he has spent 95 weeks ranked #1 golfer in the world and has joined the illustrious company of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the world’s only three golfers to have won four Major titles by the age of 25.

Listen to Both Parts of David’s conversation with Rory. Start with Part 1!

Rory is what I call the real deal. He possesses leadership qualities I admire: humility, authenticity, and vulnerability, while at the same time being extremely driven. He believes in leading by example and practicing what you preach. He says you don’t want to lead by fear; instead you want to make the people you lead feel a part of things.

That’s a positive mindset in motion.

But we’re all human after all. Rory revealed a time in his life where he didn’t have the right mindset and how he learned from it.

In the 2011 Masters, Rory was winning the tournament and it appeared he would easily become the champion.  And then hole 10 happened.  The drive was a little to the left and landed in an awful spot.  This drive was a major setback and changed the course of Rory’s game. He ended up losing a four-stroke lead going into the final round; and ultimately, he didn’t win the title. 

Rather than letting this setback haunt him and cause him to question his abilities, Rory chose to look at it as a learning opportunity. And today, Rory describes that round at Augusta as the most important round in his life.

The positive mindset didn’t happen right away. At the time, Rory knew it was a failure and that chances like this, to win the coveted Masters green jacket, don’t come along very often. He felt embarrassed and distraught.  But rather than let this define him, Rory decided to learn from the experience. He started by watching a tape of that round, and he discovered something important.  Even before his 10th hole drive, his body language through the first nine holes was negative.  He walked around with his head down and his shoulders rounded.  He spent a lot of time watching what others were doing rather than focusing on what he could do to win.  Rory learned that next time, he needed to focus on what HE could do and control the things HE could control. So, he took this awareness to heart and committed to doing things differently in his next tournament. 

Two months later, Rory came back with a bang! He not only won the US Open, but he also won it with the lowest score in US Open history. How’s that for a turnaround? His driving motivation was to prove to himself that he wasn’t the golfer the world saw in Augusta.  Rory refused to be defined by the outcome of that tournament. He decided to grasp the next tournament with both hands and when he walked out on the US Open course, he was a completely different person.  Rory chose to walk around with his head held high and his chest out.  He kept his eye line above the crowd.  His body language exuded confidence.  He kept his thoughts positive.  And he won.

The lesson here? Rory truly believed he could make a change, and that made all the difference.

The year 2017 was tough for Rory with injuries and not winning any tournament. When I asked Rory about this, he once again chose to believe the best about himself. He acknowledged the reality that golf is very competitive right now, but he sees himself in there. And even though he hasn’t won a tournament since 2016, he’s had 8 top fives and three seconds, so he knows a win is not too far away.

And I was most impressed with his answer to this question: Do you have any fears about winning? His immediate response was: “No, not at all. I know that if I play anywhere near my best, in any given week, I have a chance to win… And once you’re there, you have to grasp it with both hands and hit the shots that matter. I have no doubt if I get myself in that position, the win won’t be too far away.” And sure enough, Rory won the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks later and I’m confident he can’t wait to give the 2018 Masters his best shot too.

I have so much respect for Rory’s positive mindset and his humility to learn and grow. No wonder he’s such a successful golfer with a bright future ahead of him!

You have the power choose a positive mindset and believe change is possible too, just like Rory.  It’s not always the easy path; it takes awareness, determination, and maybe even inviting someone to hold you accountable.  But it’s worth it! What is one way you can think positive and choose to believe this week?  Don’t miss this opportunity to make a positive change in your life, because as Norman Vincent Peale says, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”